ASUS Eee Slider: The toughest competitor for Eee Pad Transformer
A part for from the price, the biggest appeal of the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer is the fold-able keyboard dock that effectively transforms the Transformer into a Honeycomb powered netbook. Currently there’s nothing like it in the market.
Come July this year, that will change. ASUS is on a device launch rampage and while the Eee Pad Slider concept was first unveiled in January this year, this is the first time a full working device is shown to the general public. And by the looks of it, the Eee Pad Transformer’s toughest competition will be its stablemate.
As the name suggests, the Eee Pad Slider is a tablet with a full slide-out keyboard. Specs wise, the 10.1 Eee Pad Slider packs identical hardware as the Eee Pad Transformer with Honeycomb 3.0, NVIDIA Tegra 2, 5MP rear camera and 1.2MP front camera.
So what will it be? Slide or dock?
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HTC Wildfire S now available in Malaysia
We’ve just received a statement from HTC Malaysia announcing the availability of the its newest entry level Android smartphone, the HTC Wildfire S.
At RM1,099 outright, the HTC Wildfire S is probably the country’s cheapest Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphone. The Screen size is similar with the original Wildfire at 3.2-inches but thankfully the screen resolution is much better at 320×480 pixels, double the outgoing model but don’t expect fancy Super LCD or Super AMOLED screen technology though the screen is strengthened with Gorilla Glass.
Powering the Wildfire S is a 600Mhz processor with 512MB of RAM and 512 of internal storage. The device accepts MicroSD expansion up to 32GB. Imaging comes in the form of a 5MP rear camera with LED flash but regrettably there’s no HD video recording support.
Other than that, you get the whole gamut of features that are standard in any contemporary smartphone including Bluetooth 3.0, 7.2 HSDPA (HSUPA 384Kbps) and GPS. At 1230mAh, the Wildfire’s battery capacity is smaller than what we would like
The HTC Wildfire S will be available in ‘Bloom Pink’, ‘Silver White’ and ‘Dark Gray’ at all HTC authorized resellers.
Head on over to after the jump for a promo video of the HTC Wildfire S.
The HTC Sensation is in Malaysia!
Update: Just made a call to IMCC. We were informed that stock is coming today but sales will start tomorrow.
Got this piece of news via IMCC’s Facebook page. It appears that the HTC’s most powerful smartphone, the HTC Sensation is now available for purchase from them at an unbelievable RM2,299 outright.
IMCC say that the are selling original units.
The Sensation features a 4.3-inch qHD Super LCD screen with Gorilla Glass that displays a whopping 540×960 pixels. The display also features a contour design along the entire edge of the screen which HTC claims lend a premium feel to the device while at the same time protecting the screen from grit and sand when it’s placed screen-side faced down.
Processor-wise the Sensation is packing a 1.2Ghz dual-core Snapdragon with 768MB RAM and 1GB of internal storage. In the camera department, there’s an 8MP rear camera with dual LED flash and 1080p HD video capabilities. HTC says the camera offers instantaneous shutter response allowing you to capture images and videos faster. At the front you get a standard VGA resolution camera.
In addition the the plethora of wireless connectivity the Sensation supports both HDMI and DLNA output as well. Powering all this is a 1520mAh battery.
The HTC Sensation runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread with the latest HTC Sense UI skin on top. The new Sense UI features HTC’s active lockscreen which serves live information, like weather and stock prices right without the need to unlock the phone. In addition the active lockscreen allows you to unlock straight into an app by dragging its link into an unlocking circle.
The HTC Sensation also brings with it HTC Watch video store which allows users to download movies and television shows by renting or buying them directly from the device. We doubt that this feature will be of much use here in Malaysia.
This is probably one of the most important phones ever to come out of HTC, how come no big launch?
Check out the HTC Sensation promo video after the jump.
ASUS Eee Pad MeMO
The ASUS Padfone wasn’t the only exciting device announced yesterday. Another Android tablet that was revealed is the ASUS Eee Pad Memo which is a 7″ tablet which brings a host of features for a tablet. As announced earlier at CES, the Eee Pad Memo runs on a 1.2GHz processor with Honeycomb.
So what’s new with this device? Firstly it comes with a unique looking remote/bluetooth headset which is what they call the MeMIC. While the tablet itself has a 3G SIM card slot, it is possible for the Eee Pad MeMO to make and receive calls while using the provided headset. At the bottom, there’s also a 3.5mm audio jack for a pair of headphones when listening to music.
On the tablet itself, the display pushes a rather high 1280×800 IPS display for a 7″ screen. That’s not all, the IPS screen offers 3D displays without the need of glasses. A capacitive stylus is also provided for the MeMO and it can be tucked in neatly into a silo at the side. No availability details are available but it is expected to be out sometime end of this year. Earlier on at CES, the pricing was said to be within the $499-$699 range (approx. RM1500-RM2100).
Head after the break for a hands-on video by Engadget.
Upcoming BlackBerry Curve replacement gets early hands-on
So yet another BlackBerry device gets an early hands-on ahead of its official launch. This time it is the BlackBerry Curve 9350/9370 which is codenamed Apollo. The video shows in detail the dimensions of the new device along with its software. The whole video is in Vietnamese and we don’t understand the comments made in the clip.
Overall, the device looks slimmer and like the new Torch and Bold replacements, is a huge upgrade over the current model in terms of processor, RAM, display and software.
More photos after the break.
ASUS Padfone officially revealed
The ASUS Padfone tablet with Tablet/Phone hybrid design has been officially announced at Computex as teased earlier on.
Currently seen as a concept, the Padfone is a whole new category that converge both tablet and smart phone in a single solution. The tablet is a 10″ while the smart phone has a 4.3″ display. Instead of having multiple SIM cards for both devices, the Padfone lets you share the smart phone’s 3G connectivity to the tablet when docked. Apart from that, the tablet also utilises the smart phone’s 5MP camera while keeping it charged. This ensures a maximum smart phone battery life at all times. The actual product is yet to be finalised so expect some changes to the dimensions and features when it gets closer to launch.
Availability is currently slated towards Christmas 2011 and it is expected to come with the next Android OS – Ice Cream Sandwich. No doubt this is an interesting Android device and we can’t wait to see it ourselves.
Head after the break for videos on the Padfone.
Yes plagued by intermitent network connection
Update: Yes announced that its network is stabilised and “fully restored”. Based on our usage experience, it’s so far so good. Are you a Yes user? How’s your connectivity this morning?
If you’re a Yes customer and facing connectivity issues, you’re not alone. From our experience and complaints of others, Yes seems to be having some network problems since yesterday evening as far as we can tell. While we were able to connect to the Yes 4G network, we were not able to access any sites other than the yes.my portal.
Though the issue seems to be intermittent, we have to say that it is extremely frustrating to not be able to access sites when you want to get things done quickly.
On our last check, we’re still experiencing intermittent connectivity on Yes.
Yes has made an announcement that rectification works is on the way. According to them the issue was caused by one of their “key network service providers”. There’s no timeline given but we hope they can stabilise the network as soon as possible. The Yes network has been solid so far and while network issues are part and parcel of the internet game we hope that Yes makes sure that these disruptions are very few and far, far in between.
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ASUS PadFone tablet photos revealed
The upcoming hybrid Tablet from ASUS has been finally revealed by PocketNow ahead of its event at Computex 2011. The tablet currently dubbed as ASUS PadFone, was earlier teased as a new Android tablet that defies convention with its Tablet + Phone functionality.
What it actually offers is a smart phone which docks internally inside the tablet. The smart phone itself looks like any candy bar Android device with a full capacitive display. Docking it inside the tablet makes the whole combination look clean, and it should transfer your communication features to the tablet seamlessly.
From the pic, we noticed the tablet’s imaging is using the smart phone’s camera since the docking placement is at the top. The front design at first glance looks similar to the Asus Eee Pad Transformer .
The details of both hardware is not clear yet but we can expect some possibilities such as smart phone charging while in doc and some data sync between the two. We are also curious to know if both can be used separately such as talking on the smart phone while doing some work on the tablet. This PadFone is definitely a new category of tablet and official details should be out soon.
Head after the break for more pics.
VIDEO: BlackBerry Torch 2 pre-launch hands-on
While the previous BlackBerry Torch didn’t really heat things up for Blackberry, the upcoming BlackBerry Torch 2 is set to deliver what the original Torch didn’t. While there’s no indication of launch, Techno Buffalo has managed to get an early hands-on.
Although the design remains the same, BlackBerry has make significant upgrades to the internals. Firstly the screen has been bumped up to display a higher 640×480 resolution and according to reviewer, it is much better than the original torch. Performance is said to be much smoother as it uses a 1.2GHz processor which should be similar to the new Bold .
This year BlackBerry is aggressively trying to match up with other smart phone platforms by giving its product line a full refresh. We’ve seen the impressive BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 and the Curve replacement should be announced soon.
SwiftKey X: Keyboard with greater personalisation
The beauty of Android platform is the open possibilities of reinventing the keyboard. We have swype which arguably is the best keyboard when it comes to speed. Sometimes speed isn’t really everything and that’s where SwiftKey comes into the picture.
For those who are new to SwiftKey, their approach is focused more on predictive input. In the previous release, we loved how it learns your typing patterns and predicts your most likely next word the moment you type in the first character. In an ideal situations, you’ll only be typing the first character of every single word instead of typing everything out.
In the current release, SwiftKey is bringing text input to the next level. Now it gets more personalised by learning your input patterns via Facebook, Twitter and even Gmail. From this data, SwiftKey understands your language pattern as well as frequently used words including short forms that doesn’t normally make sense with proper dictionaries. Of course for those who are paranoid about privacy, this is just an optional feature which can be turned off.
Next they also refined the input by offering 2 typing modes – Precise typer and Rapid typer for the sloppy types. We’ve just tried it and we are pretty impressed by it. Admittedly it isn’t as fast as swype if you’re in a hurry but the text prediction is simply impressive.
To give it a try, you can download the SwiftKey X Beta from the market by clicking here and it is available for Android 1.6 and above.
Head after the break for the demo video.