Over 2 million views on YouTube and counting, the ultra-slim TV was in full view throughout the video as well. Amazing! Nice one LG.
Sony brings three new accessories to complement the Xperia S
Sony has announced three new accessories it calls Smart Extras to complement its next generation Xperia smartphones including the Xperia S.
First up, we have the Xperia SmartTags. The Xperia SmartTags is a novel approach towards propagating NFC technology. The tags are essentially NFC chips designed in a shape of round tokens that you can purchase and place at various places in your home, car or office. With the programmable tags you can launch pre-set actions just with a simple tap, best of all, the tags work with any NFC-enabled phone. Check out the video above for a clearer explanation.
Next, we have the Smart Wireless Headset pro stereo Bluetooth headset that features an LCD display that can show text messages, incoming calls info and calendar notifications just to name a few. In addition to being a Bluetooth headset, the Smart Wireless Headset Pro can function as a standalone MP3 player and radio as well.
Finally, we have the SmartWatch Bluetooth micro display. The SmartWatch features a square 1.3-inch 128×128 pixel OLED touchscreen display. The SmartWatch acts as secondary display for your smartphone, allowing you to discretely access text messages, social media updates and manage calls or music from the display without the need to reach for your device. The display can mounted on a strap and can be worn as a watch and comes with a vibration function, accelerometer and is both dust and splash proof.
No pricing or availability detail has been announced. We’re really interested in the SmartTags and SmartWatch, so we’re expecting these accessories along with the Bluetooth headset to be available at the Asia launch of the Xperia S happening later today. Keep your browser locked on to SoyaCincau.com and follow us on Twitter for live updates from the event.
For more info on the accessories, click here. More videos explaining the accessories after the jump.
Motorola introduces two new RAZR variants and a new Droid. None likely to make it to Malaysia
Motorola unveiled three new devices at CES recently and all of them look promising.
First up we have the Droid RAZR that we’re all familiar with but this time decked in a very tasty metallic purple hue. The specs of the purple Droid RAZR remain the same as the standard black or white version. You get a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and an 8MP 1080p camera at the back along with a 1.3MP front camera that shoots 720p videos as well. The specs are also the same as the RAZR we get here in Malaysia but unlike the US Droid RAZR, the RAZR in Malaysia, and other parts of the world, run on GSM not LTE.
Next, we have the Droid 4. Essentially the Droid 4 is a business-centric RAZR with a slide-out QWERTY. Again, in terms of specs, everything is the same as the Droid RAZR. The Droid 4 carries the same hardware as the RAZR except the Droid 4 does without the RAZR’s Kevlar backplate and adds on a slide-out keyboard. Motorola says the Droid 4 is currently the thinnest QWERTY smartphone in the market at just 12.9mm thin.
Finally we have the Droid RAZR Maxx featuring the same spec as the Droid RAZR but with a whopping 3,300mAh battery that’s good for 21 hours of talktime and 15 hours of continuous video playback or two and half days of continuous music playback (the standard RAZR packs a 1,780mAh battery). To accommodate the battery, the RAZR Maxx is slightly thicker at 8.99mm compared to the RAZR’s svelte 7.1mm body.
Overall, all three devices look good and it’d be nice if Motorola could make any one of these new devices available here but at the moment, that looks like it’s not going to happen which is sad because we’ve been using a Motorola RAZR for a few months now and there’s really not much to complain about.
Sure the camera and battery life can be better, and the UI skin may not be as comprehensive as HTC’s Sense or Samsung’s TouchWhiz but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the RAZR is a solid performer. It’s fast and responsive, and despite being not as polished as some of its competitors, the RAZR is still a contender and a solid phone with top notch hardware – a worthwhile alternative in our books.
Full specs of the new Motorola phones available here.
In Singapore, the days of unlimited data plans are numbered. Will Malaysia be the same?
Yahoo! Singapore reports investment firm Kim Eng in Singapore has revealed that operators on the island republic are planning to reduce generous data caps, scrap the current unlimited data option in 3G packages, and roll out more usage-based plans in the future.
The report noted that the review comes after the ever-increasing adoption of instant messaging platforms and Voice over IP (VoIP) applications such as WhatsApp and Viber. Such tools allow mobile users to send text messages and make phone calls for free, thus eroding the need to pay for costly voice calls or SMS.
A spokesperson for StarHub confirmed with Yahoo! Singapore that the company is indeed working on reviewing the price scheme for its data packages and may consider rolling out usage-based data pricing.
“We are reviewing current pricing plans and consider introducing usage-based data pricing to ensure optimal network quality for our customers,” said Chan Kin Hung, StarHub’s head of products and solutions.
“In addition, we will not offer unlimited mobile broadband plan on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) platform when we launch our LTE service, which is likely to take place in the second half of 2012,” he added.
Mobile data usage is through the roof, this is a global phenomenon and the advent of increasingly powerful mobile devices and apps will only fuel this momentum, but what are operators doing to cope with the surge in demand?
Bandwidth, just like water, electricity or oil, is a finite resource. There is a cost that’s tied up to bandwidth and someone has to pay for it. As revenue from traditional streams like voice calls and SMS slow down, operators are hard pressed to find other ways to turn a profit.
Data is the next big thing for operators but unlimited plans are not feasible for business, at the end of the day something has got to give and by the looks of it, consumers are being served the short end of the stick.
Will Malaysian operators resort to doing the same? It looks very likely. The number of mobile devices is on the rise and so too is mobile data usage. At the same time, voice and SMS usage has plateaued. As a result, operators are now applying more stringent control over subscriber data usage. Where before you could get away with bursting your monthly data cap, chances are operators are not so lenient anymore.
It might be a couple of more years or perhaps a little bit more but the days of the unlimited mobile internet plans are numbered, wherever you are. The sad fact about all this is that there’s pretty much nothing we can do about it. When the time comes, we will all have to bite the bullet and start being responsible with our data just like how we are with our water and electricity. Internet has indeed become the utility of the modern world. Like any utility, there is a cost that we will all have to bare.
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