Sim Lim Square may be the go-to place for tech stuff in Singapore but the building has failed in its second attempt at an en bloc sale. According to The Straits Times, the tender closed on December 30 without receiving any bid.
Category: Gadgets
Sleeprate and Garmin aim to help consumers sleep better
Japan, India and Singapore are the top threee most sleep deprived nations in the world, according to a study. Thankfully, help is on its way for those who want to sleep better. Sleep platform Sleeprate is collaborating with Garmin on a mobile self-help sleep assessment and improvement program that aims to help consumers sleep better, track their recovery, and optimise workouts.
Oculus buys Beat Saber maker
The award-winning Beat Saber is an easy to learn and addictive VR game.Oculus has acquired Beat Games, maker of the highly popular VR game Beat Saber, for an undisclosed sum.
NVIDIA unveils Jetson Xavier NX for AI supercomputing at the edge
NVIDIA has introduced the Jetson Xavier NX, which it dubbed as “the world’s smallest, most powerful AI supercomputer for robotic and embedded computing devices at the edge”.
Smartisan reveals flagship Jianguo Pro 3 smartphone
Smartisan may not ring a bell to those in the region but what about TikTok? Smartisan and TikTok are both owned by ByteDance. The China-based technology company has launched the Jianguo Pro 3, its flagship smartphone that’s packed with leading features, including dual-video.
Google acquires Fitbit for US$2.1b
The Fitbit Versa 2 was launched in Septermber.The rumours have come true. After days of speculation, Google has confirmed that its is acquiring Fitbit for US$2.1 billion.
Computer and machine vision market to hit US$26b in 2024
Expanding range of applications and more powerful hardware are expected to drive growth in the computer vision and machine vision market in the next five years, according to BCC Research.
NVIDIA touts 2 new Shield models
NVIDIA has rolled out the Shield TV and Shield TV Pro media streamers to deliver new visual and sound experiences to the gogglebox.
Infineon inks 3 MOUs to accelerate innovations in Singapore
SM Tharman: Keep pushing the frontiers of innovationInventing the future together was the theme of this year’s OktoberTech Asia Pacific conference in Singapore organised by Infineon Technologies. And the semiconductor giant certainly walks its talk. At the opening of the event, it inked three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to help accelerate innovations in Singapore.
Infineon Co-Innovation Space takes flight as startups depart with commercially-ready solutions
A year after its launch, the Infineon Co-Innovation Space has borne fruit with two of its inaugural batch of startups coming up with their commercially-ready solutions built with Infineon’s microelectronics.
SENEC launches new-generation hybrid solar battery
The Home V3 Hybrid can be used to charge electric vehicles.SENEC has launched in Australia SENEC.Home V3 Hybrid, a hybrid solar battery that provides households with up to 90 percent solar power self-sufficiency. This translates to massive savings as home owners may only need to draw 10 percent of their power usage from the grid.
Google Pixel 4 loses key edge
By Edward Lim
The much awaited Google Pixel 4 and Google Pixel 4 XL smartphones were announced at Google 19 yesterday. Interestingly, Google chose to talk more about the software capabilities rather than the hardware specifications, avoiding direct comparison with other flagship smartphones.
New Ambi Climate feature balances multiple users’ needs to keep everyone cool and cosy
Keeping cool in an air-conditioned room can raise the temperature if multiple users cannot agree on the correct setting. Hong Kong-based IoT startup Ambi Labs has come up with a new feature for its Ambi Climate controller that aims to keep everyone cool and cosy.
Qualcomm and Tencent Games ink MOU
Qualcomm and Tencent Games have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a strategic cooperation on digital entertainment. This includes joint efforts to optimise future projects such as Qualcomm Snapdragon-based mobile gaming devices, game content and performance optimisations, Snapdragon Elite Gaming enhancements, cloud gaming, AR/VR, 5G gaming use case developments and additional relevant technologies.
Robots to replace 20m jobs by 2030
Nearly one in 10 jobs will be replaced by robots by 2030, according to a paper released by Oxford Economics. Entitled How Robots Change the World, it highlights that up to 8.5% of the global manufacturing workforce could be displaced by industrial robots just 11 years down the road.
Malaysian teams top first Infineon-LG Hackathon
Malaysia scored big at the first Infineon LG </> Make Hackathon on breakthrough Internet of Things (IoT) solutions in Singapore on June 17.
Goodbye and good riddance, iTunes!
By Edward Lim
Apple’s announcement that it is killing of iTunes is music to my ears. It’s about time!
Google fires first salvo at Huawei
By Edward Lim
It was only a matter of time before the spat between the US and China went up another level. And this week, Google joined in the fight by pulling out support for China’s world number 2 phone maker Huawei.
Huawei bucks the trend as global smartphone shipment shrinks in Q1
While its competitors struggled, Huawei strode ahead and emerged the winner in the worldwide smartphone market in Q1. Though it’s still behind market leader Samsung, the China-based smartphone giant narrowed the gap with an astounding 50 percent growth in the quarter, according to IDC.
OnePlus 7 coming on May 14?
Leaks of the launch of the OnePlus 7 keep coming and CEO Pete Lau seemed to be fanning the flame.
NVIDIA unveils US$99 Jetson Nano
NVIDIA Founder and CEO Jensen Huang made a slew of announcements during his near three-hour keynote address at the GPU Technology Conference last week. But among the date centre and server offerings, partnerships with leading brands and a new development in autonomous driving, one that doesn’t seem as loud and prominent could prove to be the spark to trigger a robotics tsunami.
Hope for lost photos
Have you ever accidentally deleted a photo on your mobile phone and felt really lousy afterwards? A new photo recovery tool can help ease your frustration. The newly-launched Recoverit lets you find lost photos on Android-based mobile devices.
The day my Google Pixel died
By Edward Lim
When my trusty Google Pixel froze last week, I took it as a case of overuse and attempted a reboot. It proved to be a series of fruitless attempts as the Android-based smartphone simply could not be revived. The furthest I got was to the opening screen (see above) but there was absolutely nothing I could do there — the screen just froze again before launching into another reboot.
OnePlus 6T: Impressive, nifty and fun
By CY Lim
The OnePlus 6T has been out in the market for a couple of months now and as one who received it as a gift within the first few days of its launch, I am definitely glad I made the switch from my sluggish Oppo A77. Setting up and transferring data was a breeze especially since it was an intra-Android migration. Within an hour or so, I was ready to go.
Finally, an affordable ray tracing GPU from NVIDIA!
When NVIDIA launched on last August the first GeForce RTX GPUs with ray tracing capabilities, fans were excited but taken aback by the the price tag. Costing from US$499, the three cards — the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, 2080 and 2070 — were a little higher than most gamers were prepared to fork out.
Creative SXFI Air ready for order
The headphone version of Creative’s Super X-Fi is now available for order in Singapore. The Creative SXFI Air brings holographic audio to iPhones and other smartphones without the 3.5mm jack.
Apple misses Q1 revenue projection
Apple has lowered its revenue guidance for Q1 to US$84 billion, down from the earlier projection of between US$89 billion and US$93 billion.
Elephone debuts full screen smartphone for US$249
US-based Elephone has announced the PX, which it dubbed “The Most Affordable Full-Screen Smartphone” that is packed with top features for users on a budget.
Making 8K movie editing a reality
8K movie is the next big thing and an announcement by RED and NVIDIA is making editing such movies a reality. The partners have introduced the NVIDIA CUDA-accelerated REDCODE RAW decode SDK that gives software developers and studios a powerful new way to work with 8K video.
China bans some Apple iPhone models
Qualcomm has dealt a blow to Apple with Fuzhou Intermediate People’s Court banning the sale of selected iPhone models in China. The move was for the violation of two Qualcomm patents.
OnePlus to launch first 5G smartphone in the UK
OnePlus has fired the first salvo in the 5G race. At a Qualcomm event in Hawaii, the China smartphone maker announced its intention to launch its first 5G handset in the United Kingdom.
Global wearable market to grow 26% in 2019
Worldwide shipment of wearable devices will touch 225 million in 2019, an increase of 25.8 percent from 2018, according to Gartner.
Samsung introduces second edition of Frame TV in Hong Kong
Televisions have come a long way since the days when one can be kept for decades and handed down to the next generation. The goggleboxes of old were also centre pieces that were much to be admired and where families and even communities gathered.
FXGear introduces next-gen virtual fitting solution
“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” Well, if the clothing doesn’t make you the fairest, just swap to another. That’s what the FXMirror can do — bringing virtual fitting to another level by adding an avatar.
Smartphone and feature phone neck-to-neck in India
For the first time, the smartphone market is on par with the feature phone market in India, according to IDC. Overall, the India market reached 42.6 million units for a 9.1 percent year-on-year growth in Q3.
Hiwonder unveils Qdee programmable robot
Hong Kong-based Hiwonder has launched a micro:bit-based Qdee programmable robot with infinite shapes. Available on Kickstarter from US$39, the kit is compatible with Lego and designed to teach children about robotics.
The SXFI Amp: Creative’s 2nd coming?
By Edward Lim
Spending three days manning a booth in an IT show can take a toll on the body and mind. What more a constant repetitive blasting of sound from a booth just across the aisle. The vendor was an up and coming Singapore company called Creative Technology. The product was the Sound Blaster.
Global smartphone shipment slides 6% in Q3
Smartphone vendors shipped 355.2 million units in Q3, down six percent from the corresponding quarter last year, according to preliminary estimates by IDC. This is the fourth straight quarter of year-on-year decline.
OnePlus 6T launches with world’s fastest fingerprint display sensor
OnePlus announced OnePlus 6T, its latest smartphone to a hall packed with enthusiasts in New York City on October 29 — one day ahead of schedule to avoid conflicting with an Apple event the next day.
Infineon gives startups a heads up with first Co-Innovation Space
Names such as Ampotech, Plunify, SHADO, and XNERGY may not ring a bell today but with a little help from Infineon, they may well become the successes of tomorrow.
Pilot develops Rate My Landing app
Pilot John Rood has teamed up with mobile app developer eZoom to come up with Rate My Landing, which allows gamers to learn what it takes to land an aircraft.
Google Pixel 3 coming on October 9
The rumour mills are spinning at top speed as smartphone launch season gets ready to kick off. With Samsung having announced the Note 9, and Apple expected to respond with a new iPhone next month, Google looks to be getting into the act too with the Pixel 3 slated for an October 9 introduction, according to Bloomberg.
Free WhatsApp backup on Google Drive
WhatsApp backup will no longer count towards Google Drive storage quota, thanks to a new agreement between the two companies.
Seamless Spotify listening experience across Samsung devices
Spotify has joined hands with Samsung to give users a seamless listening experience across Samsung devices.
Pico Interactive introduces stronger, lighter and more capable VR headset
Pico Interactive has launched the Pico G2, its second generation virtual reality (VR) headset that is stronger, lighter and sports more capabilities than its predecessor.
VLC blacklists recent Huawei smartphones
VLC has taken the drastic measure of blacklisting recent Huawei smartphones, specifically the Huawei P8, P10, and P20, from installing its media player app. The move is in response to negative customer reviews for VLC as a result of Huawei blocking the installation of the media player.
Consortium introduces standard to simplify VR headset connectivity
NVIDIA, Oculus, Valve, AMD, and Microsoft have come together to introduce VirtualLink, an open standard that simplifies next-generation virtual reality (VR) headset connectivity to PCs and other devices. Instead of a range of cords and connectors, the new standard adopts the single, high-bandwidth USB Type-C connector.
100m smart speakers by end of 2018
Smart speakers are picking up steam with the installed base expected to hit 100 million by the end of this year, according to Canalys. That’s 2.5 times the size of end 2017.
Suning Tesco opens first UAV logistics route in Wuhan
China e-commerce firm Suning Tesco has opened the first pilot route for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) logistics and transportation in Wuhan, China. Its logistics arm Suning Logistics and Ewatt Aerospace jointly developed two UAVs for this purpose.
Reolink launches wire-free Argus Pro smart security camera
Hong Kong security product maker Reolink has introduced Argus Pro, a smart camera that is powered by rechargeable battery or the solar panel for easy installation and enhanced security.
StumbleUpon stumbles out
After 16 years, discovery engine StumbleUpon, which pushes web contents to users, has shut down.
Myanmar startup Goama launches mobile gaming app in India
Myanmar startup Goama has launched its “Netflix of Games” mobile gaming subscription app in India. Called Go|Games, the Android app has more than 700,000 subscribers in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Myanmar.
1Coach wearable: More than a tracker, it’s a run advisor!
SensFusion has launched 1Coach, a wearable running sensor that not only tracks but also offers training advice for improving runs.
Glitch with Google Home and Chromecast
By Edward Lim
“Sorry, something went wrong. Try again in a few seconds.” and “There was a glitch. Try again in a few seconds.” are not messages most Google Home and Home mini users are familiar with, but these messages kept repeating themselves most of yesterday.
Microsoft to launch pricey USB-C dongle for Surface
The cost of having thinner and lighter devices can be really high. The compromise is the absence of jacks and ports that users often take for granted. To get that needed port, users have to pay a hefty price. In the case of the Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface laptop, a soon-to-be-launched USB-C dongle will cost US$79.99, according to The Verge.
ElinkSmart rolls out smart home camera kit
China manufacturer ElinkSmart has unveiled the Smart Wi-Fi Camera Kit for home security.
NVIDIA Shield TV comes to ANZ
It’s been a long time coming — more than three years — but NVIDIA Shield TV is finally heading to Australia and New Zealand. The Android TV-based device was dubbed the “world’s first 4K Android TV console” when it was introduced in March 2015.
5G networks vital for autonomous vehicle connectivity
While the world waits in anticipation for its arrival, 5G has been identified as vital for autonomous vehicle connectivity.
Smartwatch market heading towards steady growth
The worldwide wearables market is adjusting as smartwatches continue to come to the forefront. In the coming years, smartwatches will encompass more features and functionalities.
App to teach children responsible mobile device usage
Help is at hand for parents who need help in teaching their young children the dos and don’ts of using smartphones and other mobile devices. They can now turn to Tittle for Parents, an app that lets parents protect their children on mobile devices and teach about safe and appropriate use.
Entelechy Asia 