tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90291776756621140562024-03-17T00:14:35.501-07:00The Technology of Today InternationalBringing you a step closer to more than just technologydickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.comBlogger1360125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-77186501223574012962016-10-10T23:31:00.000-07:002016-10-10T23:34:28.435-07:00My experience with the Samsung Galaxy Note7<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Goodbye Galaxy Note7</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVTT3tsehIt-XVaRB55IWMqTVMSV8BKMm32QGq198uMiJ_ZS2L0HxT4ae_N7I4c_GRoVWjmJC3I3xQNaxTAORC8mTzP_4TE81245LtZypXayBkmM-iK54gawKa5ZDotx1WQOengUOpDuB8/s1600/galaxy-note7-goodbye-8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVTT3tsehIt-XVaRB55IWMqTVMSV8BKMm32QGq198uMiJ_ZS2L0HxT4ae_N7I4c_GRoVWjmJC3I3xQNaxTAORC8mTzP_4TE81245LtZypXayBkmM-iK54gawKa5ZDotx1WQOengUOpDuB8/s1600/galaxy-note7-goodbye-8.JPG" /></a></div>
It is <a href="http://www.samsung.com/us/note7recall/?CID=AFL-hq-mul-0813-11000170" target="_blank">official now</a>, Samsung is once again requesting Galaxy Note7 users to shut off their phone unil further notice. While they are not explicitly requesting users to return their device, the message is clear that the Galaxy Note7 might not be safe to use despite what they said with the recall a couple weeks back.<br />
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Samsung has been having a hard time lately with their new Galaxy Note7. They were forced to halt sales of their new flagship smartphone while Apple's new <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.com/2016/09/apple-iphone-7-announcement.html" target="_blank">iPhone 7</a> and iPhone 7 Plus went on sale due to an investigation caused by a battery defect that was causing Note7's to explode. The fire hazard prompted Samsung to issue a global recall of all Note7 units that have been sold.<br />
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Since then, things have been going well for Samsung as they revealed that majority of Note7 users have taken advantage of the exchange program. But then, things took a turn for the worse as The Verge <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/5/13175000/samsung-galaxy-note-7-fire-replacement-plane-battery-southwest" target="_blank">confirmed</a> that a passenger onboard a Southwest Airlines flight witnessed his replacement Note7 smoking up and causing damages to the plane's floorboard.<br />
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To be honest, I was initially against the idea of doing the recall because I didn't feel the need but then more cases started to pop up and the thing jumped from a couple of isolated cases into a big big thing for Samsung with <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-04/samsung-s-note-7-recall-will-be-expensive-but-probably-worth-it" target="_blank">analyst estimating </a>that Samsung has lost over $1 Billion in damages due to the recall process.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>But right now, the case has been reopened once again as there has been several reports of the replacement Galaxy Note7 units exploding again. Samsung alongside the US Consumer Product and Safety Commission (CPSC) and the FAA are currently investigating the issue and according to a former executive of the CPSC, Samsung might announce a second global recall.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0KnpIVtZsITGK9RlSdOPsT4ZEetqAWC1TEdXlGEvcLJ46tOd1MjoTVQgPF9xcfMG0VIPfJtDQ6dv5JzywCD1gZMLEYmhUdWvCzTAJWjq3O1m0oPE1qmHpO1Io0AoomWuI1y2Q564m9PjD/s1600/galaxy-note7-goodbye-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0KnpIVtZsITGK9RlSdOPsT4ZEetqAWC1TEdXlGEvcLJ46tOd1MjoTVQgPF9xcfMG0VIPfJtDQ6dv5JzywCD1gZMLEYmhUdWvCzTAJWjq3O1m0oPE1qmHpO1Io0AoomWuI1y2Q564m9PjD/s1600/galaxy-note7-goodbye-2.JPG" /></a><br />
Personally, I believe that the problem with the exploding batteries is no longer just a manufacturing defect, rather it could very well be a flaw in the design as there has been a report by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-18/samsung-crisis-began-in-rush-to-capitalize-on-uninspiring-iphone" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a> that reveals that Samsung actually sped up the launch of the Galaxy Note7 to have an upper hand over Apple's new iPhone 7 which is a minimal upgrade over previous iPhone(s).<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">That's what you get for skipping a version number</span></i></blockquote>
Right now, all US carriers have halted sales of the Galaxy Note7 and are allowing Note7 customers to exchange or refund their Note7 with another smartphone. To be honest, I have been considering swapping out my Note7 but there is really only two options for me right now which is the Pixel XL and iPhone 7. But in my opinion, neither devices are comparable to the Note7.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">September 21 Recall</span></h2>
So, about two weeks ago, I go my replacement phone from T-Mobile and the process wasn't as smooth as it could've been because customer representatives were not fully trained to do these kind of procedures and the fact that there is some sort of miscommunication between T-Mobile and Samsung in general caused certain delays. I had to call up and visit T-Mobile a couple of times to hunt down for the replacement Note7 unit.<br />
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Free gift(s):</h4>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>S Pen ($20)</li>
<li>Gear Fit2 ($180)</li>
<li>Gear VR ($99)</li>
<li>Samsung Rewards card ($45)</li>
<li>Dunkin Donuts gift card ($10)</li>
</ul>
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But despite that, there is a silver lining with this Note7 recall and that is the free stuff that I received. During the recall, Samsung only wanted the phone so they could extract the potentially defective battery. That meant that I could keep all the accessories including the S Pen. So, now I have double the amount of accessories.<br />
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In addition to that, there was a glitch with the Samsung Promotions site that enabled Note7 users to take advantage of the promotion meant for the Galaxy S7/Edge and I got myself a Gear VR through the promotion. I also got the Gear Fit2 with the first Samsung Promotions offer meant for the Galaxy Note7.<br />
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Also, with the replacement Note7, Samsung also had a Samsung Pay promotion which enabled me to earn an additional $10 after my first purchase and this adds up to the $25 that I received through the Samsung Pay promotion with my non-recalled Note7. Overall, I like the fact that Samsung is throwing money at us Note7 users in the United State but I can't say the same for Note7 users in other countries.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Note7 Alternatives?</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP964HB8NsYUwIV8wf5YY3t0oDNu0nlsALKMp19aLTSSMWJ4eg4nX4aOiD-8QBikyDa1zb5qZIwd0dqMjmpYHCTcAwK_QTHvpkRHAuvTFG1ORNdkyQqK2K7sPxyHM0SG0dkpI_HbL8xwBe/s1600/galaxy-note7-goodbye-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP964HB8NsYUwIV8wf5YY3t0oDNu0nlsALKMp19aLTSSMWJ4eg4nX4aOiD-8QBikyDa1zb5qZIwd0dqMjmpYHCTcAwK_QTHvpkRHAuvTFG1ORNdkyQqK2K7sPxyHM0SG0dkpI_HbL8xwBe/s1600/galaxy-note7-goodbye-4.JPG" /></a></span></div>
On September 21st, I got my replacement device and I actually like it more than my original Note7. To be honest, this recall process has prompted me to rethink my choice about choosing the Galaxy Note7. I did have the option to exchange it with any other device in T-Mobile's lineup but really, there is no other phone that can come close to the experience that I have with the Galaxy Note7.<br />
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Sure, I have to admit that I was a little dissapointed with the sub-par battery life of the Galaxy Note7 when I am hearing that the iPhone 7 Plus gets amazing all day battery life. I was definitely tempted to get the iPhone 7 Plus but I resisted because Apple hasn't changed the design making the iPhone 7 Plus a bulky device to hold and coupled with the fact that the phone is placed on backorder made me choose the Galaxy Note7 once again.<br />
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<a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/09/samsung-pay-review.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Read more: Samsung Pay review, as good as it sounds</span></a></blockquote>
In addition to that, Samsung Pay also contributed quite a bit to my decision to stick with the Note7 because it is just so useful. I have been using it so frequently since I got the Note7 that I can't remember when was the last time I used the actual card. I could practically leave the card at home and just use Samsung Pay. Likewise, the places that I usually use my card at does not support Apple Pay, support might come up in the near future but as of right now, Apple Pay is really limited.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Lod8ACipgXpCbOvIcJS47Z7wVm_XvBHmaaPWiFrjfQRbkz7WNhyphenhyphen37MssvZxPU2N7Jrx_-9fKO3lBZmygTa9G-0opREHdxUgPc4R4Z59zIrtHwYuMBMP2lqDEbCVISIsed-yO9VU62ZMi/s1600/google-pixel-hero.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Lod8ACipgXpCbOvIcJS47Z7wVm_XvBHmaaPWiFrjfQRbkz7WNhyphenhyphen37MssvZxPU2N7Jrx_-9fKO3lBZmygTa9G-0opREHdxUgPc4R4Z59zIrtHwYuMBMP2lqDEbCVISIsed-yO9VU62ZMi/s1600/google-pixel-hero.PNG" /></a></div>
Other than the iPhone, Google's new Pixel phone is a worthy alternative. The hardware that Google designed is uniquely different and the exclusive software experience that Google is bundling with it's Pixel phones is definitely a big plus. But the problem with choosing the Pixel XL is that it is somehow not worth the $749 price tag.<br />
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For one, it is not water resistant by any stretch and just like the iPhone 7, the Pixel XL is also placed on back-order. And in case you were wondering why am I not considering the Galaxy S7 edge, well it is because the Galaxy S7 edge is an old phone already and it is still having a microUSB port. But bottom line, I am a tech savvy person and I won't settle for anything less.<br />
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To be honest, there is no alternative to the Galaxy Note7. Samsung's Note series has always been a phone that is uniquely different due to it's S Pen. And before you bring up the argument about the S Pen being an accessory only for show, I actually use the S Pen on the Note7 pretty frequently because writing on the screen is just so fluid and natural.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjByBps1t1sx19X7ob3xTi0-3D9DQW3ugvfyjm4Vw2oi5Ujq0w5NyaasdJr8NxmHPBjVYLGl1WpGpAZitQ5b4Z1ctjFLcNzYVGrb2vIgQezdcTRFgaHPNOqnotBhcqjwGgM_cxcrbntsXQg/s1600/galaxy-note7-goodbye-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjByBps1t1sx19X7ob3xTi0-3D9DQW3ugvfyjm4Vw2oi5Ujq0w5NyaasdJr8NxmHPBjVYLGl1WpGpAZitQ5b4Z1ctjFLcNzYVGrb2vIgQezdcTRFgaHPNOqnotBhcqjwGgM_cxcrbntsXQg/s1600/galaxy-note7-goodbye-3.JPG" /></a><br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Conclusion</span></h2>
With the Note7, Samsung managed to break barriers by engineering a smartphone that looks and feels good in the hand. I won't lie, the Galaxy Note7 is such an amazing device to use but the damage has already been done and Samsung has reached the point of no return as the perception of the Note7 exploding can no longer be erased.<br />
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If they had properly addressed the issue with the battery during the first recall, then they would stand a chance to salvage the explosive battery mess. There really is no reason why anyone should use the Note7 here on out as it is like a ticking time bomb ready to explode. The trust that federal regulators have over the Note7 no longer exists since the replacement phones started exploding which will end up causing all sorts of inconveniences when using the Note7.<br />
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But personally, I think this Note7 battery explosion saga does not only affect people's perception of the Note7 but also affects Samsung's other flagship phones which look a lot like the Note7. There is a bit of a confusion here and there and Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge users might be wrongfully claimed as a Note7 user because the phones look very similar to the average joe.<br />
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One thing I really hate about this recall is the news that tech sites are stirring up. It was sure fun to see all these sites report all about the variety of explosion cases that have come up like a burning jeep or reports of people suffering third degree burns due to the Note7 explosion. Especially the pro-apple sites and Samsung haters in general are bashing Samsung a little too hard.<br />
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As a Note7 user myself, I felt offended by the negative comments. I am not trying to say that these negative comments are baseless arguments, it is just that they sound a little offensive to me. Additionally, in the wake of the Note7 explosions, more news about other phones exploding are also making the headlines every week.<br />
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My plan right now is return the Note7 regardless of whether Samsung manages to resolve the explosive battery issue or not. The damage has been done and I will be looking forward to next year's Galaxy Note smartphone.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYzMz4aLYUExCOmDMLBawGlJ1mHfvNjmKUJIniB_SFAtA2adhVelG4EahynCTogj-Rc1Hq1xid-W0tcr7rOw38rtutXD08jeSocKjtYmzO2nH3YzTkIG6Ibkkwm6baBWwSsV5goOpc8RZd/s1600/galaxy-note7-goodbye-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYzMz4aLYUExCOmDMLBawGlJ1mHfvNjmKUJIniB_SFAtA2adhVelG4EahynCTogj-Rc1Hq1xid-W0tcr7rOw38rtutXD08jeSocKjtYmzO2nH3YzTkIG6Ibkkwm6baBWwSsV5goOpc8RZd/s1600/galaxy-note7-goodbye-5.JPG" /></a><br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Insider Talk</i></h2>
I don't know if I just have had bad luck or what but last year when I picked up the Surface Pro 4, I also had a hard time with the device. Initially it was a defect with the speakers and I eventually got Microsoft to replace that for me and then it was the long long wait for them to get the software working as expected. The sleep of death on the Surface Pro 4 was all too real. Then came the Galaxy Note7, this problem is getting out of hand.<br />
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This article has been changing a lot since I first envisioned the article. As this is a developing story, it's hard to stick to my initial idea which was to talk all about the free stuff that I got from the Note7 recall. Then it morphed into an article about the Note7 recall experience and finally I landed on the idea of talking about my experience with the Note7.<br />
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I will not be doing a review of the Note7 but I am considering doing a Note7 camera showcase because the photos I managed to get out of this camera is simply amazing.<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><br />
</i></span> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>---dw</i></span></div>
dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-30764361559192110522016-09-18T19:35:00.000-07:002016-09-18T19:35:30.303-07:00Samsung Pay review, as good as it sounds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-y7YpXF5oZ9_c6FjLDW7er8UNp4GNITB7JG1C0MTdqVbrjNL1Ct1lz5xXyOa2rW5xsuIzzBXL8wNqcVst1Y82Db76gR7FG4sSigfKfXbx8AvcCvVjUOa6KSPICQGfrXzAn8JsRk_kZD5/s1600/samsung-pay-review-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-y7YpXF5oZ9_c6FjLDW7er8UNp4GNITB7JG1C0MTdqVbrjNL1Ct1lz5xXyOa2rW5xsuIzzBXL8wNqcVst1Y82Db76gR7FG4sSigfKfXbx8AvcCvVjUOa6KSPICQGfrXzAn8JsRk_kZD5/s1600/samsung-pay-review-2.JPG" /></a><br />
A couple weeks back, I wrote about my <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/07/trying-android-pay-mcdonalds.html" target="_blank">initial experience</a> with mobile payments through Google's Android Pay platform. Since then, I have gotten myself Samsung's new <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/08/samsung-galaxy-note7-first-look.html" target="_blank">Galaxy Note7</a> and that opened up the doors for me to try Samsung's very own payment platform called Samsung Pay. As of today, Samsung Pay is only available in 8 countries but Samsung is working towards doubling that number within the next 12 months.<br />
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One of the biggest advantage that Samsung Pay has over other mobile payment platforms is it's support for both NFC and MST (abbreviation of Magnetic Security Transmission) transactions. This is the result of Samsung's US$ 250 million <a href="http://www.recode.net/2015/5/13/11562614/samsung-paid-around-250-million-for-looppay-its-apple-pay-competitor" target="_blank">acquisition</a> of the startup Looppay which designed the actual technology that enables payments to be made through the magnetic strip of a payment terminal.<br />
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Ever since I started using Samsung Pay, I never once looked back. So here's my review.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4pq_ayFXsjV6yFMfwuM8wJCZreWThAo3l6nKQ3ciT4LQLOhe4QzsmQTsvmpQ3JBfTwZb4BBt4uV1MJ8vo6UwC2HStyYnmDKTtJlDVR31HdXRfkw5tC0H9asSpQEjeJU5gCEkuwlVb0YEt/s1600/samsung-pay-review-6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4pq_ayFXsjV6yFMfwuM8wJCZreWThAo3l6nKQ3ciT4LQLOhe4QzsmQTsvmpQ3JBfTwZb4BBt4uV1MJ8vo6UwC2HStyYnmDKTtJlDVR31HdXRfkw5tC0H9asSpQEjeJU5gCEkuwlVb0YEt/s1600/samsung-pay-review-6.JPG" /></a></div>
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Samsung Pay launched about a year ago in South Korea and within the last 12 months, Samsung says that their proprietary payment platform <a href="https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-pay-marks-one-year-anniversary-with-nearly-100-million-transactions" target="_blank">has exceeded</a> 100 million transactions. As of today, Samsung Pay supports 11 Galaxy devices, most of them are flagship smartphones that Samsung released in the last year. </div>
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Ultimately, Samsung's goal is to make Samsung Pay accessible to their entire lineup of Galaxy smartphones and possibly even other Android smartphones too but that will probably take a while as the technology trickles down. Similar to other payment platforms out there, Samsung is taking security seriously with their payment platform and that could explain why Samsung Pay is not available for older Galaxy devices.</div>
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Samsung Pay device support (as of September 2016)</h2>
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— Samsung Galaxy S6 (Edge, Edge+ and Active)<br />
— Samsung Galaxy Note5<br />
— Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)<br />
— Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)<br />
— Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)<br />
— Samsung Galaxy S7 (Edge and Active)<br />
— Samsung Galaxy Note7<br />
— Samsung Gear S2<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Samsung Pay availability (as of September 2016)</h2>
— South Korea<br />
— United States<br />
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— China<br />
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— Spain<br />
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— Singapore<br />
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— Australia<br />
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— Puerto Rico<br />
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— Brazil<br />
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— United Kingdom (exp. by Q4 2016)<br />
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— Malaysia (exp. by Q4 2016)<br />
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— Canada (exp. by Q4 2016)<br />
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— Russia (exp. by Q4 2016)<br />
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— Hong Kong (exp. by Q4 2016)<br />
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— Turkey (exp. by 2017)</div>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Using Samsung Pay</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCE3eoMjRk8U8YpJhVqrg7FrCQPxFHKM3osqDXWBxXnDPBsenipJoqWv5u2m8CryiYCEkg9XrGMre-jZH1ECQgLKel3O0-ODmgWjtBl-FPHmbkU65QrueT60WcKw5jvZLpPRZxDncwllfW/s1600/samsung-pay-review-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCE3eoMjRk8U8YpJhVqrg7FrCQPxFHKM3osqDXWBxXnDPBsenipJoqWv5u2m8CryiYCEkg9XrGMre-jZH1ECQgLKel3O0-ODmgWjtBl-FPHmbkU65QrueT60WcKw5jvZLpPRZxDncwllfW/s1600/samsung-pay-review-7.jpg" /></a></div>
Similar to the experience with <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/07/trying-android-pay-mcdonalds.html" target="_blank">Android Pay</a>, Samsung Pay is an application that can be downloaded through the Google Play Store but it is only supports select Galaxy smartphones. On a side note, the app is pre-installed on supported devices, so there is no need to download the Samsung Pay app from the Play Store. Setting up the application is pretty self explanatory and you will need to sign in (or sign up) to your Samsung account in order to use Samsung Pay.<br />
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Once that's done, you will have the option to add cards to Samsung Pay through the interface. Samsung Pay supports quite a number of credit and debit cards as well as a huge selection of loyalty cards ranging from popular supermarkets all the way to rewards cards for local chains. Bank and vendor support will vary from one region to another so make sure to check if your bank supports Samsung Pay <a href="http://www.samsung.com/samsung-pay/" target="_blank">here</a><br />
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While the use of credit/debit cards on Samsung Pay are wholly dependant on your bank, the situation for loyalty cards are much looser. If the loyalty card you want to use is not listed on Samsung Pay, there is an option to manually key in the barcode for that loyalty card directly into the app. Additionally, Samsung Pay will also accept loading gift cards onto the application and there is also the option to purchase gift cards directly from the app itself.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_R00kCYGugivxj-Yj2x6ABt3Jc7mJkdsr0NvpOpJ_K6INXRd_1SlXdjUakEQYi8fr06PIDeoHsxUegNMe4wV75sjpQfy9SIK6dHbKFnzoBYzjds2idlv14Wh7gSQ2LwTzQHRoAbPOV0V7/s1600/samsung-pay-review-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_R00kCYGugivxj-Yj2x6ABt3Jc7mJkdsr0NvpOpJ_K6INXRd_1SlXdjUakEQYi8fr06PIDeoHsxUegNMe4wV75sjpQfy9SIK6dHbKFnzoBYzjds2idlv14Wh7gSQ2LwTzQHRoAbPOV0V7/s1600/samsung-pay-review-5.JPG" /></a><br />
But the million dollar question is, how does Samsung Pay work in the real world. Samsing did a lot of marketing on how their payment platform can be used in more places than their competitors (*in the context of the United States). In practice, I have to say that I am very impressed with the performance of Samsung Pay. I managed to use Samsung Pay as my primary mode of payment since I started using it three weeks ago.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwZFrTo6ZGHf5wJ6tSDztgLQat9TkTtZndG-bRbf5S7yY0Ly8c1rM5KV8qZSL___GV0q5L7CeWYqkfDiFbdF6BNQ-fngv0sewP_WfvLz0KzGWHllkylxUzIDMlIbOa_cNiy9aKXouNbGi/s1600/samsung-pay-review-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwZFrTo6ZGHf5wJ6tSDztgLQat9TkTtZndG-bRbf5S7yY0Ly8c1rM5KV8qZSL___GV0q5L7CeWYqkfDiFbdF6BNQ-fngv0sewP_WfvLz0KzGWHllkylxUzIDMlIbOa_cNiy9aKXouNbGi/s400/samsung-pay-review-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Samsung's Simple Pay UI</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></div>
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Making a payment with Samsung Pay is fairly simple, you could launch the Samsung Pay app and click on the desired card to make a payment but there's an easier way which is Samsung to access Samsung Pay which is through Samsung's Simple Pay UI. Samsung's Simple Pay UI stores cards that are frequently used for easy access and the UI can be accessed from any screen or application with a simple swipe up gesture.<br />
<br />
All you have to do to make a payment is to select the card from the interface and authenticate it with your fingerprint (note: Samsung Pay does not support the Galaxy Note7's iris scanner as an authentication mode). You don't even need to turn on NFC or any wireless connection in order to complete transactions. Samsung Pay will intelligently turn on NFC when an NFC payment is detected. Once that's done, it's as simple as placing the phone on the magnetic strip and within the next second, the transaction will be completed.<br />
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One thing to note is that for debit cards, you will still need to input your PIN on the payment terminal in order to complete the transaction. But beyond that, making payments with Samsung Pay so easy. It has never actually failed me yet and the only reason it wouldn't complete the transaction imminently is because it takes some practice to know where to put the phone on the manetic strip as each payment terminal is different.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7NMYgDnt_Umw1HRF_J78TRdK8dWhj7R4fGtKsYzR-Jd95bCoH_0dJUhyphenhyphenveMHVjXMwMqpfggH5lECvM8LGilv88aZaDAXy_xLzN0Il_UmjF8fS0S4a7N-tVcig0nAQk1XBGpi64hQymHI/s1600/samsung-pay-review-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7NMYgDnt_Umw1HRF_J78TRdK8dWhj7R4fGtKsYzR-Jd95bCoH_0dJUhyphenhyphenveMHVjXMwMqpfggH5lECvM8LGilv88aZaDAXy_xLzN0Il_UmjF8fS0S4a7N-tVcig0nAQk1XBGpi64hQymHI/s1600/samsung-pay-review-3.JPG" /></a></div>
I have tried Samsung Pay at places like Ikea, Safeway, Walmart, a local bookstore, etc. All the transactions went through effortlessly and while there were some cashiers that questioned my use of a phone to make a payment, I did prove them wrong when the transaction went through. Once a payment has been made, a notification will be pushed to your phone notifying that a payment has been made.<br />
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One cool thing that I noticed is that the Simple Pay UI can be accessed with a swipe up even when the screen is turned off. This is probably thanks to the AMOLED screen technology that Samsung uses on quite a number of their Galaxy smartphones. This feature is pretty cool but it is a hit or miss in terms of it actually working. Sometimes it requires a second and third swipe in order for the Simple Pay UI to be launched.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Wrap-up</span></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZZiFxuhObeUcBw6SfDOkKPO4pAs6GLH1QEE5yVqwRAREjAbbDyk3CX6bGZ5IJSreSzssQIOdaEpLaEEnuLxDH0tgUn-c1WPmHJd8Et1zpvNX5HLGfGstwnBnUY6w8yg2y2JT9EUHoy97/s1600/samsung-pay-review-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZZiFxuhObeUcBw6SfDOkKPO4pAs6GLH1QEE5yVqwRAREjAbbDyk3CX6bGZ5IJSreSzssQIOdaEpLaEEnuLxDH0tgUn-c1WPmHJd8Et1zpvNX5HLGfGstwnBnUY6w8yg2y2JT9EUHoy97/s1600/samsung-pay-review-4.JPG" /></a><br />
Putting the battery explosion fiasco that has been plaguing the Galaxy Note7 for the last couple of weeks, Samsung Pay is an amazing payment platform in all aspects. Initially, I was considering switching over to an iPhone 7 when more Note7 explosion cases started to crop up but ultimately, I decided to stay with the Note7 and one of my deciding factors was Samsung Pay.<br />
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My motivation to try out Samsung Pay was mostly fueled by Samsung's special offer where they are offering US$ 20 for the first Samsung Pay purchase and an additional $5 for refferal(s). Given that, Samsung Pay supports MST transactions, I have yet to come across a store that accepts credit cards and does not accept Samsung Pay. I would say that in the United States, Samsung Pay can be used in virtually everywhere.<br />
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Honestly speaking, Samsung Pay has made life a little easier for me. But I still carry around my wallet mostly because of my identification card and to carry some backup cash. Speaking of making life easier, Samsung Pay is still fairly new and compared to Apple Pay, Samsung's bank support is still pretty small. Right now it only supports my BofA card.<br />
<br />
In it's current state, Samsung Pay is already very useful. But if there was something that Samsung could improve on is including support for making in-app and website purchases with Samsung Pay just like what Apple and Google are doing with their payment platform. Also, I would love to see the option to use Samsung Pay to withdraw cash from an ATM. That would be so cool.<br />
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Having tried both Android Pay and Samsung Pay, I can definitely say I love Samsung Pay more because it is far more accessible. If you do have the opportunity to try out Samsung Pay, I would definitely recommend to give it a try. There's no harm giving it a try and who know's, you might end up loving it like me.<br />
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<h2>
<i>Insider Talk</i></h2>
I think, I am going for a two week article release cycle for the rest of the year. My schedule as of lately has been pretty busy. But anyways, I initially targeted this review to be released after my first week of using Samsung Pay but school life has gotten the best of me and thus this review was delayed.<br />
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Right now, I am targeting to get the Galaxy Note7 review up by the end of October. Waiting to see what Google has with their Pixel phones and how the LG V20 compares. So, far I am liking the Galaxy Note7 but I am a little bit disappointing about the constant overheating and slow performance.<br />
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Till the next time<br />
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">--dw</span></i></div>
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dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com1Tempe, AZ, USA33.4255104 -111.9400054000000233.2133904 -112.26272890000001 33.6376304 -111.61728190000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-58397663321416501182016-09-04T21:53:00.001-07:002016-09-04T21:53:16.705-07:00Talking about dbrand's customer service<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
third time's the charm?</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYzb2B4pFBmmdWXZaAt9MKb_8VIV3W3GB-Brzcfo2o2hNGWYlZULIDO7bt87DzJKl7q3OHDjKhprrCcwbzfM-QyOyO-bD27HB6aeEf855WWhYsN0i7u8CVzzpzkB7l__alfS1EtzQaNON/s1600/SAM_6151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYzb2B4pFBmmdWXZaAt9MKb_8VIV3W3GB-Brzcfo2o2hNGWYlZULIDO7bt87DzJKl7q3OHDjKhprrCcwbzfM-QyOyO-bD27HB6aeEf855WWhYsN0i7u8CVzzpzkB7l__alfS1EtzQaNON/s1600/SAM_6151.JPG" /></a></div>
dbrand makes one of the best skins for tech related items, there's no denying that but (in my opinion) their customer service needs to be improved. As of today, I have bought their skins for three times (all three during their storewide sale. <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/05/skinning-surface-pro-4-dbrand.html" target="_blank">bamboo</a>, <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/07/dbrand-concrete-skin-review.html" target="_blank">concrete</a> and hyperblack skin launches). During the first time, everything went pretty smoothly but the second time was a complete nightmare. Not only did I have to wait nearly three weeks to receive my skin but one of my skin ended up being wrongly cut.<br />
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To a certain degree, dbrand's customer service is good in the sense that it is systematic but depending on your mood, their "robots" can either be a humorous thing or be something that ticks you off especially when you are trying to get a legitimate response from them about a problem. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0mFfGsp4RqzRQqDhiLMErjYhAXHlPspIaeqxefCIB10NQtS-BoS8ocPEacrsCR50ANT9jcIgkj-SsPm3E_9IoNt4hH2Xpi9Rge8KRO-s3TKtMhkzste_o0eYQvTWIoG707u-Z9VHjIZn/s1600/dbrand-robot-human.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0mFfGsp4RqzRQqDhiLMErjYhAXHlPspIaeqxefCIB10NQtS-BoS8ocPEacrsCR50ANT9jcIgkj-SsPm3E_9IoNt4hH2Xpi9Rge8KRO-s3TKtMhkzste_o0eYQvTWIoG707u-Z9VHjIZn/s1600/dbrand-robot-human.PNG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">being treated as a human being</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">My story</span></h2>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
So, here's what my story is all about. Back in June, I ordered a set of dbrand concrete skins when they had a storewide sale. But I ended up (only) receiving the skin nearly three weeks later and while I was already a little disappointed about the delay, what came to me next created more frustration. The cutout for my Surface Pro 4 Microsoft logo was oversized. Initially I tried doing a little DIY work with an x-acto knife but I gave up after failing to get a clean cut. </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: left;">
<b>Read more</b>: <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/07/dbrand-concrete-skin-review.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">dbrand concrete skin review - an alternative to carbon fiber</span></a></blockquote>
After that, I decided to contact dbrand to express my concern about the over-sized skin that they sent me. Two days later, I received a reply from dbrand and they said that the over-sized skin that I receive "<i>it's a rare occurrence, sometimes we (do) make errors during fulfillment</i>". They re-assured to me that a new set of skins that is the right size will be sent to me at no extra charge.<br />
<br />
The following week, I received a new set of skins and out of luck, the skins ended up being over-sized yet again. Once again, I contacted dbrand and sent them the following set of photos to show that the skins are still over-sized. Additionally, I did notice that the newer set of skins that I received was the exact same size as the first one that was over-sized. At that point, I had a hunch that they might have gotten the measurements wrong, so I told them about it in my email response.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaCrFBfrfxmnyfFfCFB74d7bUo-60Hh9rZ1VlcIj3xuzsFVb2Uv8yvZdWztXTrsaPsxTuecniGS2pHGe59TPJDoF0XaKQUtaBumqZPvVHne1LuV8_U1VOzi3pJqQ7fWI_KDoi6BmpnKlc/s1600/dbrand-concrete-msft-logo-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaCrFBfrfxmnyfFfCFB74d7bUo-60Hh9rZ1VlcIj3xuzsFVb2Uv8yvZdWztXTrsaPsxTuecniGS2pHGe59TPJDoF0XaKQUtaBumqZPvVHne1LuV8_U1VOzi3pJqQ7fWI_KDoi6BmpnKlc/s1600/dbrand-concrete-msft-logo-2.JPG" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnkMs7DcPsU-D37KO-PT3lZhWwcRPy-9bJVLgjRwFMA8aP0_t9UVRb-2944aObGxSFiGaCWWRmus6nGJi-RD3UixIzRr83YoQVVZFxN_pgRAXqtBpR91zuMNm-go3yVZQcz2YwroZuQqHs/s1600/dbrand-concrete-msft-logo-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnkMs7DcPsU-D37KO-PT3lZhWwcRPy-9bJVLgjRwFMA8aP0_t9UVRb-2944aObGxSFiGaCWWRmus6nGJi-RD3UixIzRr83YoQVVZFxN_pgRAXqtBpR91zuMNm-go3yVZQcz2YwroZuQqHs/s1600/dbrand-concrete-msft-logo-3.JPG" /></a></div>
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After sending out that email, I waited 2 days before getting feedback from them. My first form of feedback from dbrand about the over-sized skin was a refund invoice from PayPal. Only a couple hours later that I officially received a response from them that they suspect that their machine might have been calibrated wrongly which would explain why the measurements were wrong.<br />
<br />
Other than the refund invoice from PayPal, dbrand never issued me a message stating that they were regretful of the inconveniences that I was facing and that they will be refunding the full price that I paid for the skin(s) in that order. If dbrand is really committed to the persona of a robot then their email replies are a perfect representation.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSTX_KFhIcrY4S-HRL8zl3kb6wsHHSqE-Vhf5qeWhQWob56S9ipsynMQ93K9AIKICFHfVTVCNEgq1lKTv0MmHri_Y6VLURx1ZF592_4AIQkx5_-BhqB_LmAj_n-9lmrMu2goCm8QAO4dX/s1600/dbrand-paypal-refund.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSTX_KFhIcrY4S-HRL8zl3kb6wsHHSqE-Vhf5qeWhQWob56S9ipsynMQ93K9AIKICFHfVTVCNEgq1lKTv0MmHri_Y6VLURx1ZF592_4AIQkx5_-BhqB_LmAj_n-9lmrMu2goCm8QAO4dX/s1600/dbrand-paypal-refund.png" /></a><br />
In about a week, I received yet another replacement which will supposedly justify their tagline of "the most precise fit on earth". I can tell you that I was so determined that the skin will end up fitting perfectly but the truth is that the new set of skins from dbrand ended up being over-sized yet again.<br />
<br />
At the end of the day, I just gave up at the third time because it was such a hassle to just tell them once again. Also, I feel a little indignant to them since they refunded the money I paid for the skins. But anyways, I ended up getting the skin to the right size with the help of an x-acto knife. It's not perfect by any means but it should do the trick.<br />
<br />
Personally, I am a little skeptical as to why the skins ended up being over-size three times in a row. I doubt it has anything to do with the calibration of their machine. But then again, the dbrand bamboo skins that I received earlier this year was a perfect fit.<br />
<br />
<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Wrap-up</span></div>
</h2>
<div>
But bottom line, dbrand has a pretty solid customer service if you can close one eye about their robots and human relationship. Over the course of 6 weeks, their robots provided me a response in approximately 2 days (which is pretty consistent) and the full refund shows that they are committed to providing customers with the best experience possible.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Read more:</b> <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/07/amazon-customer-service-experience.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">experiencing amazon's a+ customer service</span></a></blockquote>
While their customer service is decent, I wouldn't say it's the best thing out there. My personal favorite is still Amazon's customer service which is so much quicker compared to dbrand's 48 hour response time. Waiting up to 2 days for a response is not a bad thing but given that they are quoting that fulfillment errors rarely happen but I would like to see the option to contact them directly via a live chat or phone call.<br />
<br />
Another thing is that, I hope that dbrand can work to improve their logistics and performance in the future. Especially when they plan to have a massive storewide sale. I actually got myself another set of dbrand Microsoft logo skins a couple days back during their storewide sale for the return of the hyperblack skins and I am definitely hoping that I get it in a timely manner and that the skins will be the right size.<br />
<br />
I am a little skeptical about how dbrand actually manufacturers their skins. Being hopeful that someone will do a video or feature article about it. </div>
</div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfJVUZRqHQH2R9BBlxXkdysLIPFlugUgkgcXOZ3MbTXuP7ztAcQnq1bl2icFKo3E3-5TKKs6g7T5b0Lu9nctwpKryN5wFV9RLaxN8UNqbsLcrZU2_qPuvs0EziJrsUyAc9IblyIGwbBKRD/s1600/dbrand-support-email-thread.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfJVUZRqHQH2R9BBlxXkdysLIPFlugUgkgcXOZ3MbTXuP7ztAcQnq1bl2icFKo3E3-5TKKs6g7T5b0Lu9nctwpKryN5wFV9RLaxN8UNqbsLcrZU2_qPuvs0EziJrsUyAc9IblyIGwbBKRD/s1600/dbrand-support-email-thread.png" /></a></div>
<div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Insider Talk</i></h2>
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<div>
I swore that I would never bought another dbrand skin when they had a sale but I just could not resist it as I recently got the Note7 and I was thinking of styling it with a skin. Hopefully, dbrand has one-upped their skin-manufacturing performance since the last time they had a storewide sale.<br />
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This article was supposed to come right after the Amazon customer service review but I just couldn't cope with my real-life schedule in the last couple of weeks. Hoping to get more articles out in the remaining of the year. I have got a list of things to write about it's just that I don't have the time to write them.<br />
<br />
The next article will hopefull be my review of Samsung Pay.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>dw</i></div>
</div>
</div>
dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com1Tempe, AZ, USA33.4255104 -111.9400054000000233.2133904 -112.26272890000001 33.6376304 -111.61728190000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-76992986159637096072016-08-19T22:18:00.001-07:002016-08-19T22:18:14.247-07:00Samsung Galaxy Note7 - First look<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Switching galaxies</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3um2XuPxW_xztv0bSigpSZ78R6nPwc8KA8Kau-5C75PSz4csWsYn7Ujt92AQMXPWzvveX8tK2XCI7N_HQwoPLyQJPgOAzfHDLby70odQEvYHobBq46HwkuIBUjY4UQDKkdDE814d_UXN/s1600/galaxy-note7-first-look-6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3um2XuPxW_xztv0bSigpSZ78R6nPwc8KA8Kau-5C75PSz4csWsYn7Ujt92AQMXPWzvveX8tK2XCI7N_HQwoPLyQJPgOAzfHDLby70odQEvYHobBq46HwkuIBUjY4UQDKkdDE814d_UXN/s1600/galaxy-note7-first-look-6.JPG" /></a></div>
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Samsung's new Galaxy Note7 is now <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.com/2016/08/samsung-galaxy-note7-launch.html" target="_blank">available</a> in 10 countries and the availability for several other regions have been pushed back due an apparent "high demand" for the Note7. Thankfully, I pre-ordered one several weeks back and I received my unit in the mail yesterday and since then I have been playing around with it quite extensively.</div>
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This article will serve as my experience of using the Note7 from 100% down to just 15%. And as you can see in the picture above, at about 3pm this afternoon, my battery has already gone down to 15%. Essentially, I managed to get about 4 hours of screen on time which is pretty decent. The standby time last night in the other was pretty good as the Note7 only lost 4% of battery. Charging in the other hand was quick and I like that Samsung provided a USB-C to microUSB adapter in the box<br />
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Moving on to my actual experience of using the phone, for the most part I got used to the Note7 pretty quickly. Mind you that for the last two years, I have been using small phones and going back to to a phone with a 5.7-inch display did feel a little daunting at first. The biggest (personal) problem that I am facing is to type with one hand and getting used to Samsung's back key that is located on the right side of the device.<br />
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Samsung Galaxy Note7 Key Specifications:</h2>
— 5.7-inch 2560 x 1440 sAMOLED display<br />
— 64-bit octa core Exynos 8893 or Snapdragon 820 SoC<br />
— 4GB RAM<br />
— 64GB expandable memory<br />
— 12MP f1.7 Dual pixel rear camera with OIS<br />
— 5MP f1.7 front camera<br />
— IP68 certification<br />
— 3,500mAh battery with wireless charging<br />
— 153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9gmm (168g)<br />
— LTE<br />
— Black Onyx, Silver Titanium, Blue Coral, Gold</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqAJ8MZLqfkRbxr4BkdOCISZMWvO_1dIH6P4KGlTntDZATcjlC0wAurCJdoV5I_uyjRmNc_iEnygwsHzB0nuC4K9wqa8we-KYGua0ubOXiIPURCplGqF_1IUHojEwlXXK2NYUu0HeXnvB/s1600/galaxy-note7-first-look-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqAJ8MZLqfkRbxr4BkdOCISZMWvO_1dIH6P4KGlTntDZATcjlC0wAurCJdoV5I_uyjRmNc_iEnygwsHzB0nuC4K9wqa8we-KYGua0ubOXiIPURCplGqF_1IUHojEwlXXK2NYUu0HeXnvB/s1600/galaxy-note7-first-look-1.JPG" /></a><br />
In addition to that, another thing that I am still getting used to is the curved screen which comes standard on the Note7. I would've preferred a flat screen because each curve is another point of failure. But for the most part, the curved display does give that illusion of a bezel-less display and it is a cool feature to show to my iPhone friends.<br />
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<b>What's next for Samsung?</b> — <i>"Arguably Samsung has chosen the right path to innovate from the ground up with higher quality materials and innovating closely to Apple's terms meaning that not every year will we be able to see flashy new flagship devices with a radically improved feature set across the board. But the important thing is the they have taken the first step out of." <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/08/whats-next-for-samsung.html">Continue reading.</a></i></blockquote>
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One of the problems that I encountered with the edge screen is the skill to swipe the app sidebars out and activating the edge UX. This problem is more of a problem for lefties like me because app sidebars are located on the left side and I am used to just swiping the sidebar from a specific position and I also ended up putting the edge panel handle for the edge UX on that particular point. I was mostly accidentally swiping out the edge screen when I am trying to get to the app sidebar.<br />
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Another problem I have with the edge screen is when I am using Outlook or Gmail. 9 out of 10 time that I intend to swipe the app sidebar to browse different email folders, I end up just archiving a message with the swipe. Not a major problem by any means but I'll probably need some time to get used to it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAlNOkocgAqSNETRKWWooJUj4kYChdRZUyCYJ_vGGZsjuUaJvBwppU9hL6joGxFB2t27EEVM-j5hammA_A6YfQzwdwm1Rxbq2qvn9KGY1BwHc4mPCKCgKi2HzbVPffQkOXWtCc74G1ysBV/s1600/galaxy-note7-first-look-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAlNOkocgAqSNETRKWWooJUj4kYChdRZUyCYJ_vGGZsjuUaJvBwppU9hL6joGxFB2t27EEVM-j5hammA_A6YfQzwdwm1Rxbq2qvn9KGY1BwHc4mPCKCgKi2HzbVPffQkOXWtCc74G1ysBV/s1600/galaxy-note7-first-look-5.JPG" /></a><br />
Moving on to the next micro-problem that I have with the Note7 and this is the Samsung software. At some point, I was close to switching back to Nova Launcher but then I persisted on. By no means do I like Samsung's TouchWiz launcher but I am determined to give it a try before switching back to <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher&hl=en" target="_blank">Nova Launcher</a>. Who knows, I might end up liking it?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLgRIehmNoNbe6Fs6QXxTB9yHRG8ZiJvbXKXxuqBFKE5_8UcRxQpmHO329Y9AGHiNvthdgDh0a3JhUaMjT-ZLaGJS9wj1mms4m_r2-zAK7TIHiMF5B_uQ0QdOvtTNXoutx5ooaaTEIXat/s1600/2016-08-19+13.46.43.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLgRIehmNoNbe6Fs6QXxTB9yHRG8ZiJvbXKXxuqBFKE5_8UcRxQpmHO329Y9AGHiNvthdgDh0a3JhUaMjT-ZLaGJS9wj1mms4m_r2-zAK7TIHiMF5B_uQ0QdOvtTNXoutx5ooaaTEIXat/s400/2016-08-19+13.46.43.png" width="365" /></a></div>
Anyways, one of the oddities with the Samsung launcher on the Note7 is Samsung Themes. I have always thought that Samsung Themes was like an app store but as I soon found out, it is actually a system level menu for configuring wallpapers and icons.<br />
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The stock icons that came with the Note7 looked horrible because it had like this bubble around app icons which is designed to make app icons blend in with each other in the home screen and app drawer. Initially I thought the icons were meant to look like that, so I installed another icon pack. But after fumbling about in the settings menu, I found out there is actually a way to disable the borders around the app icons.<br />
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Another thing that I am a little bugged about the stock Samsung theme is that they really need to have like a dark theme. But that is easily fixed with third party themes on the Samsung Theme store but I would definitely like to see Samsung add a stock dark or black theme option.<br />
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Bad stuff aside, there is actually something about Samsung's TouchWiz software that I really liked. And that is the lockscreen, specifically, the lockscreen wallpaper which changes in color depending on the angle the phone is tilted. This only works for the stock Note7 wallpaper but it is a cool thing nevertheless.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8u0h0UQKHzFx7xjoBbDbsMv_de739n5hLGih_uGCvQHFZu3LOo0HLDRUWBesWvE8VQT_blXTDpL_6NklBjnviCBtGQiPzVyLqDgb1uDBo5lXgQoHw2b07BkI2O_aGnOgOp2EBxGYgNSeT/s1600/galaxy-note7-first-look-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8u0h0UQKHzFx7xjoBbDbsMv_de739n5hLGih_uGCvQHFZu3LOo0HLDRUWBesWvE8VQT_blXTDpL_6NklBjnviCBtGQiPzVyLqDgb1uDBo5lXgQoHw2b07BkI2O_aGnOgOp2EBxGYgNSeT/s1600/galaxy-note7-first-look-2.JPG" /></a></div>
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Next up is the hardware of the device. As you might have noticed, I got the Blue Coral Note7 which is the latest color option from Samsung. Think of it as the Rose Gold iPhone 6S of the Samsung world. In person, the Blue Coral Note7 looks as stunning as it is in pictures. I didn't actually have the opportunity to see the Blue Coral Note7 in person because the stores I visited only had the black and silver models. So, when I opened the box yesterday, it was my first actual look at the color option.</div>
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This color option definitely looks much better than Samsung's first attempt to put blue glass on a phone with the Blue Topaz <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/03/samsung-announces-the-galaxy-s6-and-galaxy-s6-edge-in-mwc-2015.html" target="_blank">Galaxy S6</a>. The interesting thing about the Blue Coral Note7 is that the aluminum frame looks like a shade of rose gold. And just like the back of the device, the frame has a different color tone depending on which angle you look at it. </div>
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As you can see in the pictures above and below, different lighting conditions will make the phone look slightly different. And yeah, the Galaxy Note7 is IP68 dust and water resistant so I had a little fun at the faucet. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg174Ct65kmOpy4YmpzVCX_zVhfZGcK42hfQ9I6cK7ql3hDE02KvuX7zWl_kZrVpZ4Q90nKXxF8rEQ_bTutxfNxXI0iT4drA3pzmFk4ois6XETZkojwXLFUrOX2EFjDMvzyy0NQ2WDu6vcW/s1600/galaxy-note7-first-look-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg174Ct65kmOpy4YmpzVCX_zVhfZGcK42hfQ9I6cK7ql3hDE02KvuX7zWl_kZrVpZ4Q90nKXxF8rEQ_bTutxfNxXI0iT4drA3pzmFk4ois6XETZkojwXLFUrOX2EFjDMvzyy0NQ2WDu6vcW/s1600/galaxy-note7-first-look-3.JPG" /></a></div>
The last thing I'm going to talk about is the fingerprint scanning home button of the Note7. This is actually the first time that I am using a fingerprint scanner on a phone and the experience so far has been pretty good. The fingerprint scanner is quite accurate for the most part but it doesn't seem to work with the presence of liquid.<br />
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That is where the Iris Scanner comes in. The Iris Scanner is one of the key features of the Note7 and based on my experience with Windows Hello (AKA facial recognition) on the <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/05/microsoft-surface-pro-4-review.html" target="_blank">Surface Pro 4</a>, I was a little skeptical about how effective the Iris Scanner on the Note7 will be. As for the actual performance, the Iris Scanner on the Note7 has yet to fail me. yet.<br />
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Additionally, I like the fact that Samsung allows both the Iris Scanner and Fingerprint sensor to be used as an authentication option at the same time. Another nice thing that Samsung has put on the software is that after two failed tries of the fingerprint sensor, the Iris Scanner will automatically be put into action. It's these kind of small things that make the experience better.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWy4065OzhMmSesUO5iUlcrx5loOm-H-RG4er7TR7wxYhrYw6tPtGk3cy15zFuPDnYJxHtlqBxXScppHVsU0UXXXu9CwedZGFzoAmB3HgWh_asjN6Gf37qSpkkYe1eU7QpjlNkvfaV1dj/s1600/galaxy-note7-first-look-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibWy4065OzhMmSesUO5iUlcrx5loOm-H-RG4er7TR7wxYhrYw6tPtGk3cy15zFuPDnYJxHtlqBxXScppHVsU0UXXXu9CwedZGFzoAmB3HgWh_asjN6Gf37qSpkkYe1eU7QpjlNkvfaV1dj/s1600/galaxy-note7-first-look-4.JPG" /></a></div>
And that is about if for me right now. I will have more to add on about the Note7 once I get more time with it and basically right now, everything about the Note7 is good for me. Even the bottom firing speakers that reviewers say to be not good is excellent for me. That's because I have been using cheap phones for too damn long.<br />
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I didn't actually use the S Pen today so I will probably do a follow up article about using the new Note7's S Pen which doesn't go in the slot backwards. #pengate<br />
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And the last thing I have to say is a little rant about two things regarding the Note7. The first is like a PSA to all publishers and people online, the official nomenclature for the Galaxy <b>Note7</b> is like that. Notice the lack of a space between the words Note and 7. Samsung started rolling out this new nomenclature with the Note5 last year but interestingly, many sites are sticking with Galaxy Note 7. I am just a little bugged out about this matter but it's not like a big thing. </div>
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Another thing is the pricing for the Note7. A lot of people are calling the Galaxy Note7 as Samsung's most expensive smartphone and that's fine by me but some are also calling it overpriced. Sure, the phone is the priciest device Samsung had ever made but at $850, it is actually the <a href="http://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone6s#01,20,33" target="_blank">same price</a> as the same tiered iPhone 6S Plus.</div>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Insider talk</i></h2>
The title of this article is a little misleading in a sense because this is not my first look at the device, rather it is like my third look. I played around with the Note7 at the Verizon Store and BestBuy a couple weeks back pretty extensively but that was only the black and silver models. The store didn't display the blue coral model which was the one I decided to get.<br />
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Right now, I am not planning to do a full review of the Note7 because I have a couple of articles to finish up like one about dbrand and another about Amazon. I have to admit that the <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/08/olympic-comeback-rio-2016.html" target="_blank">last</a> article was pretty rushed actually. But, the weekly article rollout will be back beginning next week, hopefully.</div>
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dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com2Tempe, AZ, USA33.4255104 -111.9400054000000233.2133904 -112.26272890000001 33.6376304 -111.61728190000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-22177382220917806462016-08-13T17:57:00.000-07:002016-08-13T17:57:10.347-07:00Olympic Comeback<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVGJRr4KfKLqs6A-DLyU8di80BYXWer0mZpJ9YZOpwa4Btavf6LXTov-LpbwJOw2uKfH_-tieuIfdB1dfwD1v1AYNjTbcdj3cKpTXxB37TZpIbv9EzG-totBGeE-42rHELRcx3FKVB3Xq/s1600/rio-2016-olympics-rings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVGJRr4KfKLqs6A-DLyU8di80BYXWer0mZpJ9YZOpwa4Btavf6LXTov-LpbwJOw2uKfH_-tieuIfdB1dfwD1v1AYNjTbcdj3cKpTXxB37TZpIbv9EzG-totBGeE-42rHELRcx3FKVB3Xq/s1600/rio-2016-olympics-rings.jpg" /></a></div>
The Summer Olympics come once every 4 years and in the tech world, 4 years is a long...long time. That's because technological innovation is always moving at a fast pace and slowing down is not an option. In the case of this year's Rio Olympics which have officially started last Friday, a lot of things have changed since the last Summer Olympics was held in London.<br />
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Back when that happened in 2012, our site just started off as a new tech blog and my experience with mobile technology has just begun. Today's article will serve as a review of what are the big things that have been happening in the last 4 years and how the technology industry has changed.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>My biggest memory of the 2012 London Summer Olympics has got to be the special edition <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2012/07/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-2012-summer.html" target="_blank">Galaxy S III</a> and Galaxy Note smartphones which look plain when compared to the <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.com/2016/07/samsungs-galaxy-s7-edge-is-official.html" target="_blank">Olympic edition</a> Galaxy S7 edge that Samsung is offering to athletes and fans this year. Both the Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note have since then matured into bigger and better smartphones.<br />
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For example, the Galaxy Note7 which was <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/08/samsung-galaxy-note7-launch.html" target="_blank">announced</a> last week is a big leap forward in terms of design and hardware compared to the original 5.3-inch Galaxy Note.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWIarj7BWqzV817vOpRwTB78RFFEEpU_KNkArDtanTP4I-QT8rY7l8uPY1v0PQqj0wISnnOHI0oUnUVGleiG7ef_2QrcxYeQarz0ABkr495JMS0AZ8mFr0pGLars7MutfYVqJw2IV4KPM/s1600/galaxy-s7-edge-olympic-rio-edition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWIarj7BWqzV817vOpRwTB78RFFEEpU_KNkArDtanTP4I-QT8rY7l8uPY1v0PQqj0wISnnOHI0oUnUVGleiG7ef_2QrcxYeQarz0ABkr495JMS0AZ8mFr0pGLars7MutfYVqJw2IV4KPM/s1600/galaxy-s7-edge-olympic-rio-edition.jpg" /></a></div>
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Back in 2012, the hottest games were like Temple Run and Jetpack Joyride. And today, those games still exist on a wide range of platforms and are still decent games to burn time. But the trend for the last couple of weeks has been all about Pokémon Go. In a lot of ways, the arrival of the <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.com/2016/07/nintendos-pokemon-go-game-for-ios-and.html" target="_blank">Pokémon Go</a> game is much bigger than the likes of Temple Run and Jetpack Joyride as it became an overnight sensation when it was first announced.<br />
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Plus the fact that it was only available in a couple of countries at launch makes it a more impressive feat. My guess is that the game will soon become like what Jetpack Joyride and Temple run ended up being, a game for only the hardcore fans. Pokémon Go does have the potential to become more popular over long periods due to it's challenge-centric game model.<br />
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Moving on to the computer hardware, today we have the <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.com/2016/07/nvidia-titan-x-pascal.html" target="_blank">GTX Titan X</a> which is based off Nvidia's long awaited Pascal architecture. I can still remember that back in 2012, I was reporting about Nvidia's roadmap for a small GPU that packed a punch and 4 years down the road, Pascal is now a reality. The GTX 680/690 and Radeon R7970 from yesteryear have met their match due to the demand for better experiences which included 4K and VR experiences.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPk63U3Vs57rW3D7Xb9HaiHmkc_CphlxC2yMeRN9-mJzuyBRleiIFp3URGz8uyAJ0qjH6xy84E0ggsLLzsPshCjvj9w6JDvB01-xXKgVd5GJJmQk3QSGMp-QRobKpAb8p6DcbRB6cfEEl_/s1600/Lumia-1020-Infographic2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPk63U3Vs57rW3D7Xb9HaiHmkc_CphlxC2yMeRN9-mJzuyBRleiIFp3URGz8uyAJ0qjH6xy84E0ggsLLzsPshCjvj9w6JDvB01-xXKgVd5GJJmQk3QSGMp-QRobKpAb8p6DcbRB6cfEEl_/s1600/Lumia-1020-Infographic2.png" /></a></div>
I have not much more to say about the graphics card and desktop processor market because I have evidently lost my enthusiasm for computer hardware. But my focus has shifted to mobile technology and one of the biggest rumors in 2012 was the idea of the <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2012/04/lumia-pureview.html" target="_blank">Lumia pureview</a>. Back in 2012, the 808 Pureview was a revolutionary device and a lot of people were betting on Nokia to bring that 41MP sensor to the Windows Phone platform.<br />
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Nokia did eventually bring their Pureview technology to a modern smartphone but it was in the form of an 8.7MP optically stabilized sensor on the <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2012/09/nokia-lumia-920.html" target="_blank">Lumia 920</a>. And if you have been keeping up with Nokia/Lumia news, you would know that a year after the Lumia 920 was announced, Nokia finally released the unicorn phone, the <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.my/2013/07/Lumia1020thoughts.html" target="_blank">Lumia 1020</a> with a 41MP camera. The phone itself was actually heavily leaked on the internet before it's formal announcement.<br />
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<b>I bought the Lumia 1020 in 2015</b> — <i>"the Lumia 1020 was like a dream phone. With 2GB of RAM paired with the 41MP optically stabilized camera with Zeiss optics, the Lumia 1020 was on top of the world when it comes to smartphone photography. But it being a flagship phone, the price for 41 megapixels on a pocketable device did not come cheap." <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/12/i-bought-lumia-1020-in-2015.html">Continue reading.</a></i></blockquote>
In the world where picture quality dwarfs the megapixel size, the <a href="http://www.windowscentral.com/nokia-mclaren-review" target="_blank">successor</a> of the Lumia 1020 (dubbed <a href="http://www.windowscentral.com/nokia-mclaren-review" target="_blank">McLaren</a>) was cleared of it's existence once Microsoft bought over Nokia's phone division. Around the same time, Microsoft announced that they will be acquiring Nokia's phone business as well as several key experiences from Nokia like the Lumia brand. The rest as you know is history and the change in Microsoft's leadership from Ballmer to Nadella prompted Microsoft to reverse the Nokia acquisition and sweep it under the rug like nothing has happened. <br />
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The Nokia Microsoft deal was never meant to be in my opinion. Microsoft's core business and company type is still categorized as a software company and that is why they have been working hard in the last few months to revert the Nokia acquisition. Fans of the Lumia brand are clearly not happy with what Microsoft is doing but as is, Microsoft is targeting their phones for business and less towards consumers. B2B over B2C.<br />
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Speaking of Nokia, there has been recent <a href="http://www.vtechgraphy.com/android/exclusive-news-nokia-will-release-4-new-phones-in-coming-6-months/" target="_blank">reports</a> confirming that Nokia will be making a comeback to the smartphone market in 2017 and their return will be an Android one. Nokia did make an android phone when Windows Phone was still the craze but that was just the Nokia X and Nokia X2 which were low end devices with poor software. Some people believe that Nokia's comeback with Android in 2017 is going to be big but I am personally a little skeptical about it.<br />
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That is because the people that made the Nokia phones from yesteryear have moved to Microsoft and has since then been disbanded into the wild to numerous different companies. Coupled with the fact that competition in the Android space today is very tough with great hardware from numerous companies, Nokia might not stand a chance with the battle between Samsung. It's hard to predict right now but Nokia does have the brand advantage that people might be willing to compromise on.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyc8AAw5E8Mcwh3SFvjMISUgMZmUMDZPr-o_Bv3qnQbV4c2p3j_Vifmbiuzaje11ZK_529ptilZ695lr-OPFd_86cNmXSjWlO7cMJxAUIYWLNT7_Ev2ibtUT0oY1XD0kCqdYuQ6Uu6o1SS/s1600/blackberry-priv-promo-slide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyc8AAw5E8Mcwh3SFvjMISUgMZmUMDZPr-o_Bv3qnQbV4c2p3j_Vifmbiuzaje11ZK_529ptilZ695lr-OPFd_86cNmXSjWlO7cMJxAUIYWLNT7_Ev2ibtUT0oY1XD0kCqdYuQ6Uu6o1SS/s1600/blackberry-priv-promo-slide.jpg" /></a></div>
That's the Nokia story and back in 2012, people on the internet not only proclaimed that Nokia and Windows Phone were destined to fail miserably but another company was also doomed and that was BlackBerry (formerly known as Research in Motion). Since then, BlackBerry 10 has came out and the launch was not so successful but their efforts didn't go to waste as the launch of BB10 sent a strong message to BlackBerry that a secure proprietary operating system is not the what the market wants.<br />
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In a way, the somewhat lackluster launch of BB10 gave us the BlackBerry that we know today. A company that is open to change and people can now enjoy the best of BlackBerry on a modern operating system (Android). This also serves as a proof that things are not as bad as they look. BlackBerry managed to not file for bakruptcy even after the failed launch of BB10.<br />
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And finally, we have Apple. The Cupertino based company is still the "innovative" company that made iPhone and iPads in 2012. In the last 4 years, Apple has made bigger iPhones and iPads, introduced a smaller Mac Pro and MacBook and also made a smartwatch that has a maximum price tag of US$ 17,000.<br />
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Some things however still remains the same. Apple is still giving the cold shoulder to Google and they are still battling out with Samsung. On the other hand, Samsung is still leading the way in the Android world but they did have some shortcomings with the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5. But since the Galaxy S6, the korean based company has regained the public interest as a premier android smartphone maker.<br />
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Of course, the smartphone world today is not all about iPhones and Galaxy phones. The spike in cheap and good smartphones have created a new category called the affordable flagship. Companies like OnePlus and Xiaomi in particular are excelling in this category and I am expecting bigger smartphone makers like Samsung and Apple to follow the affordable flagship trend in the future.<br />
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Till the next Olympics!</div>
dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-87866047663337367922016-07-31T08:46:00.002-07:002016-07-31T08:46:57.708-07:00dbrand concrete skin review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span id="goog_2052100886"></span><span id="goog_2052100887"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpkbcrGxvaro6lTb3AbcDPiuCCYQug5TSa-ADlEdmLt4keVm2jk2MGFPBCNQIQ34DYa54e6PV9UEtAEd9F3Q4paLrdVXUA1v6Scq9X94kO3rOMH8Umlyq4zSPXARtAO89LoQapNlsxchbf/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpkbcrGxvaro6lTb3AbcDPiuCCYQug5TSa-ADlEdmLt4keVm2jk2MGFPBCNQIQ34DYa54e6PV9UEtAEd9F3Q4paLrdVXUA1v6Scq9X94kO3rOMH8Umlyq4zSPXARtAO89LoQapNlsxchbf/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-10.JPG" /></a></div>
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A couple weeks back, dbrand unleashed their new skin <i>designed to make your device look like concrete</i>. Initially, I wasn't sold on the idea of the concrete skin because it kinda looked plain, but after seeing a few images of it on twitter, I was somewhat convinced that a concrete skin might just be what I need. The addition of a store-wide 30% discount made the purchase decision easier and after three weeks of patiently waiting, the concrete skin from dbrand finally arrived on my doorstep</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Skinning the Surface Pro 4</b> — <i>"If I were to score the installation on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the easiest. I would give it a 8/10 because the video instruction is pretty useful. It is also nice to know that the 3M paper dbrand is using can be easily removed without leaving any sticky spots behind." <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/05/skinning-surface-pro-4-dbrand.html">Continue reading.</a></i></blockquote>
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Compared to my <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/05/skinning-surface-pro-4-dbrand.html" target="_blank">previous experience</a> with the dbrand bamboo skin which took about a week and a half to arrive, the fulfilment this time around was truly slow. At some point, I thought that dbrand actually forgot my order because I was checking out twitter and a lot of people were boasting their new concrete skins. I had to contact dbrand through email twice to put my mind to ease. </div>
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The skin did eventually arrive but it comes at a time where I have lost my initial enthusiasm towards the concrete skin. I didn't feel the same excitement unwrapping the mailing envelope that contained my first dbrand skin. So, the question I will be answering today is whether the concrete skin is a solid deal or not?</div>
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<a name='more'></a><h2 style="text-align: left;">
Installing Concrete</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTGd6eoeP-nNgza-s-f7JUmY3bi2UE_MisypIsnTxVSzlgpCxG1ubSTTSFPVL8j6ieVBqeO_w5Er3KXMC6r-CH8FN4_L4Y1RXahFB17zRwOVVL_XB7Fz1Yq_gS2lqU-nX7mx6ltNf9U3I/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTGd6eoeP-nNgza-s-f7JUmY3bi2UE_MisypIsnTxVSzlgpCxG1ubSTTSFPVL8j6ieVBqeO_w5Er3KXMC6r-CH8FN4_L4Y1RXahFB17zRwOVVL_XB7Fz1Yq_gS2lqU-nX7mx6ltNf9U3I/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-02.JPG" /></a></div>
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Like before, installation was fairly simple with the video that dbrand has on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/dbrandSkins" target="_blank">YouTube</a>. The biggest obstacle this time around is actually removing the bamboo skin that I applied several months back. Admittedly, removing the skin is harder than it looks because the adhesive is so strong and it took me a while to even peel out the side of the skin. </div>
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At the same time, I also found out that the dbrand skin is actually a one time application kind of thing because after taking out the skin, the skin ended up being stretched and completely unusable. And as expected, there was no sticky residue left behind after taking off the skin because dbrand is using genuine 3M vinyl. </div>
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Moving on to the actual installation of my dbrand concrete skin on my Surface Pro 4, the installation was a breeze mainly because I did it before and while I have done it before, I did fire up the dbrand video to prevent any mistakes. Overall, I think I did a better job in aligning the skin this time around. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kA8SEXSroZFK_xphtH_fGYAwKkel8whxmuPVlY_lRyWhE46HUhRdr7259aJwr3S53ebG-FSxrYdY3iQUg3v_aC7Mp93koC491mibY8hMpMC5AygFgL4ESo1YDodygczP7lJA10JmhQ9P/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kA8SEXSroZFK_xphtH_fGYAwKkel8whxmuPVlY_lRyWhE46HUhRdr7259aJwr3S53ebG-FSxrYdY3iQUg3v_aC7Mp93koC491mibY8hMpMC5AygFgL4ESo1YDodygczP7lJA10JmhQ9P/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-04.JPG" /></a></div>
After dealing with the top portion, the next thing was to apply the concrete Microsoft logo. Since, I wasn't planning to replace the carbon fiber skin on the bottom half of the device, taking out the existing bamboo skin looked like a challenge. At first, I was scratching my head a little thinking as to how I was supposed to take out these 4 bamboo boxes.<br />
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Then it occurred to me that there was a slight spacing between the actual skin and the corner of each box. Back when I was applying the bamboo skin, I did notice that millimeter thin spacing between the edge of the box and I thought it was because the cut was not that precise. But as it turns out, this is actually a pretty ingenious addition.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87Q0-s3-Dsf3yO3rmVDQmn0APzVy5DWxbwViQG2I-UcELgn8JPLqduPxlylkfd_fUEursRA646nmekY9oNSwG8CTfY9rMOHVmAB59n_ljOmWYkq02kdYE78aJZD4KEa-OvA5ZrEHkjUVY/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87Q0-s3-Dsf3yO3rmVDQmn0APzVy5DWxbwViQG2I-UcELgn8JPLqduPxlylkfd_fUEursRA646nmekY9oNSwG8CTfY9rMOHVmAB59n_ljOmWYkq02kdYE78aJZD4KEa-OvA5ZrEHkjUVY/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-05.JPG" /></a></div>
I may have found a way to peel out the skin but it was by no means easy. Just like the top half portion, these tiny square skins ended up being unusable and I finally understand why dbrand includes two sets of skins for the Microsoft logo portion, peeling them off includes tearing the edges off.<br />
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When it was time to apply the new concrete skin, I stumbled upon a big problem and that is that the concrete square is not cut to the right size. It is actually oversized compared to my bamboo skin (as you can see in the picture below). It was a slight error but it was easily fixed with a knife.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMvzE4M36fakHNtF5Q7vmbwGQlWskUF2hjs1N4ueeS-hxeh-xRGAB89RJxXVuLUo6aRwoir1m1xVhI2CSXS0uB6S0uxX1HYPIy2y9Z4pnQYuYtN5a0YuTNhBkGNjBu3qng6XRnuqtZ_mg/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMvzE4M36fakHNtF5Q7vmbwGQlWskUF2hjs1N4ueeS-hxeh-xRGAB89RJxXVuLUo6aRwoir1m1xVhI2CSXS0uB6S0uxX1HYPIy2y9Z4pnQYuYtN5a0YuTNhBkGNjBu3qng6XRnuqtZ_mg/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-06.JPG" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3UqbPFlGAfb7L6oD-PwfUVLS9JU3S7siEuE_fAWR-qLAOeo3fT6i3J6AUxgssIqDRoXTDq7iGiC5ovAjt8P4WT3j9zievBI-1NKKAOmzv1vRPWmykM74t_LsuNUXSby0EPp9uEZQL5prt/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-07.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3UqbPFlGAfb7L6oD-PwfUVLS9JU3S7siEuE_fAWR-qLAOeo3fT6i3J6AUxgssIqDRoXTDq7iGiC5ovAjt8P4WT3j9zievBI-1NKKAOmzv1vRPWmykM74t_LsuNUXSby0EPp9uEZQL5prt/s200/dbrand-concrete-review-07.JPG" width="179" /></a>After finishing up with the concrete skin on the Surface Pro 4, I moved my attention to applying the concrete skin on my Moto X. As before, I followed the video guide but I stumbled upon a problem at the first step. That is, the cutout for the microphone hole on the bottom of the device was missing. For a moment, it felt like I had to pop out the x-acto again to do a little DIY job but upon close inspection, I noticed that the hole for the microphone was there.<br />
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The hole for the microphone hole was punched onto the skin but the hole was not punched out. All I did after that was to pull out a pen and viola, the microphone hole now exists. The overall skin itself ended up fitting pretty flawlessly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhJ2OlDyxPYZb5a13-GEW5Ohj7v4YH7jsCZgbpOhWi-F-_VxXpS79_SlxZHN5uvLOad7HSd0_q6v2VLVu1CjXzRJw2-kUjAMbYaNkGd_KwqzMlbX98lBytIhbsn-jDjRyBUgzM8XT6ebp/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhJ2OlDyxPYZb5a13-GEW5Ohj7v4YH7jsCZgbpOhWi-F-_VxXpS79_SlxZHN5uvLOad7HSd0_q6v2VLVu1CjXzRJw2-kUjAMbYaNkGd_KwqzMlbX98lBytIhbsn-jDjRyBUgzM8XT6ebp/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-01.JPG" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Wrap-up</h2>
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When I was applying the dbrand concrete skin on the Moto X, I was touching the skin on the 3M paper and it literally felt like a smooth surface but after applying it, it did somehow feel a little rough and solid. Not sure if it's my mind playing games with me or what but it did feel a little rough in the hand and it certainly improved the aesthetics of my Moto X.<br />
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So, the million-dollar question about dbrand's concrete skin is whether it actually feels like concrete. Sadly, the answer is no as it is more of a aesthetic look rather than an functional design. I wasn't too disappointed with the skin because I didn't have high hopes for it to have a grippy feel after being applied. It is still after all just a thin vinyl wrap that is no thicker than the carbon fiber dbrand skin.<br />
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But, compared to an un-skinned phone, the dbrand concrete skin did add some level of roughness to my phone compared to a phone without a skin at all. At the end of the day, the concrete skin is still an aesthetic choice rather than a functional one and I think the best use for the concrete skin is as a theme color to blend with skin designs.<br />
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Would I buy it again? Probably, but I personally still think that dbrand's carbon fiber skin is still the best option in terms of functionality and looks. This is not the end, as you can see my microsoft logo dbrand skin is still vacant, that story is still a work in progress and it should be published sometime in August.<br />
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Check out some glamour shots of the dbrand concrete skin below. Tip: click the image to enlarge</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1j-FMAubPil1MGx6XufH1S24umTk7xPy8ohUIDApKXh0cQwhtpAZ_IL-0QITccwqr6qyHqlIEkjOQMnVggJXxUHb-uOs5YvB2hnr8TarXIHbm9BVVvMzEJmxdAIk6A9dLECX0jZ3nzlBD/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1j-FMAubPil1MGx6XufH1S24umTk7xPy8ohUIDApKXh0cQwhtpAZ_IL-0QITccwqr6qyHqlIEkjOQMnVggJXxUHb-uOs5YvB2hnr8TarXIHbm9BVVvMzEJmxdAIk6A9dLECX0jZ3nzlBD/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-12.JPG" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsQl8iSt8IUuwefyNAeiyKoRJmr0Fa-uB1Z-UQLTvtvvxeikjCj5VBSHBtGhIjIZta1mYirikiXEuZ-vE6OLiZX_8fYh2ViYVeV-OgaTunC5iADNY4YRsDn7PZ11rOHkciPwMwoueLzkM1/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsQl8iSt8IUuwefyNAeiyKoRJmr0Fa-uB1Z-UQLTvtvvxeikjCj5VBSHBtGhIjIZta1mYirikiXEuZ-vE6OLiZX_8fYh2ViYVeV-OgaTunC5iADNY4YRsDn7PZ11rOHkciPwMwoueLzkM1/s1600/dbrand-concrete-review-11.JPG" /></a></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Insider Talk</i></h2>
Phew, this article is finally done. I really didn't mean to delay this article but it did take a while for me to resolve the issue with the Microsoft logo cutout with dbrand. As I am publishing this article, I am still waiting for the replacement skins for dbrand to arrive and I am expecting to write a follow up article about that in the coming weeks.<br />
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<i>dw</i></div>
dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Sandwich, MA, USA41.7589615 -70.49393169999996241.5693165 -70.816655199999957 41.9486065 -70.171208199999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-32690105527792952232016-07-23T15:59:00.000-07:002016-07-23T15:59:14.084-07:00Experiencing Amazon's A+ customer service<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Online shopping is convenient when things work your way but occasionally, slip ups do happen. This is the second time that I have had problems with my online order. The first time was when I bought the Surface Pro 4 through Lazada which is the largest online store in Southeast Asia. You can read all about my experience from that <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.com/2015/12/my-experience-in-buying-surface-pro-4.html" target="_blank">here</a>. My story today revolves around the late delivery of my Amazon Prime order.<br />
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Contacting customer service has never been a good experience for me, mostly because talking to these company representatives are often a cumbersome experience because I always end the call with no useful information. To be honest, when I decided to call Amazon's customer service, I was expecting it to be a good experience since they are the parent company of Zappos which is an online shoe store based in America that is well known for their top notch customer service.<br />
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After contacting them, I can tell you that this is by far the best customer service I have come across.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Check out the video below about the story of Zappos' customer service.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ro9fKosqWwQ?start=80" width="798"></iframe><br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Backstory</h2>
Here is a short story to get you up to speed as to why I needed to contact Amazon's customer service. It starts with my purchase of a selfie stick sold by a third party company but fulfilled by Amazon. Since I had Amazon Prime, I opted for the 2 day delivery option and on the day my order was scheduled to arrive, I noticed that the Amazon packaged tracking site noted that my order was delayed.<br />
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My initial thought about the delay cause was because Amazon or UPS wanted to align the selfie stick with the delivery of my other purchase from the same order. But after my other purchase arrived the next day, I was a little skeptical about what happened to my selfie stick. Mind you that the tracking page did not offer any tracking information, it just states that I need to wait a little longer than expected for my package to arrive.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Contacting customer service</h2>
That uncertainty of Amazon's 'delayed' term prompted me to search for answers online. I ended up with a <a href="https://www.quora.com/What-does-Amazon-do-if-you-receive-your-Prime-package-late" target="_blank">quora answer</a> about chasing after Amazon if they fail to fulfill an Amazon Prime order. And that is what I decided to do, while the source did recommend to call Amazon's hotline for the best results, I opted for a live chat with an Amazon representative because at that time it was about 2am and I didn't feel like talking on the phone.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>There's three ways you can <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/contact-us" target="_blank">contact</a> Amazon's customer service</i></span><br />
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I was connected to the chat almost instantaneously after clicking the button for a live chat and the rep on the other side was able to contextually know which product I was referring to. I Wasn't required to look up for the order number so extra brownie points for that. The chat lasted about 10 minutes and the first suggestion that the rep gave me was to outright refund the order and re-order once again where Amazon will cover the 1-day shipping cost.<br />
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Doing that sounded like a hassle and the rep came back to me with a status from UPS and assured that my shipment will arrive on the next day and at the end, I came to the conclusion that this was just a regular delay by the US Postal Service.<br />
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Just before closing the chat, I went ahead and asked for a compensation and what I got was a 1 month Prime membership. Honestly, that extension didn't feel like much to me because I am still using the 6-month long Amazon Prime student trial that'll end in August. And given that a year of Amazon Prime Student costs $49, a 1 month extension is worth about $4. I would have liked if they reimbursed me with a $5 gift card but an extra month of Amazon Prime is also good.<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
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Success, a free month of Prime <a href="https://t.co/2Hbhqcwyrt">pic.twitter.com/2Hbhqcwyrt</a></div>
— dickwyn (@dickwyn) <a href="https://twitter.com/dickwyn/status/744775861128265728">June 20, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Customer service is legit <a href="https://t.co/M7AVdnWSAL">pic.twitter.com/M7AVdnWSAL</a></div>
— dickwyn (@dickwyn) <a href="https://twitter.com/dickwyn/status/744775010326294528">June 20, 2016</a></blockquote>
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After that was settled, I felt confident that the package will arrive the next day. But after waiting till 4pm and checking the Amazon package tracker a couple of times, I decided to contact customer service yet again. I opted to chat once again mainly because this way I will get a conversation transcript emailed to me.<br />
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The chat transcript proved to be useful for my attempt to defend myself about the conversation I had with the first Amazon rep the day before. The second chat ended up way better because I actually got a definite answer as to why the order was delayed in the first place. Apparently, the postal service found that the package was damaged during transit and feared that the product might be broken. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR6NV9rFm6mhscF433IXrjunwHOap8wM4IwuAHxgSuyZf0qRRdQFVLCY1rY-MdItbXMDR07RymK8rzmtiF3X2bunHuHPRwO8-MaR6TzSMer6S9l40hEo4byuXuC1xzDtMeYX0hMOtOUKah/s1600/amazon-refund.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR6NV9rFm6mhscF433IXrjunwHOap8wM4IwuAHxgSuyZf0qRRdQFVLCY1rY-MdItbXMDR07RymK8rzmtiF3X2bunHuHPRwO8-MaR6TzSMer6S9l40hEo4byuXuC1xzDtMeYX0hMOtOUKah/s1600/amazon-refund.JPG" /></a></div>
The rep told me that the best thing that I can do right now is to initiate a refund for the product and re-buy it once again. I was given the option to refund through my card or through an Amazon gift card and I chose the latter because It would be much quicker. To my surprise, the refund was processed and credited back to my account in less than two hours.<br />
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As for the refund itself, I didn't need to do anything at all, the Amazon rep handled it for me and all I had to do was to wait a couple of minutes. After that, I once again requested to be compensated for the late delivery and this time around, I was awarded a $5 Amazon courtesy credit that could only be used for products sold and fulfilled by Amazon.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Two boxes?</h2>
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Eventually, I bought another selfie stick of the same type for $1.50 less. After two days as I was expecting to receive the selfie stick, I was a little surprise when the UPS guy handed me two packages. My first instinct was that the extra package is the delayed selfie stick and I was right.<br />
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The one which was delayed finally arrived and I can see why the UPS thought the product was damaged. The selfie stick was packaged very loosely. It was basically just wrapped in some paper.<br />
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Regarding the extra selfie stick, I contacted the Amazon once again and they confirmed to me that they merely refunded the value of that order and the selfie stick was mine to keep. Well, I certainly did not need two selfie sticks so I decided to return the one that I bought. And this leads me to another experience which I will be writing about soon.<br />
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But overall, I have to say. Amazon's customer service has been a good experience and it does make me a little bit more confident when buying something on Amazon. At the end of the day, the nearly 5 day delay earned me $10 in monetary value and also a selfie stick. I will definitely not hesitate to contact Amazon's customer service in the future to solve problems with my orders.<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<br />Insider Talk</h2>
This article was supposedly just a one part affair but I did decide to split it up into another part because there was quite a bit to talk about returning a product. Expect to see that article go live either next week or the week after that. This week's article was supposed to be about the dbrand concrete review but I am still waiting replies from dbrand about the issues I have with my skin. </div>
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dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Sandwich, MA, USA41.7589615 -70.49393169999996241.5693165 -70.816655199999957 41.9486065 -70.171208199999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-54035158313778847332016-07-16T21:23:00.000-07:002016-07-16T21:23:21.328-07:00Trying Android Pay for the first time<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
One tap away</h3>
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Mobile payments is the next evolution when it comes to cashless payments and the market which initially started off with Google Wallet has now turned into a thriving industry. The big push for mobile payments in the recent years is because we are now at a point where mobile payments are actually a feasible option for just about anyone.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Mastercard shows off their new logo for the 21st century</b> — "Most notably is that the "mastercard" font looks subtle and is now lowercase. The font itself is called FF Mark and as you can see in the renders below, the new font blends in with modern day devices." <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/07/mastercard-logo-2016.html">Continue reading.</a></blockquote>
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Smartphones are everywhere and secure elements like an encrypted operating system alongside fingerprint sensors are now widely available on mobile devices. While not everyone is using their smartphones to complete their purchase, there is a need for the mobile payment market because it simplifies the buying experience. With the help of companies like Apple and Samsung, it won't be long before more banks and merchants begin accepting payments from your smartphone.<br />
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Right now, all major smartphones have some form of mobile payment service. iPhones have Apple Pay, Galaxy phones have Samsung Pay, Android phones have Android Pay and Windows 10 Mobile phones have Microsoft Wallet. For today, I will be focusing on Android Pay with a little case study on my experience of using it at McDonald's.<br />
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Google's Android Pay platform is an evolution of their existing Google Wallet platform and the app which is downloadable through the Google Play Store supports all devices running Android 4.4 KitKat or newer. And as expected, your phone will also need to have NFC in order for this to work (sorry OnePlus 2 users). <br />
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Additionally, one thing unique about Android Pay is that it doesn't require a fingerprint scanner in order for it to work. Both Samsung Pay and Apple Pay only supports devices with a built in fingerprint sensor. But you do need to have a screen lock implemented in order to use Android Pay. Another thing to know is that Android Pay will work without a data connection but when offline, you are limited to only a couple of transactions.<br />
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As for the actual payment, Android Pay uses something called Host Card Emulation that creates a virtual account number that is linked to your actual card. Each time you tap on a payment terminal, a token which includes your virtual account number will be used to make the payment. You can learn more about the nitty gritty stuff on how mobile payments actually work in this article by ArsTechnica <a href="http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/10/how-mobile-payments-really-work/">here</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>McDonald's also support mobile payments through drive-thru</i></span></blockquote>
McDonald's is currently one of the only places that accept all kinds of mobile payment platforms including the aforementioned Microsoft Wallet. Any McDonald's outlet in the USA will support mobile payments services at the the order counters and apparently it also works when you're in drive-thru.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Configuring Android Pay</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4Y37TIvKEHfNm0B3nvsd4bdzElPzp4_YfsjI-78eBAHxVBZV1bOlmnGdhICkLqT-Rm2kd4rG6gP5bYRSbXuj2VFSKA6CPfsKngkfyRnD2PScjnely-lbV0MD9cGlsuLiQN8kBWu1kCub/s1600/android-pay-mcdonalds-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4Y37TIvKEHfNm0B3nvsd4bdzElPzp4_YfsjI-78eBAHxVBZV1bOlmnGdhICkLqT-Rm2kd4rG6gP5bYRSbXuj2VFSKA6CPfsKngkfyRnD2PScjnely-lbV0MD9cGlsuLiQN8kBWu1kCub/s1600/android-pay-mcdonalds-2.JPG" /></a></div>
Before beginning, make sure you have these three things required for Android Pay to work.<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>An Android phone that is running Android 4.4 KitKat or higher</li>
<li>A credit or debit card that supports Android Pay (check out the full list of banks that Android Pay support <a href="https://www.android.com/pay/supported-networks/">here</a>)</li>
<li>Find a place that supports Android Pay (click <a href="https://www.android.com/pay/">here</a> for a full list of supported merchants) </li>
</ol>
The first thing you want to do is to launch the Android Pay app or <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.walletnfcrel&hl=en" target="_blank">download</a> it if you don't already have it. From there, click the 'plus' button on the bottom right corner. You will then be prompted to key in your card details alongside a valid billing address. Once you're done with that, you will need to accept the terms of use.<br />
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On a side note, if you have previously added a debit/credit card to your Google account, you can easily add it to Android Pay with a few clicks. After that, you will need to verify your card with a verification code from your bank. Once verified, you are all set to make a purchase.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Testing it out</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFizSO5f2pAMxTlfC2VsOCw7MAGSkNkvYt2XkHwTOlbwdDSACLrXE_uspvRroXxkxTYKPOz83gbt7YoRmFt9foF8nReU0GJeUDxPzI9kRAfptz7MwNRJNS1XtxQPrI1zWp28xOSQMmm5h/s1600/android-pay-mcdonalds-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFizSO5f2pAMxTlfC2VsOCw7MAGSkNkvYt2XkHwTOlbwdDSACLrXE_uspvRroXxkxTYKPOz83gbt7YoRmFt9foF8nReU0GJeUDxPzI9kRAfptz7MwNRJNS1XtxQPrI1zWp28xOSQMmm5h/s1600/android-pay-mcdonalds-3.JPG" /></a></div>
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</a> I have to say, It's been a long time since I have been this excited to buy McDonald's. The last time I was this excited about lining up to buy McDonald's was when I lined up to buy the nanoblocks from them. Then came my turn and I placed an order for a sandwich and since it was Friday, I took advantage of McDonald's in-app offer which entitled any purchase with free fries. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ki9MDU2oBm5niUk8b-SkQmuqdM5cXOf46cH8hVufvBGjGmUB2Z4zYbghG2jLPDdSqFd4pvbWQV0_TEQJbxedWLR7L0ZxwHFmmOthW3wT02ceGPnw_jHB8nho-BWvpSSET1Dgtk7SWjdW/s1600/android-pay-mcdonalds-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ki9MDU2oBm5niUk8b-SkQmuqdM5cXOf46cH8hVufvBGjGmUB2Z4zYbghG2jLPDdSqFd4pvbWQV0_TEQJbxedWLR7L0ZxwHFmmOthW3wT02ceGPnw_jHB8nho-BWvpSSET1Dgtk7SWjdW/s320/android-pay-mcdonalds-4.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
After scanning the barcode on the McDonald's app to redeem the free fries offer, it was time to make the payment. I placed my phone on the terminal and nothing happened. For a moment, I thought something was wrong but as it turns out the cashier was a newbie and the manager stepped into to tell me that for mobile payments, they will need to switch to a specific mode in order for the payment terminal to interact with my phone. <br />
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So, I tapped my phone on the payment terminal for the second time and I was prompted to use the use the screen lock and within the next second, the payment was completed. That's it. The process did feel a little anticlimactic because it all happened so fast. All I was left after the payment was a notification that a payment has been made.<br />
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I actually mentioned the McDonald's app for a reason, it serves to show that you don't actually need to be in the Android Pay app nor does your phone need to be actually awake in order to make a payment with Android Pay. Just make sure that NFC is turned on and you're all set.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
What's next?</h2>
When compared to the number of places and banks that support Apple Pay, Android Pay doesn't look that impressive. But mobile payments are the future and given that Android phones are everywhere, it won't be long before more banks and merchants begin integrating into Android Pay.<br />
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Right now, I can't properly judge Android Pay because this is the first time that I am trying a mobile payment service and it's still not clear to me what it right and wrong. Maybe when I get the opportunity to try something other than Android Pay then I will revisit my judgement towards Android Pay<br />
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Moving forwards, I doubt that I will be using Android Pay as often as I would like to. It's not that Android Pay is bad, it's mainly because right now, there's only three places (Subway, McDonald's and Sprouts) that I would go to that support Android Pay. However, I might end up using Android Pay more often when it starts to support more Android apps. I can already see myself using it to pay for Lyft and Uber rides.<br />
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Ideally, I would like to see smaller restaurants and stores accept Android Pay but it'll probably take a while before that happens and it would be nice if more banks support Android Pay. My main bank card actually does not support Android Pay and I turned to my secondary card for use with Android Pay.<br />
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Also, there is a question of region support. At the time of publishing, Android Pay is only available in 4 countries (US, UK, Singapore and Australia). If you are lucky enough to live in one of the supported countries, do take advantage of the opportunity you have to use it and give it a try. Maybe, Android Pay is right for you?<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Insider Talk</i></h2>
This week's article was supposed to be about the dbrand concrete skin which I received last week but due a problem, I am putting that article on the backburner for the time being.<br />
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But anyways, this is the kind of article I like to write. The type that gets me to learn something. I thought I knew about mobile payments but as it turns out, what I knew previously was just the tip of the iceberg. Hoping to try out Samsung Pay, Microsoft Pay and Apple Pay in the future, but I'll need to enlist some new devices in order for that to happen.<br />
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The image below is how the receipt from McDonald's look like for my Android Pay transaction. It's classified as 'cashless'<br />
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dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Sandwich, MA, USA41.7589615 -70.49393169999996241.5693165 -70.816655199999957 41.9486065 -70.171208199999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-64062292814843695632016-07-10T07:37:00.000-07:002016-07-10T07:37:27.761-07:00Logitech T400 review - the best ambidextrous wireless mouse<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Three years late</h3>
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Three years ago, I bought the Logitech T400 mouse when it was on sale. The mouse also called the Logitech Zone Touch mouse was designed for Windows 8 with customizable gestures that can be configured through Logitech's software. Ever since then, I fell in love with this mouse and I loved it so much that I bought a second one to replace it when the original one got lost.<br />
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I don't think Logitech still manufactures this mouse but in my opinion, this is one of the best mouse for my needs. You might be thinking why am I not using the ever popular MX Master by Logitech? Well, a little known fact about me is that I am a left hander and naturally, I use my mouse with my left hand. In the past, I did try using my right hand with the mouse but it didn't seem to work out.<br />
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After using the same mouse for about three years, here is my review of the Logitech T400.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Prior to using this mouse, I was using the Logitech Marathoner mouse for a while before switching back to a generic Dell wired mouse. One thing that I liked about the Marathoner was that it had a hyper-scroll mode that enables quick scrolling. I loved how the scroll wheel worked but like a lot of high end mice available, the Marathoner had an ergonomic shape designed for right handers.<br />
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That brings me to the Logitech T400 and the biggest reason why I love this mouse so much is because of the scroll wheel. It is not an actual scroll wheel but instead it is a touch strip which functions just like the glass trackpads on laptops. Logitech included this touch strip on the T400 mainly because of the Windows 8 gestures but I never came to use it for the gestures. Instead, I use the touch strip on the T400 like the hyper-scroll on the Marathoner mouse.<br />
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Just like a normal glass trackpad, the touch strip acts like a touchpad in the sense that is depends on the friction you apply to it. For the most part, scrolling on the T400 is a breeze because it is smooth and doesn't make any sound whatsoever.<br />
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Beyond the touch strip, the Logitech T400 is basically just another wireless mouse. A fairly small one compared to other mice but the size is just right for me. The mouse itself doesn't comes with extra buttons other than the usual left, right and middle button. The one that I have comes in this nice shade of dark grey and red. The mouse is made out of matte plastic coupled with a rubber grip on the side that feels nice in the hand. With the batteries inserted, the T400 doesn't feel too heavy.<br />
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Speaking of the battery, one of the things I like about Logitech mice is that you can actually use with just a single battery. For me, only placed the battery on the left hand side to create a balanced feel for my left hand. There's also a spot for the unifying receiver and as for the extra battery slot, I use it to store the extra unifying receiver because you can never know when it'll come in handy.<br />
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In terms of the battery performance, the Logitech T400 performs like a champ. Logitech quotes that the Logitech T400 will last 18 months but in my experience, the mouse exceeded my expectation as it managed to last for a more than a year on a single battery (yeah, you read that right, only one battery) This is one of the reasons why I love Logitech mice, the battery life just lasts and I don't even need to turn off the mouse when I'm no using it.<br />
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The only reason why I would want to turn off the mouse is to prevent accidental clicks.<br />
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</a> The T400 uses Logitech's Unifying receiver to communicate with the computer and as far as wireless mouse goes, Logitech's Unifying technology is the best around as it is easy to use and the receiver can connect up to 6 devices.<br />
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</a> Since this is just a basic mouse, it comes with a simple optical laser sensor that tracks well on most surfaces unless it is glass.<br />
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As I mentioned earlier, the touch strip can be configured to do different things through the Logitech software. But the available configurations for the touch strip is not so useful for Windows 10 as the gestures are locked to Windows 8/8.1 gestures.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Flaws</h2>
As much as I love this mouse, there is one problem that I have with the Logitech T400. That is the left click started acting up after using it for a year. However, this is actually a very common problem with logitech mouse as the left click tends to get a little loose after some time of using and it is understandable because it is commonly used. But, the problem is easily fixed by unscrewing the base and re-positioning the plastic inserts<br />
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Another thing is that the touch strip on the Logitech T400 tends to work a little too good. What I'm referring to is that it tends to scroll a little too quick and sometimes also a little rough. This is easily fixed by installing the Logitech smooth scrolling on Google Chrome but when it happens on other applications like Photoshop, it's beyond my control.<br />
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My final gripe doesn't actually come from the mouse itself. I have found out that the Unifying receiver works best when it is directly connected to a dedicated USB port as connecting it through a USB Hub will cause some glitches here and there. I don't think it's the problem with the mouse, it's more of the problem with the Logitech unifying receiver.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Conclusion</h2>
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At the end of the day, the best mouse for your needs really depends on what you look for in a mouse. For me, the Logitech T400 is the perfect mouse because I don't mind not having extra button and I just love the touch strip. The super-long battery life is a big plus in my opinion and even if you think this mouse is a little small for your needs, it can always act as a backup mouse or a travel mouse.<br />
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At just $15 on <a href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xlogitdch+t400.TRS0&_nkw=logitdch+t400&_sacat=0" target="_blank">eBay</a>, the Logitech T400 is a decent option for a wireless mouse. In case you were wondering, I was considering going for another mouse when I lost my original T400. I was considering between Microsoft's Sculpt Touch Mouse, Microsoft's Explorer Touch mouse, Logitech's T630 (ultrathin) and the Logitech T400. I opted buy another T400 mainly because of the battery life and the T400 is one of the only mouse with a touch strip that features a matte body.<br />
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Overall, I am pretty happy with the Logitech T400 and if you are looking for an affordable wireless mouse, the Logitech T400 is the perfect choice. As content I am with the Logitech T400, I do wish that Logitech made a Bluetooth version of this mouse. I would definitely buy that it they made it.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=thetechtoday-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B0093H4VBU&asins=B0093H4VBU&linkId=2c490803e6e485db17ccf99106f74857&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Insider Talk</i></h2>
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I have been thinking of doing this review for a long time now and the review is finally done. Funny thing is that I actually lost my original T400 in the right time. I was getting fed up of the left click not working and my prayers have been answered and I actually misplaced the original mouse. This gave me the opportunity to get a new one. </div>
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The new one obviously looks nicer because it had this red and dark grey color. Below is the only good photo of that mouse that I managed to capture. </div>
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<i>dw.</i></div>
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dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Sandwich, MA, USA41.7589615 -70.49393169999996241.5693165 -70.816655199999957 41.9486065 -70.171208199999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-9088588450735793462016-07-01T19:20:00.000-07:002016-07-01T19:54:04.407-07:00Snapchat's intervention in the future of mobile advertising<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: left;">What ghost?</span></h3>
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Yesterday, Google <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/06/googles-2016-android-release-is.html" target="_blank">unveiled</a> what would be the next version of Android which was previously only known as Android N (and also Namey McNameface). Android Nougat is the name of the next big Android release that is slated to be released in the coming weeks. But, that's not what this article is about. It's about Snapchat and how it's changing how mobile advertising is done.<br />
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You don’t want to miss this. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AndroidNReveal?src=hash">#AndroidNReveal</a> <a href="https://t.co/6ivBfkNVCV">pic.twitter.com/6ivBfkNVCV</a></div>
— Google (@google) <a href="https://twitter.com/google/status/748539262316969984">June 30, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></center>
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What does Snapchat have to do with the next Android release? Well, this time around, Google did things differently and took the opportunity to unveil Android Nougat through their Snapchat account. A first for Google as far as I know. The news about Android Nougat soon spread out but this is just one of the Snapchat exclusives.<br />
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In my opinion Google announced Android Nougat through Snapchat mainly because they wanted to use this opportunity to gain more followers. This is not the first time that Snapchat had an exclusive dibs on a new product. Last year, Burberry showed off their new fashion lineup 24 hours before it hit the runway.<br />
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So, it's time to talk about Snapchat.<br />
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To be honest, I never understood the need for Snapchat. I just thought it was another Instagram when I came across it 2 years ago. Unlike a lot of people my age, I was never very "in" when it comes to all the social trends like fashion and things that are "LOL" quality and thus I am always missing out on the social trends and only realizing a little late.<br />
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I have to be honest, I don't usually follow all the social trends happening and thus I have somewhat to neglected Snapchat. Likewise, I guess there are some people like me which think Snapchat is nothing much of a glorified version of Instagram.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>My Experience Being On Facebook For 5 Years</b> — <i>"I used to have 1000+ friends and in the past few months I have been filtering and refining my friends list and I found a lot of people which I did not even know in my friends list. With facebook being not that safe in this era I’m locking down my account" <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2013/08/5yearsfacebook.html">Continue reading.</a></i></blockquote>
My journey with Snapchat is somewhat like how I started my first Facebook account. I didn't start it with the need of using it. I was simply following the trend. Only recently that I started using it more often mainly because I was feeling a little misplaced when other people are raging all about Snapchat and I'm just sitting there knowing nothing about it.<br />
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In case you don't know what Snapchat is, it is basically a social messaging platform. It probably won't be much of a threat to Facebook or Twitter but it is somewhat of an alternative towards Instagram. The story of how Snapchat was formed is quite interesting and you can read all about it on this Forbes <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2014/01/06/the-inside-story-of-snapchat-the-worlds-hottest-app-or-a-3-billion-disappearing-act/#5983ef9855ec" target="_blank">article</a> but basically, the app was conceived in Stanford and has since then risen to popularity due to it's main feature.<br />
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That feature is making photos disappear. Once you send a photo or video on Snapchat, it will be gone after 24 hours. The only thing that's left is points that get accumulated to your Snapchat account each time you send a snap.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
The exclusivity</h2>
The main purpose of the app is to share moments and the model that Snapchat is built upon is very similar to Instagram. You can either share 'snaps' with an individual person or through your 'story' or with all your Snapchat friends. This idea is very similar to how you share images through your Instagram feed and Instagram Direct.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBX98cr6Gn8WKfcbviee1OudkLaC2SKxLCwAh4asskSvSZNlqXtvI99p3PWPHKF7He6PXLYkIGdcpAHnxtEorbfKWyEzQtd7ACQxHW38T_ADabA_BY5DcK5n5btmZJV36LRSDAqVwCKGp/s1600/SAM_1727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBX98cr6Gn8WKfcbviee1OudkLaC2SKxLCwAh4asskSvSZNlqXtvI99p3PWPHKF7He6PXLYkIGdcpAHnxtEorbfKWyEzQtd7ACQxHW38T_ADabA_BY5DcK5n5btmZJV36LRSDAqVwCKGp/s1600/SAM_1727.JPG" /></a><br />
Snaps form the core of Snapchat and they are basically the result of an image or a short 10 second video. The unique part is actually the processing of these 'snaps' where you can customize your images (or short video) with a set of filters which are either static or moving in the case of videos. There's also the option to decorate your image with text or your own drawing.<br />
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And probably the biggest difference about Snapchat snaps compared to Instagram photos is that they are designed to fill the entire screen. This solves the problem of letterboxing and provides an immersive viewing experience but this causes a problem with landscape/wide shots as you can't fit everything into the frame.<br />
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Snapchat does allow you to send snaps in landscape mode but these horizontal snaps will look a little out of place due to the app's vertical UI. In a lot of ways, Snapchat is making vertical videos and photos popular again. While it does look immersive on your smartphone, downloaded snaps viewed on a computer will look a little confined due to the letterboxing.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">"Snapchat is making vertical videos and photos popular again"</span></i></blockquote>
In terms of interaction, Snapchat doesn't actually have a 'like' button for snaps but you do have the option of replying through another snap or through a private message. And unlike other social platforms, you can track down who is viewing your snaps.<br />
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Moving onto the main selling point of Snapchat which is the vanishing snaps. When you send a snap, it will immediately disappear once the receiver opens it and in the case of snaps shared to your 'story', it'll last for 24 hours before disappearing. It is possible to replay snaps in case you missed it but you only can do that once.<br />
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This disappearing act is what gave Snapchat it's initial popularity but some people are still a little skeptical if their snaps are really lost forever or just sitting idle in a server somewhere.<br />
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However, that's not the only thing that's giving Snapchat it's name these days. Geofilters and lenses are becoming one of the most 'innovative' feature that Snapchat has to offer. Sure, sharing pictures or 10 second selfies of you eating dinner might be cool but having the ability to instantly speed up the video or turn a piece of broccoli into an emoji of a fried chicken as you put it into your mouth is an impressive feat.<br />
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Even I think it's cool and this is coming from someone who has mixed feelings about Snapchat. Check out the video below to get a sense of what Snapchat Geofilter and lenses are capable of.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pc2aJxnmzh0" width="798"></iframe><br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Monetization</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQCSplg6PSgaFzDckIJpKmubvzlNd9QcPWQqN8kHJoOxviL8GV23k5L8BMkVQ-mD5YsnlzlOc13fwtNfhwMdG_GFI9dN4C0TYvZIz_ZIAHd9_-lDzk30bsVG1Y2h4EVoEh7L-euSzTNZu/s1600/snapchat-ad.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQCSplg6PSgaFzDckIJpKmubvzlNd9QcPWQqN8kHJoOxviL8GV23k5L8BMkVQ-mD5YsnlzlOc13fwtNfhwMdG_GFI9dN4C0TYvZIz_ZIAHd9_-lDzk30bsVG1Y2h4EVoEh7L-euSzTNZu/s400/snapchat-ad.JPG" width="232" /></a><br />
Just like what Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even Google Plus are doing to survive. Snapchat has also developed a monetization model for their platform. And if you were wondering, yes Google+ does have news feed advertisements.<br />
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How monetization works on Snapchat isn't as aggressive compared to how other social media networks are doing it. Snapchat ads are designed to be interactive and come in the form of geofilters and pre-rolled ads. This kind of advertising might be a direct approach but it does serve it's purpose and I believe that it is more effective compared to regular advertising on Facebook or Twitter.<br />
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While Snapchat Geofilter ads are nice to play with, but the bulk of revenue for Snapchat most likely comes from their Discover page which have evolved into a major segment in the last year alone and I personally think that Snapchat could consider spinning off the Discover page into a separate application.<br />
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The Discover page is quite similar to flipboard. At a glance, Discover page publishers are like regular Snapchat accounts but Publishers combine images and videos as the headline for users to receive information and under these snaps are conveniently placed articles where users can continue exploring the headline.<br />
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That's about it when it comes to how Snapchat is monetizing their app. I personally think Snapchat has a pretty compelling mobile advertising platform here. Sure, these ads are designed to be in your face (literally for some ads) but they do serve their purpose and these ads are both functional and effective in a lot of ways. That's probably the big reason why there has been a surge of popularity amongst businesses lately to promote their business on Snapchat.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Conclusion</h2>
Admittedly, Snapchat is not everyone's cup of tea but as I have found in the past, social media can scale up pretty quickly and it's easy to miss out on things when you don't follow with the trend. I am by no means concluding that I love Snapchat and that I will use it everyday. But my point is that it has come to a point that Snapchat is going to be as important as Facebook or Twitter.<br />
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Some part of me still thinks that Snapchat is irrelevant but people my age clearly think it's the best thing ever. Thus, I have no choice but to cave in to the trend and learn to love Snapchat. In all of it's essence, Snapchat has a similar motif compared to other social networks available today. Their approach for conversing through pictures and videos have proven to be effective and popular to the younger generation.<br />
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If done right, Snapchat is a simple and intuitive way to share your personal life. But it takes some practice to understand how and when to use these filters. I can tell you that it took me a while to learn how to use Snapchat because honestly, the UI feels a little hard to understand. But when you master all the Snapchat tools, you can actually create an interesting story.<br />
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I wouldn't say that Snapchat is revolutionizing the social media world but Snapchat's core features are fresh takes on existing communication methods. One thing that they are leading is advertising and I hope that other social media services follow on Snapchat's footstep and innovate on advertising.<br />
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In case you're wondering, my favorite social media service is still Twitter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVDVbh-Kw59xyKH6zp8c10-JZ6ZbV7O8n2NSXlkjfoLXJdj-1gHrTGKnIHlxF8NSHNU4w4lYkaj0OVWKJpXvq6hZFk0OwzvrqmomtxdjnoSl6ljli9hDxZemAH8KAwCtphRiuX3EQhKf5/s1600/snapchat-summer-filter-wp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVDVbh-Kw59xyKH6zp8c10-JZ6ZbV7O8n2NSXlkjfoLXJdj-1gHrTGKnIHlxF8NSHNU4w4lYkaj0OVWKJpXvq6hZFk0OwzvrqmomtxdjnoSl6ljli9hDxZemAH8KAwCtphRiuX3EQhKf5/s1600/snapchat-summer-filter-wp.jpg" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Insider Talk</i></h2>
The idea of this article actually came when I was arguing with one of my colleagues about the need of a Snapchat app for Windows Phone. And since I have been wanting to write an article about Snapchat for a long time right now. This is the perfect times to talk about it.<br />
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I actually learned some things about Snapchat through this article. These kind of articles is what I like to write because I start the article knowing little about the topic and finish the article feeling confident that people can rely on what I am saying.<br />
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And yes, the Snapchat Windows Phone app. I doubt that it'll ever come. But here's a fun fact, I created my Snapchat account through 6snp which is a third party Windows Phone Snapchat app. A little bummer that Windows Phone doesn't have an official Snapchat client but I hope that Snapchat can improve the performance of their Android app.<br />
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Happy 4th of July weekend guys and stay tuned for a review next week.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>dw</i></div>
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dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com1Sandwich, MA, USA41.7589615 -70.49393169999996241.5693165 -70.816655199999957 41.9486065 -70.171208199999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-45626910852078339412016-06-25T18:53:00.000-07:002016-06-25T18:53:00.149-07:00Microsoft finally unified their login screen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEt5JDZidKpyFhyphenhyphen_U2GpGkRuljC5u6HY9AYpzNRP6az4ae8CVYFzAdqk2fWRpMOv9i0q3_xC-v5PxcMXExJ8AZX3nLzb-Tbkyh8qz-47CZV7QQyNFWzVXTqD24oa8l4PuvkDpnAU2qvvW-/s1600/SAM_1081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEt5JDZidKpyFhyphenhyphen_U2GpGkRuljC5u6HY9AYpzNRP6az4ae8CVYFzAdqk2fWRpMOv9i0q3_xC-v5PxcMXExJ8AZX3nLzb-Tbkyh8qz-47CZV7QQyNFWzVXTqD24oa8l4PuvkDpnAU2qvvW-/s1600/SAM_1081.JPG" /></a></div>
Towards the end of 2012, Microsoft revealed that MSN will be merged into Skype. And like a lot of people, I had an MSN messenger account, it was all the craze back then and it was very much the Facebook of that time. As nostalgic as it sounds, it has been three years since MSN messenger was <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2013/01/windows-live-messenger-to-be.html" target="_blank">retired</a> but only up to recently has Microsoft solved one of the biggest gripes that I have had with the merging of MSN into Skype.<br />
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One of the issues I had with the merge is that it screwed up my Skype (and Hotmail) contact list as there were duplicates everywhere and people who didn't yet moved to Skype had a greyed out icon. I have yet to find the time to sort out my contacts but today I will be talking about something that Microsoft has fixed. It has been a long way but Microsoft has finally fixed their login screen. Well, you might be asking. Is Microsoft's login screen even broken?<br />
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To a certain extent yes, but my definition of broken here isn't implying that the login screen is not working. I am referring to the functionality of it. Prior to this, Microsoft's login screen came in all forms which made the experience inconsistent. Given that Microsoft services now span a wide range of devices, this new login screen is as key part of the experience. </div>
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<a name='more'></a>When I first merged my MSN account into Skype, I had a hard time understanding the login protocol of the new Skype mainly because both my Skype account and MSN account was under the same email address and I used two different passwords for them. Also, the fact that there is the option to use the Microsoft account or Skype account or even Facebook account to login made it a little bit more confusing. </div>
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The new unified login screen has been rolled out to all Microsoft services (for some time now) comes at the right time as they are working toward unifying everything from their operating systems to web applications into a single unit. Also, the fact that Microsoft is continuing to buy companies and app developers mean that it will be easier to implement the 'Microsoft account' login screen. So, expect to see the option to login to your <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.com/2016/06/microsoft-linkedin-acquisition-2016.html" target="_blank">LinkedIn account</a> with a Microsoft account soon.</div>
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Microsoft's unified login screen looks pretty slick but they aren't the first to do it. Google rolled out their unified login screen a couple of years back and I can see where Microsoft got their inspiration from with their new login screen.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEnEC-w0Ng7oiRqQ-lGck_UfBVgbU8eWYSg9I5XoTBgjyTIXBO18Bi2E222miCBJdZZHJlAILr95TSS4u3qCqkdxAvE0nBCT7YhrI1Y3kFCvdB0tF9IYEvJylXjGulejB-q-OMr8YdT1WI/s1600/google-login-screen.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEnEC-w0Ng7oiRqQ-lGck_UfBVgbU8eWYSg9I5XoTBgjyTIXBO18Bi2E222miCBJdZZHJlAILr95TSS4u3qCqkdxAvE0nBCT7YhrI1Y3kFCvdB0tF9IYEvJylXjGulejB-q-OMr8YdT1WI/s1600/google-login-screen.png" /></a></div>
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Microsoft services now exist on a wide range of platforms and the login screen throughout has this new design. In case you don't have a Microsoft account, the new unified login screen looks something like this (image below) and as you can see, it does look a little similar to Google's unified login screen (pictured above).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ63avAnU0M56PRpfstLWwcI9zO1AryztrzQffY4XxLElsBtHxPwDYQfOXnvsqhEy_4T9F3W7d0aBPCGFiXLF29DeoJBe9ur90qRGhuqNUeznzETw9zm9sgYIFZrSmAm3crpP7WTAmyKbn/s1600/microsoft-login-screen.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ63avAnU0M56PRpfstLWwcI9zO1AryztrzQffY4XxLElsBtHxPwDYQfOXnvsqhEy_4T9F3W7d0aBPCGFiXLF29DeoJBe9ur90qRGhuqNUeznzETw9zm9sgYIFZrSmAm3crpP7WTAmyKbn/s1600/microsoft-login-screen.png" /></a></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwIj1Xcsi_4O71wBPTqQlcl5OouX99iNqFKjeU8iq2g-lmrSrcMcwVxGueLxdzAsbEHBgHXbI220fFL20lNxAR56w4sOS5K_xJ55D8EDSeLIlbfP6ajs-vlIQUtlNX55SxHPte2XTH2BLR/s1600/2016-06-24.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwIj1Xcsi_4O71wBPTqQlcl5OouX99iNqFKjeU8iq2g-lmrSrcMcwVxGueLxdzAsbEHBgHXbI220fFL20lNxAR56w4sOS5K_xJ55D8EDSeLIlbfP6ajs-vlIQUtlNX55SxHPte2XTH2BLR/s320/2016-06-24.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>this is how it looks like on Windows 10</i></span></td></tr>
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As far as I know, all the Microsoft services (that I use) have implemented this new login screen and whenever you see the option to login with your Microsoft account on mobile apps, desktop apps, and even on Windows 10, you will be seeing the screen above or a variation of that.<br />
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So, whether you are signing into Outlook, Skype or Wunderlist with your Microsoft account, the new login screen will assure that you are in the right place.<br />
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Microsoft's execution of a unified login screen took 3 years and the final product does work and look good. However, I do believe there is some room for improvement as this login screen only works with Microsoft accounts (.live.com, .outlook.com, etc) and doesn't work with organizational Office 365 accounts. For that I will still need to login through the Office 365 login screen. Compared to Google's unified login which supports Google Apps (Office 365 equivalent) accounts also makes Microsoft's offering fall short of Google's unified login screen.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIL9YZyr7v7Dr2aoonUiSALt02nj9Q2dynibeJvTRoBKwstJgh_aV1cTyImKhzmXtVq5Wjw4k77W29HgukWa-eOI6kvgnA1cw2NustG5_E-PA4qzn5CPpM9-joA5aS7E-1wjf8wSVMZirv/s1600/microsoft-account-something-went-wrong-error.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIL9YZyr7v7Dr2aoonUiSALt02nj9Q2dynibeJvTRoBKwstJgh_aV1cTyImKhzmXtVq5Wjw4k77W29HgukWa-eOI6kvgnA1cw2NustG5_E-PA4qzn5CPpM9-joA5aS7E-1wjf8wSVMZirv/s1600/microsoft-account-something-went-wrong-error.png" /></a></div>
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Additionally, if you are facing an error that sounds like "Something went wrong and we can't sign you in right now. Please try again later" when trying to access a Microsoft service on the web browser, you should clear your browser cache and cookies to resolve the issue. I was facing this primarily when I was clicking a link to a Windows Store app.<br />
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Initially, I though it was because Microsoft's login screen was a little buggy but when I tried it out on another browser and the link worked without any error. Only then that I realized that there was a problem. Eventually, I stumbled upon an <a href="http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum/oaccount-omyinfo/something-went-wrong-and-we-cant-sign-you-in-right/1d2980e5-dcbf-43dd-a80a-8821f5f7ccfe?auth=1" target="_blank">answer</a> in the Microsoft community forum which prompted me to clear the cache and browsing history and I have not seen the error ever since.<br />
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But other than that, this implementation is what I have been waiting for.<br />
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Oh yeah, here's how two step verification looks like on the new unified login screen.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbi_2DQHts3qEW8M46QfIMOnbcBIYcPCUXKjGmqU4N-XoVsHIbQmX_GHQ2JeIdtWai7z3KBpcUfvvkAWEdkTP-yHpcNjN3feOWzEpITbfqkbqnU3jei7FkcKKb5rYR6E5dDvxB5pjL-3S/s1600/microsoft-login-screen-two-step-verification.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbi_2DQHts3qEW8M46QfIMOnbcBIYcPCUXKjGmqU4N-XoVsHIbQmX_GHQ2JeIdtWai7z3KBpcUfvvkAWEdkTP-yHpcNjN3feOWzEpITbfqkbqnU3jei7FkcKKb5rYR6E5dDvxB5pjL-3S/s1600/microsoft-login-screen-two-step-verification.png" /></a></div>
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<i>Insider Talk</i></h2>
<div>
This article has been a long time coming. Wanted to write this since March and finally found time to do it yesterday. I'm not actually sure when Microsoft actually rolled out the new login screen. But I do remember that one of the later Windows 10 Insider builds (prior to the launch last Summer) started using it.</div>
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<i>dw.</i></div>
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dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Sandwich, MA, USA41.7589615 -70.49393169999996241.5693165 -70.816655199999957 41.9486065 -70.171208199999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-85303982262930695732016-06-20T21:51:00.000-07:002016-06-20T21:51:29.559-07:00Is there home for an app store on the desktop?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Do you have a million apps?</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE2WjJDkSlU28gP0ARMLe9aZL77JtmAdboY_NY6uOmlZqIdNkHKdswkEkbCVWsWinIviYeYSEg5r4BH-8rGJCWvLutUOie0ANZcUJxqOhD7lNaRO8QPFC2xvCpAoyJKs2soVdWsXe3Ykd5/s1600/windows-10-apps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE2WjJDkSlU28gP0ARMLe9aZL77JtmAdboY_NY6uOmlZqIdNkHKdswkEkbCVWsWinIviYeYSEg5r4BH-8rGJCWvLutUOie0ANZcUJxqOhD7lNaRO8QPFC2xvCpAoyJKs2soVdWsXe3Ykd5/s1600/windows-10-apps.jpg" /></a></div>
Google recently hit a major milestone with their Play Store by <a href="http://www.androidheadlines.com/2016/04/now-2m-apps-google-play-store.html" target="_blank">hitting</a> 2 million published applications and Apple also announced during <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/06/apple-wwdc-2016-keynote-recap.html" target="_blank">WWDC</a> that the App Store has also reached 2 million apps. Despite reaching that number, Google and Apple didn't make much out of it compared to when they hit 1 million applications. My story today has something to do with applications and the windows store. This is not another one of my debates about defending the app gap, it's about something else.<br />
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A while back when I was revising my position for the Surface Pro 4 <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/05/microsoft-surface-pro-4-review.html" target="_blank">review</a>, I was considering to do a follow up review about using the device as a tablet. But eventually, I decided to scrape the idea mainly because I couldn't find much to talk about using Windows 10 as a tablet without inserting too much of 'filler topics'. During my Surface Pro 4 review, I did talk a little bit about using it as a tablet but I didn't actually explain why I rarely use the Surface as a tablet.</div>
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Which leads me to today's discussion about applications on an app store on a desktop computer (or laptop). Currently, I have quite a number of Windows Store applications installed on my Surface Pro 4 but I rarely open them and I think I know why.<br />
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<a name='more'></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Web app vs native app</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6GZJF7F_N7Of38ZO4DcOHEcLq0ydyODMXG1ADqDLw_b6BfQLmbZgrtcQOCaL4_SueQxJMxW-3K6EcoaxONEMNNuQZbgLw_RNoCgu9XARlzEAQ4wZcf-ucqVAjPso7IL_uXzcPa8FxDYf/s1600/web-app-mac-ipad.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6GZJF7F_N7Of38ZO4DcOHEcLq0ydyODMXG1ADqDLw_b6BfQLmbZgrtcQOCaL4_SueQxJMxW-3K6EcoaxONEMNNuQZbgLw_RNoCgu9XARlzEAQ4wZcf-ucqVAjPso7IL_uXzcPa8FxDYf/s1600/web-app-mac-ipad.png" /></a></div>
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Before diving into the bottom of things, let's talk about a native apps versus a web apps such as Facebook, Youtube, Gmail, etc.<br />
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The big reason why apps are a hit on smartphones is because only apps can provide rich experiences on a small screen. Sure, you could definitely fire up the web browser on your phone to browse Facebook or read some tweets. But the fact is that browsers on phones are not as versatile as they are on the desktop. Another thing is that native applications will provide interactions like notifications which browsers just can't give you. </div>
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Moving back to my original story of using the Surface Pro 4 as a tablet. Not surprisingly, my debate revolves around using Windows Store apps on Windows 10. I could still remember how excited I was when the official Facebook and Messenger application was released a couple weeks back. Using both apps for the first time felt so cool because everything is new. At that point, I was already scheming to use the Facebook app opposed to opening facebook.com on my browser.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Saying goodbye to Windows 8 and all it's mistakes</b> — <i>"This is another case of bad design choice by Microsoft as they were the ones who set up the design schema for Windows 8 applications. In some sense it would be a little immersive with horizontal scrolling" <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/07/saying-goodbye-to-windows-8-and-all-its-mistakes.html">Continue reading</a></i></blockquote>
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The Facebook app has since then been pinned onto the far end of my taskbar and after that first week, I stopped using it and unconsciously switched back to using Facebook.com. I can't explain why I don't want to use the app. It's definitely not the problem with the app itself. The Facebook app for Windows 10 works perfectly, everything works just like the web app if not better in most scenarios.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3lcGdciw_BvHJ-GFHGHK4MBjGNtZG-O9IX15hnNOTAimB8AqnXURunBtPJctL2gXEcq56zzo16Q1PHooBrOXWY8hgSc-nHVHqc9-Zoltp43LuDoLGcZXJyLw0-KuwkkskGFzGJfeMHVgF/s1600/2016-06-11+%25283%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3lcGdciw_BvHJ-GFHGHK4MBjGNtZG-O9IX15hnNOTAimB8AqnXURunBtPJctL2gXEcq56zzo16Q1PHooBrOXWY8hgSc-nHVHqc9-Zoltp43LuDoLGcZXJyLw0-KuwkkskGFzGJfeMHVgF/s1600/2016-06-11+%25283%2529.png" /></a></div>
Another example is the slither.io game which is becoming popular. I am well aware that there is an app on the Windows Store but I never once felt the need to install it because my browser is always open and I could just simply type www.slither.io on the address bar and I'm there. It's not like the dedicated app allows me to play the game offline, it's just a standalone app. Likewise, I feel compelled to download the app on my phone because playing it on a mobile browser is a cumbersome experience. </div>
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These are just some examples that I have about my experience with Windows Store applications. The same thing can be said about the Twitter app for Windows 10. I was like so pumped about it when it first came out but eventually, I switched back to using Tweeten.<br />
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However, there is one application that I find myself coming back very frequently. That is the Fibit application. The big reason being that it seems that the Windows 10 version of the Fitbit app is seemingly better at syncing data to my Fitbit account. Not sure if it's because the bluetooth radio on the Surface is better than it is on my phone but syncing is much quicker through the Windows 10 app.<br />
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So, as you can see. The core of the problem that I am facing is that there isn't a lot of Windows Store apps that just make me want to come back. I could easily do most of the things that apps can do on the web browsers.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Finding Apps</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZddw3AG1A-NHvqHJC1Fa0uLt5Iq3PaMpJ42U8DCI1lOoMI_wekzeamPEV-pMcXoiHu31qdLymKinz1E5-e_ZYwNrmQ_3UOD1bkv64_kqE3u6kuvsGQY_Q52T87vG9E2A_j-iUnWd7oLM/s1600/2016-06-11+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZddw3AG1A-NHvqHJC1Fa0uLt5Iq3PaMpJ42U8DCI1lOoMI_wekzeamPEV-pMcXoiHu31qdLymKinz1E5-e_ZYwNrmQ_3UOD1bkv64_kqE3u6kuvsGQY_Q52T87vG9E2A_j-iUnWd7oLM/s1600/2016-06-11+%25282%2529.png" /></a></div>
On a daily basis, the apps that I end up using is the web browser (alternating between Chrome and Edge depending on the situation), Outlook, Tweeten, Slack and OneNote. That's pretty much what I use on a day to day basis if I'm not working on something special.<br />
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Prior to writing this, I did a little research to look for worthy apps to install and I ended up with nothing. Because frankly speaking, most of the applications available on the Windows Store are either things that I don't use (games, web apps, etc) or just simpler versions of desktop programs that I already have. There's apps like Dropbox, OneDrive, photo editors<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I would however like to see a decent video editor on the Windows Store.</span></i></blockquote>
But the biggest reason why I still keep quite a number of Windows Store apps installed on my computer is because I have an intuition that it might come in handy when I use the Surface as a tablet. But in reality, that has never once happened. The only thing I end up using when detaching the Type Cover and use the Surface as a tablet is (yes, you guessed it) the web browser. Reason being that the only thing I end up doing is to watch YouTube videos.<br />
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Then you would be saying, why don't you use a YouTube application from the Windows Store? Well, I do have several (third-party) YouTube apps installed but all of them have the same problem. Their UI is just not made for big screens. Plus the fact that these apps sometimes just fail to sync with my YouTube history which I frequently use as a shortcut to bookmark videos for later.<br />
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Besides that, I end up keeping these Windows Store applications because of the notifications. For example, I have an RSS reader app that I never open. I basically use that app as a notification ping-er for that sites that I am subscribed to. Additionally, the Windows Store apps that I keep also serve as a nice way to make my Start Menu look nice.<br />
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<div>
In the end, the dilemma that I am explaining here is going to depend on your way of using a computer. You might like Windows Store applications but I feel that the current selection of applications are just not cut out for me. Maybe I have not looked deep enough in the Windows Store?<br />
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But nevertheless, I don't think this is the end of the discussion. I will be revisiting this topic sometime in the future.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Insider Talk</i></h2>
I actually forgot this article and when I found it, it was already time for WWDC and that is why it only published now.<br />
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But on a side note about apps, these days, I don’t use much apps on my phone. Back when I first started dabbling with smartphones, I made sure that I have every single damn app there possibly. In time, I realized that most of those apps end up being abandoned.</div>
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dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Sandwich, MA, USA41.7589615 -70.49393169999996241.5693165 -70.816655199999957 41.9486065 -70.171208199999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-51826226737176743402016-06-14T19:24:00.001-07:002016-06-14T21:29:00.887-07:00Four takeways from Apple's WWDC 2016 keynote<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
new software</h3>
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For once, Apple is didn't talk about the big numbers like the adoption rate of iOS or how mac is compared to the competition, they only talked about the App Store hitting 2 million application and that's it.<br />
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This year's WWDC keynote ended up being a little dry because Apple didn't show any new hardware at all. That was well expected because previous reports have indicated that Apple has chosen to do so. No new MacBooks and no new Apple Watches, it's just a lot of new software. But even without the hardware, the keynote itself wasn’t overly boring. It was in the middle in terms of Apple keynotes and I was actually quite impressed with some of the things that they showed off in upcoming versions of Apple software. </div>
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Wait to buy a MacBook Pro they said. It's coming with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WWDC2016?src=hash">#WWDC2016</a> they said. 😑 buncha liars.</div>
— Shayla Cornett (@ShaylaSunshine) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShaylaSunshine/status/742432814889476096">June 13, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></center>
You could easily argue that most of the things that Apple announced were merely just things that competitors have already done in the past. But, this is Apple after all and the features that they (allegedly) borrowed over from others companies did transition into a better product overall. As always, Apple made things look extra special with their presentation style and some of the new features are actually cool.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><h2 style="text-align: left;">
Emoji</h2>
The most notable thing has got to be emojis and specifically on the stock messaging app on <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/06/apple-ios-10-wwdc.html" target="_blank">iOS 10</a> (AKA iMessage). There is no denying that Emojis is one of the best things about using an iOS device because Apple just does it better. Here's a fun fact, prior to Android 4.4 Kitkat, emojis on Android are just black and white.<br />
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iMessage might not be the most used messaging app due to it's exclusivity in the Apple ecosystem but the new features aim to get more people to use it. The features are so interesting that I wish I had an iOS device to use iMessage. It's not the most groundbreaking thing but ability to automatically change words in to emojis is a nice touch and the invisible ink feature is as cool as it sounds.<br />
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Some of this features remind me of Google's two new apps called <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.tachyon" target="_blank">Duo</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.fireball&hl=en" target="_blank">Allo</a> which was <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.com/2016/05/google-announces-two-new-messaging-apps.html" target="_blank">announced</a> during Google I/O this year. Apple clearly thought it was a good idea. However, one thing that Apple didn't include with the new iMessage is the AI bots like Google or Facebook.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QJ3WV8N92Hs" width="800"></iframe><br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Unifying macOS</h2>
Apple still believes that every platform should have it's own name and that is why the renamed OS X into macOS. They might not be going the same route like Microsoft by merging their mobile and desktop operating system into one but <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/06/apple-mac-os-sierra-wwdc.html" target="_blank">macOS Sierra</a> and iOS does show that Apple is interested in unifying some parts of their operating systems.<br />
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There is still no no clear indication that Apple plans to bring touch to the Mac but the announcement of the new Universal Clipboard feature. What this feature does is that users will be able copy and paste from iPad to Mac and vice versa. All of this is made possible with iCloud and during a demo, Apple showcased how easy it would be to annotate on an image with the Apple Pencil on the iPad Pro and just pasting it onto a document open on the computer.<br />
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This rules out the possibility of touch on the mac for the time being as Apple is clearly trying to address the fact that there is no easy way to draw on the Mac. I personally this feature is downright useful but it does require that you are invested in the Apple ecosystem. My hope now is that Microsoft will bring such a feature to Windows 10 and also ad support to do it on both Android and iOS. If they do end up doing so, that would be so cool.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Siri</h2>
macOS Sierra will finally bring Siri onto the Mac and this means that Siri is now available on all Apple products from the Apple Watch all the way to the TV. Siri's arrival doesn't sound too exciting since Microsoft has already brought their own personal assistant to Windows 10 but Apple wasn't focusing too much on that. What they did focus on is how they are redefining artificial intelligence.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">"Siri is now available on all Apple products"</span></i></blockquote>
According to Apple, they are not playing any dirty tricks when it comes to processing personal information like the one you communicate with Siri and they are doing so by the concept of Differential Privacy which is a scientific method to collect and analyze data from users like usage patterns or just interaction methods. This way of processing information is a righteous way according to Apple as the whole process doesn't compromise the user's privacy. You can read more in this <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/06/apples-differential-privacy-collecting-data/" target="_blank">article</a> on WIRED as they explain it better than me.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Swift Playgrounds</h2>
Finally, out of surprise, Apple shows off it's the new app that will be released to the App Store later this year. It's called <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/06/swift-playground-is-free-app-for.html" target="_blank">Swift Playgrounds</a> and while Apple is targeting the app for children, it could be easily used by anyone at any age. The purpose of this application is to teach children how to read and write code. The app looks very promising and interactive to an extent that I want to try it out myself.<br />
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This is actually the first time that Apple is taking the initiative to spread the word about computer science and it might just be because they want to the next generation of creators to embrace their own programming language but Apple might have a winning combination here since there are millions of iPad around the world and children do love playing games on the iPad. For years, Apple has been providing <a href="https://developer.apple.com/wwdc/scholarships/" target="_blank">scholarships</a> for students that create innovative iOS apps and each year, they tend to highlight them during the WWDC keynote. <br />
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Learn more about the Computer Science movement <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/12/understanding-hour-of-code-challenge.html" target="_blank">here</a><br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i><br />Insider Talk</i></h2>
This is my fifth time covering WWDC (but it's a long time since I've talked about it, the last time being WWDC 2014) and it's probably the best one yet if you compare it against other software announcements in past keynotes. I like the fact that Apple didn't take their time to compare numbers between competitors and they just focused on the thing that matters. </div>
dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Sandwich, MA, USA41.7589615 -70.49393169999996241.5693165 -70.816655199999957 41.9486065 -70.171208199999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-3850187585204208732016-06-13T19:13:00.002-07:002016-06-13T19:13:59.441-07:00Apple's favourite country has got to be China <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Apple keynotes usually focus on things in the United States with subtle hints of other countries from time to time but during the WWDC 2016 keynote this morning, Apple made a big statement. China is an important market to Apple and they are embracing their presence. It seems that last year's first-wave launch of the iPhone 6S in China was just the start. </div>
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At this point, is not secret that Apple has a thing for China. They have more Apple Stores in China than any other region outside the US. Not only that, Chinese people also love the iPhone hence there are so many Chinese phones out there that try to mimic the look of iOS. But my point here is that Apple has never done such a thing before and this keynote makes is clear that Apple is ready to take on the Chinese market with full force. </div>
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<b>The Apple Store experience in China and Hong Kong</b> — <i>"there's something pretty marvelous about the Shenzhen Apple Store in particular compared to the other three Apple Stores in Hong Kong and that is there are actually a couple of table and chairs outside the store themselves and the free Wi-Fi actually works from those seats." <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-apple-store-experience-in-china-shenzhen-hong-kong.html">Continue reading.</a></i></blockquote>
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During the keynote Apple VPs like Craig not only mentioned the word China a couple dozen times but they also added quite a number of things that viewers in China might be interested in. Things like mentioning that Siri is integrated with WeChat (which is the primary messaging app in China), randomly sliding in popular location app in China called Dianping, quoting Alipay (the main mobile payment service in China) support with Apple Pay or even mentioning Dim Sum.<br />
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I am actually quite curious if the Apple livestream in China has closed captioning to translate the English keynote into Chinese.<br />
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Apple is continuing to grow it's presence in China and I guess it won't be long before we see an Apple product launch in China. It is bound to happen sooner or later.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Popular app in China</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Chinese food</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Chinese company</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Another Chinese company</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Chinese phone number</i></span></td></tr>
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dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-79602946881993490172016-05-30T15:56:00.000-07:002016-06-11T17:52:02.890-07:00ASUS made a better copy of Apple and Microsoft products<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Copy cats</span></h3>
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Taiwanese PC maker ASUS made a big statement during their Computex 2016 press conference in Taipei yesterday. They introduced a whole slew of computing products in all forms and sizes and honestly, I don't quite remember a company cramming in so much of new products during a launch event. Combining their Zenvolution and ROG event, the company unleashed more than a dozen new products.<br />
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While the smartphone trend has definitely affected trade shows like Computex which has previously been heavy on computer hardware, ASUS did manage to show off a number of PCs alongside their new ZenFone 3 series which is definitely the focus of the press conference as they spent the bulk of the time to explain the new features gracing their new smartphone lineup.<br />
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The overall trend with ASUS's biggest unveiling of the year seems to be catching up with the competition but they did also show off some cool innovations like <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/05/asus-built-robot-called-zenbo-that-can.html" target="_blank">Zenbo</a> and their pure metal technology that makes metal smartphones look better by removing the weird looking antenna lines. And that brings me to the point of this article. Why hasn't Apple done the same thing.<br />
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I know it's a little premature to criticise Apple on this as the iPhone 7 is still not official yet but as leaks have shown, it looks like Apple still plans to keep the antenna lines on the next generation iPhone and as history has shown, Apple will recycle their new iPhone designs every other year. So, we might need to wait another two years before seeing an iPhone without antenna lines.<br />
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But that is just one thing that I have to argue / defend in ASUS's case. Copying a product is not an uncommon thing to see in the tech world. Xiaomi brilliantly copied Apple's software and hardware design in the past and you could say that the keyboard case for the iPad Pro was inspired by Microsoft Type Cover for their Surface line. Companies copying one another is not necessarily bad but why can't they make it better?</div>
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<b>What Apple experts say about the 12.9-inch iPad Pro</b> — <i>" The problem with the iPad is that you only need one iPad because you can get the same app experience on both the mini and the Air, the only difference is the screen size. But that might very well change with the iPad Pro, it is still indefinitely just a bigger iPad " <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/11/what-apple-experts-say-about-ipad-pro.html">Continue reading.</a></i></blockquote>
Not many companies have succeeded in making better copies of the original product but I think ASUS managed to pull it off. The product that amazes me the most is their new ZenBook 3 ultrathin laptop. The ZenBook 3 will be the first 'true' competitor of Apple's 12-inch MacBook and I can't believe it took this long for someone to make a better copy of it.<br />
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Apple fans might be bashing ASUS for copying the MacBook but ASUS copied the MacBook with pride. Sure the ZenBook 3 comes with the same single USB Type-C port like on the 12-inch MacBook but ASUS supercharged Apple's design by including Thunderbolt 3 support that is bound to arrive in a future revision of the MacBook. The new I/O works in tandem with the Intel Core i series processors that ASUS managed to engineer into a body that is just 11.9mm thick.<br />
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ASUS's ZenBook 3 is so identical that I even photoshopped the Apple website with a press image from ASUS which conveniently looks like Apple's own stock image for the MacBook. Don't mistake that for Apple's MacBook.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy6zla20TkEMm6bfuIzkRF0itWsSbNwPycEgPe7nkpD_-z8XMS_bd1AvH7Q42zQRsTNnYvdwClxVPRBzMIZFjog09RCPQaT3dsjOzX_AZYxYOZaoUEANnsKRI7u0P9DromQWKkOJIJKa3L/s1600/asus-zenbook-3-apple-website.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy6zla20TkEMm6bfuIzkRF0itWsSbNwPycEgPe7nkpD_-z8XMS_bd1AvH7Q42zQRsTNnYvdwClxVPRBzMIZFjog09RCPQaT3dsjOzX_AZYxYOZaoUEANnsKRI7u0P9DromQWKkOJIJKa3L/s1600/asus-zenbook-3-apple-website.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5l2X6c4iTef6IWPlLMGZOA0jTEJhIIYF_ZtPdP9sThXCp2aKqupdzm5ejfUA0K7tY7w_GzC8mAE6efye2hcru_ilDyL-cVV16h78H96_a8S5VM8WBoMuWXkU-QKy-FPYSjrV8Qd4BMPZ/s1600/zenbook.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5l2X6c4iTef6IWPlLMGZOA0jTEJhIIYF_ZtPdP9sThXCp2aKqupdzm5ejfUA0K7tY7w_GzC8mAE6efye2hcru_ilDyL-cVV16h78H96_a8S5VM8WBoMuWXkU-QKy-FPYSjrV8Qd4BMPZ/s1600/zenbook.JPG" /></a></div>
Another case of ASUS's contagious copying is with their new Transformer 3 Pro 2-in-1 computer that looks strikingly similar to Microsoft's Surface Pro 4. This is not the first time that a company is using Microsoft's design but this is by far the most identical copy ever made.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Microsoft got ripped off</i></span></blockquote>
But I can't help but notice that ASUS built the Transformer 3 Pro with features that I wished were present on the Surface Pro 4. Like I noted in my lengthy Surface Pro 4 <a href="https://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/05/microsoft-surface-pro-4-review.html" target="_blank">review</a> from last week, Microsoft's decision not to include a USB Type C port is a big step backwards for me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdJh4K43TxxIuoKpEeTjmX4r7GheYiXH1f0GDSbQlnPAZ1adsmf2B1Sttv6fkM1XByJiN8fFeAhNpD6cMp9XTLak9XpFiUDDXamUh4Dw3Y-fTY2l-WfPI0HVjfKRo4MyY54TM-bi60yC2P/s1600/asus-transformer-3-pro-gold.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdJh4K43TxxIuoKpEeTjmX4r7GheYiXH1f0GDSbQlnPAZ1adsmf2B1Sttv6fkM1XByJiN8fFeAhNpD6cMp9XTLak9XpFiUDDXamUh4Dw3Y-fTY2l-WfPI0HVjfKRo4MyY54TM-bi60yC2P/s640/asus-transformer-3-pro-gold.png" width="640" /></a></div>
Seemingly enough, ASUS not only answered my prayers by putting a USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt capabilities on their Surface Pro 4 clone but they also made it just $999. That price includes the whole package; the active pen with 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity and the keyboard cover too. Heck yeah, there's even Windows Hello facial recognition with the IR camera.<br />
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At least now we can be sure that Surface Pro 5 will definitely come with a USB Type-C port and Microsoft might finally include the Type Cover with it.<br />
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There's also the story of the new ROG XG Station 2 which seems to be a copy of the Razer Core GPU dock but given the nature of the product, it is more of a alternative solution than a direct copy.<br />
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Here's all list of the new product that ASUS unveiled during Computex 2016:<br />
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<li>ROG Rampage V Edition 10 — A new X99 motherboard that features RGB lighthing and a lot of bells and whistles. Click <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/05/asus-introduces-rog-rampage-v-edition.html">here to learn more</a>.</li>
<li>ROG G31 Edition 10 — A small desktop computer that features dual GTX 1080's in SLI. Click <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/05/asuss-rog-g31-edition-10-pc-comes-with.html" target="_blank">here to learn more</a></li>
<li>ROG Avalon — A prototype chassis that brings forward ASUS's vision of a modular PC design. Click <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/05/rog-avalon-is-asuss-concept-for-modular.html" target="_blank">here to learn more</a>.</li>
<li>ROG GX800 — The sequel to ASUS's first water-cooled laptop now comes with dual graphics. Click <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/05/meet-second-generation-rog-liquid.html" target="_blank">here to learn more</a>.</li>
<li>ROG XG Station 2 — A Thunderbolt 3 graphics card dock that has a 680W power supply. Click <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/05/asus-also-built-thunderbolt-3-graphics.html" target="_blank">here to learn more</a>.</li>
<li>ASUS Zenbo — Jonney Shih's vision of a smart home assistant. Click <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/05/asus-built-robot-called-zenbo-that-can.html" target="_blank">here to learn more</a>.</li>
<li>ASUS ZenFone 3 — A 5.5-inch android smartphone that features a glass design. Click <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/05/asuss-new-zenfone-3-series-comes-with.html" target="_blank">here to learn more</a>.</li>
<li>ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe — ASUS's flagship smartphone for 2016 with the Snapdragon 820 SoC paired with up to 6GB of RAM. Click <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/05/asuss-new-zenfone-3-series-comes-with.html" target="_blank">here to learn more</a>.</li>
<li>ASUS Zenfone 3 Ultra — ASUS's biggest smartphone yet, comes with a 6.8-inch display and up to 256GB of internal storage. <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/05/asuss-new-zenfone-3-series-comes-with.html" target="_blank">here to learn more</a>.</li>
<li>ASUS Transformer 3 Pro — ASUS's flagship 2-in-1 Windows 10 computer with USB Type-C and Thunderbolt 3. Click <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/05/asuss-three-new-transformer-2-in-1.html" target="_blank">here to learn more</a>.</li>
<li>ASUS Transformer 3 — A 12.6-inch tablet that features a fingerprint reader capable of Windows Hello. Click <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/05/asuss-three-new-transformer-2-in-1.html" target="_blank">here to learn more</a>.</li>
<li>ASUS Transformer 3 Mini — A 10.6-inch tablet that comes with a keyboard cover and fingerprint scanner. Click <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/05/asuss-three-new-transformer-2-in-1.html" target="_blank">here to learn more</a>.</li>
<li>ASUS ZenBook 3 — ASUS's new ultrathin laptop measures in at just 11.9mm and can be configured with a Core i7 CPU. Click <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/05/asuss-new-zenbook-3-comes-with.html" target="_blank">here to learn more</a>.</li>
</ol>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Insider Talk</i></h2>
Gosh, it has been a long long time since I actually talked about ASUS in this site. I think the last time I actually talked about it is when I first started covering Computex in 2012. I thought I was not going to watch this ASUS press conference but I felt the need to watch it and it was totally worth it because it is on of the best I have seen in a long time. Expect to see a couple of reviews coming up in June and the aforementioned WWDC is happening in the next two weeks so I'll have some commentary on that. </div>
dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-3385895134789450952016-05-21T22:30:00.002-07:002016-05-21T23:32:56.172-07:00Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Review: Nearly perfect<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Should you buy a laptop or a tablet? That question still remains to be answered. Apple in particular is betting that tablets (<a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.com/2015/11/apples-129-ipad-pro-is-now-available-in.html" target="_blank">iPad Pro</a>) is the solution for the future. But in the Windows camp, Microsoft and it's partners are going multiple ways. The most popular and versatile option being the 2-in-1 form factor which is able to be both a tablet and a regular laptop. Microsoft's Surface Pro lineup has come a long way. Being refined each and every part of the way, the Surface Pro 4 is nearly a perfect machine for being a tablet and also a laptop for day to day use.<br />
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In terms of the hardware, Microsoft has got it spot on but the software in the other hand is not as perfect as the Surface Pro 3 when it first came out to the market. I will be taking this review from a basis of a computer rather than a tablet, because honestly, I rarely used it as a tablet because Windows 10 just isn't made for touch.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>My experience in buying the Surface Pro 4 in Malaysia</b> — "<i>I waited for a few days and out of the blue, an email from Lazada came up saying that my order has been cancelled and that a refund towards my payment will be made in the next two days. This made me very even furious compared to what I was facing when they told me to wait for two weeks" <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.com/2015/12/my-experience-in-buying-surface-pro-4.html" target="_blank">Continue reading.</a></i></blockquote>
Before jumping into the nitty gritty stuff, I have to talk about buying this Surface Pro 4 itself. It's no secret that Microsoft was having some serious yield issues in the start mainly due to Intel not having enough Skylake processors for production. But that was Microsoft's side of the problem, my side of the problem has to do with a combination of hardware and logistical issues.<br />
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Long story short, the unit that I am using right now is the second Surface Pro 4 model because the first one I got had a dead left speaker and the online store I ordered mine took 3 weeks to tell me they were out of stock. You can read more about that story <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.com/2015/12/my-experience-in-buying-surface-pro-4.html" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
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<a name='more'></a><h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Design</span></h2>
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This is Microsoft's 4th attempt at making a tablet that can replace your laptop, most of the exterior changes made are merely design tweaks. Gone is the Surface branding as Microsoft is trying to be like some fruit brand with the reflective Microsoft logo on the back. The logo on the back not only serves as the only branding on the device but is also a handy mirror if the screen on the front is not reflective enough for you. But, the shiny logo has it's drawback, it is a fingerprint magnet. And if you're hoping for a shiny Intel Skylake sticker, there's not one here.<br />
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And of course, Microsoft's signature kickstand that gave the Surface line it's name is present here on the Surface Pro 4. It is not much different from the one on the Pro 3 but I did notice (when comparing the Pro 3 and Pro 4 side by side) that the hinge mechanism on the Pro 4 is a little larger and that the Pro 4 is able to stand out more of a 85 degree angle before snapping in.<br />
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For the most part, the kickstand served me well. However, I did come to realize that the kickstand is not as versatile as a laptop hinge and the most apparent issue is that the kickstand cannot go beyond the 90 degree angle. To solve that, I usually prop the kickstand on something like a book to get that desired angle.<br />
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As a whole, the device feels great in the hand. The ports and the buttons are nicely laid out and in the case of the buttons, they feel very tactile. The magnets on the side used to secure the Surface Pen is a nice touch and most of the times, the pen does stay pretty snug on the side. And probably the best design choice of all is the microSD card slot which sits under the kickstand. Some people might be ticked off by the microSD card slot but I personally only use microSD cards these days so the slot is very useful for me<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Skinning the Surface Pro 4</b> — <i>"So, is it worth the money? I would say yes because they are using high quality materials and compared to other skins available, drband has the most affordable prices. I will most likely try dbrand once again when I get my hands on a new smartphone" <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/05/skinning-surface-pro-4-dbrand.html">Continue reading.</a></i></blockquote>
Also, here's a tiny thing that Microsoft improved with the Surface Pro 4. That is that the microSD card slot is now spring loaded opposed to the manual release slot on the Pro 3.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj357wQSSKj_awDa5AYXrDO-EcvBlzGmAFgTocKfjk1ocyM2ThRWa_25rp7To_PynsR7FvfqokkjBaGJ1xOudvV1UNDCTF6_8YNHqQyZlY0bo28OTXXnzuQQyqaufBvx_E3QLbEUmfgRmwM/s1600/_SAM7415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj357wQSSKj_awDa5AYXrDO-EcvBlzGmAFgTocKfjk1ocyM2ThRWa_25rp7To_PynsR7FvfqokkjBaGJ1xOudvV1UNDCTF6_8YNHqQyZlY0bo28OTXXnzuQQyqaufBvx_E3QLbEUmfgRmwM/s1600/_SAM7415.JPG" /></a><br />
The overall design of the Surface Pro 4 looks good, but I can't stop imagining it with that black magnesium case that earlier Surface models came with. It's not that I don't like the silver-esque color but since there are multiple Surface Pen colors available, there should also be multiple color options. Since Apple is already starting to give their laptops the <a href="https://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.com/2016/03/apples-new-97-inch-ipad-pro-comes-with.html" target="_blank">pink paintjob</a>, I guess it won't be long before Microsoft start making the Surface available in different colors.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Performance</span></h2>
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The model that I have been using is the baseline core i5 model with 128GB of SSD storage paired with 4GB of RAM. Personally, I don't use too many applications and I am pretty content with the 128GB of storage which rounds up to about 60GB of storage for me to keep data locally after installing all of the essential applications that I use. However, I am certainly not happy with the 4GB of RAM. I really don't understand why Microsoft didn't make 8GB of RAM standard on the Surface Pro 4. The price of DRAM is only going lower over time and it's not like the SP4 is using DDR4 memory, it is just the usual DDR3 low voltage cards in single channel.<br />
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Another gripe I have is regarding the absence of a USB Type C port. Most of the laptops coming out these days have it and it's not like the Intel chipset doesn't support the new interface. I would have liked to see a USB C with Thunderbolt capabilities replace the mini-DP port and it be cool to charge the Surface with a external battery pack. The single USB port in the other hand is just right for me, my only use for it is to plug in the Logitech Unifying receiver for my mouse.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Surface Pro 4 Key Specifications:</span></h3>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>12.3-inch PixelSense display (2736 x 1824)</li>
<li>Intel Core i5 6300U @ 2.4GHz</li>
<li>Intel HD Graphics 520</li>
<li>4GB LPDDR3 memory</li>
<li>128GB SSD</li>
<li>8MP rear camera</li>
<li>5MP front camera</li>
<li>Wi-Fi 802.11ac & BT 4.0</li>
<li>Windows 10 Pro</li>
<li>USB 3.0 port</li>
<li>Mini DisplayPort</li>
<li>3.5mm jack</li>
<li>292.10 x 201.42 x 8.45mm</li>
<li>786g</li>
<li>$1,129</li>
</ul>
But other than that, I am pretty content with the overall performance of the Core i5 6300U processor. Honestly, processors these days are pretty capable for the usual work like browsing the web and using Microsoft Office. As a student and an occasional blogger, what I do is mostly relates to some heavy web browsing, Photoshop, OneNote, some coding and a lot of Twitter (I interchange between Tweeten and the Twitter app). I personally do not play any AA or AAA games by any stretch but I have recently become addicted to the <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/disney-crossy-road/9nblggh5nxf1" target="_blank">Disney Crossy Road</a> game which is not at all CPU intensive.<br />
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But seriously, Crossy Road is very addictive<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFhJnURZaIpp1AF_lB0pjS-set3UoGNt8hPbZviPOIu2s-gxIFTmLIW1FmSItRM2ndwbNxfUCDn77budocenSzed2TaM7eXTU0peg8pvUxY3ihuiHWF0rrW3rYFGNe-j6aDp5hyphenhypheneHc4OU/s1600/_SAM7469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFhJnURZaIpp1AF_lB0pjS-set3UoGNt8hPbZviPOIu2s-gxIFTmLIW1FmSItRM2ndwbNxfUCDn77budocenSzed2TaM7eXTU0peg8pvUxY3ihuiHWF0rrW3rYFGNe-j6aDp5hyphenhypheneHc4OU/s1600/_SAM7469.JPG" /></a><br />
For years now, I have been relying on my desktop which has a 23-inch monitor. Those were the days. I had my doubts when I decided to get the Surface Pro 4 which had a 12.3-inch display and the number itself already sounds small. Surprisingly, I got used to the smaller screen pretty quick. By cranking up the scaling from 200% to 150%, I felt pretty much at home.<br />
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For me, the default 200% scaling makes things look a little too big to my liking and only at 150% that things started to look like my desktop monitor. Most noticeable is at that scaling, the facebook and twitter website has a nice padding on either sides.<br />
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Some people might disagree with me on the 150% scaling because the text and icons look very small. This is a very personal kind of thing and people have questioned me when they use my Surface on how I'm able to survive with things looking so small. But there is something that is constantly bugging me, scaling on Windows 10 is still not perfect. At 200%, everything scales nicely but when toned down to 150%, some programs end up looking badly scaled.<br />
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btw, if you want to see benchmark scores, check out Anandtech's review <a href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/9727/the-microsoft-surface-pro-4-review-raising-the-bar/4" target="_blank">here</a><br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Type Cover 4</span></h2>
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It is a little silly that Microsoft still doesn't include the Type Cover with the Surface Pro 4 nor do they have any bundle pricing if you buy the Type Cover with the Surface Pro 4. The new Type Cover 4 has been redesigned with new island styled keys and a larger glass trackpad. In day to day use, the trackpad is very fluid in scrolling and reacts nicely to the Windows 10 gestures most of the times.<br />
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One thing that is a hit or miss is the Type Cover connection to the Surface. I wouldn't say it is bad but it is certainly not perfect. Sometimes it just randomly causes the trackpad to not work while the keyboard functions normally. And often times, putting the Type Cover flat on the surface causes it to disconnect. Not exactly sure if this is a software issue or a physical connection issue.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAZF7BSYKMfY-vU6Uqb5GUXgwxxMImJzOXfO6GlsNpWWDYLEFYvLaqW-AxOKMbcaHDiB95h9EzhaYawty6ZdLiZzyKmfsFE3fD9E9zpx-DJU9lTB6nddBUilVq8lj5MbLc8cP5fkzUo0P/s1600/_SAM7446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAZF7BSYKMfY-vU6Uqb5GUXgwxxMImJzOXfO6GlsNpWWDYLEFYvLaqW-AxOKMbcaHDiB95h9EzhaYawty6ZdLiZzyKmfsFE3fD9E9zpx-DJU9lTB6nddBUilVq8lj5MbLc8cP5fkzUo0P/s1600/_SAM7446.JPG" /></a><br />
The overall typing experience is very good, keys are nicely spaced out, the backlighting is quite effective and the key layout is just the way I like it. Would have liked another 'Ctrl' button on the right though. However, there is something that I have noticed, typing on the keyboard while it is propped up at the second angle tends to bring out a deep clicky sound. The keys feel solid but the Type Cover 4 is by no means a quiet keyboard.<br />
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That is why sometimes, I prefer to type with the keyboard flat on the surface. Particularly in the library.<br />
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Another thing I've noticed is that the cloth like material that the Type Cover 4 is made out of tends to attract a lot of debris. However, that is easily fixed with a damp cloth.<br />
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Last but not least is the lapability factor. You can't talk about the Type Cover 4 without mentioning it's lapability. The Type Cover 4 is capable of being used on the lap but not for long periods of time as the hinge resting on my bare legs is not the most comfortable thing. Also, given the nature of the setup, I found that using the keyboard is fine but using the trackpad is not that ergonomic at all<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Windows 10</span></h2>
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The Surface Pro 4 comes with Windows 10 Pro and since I got it back in December, there has been quite a number of firmware and software updates released to improve the hardware performance of the device. For the first few months, the big problem was that the Surface was unable to properly go to standby mode which caused the CPU to continue running even after it was put to sleep.<br />
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This causes the Sleep of Death (the scenario where the Surface could not be turned back on without a soft reset) to take place randomly when the Surface goes to sleep. What made the Sleep of Death annoying is it's unpredictable nature, sometimes when I am rushing to class, I end up just putting it to sleep and chucking it in my bag. When I take out the Surface in class (20 minutes after), the whole Surface is so hot because the CPU is running but the fan is not turned on. fyi, that also cause the battery to drain pretty badly.<br />
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That was one of the problems that caused the delay of this review. But Microsoft did eventually <a href="http://www.windowslatest.com/2016/02/18/microsoft-releases-update-that-address-sleep-issues-with-the-surface-pro-4-and-surface-book/" target="_blank">release a patch</a> that fixed the issue. The problem might be fixed, but I will always live in the fear that the Sleep of Death will come back once again. It's actually pretty scary. On the bright side, this sleep issue has taught me how to soft reset the Surface and also acquainted me with the UEFI Bios<br />
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Another problem that has bugged me like big time is the fans. For some wild reason, the fans will ramp up to maximum speed when the processor usage is low. This is an unexplainable issue, sometimes the fan goes full speed and sometimes it doesn't. I am not particularly sure why this is happening but I can bet it has something to do with Windows 10.<br />
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One of the coolest things about Windows 10 is Windows Hello which is Microsoft's biometric authentication platform. On the Surface Pro 4, Windows Hello comes in the form of an iris scanner. This is definitely the coolest thing on the Surface Pro 4...when it actually works. Whether it works or not really is up to luck. But it looks like Microsoft is working on improving iris scanning algorithm as there has been quite a number of updates on it recently.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Windows 10 review</b> — <i>"Formerly called Project Spartan, the new Edge browser looks nothing like IE other than a few similar design cues. It looks somewhat like Firefox with a Windows 10 theme put over it. Deep down, Microsoft made a lot of changes to the core runtime of Microsoft Edge to give it a performance edge" <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/07/windows-10-review-malaysia-2015.html" target="_blank">Continue reading.</a></i></blockquote>
Honestly, there isn't too much to talk about Windows 10 on the Surface Pro 4. Most of the new Windows 10 stuff like the Start Menu and Cortana I have already talked in my lengthy <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/07/windows-10-review-malaysia-2015.html" target="_blank">Windows 10 review</a> and not much can be said until the Windows 10 <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.com/2016/03/windows-10s-first-major-update-is.html" target="_blank">Anniversary update</a> comes out. With that update, I will be able to talk in detail about the specific features that takes advantage of the Surface Pen.<br />
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As for my opinions of the Surface Pen?<br />
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In the last couple of months, I only used the Surface Pen a couple of times. Even as a student, I have only tried taking notes with the pen a couple of times only as I still prefer to type than write. The latency for me is still an issue coupled with the fact that the screen gets pretty warm after writing for long periods of time making the experience not so pleasing.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zl0MuqarNcNtmwhvz1nWOgIWpLRG3e2aYMpc3lf1T8MeelRLszpbMErD6Ww-x1wdZiSbeTNLx97Jh4pvHzgzH-POJ4TiIhAqhr-IMcBmaLk4Zy45R5Ossj1z1LDUHtTbJIBS-beYEFyX/s1600/_SAM8577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zl0MuqarNcNtmwhvz1nWOgIWpLRG3e2aYMpc3lf1T8MeelRLszpbMErD6Ww-x1wdZiSbeTNLx97Jh4pvHzgzH-POJ4TiIhAqhr-IMcBmaLk4Zy45R5Ossj1z1LDUHtTbJIBS-beYEFyX/s1600/_SAM8577.JPG" /></a><br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Battery Life</span></h2>
This is the tough part, I would like to say that I managed to go through a full day with a 100% charge but that's not the case here. The Surface Pro 4 barely even makes it through half a day on a full charge. There are reviews out there which claim that you could get about 7.5hours of battery life which is pretty darn close to Microsoft's claim of 8 hours of battery life. But the fact is that software (and firmware) updates are rolling out pretty often and each update brings a new set of changes to the battery performance. Sometimes it's good and sometimes it's bad.<br />
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The best that I could get is around 5 hours of constant usage and that is with the brightness turned down to 0% and the device being in Airplane mode. With Wi-Fi on and the brightness set to 50%, I only managed to get a little over 2 hours of battery life and I was using Edge opposed to Chrome. The battery life is frustratingly bad and I need to always lug around the power brick.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Conclusion</span></h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpT6WfvVOkx97HXMqUTuaLklFzP4a9MKOkRhTsxq449bmGSBJX_3v3nQQywEc7SOOdZMCmZc63HbTlW2aMriNEERanTXKT9C4KFduEOCr_8itFhoJKX2o_XmGw4XsCImfxVf4RHQq5el9i/s1600/_SAM7419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpT6WfvVOkx97HXMqUTuaLklFzP4a9MKOkRhTsxq449bmGSBJX_3v3nQQywEc7SOOdZMCmZc63HbTlW2aMriNEERanTXKT9C4KFduEOCr_8itFhoJKX2o_XmGw4XsCImfxVf4RHQq5el9i/s1600/_SAM7419.JPG" /></a><br />
The biggest drawback of the Surface Pro 4 has to be the software experience. Even 6 months after it's initial release, the software is still buggy. The bad software caused a lot of issues to stability, performance and battery life. The Surface Pro 4 might be thinner and lighter than the MacBook Air, but it just cannot compete with Apple's 12 hour battery life.<br />
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Microsoft has built a magnificent piece of hardware that is very versatile in different situations and the idea of using magnets to attach things is still very much original. But I would rather have a slightly thicker and heavier device than a buggy one.<br />
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<b>My first week with the Surface Pro 4 </b>— <i>"The truth is that the new Type Cover with island styled keys is actually physically heavier than the old Surface Pro 3 Type Cover. Add it up with the new Surface Pro 4 and boom! The Surface Pro 4 is a heavier product overall…by 3 grams. Not something that you will notice but the heavier Type Cover probably has to do with the new glass trackpad." <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/12/my-first-week-with-surface-pro-4.html">Continue reading.</a></i></blockquote>
The Surface Pro 4 is not what you call an affordable system, you could easily buy something from Lenovo or Asus with the same specs or even better for the fraction of the cost. I chose the Surface Pro 4 mainly because I seem to have a thing for Microsoft and I love the idea of the convertible form factor. As a student, I did not have a load of money to spend on a computer. So, I am fortunate to have gotten this.<br />
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So, how has the convertible form factor thing gotten to me? Well, I have to say that I am liking the form factor but the software in my opinion is still not taking full advantage of the hardware. I hope that with the improvements being introduced with the Windows 10 Anniversary update will make me want to use the pen more often. The pen in my opinion is the most unappreciated thing on this device.<br />
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<i>Insider talk</i></h2>
This is the first tablet/laptop review I have done on this site. Previously it was just smaller devices like phones and wearables. What I can tell you is that this review took a long time to write and curate. I did have some initial drafts but those did not seem to capture what I was experience. I could have published those revisions but I didn't. I believe that this final version you are reading has everything I want to express in the best possible way.<br />
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Most of the photos you see have been taken months ago which shows how much I have been planning this article. I actually took a lot of photos and tried out different styles but the photos you are seeing is just a portion of it. The more the review was delayed, the more photos I managed to capture. Besides the Windows 10 review, this is probably my second longest article I have ever written. In terms of the actual delay, I believe this is the second most delay article, the most delayed being the <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/11/oaxis-star-21-review-forming-a-new-habit-in-21-days.html" target="_blank">Star.21 review</a> which took almost a year to complete.<br />
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one other reason why i don't use it as a tablet because it is heavy, don't want to break a $1,000 tablet. At about 1kg, the Surface Pro 4 is not a light tablet by any means.<br />
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span></i> <i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">dw</span></i></div>
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dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Sandwich, MA, USA41.7589615 -70.49393169999996241.5693165 -70.816655199999957 41.9486065 -70.171208199999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-89486987371802520962016-05-21T10:34:00.000-07:002016-05-21T10:34:02.026-07:00My doubts about the Smart Home<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>The perfect world of Google Home</i></h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZeiVFAhlX_YGtRCFTCxpALuaybXF0L5vdshrUgZtt5OqOqzvLTuYO8XEywED39Ri0um98Ilow9L7wk-lWaxy8zw44gaqAmuC3r4h8JA6rbBVCGA0QR1Hm8IfaDxkgP0s4KKPzQMI2zADJ/s1600/google-home-living-room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZeiVFAhlX_YGtRCFTCxpALuaybXF0L5vdshrUgZtt5OqOqzvLTuYO8XEywED39Ri0um98Ilow9L7wk-lWaxy8zw44gaqAmuC3r4h8JA6rbBVCGA0QR1Hm8IfaDxkgP0s4KKPzQMI2zADJ/s1600/google-home-living-room.jpg" /></a><br />
This year at I/O, Google looked into the future with lots of bright ideas that implement various Google technologies. There were some cool things like the new Google Assistant or the new Android Instant apps, but what caught my attention most is Google Home. The big reason why I feel so excited about it is because I just reviewed the Chromecast earlier this week and the Google Home speaker feels like the extension of that.<br />
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Just like what the Nexus Q could've been, Google Home Is the central hub for Google's vision for the smart home. People are calling the Google Home as the true competitor of Amazon's Echo speaker first introduced last year and even Google made it clear about where they got the inspiration to build a talking speaker. <br />
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Right now, concrete information about the technical specification and actual functionality that the Google Home is capable of is still scarce. But there is a video that Google played during the announcement to introduce the product to the crowd of developers at Google I/O. That video made me real excited and also doubtful about the validity of the product.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5bYSX2C4aWc" width="800"></iframe><br />
<br />Check out the video above if you haven't<br /><br />The first thing you notice about the Google Home is that it blends in nicely in a home environment. And the coolest design aspect has to be the 4 LED lights on the top of the hub. Additionally, Google is making the Home a little bit more customizable with a replaceable base.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3AiWrXrak1yBlMdWIA5_IG8wE1tDzNIzUBd2ruVZya1jNy-NnOxjkJ3JfTdKuKRlyanS2MI3KIzgkbb0DKQkudv8xnL0xuvz5LmCr6AJRS40zMXfymUESBqRj20ft7KUeOumVB7EltEc/s1600/2016screen-shot-2016-05-18-at-1-20-53-pmjt-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3AiWrXrak1yBlMdWIA5_IG8wE1tDzNIzUBd2ruVZya1jNy-NnOxjkJ3JfTdKuKRlyanS2MI3KIzgkbb0DKQkudv8xnL0xuvz5LmCr6AJRS40zMXfymUESBqRj20ft7KUeOumVB7EltEc/s1600/2016screen-shot-2016-05-18-at-1-20-53-pmjt-1.jpg" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Ecosystem</span></h2>
In terms of functionality, Google Home is Similar to Amazon's Echo line of speakers, but opposed to revolving around Amazon services, the Home revolves around your Google account. While you might not be able to buy something from Amazon through Google Home, Google is promising that their hub for the smart home will be an intelligent piece of hardware that is able to blur the lines between all your devices. Provided that the hardware you are using is supported by Google Home.<br /><br />Comparing Google Home to the Echo, Google's solution has a big advantage over Amazon's one mainly due to Google's expertise in the voice recognition and contextual search field. Just like the Echo, Google has built the Home to primarily be a voice assistant. Google Home will work with first party hardware like Nest and Chromecast but at the moment Google isn't detailing support for third party smart home hardware. <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Google Chromecast (2015) Review</b> — <i>"At just $35 (or sometimes even lower depending on where you are looking), the Chromecast is a dirt cheap option to get videos from your smartphone to your TV without any wires. A word of advice, if you want to get the Chromecast in any other color than black, you will need to." <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/05/google-chromecast-2nd-generation-review.html">Continue reading.</a></i></blockquote>
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And that is where my doubts come in. I have not much experience in smart home tech nor have I personally used the Amazon Echo. But I do know what makes a good smart home hub. Being able to connect with a wide range of hardware is the single most important thing. Even if you have amazing voice recognition and the knowledge of the internet, not being able to work nicely with other hardware is going to be a problem.<br /><br />Here's the thing, from what I can see, the smart home thing is very similar to the platform wars we have with smartphones and tablets. It won't be long before every other tech company comes out with their own solution. But given the competition amongst tech companies, I doubt that there will ever be a perfect smart home hub because as more smart home hubs begin to pop up, some companies will choose to take sides. </div>
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This means that choosing a smart home hub will solely depend on which ecosystem you want to buy yourself in.</div>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Functionality</span></h2>
Tracking packages, switching off the lights, playing your favorite playlist, changing your thermostat temperature all with your voice. Frankly speaking, doing all of these tasks with your voice sound very cool and futuristic.<br /><br />In my opinion, Google might be able to pull off the perfect smart home solution mainly because their contextual search is as good as it gets. You just can't beat Google search. But by how much does this search advantage give Google the edge in the real world?<br /><br />Google says that with your voice you can easily change your calendar appointment, book movie tickets or reserve a table for dinner. It is clear that this is a best case scenario of utilizing what Google Home has to offer but also begs the question of support outside of the US. As most of these services like Fandango and Open Table are not openly supported in places other than North America. </div>
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What Google Home needs the most is to support a lot of services and hardware. Only then will it have the opportunity to take over my home.<br /><br />The idea of controlling your home through a virtual assistant is still cool as ever but there are a lot of small bits and pieces that Google (and other aspiring smart home hub makers) need to fix before this idea of a smart home hub can be a global phenomenon. Google Home will be arriving later this year for a unnamed price and unsure market availability.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjI9MZq-CBdgEXIRD8BFbOkQj1klGFztMDfUOGrmS5A_4TSGgBpdYAx7Io7sE44oAKyZJ7roqYZkXHF4O5qVFsyHz1vV17nLEMk6pFc2bhuC7GsWYjPmYxGmSN1a5XH3aT8cAXULERxAOa/s1600/google-home-features-io16.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjI9MZq-CBdgEXIRD8BFbOkQj1klGFztMDfUOGrmS5A_4TSGgBpdYAx7Io7sE44oAKyZJ7roqYZkXHF4O5qVFsyHz1vV17nLEMk6pFc2bhuC7GsWYjPmYxGmSN1a5XH3aT8cAXULERxAOa/s1600/google-home-features-io16.png" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Insider Talk</i></h2>
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<div>
This has been some week, lots of exciting news. The Google I/O keynote this years wasn't the most exciting one as most of it was just things that we were expecting. No crazy demos of any sort. I was actually planning to write something about the new Android Daydream platform but there isn't much to talk about that yet. I will save it and talk about my opinions about VR for later this year. Maybe after WWDC next month? </div>
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Personally, I think that the Google Home name is very confusing. It's hard to talk about it without confusing people. They should've given it a less common name. </div>
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Stay tuned for the Surface Pro 4 review coming in a couple of hours.</div>
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Btw, check out the new site design. Most noticeably is that the font has been updated to Google's Roboto font. </div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>dw</i></span></div>
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dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Sandwich, MA, USA41.7589615 -70.49393169999996241.5693165 -70.816655199999957 41.9486065 -70.171208199999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-5592408562703298262016-05-16T12:07:00.004-07:002016-05-16T12:07:39.551-07:00Google Chromecast (2015) Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Google's original Chromecast launched in 2013 and since then, the hardware product evolved into and ecosystem with the <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.com/2016/03/googles-chromecast-streaming-technology.html" target="_blank">rebranding</a> of the Chromecast app into Google Cast. That shift in focus was due to the introduction of the 2nd generation Chromecast last year which introduced a new puck like design and also a second model dedicated to streaming audio. <br />
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In case you are unfamiliar with Google's Chromecast technology, it is a pretty simple concept. With the $35 Chromecast dongle, any television will automatically turn into a smart TV with the help of the Google Cast application on your Android or iOS device. The idea is pretty ingenious and frankly speaking, the process of streaming videos from your smartphone to a television is so simple and flawless.<br />
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So, here's my review of the 2nd generation Google Chromecast (2015)<br />
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<a name='more'></a><h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Unboxing</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZRWbdrjsKH887PU-LW3CPfeml_qpiTBNXxWbHBDroX8U-_2YvTLbJk7qRNu_nThn6FBCRTh75keUk8VCqykOdnCaa1AbAj6JKNjqVRGkEhPhG4znQF942ZF9zatoMuQ1RpYpQMuY4xWB/s1600/WP_20160205_05_34_19_Pro__highres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZRWbdrjsKH887PU-LW3CPfeml_qpiTBNXxWbHBDroX8U-_2YvTLbJk7qRNu_nThn6FBCRTh75keUk8VCqykOdnCaa1AbAj6JKNjqVRGkEhPhG4znQF942ZF9zatoMuQ1RpYpQMuY4xWB/s1600/WP_20160205_05_34_19_Pro__highres.jpg" /></a></div>
At just $35 (or sometimes even lower depending on where you are looking), the Chromecast is a dirt cheap option to get videos from your smartphone to your TV without any wires. A word of advice, if you want to get the Chromecast in any other color than black, you will need to buy it directly from <a href="https://store.google.com/product/chromecast_2015" target="_blank">Google</a>. Other vendors like <a href="http://www.bestbuy.com/site/google-chromecast-black/4397400.p?id=1219757973565&skuId=4397400" target="_blank">BestBuy</a> and <a href="http://www.target.com/p/google-chromecast/-/A-50072152#prodSlot=medium_1_9&term=chromecast" target="_blank">Target</a> only have it in black. And if you were wondering why I didn't mention Amazon?<br />
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Well, Amazon doesn't sell Chromecast due to competition between their own line of streaming sticks.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvpf14cZozxDr4vDNoJoaBjSUKusCKb34l7pjHWickk1GCes9a6cnR5RoZMGRBrO5_OpEKmq1ScrY3cc1eR9VhyphenhyphenRdnoD0eAGV6cYZ-KyIy_26cj2z1CBG9QnBfYNy8TzhwZtbo_whyphenhyphentSGK/s1600/chromecast-2-colors.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvpf14cZozxDr4vDNoJoaBjSUKusCKb34l7pjHWickk1GCes9a6cnR5RoZMGRBrO5_OpEKmq1ScrY3cc1eR9VhyphenhyphenRdnoD0eAGV6cYZ-KyIy_26cj2z1CBG9QnBfYNy8TzhwZtbo_whyphenhyphentSGK/s320/chromecast-2-colors.png" width="131" /></a>Google Chromecast (2015) Key Specifications</h2>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Marvell Armada 1500 Mini Plus 88DE3006 SoC</li>
<li>512MB DDR3L RAM</li>
<li>256MB memory</li>
<li>1080P streaming</li>
<li>802.11 ac Wi-Fi @ 2.4/5GHz</li>
<li>5V/1A input</li>
<li>51.9 x 51.9 x 13.49mm</li>
<li>39.1g</li>
<li>Black, Coral, Lemonade</li>
<li>$35</li>
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Inside the box, you will get the Chromecast itself, some documentation and a pretty nice looking wall adapter along with a microUSB cable to power the device. Unlike the first generation Chromecast from 2013, the new 2nd generation Chromecast comes in a puck like design that has a HDMI lead coming out of it. The new design makes room for a new Wi-Fi modem that supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi and 5GHz connections. The new bendy HDMI cable also means that the Chromecast can be easily stored and hidden behind your TV more easily.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Configuring the Chromecast</span></h2>
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Setting up the Chromecast is a fairly simple procedure. In the hardware side, all you need to do is to plug in the Chromecast into a vacant HDMI port on your TV and plug in the microUSB power. In most modern televisions, there is a built in USB port that is capable of supplying power to the Chromecast without the need to using the wall adapter provided.<br />
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Next, you will need to download the Google Cast application on your Android or iOS device. Launch the application and navigate your way to the 'Devices' tab and search for your Chromecast. Once your Chromecast has been found, your phone will be connected to the Chromecast's Wi-Fi network and after a couple of steps in configuring the Wi-Fi, device name and updating the software, you're pretty much done. The whole process shouldn't take more than 15 minutes. <br />
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If all goes well, you should see an introductory video showing how you can beam videos from your smartphone to the Chromecast. There are two ways you can do it, one is through the Google Cast application on your smartphone and the other way is through a Chrome extension.<br />
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<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Google Cast App</span></h2>
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There isn't really much to talk about how to actually stream a video from your phone to the TV. As previously mentioned, everything about the Chromecast is designed to be simple and straight to the point. Basically, wherever you see the Google Cast icon, all you have to do is click on it and select the device you want to stream the video to and that's it. <br />
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<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.chromecast.app&hl=en" target="_blank">Google Cast (Android)</a><br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-cast/id680819774?mt=8" target="_blank">Google Cast(iOS)</a><br />
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How the streaming works is that when you hit the Google Cast button, the Chromecast will launch the specific app (ie YouTube, Netflix, etc) to stream the video you requested. What this means is that the video is not directly streaming off your smartphone so you can rest assured that your battery will not drain. This is one of the improvements that the second generation Chromecast brings. <br />
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While video streaming is the feature of the Chromecast, you can also stream your (Android only) phone's display to the TV. Also, one thing to note is that Chromecast only supports streaming videos up to 1080P so, you will have to bear with the streaming quality if you have a 4K TV. Additionally, one thing I found out while streaming video through Chrome on Android is that you cannot close the background task while streaming.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIhpORGRYmF3lH3ZMljJkJsBeeSvTjsCQX9ZjmXSyNkS6HqaguDgAR0smHKQVFe2HEeADJWiJ8FYXV5QnQpRZl_GrjtCLs3bjoluR3C5h235Tc1ikO0HMQ2_ngwAMVxBOfXFRStexC2Zd/s1600/2016-05-15+18.01-horz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIhpORGRYmF3lH3ZMljJkJsBeeSvTjsCQX9ZjmXSyNkS6HqaguDgAR0smHKQVFe2HEeADJWiJ8FYXV5QnQpRZl_GrjtCLs3bjoluR3C5h235Tc1ikO0HMQ2_ngwAMVxBOfXFRStexC2Zd/s1600/2016-05-15+18.01-horz.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Through the Google Cast app, you can change things like the wallpaper and device information</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kMRRPaOgGM52fgiatitNaE-YgCu0JxmpooYImD1_OJSthggHVGhkzk-iAvGJa45j9YhTtRGPjazMskyzKyLTpmBT612qTIhcpCxaUKao6isoheVsxshc6SBNhZnVU4R6rtKbmbuGs2z4/s1600/2016-05-15+17.51-horz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kMRRPaOgGM52fgiatitNaE-YgCu0JxmpooYImD1_OJSthggHVGhkzk-iAvGJa45j9YhTtRGPjazMskyzKyLTpmBT612qTIhcpCxaUKao6isoheVsxshc6SBNhZnVU4R6rtKbmbuGs2z4/s1600/2016-05-15+17.51-horz.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>How the YouTube app looks like when streaming video. You can add videos to the queue or play/pause/fast forward</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Chromecast streaming also works on Chrome. Once the streaming has begun, there will be a special screen which enables the usual video controls. It is also handy to know that you can toggle the volume even when your phone's screen is off. </i></span></td></tr>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Google Chrome Extension</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBD-y3W4fD_Msy1tDyHisZYrvjFk8sVUG71qDxEu1qb_KupV8lhs5P78FW3MTItOeKT_swprQ-rDbGKc9mwQztB3UE5hqcm_t6elmhiutEAbXgXunIZUIN4nECYp1ZRo-0n7yn-lxDb85/s1600/Screenshot+%2528461%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXBD-y3W4fD_Msy1tDyHisZYrvjFk8sVUG71qDxEu1qb_KupV8lhs5P78FW3MTItOeKT_swprQ-rDbGKc9mwQztB3UE5hqcm_t6elmhiutEAbXgXunIZUIN4nECYp1ZRo-0n7yn-lxDb85/s1600/Screenshot+%2528461%2529.png" /></a></span></span><br />
If you don't have a smartphone handy, there is a Chrome extension available through the Chrome Store that enables you to mirror tabs and stream videos to your Chromecast. Just keep in mind that while you can stream vides to the Chromecast from Google Chrome, you will still need the Google Cast app on your Android or iOS device to setup the Chromecast.<br />
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<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-cast/boadgeojelhgndaghljhdicfkmllpafd">Google Cast Chrome Extension (free)</a><br />
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Just like on Android and iOS, the Google Cast button works just as expected. But the biggest difference is that the Google Cast Chrome extension (in most cases) works differently compared to the streaming on your smartphone. Opposed to launching a native app on Chromecast, the Chrome extension merely mirrors the videos to your TV.<br />
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The downside of that is that videos will stutter but the upside is that the Google Cast extension will be able to directly mirror your Chrome tab onto your TV. It doesn't need to be a video, anything that you can open on your Chrome tab can be display onto your TV.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFc9R-7q7dGN5ZO08tY-RfcRjSuIGIQkP0wgb8hqQtPRQyKeUcO2jVsKTCiHVRu_9_QvAuPB9ruh0jAr87ucOAjEfvKdt1gVUXjnImieowTgXNmEVCHkaFWg45Jsq73urLfHFw984Kvp18/s1600/Screenshot+%2528462%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFc9R-7q7dGN5ZO08tY-RfcRjSuIGIQkP0wgb8hqQtPRQyKeUcO2jVsKTCiHVRu_9_QvAuPB9ruh0jAr87ucOAjEfvKdt1gVUXjnImieowTgXNmEVCHkaFWg45Jsq73urLfHFw984Kvp18/s1600/Screenshot+%2528462%2529.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>There's two ways you can stream videos through Google Chrome, either through the Google Cast button on your browser which mirrors the entire tab or through the Google Cast button on supported services like YouTube.</i></span></td></tr>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Conclusion</span></h2>
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The Chromecast is $35 well spent, while I might not end up using it every single day, it is convenient to be able to stream videos to a TV whenever possible. At $35, the Chromecast is more cost effective than other streaming sticks out there from Amazon or Roku. If I were to change something about the Chromecast it would be the software. I would like to see a Google Cast application on the Windows Store but that is not likely to happen since Google and Microsoft are on bad terms. <br />
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Overall, the Google Cast platform looks pretty promising. From being just a simple $35 dongle into a platform that can be embedded onto TVs, possibilities are endless. Looking forward to seeing what Google and developers have in terms of innovation for the Google Cast ecosystem. </div>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Insider Talk </i></h2>
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I actually bought the Chromecast back in January and I was planning to do a review on it back then but the University router blocked the connection to the Chromecast. I didn't feel the need to buy a router to do this review so I abandoned the review. But the funny thing about this review is that I was totally not planning to do it at all. I was supposed to finalize the Surface Pro 4 review but I didn't feel like doing it so I ended up doing this review instead. </div>
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The interesting thing about this article is that this is the first time in 2 years that I have wrote an article like spontaneously. This review took about half a day. The testing was like 4 hours and writing it took 2 hours or so. The articles I have written in the last two years mostly take a week to complete. Hoping to do more articles like this in the future, quick and dirty (well, not dirty, clean).<br />
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Right now, I have no plans to buy the Chromecast Audio because I just don't have the need for it but we'll see what Google has during I/O later this week.</div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">dw</span></i></div>
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dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Sandwich, MA, USA41.7589615 -70.49393169999996241.5693165 -70.816655199999957 41.9486065 -70.171208199999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-2697162309512586602016-05-14T17:44:00.000-07:002016-05-14T17:44:01.003-07:00Skinning the Surface Pro 4 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The most precise fit on earth. That is the tagline of Canadian skin maker dbrand. If you have watched tech YouTube videos in the last couple of years, chances are you have probably heard about dbrand skins or other skin brands like Slick Wraps. I know I have, for years I have been watching those product placements with those skins outfitted on the devices and I won't say that I never wanted those cool looking skins, I just never felt that it was a compelling buy. But I have never felt the urge to do so until March 2016. Just so happens, the week before, dbrand announced skins for the Surface Pro 4 and I was deciding whether to get it or not.<br />
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Turns out, that extra waiting time got me a 30% discount as the company was holding a storewide discount on all skins to celebrate the comeback of their bamboo skins. At that point, it was pretty much an impulse decision to place an order for the Surface Pro 4 skin. So, after using the skin on my Surface Pro 4 for about a month now, does it live up to the claims on their <a href="https://dbrand.com/" target="_blank">website</a>? Well, let's find out shall we.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><h2 style="text-align: left;">
Designing the Skin</h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvC2iLmxt9-zhPHPlxT1Crs5dUEJvl-aWwasW7RYGUYP3ApNjjAfrPE0IOT01S9KRYXk2Z-Vlu11A91vDS3idWFFeFyjliwgo8r088AtVGHBYMtdV0xEbqpvemmIfT70p043FW1C6bwXrd/s1600/website-render.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvC2iLmxt9-zhPHPlxT1Crs5dUEJvl-aWwasW7RYGUYP3ApNjjAfrPE0IOT01S9KRYXk2Z-Vlu11A91vDS3idWFFeFyjliwgo8r088AtVGHBYMtdV0xEbqpvemmIfT70p043FW1C6bwXrd/s1600/website-render.PNG" /></a><br />
Before entering the not so easy part of explaining how the skin feels like in day to day use, We'll first look back at the process of designing the skin. It all begins at <a href="http://www.dbrand.com/">www.dbrand.com</a>, the process of navigating their website and designing the skin was pretty straight forward. Not everybody gets the online shopping experience right, but dbrand manages to get it right. Their live designer updates instantaneously and the UI is simple. In fact, the implementation of the skin designer and their website in general feels somewhat like the Apple website. Everything is front and center.<br />
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How the customization works is, depending on the device you are skin-ing, there will be different parts that you can drop in different materials. In the case of the Surface Pro 4, there are 4 customizable sections that is the two potions of the back, the front and the rear Microsoft logo. I avoided putting a skin on the front of the display because I personally think it would look fugly and besides, the front of the Surface Pro 4 is pretty minimalist already with no branding whatsoever.<br />
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Since they were celebrating the comeback of the new bamboo skin, I knew I had to incorporate that into my design. The final design ended up being a black carbon fiber bottom with bamboo accents. It looked pretty good in my opinion but I do have to give credit to the sample designs available that gave me the inspiration for the design. The final price was a little over $15 after taking into account the flat $3.95 shipping. dbrand has this deal with DHL to provide a flat shipping rate (with tracking) to anywhere in this world<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Getting the skin</h2>
Paying for the skin was pretty straight forward and the confirmation message pinged my email almost instantaneously. After that, it was the waiting game. Long story short, another email notifying the dispatch of my skin arrived three days later and DHL took about 5 days to ship my order from Toronto to Arizona. I wouldn't say it was too long but I was expecting it to be way quicker since Canada is pretty near to the US. Overall, the shipping time was around 12 days and this slight delay could be due to the volume of orders they had during that period since they were having a 30% storewide sale.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Unwrapping and applying</h2>
The packaging that the skin came in was fairly simple. Inside the shipping envelope is the skin itself enclosed in a plastic folder that is supported by a cardboard piece with the dbrand logo on it. I got my hands on the skin and the carbon fiber one felt very nice in the hand but the bamboo ones didn't feel much like bamboo at all, more like vinyl. But it does look like bamboo. Other than the skins I ordered, dbrand also threw in an extra set of skin for the logo.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yxyAdNzcvcg" width="800"></iframe><br />
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After thoroughly cleaning the back of the Surface Pro 4 with a damp cloth, it was the moment to test out dbrand's claim that the skin is the most precise fit on earth. I have never applied nor bought any other skins in the past but dbrand was pretty smart in creating an installation video (check out the video above, it's quite hilarious) on how you should properly install the skin. Easily enough, I managed to install the skin under 15 minutes and in their video, they stressed it pretty much that there is only one right way to install the skin and skin installations vary depending on the device.<br />
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For me, the top half of the skin with the camera cut-outs was the hardest one to align and the installation of the logo skin was by far the easiest.<br />
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If I were to score the installation on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the easiest. I would give it a 8/10 because the video instruction is pretty useful. It is also nice to know that the 3M paper dbrand is using can be easily removed without leaving any sticky spots behind. Basically this means that the adhesive is designed to be re-applied multiple times.<br />
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Check out the results below, I think I did a pretty good job with it.<br />
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<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Conclusion</h2>
So, it comes down to this. Is it worth the $10? I would say yes but only with the basis that the skin makes the Surface Pro 4 a little cooler and fits well with my black Kensington case. But beyond that, the skin doesn't really offer much in terms of functionality for me. The skin won't help me reduce scratches because I never put the device down on it's back. I always lay the back facing up and the type cover is the thing that always rests on a surface.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJZDtdjN1Bk0phG9DtoDsucprzxs7r5UtynwT8d2TvFZKcE2kqnzTYhnJ973-F_EAtCLyIvvZJzdm2nXZTdTRhI4SpFk_qHNp_NvDzk4vHfvG2cWx5Ye98oq7oWhp6JmLS2cQnmSn6V_d/s1600/_SAM7679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJZDtdjN1Bk0phG9DtoDsucprzxs7r5UtynwT8d2TvFZKcE2kqnzTYhnJ973-F_EAtCLyIvvZJzdm2nXZTdTRhI4SpFk_qHNp_NvDzk4vHfvG2cWx5Ye98oq7oWhp6JmLS2cQnmSn6V_d/s1600/_SAM7679.JPG" /></a><br />
Is it super precise? It is very close to be being perfect. It looks precise from a distance but If I am being nitpicky, there are parts like the camera and logo cutouts that is a little bit off but that is only visible if I look very closely. Maybe it is not as precise due to the installation, but I did try to apply the top half several times.<br />
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So, is it worth the money? I would say yes because they are using high quality materials and compared to other skins available, drband has the most affordable prices. I will most likely try dbrand once again when I get my hands on a new smartphone. If you are looking for a skin for your mobile device or any kind of tech (they also have skins for consoles, laptops and headphones too), I would definitely recommend you to pick one up from dbrand.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Insider talk</i></h2>
It looks like the stream of posts are coming back in to phase. Was having exams in the last month thus I was feeling unispired to put too much effort on writing articles. Looking forward to Google I/O later next week and expect to see the Surface Pro 4 review coming pretty soon. It's 80% done. Just got to clean up my grammar a bit. Also here's a fun fact, on the shipping envelope, there was even a statement saying this was a time sensitive shipment.<br />
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dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Sandwich, MA, USA41.7589615 -70.49393169999996241.5693165 -70.816655199999957 41.9486065 -70.171208199999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-36718140269690131872016-04-10T08:10:00.000-07:002016-04-10T08:19:31.984-07:00Overatting the color gold<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>50 shades of gold</i></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Y6iXImx8KE4qWbbwp0gRudtecaCrqAWEvuGUjXl3sfi8MTJWF_-5kC5ctgT-U4XulN53RVEbEoiNNDmmCy4G9voDju__qSAn25Mq5fGbmoXChxkpa1DcfrWyjkMZmLEuggIEp0mxAb-q/s1600/samsung_stardust_gold_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Y6iXImx8KE4qWbbwp0gRudtecaCrqAWEvuGUjXl3sfi8MTJWF_-5kC5ctgT-U4XulN53RVEbEoiNNDmmCy4G9voDju__qSAn25Mq5fGbmoXChxkpa1DcfrWyjkMZmLEuggIEp0mxAb-q/s1600/samsung_stardust_gold_1.jpg" /></a><br />
Smartphone trends are (almost unpredictable) shifting from one concept to another. Take the original iPhone for example, Steve Jobs was a heavy advocate for one-handed usability and it turns out that you could also fit 4-inches into one hand (that's why we have the <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/03/apples-new-4-inch-iphone-se-arrives-on.html" target="_blank">iPhone SE</a>). While the original trend is about smaller phones, it is apparent that small phones are no longer the next big thing as everybody is on the ship of the idea behind big phones. Don't be confused, this article is not another rant regarding bigger phones. It is all about the color of gold (specifically) on smartphones.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>The Mobile World Congress Battle</b> — <i>"the first wave of flagships this year look impressive enough for an upgrade over it's predecessor but none of them justify any groundbreaking innovations. Maybe LG's dual camera system and magic slot expansion can be counted as groundbreaking but I personally think It will end up just being a cool little gimmick to increase sales." <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-mobile-world-congress-battle-2016-android-flagships.html" target="_blank">Continue reading.</a> </i></blockquote>
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Apple made quite a statement last year when they announced the Rose Gold color option for it's new iPhone (the 6S) and now we basically have the Rose Gold color treatment on most of the new Apple devices that have come out. As usual, companies are following the footsteps of what Apple is doing and the inspiration for this article comes from the Huawei P9 series <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/04/huaweis-new-p9-and-p9-plus-come-with.html" target="_blank">launched</a> earlier this week which not only comes with the Leica branding on the back but the device is unique in the sense that is came with an unmistakable choice of colors. Three shades of gold to be exact. One is more different from the other.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Huawei P9 will come in three shades of gold</td></tr>
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The gold rush in the modern days smartphone took off when Apple announced the iPhone 5S which included a new color option. Gold. Apple's hitch to bring a champagne gold color to the smartphone race turned out to be truly successful as the color received great response and just like every other notable Apple innovation, other smartphone makers began to mimic Apple's success with the iPhone by combining a premium design with a nice shade of gold.<br />
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<b>My Initial Thoughts of The Samsung Galaxy S5</b> — <i>"The word which i’ll use to sum up all the comments on the Galaxy S5 articles is “RUDE”. You know why? Because as i’m reading the comments especially the long ones, it feels like i’m being berated because the people are just venting their hatred towards the stupid dotted back looking like a band aid Galaxy S5. It’s safe to say that the majority of the commenters are saying that the Galaxy S5 is equivalent to a failure" <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2014/03/galaxys5initialimpressions.html">Continue reading.</a></i></blockquote>
Soon after that, Samsung chimed in to the trend with their latest flagship phone, the Galaxy S5. Besides coming with the standard white and black color options, the Galaxy S5 also came with a color option called Copper Gold that was supposed to complement the "Glam" design that Samsung was aiming for. That didn't end too well as the reception towards the Galaxy S5's gold color option ended up being jokes about how the perforated back looked like a band aid.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29FliMa0FP3eGS_hyphenhyphenQRLukf3d_poSSin4EMea3bJFGi8uwAGoziGqy5tpWFKbr5rz5lmkO81mcUzQexMtBSkZqrl9XNP6NIpZ2wM-fTHull8TEzeqQGIMNOq-VvSVEN63JEbXiWWMJmNX/s1600/Glam_Galaxy-S5_Gold_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29FliMa0FP3eGS_hyphenhyphenQRLukf3d_poSSin4EMea3bJFGi8uwAGoziGqy5tpWFKbr5rz5lmkO81mcUzQexMtBSkZqrl9XNP6NIpZ2wM-fTHull8TEzeqQGIMNOq-VvSVEN63JEbXiWWMJmNX/s1600/Glam_Galaxy-S5_Gold_02.jpg" /></a></div>
These days, smartphones no longer just come in the shade of black and white. Gold is the new black and white and is almost always a color option for smartphones with an aluminium build. Sony is calling it Lime Gold, HTC is calling it Amber Gold, Huawei is calling it Haze Gold (or Prestige Gold) and both Xiaomi and LG is calling it just gold. Whatever mystical name that companies are coming up with, the end result is indefinitely just gold.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Gold is the new black and white</i></span></blockquote>
With the announcement of the Huawei P9 earlier this week, only have I truly realized that the color gold is being abused. Apple sure made fun of the color gold when they unveiled the Rose Gold iPhone 6S last Fall. They could have just named it the Pink iPhone but Apple will be Apple, they can't seem to stick with the mainstream naming convention. Make no mistake, gold is indefinitely still the signature sign of wealth and also the look of rappers where they basically wear gold from top to bottom. My thoughts on the color gold is that the color is becoming increasingly common and it is time for a brand new color. Other colors like Red and Green might make the cut if the tone is set right but I am expecting to see a new color wave to come out within the next year or so.<br />
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But beyond that, gold has actually existed on smartphones a long time. Third party firms like <a href="http://www.goldgenie.com/us/gold-samsung.php" target="_blank">Goldgenie</a> have been doing the gold treatment to existing flagship phones way before people even wanted gold phones. But the difference between that kind of gold and the gold that Apple or Huawei puts on their phone is that those gold are real specimens of gold opposed to just being a shade of color on the surface. This brings us to the idea of the Apple Watch Edition twhich came with a 18k gold case that shows everybody how loaded you are to get the gold treatment.<br />
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See what I mean about this craze for gold through the images below<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwRprEt8Xz6wFHXhqCjdBQfvxs_aQWubBpA8vQPwIzfZBDu63G_b6yMEaBGa8uezYN3h_2kLh0bLyK-beiF4Mn8tNXTPHN76dYa1wqMryNTEC7I43FNQJvqU3WyC_GTcbNNj59PGFI9pP/s1600/25162514136_228778ab70_o.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwRprEt8Xz6wFHXhqCjdBQfvxs_aQWubBpA8vQPwIzfZBDu63G_b6yMEaBGa8uezYN3h_2kLh0bLyK-beiF4Mn8tNXTPHN76dYa1wqMryNTEC7I43FNQJvqU3WyC_GTcbNNj59PGFI9pP/s1600/25162514136_228778ab70_o.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Samsung's new <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/02/samsungs-brand-new-galaxy-s7-and-galaxy.html" target="_blank">Galaxy S7</a> edge in Gold</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2X8pWEwuJYAMOVdwYMrHwTAhRhTjCHBnCxVE-mBw_uD97VtLGKARKaOFE_qvIkDlDvxCVdglyLHPvI_3r4aA5XIWLfyGnwDqS0JXe8taB2j8EkHGayVFRL_jXugqebMZJXQJ_0FtCyJ_v/s1600/G5-medium02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2X8pWEwuJYAMOVdwYMrHwTAhRhTjCHBnCxVE-mBw_uD97VtLGKARKaOFE_qvIkDlDvxCVdglyLHPvI_3r4aA5XIWLfyGnwDqS0JXe8taB2j8EkHGayVFRL_jXugqebMZJXQJ_0FtCyJ_v/s1600/G5-medium02.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The new <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/02/lg-officially-unveils-lg-g5-and-friends.html" target="_blank">LG G5</a> comes in gold too!</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Xiaomi's flagship phone (the <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/02/xiaomi-unveils-mi-5-and-mi-4s-at-mwc.html" target="_blank">Mi 5</a>) also comes in gold</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxLqPIIV-Rmx8_el96G6n0SegW0JJHkdkni8goK3rX942Y8QTG7IVjm6aYJdyQh93rXJFp4nFIp8ayHsJV5W_Q8Yo5HJ2ysuLy-TKfO0c72d-Ks_N0IuakWDrmMSbwZ8XnP8rKJsa7Pucn/s1600/Nexus-6P-gold-back-940x594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxLqPIIV-Rmx8_el96G6n0SegW0JJHkdkni8goK3rX942Y8QTG7IVjm6aYJdyQh93rXJFp4nFIp8ayHsJV5W_Q8Yo5HJ2ysuLy-TKfO0c72d-Ks_N0IuakWDrmMSbwZ8XnP8rKJsa7Pucn/s1600/Nexus-6P-gold-back-940x594.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Huawei's (<a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2015/12/huawei-nexus-6p-arrives-in-malaysia-for.html" target="_blank">Nexus 6P</a>) first Nexus phone also gets the gold treatment</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_1gtWZEEXLiBW642GJHiEhN2o_WTvdhkHrvZinKJ7KGXZCaW98IsY3q5fG5ZYgkBg38fLFJ-YAEKZwNEqQ0gW7_NDEeqEv1muqufySRG13Mzj9mIGUs2uoqHaX7V18YsF_enVl2BulfG/s1600/sony-xperia-x-series-unveiled-xperia-x-xperia-xa-and-xperia-performance-500755-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_1gtWZEEXLiBW642GJHiEhN2o_WTvdhkHrvZinKJ7KGXZCaW98IsY3q5fG5ZYgkBg38fLFJ-YAEKZwNEqQ0gW7_NDEeqEv1muqufySRG13Mzj9mIGUs2uoqHaX7V18YsF_enVl2BulfG/s1600/sony-xperia-x-series-unveiled-xperia-x-xperia-xa-and-xperia-performance-500755-3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Sony's new <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/02/sony-unveils-new-xperia-x-series.html" target="_blank">Xperia X</a> Performance in a lighter tone of gold </i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxoLkuNiHRPKfVE4fbTDvbxtzDvXM9natGlGFBoaZh3Z426cyIww012DoGmbPxdWIvOmvMgSJDhOn1OXMMyE0XMP6fRJi3dpgaYeQl79p6HtfUA4gZzlvRJd6y9UVypl_qg7fiuwh51zE/s1600/letv-x500-gold-1_0_1_1200x630w_3b590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxoLkuNiHRPKfVE4fbTDvbxtzDvXM9natGlGFBoaZh3Z426cyIww012DoGmbPxdWIvOmvMgSJDhOn1OXMMyE0XMP6fRJi3dpgaYeQl79p6HtfUA4gZzlvRJd6y9UVypl_qg7fiuwh51zE/s1600/letv-x500-gold-1_0_1_1200x630w_3b590.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The LeTV 1S in gold</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Tempe, AZ, USA33.4255104 -111.9400054000000233.2133904 -112.26272890000001 33.6376304 -111.61728190000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-39464343287074519742016-03-27T19:51:00.000-07:002016-03-27T19:51:03.488-07:00Apple's new 4-inch iPhone is not a big deal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Is going small really going big?</i></span></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXFLY6S3KwEdYJMWaSb8n6rYG7bGqFgiLTsXXH05Q9x7XknxB-PInZRsoJaexcm4_xG-C-nLlvlPw1KkLvikUqc_6GvnDuSsNVMdcTGdnR2-u9HYB8vTb_s6dqy1bdfN2LDZ3-DrwaAhb/s1600/iphone-se-launch.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXFLY6S3KwEdYJMWaSb8n6rYG7bGqFgiLTsXXH05Q9x7XknxB-PInZRsoJaexcm4_xG-C-nLlvlPw1KkLvikUqc_6GvnDuSsNVMdcTGdnR2-u9HYB8vTb_s6dqy1bdfN2LDZ3-DrwaAhb/s1600/iphone-se-launch.png" /></a></div>
Earlier this week, Apple showed of a <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/03/apples-new-4-inch-iphone-se-arrives-on.html" target="_blank">new</a> iPhone and this should not to be mistaken for the iPhone 7, we will probably only see that towards the end of the year. This new iPhone announced during Apple's first launch of 2016 is the spiritual successor to the <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2013/09/iPhoneintro2013.html" target="_blank">iPhone 5S</a>. With just a measly 4-inch display, you should not belittle this small iPhone as it packs the same punch as an iPhone 6S. Apple managed to engineer their flagship A9 SoC into the new iPhone SE which provides this small phone the power to shoot 4K video and also enough horsepower to get blazingly high scores on AnTuTu.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>What Apple experts say about the 12.9-inch iPad Pro</b> — <i>" The problem with the iPad is that you only need one iPad because you can get the same app experience on both the mini and the Air, the only difference is the screen size. But that might very well change with the iPad Pro, it is still indefinitely just a bigger iPad " <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/11/what-apple-experts-say-about-ipad-pro.html">Continue reading.</a></i></blockquote>
But is that what the industry needs, Apple seems to be convinced that there is a request for such a small device in today's world. Tim Cook is saying that up to 60% of people are asking (and begging) for a 4-inch iPhone and the iPhone SE is the answer. Just remember that Apple notoriously made small phones for a couple of years when the rest of the industry went over to bigger screens. For years, Apple's iPhone model is to basically downgrade the previous flagship in terms of pricing and provide the lineup with multiple price tiers. With the iPhone SE, Apple is making it the most affordable iPhone option that starts at just $399 for the 16GB model.<br />
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But the question is why would you want to buy the iPhone SE, 4-inches is real small. And no, the SE on iPhone SE does not stand for 'stupid edition'<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Phil Schiller just told me the “SE” stands for “Special Edition” <a href="https://twitter.com/FortuneTech">@FortuneTech</a></div>
— Jason Cipriani (@MrCippy) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrCippy/status/711980520708542465">March 21, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<a name='more'></a><h2 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYe4IwBMQBWDY7DbMSnj9PBCNmoH_gCEqaRtpt1oS5JUdpk7KZ9hGP2b64p93LyaqfhbhNat87mzYBUfbyyUzDH3D80drPsqQhxYSo2fJiDKo5Pj1OV0BDCjF0anppHZjzq074cnnWaDh/s1600/iphone-se-rose-gold-box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYe4IwBMQBWDY7DbMSnj9PBCNmoH_gCEqaRtpt1oS5JUdpk7KZ9hGP2b64p93LyaqfhbhNat87mzYBUfbyyUzDH3D80drPsqQhxYSo2fJiDKo5Pj1OV0BDCjF0anppHZjzq074cnnWaDh/s1600/iphone-se-rose-gold-box.jpg" /></a></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Apple iPhone SE Key Specifications</h2>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>4-inch Retina Display</li>
<li>Apple A9 SoC</li>
<li>2GB RAM</li>
<li>16/64GB memory</li>
<li>12MP f2.2 rear camera</li>
<li>1.2MP front camera</li>
<li>123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm</li>
<li>113g</li>
<li>1,642mAh battery</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHxlk-iwlvk5dY_shlvPzEXBGPvgW2g1JLD5Ly_fpkPgnhQF2YppyuiAH-I6vUPIcV_5PJSw6X5XfpA1FgoHIilIKObKpTK5CoPx9LXsIVkVl_G3Fft-rjegn7ySIbXvLsE7pTn5r5YrU/s1600/Screenshot+%2528192%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHxlk-iwlvk5dY_shlvPzEXBGPvgW2g1JLD5Ly_fpkPgnhQF2YppyuiAH-I6vUPIcV_5PJSw6X5XfpA1FgoHIilIKObKpTK5CoPx9LXsIVkVl_G3Fft-rjegn7ySIbXvLsE7pTn5r5YrU/s1600/Screenshot+%2528192%2529.png" /></a></div>
I still remember my inspiration for writing a previous article about how Apple is influencing the market with two screen sizes called the iPhone effect (I know that title sounds like what an Apple fanboy would say but in the perspective of how the industry is responding to Apple's actions). The move to release the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 2014 proved that the industry needed a bigger phone and the tagline that Apple used to market the iPhone 6 was "Bigger than bigger". It seems that this new 4-inch iPhone SE is more about lowering the price bracket for an iPhone rather than adding to the variability of screen sizes. Who knows, maybe companies like Samsung and LG might also come up with 4-inch phones in the future.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>The iPhone effect, when two is better than one</b> — <i>"Apple being a big influence in the smartphone market, other smartphone builders also complied with Apple's strategy and came up with flagship smartphones that come in two sizes for a wider reach. Companies like Huawei, Oppo, Google, and even Microsoft has joined in to introduce smartphones in two sizes" <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-iphone-effect-when-two-is-better-than-one.html">Continue reading.</a></i></blockquote>
</div>
What Apple is (basically) doing with the iPhone SE is similar to Sony's previous strategy of a no compromise flagship lineup which includes three different versions and the only discerning thing about them is their screen sizes. While Sony did not go to the extreme to make a 4-inch Xperia phone, the Xperia Z3 compact and Xperia Z5 compact is actually a pretty good idea given that with Android, screen size has always been related to performance (the bigger the screen, the better the performance). Now that Sony is no longer focusing on this concept with their new <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/02/sony-unveils-new-xperia-x-series.html" target="_blank">Xperia X</a> series, I guess it is up to Apple to continue this tradition and influence the rest of the market.<br />
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In addition to that, Apple is also boasting that the new iPhone SE comes with signature features form the iPhone 6S like support for Apple Pay through the embedded NFC receiver, improved network performance, Live photos (the caveat is that the display is not of a 3D Touch type) and the always on Siri.<br />
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Firstly, this re-branding thing is not new in the tech industry, both AMD and Nvidia have been doing such re-brands on their graphic cards over the years. All they do is basically give it a new name and just throw some extra features into and call it a brand new card. While the response towards that is not necessarily bad, it's not good either. Similar to GPU makers, this somehow shows that Apple might be running out of pure ideas. Come on Apple, at least give it a bigger screen and tweak the design a little or maybe reduce some of that screen bezel.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoHMsiJj-__ThZ79uPLSmPEQ7oM5HeW_ySSK-vftiIkg5uvi5-gw8FE-J385ucwxthUcMUOfQ9vBp-j97Ejifjd0i1igja3ulKYVv2DtWq5hHs8RSCv-CuShl_6Uh1xt7KhOZabEJOrTmI/s1600/Radeon-R9-270-150W.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoHMsiJj-__ThZ79uPLSmPEQ7oM5HeW_ySSK-vftiIkg5uvi5-gw8FE-J385ucwxthUcMUOfQ9vBp-j97Ejifjd0i1igja3ulKYVv2DtWq5hHs8RSCv-CuShl_6Uh1xt7KhOZabEJOrTmI/s1600/Radeon-R9-270-150W.jpg" /></a><br />
Simply adding the shade of Rose Gold isn't much of innovation but as Apple fanboys will argue, the iPhone 5's design is pretty pure and there is no need to change it. In terms of profit, Apple is probably making some good money on every iPhone SE as they have basically saved the cost for the design as the manufacturing process for the iPhone 5S design already exists and only requires a couple of new tweaks. That is how the price only starts at just $399 and don't even get me started about the 16GB model and the $100 cost to upgrade that to 64GB. Flash storage is so cheap these days and Apple basically wants extra profit with the 64GB model.<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Apple is so committed to recycling that they're recycling the iPhone 5 design. 🔥🔥🔥</div>
— Austin Evans (@austinnotduncan) <a href="https://twitter.com/austinnotduncan/status/711964221152473088">March 21, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></center>
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In terms of the lineup that Apple has right now, getting the iPhone SE opposed to the bigger iPhone 6 is actually a more logical choice because, you will get a better processing package overall and if you can learn to live without that extra 0.7-inches then you have earned yourself some extra money to upgrade to 64GB of storage and also dozens of paid apps. With this redesign of their lineup, the goal here is not to make iPhone SE waves here in the US because everyone in America already has a big iPhone and I doubt anyone with the iPhone 5S would like to upgrade to the same sized iPhone again. Instead, Apple is trying to increase sales of the iPhone outside of America.<br />
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An article published on <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2016/03/22/apples-new-iphone-se-unlikely-to-make-a-splash-in-asia-despite-low-price/?sr_share=twitter" target="_blank">TechCrunch</a> talks about this more in-depth but basically the trend around Asia and India where Apple is hoping the iPhone SE to create a dent is that smartphones need to be cost effective. $399 might be extremely affordable for an iPhone but when you compare with the Xiaomi <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/02/xiaomi-unveils-mi-5-and-mi-4s-at-mwc.html" target="_blank">Mi 5</a> which is just a little over $300, you see where the problem comes in. Price is one thing but I think for most people the 4-inch screen might be a big compromise in today's standard.<br />
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Learn more about the iPhone SE <a href="http://www.apple.com/iphone-se/?cid=wwa-us-kwg-iphone&cp=iphonese" target="_blank">here</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi36Cxq2AcFvjENtZVBA5au87aTvIW9hiANJNIyff_7GxBL9SmwlLJDzhyphenhyphenNwXzNXZ3xYy859QPAyXUia47uUqXLQkaVB-xT1AnfU6AlsFRyWqIm1dDtnYbO3KpvEpg-FvKWOpPLn0Kr4LwX/s1600/Screenshot+%2528203%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi36Cxq2AcFvjENtZVBA5au87aTvIW9hiANJNIyff_7GxBL9SmwlLJDzhyphenhyphenNwXzNXZ3xYy859QPAyXUia47uUqXLQkaVB-xT1AnfU6AlsFRyWqIm1dDtnYbO3KpvEpg-FvKWOpPLn0Kr4LwX/s1600/Screenshot+%2528203%2529.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHjzlePXVmHcVsCrfZ9BCcHM35KNwat4U4hgREbYDT4um3jB7meorXvvBa1ZzHPGTABqNFcz_odJgYKMUXJIrmPngCEpLJrTnNAspYAGUH7rkZ1jQCOtnnL2UmRIUqsqf_PSFxz2Q4Apd/s1600/Screenshot+%2528205%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHjzlePXVmHcVsCrfZ9BCcHM35KNwat4U4hgREbYDT4um3jB7meorXvvBa1ZzHPGTABqNFcz_odJgYKMUXJIrmPngCEpLJrTnNAspYAGUH7rkZ1jQCOtnnL2UmRIUqsqf_PSFxz2Q4Apd/s1600/Screenshot+%2528205%2529.png" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Insider Talk</i></h2>
<div>
Right now, my goal to publish double the amount of articles for this year is seemingly falling apart as I have been dragging the articles. Actually have quite a number of articles in queue but lately my time management has not been the best. Will probably be doing the Surface Pro 4 review next week, but no promises on that but it is somewhat done in a sense. </div>
</div>
dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Tempe, AZ, USA33.4255104 -111.9400054000000233.2133904 -112.26272890000001 33.6376304 -111.61728190000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-14438777491155457472016-03-19T11:42:00.000-07:002016-03-19T17:54:16.044-07:00Is Windows Phone 7 happening all over again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Déjà vu</h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYBBJmwCGvzr1r6PH-T6X5uvWsySSSaEJtI0YGMu_ixTANSxIiIKPLUhm47J0XUFAguXuq9HKirPcbw9ENaiQmT5YJ6Dz-8bk1UJjbgfdXhfgyTzwOGMTPZaJz-NERiACnuTbaBMCIHkA8/s1600/5739480861_7ff44d14f7_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYBBJmwCGvzr1r6PH-T6X5uvWsySSSaEJtI0YGMu_ixTANSxIiIKPLUhm47J0XUFAguXuq9HKirPcbw9ENaiQmT5YJ6Dz-8bk1UJjbgfdXhfgyTzwOGMTPZaJz-NERiACnuTbaBMCIHkA8/s1600/5739480861_7ff44d14f7_o.jpg" /></a></div>
It's over for Microsoft, I have somewhat lost faith on the company with this week's <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/03/microsoft-is-now-rolling-out-windows-10.html" target="_blank">announcement</a> mainly because it has happened all over me. Earlier this week, Microsoft (<a href="https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/03/17/upgrading-existing-windows-phone-8-1-devices-to-windows-10-mobile/" target="_blank">finally</a>) announced the official Windows 10 Mobile upgrade for existing Windows Phone devices. Alongside that announcement is a list of devices that are able to upgrade to the brand new software. That sounds pretty reasonable and all but when Windows 10 Mobile was initially announced last year, Microsoft promised that all Lumia devices running WP8.1 will be promised a brand new software experience. But after multiple delays in releasing this update and several problems along the way in terms of bugs and performance, Microsoft has just pulled the life plug out of <a href="https://twitter.com/ailon/status/711110313110867968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">nearly half </a> of the Windows Phone devices currently in the market<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/Kalars07">@Kalars07</a> We plan to upgrade all Windows Phone 8 devices to Windows 10 in the future :)</div>
— Lumia (@Lumia) <a href="https://twitter.com/Lumia/status/532914535263641600">November 13, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></center>
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If you look at the list of fully supported Windows 10 Mobile devices that Microsoft is touting, devices only include a couple of mid-high end Nokia branded phones released after 2014 and to no surprise, all Microsoft branded Windows Phone devices will be getting the Windows 10 Mobile update right from the first Lumia 535 all the way to the Lumia 435. While my beloved Lumia 630 and Lumia 1020 will not be getting the official Windows 10 Mobile update, I am not particularly bummed out of this but I do feel what Windows Phone 7 users felt when Nokia said that Windows Phone 8 will not be coming to any existing devices like the Lumia 900 or Lumia 610.<br />
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Windows Phone right now is in a deadly state if you think that market performance is based on the percentage that OS fills up compared to others, Windows Phone is basically a dead platform. With a mere 1.7% market share as of today, that number is not likely to improve as Windows Phone sales are not going up and the fact that iPhone and Android phone sales are continuing to go off the roof with the release of a brand new phone every year.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><a href="http://www.statista.com/statistics/266136/global-market-share-held-by-smartphone-operating-systems/"><img alt="Statistic: Global market share held by the leading smartphone operating systems in sales to end users from 1st quarter 2009 to 4th quarter 2015 | Statista" src="http://www.statista.com/graphic/1/266136/global-market-share-held-by-smartphone-operating-systems.jpg" style="height: auto; max-width: 1000px; width: 100%;" /></a><br />
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<center>
Find more statistics at <a href="http://www.statista.com/">Statista</a></center>
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<div>
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Out of the dozens of Windows Phone 8.1 devices currently out in the market, only half of them will be getting Windows 10 Mobile and Microsoft also notes that devices in this list might end up not being upgraded as the company is only ready to upgrade devices that they are confident can continue to deliver a good customer experience.<br />
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<div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Devices receiving the Windows 10 Mobile upgrade:</h2>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Lumia 1520</li>
<li>Lumia 930</li>
<li>Lumia 640</li>
<li>Lumia 640XL</li>
<li>Lumia 730</li>
<li>Lumia 735</li>
<li>Lumia 830</li>
<li>Lumia 532</li>
<li>Lumia 535</li>
<li>Lumia 540</li>
<li>Lumia 635 1GB</li>
<li>Lumia 636 1GB</li>
<li>Lumia 638 1GB</li>
<li>Lumia 430</li>
<li>Lumia 435</li>
<li>BLU Win HD w510u</li>
<li>BLU Win HD LTE x150q</li>
<li>MCJ Madosma Q501</li>
</ol>
</div>
I have to say, looking back at the announcement that Microsoft made about upgrading all existing devices will Windows 10 Mobile is actually pretty bold one if you think of it as they were basically saying the hardware doesn't matter and that the new software will be as good as before. But due to the bad hardware choices that Microsoft and Nokia made like creating phones with 8GB (even 4GB) of memory and 512MB of RAM is probably the biggest problem of this issue and the fact that they are basically trying to update over 30 devices and making sure that all of them will have the classic Windows Phone speediness is actually a monumental task because nobody in the industry has been able to do yet. This is somewhat like how Android manufacturers like Samsung and Sony try to update devices to the latest and greatest. Likewise, there are significantly more complications in the Android world mainly due to the significantly different hardware options available.<br />
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If you think that Apple is outdoing it's competition in terms of their ability to provide iPhone with consistent updates, you are not wrong. But one thing to remember is that unlike both Microsoft and Google, Apple is developing all their phones in-house from the ground up. From the software right down to the choice of internal hardware is in Apple's hands. That is why they managed to update even the iPhone 4S to iOS 9 last year, maybe even iOS 10 this year. Also the fact that every single iPhone is basicallly a flagship device and that is why Apple managed to update that till the latest and greatest version of iOS. Likewise, on Windows Phone in the other hand is a whole different story because the hardware is all over the place. Sure, Microsoft is using only Qualcomm processor which significantly reduces the problem but there is still other hardware configurations like the display technology, cellular modems, amount of storage, and other hardware features like the camera and hardware/software buttons.<br />
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To be frank, I don't think anyone has ever succeeded in turning around the entire lineup of devices to a brand new software status. Android manufacturers like Samsung and LG is trying hard to keep their devices with the latest version of Android but that only seems to work with flagship devices. But other than the top of the line Android phones, most of other less known (low priced) devices don't even get support after a year of the device's release but I give Microsoft some credit for trying out this as it could have worked but like they said in the official post, they want to keep their existing customers happy and they probably do not have the resources to complete such a monumental task and that brings us back to the previous debate that how Satya Nadella wants to have a smaller phone portfolio and this is why so that they are able to easily update the devices and when a new major version of the software comes out, it should be a lot easier to push out updates to all devices.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Saying goodbye to Windows 8 and all it's mistakes</b> — <i>"the Start Screen was totally geared up towards tablet usage but thankfully Microsoft solved the problem in Windows 8.1 by reintroducing the Start button into the desktop as well as including normal desktop keyboard shortcuts" <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/07/saying-goodbye-to-windows-8-and-all-its-mistakes.html">Continue reading</a></i></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
Again, Windows 10 Mobile is by no means a small update as Microsoft is basically overhauling everything from the ground up and while it looks like some small interface tweaks, the changes to Windows 10 Mobile is actually pretty monumental in a sense mainly due to the UWP (Universal Windows Platform) that is the secret recipe for Windows 10 out there which enables devices to perfectly scale in terms of screen to screen and that is why the update from WP8.1 is bigger than you think.<br />
<br />
This is like the third time that Microsoft is rebooting their mobile efforts and I hope this is the last. The current execs make it sound like it is the last due to the Windows 10 being switched to a service kind of thing and that should ease everything. When compared to Windows Phone 7, the Windows 10 Mobile upgrade is much better for existing customers in terms of how many devices get to upgrade. Just remember the pain we had during 2011 when Microsoft announced Windows Phone 8 with the Lumia 920 and said that all existing Windows Phone 7 will be basically dead.<br />
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That's the feeling that most of us a facing right now. It isn't by all means a detrimental chase out like before because Windows Phone 8.1 is a pretty solid OS by itself but the problem lies with the app support. Newer titles coming to Windows Phone in the future will most likely only support Windows 10 Mobile and thus leaving a bunch of other Windows Phones left out in the dark.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWy8eVv99Lwb19CCKdJeXjuK055k1MHzuD_Q_a8D293fIluInjcFMEAhxhYC6abh3Bswj23FhtxDjyf8aMPn8bRBxW0q65tAbiXGfD0yxIsX8F3khadj2YuSNvb6QOyJe0CI_IogXZIYX6/s1600/hr6666.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWy8eVv99Lwb19CCKdJeXjuK055k1MHzuD_Q_a8D293fIluInjcFMEAhxhYC6abh3Bswj23FhtxDjyf8aMPn8bRBxW0q65tAbiXGfD0yxIsX8F3khadj2YuSNvb6QOyJe0CI_IogXZIYX6/s1600/hr6666.png" /></a></div>
Take for example the Lumia 520 which is by far the most popular Windows Phones out there and also the Lumia 920. Those devices which account for the majority of Windows Phone's marketshare and they are basically out the game as Microsoft is dropping support with the announcement that these devices will not be getting the latest and greatest. I hope that in the future that Microsoft can make updating Windows 10 Mobile be like a PC and not like Android or conventional smartphones. I ran Windows 10 on my laptop from 2008 and it was perfectly usable. No crazy shenanigans about the bugs and all. That is equivalent to like running iOS 9 on the original iPhone. Maybe when the time comes and hardware becomes more scalable then we will get something like that. But as of right now, even the most entry level mobile processors have pretty good horsepower<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Insider Talk</h2>
Yeah maybe the first two sentences of this article might not make much sense after saying all this but one thing is for sure is that I have lost some faith Windows Phone after this announcement. I still very much love the idea of Windows Phone but for the last 2 years that I have been using, my life has not been too exciting as all the cool new things like periscope and snapchat is not on Windows Phone. On a daily basis, I still carry an android phone mainly due to two applications that are not on the Windows Store. Snapchat and Clash of Clans. Looking forward at things, I don't see a future where I am putting down the money to buy a Windows Phone to use as my main device other than using it for testing purposes. Unless if Microsoft can wow me with the Surface phone then I will most likely be moving back to android full time. </div>
</div>
</div>
dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com1Tempe, AZ, USA33.4255104 -111.9400054000000233.2133904 -112.26272890000001 33.6376304 -111.61728190000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-56248693542594411932016-03-07T14:39:00.000-07:002016-03-07T14:39:00.808-07:00The Mobile World Congress Battle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Battle royale</i></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQE4Kxhg2gzd80RloH-qjE1C83lHVzN50IhZRIbR32N0ayHQg09B7OP2OR8wjHifvoRfsBI45VS0TVpQL2WMwtj2tpfqHs-z-CEcOY4YU_XKaNrdh1NzTF8wUG4Xbh1iTJyKdnlNYcYHW/s1600/mwc-2016-battle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQE4Kxhg2gzd80RloH-qjE1C83lHVzN50IhZRIbR32N0ayHQg09B7OP2OR8wjHifvoRfsBI45VS0TVpQL2WMwtj2tpfqHs-z-CEcOY4YU_XKaNrdh1NzTF8wUG4Xbh1iTJyKdnlNYcYHW/s1600/mwc-2016-battle.png" /></a></div>
At this point, it feels like the same old battle is going to happen once again. Samsung is poised to come up on top of their game and LG is going to gain some ground but not significantly and Sony is once again playing the curve ball again with their new smartphone. Mobile World Congress 2016 saw the debut of several key flagship smartphone that will determine what goes on this year and probably the most surprising one is from Xiaomi which is a first for them to have a big launch outside of China (and also India). Their new Xiaomi Mi 5 was announced on a global stage but you'll be forgiven if you're still yearning to get the rock bottom china prices outside of Asia. <br />
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Once again this year, it looks like there will be a pretty clear winner as to who will top the market and Samsung is poised to top the market with their new Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy S7. I am not trying to be a Samsung fanboy here but in my opinion, Samsung does have the edge (no pun intended) to triumph over the LG G5 due to Samsung's massive market reach in various countries. Like take for example Malaysia, LG doesn't always launch their phones in a timely matter in the region but Samsung is (always) most certainly launching their flagship in our market. But, the technology industry is not that predictable and LG might (by a small chance) have better sales performance compared to Samsung.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Ugly or not ugly</span></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMm-coqlB6WJGbHnBFvT8Aikg44qF811WyMqxEpGqgNAQUhiQK363HjbTP-7Fy0r_JLPGlb4twK8mfKT8GHPX7fiM-Z5txFP1un7hVWfl1-Wm983GSfwRgb2np8fWYCkJHIyfFS4vekiV_/s1600/lg-g5-att.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMm-coqlB6WJGbHnBFvT8Aikg44qF811WyMqxEpGqgNAQUhiQK363HjbTP-7Fy0r_JLPGlb4twK8mfKT8GHPX7fiM-Z5txFP1un7hVWfl1-Wm983GSfwRgb2np8fWYCkJHIyfFS4vekiV_/s1600/lg-g5-att.PNG" /></a></div>
Design is a key determining factor in choosing a smartphone today (besides the price) and that's mainly due to the hardware and software specification being so similar across the board. Every flagship will need to have the Snapdragon 820 SoC and at least 4GB of RAM in order to be competitive and most of them do, so design is the determining factor when choosing one phone over another. Samsung, Sony and Xiaomi decided to improve on their previous design efforts with their new flagship phone but LG in particular went ahead and introduced a new design with their new LG G5. A bold new one to say.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
LG G5 Key Specifications</h2>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 820 Processor</li>
<li>5.3-inch Quad HD IPS Quantum Display (2560 x 1440 / 554ppi)</li>
<li>4GB LPDDR4 RAM </li>
<li>32GB expandable memory (up to 2TB)</li>
<li>Rear: Standard 16MP, Wide 8MP / Front: 8MP</li>
<li>2,800mAh (removable)</li>
<li>Android 6.0 Marshmallow</li>
<li>149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7mm (159g)</li>
<li>USB Type-C</li>
<li>Silver / Titan / Gold / Pink</li>
<li>Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0</li>
<li>Read full article <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/02/lg-officially-unveils-lg-g5-and-friends.html" target="_blank">here</a></li>
</ul>
This new design is actually the result of LG's new magic slot feature which enables the bottom of the device to become a expansion slot like how you have in big cameras. For the average user, this new magic slot feature on the LG G5 is merely just a way to have a replaceable battery but for power users (to say), this magic slot feature will be used to expand functionality. But the big problem here is that LG isn't yet revealing the prices of these modules and while LG claims that they are working with partners to create more modules for users, there is no definitive answer right now as to what these modules can do. Also, the thing with these kind of accessories is that if it's priced too steeply, it just won't work unless LG can assure that future flagship will be able to use it again, but that is fairly unlikely.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinnkaFajKccbvZozBy0oDvMvuhFtK7lLBlkN0L1DLeOdw7eDJwV0xIMcXFnOghfYuiRsJv4Xw2ktrsMhdBIZOxO7H0eVALKP5gJNmgO-NAiY5aljtF7CSzfEsvxQzhgg4kKLxcnIMwnWx3/s1600/lg-g5-friends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinnkaFajKccbvZozBy0oDvMvuhFtK7lLBlkN0L1DLeOdw7eDJwV0xIMcXFnOghfYuiRsJv4Xw2ktrsMhdBIZOxO7H0eVALKP5gJNmgO-NAiY5aljtF7CSzfEsvxQzhgg4kKLxcnIMwnWx3/s1600/lg-g5-friends.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The LG G5's "friends"</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So, the big question here is whether the design of the LG G5 is actually good or bad. It is hard for me to judge that as I have not seen the device in person yet. But, right now I am sitting on the fence about the design. The unfortunate leaked images a week before the LG G5 launch in MWC 2016 resulted in a reaction that LG did not want. Leaked photos showed the LG G5 as being a pretty ugly looking phone and during that time, nobody was optimistic about LG's decision to overhaul the design of the LG G4 which was pretty good already. But then came the official debut at MWC 2016 and people did eventually praise LG about the final design and I think the problem as to why people called it ugly before is that the leaks were poorly taken and the lack of that extra photoshopping to be-dazzle the crowd with the chamfered edges and striking colors likely made the LG G5 less desirable.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOxf29OJ7WJlOx4TsqHjpIGZ8zBCvIB5ZZq9muTdHYtAoMcpSetcIwcQB9ytPlK4IvIcF8cZ8hnppIKzi950v7ctAgw58JkwlZQT8bgVwTxCho_nE6FVOkDNNWLKVIZgrsXoITg1aqXAiT/s1600/lg-g5-module-840x630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOxf29OJ7WJlOx4TsqHjpIGZ8zBCvIB5ZZq9muTdHYtAoMcpSetcIwcQB9ytPlK4IvIcF8cZ8hnppIKzi950v7ctAgw58JkwlZQT8bgVwTxCho_nE6FVOkDNNWLKVIZgrsXoITg1aqXAiT/s1600/lg-g5-module-840x630.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>doesn't this just look fugly</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-cQ3w5hKT5VDWzt96EMprAUUObxa0OgJe_hmYlLUYEmV3Fcr4S8sW1npTHEHuHBtjV7Eh2T799cZi6U9_I8wLW7FfX30F13zNZ77Z3BHQz2fMPkqTMlSaiwLSHiIbkHHnsGOlRKK6-rTl/s1600/lg_g5_render_leak_cnet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-cQ3w5hKT5VDWzt96EMprAUUObxa0OgJe_hmYlLUYEmV3Fcr4S8sW1npTHEHuHBtjV7Eh2T799cZi6U9_I8wLW7FfX30F13zNZ77Z3BHQz2fMPkqTMlSaiwLSHiIbkHHnsGOlRKK6-rTl/s1600/lg_g5_render_leak_cnet.jpg" /></a></div>
But out of all the new designs being introduced with this first wave of flagship class smartphones, I think the Alcatel Idol 4S has the best design overall as it has a pretty striking balance of form over function. Just remember that the Alcatel is by no means a flagship device that can compete with the likes of Samsung or LG but it is a pretty nice looking device. The design is something like the Galaxy S7 but Alcatel made it look better by including color accents on the metal frame and the front of the Idol 4S looks nice and clean.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Alcatel Idol 4S Key Specifications</h2>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>5.5-inch 1440 x 2560 AMOLED display</li>
<li>Snapdragon 652 SoC</li>
<li>3GB RAM</li>
<li>13MP rear camera</li>
<li>8MP front camera</li>
<li>32GB memory</li>
<li>3,00mAh battery</li>
<li>153.9 x 75.4 x 6.99mm</li>
<li>Read full article <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/02/alcatel-announces-idol-4-series-that.html">here</a></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQYS1ljK0-UExMKqWFO_hdCm28bDz-LnuaLv4yBB-77xSRv81LlhkWnsSW5TefGpEpdR1BLksOOzPUijMlYL1gluJP4MwQu4XR6-5n6pkS-O2AKtfRRUp9cCuf9d93wL1-fEN9tRzISto/s1600/IDOL4_WEBSITE_02_v2_04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQYS1ljK0-UExMKqWFO_hdCm28bDz-LnuaLv4yBB-77xSRv81LlhkWnsSW5TefGpEpdR1BLksOOzPUijMlYL1gluJP4MwQu4XR6-5n6pkS-O2AKtfRRUp9cCuf9d93wL1-fEN9tRzISto/s1600/IDOL4_WEBSITE_02_v2_04.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTu49QO4wQZePZmMcMdsf-8Dpag76r6noNWUX1wQ_9kQMTR8C7ZryW7-7soVIPvhpXxetxop14AdDIpMWc4AW8x3U8-sFv07dcYqeVxEMPkbj3wn8SrlyWbphYAhfGnIkZqrshz1ene_S/s1600/IDOL4_WEBSITE_03_05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTu49QO4wQZePZmMcMdsf-8Dpag76r6noNWUX1wQ_9kQMTR8C7ZryW7-7soVIPvhpXxetxop14AdDIpMWc4AW8x3U8-sFv07dcYqeVxEMPkbj3wn8SrlyWbphYAhfGnIkZqrshz1ene_S/s1600/IDOL4_WEBSITE_03_05.jpg" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Features</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUjjABwKvMJeoINXeIuCkyWR_5arqPylqxiaz8UO_LHH70XWCPbwb3ehBGxmz3bmttDi9QLdlujBOC6ZxL9-VqiJZbXlz6ewGW-h7XCsUVCpA3JKfkxFQKLaIgeFUE0Kh-sTa8ZSwevej/s1600/Screen-Shot-2015-08-11-at-11.01.28-PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUjjABwKvMJeoINXeIuCkyWR_5arqPylqxiaz8UO_LHH70XWCPbwb3ehBGxmz3bmttDi9QLdlujBOC6ZxL9-VqiJZbXlz6ewGW-h7XCsUVCpA3JKfkxFQKLaIgeFUE0Kh-sTa8ZSwevej/s1600/Screen-Shot-2015-08-11-at-11.01.28-PM.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqgYE2GaWVu0H3kU4HUvN-7ArmTnYdADgGO6LOJdytvjp3MtPnQ5C4Oa_UN-SgfdHbruegQiO-XM7K9rEpxb3ACA91Cj8cQHe4506ynYIB7Lq_PINmJgvTvxjLC70rK4LRKkgw4AaUmaQ_/s1600/xiaomi-mi-5-gold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqgYE2GaWVu0H3kU4HUvN-7ArmTnYdADgGO6LOJdytvjp3MtPnQ5C4Oa_UN-SgfdHbruegQiO-XM7K9rEpxb3ACA91Cj8cQHe4506ynYIB7Lq_PINmJgvTvxjLC70rK4LRKkgw4AaUmaQ_/s320/xiaomi-mi-5-gold.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
In the world we live today, speed is no longer an important feature especially with flagship phones just because in order for that device to be competitive in the flagship race, it'll need to have the best of the best. Xiaomi in particular thinks that speed is still very much an important feature and they even heavily promoted how they managed to fine tune the performance of the Snapdragon 820 SoC to get a marginally higher AnTuTu score than it's competitors. Whether benchmark scores mean anything at all depends on how you look at it. For me, all the processors these days are already pretty capable and it really doesn't matter much to me if one phone can get a higher benchmark score than the other. They're all going to perform pretty good.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Xiaomi Mi 5 Key Specifications</h2>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>5.15-inch 1080P IPS LCD display</li>
<li>Snapdragon 820 SoC</li>
<li>3/4GB RAM</li>
<li>32/64/128GB UFS 2.0 memory</li>
<li>16MP f2.0 rear camera with OIS</li>
<li>4MP f2.0 front camera </li>
<li>Android 6.0 Marshmallow with MIUI 7.0</li>
<li>3,00mAh battery</li>
<li>USB Type-C port</li>
<li>144.6 x 69.2 x 7.3mm</li>
<li>129/139g</li>
<li>Dual SIM</li>
<li>Read full article <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/02/xiaomi-unveils-mi-5-and-mi-4s-at-mwc.html" target="_blank">here</a></li>
</ul>
Probably the highlight feature of all the smartphones unveiled at Mobile World Congress is the VR headset phone box of the Alcatel Idol 4S. The LG G5's magic slot functionality sounds cool but straight out of the box, the sub-$400 Alcatel Idol 4S can become a VR ready device. It goes to show how important virtual reality is right now and Samsung is still reusing their $99 Gear VR introduced with the Galaxy Note5 for the Galaxy S7 and LG is getting into the game with their sleek looking LG 360 VR headset and just like the LG G5 friends (modules), the VR headset is still not priced yet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1w2Y0k75TaYGMLL2bFLLSvC71o4YOvroVyUyQNt0eULLmK0kdU8-_FdRJpAVV8EInQLkc48JiHV1JblSCHh5cF3gkPbqX-LLrM88aajys_j8CPhYGwe2CLeaR531tJSufflLiG631wqiq/s1600/alcatel-idol-4-acessory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1w2Y0k75TaYGMLL2bFLLSvC71o4YOvroVyUyQNt0eULLmK0kdU8-_FdRJpAVV8EInQLkc48JiHV1JblSCHh5cF3gkPbqX-LLrM88aajys_j8CPhYGwe2CLeaR531tJSufflLiG631wqiq/s1600/alcatel-idol-4-acessory.jpg" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Key Specifications</h2>
<ul>
<li>5.5-inch 2560 x 1440 sAMOLED display</li>
<li>64-bit octa core Exynos or Snapdragon 820 SoC</li>
<li>4GB RAM</li>
<li>32/64GB expandable memory</li>
<li>12MP f1.7 Dual pixel rear camera with OIS</li>
<li>5MP f1.7 front camera</li>
<li>IP68 certification</li>
<li>3,600mAh battery with wireless charging</li>
<li>LTE</li>
<li>150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7mm (157g)</li>
<li>Fingerprint scanner with Samsung Pay</li>
<li>Read full article <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/02/samsungs-brand-new-galaxy-s7-and-galaxy.html" target="_blank">here</a></li>
</ul>
Speaking of the Galaxy S7 and Gear VR, the only reason why the older Gear VR which works with the Galaxy S6 still works with the new Galaxy S7 series is because Samsung kept the non-reversible microUSB port on the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. While flagships in the last year started implementing USB C on devices, Samsung is still keen on keeping this legacy port for the time being for backwards compatibility with accessories like the Gear VR. As to whether USB Type C is necessary on a flagship smartphone is yet to be known.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaxy_vWbNbTtUghAVFZT7dhhKztHH2LrJYqlXJvDQ4Jdw8g_DCsrlcTUxxVoTdnVaYyoc4osRDijnXzA2sfOuKkk8h88w9lY3vNlFa7NKf6sT1_yrjoElFLOcBrMhsWK8R95afqrBCmKw/s1600/samsung-gear-vr-family-galaxy.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaxy_vWbNbTtUghAVFZT7dhhKztHH2LrJYqlXJvDQ4Jdw8g_DCsrlcTUxxVoTdnVaYyoc4osRDijnXzA2sfOuKkk8h88w9lY3vNlFa7NKf6sT1_yrjoElFLOcBrMhsWK8R95afqrBCmKw/s1600/samsung-gear-vr-family-galaxy.PNG" /></a><br />
Generally speaking, there isn't really that much advantage to have a USB Type C port other than having the bragging rights of having a future-proof design and also the reversible design. Beyond that, USB C is still a lot like how Thunderbolt is, the supported hardware is still limited and often costs a little bit more and you can't just use any cheap o' cable you find on ebay as what a Google Engineer has <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+BensonLeung" target="_blank">discovered</a> unless you want to fry your phone. Also, the average price of a well-branded USB C cable is higher than a microUSB cable, the price you have to pay to be an early adopter. But then again, if you are extra careful, the included USB C cable should last you long enough.<br />
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Virtual Reality is all cool and everything but I was somehow expecting at least one flagship android phone to have a pressure sensitive display. Surprisingly, none of them feature such a display but I am expecting phones in the 2H of 2016 to implement such a technology. Probably phones like the Galaxy Note6 and other flagships being unveiled during IFA 2016.<br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Conclusion</span></h2>
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I am going to start off the end of this article by saying how disappointed I am about Sony's decision to replace the Xperia Z series with this new Xperia X series. Sony's impressive camera technology is still here to stay but the legacy of the Xperia Z series seem to be lost with this new smartphone series from Sony. The camera and signature omnibalance is still present with the new Xperia X series but Sony totally killed one of the best features of their Xperia Z series which was the IP water/dust certification. With the Xperia X series, only the high end Xperia X Performance will inherit the IP68 certification. It is still unclear is Sony plans to refresh their flagship series 2 times a year but we will be able to confirm that soon enough.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Xperia X Performance Key Specifications</h2>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>5-inch 1080P IPS LCD display</li>
<li>Snapdragon 820 SoC</li>
<li>3GB RAM</li>
<li>32GB expandable memory</li>
<li>23MP f2.0 rear camera</li>
<li>12MP f2.0 front camera</li>
<li>2,700mAh battery</li>
<li>Android 6.0 Marshmallow</li>
<li>144.8 x 71.1 x 7.6mm</li>
<li>165g</li>
<li>IP68 certification</li>
<li>Read full article <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/02/sony-unveils-new-xperia-x-series.html" target="_blank">here</a> </li>
</ul>
<div>
The new Xperia X series which includes the XA, X and X Premium is by no means a slouch in terms of the hardware but unlike the Xperia Z series starting with the Xperia Z3 series which basically came with the same flagship grade hardware in different screen sizes. And talk about the death of the ludicrous 4k display of the Xperia Z5 Premium. The 4k display is probably going to come back to a Sony smartphone in the future when the market finally reaches that point. But one thing that Sony did improve on with the Xperia X series is that the back is no longer glass as Sony has swapped it for a metal back.</div>
<br />
Moving back to the conclusion of this article, the first wave of flagships this year look impressive enough for an upgrade over it's predecessor but none of them justify any groundbreaking innovations. Maybe LG's dual camera system and magic slot expansion can be counted as groundbreaking but I personally think It will end up just being a cool little gimmick to increase sales. The Galaxy S7's IP68 certification in the other hand sounds like a slippery mess in the making. Just think about it, metal + glass + water is a recipe for the phone to slip right off your hands.<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/OnLeaks">@OnLeaks</a> Can I play too? <a href="https://t.co/aIRC8Zd9Y5">pic.twitter.com/aIRC8Zd9Y5</a></div>
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) <a href="https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/705768865825955840">March 4, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></center>
<br />
Interestingly, HTC has only quietly announced a couple of new <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/2016/02/htc-desire-825-630-530-mwc-2016.html" target="_blank">midrange</a> smartphones at MWC 2016 and the new HTC flagship for 2016 is expected to be announced only in April. I think HTC took the right move by not unveiling their flagship alongside Samsung and LG. They will probably have better luck at getting the attention of users when both the LG G5 and Galaxy S7 officially hit the market.<br />
<br />
But overall, companies like Samsung and LG has got to keep up the pace if the iPhone 7 does indeed come with that dual camera setup and water resistivity. It's like the combination of the LG G5 and the Galaxy S7 with the added bonus of a pressure sensitive display.<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Insider Talk</i></h2>
This post definitely took longer than expected. Lots of delays in the last two weeks. I was initially expecting this to go live right after the Xiaomi Mi 5 launch but I was totally caught it with a ton of school work and also the fact I somehow lost a little inspiration to write about tech. I can seriously say that I was actually very dissatisfied with writing this article but I pulled through and the final piece reflects why I love blogging.</div>
dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Tempe, AZ, USA33.4255104 -111.9400054000000233.2133904 -112.26272890000001 33.6376304 -111.61728190000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-83388719709797387722016-02-20T21:55:00.000-07:002016-02-20T21:55:59.456-07:00Apple's encryption war with the FBI<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The past week has mostly been about the inevitable leaks of Samsung and LG's upcoming flagship devices which looks to be a tight battle between the two Android giants. But in the more general (non-tech) debate that has come up over the week is that Tim Cook, Apple CEO publically announces that they are vetoing the federal magistrate's order to assist the FBI in de-crypting the data on Syed Rizwan Farook's iPhone 5C. Farook was one of the terrorists involved in the San Bernardino shooters which killed 14 people and seriously injure 22 people in last December. <br />
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The San Bernardino attack is believed to be the worst terrorist attack to occur in America since the 9/11 attacks in 2001. And this is why the FBI is persistent in finding the motive behind the attack in California. Now this is where the debate with Apple comes up, the two terrorists involved in the shooting was killed during pursuit and one of the current leads as to motive behind the attacks now lies in an iPhone 5C which has a passcode on it.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>My thoughts on the iPhone 5C, do users really want a colorful iPhone ?</b> — <i>"the iPhone 5C Is Apple’s iPhone aimed towards users which don’t have too much money to fork out for an iPhone. The device comes in 5 colors and is not exactly that colorful like what the rumors stated. The iPhone 5C is powered by hardware which is about 1 year old now or if you put it in a better sounding way it works like an iPhone 5 but doesn’t look like one." <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2013/09/iPhone5C.html" target="_blank">Continue reading</a>.</i></blockquote>
Apple has been a great advocate of security (and encryption) since the early days and Tim Cook says that this incident is no exception for Apple to do away from their beliefs that customers should have the right to know that their data is secure. The FBI says that Apple's rejection to the court's order is causing a stalling the entire investigation. Prior to this event, the FBI has always tried to persuade American tech companies to provide the bureau with a "backdoor" that allows them to access data from a service/device. But companies argued that if such a encryption key is given out to the FBI, that would essentially get rid of the idea behind securing data that is inaccessible to anyone but the owner.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"> Decrypting Encryption</span></h2>
To fully understand the argument that is being debated across the internet and between the tech companies, you will first need to understand the idea of encryption. If you already get what encryption is all about, you’re good to go, but if you just know encryption as a safety feature, take a few minutes to watch the video below to familiarize yourself with the logic behind encrypting data. Encryption itself isn’t the bi-product of the evolution of technology but rather, the method behind safely sending data to another person started way back in the early days of mankind. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="500" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dut9EnbFym0" width="800"></iframe><br />
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But essentially, encryption is used to secretly transmit a message, picture or anything in general safely to the person you want to send to. This is why encryption is so important today because the internet is available everywhere and hackers are constantly trying to mine all those encrypted data to get into your personal information. So, you better hope that hackers don't get into your personal data so you should thank encryption. <br />
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In case you are interested in learning more about learning how you could encrypt your own data, here's an <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-science/cryptography/crypt/v/intro-to-cryptography" target="_blank">online course</a> by Khan Academy which teaches you the history, methods and idea behind cryptography so you can encrypt and decrypt your own data.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
FBI's side of the story</h2>
It has been two months since the deadly shooting took place and the FBI is currently investigating the matter and the most prominent lead they have into the investigation lies in an iPhone 5C that is locked. What the FBI wants is pretty simple actually, they just want access to the encrypted data stored in the iPhone and that is why they have requested a warrant by the magistrate judge to request Apple to decrypt the phone itself. It is true that the FBI is able to just hack into the iPhone 5C without the help of Apple but that option will require more resources and time. <br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Tim Cook's message about the matter</h2>
Ever since the court order went public earlier this week, it was revealed that Apple has been in-talks with the government for a couple of weeks already about the methods that can be used to recover the data from the encrypted iPhone 5C. The discussions by Apple however, never once involved Apple to build a custom version of iOS which enables the government to access data on the phone. <br />
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The twist of this matter comes when Apple reveals that the Apple ID password associated with the terrorist's iPhone 5C was modified when it was in government custody. According to an Apple executive, this essentially means that the backup that was made by that device is no longer accessible. <br />
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So, the story continues with the FBI now requesting Apple for not only a decryption key into the iPhone 5C, but they are turning their request into making Apple create a special version of iOS that does not feature the advanced encryption features that iOS possess. This essentially enables the bureau to load that specific version of iOS onto the iPhone 5C and accessing the data store on the device. <br />
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This sounds pretty straight forward but the implications of this goes back to the original reason why Apple is going against the court's order. By creating this custom version of iOS, Tim Cook says they are basically providing the federal government with access to other encrypted devices in the same manner by side loading this version of iOS.<br />
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Shortly after the judge's order for Apple to provide a backdoor for the iPhone 5C, Tim Cook announced via an official statement on the Apple site that the company stands before it's users/customers by not complying with the FBI's court order to create "backdoor" into the iPhone 5C.<br />
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"The government suggests this tool could only be used once, on one phone. But that’s simply not true. Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices. In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks — from restaurants and banks to stores and homes. No reasonable person would find that acceptable.<br />
The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers — including tens of millions of American citizens — from sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals. The same engineers who built strong encryption into the iPhone to protect our users would, ironically, be ordered to weaken those protections and make our users less safe."</blockquote>
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Read the full letter <a href="http://www.apple.com/customer-letter/" target="_blank">here</a><br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Tim Cook's fan backing</span></h2>
What happens after this is still yet to be known as the story develops. But even if the the FBI or Apple descidely decrypts the phone, there is not truth behind what they will find in the phone itself as the bureau has already seized some of the terrorist's personal devices.<br />
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Personally, I think that what Tim Cook and Apple is standing up for is definitely for the better of the customer. It might not do justice to those harmed in the terrorists attack but it is a relatively good news for Apple users. And if you were wondering why Apple can't access an encrypted device that they designed, Apple actually removed the ability on iOS to access encrypted data and that essentially means that if you don't have access to that iOS device, Apple isn't able to help you decrypt that data. By decrypting that, Apple is essentially breaking their own encryption code. So, in the mean time, check out the support that Tim Cook has behind his decision.</div>
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1/5 Important post by <a href="https://twitter.com/tim_cook">@tim_cook</a>. Forcing companies to enable hacking could compromise users’ privacy</div>
— sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) <a href="https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/700104298600886272">February 17, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
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2/5 We know that law enforcement and intelligence agencies face significant challenges in protecting the public against crime and terrorism</div>
— sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) <a href="https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/700104342720761856">February 17, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
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3/5 We build secure products to keep your information safe and we give law enforcement access to data based on valid legal orders</div>
— sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) <a href="https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/700104383762026496">February 17, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
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4/5 But that’s wholly different than requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices & data. Could be a troubling precedent</div>
— sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) <a href="https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/700104433183502336">February 17, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
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4/5 But that’s wholly different than requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices & data. Could be a troubling precedent</div>
— sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) <a href="https://twitter.com/sundarpichai/status/700104433183502336">February 17, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/jan.koum/posts/10153907267490011">
http://www.apple.com/customer-letter/ - I have always admired Tim Cook for his stance on privacy and Apple's efforts to...<br />
Posted by <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9029177675662114056#" role="button">Jan Koum</a> on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jan.koum/posts/10153907267490011">Wednesday, February 17, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
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The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FBI?src=hash">#FBI</a>'s insecurity mandate on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Apple?src=hash">#Apple</a> will hurt ordinary citizens, not criminal masterminds. Here's why: <a href="https://t.co/0IPGlsAeFv">https://t.co/0IPGlsAeFv</a></div>
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) <a href="https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/700432736323031040">February 18, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
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We stand with <a href="https://twitter.com/tim_cook">@tim_cook</a> and Apple (and thank him for his leadership)! <a href="https://t.co/XrnGC9seZ4">https://t.co/XrnGC9seZ4</a></div>
— Jack (@jack) <a href="https://twitter.com/jack/status/700457149227360256">February 18, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Insider Talk</i></h2>
Back from a week of missing out the article deadline and this wasn't the article that I was planning to write about this week. That article in particular still needs some extra research before being published so I am pushing that back for the time being. Never written something like this before and this is a first for me and I hope to write more of these kind of articles as it does reflect the current state of technology. </div>
dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Tempe, AZ, USA33.4255104 -111.9400054000000233.2133904 -112.26272890000001 33.6376304 -111.61728190000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9029177675662114056.post-12212322916259743532016-02-10T02:24:00.000-07:002016-02-10T02:24:16.345-07:00Four years and counting! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It is that time of the year again, this site which started off as The Technology of Today in 2012 is now 4 years old. I know I say this nearly every single year but this feels just like yesterday that I started blogging all about the tech news every afternoon during high school. The times sure have passed real quick and the site in my opinion is going at a steady pace in the last year. Not as quick of a pace as we had during the first year but I am pretty content with the progress of articles in the last year.<br />
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Compared to 2014, I managed to crunch up 46 articles last year which doubles the 25 I did in 2014. The number sure is insignificant compared to what we had in the year 2012 (nearly 1,000 articles published). This year in particular, I am looking to double that number by chugging out more content to this site each week. Last year, I tried out a weekly segment dubbed the 'Weekend Review' and that worked pretty well with my schedule. Also, if you have noticed, towards the end of last year, I was trying out a new schedule which had me posting two articles every week. That is what I am trying to implement this year and I will try my best to keep my schedule open to do just that.<br />
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This site is still exclusive to the feature and review articles and if you want to read tech news from us, head on over to our <a href="http://megapowertech-malaysia.blogspot.my/" target="_blank">Malaysia</a> site where I do post news articles there. I have no plans to reintroduce news articles on this site for the time being but through the feature/review articles on this site, I will backlink the relevant news articles back to our Malaysia site. In terms of articles, I realized that I have been talking a lot lot about Microsoft products in the last year, I will try to tone down on that and talk more about other tech products. Maybe go a little in-depth into the science of curved OLED TVs or just debating about whether Intel taking away overclocking on non-k CPUs is a bad thing or not.<br />
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Highlights of 2015 </h2>
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<li><b>What's next for Samsung:</b> In this article, I talked about what the future holds for Samsung as the competition is getting stronger. Read about that <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/08/whats-next-for-samsung.html" target="_blank">here</a></li>
<li><b>Windows 10 Review:</b> The biggest software release every by Microsoft and I explain most of the good and bad about Microsoft's new desktop operating system. Read the full review <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/07/windows-10-review-malaysia-2015.html" target="_blank">here</a></li>
<li><b>Microsoft Lumia turns blue, what happened to purple:</b> This is still a little bit of an odd ball as it is not clear why Microsoft is opting for blue instead or purple. Read the full story <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/05/microsoft-lumia-turns-blue-what-happen-to-purple.html" target="_blank">here</a></li>
<li><b>Oaxis Star.21 Review: Forming a new habit in three weeks</b>: Finally got the chance to do this review after delaying it for a long long time. Read about the fitness band <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/11/oaxis-star-21-review-forming-a-new-habit-in-21-days.html" target="_blank">here</a></li>
<li><b>Setting up the Raspberry Pi 2 for the first time:</b> This marks a new journey for me into the Internet of Things, there is potential for more Raspberry Pi content in the future. Check out my first impressions of the $35 board <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2015/03/setting-up-raspberry-pi-2-for-the-very-first-time.html" target="_blank">here</a></li>
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As for changes to me myself in 2016, I have moved west to America from Malaysia and expect to see some articles dedicated to the technology life in America. I've already concluded an introductory article about <a href="http://megapowertech.blogspot.com/2016/02/my-transition-from-t-mobile-to-ting.html" target="_blank">Ting</a> last weekend and maybe I'll do something like BestBuy store review or something in the lines of that.<br />
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Anyway, here is to the next year of tech blogging. </div>
dickwynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01096149810281159143noreply@blogger.com0Tempe, AZ, USA33.4255104 -111.9400054000000233.2133904 -112.26272890000001 33.6376304 -111.61728190000002