Mighty "small rice" aka Xiaomi close to international debut

You may not have heard of them, and unlike it's name which seem to suggest otherwise, they are actually really BIG. Yes, I am talking about the Chinese tech giant Xiaomi.

Active mainly in China, Xiaomi is ready to set step onto the international stage, starting from the first stop in Singapore (if we don't consider HK/ TW). They have been marketing on social media since early this year, drumming up the hype. And just today Xiaomi announced their first product in Singapore, Hongmi, with a release date of 21st Feb, and an unbeatable price at SGD$ 169.

Xiaomi has made a statement with that price tag. All eyes were on the number before the announcement, as the market awaited whether Xiaomi would play up the same price aggressive strategy which made them so popular at home in China.

What’s the big deal? You may ask.

Xiaomi is well known for its value-for-money offerings like their famous MI phones, which are built with top of the line hardware, but priced (without contract) lower than what you will get with a 2 year telco contract. And that’s a big deal! To consumers, it means that you don’t have to spend too much for a smartphone with decent specs. To the competing brands, it is a nightmare that keeps them on their toes to compete in price in an already tough market. To the telcos, it is an unwelcoming option, as they look to lock their customers with contracts perpetually.

There must be a catch? You may ask.

Yes. The catch is that you may not be able to get one, if it proves to be as successful as at home in China, where demand is so high that Xiaomi does not have ready stock for all order, and one may need to wait for a month or two.

One of the challenges that Xiaomi has to tackle, before it can transform into a truly international brand, is the language. Other than the price, Xiaomi is also known for its active engagement with their users. Constantly getting feedback from the community, and delivering frequent update to their devices. That communication has been in Chinese, and that will need to be enhanced if they want a bigger stake on the world map. The choice of Singapore is an understandable one as such. While English is the main language, most Singaporeans also possess adequate level of Chinese proficiency. Besides, Singapore is very receptive to adopting new technology and products.

I do hope Xiaomi can take off starting from Singapore, as I am all for good and affordable tech. Now, please launch MI3 with LTE or MI4 already!

Pebble Steel - Pebble undergone steel surgery

Same but different - a mere change of look on the same brain and muscle prove to be just enough to get some people to click that "Order Now" button. At least it got me.

The original Pebble is still great. One of its advantage over the competitors is that it looks more like a watch. But there's no denial that it lacks the premium feel in the exterior department. Certainly it does not go very well with say shirt, tie and pant.

That's where Pebble Steel comes in. It is not the so called gen 2 of Pebble, and more like iPhone 5c and 5s which coexist. The cool steel body (and additional leather strap) can be yours for US$ 100 more than the original Pebble. I thought it will be a hot seller if it was priced at US$ 199 instead, since some less smart watches like G-Shock may cost more than that. But at US$ 249, it make it harder for someone to justify getting something that's just nice to have. Nevertheless I suspect there is still a big group of people like me who just can't resist the "Order Now" button....

Can't wait till mid Feb.

Sugru - Playdough for adults that fixes things

So my MINIX NT-1 broke. I still can't determine who was the culprit, whether it was my oversize head or my 3 year old son. The headphone was still functioning as per normal, just that the plastic headband was broken into two. I did not try, but I suspected it would be hard to find a replacement part from MINIX.

I decided to fix it DIY, and something which I have long wanted to try came to mind - Sugru. For those who is not familiar with it, Sugru is a product which is able to transform its state from playdough to hard rubber. It is marketed to "form and fix the stuff you love", and that's in essence what Sugru is. You use it to mold on thing to make it works better for you, or simply use it to fix something.

I got myself a 8 pieces pack from their website, and patiently waited for it to reach me from UK to Singapore. It took almost 2 weeks from the day I placed my order till I received it. I couldn't wait any longer and proceeded with the operation on the same night. All I needed were - 1 piece of Sugru, 1 paper clip, and the disassemble tools. After tearing the headphone apart, Sugru played the important role to gel the broken headband together. I also added a paper clip before applying Sugru, to reinforce it with a more sturdy structure. It was the first time I played with Sugru, it felt like... playdough. Forming it and gelling it to the headband was easy. Once done, I left them overnight until the Sugru harden on the next day. The headband is in one piece again, and after putting the parts together, I now have my working NT-1 back!

I love how handy and easy to use Sugru is. One thing that stopped me from getting it before, was the price and its availability. The 8 pieces pack costed me 14.43 pounds, and 2 weeks waiting time. While I definitely think highly of this product, and glad that it fixed my problem, I have doubt whether more people will adopt it. At almost S$4 a piece, you will probably only use it to fix valuable stuff, and Sugru may not give you a commercial grade finishing. The end product look, well DIY. Another thing to note is that Sugru only stay fresh for six months, though it can last longer if kept in the fridge.

Sugru need to keep its price lower and make it more available, like the superglue one can easily find in the hardware store. If they can do that, I am sure people will love to keep several Sugrus at home in case they need to fix a few things.

My watch is smarter than yours - why Pebble got my vote

2013 was suggested to be the year for wearable tech, especially smart watches. So has it live up to expectation? In short they are still far from being mass market products, but they have surely attracted some attention.

Samsung Galaxy Gear, Sony SmartWatch 2, Pebble (retail version), Qualcomm Toq, were among the more prominent releases this year. Despite several rumors earlier, Google and Apple have not joined the party, which only tell us that the market is not yet ripe for harvest.

The answer to whether to get one now, really depends on one’s desire to toy with the concept. The watch part of it is still not ready for prime time in my opinion, mainly due to the balance that is required between battery life and features. While it is all good to have as many Dick Tracy tricks on your wrist, it will be a useless strap of rubber if it runs out of juice easily.

As for me, I am always game for new toy, and Pebble is my choice.

Although it only becomes available in retail this year, Pebble has made its name in early 2012 as the most backed Kickstarter project, which raised an astonishing funds of over $10 mio. I missed the Kickstarter version, and did not get the preorder delivery although I waited patiently for almost a year, until finally gotten mine from the Pebble online store directly in October. I have quickly forgotten the frustration of getting the watch, and have been wearing it daily instead of my pricey conventional watch since then.

During the time I have been wearing it, I find that Pebble delivers a good balance in providing the smart features without sacrificing its fundamental function as a watch.

I want to be able to see the time anytime.

Pebble is equipped with a monochrome e-paper screen that is always on and perfectly viewable at all angles even in direct sunlight. The screen is also assisted with backlight, which can be triggered with a simple twist action.

While the idea of a b&w pixelated screen may sound 1990 in 2013 context, it is a good sacrifice that improves its usability as a watch. The low resolution screen may even stands out, when you turn on that pixelated Mario watch face. It will be challenging to read an essay style email on Pebble, but short messages or notifications display just fine on its 1.26’ screen.

The idea of charging a watch is dreadful.

Mobile phone, tablet, laptop, power bank, shaver, you name it. These are the things that one may need to charge, some even on a daily basis. But watch is not in that category, at least not to most people.

One may argues that smartwatch is a new category, and empathizes that extra juice is needed for its features. But how willing is one to charge his/ her watch, and how frequent? Personally I find it hard to manage if I need to charge it daily.

With Pebble, I need to get it plugged in once a week. Of course I hope for a longer battery life, but at the moment it is as good as you can get, and it is way better than what the others are offering. Pebble makes the process connecting the power cord less painful, by making the charging contact points magnetic. It also serves as a water proof measure, so there is no hole exposed to the internal.

My $20 watch provides certain level of water resistant, and I expect nothing less when I spend 10 times more.

Says it all.

I can wear my Pebble at all times without any worry - when I wash my hands, take a shower, or even swim.

Watch should look like a watch.

Being geeky doesn’t necessarily mean that I want to look like a nerd. Aside of telling time, watch is also an accessory that complements how one looks.

While Pebble is not designer watch, its slim design is in line with conventional watches' dimension, hence making it less ‘special’ in a good way. If its design or its plastic builds start to become boring, the watch strap is exchangeable with any standard 22mm strap, and there are some third party decals that help to make it fancier.

Is it smart enough?

There are 2 types of smartwatches, one that acts as an active and self-sufficient device, and one that acts as a companion to assist a primary device. Pebble is more of the latter.

What Pebble doesn't have are hardware like camera, mic/ speaker, colored touch screen, and software wise may be comparatively less smart than say a Galaxy Gear. The area where it shines is its delivery of simple task in simple manner, primarily in notification. By default, I can receive notification from the more common applications like calendar, email, messaging, etc. With Android and the help of certain notification apps (e.g. Notification Center), one can get notification from almost every applications.

Pebble CAN be very smart, with the help of Tasker. The Pebble Tasker app allows Pebble to instruct the primary device to perform scripted tasks. On my Pebble for example, I have programmed actions e.g. taking photo (front or rear), find my phone, voice recording, lock my phone, trigger ring mode, etc. among others. The most useful feature I scripted is such that when I am around wearing Pebble, my phone will not ask me for pass code when unlocking the phone, the requirement will only be activated when I (and Pebble) am away from the phone.

…

At US$150 with shipping, Pebble is value for money if you compare it to some expensive dress watches that do nothing more than tell time. It will definitely make a good Christmas gift, whether he/ she is techy or not.

Tidy up that messy wiring!

Sometimes the sight of messy wiring frustrates me.

While browsing on the net, I found a cheap, low tech "gadget" that provides simple solution, in the form of a plastic box with holes.

How it works - dump all your wires and plugs into the box, close it, and your are done!

The end result is pleasing. Plus, it keeps the dust away too.

Wireless Transmitter + Receiver BTT009

It is a Sunday night, big football game at 11pm. You are watching the game with great excitement, but you need to be considerate, as your wife and kids are asleep. You wish you could turn on the volume a bit louder...

Well that happened to me, and I have decided to fix it - with a Bluetooth Transmitter! The idea is simple, output the audio from the TV to your headphone wirelessly.

They used to come in a set, a wireless transmitter and a dedicated headphone. These days however, some of us may already have a BT earphone or headphone, so why not make full use of it?

Being me, I was not ready to pay much for it, so I started the search on Aliexpress, Ebay, and Amazon. Finally punched in my credit card details for this no brand BT transmitter (model BTT009) which also work as a receiver.

Nothing special with its packaging, and I suspect it needs a good outer box to protect the device from damaging during shipping. It comes with the transmitter itself, a micro USB cable to power the device, and a 3.5 to 3.5 mm cable to connect between the transmitter and the source (e.g. a TV).

The size of the transmitter is rather small, it's length is about a third of a pen. Making it very portable, which mean you can convert a media player or a earphone that has no BT capability. For that matter, this device comes with built-in battery. The transmitter has a solid build. Though it is brandless, it doesn't feel cheap.

Pairing it is easy. Set the devices, both the transmitter and headphone, in pairing mode (by long pressing the power button), bring them near physically, and they should pair.

Not much comment about the audio quality really. The sound passes through a few interfaces before reaching your ears, so don't expect it to be of very high quality. Doesn't mean it is bad though. Jon Champion still sound like Jon Champion. There is no noise or distortion.

Now excuse me, I am going back to watch my game **putting on the BT headphone**. 

"GOAL!"

"SHUT UP!!!"

"......"

External battery that actually look sexy - Anker Astro Slim 3

Mobile phones, tablets, even watches, gadgets get more advance and shinny each year, but battery technology doesn't seem to be keeping up in the same speed. It is a familiar scene to many of us, when you were in need to call somebody, or looked for the way home on GPS, but only found your phone turned flat. It is no wonder why the external battery or 'power bank' become a popular accessory these days.

Depending on one need there are many brand/ brandless, with different sizes/ capacity, of battery pack out there. I have been using a few brandless batteries myself, which I got it from places like DX, or Aliexpress. Most of them did the job somewhat, but not without flaws. For instances, inflated mAh, bulky size, and some even exploded.

Check out the sexy Anker Astro Slim 3!

The impression started with the packaging, which was simple, and elegant.

The package include  the battery itself, a short micro usb cable, and a 30-pin Apple connector.

My photos may not do it justice. The Astro Slim 3 is one very well design battery pack. As suggested by the name, it is extremely pocketable and slim in profile. It remind you of a mobile phone, something like the Nexus One, both in terms of size and material.

The design is well thought out. It has a built in micro usb cable, which mean you don't need to carry an extra cable; not unless you need to charge the battery pack itself, or you use an Apple product. The built in cable is short and flat so it won't dangle. The micro usb when taken out, expose the port for charging (by micro usb). There is a secondary usb port, so you can charge 2 devices concurrently. On the front, there are 4 light indicators, which will be lighted up in white when you unplug, plug in the cable, and during charging.

Don't be fooled by its physical, at 6000 mAh, Slim 3 was able to charge my Galaxy S4 twice fully, and still with some juice left. The charging speed during the test was fast - it took about 2 - 2.5 hours to fully charge the S4 (2600 mAh) from flat. However, you may need to leave the battery pack charged overnight, as it may take a while depending on the charger.

Only complaints I have were 1) the built in micro usb head is too big and may not fit if you are using a case on your mobile, and 2) the light indicator was not accurate. It might be a localized issue with my unit, or that it was not thoroughly calibrated yet; the indicators went down to only 1 light quickly but was able to fully charge my S4 from flat.

In short, I love my purchase, and thought it was money well spent ($36/ S$46). Finally, I found an external battery that while serve it purpose functionally, it actually look great that I don't mind carrying it out, even when I don't need it.