HWZ Editorial Blogs

The State of Mirrorless Cameras 2012

Alvin Soon — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:35:00 +0800

The last of the Japanese camera companies' financial reports for the recent fiscal year have come in. How did they fare (spoiler: not well), how did the camera divisions do, and how does it reflect on mirrorless system cameras as a whole?

Why Adobe's Subscription-based Creative Cloud is the New Future

Alvin Soon — Tue, 7 May 2013 13:55:55 +0800

When Adobe first announced its subscription-based service Creative Cloud in 2011, I was skeptical. This time around though, with the announcement that new versions of Adobe's apps will only be available on Creative Cloud, I'm a believer. Here's why.

IFA 2013 GPC: How Product Categories Play the Game of Thrones to Win Audiences

Terence Ang — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:00:00 +0800

The IFA Global Press Conference 2013, held in Sardinia, Italy this year, offered us an outlook into the CE and home appliance markets for the IFA show in September. The biggest insight however, is how some categories are grabbing market share from familiar categories to win favor for the throne.

A Music Lover’s Perspective on Spotify

Hurrairah bin Sohail — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:04:43 +0800

Spotify, after wowing users in US and Europe, has finally arrived on the shores of Singapore. While it is a fun and easy to use application, can it meet the lofty standards of extreme music aficionados? As someone who listens to a lot of music, here is my personal opinion.

Spotify, You Complete Me

Alvin Soon — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:01:00 +0800

You know you're getting on in years when you keep listening to the same old songs over and over again. That's what my playlist was like, full of stuff from the 90s and early 2000s. Then Spotify came along, and refreshed my musical world.

Yoshihisa Maitani, the Olympus PEN & the Innovator's Dilemma

Alvin Soon — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:55:55 +0800

Camera lovers may have heard of Yoshihisa Maitani. He joined Olympus in 1956 and worked there for 40 years. He was responsible for many of Olympus' most popular cameras, including the Pen, the OM and the XA; it wouldn't be hyperbole to say he had a strong hand in shaping the world of photography in the 20th century. Here's how he disrupted the camera industry, in his own words.

Smart Watches - Fad or The Future?

Kenny Yeo — Fri, 1 Mar 2013 16:46:47 +0800

It seems that not a day passes without news of some new smart watch. But are they really the next big thing? Is Apple really going to make one? I share my thoughts.

The Global Race of Supercomputers

Wong Chung Wee — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:56:38 +0800

Supercomputers boast massive compute prowess able to simulate and model real life systems. Besides their practical purposes, they bolster the technological credentials of the owners of such immense computing capabilities, making the development of such systems a hotly contested global race.

The Wrong Prometheus

Kenny Yeo — Thu, 6 Dec 2012 07:30:00 +0800

It's important for content producers to protect their rights, but in this case, 20th Century Fox, in its attempt to hunt down sites that are offering free screenings of Prometheus (the movie), gets the wrong guy involved. In this case, a small Portuguese watch company?

Do You Need to Extend Your AppleCare?

Kenny Yeo — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 22:24:01 +0800

The AppleCare Protection Plan extends the warranty of your beloved Apple product by an additional two years, but they don't come cheap. But do you really need it? I share my thoughts.

Televisions, They Are A-Changin'

Andy Sim — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 00:00:07 +0800

The television industry is transiting into a peculiar phase. It's a time where 4K LCD TVs and the soon-to-arrive OLED displays are beginning to emerge in tandem. Assuming you have the money, would you rather spend the precious dough on an OLED TV or a 4K UHD display? Feel free to share your thoughts with me.

It's Time for a Year-end Refresh to Your Favorite Zone

Vijay Anand — Fri, 5 Oct 2012 11:00:00 +0800

It has been nearly a year since we had our last site design overhaul, but being the largest online tech portal in this region, we're continuously on the lookout to improve ourselves. This time round, we've a number of smaller site enhancements and we share some of the more notable improvements.

The Mirrorless Camera Revolution That Really Wasn't

Alvin Soon — Wed, 5 Sep 2012 10:15:15 +0800

Why the mirrorless system camera revolution hasn't really taken off - and what camera companies can (but probably won't) do to rock the boat.

So You Think You Have Golden Ears?

Kenny Yeo — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 21:09:54 +0800

The human ear is not as sensitive as we'd like to think and our hearing deteriorates with age. Yet, a handful of people still believe they have golden ears.

Computex 2012 - Signs of Change

Vijay Anand — Mon, 4 Jun 2012 08:24:39 +0800

The most exciting geek show this side of the world is about to commence - what can you expect of Computex 2012 and how is it going to change what you're going to buy in the months ahead?

DLC: Just Another Way to Milk Gamers?

Kenny Yeo — Mon, 28 May 2012 08:04:39 +0800

Judging from what I've noticed about how the DLC model is used by developers, I get the sinking feeling that it is just another way for developers to wring every last dollar out of gamers.

Mobile Commerce to be a Hassle-free Experience

Leo Boon Yeow — Sat, 19 May 2012 00:02:27 +0800

When it comes to online shopping, most of us wouldn't even think about doing it on our mobile devices. That's mostly because the shopping experience on small screens are simply horrendous. However, by not going mobile, businesses with a web presence have more to lose than gain. However all that might change for the better sooner than we think.

Eyes On You

Andy Sim — Wed, 9 May 2012 15:25:13 +0800

Smart TVs are evolving, and most consumers would probably welcome features like voice triggers, motion controls, and face recognition as seen on Samsung's latest breed of premium HDTVs. However, are these screens compromising our privacy in the process? Read on for Samsung's reply.

Cloud: The Next Security Frontier

Ng Chong Seng — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:55:00 +0800

The advent of cloud computing and the proliferation of smartphones and tablet computers at the workplace have posed numerous challenges and opportunities for the enterprise security landscape. Here are some insights I gained at the recent Trend Micro CloudNext APAC media conference. As you might have guessed, the cloud plays an important role.

Why the IFA Global Press Conference is a Good Check-Point between CES and IFA

Terence Ang — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:09:52 +0800

In the world of consumer electronics, there are two major shows -- CES in Las Vegas in January, and IFA in Berlin every September. How do journalists know that what was previewed in CES will be ready to market at IFA in time for Christmas? Well, the annual IFA Global Press Conference, that's what.