ReviewEm

Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon breaks records, hits $500 million worldwide in 9 days

reviewem — Sat, 9 Jul 2011 07:57:48 -0700

tfw2005.com -> boxofficemojo.com :

Transformers 3 : Dark of the Moon tore past the $500 million worldwide mark yesterday [7 Jul 2011], which was its 9th day in theaters. That broke the 10-day record held by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Those movies went on to earn $963.4 million and $1.014 billion (and counting), respectively, which looks like a good target range for Dark of the Moon.

Transformers : Dark of the Moon has so far earned $214 million domestically. Overseas, Dark of the Moon has already earned a massive $297.1 million. Based on its current pace, Transformers: Dark of the Moon will rocket past $600 million worldwide on Saturday, its 11th day in theaters. Adding to its impressiveness is that it's hitting these numbers before striking China (July 21) and Japan (July 29). While it's a bit premature, Dark of the Moon appears to be on pace to ultimately close with over $1 billion worldwide. If Transformers avoids getting completely steamrolled by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 next week, then it should become the 9th $1 billion movie in history.

- That was really fast, as we watched the worldwide box office receipts for Transformers 3 : Dark of the Moon rocket past $300 million, $400 million and now $500 million on the way to a $1 billion total box office. And that's not even counting the Blu-Ray and DVD's yet which are coming in Nov 2011 which could bring the count to $2 billion in time to come.

Of course, this being possibly the last Michael Bay directed Transformers movie might have something to do with it. But there seems to be more story left to tell, especially the last part about Optimus Prime and Megatron which seemed to take place a bit abruptly. Already there are people talking about Transformers 4 - we'll have to see about that.

Lenovo S12 Nvidia Ion netbook not coming to Singapore?

reviewem — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 20:32:46 -0800

I mean, what is it with Lenovo. Went down to Sim Lim Square and asked a couple of retailers and both of them confirmed that the Lenovo S12 Ion-powered netbook is not going to be imported into Singapore. What is Lenovo thinking, not wanting to make money or something? I didn't see the equally Ion-powered Samsung N510 as well, and the retailers had no clue on that one either. So one might think, okay, perhaps if Lenovo doesn't want to make money, so be it, but Samsung too? That cannot be. That would be unbelievable.

Found a couple of links talking about this. We seem to be suffering from the same problem that our American friends endured during the introduction of the Canon SX1IS Powershot : manufacturers dividing the global market into arbitrary zones and making arbitrary decisions on product introduction, perhaps afraid that it might cannibalize their sales in another area, or maybe it's a case of over-inventory of one type of product, fears of over market segmentation - or something. Hence, out of 3 possible netbook models with the Nvidia Ion graphics chipset, over in Singapore we're just left with the HP Mini 311, with which I have a few issues with the design, colour and keyboard layout (nothing really wrong, it's just a matter of personal preferences). Not so much of a choice, is there?

Well, of course I'm voting with my dollars. If it's not exactly what I'm looking for, I don't buy it. Heck, I have enough computers at home already that it is becoming something of a management issue with all the regular security patches, application updates, backups, stuff like that. Sure I can wait, hold out, and save my dollars for better things. Or perhaps it's just early days yet and we'll see what transpires in the local Nvidia Ion netbook market as we head from 2009 into 2010. We'll see.

Asia/Singapore : Starhub Mobile joins M1, Singtel in selling Apple iPhone

reviewem — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:08:48 -0800

channelnewsasia.com, tech.yahoo.com :

StarHub has announced that it will bring the Apple iPhone to its customers in Singapore in late 2009 after reaching an agreement with Apple. The telco said it looks forward to offering the iPhone to its customers. StarHub is the last of the three mobile phone service providers in Singapore to reach a deal with Apple in offering the iPhone. Last month, M1 said it would also sell the iPhone later this year. SingTel began offering the Apple iPhone 3G late last year. Since then, with the exclusive agreement, SingTel has sold more than 100,000 iPhones.

Neither StarHub or M1 has yet revealed price plans for the iPhone. SingTel's plans range from a monthly charge of S$39 (US$28) to S$205, and offer from 500MB to 3GB of data per month. For SingTel's cheapest iPhone plan, users pay from S$398 for an iPhone 3G 8GB to S$678 for an iPhone 3GS 32GB. Users that sign up for more expensive plans get the handsets for free.

- If you're looking for a mobile phone in Singapore, you now have the option of getting the Apple iPhone 3GS and later, from any of the 3 service providers here, now that Starhub Mobile has finally joined the other operators M1 Mobile and Singtel in offering bundled iPhone deals. In Asia, Singapore is usually considered one of the rather more high-tech cities, so one might wonder what took them this long. But with the announcement out, all that remains to be seen is the exact handset and pricing plans and then it's probably time for some good old-fashioned price maneuvering especially with the holiday season coming up. And of course if you already have one, you could check out the accessories here.

M1 reaches deal to start selling Apple iPhone in Singapore

reviewem — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:22:11 -0700

tech.yahoo.com :

Mobile operator MobileOne (M1) has reached a deal with Apple to sell the Apple iPhone in Singapore. Currently, the iPhone is only offered in Singapore by rival operator SingTel, which began selling the handsets last year. The iPhone handsets sold by SingTel are unlocked, but customers must sign a two-year contract when they buy one.

- Great news for M1 users who have always wanted an Apple iPhone but for whatever reason (brand loyalty? sheer hassle? corporate mobile phone plans?) have not switched to SingTel by now. Or perhaps it could be a good thing because in the tech world, you don't really want to go with Version 1.0. Hence M1 customers will start with the latest Apple iPhone 3GS - and beyond.

Samsung N510 netbook review and specs : Nvidia Ion, 11.6-inch display, Intel Atom N280

reviewem — Thu, 1 Oct 2009 20:02:25 -0700

engadget.com -> pcpro.co.uk :

The Samsung N510 Nvidia Ion-powered netbook has just had a review written with technical specifications included :

... underneath that Clark Kent exterior lays a superpower in the world of netbooks. We're not talking about the same old 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 processor, the gigabyte of memory, nor the 160GB hard disk, but rather the presence of Nvidia's Ion LE graphics chipset. Before you get too excited, be aware that Nvidia's Ion LE is no miracle worker. It does, however, add gaming capabilities where there were previously next to none. It won't turn an Atom-powered netbook into a gaming behemoth capable of taking on the likes of Crysis ... fire up the likes of Trackmania Nations Forever and the N510 is in its element. Even at the 11.6in display's native resolution of 1,366 x 768, the Ion LE helped the Samsung along to a smooth 27.1fps.

And here are the tech specs :

Dimensions : 289 x 200 x 31mm (WDH)
Weight : 1.41kg [3.1 pounds]
CPU : Intel Atom N280
RAM : 1GB
Display : 11.6-inch
Resolution : 1366 x 768
Graphics chipset : Nvidia ION LE
Hard disk : SATA 160GB HDD
Wireless : 802.11b/g/n

Myself, I have been holding off buying a netbook while waiting for models which include the long-awaited Nvidia Ion graphics chipset. And with 2 full-sized HP/Compaq PC's, an Asus nettop *and* a Compaq laptop in the house, and the occasional Lenovo Thinkpad from the office, it's not that I really lack computers in any way.

And when the news broke that consumers might just have to wait a bit longer for these new Nvidia Ion-powered models to ship together with Microsoft Windows 7, I'd suppose the community just did a big shrug and thought, fine, we've waited this long anyway. Oh, the sacrifices we make just to get a nice, (relatively) affordable netbook that also happens to play some 3D games, decode HD/h.264 videos at 720p/1080p resolution and so on.

This should be great, unless the folks doing the Samsung N510 vs Lenovo S12 comparisons say otherwise. Me, I'd guess I'd rather choose not to be confused with the Lenovo S12 models however, because apparently they do have "Non-Ion" models whereas with the Samsung it's pretty straightforward. I haven't got the N510 yet, but I'm really thinking about getting myself one when it does appear at the shops here. And then that would be *one more* computer in the house ... :)

Sony PS3 slim unveiled with price cuts to $300 for both regular and slim Sony Playstation 3 editions

reviewem — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:08:16 -0700

The new Sony PS3 slim edition has been unveiled with specfications that include a 120GB HDD and a release date of 1 Sep 2009. engadget.com reports that "Sony got on stage today at GamesCom and confirmed what we've all known deep down in our hearts: the new, slimmer PS3 is really real. It'll be out in the first week of September (September 1 in North America and Europe, September 3 for Japan), and will retail for $300. It's smaller and lighter, has a 120GB HDD, and packs "all the same features" of the regular PS3 while consuming 34 percent less power and taking up 32 percent less space." Engadget also has a Sony PS3 slim unboxing feature where it has been reported that "the buttons in the front are now physical and actually "click" in to function. The PS logo above the disc drive does not rotate for vertical use, and yes, the hard drive is swappable".

Meanwhile, Yahoo notes that "Sony Corp.'s move to cut the price of its PlayStation 3 console by $100 comes well ahead of the holiday season and should boost sales not just for Sony but the video game industry as a whole during this important period." and Electronics Arts CEO says Sony's decision to cut the price of the PlayStation 3 is a "bold move done precisely at the right time." Sony Corp. said Tuesday it is cutting the price of the console by $100, bringing the 80-gigabyte version to $299 effective immediately. A slimmer PS3 with a larger hard drive launches in a few weeks, also for $299.

- It's great that the Sony PS3 slim edition is 32% smaller, and more importantly to the environmentally-minded, uses 34% less power than its predecessor. The long-fabled price cuts help too, which is something that both consumers and games publishers including Electronics Arts have been looking out for a long time. Here are the pros and cons of the Sony PS3 slim at a glance :

Pros :

+ Cheaper at about US$300 compared to US$600 at launch of the first edition
+ 32% smaller, slimmer profile
+ Uses 34% less power
+ Matt finish makes it less of a fingerprint magnet
+ 120GB HDD improves on 80GB HDD of prior edition

Cons :

- No longer Linux compatible as earlier editions were
- No longer compatible with Sony PS2 games as earlier editions were

If you don't mind the above two minor points, which most users probably would not be too bothered about, outside of the enthusiast and retro-gaming community, then the Sony PS3 slim looks to be a great buy.

Samsung Jet S8000 review and technical specifications

reviewem — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:35:19 -0700

Samsung Jet review, AMOLED display and first impressions :

The Samsung Jet aka Samsung Jet S8000 mobile phone was announced at a series of global launch events in London, Dubai and Singapore. It was one of the highlights at the Communicasia 2009 exhibition and I was able to try out actual production models. Samsung showed off its deep pockets this round with practically one booth babe standing next to each phone on display, ready to explain to you all about the phones, but that's not what people are really there for, is it? Oh wait ... :) Well, given where I work, I don't have a mobile phone camera with me, but this is from Hardwarezone to give you an idea :

"You know about the AMOLED display?" mine asked. "Yes, Active Matrix OLED," I said, because the full acronym of Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode would have been a mouthful and I was trying to get a feel for the phone. Yes, the phone. Honest. I mentioned that I was right there, at Communicasia 2003, at the same Singapore Expo location, looking at the first OLED display prototypes, and that I had waited some 6 years for OLED to actually be put into mobile phones for sale. "Oh I didn't know that", my booth babe said. It would have been a little too geeky to talk about the issues of the blue OLED lifespan, response time, and how individual pixel addressability eliminated the need for a backlight leading to 40% lower energy consumption compared to TFT-LCD and a much slimmer display profile, n'est-ce pas? Rest my case. So I left it at that.

So this is my Samsung Jet review with an actual production model, of which 2 million units are said to have been pre-ordered before the launch. According to the press release, the Samsung Jet enjoys the benefits of both advanced features of a smartphone and easy-to-use user interface of a conventional mobile phone, and the large banners outside the show proclaimed how the Samsung Jet phone is "Smarter than a smartphone". So we'll see about that.

First impressions of the Samsung Jet's 3.1-inch AMOLED display : it's fantastic. The 16-million colour WVGA 800x480 resolution display is fabulous, with the true deep blacks and rich vivid colours that OLED delivers in spades, together with a high resolution of 480dpi and a viewing angle of a full 180 degrees. This has been the promise of OLED all along and it was great to be able to see the actual device in hand. The touch screen is pretty responsive and applications opened and closed snappily enough.

Samsung Jet vs Apple iPhone comparison :

With the Samsung Jet, though Apple iPhone users may sniff at the comparison, I'd say first-hand, first-impressions-wise it actually does do its bit to give the iPhone a run for its money. The Samsung Jet even has a faster CPU to boot, with an 800MHz processor compared to the Apple iPhone 3GS's 600MHz and the earlier iPhone original and Apple iPhone 3G generation's 412MHz. Of course iPhone users will tell you that tech specs don't tell the whole story, it's the whole package with the UI and apps and such and of course the entire invisible Apple halo thing which can't be easily duplicated.

Application support is a potential issue for mobile developers wanting to write their own applications who might want to stick to the Apple iPhone or Google Android since all Samsung has promised is the ability to download around 30 self-developed online "widgets" from their website for such things as weather, news and search, though details of SDK and such have not been forthcoming. But if you're just a user and not an aspiring mobile developer, I'd suppose that's fine. Myself, I haven't installed that many apps on my own Nokia E51 S60/Series 60 Symbian phone, just a Tetris game and a Sega emulator which I play with only occasionally.

Samsung Jet user interface, Internet browser :

For the user interface, the Samsung Jet claims the TouchWiz 2.0 user interface, with motion UI, smart unlock, customizable widget screen and a multi-tasking manager. It supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync for push emails for both business users and consumers. The Samsung Jet also claims multi-window browsing to surf several web pages simultaneously, with up to five pages at a time.

For Internet browsing, it uses Samsung's Dolfin Internet browser. Avoiding Apple's patented multi-touch zoom technology which as they have pointed out requires the use of two fingers and two hands, the Samsung Jet supports a unique "one finger zoom" which enables one hand operation to zoom in and out not only for the Internet browser, but also for Photo browser and file viewer to see TXT, PDF and PPT files. It took a bit getting used to but once you get the hang of it, I'd suppose it would be a useful feature to have on the move, while holding it in one hand.

The Samsung Jet also has a "motion gate", which is a motion sensor that accesses multimedia and speed dialing by tapping, tilting or flipping the handset. The interesting feature that I was shown, which ought to be standard on all full touch-screen mobile phones, was the ability to enter text, whether an SMS message or whatever it is, in the usual phone-like T9 style in portrait mode, and when you turn it around to landscape mode, the keyboard transforms into a QWERTY keyboard. Pretty neat.

Samsung Jet GPS, camera, DIVX/XVID video :

The Samsung Jet has an A-GPS application that claims 3D map navigation, GPS on Google maps and location-Based Services, geo-tagging, and a compass, which I'd suppose is getting quite prevalent on mobile phones today.

The 5-megapixel camera seems to work well, even with the odd colours, lighting and white balance problems usually associated with trade show floors. There is still a bit of a colour tinge but it ought to be much better outdoors. From what can be seen on the display, the photos are pretty clear, and the video recording works reasonably well. It ain't no Canon Powershot SX1IS or Canon EOS 5D2 with 1080p Full HD video, but overall for a mobile phone, video playback and recording looks reasonably good.

To top it off, the Samsung Jet has DIVX and XVID video codec support, so I'd suppose you get to watch your favourite AVI videos on the go, which is a good idea if you have many of these to catch up on, such as a drama series or something, while on your daily commute on a bus or train.

Samsung Jet technical specifications :

Display : 3.1" 24-bit 16-million colors WVGA 800x480 AMOLED screen
Networks : EDGE/GPRS Class 12 (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), HSDPA 3.6Mbps (900, 2100 MHz)
Camera : 5-megapixel camera AF Autofocus camera with Dual Power LED
Camera features : Face Detection, Smile Shot, Panorama Shot, Blink Detection, Geo-tagging, Photo Editor
GPS geolocation : Built-in GPS with A-GPS, On Board Navigation with 3D Map
Video recording/playback : 30fps video recording, MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV, DivX, XviD, Video Editor
Audio recording/playback : Music player with DNSe & SRS WOW, 3.5mm earphones jack, FM Radio/ Recording
Audio codecs : MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, AMR, MIDI, SP-MIDI, i-melody, WAV, MMF, XMF
Internet browsing : Dolfin Internet Browser, WAP 2.0, One finger Zoom
User interface : TouchWiz 2.0, Motion UI, Media Gate 3D, Multi-tasking Manager
Application support : Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, Share Pix & Mobile Widget
Connectivity : Bluetooth 2.1, microUSB (USB v2.0 Hi-Speed), Wi-Fi
Processor : Samsung 6410 800MHz "Jet Engine" application processor
Memory : 2GB/8GB, External MicroSD slot (Up to 16GB)
Battery : 1,100 mAh
Talk time : 2G/492 minutes, 3G/300 minutes
Standby time : 2G/422 hours, 3G/406 hours
Size : 108.8 X 53.5 X 11.9 mm

Conclusion :

The Samsung Jet S8000 looks good, works well, performs smoothly, and comes with an entire boat-load of cutting-edge technological features. It is probably a bit early at the time of writing to declare it a runaway success but it does look set to be a rather popular model. If you're in the market for a fully-featured phone and as a user you don't really mind the proprietary OS as compared to a mobile developer who would be setting his sights on something along the lines of a Symbian-, iPhone-, Android-, Windows Mobile-something or the other, the Samsung Jet with its sleek form factor, good looks, fantastic display and fully-loaded feature set makes a pretty compelling pitch as the touch-screen mobile phone of choice.

Transformers 2 : Revenge of the Fallen HD Movie Trailer 3 direct download

reviewem — Fri, 1 May 2009 00:02:22 -0700

movies.yahoo.com :

The 3rd HD movie trailer for the upcoming second Transformers movie, Revenge of the Fallen, aka ROTF, has been released. The Yahoo link to watch online is as above, and the direct download link is here. The trailer is of HD quality at least width-wise, even if it is not really 1080p. The specifications of the video according to Media Player Classic are :

Video: MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920x800 23.98fps [Video]
Audio: AAC 48000Hz stereo 1536Kbps [Audio]

Lots of good (and new) stuff going on. We see Sam getting visions of those weird Transformers letters / Cybertronian alphabets just like his grandfather did. A fragment of the All Spark is around, and appears to be affecting him somehow. Megatron emerging from the deep ocean. We've got new Egypt scenes with the pyramids. We've got Optimus Prime owning Decepticons (and using his energy swords at that) and also getting owned. (The bad guys often get the upper hand in the second movie. George Lucas got that trend started with "The Empire Strikes Back").

And there is Jetfire, and there is *Devastator* !! The new scene is of Devastator sucking sand, leading some in the community to remark that not only does the toy suck (well, IMHO it does but then again different people may feel differently), the character literally sucks as well. We see Mudflap getting sucked in but barely managing to hold on (I think). The other scenes we've seen in earlier trailers, Sam telling Bumblebee he's not taking him to college, Demolisher arriving and trashing an aircraft carrier.

Good stuff. Do check out the trailer. There's lots of discussion on the forums as well.

Fast and Furious 4 movie review

reviewem — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 20:03:55 -0700

edition.cnn.com :

In the first truly shocking box office result of the year, "Fast & Furious" sped away from expectations to gross a humongous $72.5 million ... best F&F franchise opening ever, beating "2 Fast 2 Furious'" $50.5 million ... best opening ever for stars Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster, as well as for director Justin Lin.

- Let's just say that Fast and Furious 4 (also known as "Fast & Furious" elsewhere), the latest instalment in the Fast and Furious franchise, has exceeded my expectations. Never mind the holes in the plot that you could drive 4 gasoline tanker trucks through (you just have to watch the first part of the show to see what I mean), but our expectations for this kind of movie simply involves nice fast flashy cars, lots of action and a generous helping of explosions and it delivers in spades.

Consider this Fast and Furious 1.5 - this movie wants you to forget that parts 2 and 3 ever existed. Of course the biggest draw is that Vin Diesel (as Dominic "Dom" Toretto) is back with Paul Walker (as Brian O'Conner), his ambivalent friend/accomplice/associate. The plot? If you really want to know the plot, try Wikipedia. Otherwise, just enjoy the car scenes :)

Check out :

A Singapore mother on parenting and life - parentimes.com

reviewem — Fri, 6 Mar 2009 03:00:42 -0800

This is a website review on behalf of my cousin-in-law (if there is such a term), or to put it in easier terms, my cousin's wife. As is the case for quite a number of Singapore mothers nowadays who are venturing into the blogging domain, the topics revolve around parenting, family and life in general.

The blog itself seems to be fairly frequently updated at the moment, though the first-time visitor browsing through the archives may get a little confused by the large number of blog entries dated 28 Feb 2009. It looks to me that this could be due to an import from the old site, where the timestamps look correct.

As for the page design, it is a 3-column layout with a bit of a twist - the navigation menu takes up two columns by itself on the left and the main body is on the right. The categories, links and decals take up the first column while the second one contains a search box, calendar and a nuffnang ad slot.

Overall, it's a much better template than the old site. Click over to read more about the Lim family and catch up on what they're up to.

Singapore fresh/marine aquarium supplies online store - freshnmarine.com.sg

reviewem — Thu, 5 Mar 2009 21:25:17 -0800

This is a website review on behalf of my cousin who's been doing this fish/aquarium business for nearly as long as I can remember. He used to have an actual honest-to-goodness brick-and-mortar store too back in the day (imagine that), and now this venture has been brought online.

You can see from the screenshot and by visiting the site itself that some effort has been put into the site design. It is a typical 3-column layout with shopping-oriented navigation and categories on the left sidebar, ads and various gadgets on the right, a nice custom logo and banner on top with a Google search to boot, and another set of banners at the footer.

Now I am no subject matter expert, but the product categories seem to cover much or perhaps most of what an aquarium owner would need. Except for fish tanks perhaps, and the fish themselves. That would probably be covered elsewhere since this site does profess to being a provider of aquarium supplies, and they do seem to cover that well, as compared to a one-stop shop for everything.

The internationalization part seems to work fine as well. Since this is a Singapore-based business, the default currency denomination is in terms of the Singapore Dollar, but you can also pull down a currency drop-down list near the top-right corner and choose from the US Dollar, Euro, and a bunch of other currencies. Of course, you could always refer to my live forex site to check out the real-time forex/currency quotes as well.

So if you have any needs for aquarium supplies, click over to freshnmarine.com.sg.

Transformers 2 : Revenge of the Fallen movie HD trailer download

reviewem — Sun, 1 Feb 2009 21:24:00 -0800

The teaser trailer for the upcoming movie Transformers 2 : Revenge of the Fallen has just been released, as seen in the 30-second Superbowl ad slot. It's over here :

http://transformers.moviechronicles.com/2009-02/transformers-2-teaser-trailer-is-here-early/
(Click and save : "Download the Transformers 2 Teaser Trailer in HD")

A lots of stuff is going on in the short 30 seconds - an aircraft carrier group is attacked, Captain Lennox and his troops are back, yet another Blackhawk down, Ravage makes an appearance, the Audi R8 transformer [Sideways] makes a really cool entrance (or was that an exit), Starscream menaces Sam Witwicky, Optimus Prime gets whacked in the face by some gigantic, umm, Constructicon-like-thing [Demolisher]. That rolls about on one wheel. Transformers fans everywhere are now wondering what the heck that last part was about. We'll see.

Update :

There are more downloadable HD movie trailers for Transformers 2 ROTF at Dave's Trailer Page :

Superbowl Spot :

* HD 720P (22.9MB)
* HD 1080P (38.9MB)

Teaser Trailer :

* HD 720P (104MB)
* HD 1080P (155MB)

Canon SX1 IS review : 560mm 20x optical zoom, 1080p HD video, DIGIC 4 - a power-packed PowerShot

reviewem — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:46:33 -0800

- The wait is over. I have in my hands the Canon Powershot SX1 IS, finally a worthy successor to my Canon S3 IS. The S5 didn't really count, being more of an incremental improvement than the revolutionary leap I was looking for.

And revolutionary it truly is. The Canon SX1IS is a big leap forward from both the S3 and the S5 before it. Key distinguishing features include :

1. 20x optical zoom - a whopping 560mm equivalent, compared to the 12X (436mm) of the S3/S5.
2. 28mm for wide angle shots, compared to 36mm earlier.
3. Full HD 1920x1080 30fps video with stereo audio, compared to VGA 640x480 30 fps.
4. Next-generation DIGIC 4 processor with iContrast and face detection, compared to DIGIC 3.

Ultra-zoom digital camera users quickly appreciate the immense reach of a long, true optical telephoto zoom and the Canon SX1 IS raises this to a whole new level, bumping up the magnification quite a few notches. At extreme range, this new zoom level requires steady hands and really stretches your ability to do hand-held shots. Fortunately, image stabilisation (the "IS" in Canon SX1 IS) comes to the rescue in that regard.

At the other extreme end of the range, the 28mm wide-angle does its bit to help out in landscape and panoramic shots as well as the pretty common group photo scenario or in constrained shooting situations. A handy selector button toggles between 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios, quickly enabling you to choose between wide and normal shot mode for both photo- and video-taking.

And talking about video-taking. It's a quantum leap. To be sure, I have had my doubts. Do I really need full HD video? What about the processor, bandwidth, memory and hard disk space requirements? But after taking a few clips and putting them up on the living-room LCD TV through the DVI-to-HDMI output from my PC beside it, I've got to say now that there *is* a big difference. It's my very own Blu-Ray quality video camcorder. I can now understand why Canon seems a little bit reluctant to release the Canon SX1 IS into the American market and why American consumers are wondering when they can get into a bit of SX1 action like their European and Asian counterparts. The video quality in full 1080p HD is solid. Solid enough that you don't need a separate HD digicam.

And finally, the technological tour de force : the new, next-generation Canon DIGIC 4 image processor. It brings with it, among other things, a couple of new features : face detection and iContrast. Sure, some might call face-detect gimmicky but I find it useful enough to leave it on by default - and that's saying a lot from one who turns off these aids every time I encounter them - such as multi-zone AiAF (OFF), assist lamp (OFF), shot review (OFF).

The iContrast (Intelligent Contrast) is something else altogether. Finally, I can take photos in situations like this one without worrying about setting up the flash and worrying about flash distance, shot-to-shot timing, and under-exposure of regions in shadow :

Look at the face area, the shadow under my car, the folds on the bag, and the undersides of the trees. I was under a tree, in shadow, when taking this shot. In pre-DIGIC 4 times, these areas would have been pretty dark but now you actually get to see them. A technological tour de force indeed. And here's another sample photo - to those who say use fill-in flash to bring out the dark regions, try doing *that* on the sides of a building - NO WAY. So once again iContrast comes to the rescue :

Canon's iContrast technology is about as close as you can get right now to achieving "single-shot" HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging without having to go through the hassle of multiple shots at multiple exposures (up to 8, sometimes 9 or even 10), and then putting them together in Photoshop or other specialized software. I really cannot tell you how many times I have struggled to adjust the +/- exposure, the shutter speed, or the spot focus, in order to achieve results that aren't even anywhere close to these. Call it hyperbole if you will but Canon's iContrast alone is worth the price of admission. Bundle it together with the rest of the package, and it makes for a most compelling buy.

To those who say the price encroaches on DSLR territory, yes I'd tend to agree, but if you want a DSLR which also has full HD video recording, together with a Canon EF 500mm lens, you would have to pay, let's say, about 10 times more. We're talking about a Canon EOS 5D Mark II (aka Canon 5D2) here. And in your hands, such a combination, even if you can easily afford it, would probably feel like it weighs 10 times heavier as well. Even if your wallet does not feel it your hands will :)

In short, the Canon SX1 IS gives you really awesome capabilities without having to go into DSLR territory. For the rest of the time (such as low-light situations), Biow's Nikon D40 with her 18-200mm lens covers things pretty well. The Canon SX1 lives up to its family name - it is a power-packed PowerShot. The new king of the PowerShot hill. All hail. Highly recommended.

Asus Eee Box B202 nettop PC specifications and review

reviewem — Mon, 1 Dec 2008 02:32:01 -0800

The Asus Eee Box B202 nettop PC is a great complement to your existing stable of computers at home, if all you need is something simple for a bedroom, kids' room, or kitchen for the occasional net surfing, word processing or other light duty. The technical specifications are as follows :

Model : Asus Eee Box B202
OS : Microsoft Windows XP Home
CPU : Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz
Chipset : Intel 945GSE+ICH7M
Memory : 1GB RAM
Wired Network : Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Wireless Network : 802.11 b/g/n WLAN
Storage : 80GB HDD Hybrid Storage
Card Reader : SD/SDHC/MS/MS Pro
Video : DVI-Out
Ports : USB×4(2 in front, 2 in rear)
Dimensions : 223×178×26 mm (without stand)

I used to have a secondary AMD64 3200+ system setup in my room with an nVidia graphics card, tower casing and the whole works. When the casing started to fall apart from rust, and the motherboard started having problems again despite a relatively recent overhaul, I decided that I didn't have the time nowadays to go and tinker with it further, find replacement parts or such, so the Asus Eee Box looked like the best choice for the situation.

Here it is mounted behind my Philips LCD monitor using the standard 4-point VESA bracket that was actually originally designed for mounting the monitor on the wall :

That's it. Setting this up took all of 5 minutes, and all that was required was a cross screwdriver to mount it onto the back of the monitor. And the price (got it for S$439 which is around US$290) is a bargain, considering that it includes a licensed Microsoft Windows XP Home, already configured and good to go from the box. Here's a top view of the setup :

The Eee Box is a huge contrast to my former noisy setup which had a total of 8 fans (2 in front, 1 on top, 2 behind, plus PSU, CPU and video card fans). It was like comparing a concert hall with a jetliner, or my Civic Hybrid in auto-stop mode with a giant earth mover truck next to it. As far as I can tell, it is nearly completely silent.

For the price and specifications, you can't really expect too much from it performance-wise, and that was pretty much the case when I tried a bit of pushing-the-envelope with a couple of HD video clips encoded in MKV H.264 format. That didn't work out really well. As expected, this wasn't quite designed to be a HTPC or media PC replacement or anything of the sort. Standard definition (SD), up to DVD-quality movies were generally fine, however. By the same token, you wouldn't expect this to pull heavy duty playing 3D-intensive games of any kind as well. The Mozilla Firefox browser ran pretty well, together with most Flash content. Office-type apps ran fine too. And performance didn't take as much of a hit as initially feared even after I installed the AVG virus-scanner.

Overall, it worked out pretty much as expected. The low power consumption is a good bonus as well. The Eee Box uses notebook components, all with low power draw. The power adaptor is also the usual 65W notebook type, so it is actually impossible for the system to draw more power than that. Compare and contrast this with typical desktop PC power supply units that are running into the 400W and 500W range nowadays. According to some tech specs I've come across out there, the 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU has a TDP (Thermal Design Power) of just 2W. How about that - it's quite a feat. And the entire system including CPU, motherboard, chipset and all have a typical power usage of just about 20W.

The Asus Eee Box B202 nettop PC is a great way to save some green (as in dollars) and to be green (as in power usage) at the same time. As a secondary PC for light usage, it is highly recommended.

Canon SX1 IS specifications announced : 20X optical zoom, 10-megapixel CMOS sensor, HD 1080p video

reviewem — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:59:58 -0700

dpreview.com :

Canon has announced a pair of 10 megapixel successors to its PowerShot S5IS 'super zoom' compact digital camera. Both the PowerShot SX10 IS and PowerShot SX1 IS feature 28-560mm (equivalent) 20x zoom lenses, DIGIC IV processors, improved image stabilization system and wealth of new features. The SX1 IS is particularly interesting as it is the first PowerShot to feature a Canon CMOS sensor, which allows the camera to offer 4.0 fps (full resolution) continuous shooting and true 1080p HDTV movie capture at 30fps.

- The Canon SX1 IS beats even the rumored specifications by a mile. The S6IS/S7IS folks have been completely thrown off by the new numbering scheme. The successor to the Canon S5IS has morphed into two products, the higher-end Canon SX1 IS and its sibling, the Canon SX10 IS.

20X optical zoom and 560mm equivalent is several steps forward from the 12X zoom and 436mm equivalent of the S5IS. Some forummers are complaining about the relatively "slower lens" at f5.7 compared to the f3.5 on the S5IS but others are saying that's only fair in a linear comparison. Of course, extreme telephoto in low light situations is obviously a no-no situation unless you are willing to fork out for a DSLR/lens combination that would both cost and weigh at least 3 times as much. Or simply bring a tripod.

The CMOS sensor on the SX1 IS is intriguing to say the least, but at this point people are waiting for a head-to-head comparison between the CMOS on the SX1 IS and the CCD on the SX10 IS, this being a rare case where everything else is the same - 20x zoom lens, body, DIGIC 4 image processor. Of course with the usual small pinhead sensor of 1/2.3" this is no DSLR, so the choice of CMOS for the SX1 IS could really just be solely for the data transfer speed for HD video recording. One might speculate that the CMOS sensor might lead to improved battery life but that will remain to be seen. Watch for a slew of SX1 vs SX10 head-to-head comparisons in coming weeks as the community gets their hands on the production models.

And finally, HD video. Canon had already announced HD video with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II which took the world by storm (a DSLR with HD video recording!), which kind of answers my grouse all along (that "DSLR's don't take video") but that kind of camera is way, way beyond my more modest budget, so I'd settle for an ultra-zoom PowerShot for regular use instead. I'd still maintain that full 1080p HD 1920x1080 is kind of overkill for my daily use, but it might be good to have this capability around perhaps for special occasions. Be prepared to shell out for a bunch of high-capacity memory cards and a 1-terabyte hard drive - or two.

Canon S6IS specifications (unconfirmed)

reviewem — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:20:09 -0700

I've had my Canon S3IS for a couple of years now, and have taken thousands of shots with it. I think it still is a very capable camera, and skipped the Canon S5IS which came out a year later with incremental improvements but no big lens changes. Biow is very happy with her Nikon D40 but we figured we will still need something with super/mega/ultra-zoom and video recording capability.

Since Canon seems to have a habit of releasing a new S-series generation every year or so, I thought it was time to look around for any rumoured specifications of an upcoming Canon S6IS or perhaps Canon S7IS, if they decide to skip a number. The talk has been that it was supposed to be released in summer, but that there have been delays due to a complete change in the lens, so this time the jump from S5IS to S6IS might just be a bigger one than the jump from S3IS to S5IS. Picked this up from some comments on Flickr.

Canon S6IS specs (unconfirmed) :

Sensor Size: 1/2.3"
Sensor Type: CCD
Sensor Resolution: 10 megapixels
Wide Angle: Yes (either 28mm or 27mm)
Optical Zoom: 18x
Digital Zoom: 5x
Max Aperture: F2.8 (Wide)
LCD: 2.5" with swivel
Batteries: 4xAA
Video Resolution: 1024 x 768 (not sure)
Audio: Stereo
Other Features : Face Detection, Motion Detection, Flash Shoe

An 18X optical zoom would be quite a significant improvement over the current 12X, which would make it a whopping 648mm equivelant compared to the current 436mm. Some people have also been talking about a switch to lithium-ion batteries instead of AA, though this seems a little out of character for the PowerShot family. But of course, all these are just unconfirmed rumours at this point. Guess we will just have to wait and see what the actual specs will be when it comes out.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull movie review

reviewem — Sun, 8 Jun 2008 17:48:47 -0700

The Indiana Jones 4 movie had been so widely anticipated that, just like Star Wars 1, some expectations might have been running slightly ahead of reality. But no matter, as reported on variety.com : the opening of Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" crystallized into a $311.1 million behemoth at the worldwide box office. Performance marks a triumphant return for the classic action-adventure film franchise after an 19-year slumber, and for topliner Harrison Ford.

Cate Blanchett came in as the mind control villain with a really over-the-top Russian accent, for which she reportedly apologized to "the entire Russian population". Shia LaBeouf, as Indiana Jones' son, Henry "Mutt" Jones III, is obviously being set up to be the successor to the franchise, but I still remember him most vividly as the guy in Transformers, such that when I saw the trailer, my very first reaction was, "What is Sam Witwicky doing in an Indiana Jones movie?!!"

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a fine movie on its own, though you do have to keep your own expectations in check. The plot is rather, how shall I put it, X-File-ish - an alien crystal skull with mind control abilities? And so was the ending. Especially the ending. Recommended, but only if you are a fan of both Indiana Jones and the X-Files.

SingTel to launch Apple iPhone in Singapore

reviewem — Thu, 15 May 2008 08:08:03 -0700

The Apple iPhone is finally coming to Singapore, and it is slated to be launched here in September 2008. Engadget first broke the news that "Singapore Telecommunications (aka SingTel) announced that it's secured agreements to distribute the iPhone in Singapore and its partly-owned subsidiaries in Australia (Optus), India (Bharti Group), and the Philippines (Globe Telecom)," while Reuters reported that this "should help the company surpass its sales goal of 10 million units by the end of 2008."

From the Hardwarezone forums and elsewhere, we learn some preliminary details :

* The iPhone Singapore launch date will be in Sep 2008
* This will likely be the 3G iPhone with Version 2.0 software
* It will be SIM-unlocked since locked phones are actually illegal here
* The price will be around SGD $690 (USD $500)
* The $690 price is after a $100-200 handset subsidy via a 2-year SingTel contract

It would be a no-brainer buy for me if this one has GPS at this price (update: yes, it does have GPS), and I'm sure it's the same for most of my compatriots. Even without that, it already has the nifty triangulation feature which when combined with Google Maps and Wi-Fi, turns it into a "virtual GPS" device of sorts. If they were to add to that a real GPS chipset such as a SiRFstar III, it would be an unbeatable combination.

And for good measure, here's a graphic that shows the iPhone's dimensions (height, width, weight, etc) :

Logitech V320 notebook wireless optical mouse review

reviewem — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:28:17 -0700

I had my eye on this Logitech V320 cordless optical mouse for a while now, but up till recently it seemed that the no-brand wireless mouse I was using earlier might suffice, that is, until it broke. So I went out and promptly got this one as the replacement. I got the black version as you can see. Which fits in nicely with my black laptop. There is also a gray-ish/silver version available in case that's what you prefer.

As expected from a Logitech product, installation was a breeze. The 2.4GHz USB micro-receiver is a vast technological improvement from the gigantic Cordless Plus receiver I was using from the pre-Jurassic era, and is much smaller than the long-ish style receiver of typical competing brands (including the no-name one I was using earlier). The 1000-dpi optical sensor makes for ultra-smooth movement across the screen. The mouse response is so smooth that my first thought was, finally, I have something on par with wired mice! Remarkably, there is no discernible radio interference even with wi-fi, Bluetooth and a DECT cordless phone running in the background. It's probably due to the multiple channels available at 2.4GHz. A big step up from the 27MHz receivers I had been using which would interfere with each other.

This being a brand-new purchase, I haven't explored everything yet, including the horizontal tilt scrolling feature which promises to be kind of nifty. This might come in useful. Similarly, I have yet to use it long enough to talk about battery life, but at least Logitech isn't a cheapo when it comes to bundling - they actually included 2 AAA alkaline Duracell batteries - I had expected some no-name generic brand. That's a good choice - this makes for a great out-of-the-box customer experience. I usually wince at the batteries some other manufacturers bundle their products with, always wondering when they will start leaking. Not so in this case. I buy Duracell batteries by the dozen myself - in my opinion they work pretty well.

All in all, I'm satisfied with my purchase. Recommended without hesitation.

Marvel plans Iron Man sequel

reviewem — Tue, 6 May 2008 00:09:20 -0700

news.yahoo.com :

Buoyed by the blockbuster success of "Iron Man" over the weekend, Marvel Studios on Monday [5 May 2008] announced plans for a string of superhero properties, including an "Iron Man" sequel set for April 2010. "Iron Man 2" will be followed in June 2010 by the big-screen adaptation of another of Marvel's popular comic book characters, "Thor". "Captain America" and "The Avengers" are next in line for the summer of 2011.

The nearly $99 million opening weekend of "Iron Man," Marvel's first fully self-financed production, gave Hollywood's summer movie season a solid star. Kevin Feige, head of production for Marvel Studios, said Downey would return in the sequel as part of his three-picture deal for the franchise. Feige said the gifted actor deserved much of the credit for the film's broad appeal. "It's great to see a sold-out audience that you know is made up of comic book fans and people who had never read an 'Iron Man' comic in their life," he said.

- Yup, count me in as one of those who've never read an Iron Man comic before. I was only vaguely aware of this character as being part of the Marvel Universe. So, we can look forward to more "arc reactor" action in 2010. I'll be looking forward to Iron Man 2.

See also :

1. Iron Man movie review

Iron Man movie review

reviewem — Fri, 2 May 2008 10:00:51 -0700

Just came back from watching Iron Man. I wasn't all that familiar with the Marvel character itself as most of my attention in the Marvel department has been (and still is) on Transformers. Talk about having no expectations. But coming out from the cinema, I can say that Iron Man is surprisingly good for a superhero-type action movie. It's got a tight story, good pace, action, glitzy tech, and Robert Downey in his role as the Iron Man delivers humour in the right places.

And I'm not alone in that assessment. Yahoo News reports that : ... most of the "Iron Man" reviews have been raves, and the Rotten Tomatoes Web site calculates an impressive 95% positive rating among critics. That makes "Iron Man" the best-reviewed film of the year and gives it the site's top rating ever for a superhero film.

Meanwhile, the folks over at Slashdot are gawking at the snazzy tech depicted in the movie : flying exo-suits, AI robots, slick UI interfaces. Myself, being an energy aficionado, I'm much more impressed with the so-called "arc reactor", which looks very much to me like Tony Stark has got a miniature fusion reactor right on his chest pumping out megawatts of energy. Cool stuff.

By the way, if you are going to watch the movie, you can try looking out for some of the subtler details, such as the way the Stark Industries logo looks a bit like that of a certain real-life company (I should know, I work for them). Watch for Stan Lee's cameo. And watch for the end credits to finish rolling. Also note the name of Tony Stark's father, Howard Stark, which kind of reminds people of Howard Hughes, the eccentric billionaire and ladies' man whose real-life character could have fit right into the depiction of Tony Stark on the big screen. In fact, according to the Wikipedia entry for Iron Man, filming was done at the former Hughes Company soundstages in California.

It's a great movie to kick off the 2008 summer blockbuster movie season. Highly recommended.

Hello World

reviewem — Thu, 1 May 2008 10:42:09 -0700

This blog is dedicated to reviews, critiques and opinions of various products that I use or come across. These may include electronics and gadgets (Tech), books (Read), movies and TV (Watch), toys and games (Play), or anything (Else).