Creative + Zii = e-book Reader!

 

This is a surprising news from Creative. Creative, known for its expertise in sound, is going into the e-book reader market! It has been rather croweded, with the impressive Nook the latest in the market. According the epizenter, the Creative's e-book will harness videos, pictures, text and services in one device that supports a media-rich experience. I mean, that sounds more like a tablet than an e-book reader! It is interesting that epizenter mentioned how this can be a tipping point for Creative if they manage to pull some deals with the government of Singapore.

Here's why. Creative is not new to the educational business in Singapore. It produces eletronic dictionary, educational software which are approved by the Ministry of Education in Singapore. With the MediaBook, the furture of Singapore's education landscape could be very different with every student uses the MediaBook which replaces the traditional textbooks. With the Media Development Authority (MDA) naming Creative as a partner of its "FutureBooks" initiative, it means that Creative will get support in funding and introductions to potential content providers. And by positioning it as an all-in-one device, anyone could find a need for the MediaBook. Think of it as a ZEN Vision W up-sized with a touchscreen and SD slot.

-epizenter

If Creative manage to pull this off, and add loads of features to differentiate from other competitors, this can be a big achievement. Sounds like this Mediabook is less of a tablet, but way more than a conventional e-book reader. There may be a market that suits perfectly for the Mediabook.

All the best to Creative!

Goals for November

Review of Goals for October

1. Hit $5 for mylot ($4.53, about $0.50 more, which is quite alot!)
2. Get an increase in blog traffic (264 vistors)
3. Hit 30 blog post (achieve! 45 blog post!)

Goals for November

1. Hit $5 for mylot

2. 150 visitors for blog

3. Hit 65 blog post

4. Hit cashout amount for Triond (currently $0.17)

5. Review online earnings on 13/11/2009

Google Maps Navigation, another reason to get Andriod.

Why Google Map Navigation is gonna rule the world

• Its free
• Despite it being free, its feature is comparable, even better than those on the market
• Search by voice
• It already has a strong foundation in Google Earth, Google Map and Google Street View and of course, Google search
• It is currently only available for Android 2.0, another reason to get an Android phone!

I am a fond user of Google map on my HTC Snap. With GPS, I can say that being lost is impossible. I am very impress with Google Map, and the announcement of Google Maps Navigation will only fuel my passion to own an Android phone in the future. There are dozen of reports from experts that the Android OS will rule the smartphone industry in the future. It is easy to see why.

Ris Low and Shingz

We will never get enough of Ris Low apparently. It is quite a pain to watch it, and I kinda quit when I reach the "Shing" part. Epic video nonetheless.

Five Popular Games You Can Play on a Mac

We all know you can't play alot of popular games on the Mac. But recently, more and more games are ported to the Mac. Here is five popular games you can play on a Mac.

1) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

With Modern Warfare 2 coming soon to PC and consoles but probably not the Mac, Apple user will be sulking away. Fortunately, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is available for the Mac now! This game-of-the-year titanic FPS game is a must-have for every gamer. Its intense campagin mode and realism will blow your mind away.

2) Blizzard's Warcraft, WOW and Starcraft

Blizzard should be loved by Mac users. Almost all of its popular games such as Warcraft III, Starcraft and World of Warcraft are playable on the Mac. Do take note that the up and coming Starcraft II and Diablo IV are all playable on the Mac! Awesome!

3) The Sims 3

The grand daddy of all human simulations game. With greater graphics and realsim, this is a must-have for all The Sims gamers and Mac users. Have fun making music videos or spoof videos since it is so easy to use its video recoreding function. This is the best The Sims game ever, and there is no reason your Mac didn't have this.

4) Fable

 
Fable is one of the coolest game on the Xbox, and it has been finally ported to Mac. Fable's trademark feature is the ability for the hero to become good or evil gradually. This alilgment feature is sort of the theme of the whole game. Your every actions will determine the final outcome of your hero. A unique RPG game indeed.

5) Need for Speed Carbon

There aren't many racing game on the Mac, so this game is great addition to your Mac. With a theme of street racing and turf, be prepared to race down the night streets and canyon. This game involve alot of drifting, so be prepared to have a steep learning curve when you are playing. But other than that, a great racing game for the Mac!

Mr Nice Guy offically the manager of the Magpies!

Well, its good to see a nice and loyal guy rewarded with the biggest job in Newcastle United. It isn't an easy job to guide the Toons back to No.1 in the Championship, but I do have my worries. He has been the caretaker manager for quite sometime now, even during his days in the Premier League. During his time in the EPL, Newcastle United aren't doing really well. I do question his ability to lead Newcastle United. But with stability looming at St James Park, I think Newcastle United can finally move forward. I wish Mr Nice Guy all the best!

All the best Chris Hughton!

Trophy Manager, a free online soccer managerment game!

I have tried before two online soccer management program, Hattrick and Managerzone. I don't really like Hattrick, even though it is quite a popular online management soccer game with a long history. Managerzone was really cool, as you can really watch the match in 3D. It was really a great experience, and I climbed up the division of my country's league. Unfortunately, I was banned for a wrong reason. Subsequent email to the admin was useless. I lost interest in the whole online soccer managment thingy for quite a while.

Well recently I was playing the Official Fantasy Premier League with my friends, and I found the urge to play online soccer management again! I surf around the internet, and there are quite alot of options.  I found TrophyManager and like it immediately. The interface is very polish and FM-lish, unlike many of its competitors. I have only just started on the game, but so far, I highly recommend it. There is a good pool of Singapore players too, so you will feel at home immediately.

Go to TrophyManager now!

Cowon S9 UCI list

 

 
UCI stands for User Creative Interface. One of the best feature of Cowon S9 is the ability to load themes created by other people! This is a great feature since Cowon S9 default interface isn't really cool looking. Here is a list of UCI for the Cowon S9.

Read this on how to install UCI themes on Cowon S9.

Read More

Blackberry Watch coming soon

Fans of Blackberry, this watch will definitely be a great addition! I guess this is also a great present for your friends who have a Blackberry phone.

From Gizmodo

Sony 3D Display. Hologram not far away?

Very impressive. If they make it bigger like an aquarium, maybe it can replace the real giant aquarium at Wisma Atria! If we can achieve this now, I guess the hologram technology can be developed within 10 years? What a cool future we will have.

From engadget.

Wrap Cable without Cable ties

Easy but effective. From anythingbutipod.

Motivation

After seeing how the dudes from TechXav set up their own Q&A portal, something like Yahoo Answers, all by themselves, not mentioning future iPhone apps etc., I feel that I should start picking up Java. Like now. Not in 1 week time, not 2 days, but now. At least I have a little motivation now haha. Maybe they should be my role model, looking at what they have achieved now. It is quite unthinkable to see them do so much so young.

Impression on Window Mobile 6.5 Standard (Non-touchscreen)

I was pretty excited when I heard news that my HTC Snap is available for ROM upgrade from Window Mobile 6.1 to Window Mobile 6.5. After all the hype about Window Mobile 6.5 being comparable with the iPhone OS, that it has great User Interface and is one of the biggest updates in Window Mobile's history, I was really excited to get my phone updated. Of course, I do have my reservations because HTC Snap is a non-touchscreen smartphone, and I doubt there will be much changes to it.

And I was right. It is quite disappointing, since I was at least expecting a change in the User Interface. All in all, Window Mobile 6.5 Standard is quite disappointing from a consumer's point of view. There isn't much change that justify the hype of 6.5. They should really call this upgrade a 6.1b, because at first glance, there is no changes at all. The home screen is still the same, the Start screen with all the applications is still the same, the general interface of the phone remains the same. The only noticeable difference is the font. Somehow, the font is different. It looks more classy and rigid, but it feels smaller than the previous font in 6.1. This is bad news because it is already so hard to look at wording on such a small screen. This font change is universal, which means all the font in the applications will change to the new font.

No fancy user interface for 6.5 Standards. Above is the 6.5 Professional, for touchscreen phones.

Another obvious addition in 6.5 Standard is the new apps, which are 'Marketplace', 'Microsoft My Phone' and 'Search Widget'. 'Microsoft My Phone' is quite useful, as it backups your phone and has some other features too, such as locating your lost phone or sharing photos online. My 'Search Widget' isn't really working, as it acts as a normal Bing search, not a widget search. 'Marketplace' is a ok addition, just that there isn't really much apps in it for now.

Apart from this, I don't think there is any more visible changes. Performance is still the same as 6.1. Very disappointing. I was at least expecting a user interface upgrade. Looks like Microsoft is neglecting the non-touchscreen phones for now.

Darren Bent and the balloon

Sunderland vs Liverpool. See how the ball touches the balloon?

W3K, another 3 Kingdom MMORPG!

Apart from Red Cliff, we now have another 3 Kingdom MMORPG, Warriors of the 3 Kingdom! The graphic certainly looks more polish and well-done than Red Cliff. Looking at reviews, this game looks pretty good with positive reviews for the Taiwan and China version of the game. Close Beta begins on 27 October 2009. I hope they have more promotional campaign like Red Cliff, but it is still quite early since they are still in Alpha stage.

Go to http://w3k.playpark.net/ and take a look!

The iPod Touch Alternatives

Here are some mp3 players for you if you want an iPod Touch Alternatives.

Even though the iPod Touch is lightyears ahead of competitors, there are still some mp3 players that can match the iTouch one way or another. This is also a great list if you are looking for a cheaper alternative to the iTouch. But one thing is for sure, none of this mp3 players can match iTouch’s wealth of applications and games.

Cowon S9

Features that match/beat the iTouch: Great sound quality (better than touch), Awesome Sound equaliser, AMOLED Screen, Accelerometer, Wide range of video and audio format, Very long battery life, Customisable UI

Why it loses out to iTouch: Smaller Screen, Troublesome UI, Cheap plastic cover, UI overall not as clean/fast as iTouch, No WiFi

Cowon S9 and iTouch side-by-side

Samsung P3

Features that match/beat the iTouch: Great colourful UI, Cute candy-like apperance, Lots of widgets, User Created Interfaces are available, Supports variety of video and audio format (including FLAC), Bluetooth connectivity, Great sound quality

Why it loses out to iTouch: Smaller screen, No internet, No Accelerometer, Touchscreen not as sensitive, widgets no match for iTouch’s apps

The comparison!

Samsung YP-M1

This player seems to be an upgrade of the Samsung P3. It has a larger AMOLED screen and more powerful hardware. The Samsung YP-M1 has been released in Korea, but no news yet for an international release. It seems that some countries are bringing this player in December, so keep your fingers cross!

\

Sony X-Series Walkman

Features that match/beat the iTouch: Great sound quality, OLED Touch Screen, Nice Graphite looking body, Noise cancellation, High video quality, Mac and Window, Supplied Earbuds better than average

Why it loses out to iTouch: Internet browser is bad, Noise cancellation only applicable for Sony earphone, Extremely expensive, Smaller Screen compared to iTouch, Fingerprint magnet, Hard to type text

Sony X-Series Walkman and Apple iTouch side-by-side

Zune HD

Features that match/beat the iTouch: Big OLED Screen, HD radio tuner, Unbelivable sleek UI, Sleek and beautiful body, Internet is available, Good audio quality, Zune Pass, Capability to have applications and games

Why it loses out to iTouch: Media button a bad idea, absence of volume button, limited video format, Currently only available in the US,

My Online Earnings

It is sometimes quite hard to keep track of my online earnings. So I have decided to make a list of them and how much I have earned.

Pixprofit US$1.172 Cashout:US$3
Triond US$0.10 Cashout:US$0.50
Reviewstream US$6.40 Cashout:US$50
Mylot US$4.16 Cashout:US$10

myLot User Profile

iPhone coming to M1 end of year

By the end of this year, SingTel won't be the only telco operator to sell the iPhone in Singapore, ending its exclusive deal with Apple after the launch of the iPhone 3G on August 21 in 2008.

In an M1 press statement released today, the company said it has "reached an agreement to bring the iPhone to customers in Singapore later this year", without disclosing further details.

The service provider will also offer "a range of tailored service plans" along with the launch of the touchscreen smartphone.

from asia cnet

This news just pops out of nowhere huh. It is rather surprising for M1 to roll out the iPhone, and not Starhub. Will this be a turning point for M1? This will be very interesting to see.

Click here to enter M1

Andy Carroll will only be better

England and Newcastle United should be proud of Big Andy, as he came to score a few goals in a thriller match against Macedonia. It is great that NUFC has such a great talent from its academy. It won't be long before he will become a star in the Premier League. Keep up the good work Andy!

HTC Snap to recieve WM 6.5

From asia.cnet.com

According to asia cnet, HTC Snap is among the phone that will receive a free upgrade from Window Mobile 6.1 to Window Mobile 6.5! The upgrade will be available for Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand. It is expected to release end of October. Can't wait! Although I have to say, is WM 6.5 fun to use on a non-touchscreen phone? I really doubt so. But who can't resist a free upgrade!

*update*

The update is available now! Click here to download the ROM file.

Please note that this upgrade will erase any data stored on the device. Once you proceed with the upgrade, the system can not be downgraded again.

Cowon S9 Aero Ultimate G1

Cowon S9 is a great player, but its UI isn't as great as the iTouch or Samsung P3. With this "Aero Ultimate G1" Mod, you can make your Cowon S9 looks great! Go to here for more information. Below is a video of the Aero Ultimate G1 UI on a Cowon S9.

Life summarized in 4 bottles

Lol. Quite true.

http://digg.com/d316O6b

Samsung M1 and R1 mp3 players coming soon

The Samsung YP-R1, at least from the pictures, looks like a slimmed-down version of the YP-P3, measuring just 8.9mm thin. It is touted as the world's first DivX-certified MP3 player and comes with a 2.6-inch touchscreen and TV output (via USB). Available in only 8GB capacity, the Samsung YP-R1 is offered in black or silver (no pink, sadly) at a recommended retail of S$299 (US$212.15).

The R1's bigger brother, the YP-M1, is made from scratch-resistant metal. It features a 3.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen, DNSe sound enhancements, a microSD slot that supports up to 16GB capacity, built-in stereo speakers and Bluetooth capabilities. It also promises smooth HD video playback of up to 720p. It will be available with either 8GB or 16GB of internal storage capacity. The 32GB version we first saw on Samsung's Korean Web site will not be available in Singapore. The YP-M1 is slated for December, in only one color--black. We'll keep you updated with availability in Asia as well as the pricing for the music player.

asia.cnet.com

32GB M1 not available for Singapore? Bad news indeed. Will have to see if the price is competitive enough. December is still a long way. Hoping for more reviews to help me decide between this or the Cowon S9.

Goals for the month

I guess I have to come out with this because I am quite lazy to get things done. This is especially true for my mylot account, where I am struggling to meet the cashout amount.

All the goals are valid till the month of october 2009

1. Hit $5 for mylot
2. Get an increase in blog traffic (details to come soon)
3. Hit 30 blog post

To be updated soon!

Debut nightmare for Fantasy League

Damn, what a bad start for FDS SBAB Fantasy Premier League for me! Right at the end of the table! And I left Bent and Geovani on the bench! Not to mention how my expensive Liverpool trio fail to perform at Standford Bridge.

I have been doing some research on players (damn sian ah) who has the best value for points. Hopefully I can catch up with the table on 17 October when gameweek 9 opens!

Samsung YEPP YP-M1 or Cowon S9

If I am looking for an iTouch alternative, I will go for either of these players. The Cowon S9 has great reviews all over the internet. Great music quality, awesome AMOLED screen. Samsung nearest competitor then was the Samsung P3, but it loss out in the screen and music department. Now the YP-M1 boost an AMOLED screen too and a really cool interface. Can't wait for it to be release.

I will certaily need a lot of internet reviews on these two players before I make a decision!

Titus Bramble, an intersting guy

Anyone who knows the EPL will know Titus Bramble, the clumsiest defender in the world. He isn't that bad, but in the EPL he is the worst. Just look at the number of own goal he score. Seriously, he should be a striker instead. I discovered some great youtube video to prove that!

Titus Bramble the striker!



Titus Bramble in the crossbar challenge! 1:33



Titus Bramble trying to score against his own goalkeeper. Great save by Shay Given lol!



Titus Bramble Stumbles

Well, at least he do score at the correct end once in a while!

Newcastle Untied still cmi ah

A draw to QPR. Noooo. Newcastle is a BPL Club!! Hopefully this season in the championship will sort out all the problems. Injury is still very common in Newcastle, and it is very frustrating. What is wrong man?!

The curse is back Owen!

Damn, an injured Owen. And after all the talk about his high level of fitness. Damn. Must be all the bad feng shui absorbed from the 4 years in Newcastle. Get well soon Owen!