Millennia Microwave In A Drawer

Looks really good doesn't it?

Dacor's latest offering relocates the conventional convention oven into my favourite hidden area that is most usually inhabited by silverware and other unused stuff. The Millennia microwave in-a-drawer is engineered to be installed under a counter, in a kitchen island, or essentially any location where having a microwave would not look pleasing to the eye. This cooker has all the nice features, sporting 950 watts of roasting power, defrost, reheat, and popcorn modes, 11 power levels, child lockout, automatic shutdown sensors, a timer function, and a nifty "one-touch" sliding door.

How much will it cost? I'm not sure, but I can tell you it's not gonna be very easy to install if you have an existing kitchen (Best time to get it is when you are going to build a new kitchen). However, you have the rest of the year to look yourself in the mirror and ask if you really need this piece of asthetically pleasing technology (Don't we all?).

AA Batteries You Can Charge With USB

Amazing stuff you can do with USB huh? This handy USB AA sized, NiMH battery can be charged with your USB port, if, you actually have one free on your computer to charge it with. It will save you from carrying one more charger when you are overseas with your laptop, or when your digital camera is in need of some desperate juice which you can squeeze out of your laptop. Even the cigarette-lighter USB chargers for your car may become very useful now.

NiMH AA model will be first to hit the market (about US$24 for a two-pack), while other models like the 9V, AAA (with either a mini- or folding full-size USB attachment), C and D converter shells for the AAs, and even packs for cellphones, digital cameras, and other portable devices will be released later.

Your Keys Can Float On Water With Davis Key Buoy

Who says gadgets must be hi-tech? Here's one gadget I think may become useful, if you are often near deep bodies of water. This low price keychain (around S$12) will open up and inflate a 14-inch long bright orange cylinder for easy spotting within 30 seconds and will hold them there for up to 40 minutes. It only supports up to 120g of weight, so you can't use it with large objects. However, if you can find a waterproof thumbdrive (or a waterproof ipod nano), Davis Key Buoy can help save your data (or music) from becoming fish food if you ever find yourself losing it on your Sunday fishing trip.

$300,000 or $1,000,000 Phone?

Black Diamond
Take a good look at the "Black Diamond," brought to you by Swiss manufacturer VIPN, and designed by Singaporean designer Jaren Goh. No doubt the glossy black candybar is gorgeous but to say it's worth US$300,000? Unlikely.


Little details are available, but what is known is that the Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone should include quadband GSM, WiFi, 128MB of memory with SD expansion, a 2-inch display, and a 400MHz XScale all wrapped up in titanium. The touch sensitive keypad is Chocolate-esque, completely disappearing when not lit (really cool), while SIP is thrown in to keep your GSM usage minimum when you're in WiFi range. Coming out in the early 2007, you have about a year to start saving and train your eyes, as it is only limited to 5 (yes, five) units.



Goldvish PLATO
"The Bentley of cellphones" is a million US dollars, limited to 100 units (and by special request only). This one-of-a-kind quad-band handset by Goldvish in Geneve sports a blinding 120 carats worth of VVS-1 grade diamonds, according to designer Emmanuel Gueit, and as you'd expect from a seven-figure phone, features such amenities as Bluetooth, a camera with 8x digital zoom, MP3 playback, FM radio, included 2GB memory card and an EDGE connection (but why is there no 3G or WIFI?). For those of you not willing to drop such an obscene amount of money on a phone that even the designer likens to a boomerang, Goldvish also offers several other diamond-encrusted 18k gold models in your choice of rose, yellow, or white, starting at a much more reasonable US$25,600 (check out the pictures below).

Multi-functional 2.0 Megapixel WebCam

The Neo from Alphacam of Korea is one great piece of gadget for your computer or laptop. This multifunction device brings a 2 megapixel auto-focus webcam, laser pointer, business card reader, voice recorder, and all purpose text scanner to the show.

I know some of you out there think that all-in-one units are usually crap, but that remains to be seen right? We wouldn't know it until we use it, and the features do seem very attractive. 2 megapixel auto-focus webcams are very rare right now, and the fact that it is very portable will mean it will do plenty when you are on your business trip.

No pricing announced now but it should be shipping already in Korea, so if anyone is going there right now, send me an email so that I can ask you to buy one for me (kekeke). Maybe someone should bring it into Singapore. Check out the Neo snapped in action.

It's Final, Wii Is Launching On November 19th, US$250

There have been so many news about Nintendo's latest offering Wii, from Nintendo reducing it's game list for Gamecube at this month's Tokyo Game Show (even before Wii is launched) to the arena of PSX and Xbox, to all the rave about the specifications, features and games that are coming out with Wii. I'm gonna tell you more about the latter (which is more interesting right? ^_^)


What is Wii?
If you are still in the dark, Wii is a game console that you plug into your TV to play games on your TV. Sounds like Playstation 2 (or the upcoming Playstation 3) and the Xbox 360? Well, it's 'slightly different'. With the PS2 or the Xbox 360, you mash buttons on a controller to move your game characters, cars or shoot something. On the Wii, you swing, poke, steer, turn and do all sorts of natural movements to move your characters and cars. You will still have to press a button to shoot something (just like the trigger or the gas pedal). So you got that? If not, you should check out this clip courtesy of Kotaku and you will see that the Wii is the console that may bring the non-gamers (and your girlfriend too!) into games. (Edited) More videos!

Wii in Singapore
Wii is launching first in the US, on 19th November, for US$250 (2nd December in Japan, price unknown). As with most game shops in Singapore, they will probably bring in the export units at a marked-up price, in the region of S$500 . Adding in an extra controller and some other accessories that you might need, you may be looking at S$700-S$800 for a set with 2 controllers, SD card (for memory) and 1 bundled game.

Games List
Here's the list of games available for Wii from launch date to March 2007:


Nintendo
Battalion Wars II
Big Brain Academy™ (temporary name)
Excite Truck™
The Legend of Zelda®: Twilight Princess
Mario Strikers Charged
Metroid® Prime 3: Corruption
Super Mario® Galaxy (temporary name)
WarioWare™: Smooth Moves
Wii Sports

Activision
Call of Duty 3
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Rapala Tournament Fishing
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
World Series of Poker

Atari
Dragon Ball Z Budokai: Tenkaichi 2

Atlus
Trauma Center: Second Opinion

Buena Vista Games
Chicken Little: Ace in Action
Disney's Meet the Robinsons

Codemasters
Dance Factory
Sidewinder

EA
The Godfather
Madden NFL 07
Need for Speed: Carbon
SSX
Tiger Woods PGA Tour

Konami
Elebits

Majesco
Bust A Move Revolution

Midway
The Ant Bully
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
Happy Feet
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Rampage: Total Destruction

Sega
Sonic and the Secret Rings
Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz

SNK
Metal Slug Anthology

THQ
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Barnyard
Cars
SpongeBob SquarePants:
Creature from the Krusty Krab

Ubisoft
Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
Far Cry: Vengeance
GT Pro Series
Monster 4x4: World Circuit
Open Season
Prince of Persia
Rayman: Raving Rabbids
RED STEEL
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent

Vivendi
Ice Age 2

Wii Features
The great thing about Wii is that it is region-free, which means you can buy games from any country to play on it (similar to the upcoming PS3)(Edited: Lastest news suggest that it may not be region-free after all). Sadly, Wii does not support DVD movie playback, but most of us have DVD players for that anyway. The game controller is the main catch of this system, along with the games that support it (Zelda for example, see Kotaku's video). However, Wii graphics and core system performance are weak compared to the Xbox 360 or the PS3, so you should not expect too much in that area.

Wii offers something new called 'Wii Channels'. Initially there will be 12 Wii channels. One channel lets you play a Wii game or one of 530 GameCube discs. Another is the Wii shopping channel where you can buy old games to play on the console (at 500 Wii points, which is US$5 a game). At least three games will be online on launch day. By the end of the year there will be at least 30 legacy titles. You can buy a 2,000 Wii Points card at a store for $20. They will also be selling a Wii classic controller to play the old games. Once a game is downloaded it shows up as a channel in the menu. Another channel is called Mii. A Mii is a digital 3D avatar of whoever, including yourself. You can create a Mii by finding a look-a-like or start from scratch. You can transfer your Mii's to your Wii Remote and take them with you.

Final advice before you buy Wii
Don't believe anything that the game shop tells you. If you are a gamer, you will know what to look for and ask the right questions. Search for the best deals you can get and most importantly ask yourself if you want a Wii or a PS3 (which is way too expensive IMHO, low-end 20GB version is about S$1100).

New iPods For The Trendy Music Lovers

How do you design the new iPod shuffle? Well, you could cut it into half, then skinned a few millimetres off the thickness, attach a clip, give it a shiny aluminium body and bump up the storage capacity to 2GB.

Simply WOW!

Someone is calling the latest iPod shuffle the "world's smallest MP3 player". I agree. It will be available in October, and at the price of US$79 (S$125). If I didn't have an MP3 player now (or if I wanted a new one) I would get this!



Latest iPod nano is also a charmer. Coming in a few colours like the mini series, it has new capacities, better displays, better batteries, and new pricing. Features include even-thinner aluminum case as well as green, silver, black, blue, and pink colours (only aluminium or black for the 2GB and 8GB versions) It will cost you US$149 (S$240) for 2GB, US$199 (S$320) for 4GB, and US$249 (S$400) for the 8GB model. This will be for those who really likes the screen and the small form factor. I think this is one of the best selling products from iPod and I hope that it does not suffer from the poorly-designed screen problem that the old nano has.



This is Apple's flagship iPod (with video) model. The screen is now 60% brighter, the battery can last up to 3.5 hours when you playback video, comes with a new set of headphones (personally I think we should use our own). Most of the specs remained the same, with a few changes in the software. The iPod is getting gapless (no gaps between songs) playback, text-based search and brightness controls, together with a few games (free!). Bejeweled (my favourite), Cubis 2, Mahjong, Mini Golf, Pac Man, Tetris, Texas Hold 'Em, Vortex, and Zuma are bundled. New games can be bought from iTunes at US$5 each. The new 30GB iPod will be going for US$250 (S$400), and the 80GB model for US$350 (S$560), which means they are much cheaper than before and certainly more storage per dollar you spend. When can you buy it? I'm not sure either, but it should be around the corner.

What is HDTV And How To Choose Them

As some of you know by now, Singapore is going to roll out HDTV broadcasting in a few years time and eventually totally replacing the old Analog TV signal. MediaCorp is partnering Meda Development Authority (MDA) for a HDTV trial scheduled since June 2006 for TV viewers here to test first-hand the new technology. This is the 1st step to an island-wide HDTV broadcast. Everyone will have to replace their old Analog TV (Which is what most of us are still using now) or at least buy a HD Set-Top Box to work with it.

What I'm doing here is to give you a rough guide on the path to HDTV and tell you what you might need to know to make your decisions. At the end of this post, I have a short HDTV buying checklist that you might want to print out or copy into your PDA or Handphone so that you can ask the sales representative at your favourite TV retailer.

Names That You Should Get Yourself Familiar With

Analog TV:
This is the regular TV that we have been using for many years now. An analog TV cannot display progressive-scan DVD or HDTV. It can show only standard-definition programs such as those found on regular TV or Starhub CableTV. In order to view HDTV signals on your old Analog TV, you will need to buy a HDTV Set-Top Box (not given free by Mediacorp or Starhub, in case you are wondering!). BUT, with a Set-Top Box, you will not get the best video quality that HDTV signals can provide, as the Analog TV unit itself has very low resolution. This will save you money from buying a new TV, at a cost of the video quality.

HDTV Set-Top Box:
This is a HDTV Tuner which is capable of receiving and decoding HDTV signals into TV programmes in high definition. It works with BOTH HD-Ready TVs and Analog TVs. With a HD-Ready TV, it will provide the best video quality that the TV can display. However, with an Analog TV, it will have to reduce the video quality of the signal in order for the TV to be able to display it.

HD Ready TV:
TVs (LCD, plasma, CRT etc) capable of accepting and presenting TV programmes in high definition. You must use these TVs with a HDTV Set-Top Box as the TV itself does not have a decoder capable of understanding the HDTV signals. Most HDTVs sold in Singapore now are actually only HD Ready.

HDTV set:
These TV sets have a high-definition screen and a built-in digital tuner capable of receiving, decoding & displaying high definition TV programmes. This means you do not need a seperate HDTV Set-Top Box. You do not see many of these type of HDTVs in Singapore now as there are currently very few HDTVs (and non of them are sold here) capable of decoding the latest video signal (MPEG-4 H.264 (AVC)) that Singapore is going to roll out. So if you are looking for an all-in-one HDTV, you might have to wait a while longer.

HDTV Resolutions:
Resolutions is the video quality I was telling you about earlier. Even for HDTVs, there are several different types of resolutions that it can (or cannot) display. Let's look at the table.

Name	Resolution	HDTV?	Wide-screen?	Progressive-scan?
1080p	1,920x1,080	Y	Y	Y
1080i	1,920x1,080	Y	Y	N
720p	1,280x720	Y	Y	Y
Analog TV	Up to 480 lines	N	N	N

As you can see, the best resolution that a HDTV can display now is 1080p which supports progressive-scan DVD playback (more on this later). However, even the best HDTVs in Singapore now can only display 1080i. Many HD Ready TVs sold now are 720p, which is not the highest resolution a HDTV is capable of (this is changing, however). All these are compared to the regular Analog TV which can only display up to 480 lines as opposed to the 720 or 1080 lines. As with all things, better resolution will cost more (the best 1080p will cost more than S$10,000), so choose what you need carefully.

Additional Features That You May Want
Now that you know about the basics of HDTV (yea, those are basics!), you might want to familiarise yourself with other features that you may want with your new high-tech TV (HDMI, Progressive scan etc).

Wide Screen 16:9 Format
One important choice these days when you buy a TV (even a regular one) is to choose whether you want a wide 16:9 screen (like in a movie theatre) or the standard 4:3 screen. With huge numbers of anamorphic (enhanced for wide-screen) DVDs and the appearance of more wide-screen TV and HDTV shows, there's plenty of wide-screen content out there, so eventually, wide-screen TVs will become the popular choice. Most HDTVs out there are wide-screen units.

Progressive Scan DVD Playback
One of the reasons people buy a HDTV today (instead of waiting a year or two for better ones) is to watch high quality DVDs. HDTVs can make DVD, a very high-quality source, look spectacular. Progressive-scan DVD players have their own internal processors that are generally superior to the ones inside most HDTV sets. Mating a prog-scan DVD with an HDTV will give you the best picture you can get outside of HDTV itself as regular Analog TV programmes does not really look much better on a HDTV until the HD signals are rolled out.

Digital Inputs and Outputs
High quality digital inputs and outputs are one of the key advantages of HDTVs over regular TVs. As HDTVs are able to display the highest quality that your DVD players (HDMI or DVI-D with HDCP) or even your computers (RGB) produces, you might want to have them available in your new HDTV purchase. Check out this page on CNET for more information.

Buying Checklist
Now that you know more about HDTVs, you may want a checklist of items when you go shopping for a new HDTV. Here's a short, but quite important list:

1. Ask about technical aspects of the TV. You should know by now if you want a HDTV or a HD Ready TV. You should also check the resolutions that the TV supports and choose which one you need. Remember, there are currently (Sept 2006) no HDTV sets available for MPEG-4, only HD Ready TVs are available and most of them are 720p. Do not be fooled by the salesperson if they say that an EDTV (Enhanced Definition TV) is capable of displaying HD as it can only support 480p.
   
2. Choose Plasma or LCD? This is a question often asked, but both have its own advantages and disadvantages. LCD displays are sharper and have a longer lifetime, but has a smaller viewing angle and lower brightness and contrast. Plasma displays are cheaper, but may suffer from burn-in and image retention. Plasma displays are also more power hungry.
   
3. Ensure that you are buying a TV size suitable for your room. The sitting distance from the TV will determine the largest possible size you should get for your room. Try to look at the TV at the distance you will be sitting to determine what TV size is the most comfortable for you. It will be typically be at least 1.5 times the diagonal measurement of the TV (a 42-inch (1m) wide-screen TV should have a viewing distance of 1.6m to 12m).
   
4. Check the brightness and contrast of the TV. As retailers typically max the brightness of the TVs, you should ask them to adjust it to see it differently. Ambient lighting in the showroom can also affect the contrast, shade the TV if you need to.
   
5. Bring a DVD movie of your own that you are familiar with so that you can judge the picture quality of the various TV brands.
   
6. Look out for the features that you want. Different brands offer different features (picture-in-picture(PIP), various inputs). If you are a gaming console person, you might want front panel AV/S-Video inputs; Internet surfers might want RGB inputs. Soon-to-be PS3 owners will make good use of the HDMI inputs. Note that PIP is overrated in some cases. For example, it will not work with Starhub CableTV channels.
   
7. Do not worry about the sound produced by the TV. Most TVs are not able to produce theatre-quality sounds. You are better off buying a home theatre system (even a cheap one) for your audio needs.

Conclusion
Of course there are still many things to know about HDTVs. I'm only giving a 'brief' guide here, LOL. The choice to buy a HDTV now hinges on your needs for a new TV. Buying a HDTV now is quite future-proof as you will probably be able to use it for a few years down the road. If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment and I will try my best to answer it. If I can't answer it, I can point you in the direction where answers might be found. Happy shopping!

Sharp's New Refridgerator Thaws Your Frozen Meats

Coming soon, Sharp's latest refridgerator comes with a 'cool' thaw function that allows you to thaw frozen meats to before you cook. Using the warm air generated from the cooling system (that's right, an efficient way to use that heatloss), this fridge will be able to control the temperature in its special compartment from -17˚C to 60˚C.

Many small families will find it convenient to thaw out a large portion of meat, cut it to the required size and refreeze the rest in the same compartment.


Some thawing times:

Meat	Portion Size	Thawing Time
Beef	1.5cm thick, 150g	17 mins
Beef	sukiyaki (thin slice), 150g	17 mins
Chicken	150g	21 mins
Fish	1 small slice, 2cm thick, 70g	17 mins
Squid	1 whole, 170g	21 mins

Car Of The Future. And It Runs On WATER

Well, not any water, but sea water. That's almost like unlimited fuel supply?? This is not a myth, mind you, there really is a fully functional prototype created by General Motors in Germany. One of the best part about the car is that you will be able to convert it from a saloon to a MPV or a truck in just about 30 minutes. It is the future, and it may be sooner than you think, estimated to be available as early as 10 years from now.

Check out this show by BBC on Youtube.

Windows Vista Pricing Announced, Officially

Microsoft has just announced the official, real-deal prices for Windows Vista (All prices in USD):

1. Windows Vista Ultimate ($400 full, $260 upgrade)
2. Windows Vista Business ($300 full, $200 upgrade)
3. Windows Vista Home Premium ($240 full, $160 upgrade)
4. Windows Vista Home Basic ($200 full, $100 upgrade)

Vista will be released to the "volume license customers" in November 2006 and the general public in January 2007. If you want to preview it sooner, there are rumors that the company will be make the Release Candidate 1 available through the soon to be re-opened Vista Customer Preview Program.

There you have it.

Long Range Stun Gun

No allowed in Singapore I guess, but when you go overseas, beware!

This is a new longer range stun gun, a 40kV shocker capable of shocking a subject more than 100 meters away and bringing him to his knees. Unlike tethered Tasers that stick someone close up with wires, this new type of debilitating non-lethal weapon fires off a small dart that detonates piezeoelectric materials on impact, triggering a massive electric reaction, taking down the target but leaving him conscious.

I hope this device will not become the play thing that kids steal from their parents and serious hurt someone.

Extend Your Wireless Range To 300 meters With Wi-Fire

A new Pennsylvania-based startup, hField Technologies, has just gotten FCC approval for their new powered-up WiFi antenna, the Wi-Fire. The USB antenna boosts reception of faint WiFi signals, extending the range of existing networks up to 1,000 feet (or more than 300m).

hField's founders, recent Lehigh University graduates, had originally built the product for a student entrepeneurial challenge, and won first place. Earlier this summer, hField also recieved $25,000 of funding from a state-funded development organization. The Wi-Fire is now on sale through hField directly for USD$150 for Windows only (at least for now). It is guaranteed to put as big of a smile on your face when you start surfing on your laptop at your favourite locations with this cool gadget.

Philips's 9-inch digital PhotoFrame

Well, you don't need much introduction if you have read my other blog post about digital photo frames.

What's new from Philips is that they are trumping their previous 7-incher with this new 9-inch PhotoFrame (the 7-inch can be found in COMEX 2006 at a price of $399 with a free DECT phone), giving you that much more LCD real estate for to display you latest trip pictures or family moments. The frame also comes with dual card readers, the best reason I can think of is to provide more ways for more storage. There's also a little bit of internal memory if you want to be boring about it.

The frame comes in a "Modern" and "Classic" design (the picture looks like that modern version) and both can be wall mounted. No word on price or availability (but I think it'll be quite costly if you look at the 7-inch's price), but I'll be sure to update you on that soon.

COMEX 2006 In Singapore, Full Coverage

Wanna know the best deals and all the fuss about COMEX 2006 in Singapore? Check out the link for a full coverage by Hardwarezone.

The usual suspects are there: Cheap and fast LCD monitors (they say the cheap part won't last long!), Well-priced Core Duo laptops (Imagine $1500?), Multi-functional printers (Everyone wants one right?), Digital Cameras, Bluetooth headsets (You'll even find a $29 one!) PDAs (The Dopod 838 Pro is there, go check it out!) and more.

You will find most of my reviewed items, Nikon D80 camera, Harmony Universal Remote, Dopod 838 and 595 PDA Phones are all there. I had a friend who bought a Nikon D80 there for $2288 with lens and plenty of freebies. Seems like a good deal to me (maybe I borrow it from him sometime LOL).


Oh, and I went there yesterday, bought a couple of stuff too! There's still 3 days left!