According to the Imation product page, the “Digital Multimedia Link Pro” has the following specifications, amongst others:

FULL HD MEDIA CONTENTS PLAYBACK
Support Full HD media contents playback on TV. Plays video, audio and image files from connected USB devices on your TV in HD resolutions including 720i, 720p, 1080i and 1080p.

Support HDMI, composite and component output ensuring the compatibility with all kinds of TV or HDTV.

Compatible with MPEG1/2/4 (up to 720p/1080p), AVI (MPEG4, AVC H.264), MOV, MKV, RM/RMVB (up to 720p), VOB, TS, FLV, WMV, DTS, Dolby Digital AC3 5.1, AC3, AAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, LPCM, WAV, BMP, JPEG, HD JPEG.

Full HD (1080p, 24Hz) uses a higher video compression bit rate, which enables better video quality when capturing scenery with vibrant colors and fine details.

The reason why I was interested is because I’ve been looking for a media player that can support the Matroska container format (MKV), a highly compressed video format, which means that instead of having to download 350MB or so per each TV series episode, I only download around 150MB or thereabouts, halving my download time, allowing me to watch more American TV rubbish.  The other media players capable of supporting the MKV format have been selling north of RM 350, and even those are the less known branded ones from China/Taiwan, whereas Imation is, of course, a US brand.

And to top it off, the “Digital Multimedia Link Pro” has a LAN port.  What this LAN port is for eludes me for the moment, but I’m sure someone will come in and tell me.  So, can anyone tell me of a cheaper media player that has all these specifications and sells for a cheaper price?  Anyone?  Or will Imation claim the title of the “cheapest HD all-codecs-under-the-sun-supporting media player king” in Malaysia?  The package even comes with a free HDMI cable – top that!  And it can play downloaded Flash videos from YouTube!  And it comes with 2 free AAA sized batteries!  Buy, buy, BUY!!  Just don’t start a stampede doing it, now…

Tweet This Post

1. try to send out press releases as an Adobe Reader file.  It’s normally smaller than Microsoft Word files.  The contents can easily be copied and pasted.  Should members of the media require the “full” Microsoft Word version, either store it in a public folder somewhere such as Windows Live SkyDrive, or share it using Google Docs.
2. try to keep the size of image files down.  I honestly do not need an image file that is 1500 x 1500 pixels – if I put that on my website, my readers will curse me for wasting bandwidth.  For web use purposes, a maximum of 1024 x 768 pixel resolution is more than enough.  Preferably in JPEG or GIF format, which although lossy, has sufficient fidelity to be used.  File size should be less than 300KB per image, preferably even less!  Again, for those who need it for print publication purposes, for example, the high definition images can be shared using SkyDrive or Google Docs.
3. it’s also more environmentally friendly to have a shared folder – it reduces e-mail traffic, updates can be sent out almost instantly by sending out a short e-mail alert telling media members about files which have changed, etc.
4. please do try to get your clients to have the press releases up on the press releases section of their websites.  It lends unquestionable credibility to the press release that I am posting about, and shows professionalism on the part of your client – websites are not static wells of information, to be updated once a year – it is a medium to continuously engage your customers who are increasingly very web savvy and will do research online before proceeding to a purchase.  Imagine the customer’s perception if your client’s website hasn’t been updated in a year or more.
5. try to put out a “post-event” email of the event, if an event is organised as part of a press release or product launching.  This can include additional pictures of the event, as well as any major points brought up during the Q&A session – after all, more (pertinent) information is better than none.
6. please check and re-check the press release for glaring errors such as grammatical errors, pricing errors, availability errors as well as accuracy – if your client is a global client, simply copying and pasting the global press release sometimes do not make sense because of the way business is done in various parts of the world.  My job is not to check your press releases for these errors.  I will make fun of press releases with obvious errors that I come across!
7. try to include a section which summarises the press release, especially if the press release is more than 2 pages.  Basically, something that tells us “why we should care”.  When attention span nowadays is measured in seconds, if you don’t get your message across in the first 3 lines, it’s as good as useless, I think.

Will these tips result in me being struck off the PR mailing list for being overly demanding?  Who knows?  I frankly do not care – I’m doing companies a favour by highlighting them – I don’t charge for them.  I’m not saying that this site gets millions of hits every day, but even if I only got 50 hits, it’s better than nothing eh?

As usual, comments, and constructive criticisms are welcome.  Insults get automatically deleted.  So do press releases exceeding 1MB in size  :P

Tweet This Post

So, back to the i-mobile Android smartphone – it’s called model number 6010, and it’s on sale in Malaysia, mainly through the online channels.  You can search for it on lelong.com.my or mudah,my – at the moment, only one company seems to be selling it, for RM 868.  So, a sub RM 1,000 Android smartphone, which is a pretty good deal for someone intending to check out Android without wanting to splurge out too much money for it.

Sadly, the detailed specifications of this phone is hard to come by, but I did find something on i-mobile’s website.  As far as I can tell, it’s missing 3G support, meaning the phone is EDGE only.  It also does not seem to have GPS.  And I have no clue as to what version of Android it is running!  It has a 1200mAh battery, Bluetooth, WiFi, microSD card support, a 3″ inch screen with 240 x 400 pixel resolution.  Check out more specifications below.

I am almost tempted to just buy one to check it out, but sadly, all my money is gone, in anticipation of the iPad.  Sorry.  But I will post more details if I do come across this model in any of the BlueCube outlets.

Thanks, marvinlee!

Tweet This Post

SE launched the Vivaz during last weekend’s IT Show at Suntec City in Singapore.  The price?  S$798 without contract, which translates to around RM 1,888.  Cheap, by Sony Ericsson standards.  But what about in Malaysia?  Honestly, I don’t expect it to breach the sub RM 2,000 mark at all.  It’ll probably sell at RM 2,199 or RM 2,299, slightly cheaper than the Satio, which is still selling for a rather suicidal price of RM 2,499.  And about the only reason why you’ll want to buy the Vivaz over the Satio is the Vivaz’s HD recording capability at 720 pixels vertical resolution.

Source.  And here’s a flyer from the IT Show.  Thanks to fooyc for letting me know of its availability in Singapore!

Tweet This Post

In a nutshell, I think this is how it’s going to work for us here:

1. buy a 3G iPad from a carrier with a microSIM pre-loaded inside, but not activated.  Sign some sort of a service contract at the point of purchase with the carrier.  The reason for this is that one still has to get that microSIM somewhere before using the service!
2. whenever you want service, activate it on the iPad, as illustrated on this page.
3. whenever you want to stop the service, deactivate it using the iPad, as illustrated on this page.

The part that our local carriers are going to struggle with is the notification portion – where they are supposed to warn users when the monthly data quota is close to being breached in the event that the user chooses the “limited” plan (eg. XXX MB of data for RM YYY).  I think to keep things simple our carriers may just opt for a “limited unlimited” plan – breach that 3/5GB limit and automagically get throttled to EDGE speeds or worse.

One side effect of this 3G iPad that I foresee is that there will be a number of vendors in Lowyat Plaza for example, who will be offering SIM cutting services.  And the carriers better brace themselves for customers requesting for new SIM cards for their accounts when they have a misadventure in cutting a regular SIM card down to size!

Tweet This Post

This number only applies to the US, of course.  Based on their estimates, Apple sold more WiFi models than the WiFi + 3G models (both were up for pre-orders), while the models were evenly spread out, disk capacity wise (there are 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models on sale).  Says one of the analysts who covered the orders as they were flowing in (to the study):

“Apple has been able to generate over $75 million in revenue in one day on a product that 99.9% of purchasers haven’t touched or for that matter, even seen in person,” said Victor Castroll, an analyst with Valcent Financial Group. “And, we’re still three weeks away. That is amazing.”

And that is amazing indeed.  If this is true, we will be in for a long, long wait, as I’ve mentioned before – Apple will surely satisfy demand in the richer countries first before making it available in other poorer ones.  And that’s a sad thing (for us) indeed.

In fact, the demand is reported to be so good that new in-store collections (you have two options when you pre-order – whether to have it shipped, free of charge to you, or collect it in an Apple Store closest to you) have been frozen.

Tweet This Post

So, here are the new things to note, and be happy about, based on the filings:

1. it will work with any Bluetooth keyboard, not just those from Apple.
2. the iBooks app will read any ePub format ebook, not just those downloaded/purchased from the Apple iBookstore.
3. the operating system can easily recognise file types and hand them over to the appropriate application for further processing.
4. there are accessibility features for those who are vision or hearing impaired.
5. location based services will work even with WiFi only models.
6. it will support A2DP, aka Advanced Audio Distribution Profile, aka stereo Bluetooth so you can listen to your favourite music in high fidelity stereo on your BT headset.
7. there will be dedicated magazine apps; ie. the iBookstore is not the only place to purchase/download content to be consumed.

Click here for more details.

Tweet This Post

I take it “is coming soon” means in the next month or so.  This is because the others are described as “coming in the next 3 months”, or “coming in the next 6 months”.  Whether, and if, they will be successful depends on the pricing – based on rumours, the X10 will retail for RM 2,799, which to me personally, is a suicidal price.  Unless SonyEricsson’s strategy is to only sell it to its ever smaller legion of fanboys and those rich and stupid enough to want one.  And some people still wonder why SonyEricsson continues to find itself in trouble with no light at the end of the tunnel!

Tweet This Post

This is not good news for us, of course, since Apple would try to satisfy its major markets first before selling the device in poor countries such as Malaysia.  I guess the only want to get your hands on one now would be to import one yourself from the US, or Australia, as the device goes on sale at the end of next month.

Tweet This Post

My cousin tells me that the Mophie Juice Pack Air for the iPhone (an iPhone external battery pack) is going for a 10% discount.  If I drop by, I will try to confirm this.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated to mybytes in any way.  I did not receive payment of any kind for highlighting this.

[EDIT] And it’s true – the Mophie Juice Pack Air is indeed going for 10% off its retail price of RM 318, so the nett price you pay is RM 286.20.  There are a lot of other accessories there as well, most with 10% off retail price – I nearly bought one of those AV out thingamajigs – you know – where you plug in this device into the bottom of your iPhone/iPod and then connect it to the TV?  Luckily I’ve maxed out my credit card already  :P

Tweet This Post