Posts Tagged ‘launch’

Just How Successful Was The Windows 7 Launch?

Sunday, November 15th, 2009

windows 7 yellow logoIf you’ve been reading this blog as well as listen to the ITChannel podcast that I am a part of, you’ll know that I’ve been consistently hammering Microsoft Malaysia regarding the Windows 7 launch – there’s no official price list to be found anywhere on the Microsoft Malaysia website, as well as the low key publicity surrounding the launch.  First off, we had the launch event later than the rest of the world.  While other people have moved on with their lives, we were only just beginning to get introduced the Microsoft’s latest and (some say) greatest operating system.  And the launch events/roadshows – what event?  What roadshow?  Just check out these two pictures I took of the event in the Curve shopping centre last week, the second venue in the string of roadshow events around Malaysia.

Wow!  Huge, crazy crowd there eh?  This was taken at around midday last Sunday at the Curve.  If my bonus was measured on the basis of the success of the event, I am quite certain that Microsoft’s event organiser or PR representative would have lost his/her/their entire bonus for this year!  :P

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IT Events This Weekend

Saturday, November 14th, 2009

crowded eventIf you have NBTD (nothing better to do) this weekend, you have a choice of heading on down to either 1-Utama or Sunway Pyramid, or both, to check out some IT events happening there.  First up – the Sony VAIO X launch at Sunway Pyramid’s LG Concourse area.  The VAIO X is Sony’s answer in the thin-and-light notebook segment popularised by Apple’s MacBook Air.  It is an engineering marvel, you really have to check it out for yourself – it’s very thin, and very light.  These two factors ensure that the VAIO X’s pricing will remain in the stratosphere for many of us, but it is a drool-worthy device, on par with the newly-announced-but-not-yet-available Dell Adamo XPS.

sony malaysia vaio x launch sunway pyramid Secondly, DiGi is having a roadshow cum launching promotion in conjunction with throwing on the switch to light up the Klang Valley with 3G coverage for use on mobile phones.  The event is happening at 1-Utama’s Oval area.  Everyday, until tomorrow, Sunday 15th November 2009, DiGi is having special offers for selected hardware such as Blackberry smartphones, USB wireless broadband modems, netbooks and mobile phones.

digi turbo 3g launch klang valley november 2009

Both events run until tomorrow, Sunday, 15th November 2009.  So, head on down there if you’re really bored!

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HTC Touch 2 Launch Offer: The Final(!) Conclusion

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

microsoft-logohtc new logoIt’s a bit late, I know, but I’ve been busy with other things.  A reader, who shall remain anonymous, requested that I post a final article on this subject, as he had been involved in the entire story from the beginning, was initially sorely disappointed, and who is now finally happy.  The last post on this subject was here, and this is the story about the rather poorly organised HTC Touch 2 launching offer during the recent Windows Mobile 6.5 launch in Malaysia.

There are two stories, and both readers have requested for anonymity.  The pictures you see below is from reader #1.  I have removed parts of their story (very little actually) that can identify them; otherwise, I have not edited the content at all.  Click here for story #1, and here for story #2.

It’s nice to see a happy conclusion to this entire saga.  And a nice way to close out the subject, which I wanted to do anyway, to be fair to Microsoft as well as HTC.  I know the number of people who were “made happy”, but cannot divulge them here; suffice it to say that it was substantial.  And let’s give a (virtual) clap of hands to both Microsoft and HTC for being “gentlemanly” and “sporting” about the whole thing – they did not have to do this, but they did.  And I think it’s a good example for other Malaysian companies to follow.  And what better way to build a little bit of customer loyalty?

Thanks to the two readers who sent their stories in.  If you’re keen to also share your story, send it to the contact details on the main page of this blog if you want to remain anonymous, or post a comment!

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Microsoft Says…

Monday, October 26th, 2009

windows 7 yellow logo…that all new PCs purchased from 23rd October onwards will come pre-loaded with Windows 7.  As you and I and all other intelligent people know, this may not be the case.  And they haven’t even bothered to qualify that statement with some asterisks, or to preface it by saying “qualifying”.  This is very misleading indeed – after all, if a PC or notebook/netbook came with Limux, can I demand that it be pre-installed with a (legitimate) copy of Windows 7 by pointing the retailer to this website?  Actually,strictly speaking, the website I linked to is not the *official* Microsoft website at all; it’s just a website set up by a PR agency contracted by Microsoft to do some needed marketing for Windows 7, according to my whois searches.  But anyway, people should be more responsible when writing advertisements or updating websites.  And what would happen if someone actually insisted, based on this advertisement, that they be given a pre-installed legitimate version of Windows 7?  I’m not a lawyer, so I can’t really say.

microsoft misleading windows 7 advertisement on website

Also, Microsoft Malaysia is supposedly holding a low key hush hush Windows 7 launching in KL, specifically, in Plaza Lowyat, the IT centre of all of the Klang Valley.  Check out the details here.  I was just lamenting the fact that there were so few activities associated with the Windows 7 availability to the extent that I was wondering whether Microsoft Malaysia had fallen asleep.  According to the Star, there are plenty of activities to mark Windows 7’s debut.  If by “plenty” they mean the three roadshows for KL, Penang and JB (sorry, no love for East Malaysia!), then I’m disappointed.  Overseas, the launch of Windows 7 was a big affair – the major name manufacturers began offering Windows 7 netbooks/notebook even before the availability of Windows 7.  In Malaysia, there’s been deathly silence (mostly) so far.

YAWN.  And that’s a wrap.  Thanks to Ken77 and @sheldongoh for alerting me to the event.

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HTC Launches The Hero In Malaysia

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

htc-logoThis morning, HTC launched their latest Android phone, and some say “flagship” phone with its state of the art HTC Sense user interface (“Sense UI”), the Hero, in MidValley Gardens Hotel.  If you had been following me on Twitter, much of the information will be known to you already.  Please see my tweets for more pictures taken at the event; I attach some additional ones below.

htc-hero-absolute-white-01 htc-hero-urban-brown-01

Here are some takeaway points from the launch, based on information in the press kit, presentations as well as answers to my questions which I posed during the event:

  1. the recommended retail price of the Hero in Malaysia is RM 2,399.  It’s available in white or brown.  The white version has a Teflon coating, presumably to help keep it clean(er).  Both versions will have a fingerprint/smudge resistant screen.  I couldn’t test this claim, as I believe the demo unit I handled came with a screen protector, which naturally had some fingerprints on it, with the Hero being a touchscreen phone!
  2. Celcom will be announcing their own plans and packages for the HTC Hero at a later date.  It’s confirmed coming to Celcom, only the details need to be worked out.  I suspect the plans will be very much similar to the plans on offer for the HTC Magic, the first Android phone in Malaysia.
  3. the Hero, being a non-Google branded device, will not come with the Android market.  Instead, users will download and install applications using an application called SLIDEMe, which comes as a part of the Hero firmware/operating system.  There is an additional application called “mroidstore”, also known as “marketroid” application (which can be downloaded from http://drop.io/mroidstore), which the user can install to download and install additional applications.  I’ve been told there are some “local” applications, but I can’t tell for sure because I don’t have a review unit yet.  The reason for the exclusion of the Android Market is because of licensing issues, HTC assures me that they are currently working on sorting this out, and if and when the Android Market becomes available, a new firmware upgrade/update will be issued to include the Android Market.
  4. I neglected to ask about the availability of the Hero in stores, but you can always call up your favourite PDA/smartphone retailer to check!  Alternatively, you can call the HTC Call Centre, at 03 – 5569 8878 to check!

As you know, I have been playing with the HTC Hero’s ROM/operating system on my old T-Mobile G1 aka HTC Dream, HTC’s first true Android device, for some time now.  The experience was not optimal due to the old hardware on the G1, with the software lagging all the time.  I’m happy to report that based on my very limited time with the Hero, it is fast.  The transition from homescreen to homescreen is quick, applications launch fast, and there were no noticeable lags whatsoever.  I shall have more to report when I receive a review unit (hopefully soon!).

At RM 2,399, I think this warrants serious consideration to people wanting to try out a new platform.  The use of the HTC widgets in the “live” homescreens (ie. the content of the homescreens change whenever you are online) is unparalled in any other smartphone platform.  So is its use of 7 homescreens.  HTC has done a stellar job of hiding the complexities of a mobile operating system from the end user, and should be applauded.  I hope this “more reasonable” pricing beginning with the Hero (the Magic retailed at RM 2,699 when it was first released, leading to below expectation sales, in my opinion) will spill over into HTC’s Windows Mobile (WinMo) devices as well.  We all want to see more affordable devices, and more of them!  And my only major sore point with HTC devices has been somewhat erased with the reasonable pricing of the Hero.

HTC Hero™ from HTC at a glance:

Processor

Qualcomm® MSM7200A™, 528 MHz

Operating system

Android™

Memory

ROM: 512 MB
RAM: 288 MB

Dimensions

112mm (L) x 56.2 (W) x 14.35 mm (T)

Weight

135g (with battery)

Display

3.2-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with 320×480 HVGA resolution

Network

HSPA/WCDMA:

  • 900/2100 MHz
  • Up to 2 Mbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:

  • 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

(Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent.)

Device Control

Trackball with Enter button

GPS

Internal GPS antenna

Connectivity

Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless
Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g

HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
3.5mm audio jack

Camera

5.0 megapixel colour camera with auto focus

Audio supported formats

MP3, AAC(AAC, AAC+, AAC-LC), AMR-NB, WAV, MIDI and Windows Media® Audio 9

Video supported formats

MPEG-4, H.263, H.264 and Windows Media® Video 9

Battery

Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery
Capacity: 1350 mAh
Talk time:

  • Up to 420 minutes for WCDMA
  • Up to 470 minutes for GSM

Standby time:

  • Up to 750 hours for WCDMA
  • Up to 440 hours for GSM

(The above are subject to network and phone usage.)

Expansion Slot

microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)

AC Adapter

Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz
DC output: 5V and 1A

Special features

G-sensor
Digital Compass(3rd party software is needed)

Value Added Applications

HTC Sense™, HTC widget, HTC Scenes, HTC Sync, Google Maps, Microsoft® Exchange synchronization, PDF Viewer, Quick Office, AK Notepad, Stock, Weather, Footprints, Twitter Peep, Smart Dialer, and Teeter game

In the meantime, enjoy the additional pictures I took at the event below.  Please, no insults about the quality of the photography – I have shaky hands, the venue was rather dark and I’m generally three quarters blind, so I can’t frame shots properly!

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