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The new BlackBerry Leap touchscreen smartphone is now available in Malaysia. This comes courtesy of 11street.my who are offering the smartphone on pre-order at RM1089. It will also come with a number of freebies which include an RM150 11street.my shopping coupon for every confirmed pre-order purchase and a free leather pocket worth RM95 and BlackBerry cap for the first 100 pre-order buyers. The next 100 only get the BlackBerry cap. Shipping starts from 19 May 2015 with other retailers offering the BlackBerry Leap from 20 May 2015. The BlackBerry Leap brings 4G LTE connectivity, a 5-inch edge-to-edge HD display and BlackBerry's secure BlackBerry 10.3.1 OS platform for users who want a smartphone that is more secure. Here's what 11street and BlackBerry had to say about it:

“As online shopping is fast becoming a part of everyday life for Malaysians, we are well aware that many business executives and professionals are looking for a user-friendly, secure mobile device, which allows them to shop online at anytime, anywhere – all while safeguarding the privacy of their personal data. Partnering with BlackBerry here in Malaysia to offer consumers a mobile device equipped with high security features underscores our commitment to providing customers a safer online shopping experience.” Hoseok Kim, CEO, 11street

“We are excited to be working with 11Street and our other partners to bring BlackBerry Leap to Malaysia. It is a smartphone we believe will resonate well with our Malaysian customers. The latest addition to our BlackBerry 10 portfolio was built specifically for professionals who see their smartphone as a powerful and durable productivity tool, which also safeguards sensitive communications at all times.” Cameron Vernest, Managing Director for Malaysia at BlackBerry.

There are still not that many apps for the Apple Watch but Hong Leong Bank Berhad have just announced the extension of their Hong Leong Connect mobile banking app for the Apple Watch. While Malaysian users may have to wait a while for the official release here, those that have gotten their hands on Apple Watch can quickly install the Hong Leong connect app for Apple Watch. As the first bank in Malaysia to do so, the app allows Hong Leong Connect mobile banking customers to view balances of their Savings, Current and Credit Card accounts along with receive TAC notifications. Other features are coming soon. Here's what Hong Leong Bank Berhad had to say about it:

“It came to our attention that some of our customers were already wearing the Apple Watch even though it is not yet available here, and we wanted to ensure that they would be the first customers in Malaysia to enjoy the convenience of Hong Leong Connect from their wrist.” Galvin Yeo, General Manager for Digital Innovation & Transactional Banking, Hong Leong Bank Berhad.

“Technology adoption is evolving and we take it very seriously. We believe that this digital offering will provide Hong Leong customers with the next level of convenience.” Tan Kong Khoon, Group Managing Director/CEO, Hong Leong Bank Berhad.

Project Inspire recently made a call for Malaysian youth to submit ideas for their Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World campaign. The project offers a US$25000 (RM89000) Grand Prize and US$10000 (RM35000) Runner-Up Prize for youths to make their ideas a reality. For this year, Project Inspire 2015 will take on the theme of ‘Technology or Design for Economic Empowerment’. The project is open to 18 - 35 year olds with applicants required to submit a five-minute video detailing how the US$25000 grant could be used to improve the lives of women and/or girls with focus on how design and technology can be used to empower women economically. Those interested in applying should check out the Project Inspire site. The closing date is 1 July 2015 and 20 semi-finalists will be chosen initially. Project Inspire is a joint initiative from MasterCard and the Singapore Committee for UN Women. It is also supported by INSEAD: The Business School for the World, Bain & Company, Hilton WorldWide and Top3 Media.

The upcoming ASUS ZenFone 2 launch in Malaysia on 9 May 2015 at KL Live may well be as incredible as ASUS says it will be. While registration has been closed to 1500 lucky ZenFans, the first 100 who queue up early for the 11.00am start will win brand new ASUS ZenPower powerbanks for free. Those looking to buy the 64-bit Intel Atom powered ASUS ZenFone 2 can also get it on the same day with numerous lucky draws and activities planned for the event. In addition, each activity has awesome prizes and giveaways which include what appears to be an ASUS ZenWatch or ASUS VivoWatch, ASUS laptop and ASUS ZenFone smartphones. Cute ZenPillows will also be given away along with many other products. The recent regional launch in Indonesia saw many other accessories being sold such as the 2-colour Fusion backplates, Illusion patterned backplates, flip covers, ASUS ZenFlash, ASUS LolliFlash and ASUS ZenEar headsets. With just 2 days away from the #IncredibleZenDay stay tuned for further developments as we'll be on hand covering the action.

Microsoft Malaysia recently and officially launched their new Microsoft Surface 3 tablet. While it is the thinnest and lightest Surface tablet to date, it is also the most affordable, starting at RM1989 for the version with 2GB RAM and 64GB storage while the version with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage retails for RM2389. Designed as the tablet that can work like a laptop, the Surface 3 tablet will be available in Malaysia from 9 May 2015 at authorized retailers like Aone Plus Supplies & Services, Harvey Norman, All IT Hypermarket, PC Image Sdn Bhd, Senheng Electric, senQ Digital Station, SNS Network, Thunder Match Technology, Viewnet Computer System, Hello Station at Suria KLCC, and Style Vision. Stand out tech specs and features include a 10.8-inch ClearType HD multi-touch display, Surface Pen stylus, Dolby Audio-enhanced sound and built-in three-position kickstand. The durable magnesium case only weighs 622g and it comes with the full Windows 8.1 experience with free upgrade to Windows 10 and one-year subscription to Microsoft Office 365 personal. Here's what Microsoft had to say about it:

“When we first envisioned Surface years ago, we challenged ourselves with an ambitious goal: to build a perfect product, a tablet that can replace your laptop. It wasn’t something we would achieve overnight and we couldn’t do it alone. So we went on that journey with our customers – listening and learning – and that desire to build something that people will love is what drives us. We are extremely thrilled with the enthusiastic response from Malaysians when we began our Surface journey in Malaysia – beginning with Surface RT and Pro in 2013, which continued with Surface 2 and our big hit release Surface Pro 3 last year. The feedback we have been receiving consistently shows us that when people try Surface, they love it. So our next challenge became how we get Surface into more people’s hands – and the result is Surface 3. Surface 3 is the best of a tablet yet works like a laptop – offering productivity and design people love about Surface Pro 3 in a thinner, lighter, more affordable package.” Rukmani Subramanian, Chief Marketing and Operations Officer, Microsoft Malaysia. 

While it was announced earlier alongside the Microsoft Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL, the Microsoft Lumia 430 Dual SIM smartphone will be available for users in Malaysia at a super affordable price of RM319 starting from 8 May 2015. As a refresher, tech specs and features of the Lumia 430 Dual SIM include a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor, 8GB storage + up to 128GB microSD + free 30GB OneDrive, 4-inch WVGA display, 2MP rear camera, VGA front camera and 1500 mAh battery. Measuring in at 120.5 x 63.2 x 10.6mm and 127.9g the Lumia 430 Dual SIM offers a tough but curvy polycarbonate casing in black and bright orange. Here's what Microsoft Mobile Devices had to say about it:

“The Lumia 430 is our latest introduction to the Malaysian market which brings Windows Phone experiences to a new level, and at an even lower price point, making it possible for more people to own a Windows Phone. Lumia 430 made us look for new ways to drive technological innovation by keeping the cost low and delivering greater value with the latest Windows Phone experiences like Live Tiles and Action Center. It will also come with Office, Skype and OneDrive built-in, and will be upgradable to Windows 10.” Bruce Howe, General Manager, Microsoft Mobile Devices Sales for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei

Intel Corporation recently announced their new Intel Xeon E7-8800/4800 v3 range for server side super computer clusters and private clouds. Designed to deliver accelerated business insight through real-time analytics (being able to process big data in an instant) the new Intel Xeon E7-8800/4800 v3 range delivers up to 6x better business processing application performance for in-memory transactional workloads. It is further optimized with new Intel Transactional Synchronization Extensions. In terms of tech specs alone the Intel Xeon E7-8800/4800 v3 feature up to 18 cores which is a 20 percent increase from it's predecessor for up to 70 percent more decision support analytic sessions per hour. The new processor range offer new options in terms of scalability with support for up to 32 sockets, 12TB of DDR3 or DDR4 memory and 12 processor models so you can choose the right Intel Xeon E7 v3 for your computational needs at will. Pricing begins from $1224 (RM4368) to $7175 (RM25610) per 1000 units with Intel Xeon E7 v3 powered products coming soon. Here's what Intel had to say about the new range, but you can also check out more at the Intel site:

“In the digital services economy, success or failure can depend on how quickly businesses act on insight from vast stores of data. The Intel Xeon processor E7 v3 family is the engine for accelerating business intelligence through real-time analytics, enabling businesses to improve customer satisfaction through more personalized products and services, generate new revenue streams and enhance operational efficiency.” Diane Bryant, senior vice president and general manager of the Data Center Group at Intel

Huawei Malaysia recently sent out the invites for the upcoming Huawei P8 smartphone launch for the South Pacific region. Set for after early June 2015, this includes Malaysia so we should see Huawei's latest flagship smartphone here sometime in June 2015 or afterwards. Features for the Huawei P8 include it's new world's first RGBW camera sensor which allows for better low-light performance and light painting. The camera also comes with optical image stabilization. Other new features include an improved Director's mode and much more but the main tech specs include the latest 64-bit 2.0GHz octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 930 processor and Android 5.0 with EMUI 3.1. Maintaining the same thin profile, the P8 goes for a rounded metal frame with chamfered edges and multi-layer back. So far there are no specific Malaysia pricing details yet but the standard version is priced at €499 (RM1975) while the premium version with 64GB storage goes for €599 (RM2371). Check out the full tech specs and features list below:

• 64-bit 2.0GHz octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 930 processor
• 3GB RAM
• 16GB storage
• 5.2-inch display (full HD, 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution)
• 13MP rear camera (OIS, RGBW sensor, DSLR-level Image Signal Processor, F2.0, dual color temperature flash) + 8MP front camera
• supports dual SIM 4G LTE, GPS, Bluetooth 4.1+LE, WiFi b/g/n
• features wind-suppression anti-noise mic, dual antenna design
• 2680 mAh battery
• 144.9 x 72.1 x 6.4mm | 144g
• Android 5.0 Lollipop + EMUI 3.1 

Recently passing China's TENAA, the vivo X5Pro has various features and tech specs which have already been confirmed. This includes a rounded metal frame design with 2.5D curved glass on the front and back. Features that have been confirmed now include a retinal scanner and a 32MP shot using the front camera. Tech specs include a Snapdragon 615 processor, 3GB RAM, 6-inch display, 3200 - 3500 mAh battery. The retinal scanner appears to scan the iris to unlock the device but there is no news yet on how secure or how fast it might be able to do so. Hopefully the vivo X5 Pro arrives soon in Malaysia but we still have no specific Malaysia release dates or pricing details just yet.

China's TENAA has recently received a new posting with the HTC One M9ew. Like the HTC One E8, the One M9ew will have a plastic backside but retain the same dual front speaker design and other M9 tech specs and features. These include a 5.2-inch display with 1440 x 2560 pixel resolution and 3GB RAM alongside a 20MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash, 4MP UltraPixel front camera and fingerprint scanner. It will offer a microSD slot though but there is no news yet on any Malaysia release dates or pricing details. We should find out soon enough so stay tuned for that and further developments.