Latest News

Machines has recently confirmed the availability of the Apple iPhone 5S in Malaysia as 31 October 2013, at least for all the Machines stores. To help illustrate this for all the possible buyers, they've created a chart which they will update regularly and which you can see from the Source. The chart on the page has been updated but do let the folks at Machines know if you spot any errors. The most coveted (and likely most expensive) 64GB Gold version is only available at the KLCC and JBTC shops so if you're within that area or are heading there for that purpose on 31 October 2013, be warned about a possible shortage if you get late in line.

Do you remember the modular smartphone concept Phonebloks? Well, it seems that they weren't the only ones working on a similar modular smartphone concept as Motorola have come out with their take on the concept with Project Ara. Built upon the bones of Project Sticky, Motorola say that they have been working on Project Ara for about a year now and have contacted Phonebloks. According to Motorola, they will use input from the Phonebloks community to help improve Project Ara. We were excited when the Phonebloks concept first came out so we're thrilled now that Motorola are picking up the pace with Project Ara. No news on pricing or Malaysia release dates just yet, but we expect this to take at least another 6 or so more months with a possible release date in 2014 (perhaps at CES 2014, Computex 2014 or IFA 2014?). For now, check out the Project Ara pics and refresh your memory with the previous Phonebloks video in this article.

U Mobile is going to offer the Sony Xperia Z1 soon and has already revealed the plans available for Sony's current flagship smartphone. While the official retail price is RM2399, the U Mobile plans will allow you to get the smartphone from RM1188 under one of the Ultimate Device postpaid plans. The plans are all set for under 24 months contracts but for more details check out the table and links in this article.

Tim Cook, current CEO of Apple was recently quoted as saying that there are:

"great new products in areas where [Apple does] not participate today".

While he went on to say nothing really concrete, many are taking this as a sign that Apple may soon launch a new product category in 2014, especially since he referred to products coming "across 2014". With Apple already having computers, desktops, notebooks, tablets and smartphones, a new product category could very likely be the upcoming Apple iWatch smartwatch. So far there are little to no tech specs or features regarding the iWatch with many expecting it to come in late 2014. While they don't confirm anything, Tim Cook's comments could indicate that we'll be seeing an Apple iWatch (this could still be an Apple TV though) sooner than that.

The HTC One Max phablet is currently one of the few smartphones with a fingerprint scanner. However, unlike the Touch ID fingerprint scanner from Apple, the fingerprint scanner on the backside of the HTC One Max phablet requires you to swipe your finger, which is both inaccurate as well as difficult to do from the back. Granted, HTC looks to have offered some extra functionality by calling up apps based on differently swiped fingers but the feature is rather difficult to use for both of the reasons mentioned above. In addition to the hardware issues, there is very little software integration that may actually require or use the HTC One Max phablet's fingerprint scanner as you still have to enter passcodes to buy apps (or anything else for that matter). For smartphones that already have the swipe type fingerprint scanner, this may be too late to change, but it shouldn't be too difficult to offer a bit more integration with the software. As it is, fingerprint scanners are pretty much unused features for now, even in the Apple iPhone 5S, but this may change soon as software integration picks up.

It appears that the 2nd Nokia Lumia with a metal chassis may appear as the Nokia Lumia 929. Spotted recently in a video (which has since been taken down by Youtube), the video shows off a number of very tempting tech specs and features which include a 5-inch 1080p display along with a 20MP PureView camera. The Lumia 929 is expected to replace the Lumia 928 for Verizon, which could make it a Verizon-only model. No news on pricing or Malaysia release dates, but we'll keep you updated as to any new details so stay tuned.

The LG G Flex curved screen smartphone has been officially announced. It will be released in South Korea starting from November 2013 with so far no news on any international or even Malaysia release dates. One of the first curved smartphones in the world using "flexible display" technology from LG, the LG G Flex has some rather midrange to high-end tech specs which include:

• quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 32GB storage + microSD
• 6-inch OLED display (1280 x 720)
• 13MP rear camera
• Supports LTE-A + NFC + rear volume buttons
• 160.5 x 81.6 x 7.9mm | 177g
• 3500 mAh battery
• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean

Samsung may soon come out with their own pair of smartglasses as they were recently found registering a new design patent for a pair. While it doesn't seems to have a name apart from being called "sports glasses" the patent seems to follow the general Google Glass design with a crystal display overlaying a sort of visor. This would probably not fit most prescription sunglasses but they would go well with most sports activities. Other tech specs and features include integrated earphones, a hands-free headset for answering calls, the ability to display notifications and a now standard pairing through a nearby smartphone. The glasses will connect through micro USB which sounds much better than Samsung's other wearable device but we hope there is at least WiFi this time. No news on Malaysia release dates or pricing but we will keep you posted on this.

A number of industry analysts have voiced opinions that Apple may soon be coming out with a tablet with power to handle high-performance tasks. According to them, this tablet could be called the Apple iPad Pro and would focus on word processing, spreadsheets and presentations (which we feel can already be done with the right apps). Furthermore, they say that the recent announcement of the Apple iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display leaves room for a 'Pro' model to exist. Many of them think that there is a huge market for such a tablet and we'd have to agree with them, but probably not for the uses they've described. There exists a huge market of engineers, designers, programmers and other higher-end users who bemoan the fact that there are currently no tablets which can support their needs. These analysts go on to predict that the Apple iPad Pro may go for a 13-inch screen utilizing the 64-bit A7 processor. Others expect Apple to come out with a touchscreen notebook that could fold into a tablet while weighing under 2lbs much like many of the other tablet convertibles out there. No Malaysia release dates or pricing details were available but with all rumours and opinions do take this with a pinch of salt.

Using a touchscreen device outdoor under direct Sunlight often results in a completely blank screen. While you can raise the brightness, it isn't the best of solutions as this will sap battery life very quickly. Nokia's solution for it's Lumia 1520 phablet is to use Assertive Display technology from Apical. This improves visibility under direct sunlight significantly by adjusting the colour and contrast ratio of each pixel based on the surrounding light. This active display tweaking is done quite smoothly, so much so that you'll hardly notice anything going on. Nokia have compared the Lumia 1520 Assertive Display technology with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 in the video in this article.