Nxt1

g a d g e t • g e a r • t e c h n o l o g y GAD G E T • G E A R • T E C H N O LO GY

Jan / FEB 2016

Hip little shooter

Canon's EOS M10 is perfect for urbanites

PHABLETS! Go big in

2016 The best headphone in the world

Kingsman media pte ltd

Sony's revolutionary PlayStation VR Tag Heuer gets Connected

Canon PowerShot G7 X camera!

ARCHT ONE speakers!

Lenovo VIBE S1 smartphones!

NXT Luxury Huracán goes Topless NXT GURU Premium headphones for beginners NXT Test Pretty compact Mirrorless cameras NXT Prime The Best Gadgets Now Available!

JAN/FEB2016 KINGSMAN MEDIA

JAN / FEB 2016

WIN

S$7.00

g a d g e t • g e a r • t e c h n o l o g y GA D G E T • G E A R • T E C H NO LO GY

Jan / FEB 2016

Hip little shooter

Canon's EOS M10 is perfect for urbanites

PHABLETS! Go big in

2016 The best headphone in the world

Kingsman media pte ltd

Sony's revolutionary PlayStation VR Tag Heuer gets Connected

Canon PowerShot G7 X camera!

ARCHT ONE speakers!

Lenovo VIBE S1 smartphones!

NXT Luxury Huracán goes Topless NXT GURU Premium headphones for beginners NXT Test Pretty compact Mirrorless cameras NXT Prime The Best Gadgets Now Available!

JAN/FEB2016 KINGSMAN MEDIA

JAN / FEB 2016

WIN

S$7.00

E D I T O R ‘S

N O T E

What’s NXT? W elcome to the inaugural issue of Singapore’s newest consumer lifestyle magazine, NXT. The goal of NXT is to answer that pesky question “What’s the next phone/camera/PC/ tablet/gadget/thingy I should buy” that’s been keeping you up at night! Along the way we’re going to have a lot of fun trying out new tech and gear, and delving a little deeper into how our favourite gadgets make our lives better and brighter.

When we began planning the first issue of NXT our team did a lot of crystal ball gazing regarding the big trends of 2016, and that’s why we settled on our cover feature - phablet devices with screens 5.5-inches or more.

Phablets have of course been around for a couple of years, but it’s only in the latter half of 2015 that they really started to come into their own, especially with new designs like the Huawei Mate S and the Samsung Note5 that combine big screens, processing power and excellent build quality. In 2016 we reckon the phablet will start to dominate Singapore’s mobile market, especially as 4G/LTE data costs are predicted to fall with a new telco potentially entering the market. Our other hot tip is virtual

reality headsets like Samsung’s Gear VR and Sony’s upcoming PlayStation VR. We managed to get a good long look at the pre-production PlayStation VR headset during GameStartAsia 2015 and we reckon it’s currently leading the way, which is why we declared the Sony PlayStation VR our very first NXT Gear #1.

NXT isn’t all about tech gadgets though.

Sprinkled throughout this 164 page magazine are a host of gear that we hope you’ll find interesting, from cool watches to high-end headphones. In fact, if you intend to enjoy better audio by switching to premium headphones, our NXT Guru has come up with a quick but highly comprehensive guide to acquiring premium ear-cans, whether you’re looking for high-end audiophile headphones or noisecancelling headsets.

So this is NXT issue One, chock full of yummy gadgets, sweet gear and some awesome technology. We hope you enjoy reading our work and we’ll catch up with you again in issue Two, where we’re going to have some ultimate tech luxury gear to show you!

Shawn Chung Editor-in-chief | NXT Magazine

PUBLISHER Lawrence Leong CHIEF EDITOR Shawn Chung CONTRIBUTING CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jeslyn Sim

Kingsman Media Pte Ltd

261 Waterloo Street, #03-32 Waterloo Centre, Singapore 180261 www.kingsmanmedia.com Email: info.nxt@kingsmedia.com Tel: 65 65837241

CIRCULATION & PRODUCTION SENIOR MANAGER P.Siva Subscriptions info.nxt@kingsmanmedia.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Justin Choo

MANAGEMENT MANAGING DIRECTOR Er Yen Lam

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Daniel Loo, James Tan, Win Lee

HEAD OF OPERATION P.Pravin

DESIGNER Vivian Ong

SENIOR MANAGER ADMIN & FINANCE Yvonne Lim

Photographer Raymond Toh, Vineyard Production

Editor’s Choice

EXCLUSIVE

GROUP TEST WINNER

NXT Magazine is published in Singapore @ Kingsman Media Pte Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.

This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, whole or in part, without the written permission of the Publisher.

Liability: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this magazine, the Publisher cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information herein, or any consequences arising from it. In the case of all product reviews, judgments have been made in the context of the product tested, based on Singapore prices at the time of review, which are subject to fluctuation and only applicable to the Singapore market.

FASHION STYLIST Verna Tan ADVERTISING ACCOUNT DIRECTOR Candice Woo

NXT Magazine MCI (P) 103/11/2015 is published Bi-Monthly By Kingsman Media Pte Ltd Printed By Image Printer Pte Ltd Distributed By Singapore Press Holdings Limited

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C O N T E N T S In this issue

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Sony brings virtual reality to the PS4 28 Our lovely NXT Angel tries out Canon’s chic EOS M10 camera 72 SevenFriday’s Industrial Revolution of watches 76 Sennheiser’s ultimate headphones 96 Go Big! Find out why Phablets rule in 2016!

137 Mirrorless, mirrorless, who’s the best mirrorless camera of them all?

144 The NXT GURU’s guide to choosing your first premium headphones.

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C O N T E N T S

NXT NEWS 10 NXT GEAR Check out our pick of five of the coolest gear on the planet, kicking off with Sony’s upcoming virtual reality headset.

There’s also an eScooter on fat wheels, an artillery shell-shaped wireless speakers and a new Lexus concept sedan. Plus a Batman-themed watch from Romain Jerome!

36 Gaming Next Round, Fight! Streetfighter 5 arrives 46 Movies Lights, cameras, mayhem! The Deadpool movie is finally out!

68 Curvy TVs Big screen TVs get curvy and smarter at the same time!

72 NXT Watch Industrial themed watches from SevenFriday and Bomberg’s awesome Skull Badass

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NXT LUXURY Posh new gear that you’ve always dreamed of owning, like the ghostly watch from Jacob & Co, Leica’s awesome new mirrorless camera, the world’s ultimate home speakers from Bang & Olufsen and a topless Lamborghini sportster! Oh, plus the most luxurious Android phone ever!

15 NXT TEST 1 We test gadgets so you’ll know what you’re in for before you part with your hard-earned dollar. This issue we’ve got two exclusives - Sennheiser’s new HD630BV headphones and HTC’s affordable One A9. Plus there’s three other super-smartphones, three smartwatches, a TV, cameras and PCs. 66 NXT BIG THING 1 What’s the future of F1 racing?

According to McLaren’s F1 concept car, it’s filled with cutting-edge tech like morphing bodies and virtual reality helmets.

149 NXT PRIME Our top five picks of the best gadgets and gear currently available. From Smartphones to wearables to TVs and Compact Cameras, it’s all in NXT PRIME.

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by JUSTIN CHOO

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PS: This is VR Will Sony’s upcoming PlayStation’s VR system be a real gamechanger?

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ow do you make a futuristic idea that’s ahead of its time a reality? As far as Sony is concerned, turn it into a game. Come next year, virtual reality may well be common vernacular, thanks to the Sony PlayStation VR, previously known as Project Morpheus.

The latest prototype now sports a full HD, 5.7-inch OLED display (960 x 1,080 for each eye) that’s capable of projecting games at a maximum of 120fps with a 100-degrees field of view and sub-18ms latency. It also features 3D audio technology: if you hear something behind you, turn around and you now hear the sound in front of you.

At present, the PlayStation Camera tracks the headset wirelessly, but additional graphics processing power is still needed via an external box that connects both the headset and the PlayStation 4. It seems inelegant, but on the flip side, what PlayStation VR offers is a fuss-free, plug and play experience.

Our time with the system proved it’s no empty talk; the PlayStation VR is surprisingly comfortable. It feels wellbalanced on your head, and you don’t get the sense that you’ll tire from staring at the screen for long periods of time.

While final specifications are still sketchy and understandably so – it has to complement the PlayStation 4 for its entire life cycle – we do have a clearer idea of what to expect. The demos proved that what you need is a different approach as opposed to giving conventional triple A titles an extra topping of VR overkill. And who better than Sony to push this through?

Due Q2 2016 asia.playstation.com

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Putting Together the VR Experience As amazing as the VR headset is, it’s the combination of components that makes the PlayStation VR such an immersive experience. Here’s what you need to enjoy PlayStation VR to its fullest.

by JUSTIN CHOO

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 was designed with Stereoscopic 3D support in mind, and is well equipped to handle the demands of VR. Sony also offloaded some processing to an external box to bump up the frame rate, which is necessary for an authentic VR feel.

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The Games The VR experiences showcased so far aren’t quite complete games, and in some instances they won’t be, but they certainly highlight the effectiveness of the virtual medium.

Here’s our pick: PlayStation Camera More so than PlayStation VR, the PlayStation Camera is the backbone of the entire VR experience as it tracks the movement of all controllers (up to four simultaneously according to Sony), plus the headset.

London Heist Ever since Lock, Stock, somehow every stereotypical British hoodlum annoyingly reminds you of Vinnie Jones.

But you’ll forget that soon enough once the action starts.

Shooting s*** up has never been more fun and instinctive as you race through the streets of London firing off an Uzi while you ride shotgun...

PlayStation Move Motion controller The much-maligned Move controller wasn’t well regarded as gamers found that the gaming experience wasn’t quite awe-inspiring. But coupled with the PlayStation VR, it may well be the keystone to Sony’s free-form VR experience. London Heist demonstrated how much fun you can have with just two Move controllers posing as handguns.

Kitchen No screenshots have been released for this game, and for a good reason. This little horror vignette is designed to highlight VR’s greatest strength – being able to bring you disturbingly close to the action (or terror), no matter how cliched or predictable it may be. The endless YouTube clips of hapless ‘victims’ experiencing Kitchen says it all.

The Deep Like Kitchen, The Deep drops you deep into the environment, but this time, literally. Experience the deep sea in an underwater cage, and is a twist on the classic cliche of being attacked by a shark while in it.

PlayStation DualShock 4 controller While the Move can simulate natural arm movement, there’s no substitute for the gamepad for one important aspect of control: walking. Furthermore, the Playstation Camera can track the movement of your controller as well – now you know what that blue light on the controller is for!

The Playroom In the name of science and tech, it’s ok to be juvenile in the Playroom. It also showcases one possibility of how the system can support multiple players: the player with the headset assumes the role of a monster as other players avoid the debris he or she throws using their DualShock 4 controllers.

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by Shawn Chung

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A Lexus vision of the future

The Lexus LF-FC concept sedan offers an insight into the luxury carmaker’s upcoming flagship sedan

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exus took the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show by storm with the unveiling of the brand’s LF-FC concept car. Now, if you are a jaded motoring fan, you’ll know that car manufacturers often unveil wild concept ideas to wow the crowds that more often than not ends up in the recycling bin when the show ends, but the bold LF-FC, according to Lexus International President Tokuo Fukuichi, “Expresses our progressive luxury and high-tech vision of a not so distant future.”

A hint of where Lexus aims to be in the near future can be seen by the aggressive Lexus sports sedans of recent vintage, heralding a move

towards the spirit of a grand tourer sedan at home on the open highway or a snaking alpine road. The LF-FC brings this spirit one step closer with its ‘aggressively elegant’ design with an evolved Lexus signature front grille styling and floating ‘L-shaped’ daytime running lights.

The LF-FC also features an advanced man-machine interface based on hand gestures to control the multimedia system and ventilation, while at the heart of the car beats a high-output fuel cell power system with all-wheel drive. And of course, what vision of a future car doesn’t include self-driving capabilities?

www.lexus.com

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The Batwatch from space

by Shawn Chung

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he much anticipated Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movie may still be a couple of months away, but that’s not stopping Bat-fans like Swiss luxury watchmaker Romain Jerome from launching an officially sanctioned commemorative Batman timepiece.

Based on the watchmaker’s unique Spacecraft design with its unprecedented self-winding mechanical movement that combines four different complications: lateral, linear, jumping and retrograde, the titanium crafted Spacecraft: Batman Limited Edition has an ultra stealthy and edgy dark night look resembling the Batmobile, with the iconic Bat-Signal engraved on the facet. Only 75 will be made, so get yours now.

S$42,900 www.thehourglass.com

N EWS

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Kickstarting Wireless Audio

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he ARCHT One is quite a vision, a curvy wireless speaker system that redefines surround sound. That’s because its design (which resembles an artillery shell) actually contains three drivers - a downward facing bass at the bottom and a full range tweeter and a subwoofer. Each speaker bounces sound waves off their own patented circular Sound Array disc to give true omnidirectional sound. WiFi, Bluetooth and USB enabled, the ARCHT One is highly versatile and up to six can be connected via AirPlay, so they can function as stereo sound speakers for movie watching, music streaming in your bedroom, or as a full house speaker system for a party!

by Shawn Chung

S$999 www.archtaudio.com

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A big kick scoot

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by Shawn Chung

kate scooters are all the rage, especially as they are easily folded and carried on the bus or MRT. But if you want to make a real impression, how about the upcoming German made Scrooser Scooter? This is a wild cross between a fatboy bicycle and an electric skate scoot, and is electric impulse powered - which means you basically scoot and glide and the electric motor will give an added boost. Yeah its big and heavy compared to the regular lightweight scoots, but it’s also stable and strong and makes a real statement.

With a few good kicks you can get up to 25kmh on this big boy, and roam up to 45km on one charge. There’s absolutely no controls except for levers for the disc brakes, just hop on and ride.

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TBC, Q1 2016 www.scrooser.com

N EWS

Bluesound redefines multi-room wireless audio

Bluesound’s latest Gen 2 updates an already awesome wireless home audio system

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or the longest time, Sonos was the de facto name in wireless home audio. Then Bluesound came into the picture, and the landscape as we know it today has changed immensely.

Credited as the first multi-room system to support high resolution audio last year, Bluesound has quickly upgraded and expanded its lineup to keep up with the times, even right down to its design.

Bluesound is no upstart: it’s part of the Lenbrook group along with respected audio companies NAD and PSB Speakers, who have garnered

a considerable reputation producing quality products that punch above their weight.

The next generation Bluesound – called Gen 2 – features some key updates that will significantly improve the listening experience, such as additional analog and optical inputs, built-in Bluetooth aptX, a higher-powered USB port to support higher capacity hard drives, better ethernet and Wi-Fi speeds, as well as a ARM 9 processor for a speedier response and reduced power consumption. www.bluesound.com

Pulse 2 Arguably their signature, the Pulse 2 packs 80W of room-filling power despite its size, much like its smaller sibling. As with the Mini, it owes much to its acoustic design, and more importantly, the clever and efficient digital amplification design. The Pulse 2 also sports a more powerful 35-bit DAC for more resolving power.

by Justin Choo

$TBC

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Node 2 As the name suggests, Node 2 can slip into any of your existing stereo or home theatre setups, and adds streaming services and internet radio to your system. Thanks to the improved connectivity options, your playback options are virtually unlimited – smartphone, computer, external hard drive; it does it all.

S$799

Powernode 2 Like the Node 2, but with an amplifier built-in. It uses an ‘audiophile-grade’ HybridDigital amplification to provide dynamic power and high-current delivery despite its compact form, which is great for minimalist setups.

S$1,299

Vault 2 The Vault 2 is a virtual music library of high resolution audio goodness.

The upgraded Vault features a larger 2TB capacity, as well as a built-in CD drive for you to easily rip into your choice of high-resolution formats or bite-sized MP3s. It also acts as the hub for your home setup.

S$1,799

Pulse Mini Compact, but don’t let that fool you: this little wireless speaker pumps out 50W of full-range, high-resolution audio and can easily fill up any room, thanks to the combination of its 4-inch woofer, patented dualacoustic chamber, and its cutting edge digital amplifier and DSP tech.

S$799

Pulse Flex Surprise, surprise: the Pulse Mini isn’t the smallest speaker in the Bluesound line up. That honour goes to the Flex, a truly portable solution that can stream up to 8 hours of music with an optional battery pack. It’s equally at ease on your bookshelf and on your picnic mat.

S$499

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CHOICE

Mini Instant Selfie Snapper

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ujifilm’s Instax series single-handedly revived the instant camera, and they’ve proven highly popular with kids and young ladies. The newest model, the Instax Mini 70, adds a brilliant little feature for shooting selfies with the inclusion of a small mirror to the right of the camera’s lens to make it simple to compose your selfie shot. The company has also included a little bit of its exposure control tech from their digital camera range to ensure that when the automatic flash is activated, your selfies don’t get washed out or the background underexposed.

by Shawn Chung

S$199 www.fujifilm.com.sg

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An all-in-one resurgence The latest All-in-one desktops are big screen performers with cool new features.

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hey used to be derided by serious PC users for placing convenience over performance, but the latest generation of All-in-One computers shows that these big boys are back in a big big way, sporting large monitors and tons of processing power.

Lenovo Ideacentre AIO 700 You’ll have a real blast with the Lenovo Ideacentre AIO 700. It not only packs the latest Intel Core i7 processors and a brilliant 27-inch 4K/UHD multi-touch screen, but has JBL stereo speakers integrated to provide awesome sound.

An additional plus is that the graphics card is easily removable, making upgrading a breeze.

by shawn chung

S$2,599 www.lenovo.com/sg

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Apple 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display With the latest upgrade Apple has finally added a Retina 5K display the the 27-inch iMac model, which Apple claims is the highest resolution on a current AIO. And to support all that lovely screen real-estate, the new iMac gets the latest 6th gen Intel processors, up to 2TB of storage with a Fusion Drive and 8GB of RAM!

from S$2,688 www.apple.com.sg

HP Envy Curved All-in-One We were gobstruck at first sight of the HP Envy Curved All-in-One PC and you would be too, thanks to its curving 34-inch QWHD screen, and while that isn’t 4K resolution it’s still pretty decent and perfect for those who usually use multiple LCD monitors for work and play. Speaking of play, the Curved has a lot of configurable options, from choice of Skylake processors to graphics cards and storage options, plus there’s six Bang & Oulfsen tuned speakers integrated into the AIO for outstanding audio.

from S$3,499 www.hp.com.sg

Asus 23.8-inch Zen AiO Pro Z240IC The Asus 23.8-inch Zen AiO Pro Z240IC might have the smallest screen amongst the most recently launched AIOs, but it’s also a sleek all-aluminium design. The Zen AiO Pro comes with a 1080p multi-touch screen and the latest components including Intel Skylake processor as well as a six-speaker stereo speaker system with three speakers embedded on either side of the monitor.

from S$1,798 www.asus.com/sg

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iCON

by shawn chung

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hat happens when three giants from different industries get together to make a watch? How about the Tag Heuer Connected Watch?

It’s a watch designed and produced by legendary Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer in collaboration with Intel and Google. Yes, this Swiss-made Android Wear smartwatch has Intel’s latest Atom processor inside, and better yet, they’ve announced the price at around to USD$1500. That’s actually not anywhere near as expensive as a gold-plated Apple Watch or one of Tag Heuer’s own Carrera mechanical watches which were the design inspiration for the Connected Watch.

In fact, apart from the Carrera DNA evident in the design of the 46mm titanium watch case and bezel, the Connected watch comes with three digital watch faces that come from Tag Heuer’s Carrera collection as well, with additional information elegantly displayed in small counters located at 12, 5 and 9 o’clock. So if you notice you’ve received an email, you can touch the counter to launch the app in fullscreen mode. The touchscreen, by the way, is sapphire crystal, while there’s WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, a microphone for Google Voice commands, 4GB storage for Apps and media files plus an all day battery life, and if you’re bored of the textured black strap you can separately purchase coloured straps in red, blue, white, orange, green and yellow.

As an Android Wear smartwatch the Tag Heuer Connected will sync with both iOS and Android devices, and comes with a two year warranty. Tag Heuer is also offering Connected owners a special ‘timeless gift’, for once the warranty period is over, you can visit a Tag Heuer boutique, pay an additional to USD$1500 and exchange your Connected watch for an exclusive mechanical Carrera watch!

TBC Q1 2016 tagheuerconnected.com

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A N G E L

CHANEL LYN with the Canon EOS M10 Our first NXT Angel is a pretty busy girl who’s been juggling a career as a model with her undergraduate studies, and you’ve probably seen images of her as she was a participant in the New Paper New Face 2014. Strangely for the very photogenic Chanel Lyn, she’s never actually owned a digital camera, so it was interesting to see how fast she adapted to Canon’s new EOS M10, a compact little 18-megapixel mirrorless camera with a 180 degree tiltable touch screen and range of funky coloured covers.

Photography: Raymond Toh Photography assistant: Stan Goh Stylist: Verna Tan Assisted by: Nattic Makeup: Ginger Lynette @fac3inc

by shawn chung

using Too Faced cosmetics

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Hair: Keida Lee @ Clover Hair Boutique Assisted by: Joann Loke

NXT Angel wears: ■ Lipsy London bustier dress, Robinsons The Heeren ■ Charm bracelets, Pandora ■ Rings, Thomas Sabo ■ Heels, Pedro

A N G E L

Y es, I’ve never owned a digital camera! I did work as an event model for a camera brand before, so I do know a little about what mirrorless cameras actually do and this one seems pretty interesting! I usually take a lot of pictures with my smartphone, not so much about food by mainly selfies, friends and other people as I do like to take pictures of street scenes and I’ve actually been thinking of getting something that’s simple to use without all that tweaking around and mirrorless so I can swap out the lenses.

So I kinda like this new Canon camera because I can twist the screen all the way up till it’s facing forward to snap selfies, and it’s also just like how a smartphone camera app works - tap the screen where you want the camera to focus and it’ll snap a pic, excellent! It’s pretty light even with a lenses attached and a battery in it, and there’s this cool NFC pairing that let me use my phone to remote control it.

I’ve heard that you can get cases for this camera which look really cute to give it some personality, and I’d use it for events because I attend quite a few events and social gatherings, and probably travel. I like the size and the fact you can change the lenses so it’s pretty versatile.

- Chanel Lyn

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A N N EW G S E L

Canon’s perfect little answer for urbanites

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hile we chose Canon’s new EOS M10 mirrorless camera for our first NXT Angel feature because its a chic little point-and-shooter, it’s also worth noting that it’s quite a competent little camera in its own right with an intuitive user interface for the 3-inch tiltable touchscreen, When the screen is flipped up 180 degrees, a selfie mode activates to enable easy adjustments to the brightness, background and skin tone for the best selfies.

Image processing power comes from a Canon DIGIC 6 chip, which when paired to the EOS M10’s 18-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor ensures DSLR quality photography, especially with the camera’s hybrid autofocus system and high ISO speed performance of 100-12800. With built-in WiFi and NFC connectability, pairing to a smart device is easy, and users can use Canon’s Connect app to act as a remote.

The Canon EOS M10 comes in either black or white, with a selection of jackets such as Navy, Pink, Aqua and Border.

Product Specifications Image sensor 18.0 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor Imaging processor DIGIC 6 ISO speed 100-12,800 (expandable to 25,600) Continuous shooting speed 4.6 fps Maximum video quality 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) AF Hybrid CMOS AF II LCD 180 / 45 degrees tilt type touch screen, approx. 1.04 million dots Connectivity Wi-Fi, NFC-enabled Dimensions / Weight 108 x 66.6 x 35.0 mm / 301g from S$649 (kit with EF-M15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM lens) www.canon.com.sg

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Designer Headphones dŚĞ ϴΖƐ ĐŽŵĞ ǁŝƚŚ ďƵŝůƚͲŝŶ ŶŽŝƐĞ ŝƐŽůĂƟ ŶŐ ƚĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐLJ͕ ƐŽŌ ůĞĂƚŚĞƌ ĞĂƌ ƉĂĚƐ ĂŶĚ Ă ĐŽŶƚĞŵƉŽƌĂƌLJ ĂůƵŵŝŶŝƵŵ ůŽŽŬ͕ ĚĞƐŝŐŶĞĚ ƚŽ ƐƚĂŶĚ ŽƵƚ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ŽƚŚĞƌƐ͘

passion for excellence Available from Tangs Orchard and Black Tactical @ Funan

Find out more at

VehoSingapore

veho-world.com

N EWS

Smart power charger You probably have an externally powered USB hub to charge all your devices, but now there’s a hub that doesn’t need a bulky external power adaptor to keep your gear juiced up. Prolink’s new PUH303 USB 3.0 4-Port Smart Charge & Sync Super Speed Hub 5Gbps has a pretty long product name that sums up its capabilities. Connect it to your laptop’s USB 3.0 ports and the PUH303 will draw enough power to handle up to four 2TB external drives! Plus it has a built-in sensor that will match the charging load of any device, be it a smartphone or external drive.

S$39.90 www.prolink2u.com

Stealth alert ring The Omate Smart Ring is a fashionable yet highly discreet cocktail ring that will give you a subtle alert when you receive an important call or message that you simply cannot ignore. Designed by Parisian fashion house Emanuel Ungaro, and crafted in Italy from either gold or silver with a selection of five gemstones: blue topaz; opalite; onyx; sapphire and ruby, the ring syncs with an iOS application that allows users to select a single VIP contact, so that when this important person calls or sends a text message, the ring will subtly vibrate to notify the wearer.

from S$1,000 www.omate.com

Adapt the world with a twist

by Shawn Chung

Here’s a clever little travel adaptor that will make your business trip much simpler. The Twist World Adaptor DUO has four different power outlet configurations that you can access with a twist, and apart from the usual universal outlet has two USB charging stations so you can charge up to three mobile devices simultaneously. The Twist+ World Adaptor Duo adds a connector specifically for Apple Macbook power adaptors.

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S$65 & S$69 oneadaptr.com

N EWS

Hello again Moto 360 We have the Moto 360 to thank for creating the current trend of round-dial smartwatches that look like regular watches. The second generation Moto 360 continues the trend with a more refined design that features edge-to-edge glass, a super thin bezel and lugs tailored specifically for gals and guys. Now available in 46mm or 42mm stainless steel cases in Silver, Black and Rose Gold, this Android Wear smartwatch has customisable Live Dials and an enhanced Moto Body activity tracker to help you maintain an active and healthy lifestyle.

S$549 46mm Silver case with Cognac Leather band S$499 42mm Rose Gold case with Blush Leather band S$479 42mm Black case with Black Leather band www.lenovo.com/sg

Punch up the bass

by Justin Choo

Fischer Audio is one of those underground names known only to those who are more concerned by sound quality rather than looks. The Omega Series is a concerted effort by them to make something accessible to the masses, with a more invigorating look and a bass- friendly sound signature that’s designed for the energetic beat of modern music. Ace features a 9mm driver for a warm, punchy bass, Spark (pictured right) sports a bright clear sound with emphasis on detail, while Twin gives you the best of both worlds.

Ace: S$68, Spark: S$78, Twin: S$98 omega.fischeraudio.com.sg

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Deadly Serious Gaming It wasn’t too long ago that laptops were considered unsuitable for gaming, but now every manufacturer seems to have one in their portfolio, utilising the latest power-saving goodness of Intel’s new Skylake platform.

What’s the deal with Skylake?

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kylake has many notable improvements over its predecessor, but none more so than processing power and power management.

Recent iterations of Intel processors see the company place greater emphasis on power efficiency, a move that will benefit laptops immensely, as well as steer the company towards the a unified platform for mobile devices. With Skylake, Intel bold claims power savings of up

to 30 percent more battery life – although real world use will vary, and in the context of gaming laptops, perhaps not that big of a perk, but it should be enough for laptop shoppers to look out for Skylake-equipped devices. Gamers will also be pleased to know that the unlocked Skylake chip lends itself well to overclocking, something that has somewhat been left on the wayside for quite some time.

by Justin Choo

HP Star Wars Special Edition Notebook

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Living on fumes after catching The Force Awakens? HP’s Star Wars Special Edition notebook will go some way in easing things. This memorable collectible notebook sports a distressed look complete with Galactic empire colours, scripts and motifs. It also features customised themes and galleries and archives spanning the franchise’s long history.

From S$1,299 www.hp.com/sg

G AM E

AFTERSHOCK Titan 2016 Local PC company AFTERSHOCK recently unleashed a desktop replacement notebook with full desktop PC hardware! The Titan 2016 comes with a full Z107 motherboard, NVIDIA 980 GTX GPU and Skylake i7 desktop processors, 17-inch Full HD display and up to 4TB storage. You can even customise the graphics and colour of this monster gaming notebook.

From S$3,875 www.aftershockpc.com

Asus ROG GX700 Asus’ latest flagship is a veritable eye-catching behemoth.

Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, that dock is part of the ensemble. Asus’ Republic of Gamers (ROG) GX700 is so powerful, it needs a water-cooling module to help dissipate the heat it generates. The premise is that the GX700 is a monster already without the water cooling module, but plug it in, and the cooling setup lets you overclock its components into ludicrous speeds. Not many details have been confirmed, although Computerbase.de did determine that a demonstration unit was sporting an Intel Core i7-6820HK processor with 64GB of RAM, and a hitherto unknown, high performance graphics card from Nvidia. Whether or not this specification has been finalised, unfortunately no one knows.

$TBC www.asus.com/sg

Acer Predator 17 Acer’s new Predator 17 sports what has now become the quintessential gaming laptop design – matte black with red trim – and the tried and tested route works well here. It’s a sleek looking machine that sports the latest quad core processors, Nvidia GTX 980M graphics and up 64GB memory. It’s exciting in an un-exciting way, and with Acer’s penchant for competitive pricing, gamers will do well to keep a lookout for the Predator if it does reach our shores.

$TBC www.acer.com.sg

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G AM E

Street Fighter V

S

treet Fighter is THE iconic side-scrolling martial arts fighting game, and many of us have spent hours over the last two decades playing the various arcade and console versions, so it comes as no surprise that Street Fighter V, launching on 16th February, will be the most hyped up game for the first quarter of this year.

But Street Fighter V promises to be more than a buttonmashing brawler, Capcom has taken this game online in a big way, with the promise of sustained DLC content as well as micro-transactions for ‘Battle Costumes’ and other exclusives.

Players will now be able to earn ‘Fight Money’ that can be used for upgrades, while the sixteen launch characters, will be joined by six new downloadable characters throughout 2016 and more the following year. The launch characters include fan favourites like Cammy, Chun-Li, Ryo, Zangrief and Dhalsim, with at least three new characters such as Laura, a Brazilian amazon who’s fighting style is similar to Blanka, and Rashid, a Middle Eastern fighter with wind powers.

The fighting system has also seen a refresh, with a new “V-Gauge” that powers up for special skills, unique abilities and counter moves.

by Shawn Chung

Due 16 February PS4 & PC streetfighter.com

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G AM E

Just Cause 3

F

or sheer unadulterated mayhem you just can’t beat the Just Cause franchise, which lets you drive, pilot, shoot and destroy practically anything on a very substantial map! Just Cause 3 takes gamers on yet another high-octane island adventure as Rico Rodriguez returns to his homeland of Medici, a lovely Mediterranean island about 100km2 in size to stop the evil plans of dictator General Di Ravello.

Plot aside, this is your excuse to go on a justifiable rampage with this open world adventure game: hijacking anything from tanks to cargo jets and shooting or blowing up anything that gets in your way. The gameplay graphics are stupendous, with 4K resolution available for PC users and 1080P for the PS4 (Xbox One players have to make do with 900p), while Rico’s main tools - an infinite parachute and grappling hook, are significantly enhanced (you can now, for example, grapple a helicopter to a petrol tanker and watch the explosive results) and as a bonus he now also has infinite C4 to blow things up and a snazzy wingsuit that lets you zip around like a bat outta hell.

PS4, XBOX, PC justcause.com

Xcom 2

T

he Xcom franchise’s recent revival has been a gift for fans of tactical turn based strategy games and Xcom 2 seems to have plenty of promise in keeping the series going. Set twenty years after the events in the rebooted Xcom: Enemy Unknown game, the main character awakens from a twenty year stasis to find the world is now run by the aliens via the ADVENT faction. With a stolen ship as a mobile base and limited troops and resources, players will have to start with a small squad of resistance fighters and conduct missions to counter the enemy and gather resources.

Due 6th Feburary PC, OSX, Linux xcom.com

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G AM E

PlayStation VR stars at GameStart Asia 2015

Photos SCEHK Singapore, No Average Joe, Chester Chen

I

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f you didn’t get a chance to visit GameStart Asia you missed a rare opportunity to try out Sony’s PlayStation VR system! Yes, Sony Computer Entertainment was in full force with a huge booth that enabled visitors to try the PlayStation VR headset and games for the first time, as well as Star Wars: Battlefront and the Street Fighter V beta.

Over 17,000 visitors attended the gaming convention, which included the first Star Wars Battle Pod to appear in Singapore (thanks to Geek Culture), while the booths of Blizzard, Bandai Namco and Capcom were also highly popular. eSports fanatics were treated to a number of SEA level tournaments including the SEA Starcraft 2 Legacy of the Void Beta Anniversary Tournament Grand Finals, Street Fighter Capcom Pro Tour Asia Finals and the FIFA Xtr3me3 Champions Cup 2015 Cosplayers were out in force with international guests such as Johnny (Junker’s Cosplay) from the US, Tuna from Korea and Karin (Acanthastar Cosplay) also from the US.

269g

2hrs

20,000

Stereo 0.7 W x 2

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Swedish fashion speakers Known for their colourful collection of fashionable earphones, Swedish lifestyle audio brand Happy Plugs have brought their trendy Sound Piece and Sound Piece Mini wireless speakers to Singapore. Both speakers can be customised to suit your mood or decor, simply by swapping out their grills for different colours and designs. In addition, the Sound Piece Mini can work as a BT handsfree speakerphone and has 14.5 hours of battery life. In fact, it can even be used as a power bank to charge your phone!

Sound Piece S$329 Sound Piece Mini S$139 www.soundpiece.sg

Whisky in Space Ballantine’s has unveiled a whisky glass designed for those days when you fancy a tipple… in space. Zero gravity makes the simplest actions and task a challenge, but Ballantine’s decided that having a drink of whisky shouldn’t be one of them.

Designed by the Open Space Agency and tested to work at the ZARM Drop Tower in Bremen, Germany, this clever glass resolves the fundamental scientific issue of how liquid behaves in zero gravity. Also, it is 3D printed – and guess what, there’s one up on the International Space Station.

by Justin Choo

www.ballantinesspaceglass.com

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Activate your workout with music LG’s sold more than 10 million of their trendy TONE bluetooth headsets worldwide, and the new TONE Active looks to continue the trend with its bright colours and water resistance. It’s perfect for jogging, cycling or working out in the gym, with excellent audio and up 9.5 hours of audio playback between charges.

S$189 www.leaderradio.com.sg

Scoot Along Home Electric scooters have become pretty popular recently as final mile solutions to get you from the bus-stop or MRT station to your office fast and without working up a huge sweat, thanks to our humid tropical climate. The lightest now available is the ZERO, which weighs in at a mere 6.3kg thanks to its carbon fibre stem and deck. The ZERO easily folds for carry onboard a train or bus, but it’ll also happily zip you along at up to 25kmh with a range of up to 25km.

S$1,400 www.falconpev.com.sg

Ultimate gamer headphones

by Justin Choo

Whether you game at home, at a LAN centre (yes, they’re still around) or on stage at an e-sport arena, you’ll want a great set of headphones, especially if they’re spec’d out like Plantronic’s RIG 500E. It’s a fully customisable for players and team and you can even swap from vented-air to sound isolating ear-cups, plus there’s a digital USB adaptor with Dolby 7.1 surround sound and 24-bit support.

S$249 www.plantronics.com/asia

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Big Tablets for different purposes

Apple and Samsung recently announced bigger than usual tablets, but both are quite different in both form and function.

Apple iPad Pro At 12.9-inches the new Apple iPad Pro is quite a large tablet (but oh so slim) with has an astoundingly sharp Retina Display and enhanced multi-touch feature plus Apple’s latest 64-bit A9X chipset.

Where the iPad Pro really rocks is when you use it with the new Apple Pencil (S$148) Yes, trust Apple to reinvent the stylus a decade after their first iOS touch interface on the original iPhone rendered Windows Mobile 6 obsolete in one swipe of a finger.

The Pencil, however, isn’t just a chunk of machined metal, it’s a precision device with multiple sensors that can sense position, angle and even how much force you’re using, and transforms the iPad Pro into a precision platform for professional level drawing and illustration, with sensors in both the Pencil and the iPad’s touchscreen capable of measuring not only the tilt of the Pencil but also how much pressure you’re exerting while you draw, instantly making lines thicker or thinner and making the whole drawing experience fluid and natural.

From S$1,188 www.apple.com/sg

Samsung Galaxy View

by Justin Choo

With a huge 18.4-inch FHD touchscreen and a two-way stand, the Samsung Galaxy View isn’t the most portable of tablets, nor was it meant to be. Created specifically for home users, this edutainment tablet is meant to be used around the home, whether propped up on your table for watching a video or lying on your lap as you play a game.

With eight hours of battery life, 32GB internal storage with microSD support and a full Android and Samsung Galaxy Apps ecosystem, the Galaxy View is a stay-at-home tablet for the whole family to use, and you can create individual accounts on the tablet for each member of your family, so that your kids can play Need for Speed: No Limits and not mess with your K-drama collection.

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from S$898 www.samsung.com/sg

A P P S

Cornflix Think Netflix for online viewing – if you’ve always been looking for a better way to browse through hundreds of online video content, Cornflix may just be it. Created by Singapore App developer PocketDeals, the guys behind the movie booking app Popcorn, Cornflix has a highly visual interface that’s tailor-made for the Smart TV generation and it works by aggregating video content on the web from sites such as YouTube and Vimeo so that you don’t have to trawl through an endless clutter of unwanted and pointless stuff. The web version is now available and will soon be followed by apps for iOS, Android and Android TV.

Cornflix.tv FREE

by Justin CHoo

Firefox for iOS

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Long suffering Firefox web browser users on iOS can now rejoice as the Firefox app has finally made its way to the App Store. You can now use your Firefox accounts and sync your bookmarks, browsing history, tabs and so on, but more importantly, it’s all done within the confines of Firefox’s familiar and friendly UI.

iOS, firefox.com FREE

Warmhammer 40,000: Freeblade

Vizable

Shopee

For the hardcore fans of the franchise, It’s the first game in which you can play as an Imperial Knight, that behemoth of a robot.

For the rest of us, it looks like plenty of mech blasting action, as well as being recognisable as the fun-looking game in the Apple 3D Touch demo. Tap away now, people.

Ever received a spreadsheet filled with way too much statistics and tasked to prepare a report? Have no fear, Vizable is here to help.

Created by Business Intelligence giants Tableau, Viable takes seemingly incoherent data from spreadsheets and presents them in a visual format that can be manipulated so that you can see patterns and trends easily.

Tired of dealing with lowballers and having to meet up in the oddest places to make the transaction? Local app Shopee offers an escrow-style service to mitigate the impact of bad ‘customers’, and they will be introducing an integrated pick-up and delivery service that will save you a bit of time too.

iOS, freebladegame.com FREE

iOS, vizable.tableau.com FREE

Android and iOS, shopee.sg FREE

MU S I C

NXT in Music This is Acting Sia (release 29th Jan)

by Shawn Chung

Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, Google Play Sometimes life throws us a curveball that ultimately benefits everyone. For prolific Australian singer/songwriter Sia, her decision to retire from singing and focus on songwriting back in 2011 took an unexpected twist when she sent a demo track of a song she wrote to David Guetta.

The resulting Titanium, where Guetta used her demo vocals without her permission, catapulted her into international stardom practically against her wishes!

Her following album 1000 Forms of Fear reaffirmed her popularity and gained her four Grammy nominations including Record of the Year and Song of the Year, but also led to Sia adopting large wigs during live performances to maintain some anonymity. Yet this success enables us to enjoy the vocal talents and wonderful songwriting skills of this gifted Australian performer, with her fifth studio album This is Acting available later this month.

According to SIA in an interview she gave to NME in early 2015, she named her new album This is Acting because it comprises of songs she wrote for other people, not for her, so she’s “play-acting” with each song. The first single, Alive, was actually written for Adele’s 25 album, but cut at the last minute.

Dystopia

Blackstar

Night Thoughts

Megadeth

David Bowie (release 22nd Jan)

Suede (release 22nd Jan)

Apple Music The grandmasters of trash metal return with their fifth studio album, but with a refreshed lineup. Frontman Dave Mustaine returns with co-founder David Ellefson on bass, and are joined by drummer Chris Adler (moonlighting from Lamb of God) and guitarist Kiko Loureiro.

But while the lineup has changed, the group’s signature sound remains with tons of guitar riffs, heavy bass and drums, and Dave Mustaine has promised fans that with Dystopia Megadeth is staying true to their roots.

iTunes, Spotify & Apple Music Most people would schedule a nice family dinner for their 69th birthday, not launch their 25th studio album. But David Bowie has never been anywhere near the norm ever since even before his Ziggy Stardust days.

Blackstar returns Bowie to his experimental best, a fusion mix of eclectic music styles such Krautrock, hip-hop and jazz, overlaid with Bowie’s haunting vocals. The atmospheric title track, Blackstar was released back in November with a near 10 minute long promotional video with Bowie playing three characters in what is essentially a postmodern space opera with three distinct sections.

Expect Blackstar to be Bowie at his creative best.

Spotify, Google Play, Amazon, iTunes With their new album Night Thoughts, cult British 90s band Suede has taken a whole new creative direction, as the album will be accompanied with a feature film directed by photographer Roger Sargent and set to the album’s twelve tracks to provide a dramatic visual reference to the songs that deals with themes of life, death, love, depression and anger. The first single off Night Thoughts, Outsiders, recalls Suede at their very peak when they lead the Britpop wave, with singer Brett Anderson’s iconic vocals soaring above the chiming guitar chords.

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MO V I E S

NXT in Movies

Deadpool

by Shawn Chung

In theatres 11 February Marvel’s comic book character Deadpool has always been an unconventional and highly controversial figure in the comic world…. Look, do you really need to read this synopsis? It’s Ryan Reynolds starring as Deadpool! In a movie that was in development hell since 2000 and which was only green lit in 2014 when leaked test footage caused an internet uproar with a legion of Deadpool fans! The only things you can expect from this movie is the unexpected, plenty of violence and comedy, cameos by not only Stan Lee but Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld and plenty of violence.

Oh, and maybe even a Wolverine showing up. Who knows? Go forth and get your tickets!

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Zoolander 2

Minions

The Martian

Wild City

In theatres 12 February Get ready for Blue Steel. Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) and Hansel McDonald (Owen Wilson) return from a 15 year hiatus to strut the catwalk one more time.

But their return to modelling is but a cover, for they’ve been recruited by hot Interpol agent Valentia (Penelope Cruz) to infiltrate a nefarious organisation while being pursued by their greatest enemy, Mugutu!

Available on Blu-ray Kevin, Stuart and Bob are back, this time on Blu-ray with the Minions Movie, plus some extras. The 2nd highest grossing animated film ever intends to conquer Blu-ray sales with this killer box set, comprising of the movie plus three new minimovies, Cro Minion, Competition and Binky Nelson Unpacified.

There’s also a behind the scenes look with Behind the Goggles - the Illumination Story of the Minions.

Available on iTunes Blu-ray & Amazon Video 12nd Jan If you missed Ridley Scott’s The Martian during its theatre run, then here’s your chance to catch in on Blu-ray from the comfort of your sofa. Matt Damon delivers a stunning performance as astronaut Mark Watney, who is unintentionally left alive on Mars when his team flees a natural disaster. Watney’s survival now hangs on his own ingenuity and on a desperate rescue plan that’s begun millions of miles away.

Available on iTunes & Blu-ray Director Ringo Lam’s Wild City is a story of temptation and and lost. Former cop turned bar owner (Louis Koo) befriends a drunken woman (Tong Liya) and ends up getting chased by her jealous ex-lover and his cronies. Things take a deadly and complicated turn when the bar owner’s brother (Shawn Yue) turns up with a suitcase full of cash.

MA K A N

Curry good at CoCoICHIBANYA Japan’s favourite curry house now has a fifth outlet at Plaza Singapura

by Shawn Chung

T

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he largest curry restaurant chain in the world isn’t Indian, but rather Japanese.

With over 1,400 outlets worldwide (at least 300 of which are located in Japan), CoCoICHIBANYA hasn’t stopped expanding since their first store opened in 1978 in Nagoya Japan. The fifth outlet in Singapore recently opened in Plaza Singapura and the NXT team went down for a curry sampling.

The new CoCoICHIBANYA outlet at Plaza Singapura is stylishly contemporary and can seat up to 51 guests, and like all other outlets, not only has a wide range of curry dishes from curry rice and curry omelette rice to meat, seafood and vegetarian options, there’s also other dishes available for non-curry eaters, such as Seafood Spaghetti. The curry itself is created from a secret concoction of spices imported directly from Japan, though we do know that it’s recently been updated to a vegetarian formula for a wider dietary appeal.

One of the main attractions to this curry house is the ability to customise your curry.

Yes, there’s actually seven levels of curry spiciness! Starting off from Mild to Standard, the heat factor then escalates with each new level. Using Level One, a medium hot, as a base, the heat quadruples at Level Two and is 12 times hotter at Level Three. Level Four is 16 times hotter than Level One, while Level Five tops out at 24 times the heat! You can even ask for additional curry sauce if necessary.

The wide selection of curry dishes and levels actually sparked a lively debate: Do you like to eat curry as hot as you can stand, or keep it to a level that doesn’t overwhelm the other ingredients? Definitely, when you’ve been served a lovely course of Wagyu Beef Steak Curry with the sirloin steak a wonderful medium-rare, you really want to savour the meaty goodness. On the other hand, dipping

crispy baby horse mackerel karaage into hot curry was a real tastebud stinging sensation!

Whatever your curry preferences are, we’re pretty sure they can be satisfied at CoCoICHIBANYA. The new CoCoICHIBANYA outlet at Plaza Singapura is located at #03-73 and is open from 10am to 10 pm, Sunday to Thursday; and 10am to 11pm Friday and Saturday. Telephone 62387539.

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Get into the VR Gear Samsung’s collaboration with Oculus VR has finally borne fruit, with the Samsung Gear VR. All you need to do is install the Oculus app on a compatible Samsung device like the Galaxy Note5, Galaxy S6 Edge+, Galaxy S6 Edge and Galaxy S6; pair and lock the device into the Gear VR headset and you can immediately enjoy a virtual 360-degree experience with a number of apps and games including Cirque du Soleil and Jurassic World.

S$148 www.samsung.com/sg

Little buds for wireless audio Wireless in every sense of the word, Onkyo’s in-ear headphones leads the next wave of wireless headphones; there are no wires connecting the two earbuds, which each has their own battery built-in. It even has a microphone built-in so you can use it as a handsfree. Worried about battery life? Don’t, because the carrying case doubles up as a charger, and is good for 12 hours of music on the move.

by Justin Choo

S$TBC onkyo.com

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HEOS Sound

HEOS 7

Denon has finally brought their smashing HEOS wireless sound system to Singapore, which will enable users to mix-and-match a range of speakers and ancillary devices to suit their home audio needs. Up to 32 HEOS devices can be synced to the HEOS app (available for Android and iOS devices), allowing you to control your entire home audio system from one smart device! You can set each speaker to play a different audio source, whether it’s streaming Spotify in the kitchen or a track from your music collection in the living room, or group every speaker together to rock your entire house to All About the Bass.

As the range topper, the HEOS 7 is a stylish looker that packs in dual mid-woofers, dual precision tweeters, two passive radiators and an active subwoofer, all with their own digital amplifiers!

www.denonasia.com

HEOS Link

S$899

Plug your existing wired home theatre or music system into the HEOS Link and it’ll turn them into a wireless system which can be controlled via the HEOS app.

HEOS 1 and HEOS 1 Go Pack HEOS 1 is not only wireless but also portable yet packs a pretty powerful audio performance in such a small package. Adding the HEOS 1 Go Pack ($169) to the speaker gives it a 6 hour rechargeable battery, Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity as well as a splashguard, making it the perfect speaker for poolside music.

S$599

HEOS Amp The HEOS Amp converts an existing pair of wired stereo speakers into a wireless speaker system while providing them with with digital amplifiers and is best with lower impedance speakers.

S$399 HEOS 3 Compact enough to shift around the house and able to fill a smallish room with great sound, the HEOS 3 The HEOS 3 packs a real punch thanks to dual Class D digital amplifiers and two full range precision drivers within it’s slick ported enclosure.

S$899

by Shawn Chung

S$559

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HEOS 5

HEOS HomeCinema

A four driver speaker system incorporates two precision tweeters, two mid/bass speakers and a passive radiator, with each active driver powered by its own digital amplifier, the HEOS 5 is perfect for high-resolution audio, especially AAC and FLAC lossless audio files.

The HEOS HomeCinema is a slim 2.1 soundbar system with looks to match the latest LED TV designs. The bar itself contains two midwoofers and two tweeters, while the active subwoofer connects wirelessly. Rare for a soundbar, the HomeCinema, like the rest of the HEOS range, has dual Wireless N WiFi so when not watching TV you can use it for music streaming.

S$699

S$1,399

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Steel Shock Resistant If you’re the type of macho guy that tends to jump timezones regularly and tends to have a pretty rugged life, then Casio has the perfect watch for you, the metal G-Shock MTG-G1000D. Yep, unlike your common G-Shocks this bad boy is an all steel watch with internal shock protection structure and sapphire crystal on the watch face. Plus it has Casio’s GPS hybrid Wave Ceptor technology, which detects both GPS time signals and regional low-frequency time signals to provide accurate local time at the push of a button.

S$1,799 www.casio-intl.com/sg/en/wat

by Justin Choo/Shawn Chung

High-res audio for everyone The MDR-100AAP was designed specifically to bring High-Resolution Audio to the masses. The 40mm “HD” driver unit can reproduce sound of up to 60kHz, and features lightweight voice coils for better resolution of high frequencies and rigid titanium-coated diaphragms for clarity. Foldable and sporting a detachable cable, the stylish, singlecolour design also marks it as fashion accessory.

S$249 www.sony.com.sg

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Pocket the Projector Canon’s new RAYO i8(gold) and i5 (silver) mini projectors are ultra handy little fellas for when you need to do a quick presentation or just want to watch an episode of The Walking Dead. That’s because these little projectors can go completely unwired - with up to 120 minutes of battery life between charges and integrated wireless DLNA and Miracast so you can stream videos direct from a smart device - and they have built-in stereo speakers. The LED projection system has 100 lumens and can project images up to 158-inches. All that in a device that tips the scales at 269g.

S$749 (RAYO i8) S$699 (RAYO i5) www.canon.com.sg

A Smartphone for audiophiles The name Marshall has been immortalised by images and sounds of thunderingly huge,100-watt amplifier stacks of rock n’ roll power. With Marshall London, the classic British amplification company brings its retro cool into the 21st century, and into the hands of everyday people who love music.

The London is modest where typical smartphone hardware is concerned: it sports a Snapdragon 410 processor, a 720p display and a 9-megapixel rear camera. What you get instead is stylish aesthetics and quality audio hardware. The London uses a Wolfson audio hub and sports two headphone jacks where the volume can be controlled independently, and powerful external speakers. As a music-themed mobile, it also carries dual microphones and low latency audio inputs for spur of the moment recording.

by Justin Choo

£399 marshallheadphones.com

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Muvi™ K-Series K2NPNG Wi-Fi Handsfree Camera - Capture full HD 1080p @ 60fps or 720p @120fps video Ͳ ^ŚŽŽƚ ϭϲDW ƐŝŶŐůĞ ƉŚŽƚŽƐ͕ Ɵ ŵĞ ůĂƉƐĞ Žƌ ĨĂƐƚ ďƵƌƐƚ ŽĨ ƵƉ ƚŽ ϭϬ ƉŚŽƚŽƐ ƉĞƌ ƐĞĐŽŶĚ Ͳ >ĂƌŐĞ ϭϱϬϬŵ Ś ŝŶƚĞƌĐŚĂŶŐĞĂďůĞ ůŝƚŚͲŝŽŶ ƐŵĂƌƚ ďĂƩ ĞƌLJ ĨŽƌ ƵƉ ƚŽ ϰ ŚŽƵƌƐ ƌĞĐŽƌĚ Ɵ ŵĞ Ͳ ZĞĐŽƌĚ͕ ůŝǀĞ ǀŝĞǁ ĂŶĚ ƐŚĂƌĞ LJŽƵƌ ĐŽŶƚĞŶƚ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ĨƌĞĞ ƐŵĂƌƚƉŚŽŶĞ ĂƉƉ Ͳ /ŶĐůƵĚĞƐ ǁĂƚĞƌƉƌŽŽĨ ϭϬϬŵ ĐĂƐĞ͕ ĚĞƚĂĐŚĂďůĞ > ƐĐƌĞĞŶ͕ ƉƌŽƚĞĐƟ ǀĞ ƌƵŐŐĞĚ ĐĂƌƌLJ ĐĂƐĞ͕ ϴ' ŵĞŵŽƌLJ Θ ĂĚĚŝƟ ŽŶĂů ŵŽƵŶƟ ŶŐ ŽƉƟ ŽŶƐ

Available from Tangs Orchard and Black Tactical @ Funan

^ŝůŝĐŽŶĞ ĂƐĞ Ͳ ŽƉƟ ŽŶĂů ĂĐĐĞƐƐŽƌLJ

VehoSingapore

veho-world.com

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Droids &

Drones!

Radio controlled toys have made way for smart drones that you can control via your smart device!

Lily The ultimate selfie camera! Just toss Lily up into the air to activate it, strap on the tracker/ controller and Lily will follow you around, videoing your adventure!

by Justin Choo

Approx S$1,139 www.lily.camera

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Parrot Minidrone Parrot’s latest family of minidrones are acrobatic tricksters. The Minidrone Airborne Night can do awesome airborne stunts while the Minidrone Hydrofoil is actually a flying drone that docks to a hydrofoil so you can use it on water at up to 10kmh!

Minidrone Hydrofoil S$259 Minidrone Airborne Night S$209 www.parrot.com

DJI Phantom 3 Professional For drone photography photobuffs, the Phantom 3 has a stabilized 12.4-megapixel camera that captures stunning video at up to 4K. Comes with DJI Go App and a remote control that you can plug into your smart device, and you can fly it up to 2km away.

S$1,860 www.dji.com

Sphero BB-8 This is the droid you’ve been looking for. While this little fella won’t sass you back like the movie version from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it will go on patrol, follow your instructions and even playback augmented reality holograms on your smart device.

S$239 www.sphero.com

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Pictures in a Snap The Polaroid Snap is essentially a 10-megapixel digital camera and a printer rolled into one, turning point and shoot photography on its head in a day and age where the features that make photography enjoyable and popular are exactly the ones that The Snap chooses to forgo.

The idea of taking and printing a photo in a moment’s notice without having to spend minutes in VSCO Cam and #hashtag hell is a pleasant alternate universe. The Snap’s Zero Ink technology has the paper already impregnated with colour forming crystals in three layers (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow). As the paper is ‘printed’ heat is applied in different temperatures to activate the crystals, creating a photograph.

polaroid.com

Music Mojo The Chord Mojo may not look much, but it’s designed for smartphone users as a gateway – or rather, an expressway – to the upper echelons of audiophile audio quality. Eschewing usual DAC designs, the Mojo’s unique paradigm and proprietary circuitry makes it possible to achieve high-end performance for a fraction of the cost. Palm-sized, and yet it’s capable of handling demanding of headphones like the Sennheiser HD800 with ease, as well as decode extremely high resolution, DSD256 audio files.

S$999 chordelectronics.com

by Justin Choo/Shawn Chung

Lenovo has the Vibes

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Lenovo’s new VIBE series smartphones are pretty affordable devices built for different purposes. The 5-inch VIBE S1 is a selfiefocused mobile with three cameras! Apart from a 13-Megapixel rear camera, it’s the world’s first dual selfie camera with an 8MP and a 2MP secondary camera. This gives the selfie feature the ability to analyze depth-offield so that after you snap a picture, you can edit by refocusing the picture or cropping out unwanted details.

The VIBE P1 on the other hand is a 5.5-inch device with dual SIM and a huge 5,000mAh battery for extended endurance, making it a perfect mobile for frequent travellers.

Vibe S1 S$429 Vibe P1 S$399 lenovo.com/sg

N EWS

DAPPER DAP Players

Getting all geeky about high resolution music isn’t just about an awkward mess of cables, inexplicable boxes way too clumsy to be portable – stylish and seriously good portable players are a reality, provided you’re willing to pay for it. Here’re three of the newest and best.

Astell & Kern AK Jr It’s normal to have doubts when a brand known for their high-end players introduce an entry-level model, but the AK Jr still features that signature ‘AK sound’, coupled with a polished touch screen interface and dashing looks. It’s slim enough to fit in your pockets, and gorgeous enough to abate annoying questions about your purchase. Not exactly that new, but by golly is it mouthwatering.

S$699 www.astellnkern.com

FiiO X7 Think of FiiO as the Xiaomi of portable players, who produce players of a high quality and at affordable prices. The understated looking X7 is no different; it runs in Android environment and has all the benefits of a proper touch screen experience, and features an innovative modular system in which the amplifier can be swopped to satisfy those with exacting tastes for their music.

S$1,099 www.fiio.net

Astell & Kern AK320 Astell & Kern’s AK380 was an eye watering behemoth that kicked you in the nuts with its price as well. The Hi-Fi world’s most over-the-top player now gets a more prudent cousin (well kind of) in the form of the AK320. It keeps the dual DAC configuration and Femto clock, but has a stripped down feature set (no native DSD playback, for example) that will please all the most demanding of audio buffs.

by Justin Choo

S$2,599 www.astellnkern.com

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C O N T E S T

Win a Canon PowerShot G7 X SG50 Limited Edition!

C

anon marked Singapore’s Golden Jubilee by introducing a special version of the Canon PowerShot G7 X (SG50 Limited

Edition). The sophisticated design of this camera is accentuated by a classy yet striking hue of red on the ring control which is symbolic of passion and also the signature of both Singapore and Canon.

The SG50 emblem, now synonymous among Singaporeans as a celebratory mark for 50 years of nation building, adorns the camera body and is embossed on the camera pouch, making it a timeless edition for keepsake.

The PowerShot G7 X boast impeccable image quality with a large one-inch type 20.2 megapixel CMOS sensor, 31-point AF and bright f/1.8 lens, while its 9-blade circular aperture diaphragm creates circular blurs to produce a beautiful bokeh effect. Canon’s ZoomPlus technology allows the 4.2x zoom lens to be extended up to 8.4x while maintaining high image quality.

Designed and manufactured in Japan, only 500 units of this special edition have been made, and comes with a special 15th anniversary edition Canon G Series packaging and a certificate of authenticity.

With thanks to Canon, NXT Magazine has one of these limited edition cameras to give away.

Just answer the following question, then: email: info.nxt@kingsmanmedia.com subject: NXT Canon PowerShot G7 X SG50 Contest For verification purposes please provide your: 1. Name 2. NRIC number 3. Email

The celebratory mark of Singapore’s 50 years of nation building, the SG50 Emblem, adorns the body of the Canon PowerShot G7 X SG50 Limited Edition.

TRUE or FALSE?

4. Telephone number

Contest terms and conditions

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1. This contest will run from 07/01/2016 to 07/02/2016 and is by

4. The winning contestants must be a Singaporean citizen or

current resident. Submissions from outside Singapore will not

2. All details submitted must be true and accurate. Personal

be accepted. Employees of Canon Singapore and Kingsman

Media are disqualified from entering this contest.

email only. information of all contestants will be kept private and

confidential.

5. The winning contestants will be announced in a forthcoming

3. One winner will be selected randomly, and the selection will be

final and binding. The winner will receive one Canon

6. Kingsman Media reserves the rights to modify the terms and

PowerShot G7 X SG50 Limited Edition and will be notified via

email and telephone call. Winners are required to bring their

NRIC for verification during prize collection.

issue of NXT magazine. conditions of this contest.

N EWS

iCON Bricks and bad guys LEGO’s new TIE Fighter set shows that the brick maker still has a magic touch

T

by Shawn Chung

he plastic brick that could is now the most recognised brand in the world! It’s simply astounding that even though LEGO makes an estimated 36 billion bricks a year, Christmas 2015 saw an actual shortage of LEGO toys as booming demand simply outran supply.

How does LEGO do it? That’s partly to do with the fact that the LEGO brick comes in so many shapes and sizes that LEGO not only allows kids to build practically anything they can dream about, but also for LEGO’s own designers to rapidly assemble the bricks necessary to create new sets. And Lego has been on a massive roll with movie tie-ins, from the awesome Lego Movie to Star Wars: Force Awakens.

The LEGO Star Wars First Order Special Forces TIE FIGHTER set was rolled out just in time for Christmas 2015, and while some prefer the updated Millennium Falcon or Poe’s X-Wing Fighter sets that was launched at the same time, the iconic TIE Fighter’s revamp into a deadlier twinseat weapon of the First Order is very much symbolic how the new bad guys in this movie, the first of a new trilogy, have risen from the ashes of the Galactic Empire.

After all, bad guys are the reason why good guys exist, and LEGO TIE Fighters will always duel X-Wings in a child’s (and many adults) imagination.

S$140 www.lego.com

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N EWS

Level up your audio for the New Year!

Start the new year with a loud bang by upgrading your earphones to the most slickest and best headphones available.

The Bang for your buck Upgrade Veho Z8

by JUSTIN CHOO

Contemporary, with a bold, simple design, the Veho Z8 is a no-frills number that focuses on comfort, fit, and sound. Veho is known for its bang-for-the-buck values, and the Z8 continues this tradition. From the soft padding to an included carry case, anti-tangle cord, foldable design, soft cushioned pads and improved noise isolation, the Z8 is a serious choice for any headphone upgrade.

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S$119 www.veho-world.com

N EWS

The Style Upgrade Master & Dynamic MW60 Master & Dynamic made us drool with its impeccably stylish MH40, and they’re back again for the killer punch with the wireless MW60. The MW60 doesn’t skimp on materials – think finely finished steel and lambskin ear pads – and it has a rather clever exposed all-aluminum antenna to improve signal integrity. The antenna is integrated into its signature design, leaving you none the wiser to its subtle trickery.

USD$549 masterdynamic.com

The Tech Upgrade Parrot Zik 3 The latest incarnation of the ground-breaking Parrot Zik is an exercise in juxtaposition. Minimalist, clean lines are married with a deluge of technical features. The new Zik features 32-bit audio processing, and Smart Audio Tuning to customise your musical experience. It also offers touch control, adaptive noise cancelling, as well as a smartwatch app to conveniently adjust settings.

S$599 parrot.com

The Whatever-you-want Upgrade Aiaiai TMA-2 Nothing really catches your eye, or your imagination? How about doing it yourself – Aiaiai’s TMA-2 offers you the ability to customise individual components to your liking. It’s available in several preset configurations, but you can customise it further; Aiaiai offers a wide range of additional parts, allowing you to tweak the headband padding, ear pads, cables, and even drivers if you like.

From USD$145 aiaiai.dk

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N EWS

First in Class The LG Class is a class act. It’s an affordable 5-inch smartphone with a lovely all-metal body that’s just 7.4mm slim. But it packs really decent features like a 13-megapixel main camera and an 8-megapixel front camera that has gesture interval shot for taking up to four consecutive selfie shots. This Android Lollipop device is available in Gold, Silver or Blue Black.

S$398 www.lge.com/sg

Pocket powerhouse The world’s most advanced full frame compact camera just got a whole lot better, and it’s almost like a stripped down version of its big brother, the Sony Alpha A7RII, and with a classic 35mm f2 lens. Apart from the usual incremental upgrade in speed and whatnots, the Sony RX1R Mk II sports a massive 42.4-megapixel sensor, as well as the world’s first variable optical low-pass filter that lets you choose between prioritising more detail, or reducing moire, or finding a balance. And like its young cousin, the RX100 mkIV, the electronic viewfinder is built into the camera for an even smaller footprint. A compact powerhouse.

S$4,999 www.sony.com.sg

Skinnest Windows Tablet Ever

by Justin Choo/Shawn Chung

The thinnest tablet PC that they’ve ever made at 8mm thick, the HP Spectre x2 takes the DNA of the Microsoft Surface tablets, and gives it a premium Spectre touch. The keyboard will be of interest to those who desire an uncompromised notebook typing experience. The fanless design (thanks to Intel’s Core M processors) makes it easier for you to enjoy the audio tuned by Bang & Olufsen.

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From S$1,799 www.hp.com/sg

N EWS

Get in touch!

For those who are seeking a touching new experience, the latest generation Windows 10 and Apple iOS tablet devices boast speedy processors and upgraded displays.

Apple iPad Mini 4 It snuck in behind the shadow of the massive iPad Pro, but the iPad Mini 4 is a giant of a small tablet. Updated with A8 processors and better hardware means that this is basically an Air 2 that has been heavily compacted. No 3D Touch though.

by Justin Choo

From S$548 www.apple.com/sg

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N EWS

Lenovo Miix 700 Surface Pro too pricey? Lenovo’s Miix 700 features a decent set of internals: Intel Core M7 processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 12inch FHD+ display, and an Intel RealSense camera. What’s more, it comes bundled with a lightweight folio keyboard.

From S$1,299 lenovo.com/sg

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 The original tablet-laptop hybrid is back in its fourth incarnation, featuring more power-efficient Intel Skylake processors and a higher resolution display (2,736x1,824, 267ppi). And oh, there’s also a new pen with 1,024 levels (vs 256 on the Surface Pro 3) of pressure sensitivity too. Perhaps the best Surface Pro ever made (so far), but still no keyboard bundled though. Boo.

From S$1,399 microsoft.com/surface

Lenovo YOGA Tab 3 Pro The uniquely designed Tab 3 Pro features a built-in projector that can project a 70-inch screen, and comes with an integrated JBL 4-speaker soundbar. With up to 18 hours battery life (general use), the Tab 3 Pro is perfect for intimate movie nights.

From S$899 lenovo.com/sg

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N EWS

Affordable smart home by ViewQwest

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SP provider ViewQwest has launched a new online store that they hope will be a one-stop shop for Singaporeans looking for affordable smart home solutions, and they intend to offer 50 different smart home products by year’s end. Here’s a selection of their products. e-store.viewqwest.comy

Amazon Echo Amazon’s Echo looks like a wireless speaker, but it’s actually far more capable and smarter than you think. It’s actually a cloud-based voice command device - one that will evolve and add new features as the platform develops further. Saying “Alexa” wakes the device and it then ‘listens’ for your voice command, and in a connected home environment it can turn on selected lights or dim them, amongst other things.

S$360

Netgear Arlos Security System The Arlos system comprises of two weatherproof HD camera units that you can mount around your house that transmits to a base station. Both cameras have low-light and motion sensor capabilities and their batteries can last for up to six months. The system detect movement and send an sms or email to your mobile, and you can then instantly view who’s at your front door via the Arlos app, even if your in your office.

S$599

Dyson sucks everything!

Dyson makes some pretty neat vaccums, but none more so than the compact and portable V6 Fluffy. This handheld rechargable may only have up to 25 minutes of power between charges, but what power! With a small electric motor that spins up a 110,000rpm, creating micro cyclones within a special chamber, this vaccum is so powerful it’ll even suck in smoke (or haze) and with a HEPA filter nothing can escape from its exhaust. The Fluffy comes with a range of attachments to get everything from dust mites to large debris.

by Shawn Chung

S$1,049 www.dyson.com.sg

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N EWS

All about the bass So if you’re all about the bass, no treble, Audio-Technica’s new Solid Bass range of seven in-ear and over-ear headphones will get you thumping with their latest Deep Motion High-Res Audio Drivers and Dual Phase Push-Pull Drivers for improved response. The CKS1100iS Solid Bass In Ear headphones are the first in the Solid Bass line to come with high-resolution audio, and delivers a wide frequency of sound with reduced distortion and outstanding acoustic reproduction.

S$268 sea.audio-technica.com

Wide-angle action

by Justin Choo

Casio has launched the follow-up to the EXILIM EX-FR10 outdoor camera, and Singapore’s first country outside of Japan to get the new EXLIM EX-FR100. The camera actually comprises of a 16mm wide-angle 12-megapixel camera module and a 3-inch touchscreen control module that sync via Bluetooth and can be clipped together or detached.

Both modules are shock & dust resistant and waterproof to 1 metres, though you can get a range of accessories including a marine case and an LED ring flash attachment.

S$699 www.casio-intl.com/sg/en

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N EWS

Smarter and curvier The latest UHD TVs have not only gotten curvier, they’re also smarter!

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K TVs have been on the market for a couple of years now, but this year should see a lot of 4K content finally available in Singapore. So to get things warmed up here are the top-ofthe-line Smart TVs with a little curve thrown in.

LG 4K OLED 55EG920T

by Shawn Chung

LG’s top of the polls in Singapore with regards to TV sales, and this 55-inch OLED stunner shows you why. It is not only great at displaying 4K content but looks gorgeous as well, with a transparent stand and super slim display that’s just 4.8mm slim with a nearly borderless bezel. This curvy TV boasts 33 million sub-pixels for clear contrast and radiant colour and uses LG’s own webOS2.0 Smart TV platform.

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S$5,499 www.lg.com/sg

N EWS

Samsung JS9500 SUHD TV This year Samsung did a little rebranding on their TV line, with the ‘S’ in ‘SUHD’ now denoting their flagship premium TV series. Samsung of course were the first TV maker to launch a curved TV two years ago, and their premium designs have always had an elegant edge to match the state-of-the art LED display, although with this new curved model they’ve added visual texture to the back of the screen so it looks good from any angle. They’re also powerful Smart TVs, running Samsung’s Tizen platform on Octa-core processor, and are compatible with Samsung smart devices and Samsung’s Internet of Things, which is due in 2017.

S$7,999 (65-inch) S$17,999 (78-inch) S$24,999 (88-inch) www.samsung.com.sg

Sony BRAVIA S8500C 4K Ultra HD TV Where Samsung and LG have chosen to develop their own Smart TV OS, Sony did not and instead uses Android TV, which lets this Smart TV access games, apps, movies and shows from Google Play; while with Google Cast any Android device user can share content directly to this TV. Like most high-end 4K TVs, this BRAVIA upscales lower resolution video content to 4K, but its also benefitted from Sony’s DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) technology to enable this Smart TV to upscale audio to near Hi-Res Audio quality

S$3,499 (55-inch) S$6,299 (65-inch) www.sony.com.sg

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N EWS

2016 is the year for 4K!

Thanks to Netflix, we’ll finally be able to use our 4K UHD TVs to watch 4K TV shows!

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he last decade was also pretty wild for TV manufacturers

limited, especially in Singapore where our local TV providers are still

as after decades of stagnation with CRT tubes and standard

broadcasting in 720p HD, a quarter the resolution of 2160p 4K UHD.

definition video format, we suddenly had wave after wave of

operations from Singapore. And as this will more than likely mean their

TVs were killed off by new Flat Panels, LCD then won that war against

setting up their own servers locally, you can look forward to smooth

Plasma before being upgraded with LED and OLED backlight technology.

streaming of a number of excellent TV shows including Crouching

In terms of video resolution, affordable 720p HD TVs finally appeared in

Dragon, Hidden Tiger: The Green Legend, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, the Full

2005, then we went 1080p Full HD in 2008 and now 4K Ultra HD TVs in

House sequel Fuller House, House of Cards, Jane the Virgin, Blacklist,

2012.

Gotham, How to Get Away with Murder,and Breaking Bad. They’ve also

If you’ve seen ads for TVs in the last two years, you’ve probably

by SHAWN CHUNG

been ‘educated’ about the virtues of 4K TV - in that for larger TV sizes

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So it’s welcome news that Netflix is about to begin their SEA

new TV display technology. For example, bulky CRTs and Rear Projector

promised Asian 4K content like Taiwanese dramas!

We do also have a ray of light regarding Blu-Ray, because at iFA

(around 50-inches and above) they provide sharper sharp images,

2015 Samsung announced that they’re launching the first consumer

brilliant colours and smoother motion in comparison to a Full-HD

Ultra HD Blu-ray player around Q1 2016. The first titles include

panel. These days you can pick up a 40-inch 4K LED TV from practically

Kingsman: The Secret Service, Xmen: Days of Future Past and the rather

any electronics mart for around S$1,000. Yet true 4K content is really

dismal Fantastic Four reboot.

G A D G E T • G E A R • T E C H N O L O G Y

Enjoy reading NXT on the move.

Download now! login in to www.magzter.com

WA T C H

Industrial Revolution

V1/01

by Shawn Chung

SevenFriday’s industrial-inspired watches have proven to be a real hit with new watch fans.

V2/01 72

WA T C H

S

evenFriday is pretty unique for a Swiss watch company, because they are unabashedly proud of where their watch components comes from, including Miyota movements from Japan (Miyota is part of the Citizen group) and various precision milled pieces from China. In fact, where the parts come from is engraved at the back of every SevenFriday watch!

Of course, this means that their watches are priced significantly lower than a Swiss watch using comparable Swiss-made components, yet SevenFriday’s popularity stems not just from affordability, but also design. All SevenFriday watches use the brand’s signature stainless steel ‘squircle’ case, and are inspired by the mechanical complexities of the gauges, wheels, tools, steelwork and engines that powered the Industrial Revolution.

The new V1/01 and the V2/01 watches are inspired by vehicle engines, and are basically identical except for customised dial colours.

Both watches come in a new case design with an elaborate four layer dial created out of multiple materials to present the brand’s signature visual texture. There are two points for the brand’s patented watchstrap changer, which requires only a push with a pen tip to remove the watch-strap. A really neat inclusion is an NFC authentication chip, which can be read using an NFC-equipped smartphone with SevenFriday’s App installed. This not only enables owners to register their watches permanently with SevenFriday, but also authenticates a SevenFriday watch, so you can spot a fake easily.

S$1,778 redarmywatches.com

P1-3

M1

P2-2

P3-3

M2

SevenFriday P-series

SevenFriday M-series

The P-series watches symbolise the Industrial Essence of the Swiss watchmaker, with silver, black and rhodium used for the P1 to symbolise cool modern industrial aesthetics, whereas the copper and grey of the P2 harkens back to the early steam engine years of the Industrial Revolution. The P3, in brooding black and dark grey with ‘signal-red’ highlights on the dial takes a somewhat more modern inspiration, the café racer motorbikes of the 1950s, while the P3/3 is playfully inspired by the snow grooming machines that prepares the best ski runs in Switzerland.

With the M-series, SevenFriday updated their design by moving the watch crown to the left and switching to a six-layer dial on both the M1 and M2.

But whereas the M1 boast a bright futuristic look with a sandblasted stainless steel case and silver dial, the M2 is it’s dark counterpart, with a black PVD case and six layered dial in black and rhodium.

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WA T C H

Watches of Badassery

In just two short years, Bomberg has established itself as a player in the watch industry with its very unconventional approach to Swiss watchmaking.

by Shawn Chung

B

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omberg watches are unabashedly designed for men, hence the watchmaker’s slogans Toys for Boys, Be the Boss and Unchain the Beast.

Their watches are also as unconventional, audacious and provocative as the company that makes them, but under the bombastic marketing bro-speak Bomberg has really captivated watch fans with their bold designs and affordable pricing (for Swiss-made watches), leading to the brand expanding its presence to 41 countries in just two years. That’s pretty badass for a brand new watchmaker!

41 is also interesting number for Bomberg, because that’s the number of Bolt-68 variants the company produces. And Singapore is actually the 41st country Bomberg has expanded to, where they can be found in Watches of Switzerland stores.

The Bolt-68 collection features the brand’s audacious styling with strong masculine motifs and colourfully detailed dials. Yet the collection is also quite innovative. At first glance you’ll note the pushers and crown are located

at the 12 o’clock instead of the more traditional 3 o’clock position. This is due to the patented bayonet system that lets you detach the watch from its base by simply rotating the case left to the 10 o’clock position to unlock. This makes the Bolt-68 a highly versatile timepiece that can be easily locked into not only different watch bases and straps, but also to a pendent, a table clock or to a chain and medallion (that comes with every Bolt-68 watch) to turn it into a pocket watch

www.bomberg.ch Bolt-68 Automatic Chronograph The 47mm Bolt-68 Automatic Chronograph is available in four colourful variants, each featuring a multi-layered dial in distinct colours. It’s a watch made to stand out, to add a spice of colour to a drab business suit or rock a pair of jeans.

You can go hipster as well and use the watch chain that comes with every Bolt-68 watch to wear it as a pocket watch for your natty vest. S$6,320

WA T C H

Bolt-68 Samurai Available in either white (250 pieces) or blue (250 pieces), the Bolt-68 Samurai is a true piece of art and a homage to the Samurai warrior of feudal Japan.

S$5,060

Bolt-68 Samurai

Bolt-64 Skull Badass Loud and proud, the 45mm Skull Badass limited edition will attract attention anywhere, especially in a nightclub when the photo-luminescent coating on the dial gives off a sinister red glow. The Skull Badass comes as a watch with metal studded leather straps while its medallion and chain is adorned by a skull with red garnet eyes. Only 500 of these watches will be made.

S$5,960

Bolt-68 Skull Badass

Skully Bracelets Made from stainless steel with various PVD finishings including pink gold and black, and available in two sizes and 17 references, The Skully Bracelet’s skulls have Swarovski crystals for eyes while one version features 100 Swarovski crystals adorning the whole head (S$840). S$500

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L U X U R Y

Ultimate Audio Perfection

Sennheiser’s HE 1060 / HEV 1060 is the cumulation of a decade’s long pursuit to create the ultimate pair of headphones.

25

by Shawn Chung

years ago Sennheiser unleashed a headphone system that shocked audiophiles around the world. Tasked with creating the best headphones possible regardless of cost, the company’s audio engineers spent years perfecting the electrostatic Orpheus HE90 headphone system. Only 300 of these audio masterpieces were made, and when one goes on auction or sale they can fetch up to $60,000.

Sennheiser has now announced the successor to the legendary Orpheus. The new HE 1060 / HEV 1060 system is audio perfection at its jaw dropping best. The entire unit sits in a housing made from Italian Carrara marble, the same marble favoured by Michelangelo for his exquisite sculptures. Gently press the off/on volume control and the

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system stirs to life - first the control system extends out of the housing, then the eight vacuum tubes rise, glowing with their own light. Finally the glass cover rises to reveal the glorious headphones. Each Orpheus contains over 6,000 high-end components, including gold-vaporized ceramic electrodes and platinum-vaporized diaphragms. But don’t rush off to place an order just yet. Beginning mid-2016 Sennheiser will start producing 250 units per year, and each cost a whopping €50,000. That’s awesomely steep for a pair of headphones and an amplifier, but it’s the price many will be willing to pay for absolute audio perfection.

Due mid-2016 en-sg.sennheiser.com

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L U X U R Y

The Electronic

Jacob & Co. go digital with a wonderfully spectral timepiece

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by Shawn Chung

or twenty-five years Jacob & Co. has striven to reach the pinnacle of luxury watchmaking and jewellery, creating breathtaking mechanical masterpieces such as the Astronomia Tourbillon Grand Complication Masterpiece. The watchmaker is also renowned for creating travel and world time mechanical watches, but with the Ghost Collection, Jacob & Co. has replaced the mechanical for the digital with dramatic effect and created a luxury ultra modern timepiece.

The Ghost features a unique watch face with an LCD screen and an interchangeable bezel that can be swapped for black PVD, colored PVD, rose gold with diamonds, or even

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white gold fully paved with black or white baguette diamonds. When activated, one window displays the local time while the other four can display up to twenty different time zones, and users have a choice of display colours including red, orange, yellow, green, purple, white and a spectral blue. Timekeeping is kept accurate with a high precision quartz oscillator, and the Ghost can also be automatically synchronised via a USB cable to any Mac or PC.

from S$8,800 www.jacobandco.com

L U X U R Y

Ghost of Time

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by Shawn Chung

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Leica goes mirrorless in a big way The Leica SL is almost everything a mirrorless camera should be

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or over one hundred years the name Leica has always stood for photographic excellence, and with the Leica SL the German camera manufacturer has once again reinforced the qualities that has made it the most coveted camera brand in the world - premium build quality, easy-of-use and exceptional image quality.

The Leica SL is a new breed of mirrorless cameras, one that combines a full-frame 24-megapixel sensor into a portable body with the versatility of interchangeable lens. But make no mistake, this is a beast of a camera with quite a heft to it, thanks to its rugged milled aluminium body that’s splash, dust and moisture proof. It can capture exceptional images at up to 11 frames per second and 4k@24fps videos in challenging conditions thanks to its blazingly fast autofocus, high-ISO sensitivity of 50,000 and 2GB memory buffer, yet has simple configurable controls and a 3-inch touchscreen display that makes it quite easy to master, thus making the Leica SL a mirrorless camera that both pro and amatuer photographers will love.

S$11,000 (body only) www.leica-store.sg

Sunil Kaul, Managing Director of Leica Camera Asia Pacific spoke to NXT regarding what he likes best about the new Leica SL. Of course we have many company key success factors for this product, but for me personally it is speed. I’ve been working for Leica for the past 9 years now and I’ve never had a chance to hold a tool in my hand that is so responsive, so super quick, so fast that I was blown away by two things - one was the iris which is basically the viewfinder the other was the speed.

For me the Leica SL is the fastest autofocus full frame camera in the world. We’ve had many many Leica users who have been using several Leica cameras and have given us feedback that sometimes they “wish it was faster, because I may have missed that moment I wanted to catch.” Leica has particularly chosen to inject a lot of effort towards making a statement in the direction of speed with the Leica SL, and for the kind of photography I enjoy, where I have a lot of motion and movements in my pictures I would prefer to have it much more faster than to take that moment, wait and then fire a shot.

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L U X U R Y

An Unconventional Sound Make a statement with the radical Final Audio Design Sonorous X

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ew would arrive at an obscure choice of the word Sonorous, to describe a series of headphones. Positive as it may be, but Final Audio Design isn’t any normal company. Once known as the Pandora series, the Sonorous range of headphones features some left-of-field thinking; some models even feature balanced armature drivers used in combination with large conventional headphone drivers. The Sonorous X is the pinnacle of the range.

With its strikingly bold, yet refined appearance, it’s hard to spot the Sonorous X in a room. It’s humongous, but never comically so; weighing in at a massive 630 grams, the Sonorous X sports a housing of machined aluminum and steel to achieve the right level of rigidity required, so that its 50mm titanium driver, which itself is integrated into an aluminum frame, can shine. The late Kanemori Takai, founder of Final Audio, was not one to concern himself with conventional wisdom in pushing the artistic and and engineering limits of headphone design.

It may not quite be the final word in the vast, eclectic world of audio, but the Sonorous X is a strong statement nonetheless.

by JUSTIN CHOO

S$7,388 final-audio-design.com

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Do the Twist

Band & Olufsen celebrates its 90th anniversary with a landmark speaker

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anish luxury electronics maker Bang & Olufsen has over the last 90 years left an indelible mark in the world of premium electronics for their revolutionary product designs and electronic innovations. From their very first radio in 1925 through to such iconic products such as the BeoSound 9000 and the BeoLab 5, every B&O product has provided high quality performance in perfect sync with their wonderful looks.

And as B&O turns 90, the company has decided to mark the occasion by launching a true avant garde statement, the BeoLab 90. Claimed to be the most complete and powerful digital loudspeaker ever designed for home use, this unique pair of speakers packs the latest technological innovation into an incredible body that was first milled from a single block of aluminium before being ‘twisted’ into shape, then fitted with a multitude of tweeter, mid-range and bass drivers for 360 degree coverage. Place it anywhere in your living room, and the intelligent loudspeakers will measure the acoustical effects of its surroundings to deliver an optimum performance to your preferred sitting location.

by Shawn Chung

S$120,000 www.bang-olufsen.com

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by Shawn Chung

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A Vertu of touch and distinction Vertu’s best smartphone gets a signature upgrade

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ertu were once praised as much for their luxury designs as they were panned for their reliance of the mature (as in near obsolete) Symbian operating system. The decision a few years ago, however, to adopt Android OS as their preferred operating platform has paid dividends for the luxury handphone maker by ensuring that their device OS is now regularly updated and the new Signature Touch is an excellent indicator of Vertu’s newer, more upbeat approach to crafting luxury mobile devices.

The premium quality of the Signature Touch is most evident from the use of solid sapphire crystal for the 5.2inch touchscreen, and the use of handcrafted fine leather and grade 5 titanium. Coupled with Vertu’s iconic design elements these materials creates an instantly recognisable prestige device, and Vertu has taken the iconic design a step further by crafting two rear mounted gull-wing doors to access the device’s nanoSIM and microSD cards.

Between the doors a 21-megapixel camera sits ready to capture stunning imagery and 4K video with the aid of Vertu’s custom Image Signal Processor.

Of course, as with every Vertu device, each Signature Touch comes with a dedicated Concierge ready to fulfill almost all your needs as well as Vertu LIFE and Vertu Certainty.

Calf leather: S$14,500 Lizard: S$16,500 Alligator: S$26,000 vertu.com

NXT caught up with Nicolas Holt, Vertu’s Regional General Manager APAC, and spoke to him about the underlying technology and craftsmanship of the Signature Touch.

Vertu has been using sapphire crystal since your early keypad phones. But how hard was it to design a sapphire touchscreen?

It’s difficult because now we have a full HD screen.

Sapphire does react in slightly different ways to a glass or gorilla glass, so we have to tune the touch interface. This sapphire crystal is then polished to a micrometre of its life and hand-finished, then finally placed onto the device in a vacuum controlled room by one person so that no dust can get underneath the screen. This is extremely labour intensive and financially expensive to do, but ultimately worth it for the finished product.

What are your thoughts regarding Vertu’s shift to Android OS, which took place two years ago?

The Signature Touch comes with the latest Android Lollipop OS and has given us the flexibility to ’Vertuise’ the product more with bespoke apps. I think it’s a very good fit for our customers and I personally like Android.

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Along came a Spyder

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amborghini’s newest sportscar now has a stunning drop-top version and it’ll be in Singapore in June 2016! The Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4 Spyder is the direct replacement of the bestselling Gallardo Sypder and promises scintillating performance and luxurious comfort in an evocative design. The soft top takes just 17 seconds to fully deploy or retract, and can be activated at speeds up to 50kmh. As the top retracts two movable fins rise up from the folding roof casing to help direct air around the engine compartment.

The engine is the latest development of Lamborghini’s legendary 5.2litre V10 engine, producing 449 kW / 610 hp, which enables the all-wheel drive Huracán LP 610-4 Spyder to accelerate like a Spanish fighting bull out of the stocks (like all Lamborghini sports cars, the Huracán was named after a legendary bull), going from 0 to 100kmh in 3.4 seconds with a top speed of 324kmh. But it also meets the latest Euro emission standards, and has ‘cylinder on demand’ and electronic ‘stop start’ to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

by Shawn Chung

S$TBC June 2016 www.eurosportsauto.com.sg

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A Spider of Time The perfect spider to lurk in your parlour

by Shawn Chung

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ax Büsser founded his creative lab MB&F (for Max Büsser & Friends) in 2005 to create radical horological machines based on their wildest imagination. For the tenth anniversary of MB&F, Max has come up with Arachnophobia, a spider clock sculpture featuring eight articulated legs and a bulbous black body that will scare the pants off your friends the first time they see it sitting on your table or lurking ominously on your living room wall. Like all MB&F creations, Arachnophobia is a fully functioning time machine, with the central black dome of the body telling time through hour and minute hands, and is available in either sinister black or a less intimidating yellow gold.

The spider’s L’Epée mechanical movement is clearly visible, with the head containing the regulator and balance wheel while the rear houses the main spring with eight days of power reserve.

S$23,200 (Black) S$26,500 (Gold) www.thehourglass.com

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Fabulous Phablets 2016 will be the Year of the Phablet, here’s why Photography Raymond Toh / Photography assistant Stan Goh

Stylist Verna Tan / Assisted by Nattic Makeup Ginger Lynette @fac3inc using Too Faced cosmetics Hair Keida Lee @ Clover Hair Boutique / Assisted by Joann Loke

by Shawn Chung

Covergirl Natalia Tang Ling (courtesy of AM Media & Entertainment Pte Ltd)

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martphones come in a bewildering array of screen sizes, from 3.5-inch to 8-inch, but it’s only in 2015 that Phablets devices have started to become more of a mainstream product for consumers, and in fact it’s predicted that by 2016 phablets will outsell tablets, and by 2018 one out of every four smartphones sold will be a phablet with a screen 5.5-inch or greater.

Taking note of the Note Phablets have been around as early as 2007, but it was not until Samsung launched the Galaxy Note in 2011 that people started noticing them. The original Note took advantage of Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the first Android OS created to support large screens, but more importantly it was also reasonably priced compared to similar-sized tablet devices.

Once other device manufacturers noticed the trend and started developing their own phablets, the market really started to kick off, and the increased competition saw prices drop as component costs (especially the screens) came down.

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Resistance was futile The last major smartphone maker to launch a phablet product is of course Apple, who seemed strangely reluctant to change screen sizes - they used 3.5-inch displays from the original iPhone to the iPhone 4s before finally shifting to a 4-inch display with the iPhone 5.

By 2014 the writing was on the wall regarding larger screen sizes, and that year saw the iPhone 6 (4.7-inch screen) and iPhone 6 Plus (5.5-inch). As is often the case, Apple’s seemingly magical ability to create consumer desire in an already existing market triggered a surge in phablet sales, with the iPhone 6 Plus soon accounting for 44% of all phablets sold in the US in 2014/2015.

The phablets for 2016 So what makes a phablet desirable? In terms of technical specifications almost all current phablets are high performing devices with good screens, excellent camera systems and fast processors, but there’s plenty of unique features in each to match your preference. So here’s our roundup of big screen wonders to go for this year.

Natalia Tang Ling An avid golfer who represented the the state of Selangor since her teens, Natalia was Miss Universe Malaysia First Runner Up in 2013 and a host on Fox Sports Asia and MTV7 Malaysia. Since then she’s started a career as a singer and actress in Shanghai and Taiwan and will release her debut Mandopop album in early 2016. Catch her on her album promo tour in mid-2016.

Visit http://www.nataliatangling.com/ for more info!

■ Blaque Label outifit, Robinsons The Heeren ■ Heels, Pedro ■ Accessories, Pandora

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Samsung Galaxy Note5 Get IT for

Good camera, great screen & pen-based functionality

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amsung tried to steal a march on Apple by announcing the Galaxy Note5 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus a month before the new iPhone 6S Plus. But whereas the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus is basically a Galaxy S6 Edge with a 5.7-inch screen (just as the iPhone 6S Plus is basically an iPhone 6S with a larger 5.5-inch screen), the Galaxy Note5 is a major revamp that now bears a passing resemblance to its Galaxy Note predecessors.

For one thing, it’s the first Galaxy Note device to look suitably premium, with Samsung finally dumping plastic to produce a thoroughly contemporary stylish phablet with an aluminium frame sandwiched between front and back Gorilla Glass panels. In terms of technical specifications the Galaxy Note5 gets all the latest Samsung technology, from a quad-core processor, excellent camera systems, an ultra-sharp 5.7-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display and Android Lolipop OS, but unlike practically every other current phablet it has a stylus integrated for pen-based functionality.

The S-Pen has always been a feature of the Galaxy Note family and has its share of fans and detractors, but with the Galaxy Note5 Samsung has finally gotten the stylus features down almost perfectly, with the redesigned S-Pen now easily extracted from the phablet with a simple click. Extracting the S Pen automatically launches Samsung’s Enhanced Air Command feature that provides shortcut access to the Action Memo, Smart Select and Screen Write functions. This makes the S-Pen less of an adjunct feature and more integrated into the overall functionally of the Galaxy Note5.

32GB: S$1,088 / 64GB: S$1,188 www.samsung.com/sg

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■ Leather dress, Nine West ■ Ankle booties, Nine West ■ Accessories, Pandora

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Lenovo PHAB PLUS

Get IT for

Big screen and decent pricing

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enovo has been making smartphones for quite a few years, but until recently they’ve been quiet on the local market.

The PHAB Plus should help them gain some attention, offering consumers the biggest screen size for their buck. But if you expect it to have a cheap build or use low quality components you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise.

For instance, that big 6.8-inch touchscreen is Full HD resolution with a decent 326ppi (the same pixel density as the smaller Apple iPhone 6s) and the overall build-quality and design of this phablet is pretty good - it’s a now standard monobloc with rounded edges and a metallic back with a thickness of 7.8mm. Of course it’s a bit difficult hold and operate one-handed if you have small hands, so Lenovo has compensated for this by creating a one-hand usability option that can be configured for right-handed or left-handed people, so you can, for example, move the virtual keyboard closer to the left of the screen. You can also just double tap to turn on the screen, or shake the device to lock it!

Processing power comes from a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 Octa-core processor, which is a little dated but can still handle most multi-tasking demands efficiently. Running Android 5.0 Lollipop, there’s 32GB of internal storage plus a microSD slot, 13-megapixel main and 5-megapixel front camera and Dolby virtual surround sound support. A 3,500mAh battery promises up to 24 hours of talk time.

S$499 www.lenovo.com/sg/en

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LG V10

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Group selfies and manual video control

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G starts 2016 with a big bang as their newest flagship device, the LG V10, comes to Singapore in mid-January.

The V10 is the first in LG’s new line of super-premium smartphones and is a 5.7-inch phablet with dual 5-megapixel front mounted cameras and a secondary screen for power conservation.

Dual screen phones have been around since the days when flip-phones were trendy, but on the V10 the second screen is a 2.1-inch ‘strip’ located above the main 5.7-inch QHD IPS Quantum Display that can be used to display notifications or time, date and battery life information while the main screen stays off. While the main screen is in use, the secondary screen can be customised as a dedicated launching area for shortcuts or apps.

The V10 is awesome for capturing ‘wefies’, thanks to its dual front-mounted cameras. It will create a composite wide-angle image with a 120-degree field of view (a single camera typically has an 80-degree field of view). Goodbye, selfie stick! The main 16-megapixel camera has been enhanced to capture up to 4K UHD videos with a manual video mode; the first such feature in a phablet device.

While LG has retained their signature rear mounted power button/fingerprint sensor, the V10 is a brand new stainless steel design with a Dura Skin cover for grip and comfort as well as tough steel side bumpers. On the inside the phablet packs a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, plus the back cover is removable so users can swap out the 3,000mAh battery or access the microSD card slot.

S$1,088 (due 16 Jan) www.lg.com/sg

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■ Lace jacket and pleated skirt, Liu.Jo ■ Ankle booties, Nine West ■ Accessories, Pandora

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Sony Xperia Z5 Premium

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Fantastically sharp screen, brilliant camera, 4K recording and viewing

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e’ve mentioned 4K more than enough times in this issue for you to get the big picture (that’s a bad pun – ed) that 4K UHD is here to stay. In fact, plenty of current smartphones can now record videos in 4K format, but none of them actually have 4K screens, so when you play a 4K video, your phablet will downscale the video to 1080p.

One phablet that does have a true 4K screen is Sony’s Xperia Z5 Premium, This monobloc phablet is available in a mirror-like Chrome finish alongside Black and glossy Gold. Created to showcase Sony’s prowess in 4K video technology the Xperia Z5 Premium comes with an extremely bright 5.5-inch Triluminos display with a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. In regular use, like reading an ebook for example, the Xperia Z5 Premium

actually reverts to 1080p resolution to conserve power, but run a native 4K video and the screen literally pops with deep colours, fine details and great contrast. In fact, the Xperia Z5 Premium not only upscales regular video content to 4K, it also has Sony’s revamped mobile camera system with a 23-megapixel 1.2/3 Exmor RS sensor and new lens system, making the Xperia Z5 Premium the best phablet for capturing 4K videos as well.

The entire Xperia Z5 family incorporate Sony’s latest Hi-Res audio feature, which digitally processes any audio file and upscales the track to near high resolution audio quality.

S$998 www.sony.com.sg

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Huawei Mate S Get IT for

Attractive looks and slim form factor

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uawei’s Mate S will surprise you for its very fashionable appearance and premium feel, especially with the premium Luxurious Gold limited edition that was launched in Singapore. The design features a pared down bezel and a curved back, so that the side edges are just 2.65mm thick, and the use of precision CNC diamond milling means that it’s very well put together with an almost seamless metal body that feels comfortable in the hand.

As with the current crop of smartphones the fingerprint sensor system located at the back case of the Mate S has been updated for faster response and more versatility, including use as a selfie camera trigger and to make secure payment applications. The Full-HD 5.5inch touchscreen now has ‘Knuckle Sensor 2.0’ where the device responds to the wider area of your knuckle pressed to the screen - for example, you can launch the camera by drawing a “c” on the screen with your knuckle.

The 128GB version of this Limited Edition comes with a Force Touch touchscreen, but Huawei have yet to decide if this version will reach Singapore.

The Mate S also has a 13-megapixel main camera that has a couple of interesting features, including a dedicated image processor. If you use the Mate S to snap a picture of a document, you can enable a Document Adjustment feature that will automatically adjust the image so that your document comes out looking perfectly square and 2D.

S$999 (64GB Luxurious Gold limited edition) www.huawei.com/sg

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■ Black Halo 2pc outfit, Eclecticism ■ Heels, Pedro ■ Accessories, Thomas Sabo

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Xiaomi Mi Note

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Cost effective performer

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f you’ve wondered why Xiaomi has been doing so well, try out one of their Mi Note phablets. The Chinese electronics firm may only be 5 years old, but its rapid rise has seen it become the largest mobile phone vendor in China by 2014, selling an astounding 60 million mobile devices worldwide in that year.

Xiaomi thrives by creating quality products that are sold for low margins, thereby profiting from the high volume of devices sold. The Mi Note phablet is a perfect example, a device that boasts good technical features, excellent design and an impressive build. All for a very decent price.

The design of the Mi Note is actually quite similar to a certain top-spec phablet that shares the same 5.7-inch screen size - an aluminium chassis sandwiched between two pieces of glass, in this case Gorilla Glass 3, with the bottom glass panel curving upwards to provide a comfortable fit the palm of a hand with a very slight edge from the aluminium bezel for extra grip.

While the Mi Note is just 6.95mm thin, Xiaomi have somehow managed to cram in a 3000mAh battery, Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor, 64GB storage and 3GB RAM, Dual SIM support as well as a digital audio chip for high quality sound! The main camera’s an 13-megapixel with a dual flash while the front camera has a 4-megapixel sensor.. The device runs Android 5.1 with MIUI 6, a surprisingly clean and smooth user interface.

S$569 www.mi.com/sg

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Apple iPhone 6S Plus Get IT for

Usability and design

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pple has always marched to its own drum with the iPhone family, and so far they’ve managed to get everything right. The iPhone has never been about being the thinnest, lightest, most powerful smartphone on the planet with the best technical features, No, Apple’s primary focus has always been about improving usability.

Take the iPhone 6S Plus. It’s an extensive upgrade of the iPhone 6 Plus in virtually every department except screen size and resolution, and even though it shares the exact same design as its predecessor Apple actually went and made the new phablet tougher for everyday use with stronger glass and aluminium alloy. That’s not something they had to do to increase the consumer appeal of the new device, but they did so because it improved your user experience and to provide you with a phone that can better take the knocks of life without breaking and getting replaced.

That’s pretty much true for the new 3D Touch user interface, where the iPhone 6S Plus is now able to sense how much pressure you apply when you touch the screen. A light pressure opens preview windows or menu options, while a firmer press opens functions.

It’s so well engineered that you’ll quickly get used to it and start ‘popping and peeking’ as if you’ve used it for years, not minutes.

16GB: S$1,218 / 64GB: S$1,388 / 128GB: S$1,558 www.apple.com/sg

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■ Dress with feathers, Liu.Jo ■ Heels, Pedro ■ Accessories, Thomas Sabo

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OPPO R7s

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Bang for the buck

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PPO has been around for a good 12 years, but unlike Xiaomi the brand has been more methodical and careful about its expansion, launching their first handsets in 2008 and slowly expanding their reach across 112 countries by 2015.

Where they resemble Xiaomi is that they produce similar products at similar price points, but OPPO often adds one class-leading feature to a new device.

The new R7s phablet is a perfect example of OPPO’s current practice, with the brand calling out the device’s 4GB RAM as the key feature, which in conjunction with OPPO’s latest ColorOS 2.1 will enable the R7s to launch apps faster.

While the R7s shares the same design DNA metal unibody as other R7 series devices, at 6.95mm slim and 155g it’s actually slimmer and lighter than its immediate predecessor, the R7 Plus. Apart from the higher RAM capacity, this phablet also gets an exclusive Rose Gold colour, a 5.5-inch Full-HD AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 4, 32GB storage, Snapdragon 615 processor and a 3070mAh battery. Both the front 8-megapixel and rear 13-megapixel cameras have Hybrid Focus for fast autofocus. For selfie lovers who want to snap night images of themselves, there’s an interesting Screen Flash feature where the entire screen flashes when the image is taken.

S$599 www.oppo.com/sg

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Huawei Nexus 6P

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Cutting edge power

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he fact that Huawei collaborated with Google for the latest Nexus phablet is a sign that the Chinese manufacturer is now taken very seriously by the Android community. Some commentators consider this a strange partnership, considering the restrictions placed on Google’s mobile and internet services in China but so far it seems that both brands have benefited - Google getting a powerful, good looking new phablet and Huawei accolades from the hard-core Android user community for building the Nexus 6P. The Nexus 6P is the second ever Nexus phablet device and boasts an impressive 5.7inch WQHD 518ppi AMOLED display that rivals the screens on Samsung’s Note5 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus for quality. Plus it’s powered by a top-line octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor and fully integrated with Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS to enable security and wireless payments via the use of the enhanced fingerprint sensor located on the back of the phablet.

Technical features aside, the Nexus 6P also a very nicely put together device with some design touches that have never appeared before on a Nexus phone, specifically the use of an anodised aluminium unibody design with two speakers bracketing the touchscreen for stereo audio. At the back, instead of a small raised camera window, the entire top portion of the rear has been raised to form a large panel that houses the device’s 12.3 megapixel main camera, flash and the device’s various antenna.

64GB: S$949 / 128GB: S$1,049 www.huawei.com/sg

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HTC One E9+ dual sim Get IT for

Top multimedia features at a great price

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TC has always been a rather quirky smartphone maker who will occasionally buck trends and go their own way. In the past it’s backfired a time or two - like when they launched their UltraPixel sensor before it was totally debugged. More recently HTC pioneered the use of milled anodised aluminium for their phones, creating the current ‘metal body’ trend. So it’s perhaps a step backwards in design that the HTC E9+ dual sim was built with a plastic back.

But there is a real method to HTC’s apparent madness, for the E9+ isn’t their high-end flagship device but rather a phablet created to bring high-end features in a more affordable and light device, with weight saving placed ahead of premium feel. That’s not to say the E9+ doesn’t feel nice in the hand and looks pretty decent in gold sepia or rose gold, but it does lack that classy curved feel the brand is renowned for.

The main strength of the HTC E9+ dual sim lies in the device’s multimedia capabilities, for not only does it have HTC’s excellent Boomsound audio processing system and twin speakers, but also a sharp Quad HD 5.5inch display, 4K capable 20 megapixel main camera, front facing HTC UltraPixel camera and a MediaTek HelioX10 processor with a 8 x 2GHz octa-core chipset, and there’s 32GB of storage and 3GB of RAM. All these features come in a package that’s around half the cost of the Apple iPhone 6S Plus and Samsung Note5, both of which have very similar screens and smaller resolution main cameras.

S$698 www.htc.com/sea

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Top of the Class They’re the most expensive and comprehensive Phablets available and traditional rivals for Market share, so how does the Apple iPhone 6S Plus and the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ compare?

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pple and Samsung have been rivals at the top of the smartphone business for so long that it’s now traditional to compare iPhones to Galaxies, yet 2015 saw a big shift as both mobile makers launched classy phablet rivals within a month of each other. While we choose the Samsung Note5 as the best Samsung has to offer (primarily due to its enhanced S Pen features), the true glamour rival for Apple’s iPhone 6S Plus is the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+. Let’s see how they stack up!

Build Both the iPhone 6S Plus and the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ are built using a higher grade of 7000-series aluminium than before for additional chassis strength and are extremely well put together. Apple has kept an aluminium unibody while Samsung are using two gorilla glass panels sandwiching the aluminium chassis.

upscale lower quality audio to make them sound better, a feature we’re seeing more often on smartphones. The Galaxy S6 Edge Plus has Samsung’s Ultra High Quality Audio that does upscale.

Operating System iOS 9 is smooth and fast, plus there’s Apple’s 3D Touch that makes your scrolling/browsing experience a lot easier.

The Android Lollipop running Galaxy S6 Edge Plus has Samsung’s Peoples Edge to let you access your 5 most frequent contacts from the screen.

Computing Power Here’s where both manufacturers go their own way and use bespoke 64-bit chipsets. Apple’s A9 chipset is a duocore 1.85Ghz processor with M9 motion coprocessor and upgraded image processor. Samsung’s Exynos 7 Octa 7420 system has 4x 2.1GHz + 4x 1.5GHz cores.

Looks As expected Apple used the iPhone 6 Plus design, but because of the new aluminium body it’s actually 1mm thicker than its predecessor. The Galaxy S6 Edge Plus uses Samsung’s refreshed design that capitalises on distinct curving edges and a glass back, and is 6.9mm thin.

Memory & Storage

Display

Cameras

Apple has stayed with the same screen that debuted on the iPhone 6 Plus, a full HD 5.5-inch Retina HD display that has 401ppi, while the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus shares the same screen as the Galaxy Note5, a larger 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED with 2560 x 1440 resolution and 518 ppi, which is clearly sharper and richer than on the iPhone 6S Plus. Both devices are capable of downscaling 4K video for playback.

Apple stuck to their 12-megapixel iSight camera with f2.2 for the iPhone 6S Plus, while on the front there’s a 5-megapixel FaceTime Camera. For the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, Samsung are using a 16-megapixel f1.9 camera with OIS, and a 5-megapixel front camera. Both phablets can record 4K video with their main cameras.

The iPhone 6S Plus has 2GB of RAM and is available with 16/64/128GB onboard storage. The Galaxy S6 Edge Plus gets a class leading 4GB of RAM, but is only available in 32GB and 64GB storage with no microSD card.

Battery Audio Strangely for Apple, while the iPhone 6S Plus can handle high-quality audio tracks, it doesn’t have the ability to

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Battery size is almost the same, 2750mAh for the iPhone 6S Plus and 3000mAh for the Galaxy Edge S6 Plus. The S6 Edge Plus however, does have both fast charging and wireless charging features.

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The Affordable Alternatives

Both Xiaomi and Oppo offer excellent devices at low prices, but how do they compare to each other?

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iaomi may be the face of the Chinese smartphone revolution, but its peers are doing as well, if not better than them: Huawei, OnePlus, Lenovo, and Oppo, amongst others, are showing the world that cheap can be good as well.

The Xiaomi Mi Note remains the benchmark for others to follow, what with its competitive specifications in relation to the price tag. For S$569, what you get is a flagship-class smartphone minus the superfluous features for the most part.

Of course, there’s not much point in competing in the same space, so rivals like Oppo tend to offer something a little different. Oppo’s S$599 R7s is almost in the same vein – but with a preference for aesthetics and specialised feature sets.

So how do they fare side by side? Here’s the tale of the tape.

Build The R7s is closer to Apple’s design while the Mii Note looks similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Note (it came out earlier though). Both phones are equally slim at 6.95mm thick, but while Oppo sticks to a conventional metal back, Xiaomi has created a curved glass back design. If you’re into the whole rose gold thing? Between the two only Oppo offers it.

Display The R7s and Mi Note both have narrow screen bezels.

The R7s sports a full HD, 5.5-inch screen, while Xiaomi’s phone clocks in at 5.7 inches with also full HD resolution.

Oppo’s AMOLED display is slightly richer than Xiaomi’s IPS solution, but by far and large it’s fairly close.

Audio The Mi Note steps out of the norm here with its ESS Sabre DAC and two-stage amplification designed for high resolution audio. This isn’t something most phone manufacturers have spent a lot of time on.

Operating System It’s quite apparent that the Chinese love Apple’s UI, as both ColorOS 2.1 (Oppo) and MIUI 6 (Xiaomi) are vastly similar

thanks to its layout and lack of an app drawer. A best of both worlds approach to give you the power of Android with the simplicity of iOS.

Computing Power This is one area where the two phones vary significantly.

The R7s is designed to be a mid-range device with its Snapdragon 615 processor while the Mii Note offers the top tier Snapdragon 801. The Snapdragon 801 offers raw power, while the Snapdragon 615 will be easier on your battery life.

Memory and Storage The Oppo R7s offers 4GB of RAM compared to the Mi Note’s 3GB – for Android, the more the merrier. The R7s offers 32GB of onboard storage and an expandable memory slot, while the Mi Note offers phones with fixed storage capacities; but only the 64GB is available here.

Cameras The Mi Note has a fairly ‘mainstream’ configuration here: 13-megapixel rear camera and a 4-megapixel front camera; it’s also equipped with OIS, and offers 4K video recording. For Oppo however, the cameras are key product features. The front camera has an 8-megapixel sensor, perfect for selfie buffs, while the 13-megapixel rear camera utilises a hybrid autofocus design to make action shots that much easier to take. However, it has no OIS built-in.

Battery The batteries are quite similar: 3,070mAh (R7s) versus 3,000mAh (Mii Note) and both phones sport a quick charge feature.

Connectivity Both phones offer a dual SIM feature, although in the case of the Oppo, the tray is designed as such that you can either have two SIM cards on the tray, or one SIM card and one microSD card in it.

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The Smartwatches

It’s not only phablet devices that matured in 2015, but smartwatches as well. For 2016 you’ll see a lot more of these watches being worn, as they’ve developed into a multi-tasking wearable that can not only ping you when you get a call or email, but also store music and apps and track your daily activities.

Apple Watch Sports

The Apple Watch actually went through a refresh in September that not only added aluminium-bodied Gold and Rose Gold Sports models to match the latest iPhone 6S devices, but also an OS upgrade to Watch OS2 to enable powerful Apps to run from the Watch natively.

Apple Watch Sports: from S$518 Apple Watch: from S$798 Apple Watch Edition: from S$15,000 www.apple.com/sg

LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition

LG announced the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition in early October 2015, but there’s no word as yet when this uber Smartwatch will reach our sunny shores. The new Urbane could very well be the ‘Apple Watch killer’, as it comes with full connectivity including LTE/WiFi and doesn’t need to sync with a smartphone. And it’s compatible with iOS as well.

TBC www.lg.com/sg

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Samsung Gear S2

Samsung’s new smartwatch is a distinct improvement over its predecessor, and instead of looking like Dick Tracy’s wrist communicator it’s actually styled just like a regular watch, with a rotating bezel that lets you effortlessly scroll through the menu. As it runs on Samsung’s own Tizen OS, only time will tell if it gets the Apps that it richly deserves.

Gear S2: S$448 Gear S2 Classic: S$548 www.samsung.com/sg

Huawei Watch

Huawei has done a quite an excellent job with their first ever smartwatch, the Huawei Watch.

It’s an Android wear device with a classic 42mm watch case in Classic stainless Steel, Active black-plated stainless steel and Elite Gold-plated stainless steel, and with two to three watch strap choices. The Watch’s 1.4-inch display is quite bright and comes pre-loaded with 40 digital watch faces, while there’s about 1.5 days of battery life, 4GB of storage and a heart rate sensor.

from S$549 www.huawei.com/sg

Sony Smartwatch 3

Sleek and waterproof, Sony’s Smartwatch 3 has 4GB of onboard storage as well as Bluetooth, NFC and activity tracking features, so you can sync a BT headset directly to it and leave your phone at home when you go on a jog.

S$298 www.sony.com.sg

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C O N T E S T

Win One of Two ARCHT ONE wireless speakers

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he ARCHT One is a premium Wireless 360° Audio System that revolutionizes how sound is seen and heard, with

patented Sound Array Module that disperses sound omnidirectionally and will transform every space into a sweet spot; giving listeners high quality, consistent, distortion-free audio no matter where you are. At the push of a button, you can control playback of music directly on the ARCHT One wirelessly from your laptop, tablet or mobile devices. Choose from connections such as Wi-Fi, AirPlay, DLNA, Bluetooth and direct USB or AUX and stream music straight from your device or the Internet! Wi-Fi capabilities, Thanks to ARCHT Audio, NXT Magazine has two of these gorgeous speakers to give away - one Red and one Black.

All you have to do is answer the following question, then: email info.nxt@kingsmanmedia.com subject: NXT ARCHT ONE Contest For verification purposes please provide your: 1. Name 2. NRIC number 3. Email 4. Telephone number

The ARCHT One’s patented Sound Array Module disperses sound omnidirectionally and will transform every space into a sweet spot; giving listeners high quality, consistent, distortion-free audio no matter where you are.

TRUE or FALSE?

Contest terms and conditions

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1. This contest will run from 07/01/2016 to 07/02/2016 and is by

4. The winning contestants must be a Singaporean citizen or

current resident. Submissions from outside Singapore will not

2. All details submitted must be true and accurate. Personal

be accepted. Employees of Archt Audio and Kingsman Media

are disqualified from entering this contest.

email only. information of all contestants will be kept private and

confidential.

5. The winning contestants will be announced in a forthcoming

3. Two winners will be selected randomly, and the selection will

be final and binding. Each winner will receive one ARCHT One

6. Kingsman Media reserves the rights to modify the terms and

speaker and will be notified via email and telephone call.

Winners are required to bring their NRIC for verification during

prize collection.

issue of NXT magazine. conditions of this contest.

P R I M E

Gadgets tested for your assessment

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Asus Zen Aio Pro

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Canon PowerShot G9 X

126 HTC One A9 128 Huawei Mate S & Huawei Watch 124

Lenovo Y700

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Pebble Steel Time

116 Samsung Galaxy Note5 120 Samsung Galaxy Gear S2 118 Sennheiser HD630BV 134 Sony Bravia X80C 4K TV 122 Sony Xperia Z5 Premium Group Test: Mid-tier Mirrorless Cameras 139

Fujifilm X-A2

138 Nikon 1 J5 140 Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mk2 115

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High 5 the Note5 The Revitalised Galaxy Note 5 is a great smartphone for all occasions

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t’s taken Samsung five attempts but they’ve gotten almost everything right with the Galaxy Note5. Well, almost everything.

With the Note5, Samsung have finally ditched the plastic back that was roundly criticised on the Note 4 and gone upmarket by applying the design and build DNA from the Galaxy S6, so it’s finally a Note with a notable look - a glass-aluminium-glass device that’s a nice 7.6mm slim. But do note that the glass back not only loves fingerprints, it’s a little bit slippery to boot, so a good case or phone protector is a wise investment.

That said, the curved edges makes the Note5 quite secure and comfortable to hold in one hand, even though it has a large 5.7-inch Quad Super-HD AMOLED touchscreen that’s bright and pin-sharp.

As expected of a Samsung flagship device, the Note5’s technical

RATING ★★★★

by Shawn Chung

If you like big powerful Android phones you’ll love the Note5. Its fast, snaps great photos, looks great and the S-Pen works well. Samsung’s strange decision to limit internal memory capacity and drop removable storage may however turn off some power users.

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specifications are all excellent, especially it’s powerful multi-core processor, large battery and 16-megapixel main camera. The redesigned S Pen slots is easy to pop out and the enhanced S-Pen features well thought out, like how you can write memos as soon as you pop out the pen.

What bothers us the most, however, is the lack of a microSD card slot. This a bit inexcusable when other smaller phone brands have placed both the SIM card and microSD card into one convenient caddy, and especially so when the Note5 comes in only 32GB and 64GB versions. Considering how many power users are attracted to the Note5, the lack of external storage is a pretty big concern, though Samsung have included a free one year’s subscription to Microsoft’s OneDrive for 100GB to compensate.

Technical specifications: Size/Weight 153.2 x 76.1 x 7.6 mm/ 171g CPU Octa core, 64-bit, 4x 2.1GHz + 4x 1.5 GHz. Storage Capacity 32GB/64GB ROM/3GB RAM/ Up to 2TB external microSD Camera Back 16MP OIS, F1.9, 4K video recording Camera Front 5MP, F1.9 Platform Android 5.1 Connectivity 2G/3G UMTS/4G LTE/NFC/BT4.2/WiFi/ Display 5.7-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED Battery 3,000mAh, wireless charging compatible 32GB S$1,088 64GB S$1,188 www.samsung.com/sg

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EXCLUSIVE

Quiet music riot Sennheiser goes modern with the latest HD series headphone.

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ennheiser primarily use open back designs for better sound staging, but they aren’t practical outdoors as they ‘leak’ noise. The HD630BV is first in Sennheiser’s HD series to feature a closed back design, an acknowledgement of an audience who want a high-end Sennheiser headphone that is designed for commutes.

The construction on the HD 630VB is faultless; premium aluminum and well cushioned pads impress upon you its high-end status. It is also extremely comfortable, and the pads offer excellent sound isolation. While rather large for a portable headphone, the sound quality makes the trouble worthwhile.

Despite its closed back design, the HD 630VB has a surprisingly wide soundstage. Depth-wise (front to back), it feels rather flat, but the separation between instruments is distinct and you can make out individual instruments easily and hear their nuances. Although vocals aren’t pushed into

RATING ★★★★★

by Justin Choo

Sennheiser’s first effort at a high end portable headphone is quite remarkable.

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the forefront, they maintain some airiness and presence.

Details are fairly good, but you would expect more from something in this price bracket.

The HD 630VB has a relatively neutral character that’s somewhat midway between a HD800 and a HD600.

It’s snappy and responsive, and with a slight metallicsounding characteristic. However if you want more bass in your music, you’re in luck. Built into the right side of the headphone is a passive, variable bass boost dial that works great especially for modern recordings. In addition, smartphone controls are also placed on the right ear cup.

These headphones are rather easy to drive, and we were able to get good results on a variety of phones.

However the overall character can be quite different depending on the audio playback qualities of the phone, ranging from bright to dark, so do try on your portable device of choice first.

Technical specifications: Transducer principle dynamic closed Bass boost +/- 5db at 50 hz Impedance 23� Frequency response (headphones) 10-42,000 hz Sound pressure level (spl) 114db (1 khz/1vrm) Thd, total harmonic distortion <0.08% (1Khz, 100db) Cable length 1.2 M Weight w/o cable 400g S$769 en-sg.sennheiser.com

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Editor’s Choice

Samsung turns back the dial on smartwatch design Samsung dials in with a great smartwatch.

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he great thing about Samsung’s second generation smartwatch, the Gear S2, is that it doesn’t look like a smartwatch at all! Where the original rectangular Gear S looked chunky and digital, with the Gear S2 Samsung went back to the basics of traditional watch design and came up with a slim smartwatch that has a circular touchscreen screen and rotating bezel, and to make it more watch-like there’s a host of dial designs to use. While the touch interface of the screen works well, the addition of the bezel lets you rapidly scroll through on-screen menus, with the app icons on the screen spinning in sync!

Setting the Gear S2 to any Android smart device takes a bit of time, however, as you need to download a package of Samsung Apps from Google Play - including Samsung’s S Health health monitoring app and

RATING ★★★★

by Shawn Chung

The Samsung Gear S2 is the most innovative of the current generation of smartwatches with a unique Tizen OS that is quite different from the usual and visually interesting to use.

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a Gear app that manages the smartwatch and enables you to get watch apps. An interesting feature of S Health is that you can set the gear to send you prompts to get up and stretch when you’ve been inactive for too long, and cheery messages when you hit exercise milestones.

Battery life is a good three days of everyday use, and there’s a magnetic charging dock that you simply attach the Gear S2 to when you need power.

The Gear S2 comes in two different options: the Gear S2 is the sports oriented version with a fixed plastic strap, whilst the Gear S2 classic has a more timeless watch design and comes with a leather strap using the standard 20mm watch strap attachment system, so users can swap them out their own NATO straps.

Technical specifications: Dimensions 42.3 x 49.8 x 11.4mm, 47g (Gear S2) 39.9 x 43.6 x 11.4mm, 42g (Gear S2 Classic) Display 1.2-inch full Circular AMOLED touchscreen, 302dpi Memory 4GB Storage, 512MB RAM Connectivity BT4.1, WiFi, NFC Processor Exynos 3250 OS Tizen Battery 250mAh Sensors Accelerometer, Gyro, HRM, Barometer Samsung Gear S2 S$448 Samsung Gear S2 classic S$548 www.samsung.com/sg

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Steel in Time Get a look at Pebble’s latest smartwatch.

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he Pebble Time Steel is, as you would expect, a more ‘refined’ version of Pebble Time, what with a smaller bezel, and sporting a more refined look thanks to its steel casing. Admittedly, with a 1 ¼ inch e-paper screen, the Pebble Time Steel seems purposed for a quick run-through of notifications with some additional functions, especially timeline: an interface that presents your schedule and other information in a easy to read, chronological sequence where you scroll up to look back at past events, scroll down to look at future events. It’s clever as it removes the drudgery of having to look for an app to get there.

While there’s no touchscreen here, the a simple ‘up, down, enter and go back’ set of buttons are more than adequate, although it may get a bit tiresome if you do have quite a number of entries to peruse.

It’s important to note that Apple users and Android users will have a different experience with the Pebble Steel; with iOS users unable to access the smartwatch’s voice replies to notifications and audio notes. The apps in general are limited and relatively rudimentary, but to be fair it wasn’t looking to be the most high-tech kid on the block.

The Pebble Time Steel is stylish. It’s also a fairly basic smartwatch by today’s standards, but that may well be what some people want – just the essentials.

However it won’t be a bang-for-your-buck purchase.

Pricing isn’t confirmed at time of writing, but it won’t be cheap and is likely to be in the region of S$400 when released here, if not more.

RATING ★★★★★

by JUSTIN CHOO

The Pebble Time Steel packs in the essentials for everyday use – well-built and waterproof, long lasting battery, and always-on display – and chucks the rest.

The price tag feels a little high for a watch with limited skillset, but the build quality makes up for it.

Technical specifications: Colours Black, Gold, Silver OS Timeline Compatibility iOS 8 and up, Android 4.3 and up Display 1 ¼-inch e-paper screen, 64 colours (no touchscreen) Connectivity Bluetooth v2.1 / 4.0 LE Water resistance Up to 30 meters Battery life Up to 10 days Features 3-axis accelerometer, magnetometer, ambient light sensor, compass, gyroscope, microphone Strap size 22mm Dimensions 47 x 37.5 x 10.5mm Weight 62.3-116.3g (depending on strap) TBC Q1 2016 www.pebble.com

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Big screen Xperience Sony’s Xperia Z5 Premium brings 4K viewing to smartphones.

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he Sony Xperia Z5 Premium has been eagerly anticipated by multimedia geeks. Why? Because unlike its two siblings, the Z5 and Z5 Compact, the Z5 Premium rocks the world’s first 4K display in a 5.5-inch phablet!

For normal usage the screen on the Z5 Premium stays in 1080p resolution to save power, but can be set to automatically upscale images and video to 4K resolution.

Watch a native 4K video like the recent Skyfall trailer, and it’s superb, with deep blacks and fine details. Upscaling even works on YouTube videos, where we tried the same video in 480p with and without the enhancement, and you could make out better details, though it was a little lacking compared to the native 1080p version of the same video.

All Z5 devices share the same processor, a powerful Snapdragon 810 processor, 23-megapixel main camera and Sony’s Hi-Res audio upscaling. The processor, coupled

RATING ★★★★★

by Shawn Chung

The Xperia Z5 Premium is Sony’s flagship and it ticks all the boxes in technical features, especially regarding the 4K screen. The design is a definite let down though, and some might not like how hot it gets at the back while gaming or watching a video.

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with the Z5 Premium’s 3GB RAM, makes opening even 4K video files fast though it does heat up a quite a bit on high loads. The camera is of course Sony excellent and shoots good images, but in low-light will switch to 8 megapixel resolution when you push the ISO up to 3200. Finally running music is awesome. Low-res audio does sound great, but a 70MB FLAC track of Dire Strait’s Sultans of Swing was simply stunning.

About the worst aspect of the Xperia Z5 Premium is its design. While most contemporary phablets have curved backs and sides to make them more ergonomic to hold in one hand, Sony has stuck to a monobloc design with flat surfaces and slightly curved sides and corners. The version with the chrome back is stunningly reflective and also a massive fingerprint magnet, but a bonus point is that all Xperia devices are waterproof to an extent, so they’ve become favoured amongst the outdoor sports types.

Technical specifications: Size/Weight 154.4 x 75.8 x 7.8 mm/180g CPU Snapdragon 810 Octa core, 64-bit, 4x 2GHz + 4 x1.5GHz. Storage Capacity 32GB ROM/3GB RAM. external microSD Camera Back 23 MP, f2.0, 4K video recording Camera Front 5MP Platform Android 5.1 Connectivity 2G/3G UMTS/4G LTE/NFC/BT4.2/WiFi/ Display 5.5-inch 4K LCD Battery 3430mAh S$1,098 www.sony.com.sg

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Affordable gaming machine L

Lenovo’s Ideapad Y700 won’t set the gaming world on fire, nor burn a hole in your wallet.

enovo’s updated Ideapad Y-series gaming notebooks are an interesting balance between power, performance and affordability, especially the two versions available in Singapore, which lack the optional touchscreen or 4K UHD screen. What we get instead is a 14-inch or 15.6-inch Full HD mid-tier gaming notebook that’s a decent gaming machine and an excellent multimedia notebook.

The 15.6-inch version, known as the Ideapad Y700-15ISK for its 15.6-inch Full HD screen and Intel Skylake i7 processor is physically a bit of a beast for a laptop - if you compare it to consumer orientated machines of compatible screen size, that is. For a gamer it’s actually a decent weight, around 2.6kg. The brushed black aluminium exterior is nicely sinister, as is the glowing-red backlit full sized keyboard on the inside. There is two speakers located near the screen to take note of, two watt JBL stereo speakers, which coupled with the downward firing three watt JBL woofer located underneath the large trackpad provides excellent audio, nicely detailed and a little resonant without going overboard on bass. The 15.6-inch screen is also pretty sharp and with the speakers produce an excellent experience for watching movies.

For gamers, the most important thing is always about performance, and the Ideapad Y700-15ISK has an Intel Skylake Core i7-6700HQ Quad-Core 2.6GHz Processor, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, NVIDIA GTX 960M graphics with 4GB GDDR RAM, 802.11 AC WiFi and a 1 TB hard drive. Overall that’s pretty decent for the price and mid-range in terms of gaming performance, so you’ll have no issue meeting the recommended requirements for Fallout 4. The processor is in fact the third fastest Skylake processor and the fast WiFi makes the Lenovo Ideapad Y70015ISK a good machine for beginner gamers looking to practice DOTA2 over LAN.

RATING ★★★★

by Shawn Chung

The Lenovo Ideapad Y700-15ISK is a pretty reasonable gaming notebook for beginner or amateur gamers who like to game on the go.

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Technical specifications: Size/Weight 387 x 227 x 25.95mm / 2.6kg OS Windows 10 Processor Intel Skylake Core i7-6700HQ Quad-Core 2.6GHz Processor Graphics NVIDIA GTX 960M graphics, 4GB GDDR RAM Memory 8GB (up to 16GB) DDR4 Storage 1TB HDD, or 512GB SSD Display 15.6-inch Frameless Full HD Connectivity LAN 1000 M, Up to WiFi 2 x 2 a/c, Bluetooth 4.0 Ports 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x HDMI, DC-in, 1 x USB 2.0 + Always-on, 2-in-1 Audio Combo Jack, media card reader from S$1,899 www.lenovo.com/sg

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EXCLUSIVE

The One with the looks HTC’s One A9 has had bad press for its very iPhone-ish looks, but is it a fair comparison?

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e’ve mentioned this before in our Phablet cover feature - in recent years HTC has tried to differentiate themselves from other device makers by offering consumers something a little different with every smartphone they make. Yes, the HTC One A9 does look like an Android version of an iPhone, but to be fair to HTC, they were the very first brand to come up with all-metal bodied smartphones, and the One A9 wasn’t created to take on the Apple iPhone 6s directly, but to offer a similar premium design and curvy metal body in a more affordable device for the masses.

The metal body of the A9, for one, is a single piece of milled aluminium that’s been curved, bead-blasted and then had the sides polished to a shine, leaving a slight texture to the back of the device that makes it less slippery in the hand. The front has a 5-inch 2.5D Gorilla

by Shawn Chung

RATING ★★★★★

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“Pretty decent” is probably the best term to describe this mid-tier HTC smartphone. It looks good, feels great in the hand and runs the latest Android OS on a reasonably efficient processor, which means it lacks a little processing grunt that’s especially noticeable when you have multiple apps open. It really could have used a bigger battery though.

Glass 4 over a Full-HD AMOLED screen, while the location of the fingerprint-scanning Home button has lead to the removal of HTC’s signature front-mounted Boomsound stereo speakers, though the audio enhancement feature is still available when using headphones. There’s a reasonable 13-megapixel main camera that can capture images in RAW format using Pro mode and a 4 megapixel HTC UltraPixel camera at the front for selfies, while the Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor has a good balance of power and efficiency.

The A9’s HTC Sense UI has been pared down a bit as well as it’s one of the first non-Nexus devices to run Android OS 6.0 Marshmallow which comes with a pretty good suite of apps, including Google Now on Tap and Android Pay, both of which are linked to the fingerprint scanner.

Technical specifications: Size/Weight 145.7 x 70.8 x 7.26 mm/ 143g CPU Octa core, 64-bit, 4x 1.5GHz + 4 x1.0GHz. Storage Capacity 16/32GB ROM, 2/3GB RAM. external microSD Cameras Back 13 MP OIS, 1080p video recording Cameras Front 4MP UltraPixel Platform Android 6.0 Connectivity 2G/3G UMTS/4G LTE/BT4.2/WiFi/ Display 5.0-inch Full-HD AMOLED Battery 2,150mAh $TBC Due Jan 2016 www.htc.com/sea

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Striking Gold Has Huawei finally struck gold with the new Mate S and their first smartwatch?

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uawei is only bringing in 1000 units of the Limited Edition Luxurious Gold Mate S with 64GB of storage to Singapore, and while this model lacks the Force Touch feature of the 128GB model available in some other regions, it’s a bold first step into the premium mobile market for the Chinese brand.

The Mate S is a testament to the amount of effort Huawei have put into its development to get things done right, and feels like a quality device the hand with a mildly curved back and chamfered edges and with the bezel pared down so it actually feels slim for a 5.5-inch touchscreen device. The anodised metal build is excellent with perfect seams, while the rear mounted 13 megapixel camera is protected by sapphire crystal glass.

Interestingly, Huawei have chosen to keep the fingerprint sensor at the back of the device, but it’s now a lot faster to unlock. Technical

RATING ★★★★

by Shawn Chung

As Huawei’s first foray into the premium smartphone market, the Mate S is a very decent device with great build and looks. It just lacks a little in technical specifications, like 4K video recording, compared to its tough competition.

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features include a custom Hisilicon Kirin 935 octa-core processor, 3GB RAM, full-HD 5.5-inch AMOLED screen, 8MP front ‘selfie’ camera plus a 13MP rear camera and 2700mAh battery. The full-HD AMOLED screen is excellent, with deep blacks and good contrast while the main camera has good low light capabilities and a number of interesting features including a neat Document Readjust function that lets you ‘flatten and straighten’ a picture of a document to make it easier to read.

The Mate S comes with Android 5.1 as well as Huawei’s Emotion 3.1 UI, which has been kept simple but has a feature Huawei calls ‘Knuckle 2.0’. Using your knuckles, you can activate a shortcut by using your knuckle to draw a letter, like ‘c’ to activate the camera or just take a screenshot by rapping the screen twice.

Technical specifications: Size/Weight 149.8 x 75.3 x 7.2 mm/ 156g CPU Octa core, 64-bit, 4x 2.2GHz + 4 x1.5GHz. Storage Capacity 64GB ROM/3GB RAM. external microSD Camera Back 13 MP OIS, 1080p video recording Camera Front 8MP Platform Android 5.1 Connectivity 2G/3G UMTS/4G LTE/NFC/BT4.2/WiFi/ Display 5.5-inch Full-HD AMOLED Battery 2,700mAh S$999 www.huawei.com/sg

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hile Huawei has launched a few variants of their new Huawei Watch, we were lucky to land the premium Gold version for this review. The Huawei Watch was the first to adopt classic watch aesthetics as well as watchmaking techniques with its circular 42mm stainless steel case and 18mm straps. The 1.4-inch display with 266dpi resolution is protected by sapphire glass and powered by Android Wear with 512MB RAM and 4GB storage. There’s also has the now standard smartwatch sensors, including heart rate monitoring, barometer and six-axis motion sensor.

The Huawei Watch feels exactly like a regular watch to wear, though it’s lighter than what a standard steel watch of the same size would weigh. The display can be made out even in direct sunlight and you can easily read the various alerts and emails that come in from your smartphone, and as its Android Wear, it’ll work with iPhones as well as Android Devices.

RATING ★★★★★

Technical specifications:

from S$549 www.huawei.com/sg

Dimensions 42 x 11.3mm, 131g (Gold version) Display 1.4-inch full circle AMOLED touchscreen, 286dpi, sapphire crystal Memory 4GB Storage, 512MB RAM Connectivity BT4.1, WiFi OS Android Wear Battery 300mAh Sensors Accelerometer, Gyro, HRM, Barometer

The Huawei watch is a very serious contender for the Android Wear watch title thanks to its excellent buildquality and traditional watch design. Where it lacks is battery performance, which is just about two days between charges.

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by Justin Choo

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Zen to the touch A

We let our fingers do the touching with the new Zen All-in-One from Asus. t first glance, Asus Zen AiO Pro looks like an Apple monitor with a keyboard. However, it does have a unique stand that gives it an angular, edgier feel.

Much of the AiO is made from aluminum, and in fact, it sports a slight gold tint, which gives it a unique look up close.

The plastic mouse and keyboard takes away the sheen from a premium product, but you can always get your own upgrades.

The Zen AiO Pro has the guts of a good multimedia machine.

It has a fairly competent, 23.8-inch full HD touch-enabled display with good colour gamut, although the large display will reveal some pixelation close up. The powerful speakers, enhanced via the Ice Power app, is loud and rich, although the volume should not go beyond the 60-70% mark; you can max them out without the sound cracking up, but they take on a boominess that sounds hollow.

It also sports an Nvidia GTX 960M graphics card that’s adequate for most games – you can run rather demanding games like Witcher 3 at about 30 frames per second or so at full HD on high settings (although that’s pretty much pushing it). Our test model uses a ‘hybrid’ drive, so while it doesn’t have the allround zippiness of an all-SSD storage, you will have sufficient storage space for videos and photos, while startup and standby speeds are relatively OK. The Zen AiO Pro also sports a type C USB 3.1 port (reversible), four USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, and two HDMI out ports as well, giving you plenty of connectivity options. Despite the slim and minimalist design, you still need a power brick, but that’s a minor quibble. While not perfect nor particularly exciting, the Zen AiO Pro is a prime example of how compact AiOs make great all-rounders for the home.

RATING ★★★ ★

Unless you’re a hardcore gamer, there’s no real need for a ‘tower’ PC. The Zen Asus AiO Pro shows how it’s done. from S$1,798 asus.com.sg

Technical specifications: OS Windows 10 Home (64-bit) Display 23.8-inch IPS Full HD 1920x1080 LED-backlit 10-Point Capacitive Multi-Touch CPU Intel Core i7-6700T 2.8GHz RAM 16GB Storage 1TB HDD + 8GB SSD (SSHD) Graphics NVIDIA GTX 960M, 2GB VRAM Camera 1-megapixel, 720p Interface Type-C USB 3.1, 4x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, microphone, headphone, 2-in-1 card reader, 2x HDMIout, LAN, Kensington lock Dimensions 585x434x52~190mm Weight 7.3kg

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Canon’s new pocket shooter Canon’s PowerShot G9 X may be the smallest in the G-series family, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an excellent camera.

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anon has taken an aggressive approach to their PowerShot G-series of semi-pro compact cameras, launching three models in the second half of 2015 to double the number of models in the series to six. The PowerShot G9 X is the most recent model and is a very pocketable little number.

The PowerShot G9 X shares the same 20-megapixel 1-inch sensor as its two siblings, the PowerShot G7 X and G5 X, but it’s a far smaller and more compact device, however, and is meant to be an reasonably versatile everyday snapper that you can easily carry around. Size-wise, the G9 X is almost as small as regular point-and-shoot compact cameras, but offers superior imaging quality and features, such as the ability to shoot in RAW and full manual controls.

In fact, it’s so light and small that you can easily wield it with just your right thumb and middle finger, and there’s a thumb grip at the back to make sure it doesn’t slip out of your hands. The control system has been paired down as well to just a control ring around the lens, a mode dial at the top, and the trigger button above a zoom ring for photography, as the 3-inch touchscreen at the back is now used to adjust camera setting such as ISO and aperture, and makes scrolling through multiple images in playback a breeze.

Image quality is excellent thanks to that nice large (for a compact) sensor, 3x optical zoom and DIGIC 6 processor, with low light shots using ISO 12800 quite clear. Indeed, our only real gripe is that the aperture range of f2.0 to f.40 isn’t as wide as we like.

RATING ★★★★

by Shawn Chung

The PowerShot G9 X can be considered as an entrylevel advanced compact camera and offers an excellent performance for it’s price. In comparison Sony’s RXR 100 II has slightly better overall features and performance, but for almost $300 more!

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Product specifications: Size & weight 98 x 57.9 x 30.8mm/ 209g Lens 3x optical zoom Aperture f2.0-f4.9 Image sensor 20.2 megapixel 1-inch type, CMOS Image processor DIGIC 6 LCD 3-inch touchscreen Connectivity WiFi, NFC S$619 www.canon.com.sg

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Sony’s affordable Android 4K TV T Sony adds Android TV and 4K together in one affordable TV package. he Sony Bravia X80C is Sony’s second most affordable 4K TV model in brand’s current lineup and comes in two screen sizes, 49-inch and 55-inch. This puts it bang on the sweet spot in terms of price point and screen size. It’s a reasonably good looker with a slim black border around the flatpanel and a black stand with an overall slim profile except for the central area at the back that houses the TV’s hardware and ports, which include 4x HDMI, 3x USB and WiFi. The TV runs on Android Lollipop and can access Google Play directly for apps.

To keep the price reasonable, Sony hasn’t included a number of features available from the next model tier onwards, the first of which is active 3D, which won’t be much missed. The second ‘missing’ feature is Sony’s excellent Triluminos display technology that widens the amount of colours a TV can produce and Sony has instead replaced Triluminos with Precision Colour Mapping, which supposedly enhances colour tones. What the Bravia X80C does share with all current Sony Bravia 4K TVs however, is Sony’s new 4K Processor X1 and 4K X-Reality Pro. This means that you get a pretty good 4K experience with the Bravia X80C, with excellent picture quality that’s just a bit lacking in colour richness and deep contrast compared to Sony’s more expensive TVs. Standard Definition and Full HD content are also upscaled well and the Bravia X80C is quite comfortable handling content from a variety of sources, including USB thumbdrives or streamed via Google Cast from an Android device. Audio is decent, especially for football fans who can activate a stadium surround sound effect.

RATING ★★★★

by Shawn Chung

It’s not the sharpest 4K TV we’ve ever seen, but neither is the Sony Bravia X80C the most expensive, and for your money you’ll get a very decent 4K TV experience with a dash of Android thrown in

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from S$2,099 www.sony.com.sg

Technical specifications: Screen size 49-inch LED TV Resolution 4K, 3,840x2,160 pixels Video processing 4K X-Reality PRO; Precision Colour Mapping Audio Features DSEE, S-Master Digital Amplifier, S-Force Remote One Flick Remote Connectivity WiFi Direct, 4x HDMI, Ethernet, 3x USB, Digital audio out, composite, component Operating System Android 5.0 Lollipop Weight Approx. 13.2 kg

T E S T

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C O N T E S T

Win a Lenovo VIBE S1, the world’s first dual selfie camera smartphone!

T

he Lenovo VIBE S1 was made for taking perfect selfies, as it features the world’s first dual selfie cameras with an 8MP primary

front camera that takes the sharpest photos, and a 2MP secondary front camera that analyzes depth of field information to replicate human binocular vision. Additionally, its 13MP rear camera boasts phase-detection autofocus that increases focusing speed, and a dual-colour flash. The VIBE S1 comes number of built-in photo editing tools, from ‘Blur’ that allows refocusing anywhere on the selfie (up to 3 focal planes) and a ‘bokeh’ effect gets rid of pesky photobombers.

NXT Magazine has three Lenovo VIBE S1 smartphones to give away!

Just answer the following question, then: email: info.nxt@ kingsmanmedia.com subject: NXT Lenovo VIBE S1 Contest For verification purposes please provide your: 1. Name 2. NRIC number 3. Email 4. Telephone number

The Lenovo VIBE S1 is the world’s first dual selfie camera equipped smartphone.

TRUE or FALSE? Contest terms and conditions 1. This contest will run from 07/01/2016 to 07/02/2016 and is by

4. The winning contestants must be a Singaporean citizen or

current resident. Submissions from outside Singapore will

2. All details submitted must be true and accurate. Personal

not be accepted. Employees of Lenovo and Kingsman Media

are disqualified from entering this contest.

email only. information of all contestants will be kept private and

confidential.

5. The winning contestants will be announced in a forthcoming

3. Three winners will be selected randomly, and the selection will

be final and binding. Each winner will receive one Lenovo VIBE

6. Kingsman Media reserves the rights to modify the terms and

S1 and will be notified via email and telephone call. Winners

are required to bring their NRIC for verification during prize

collection.

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issue of NXT magazine. conditions of this contest.

G R O U P

T E S T

Pretty LITTLE CAMerAS

by Shawn Chung

Planning to move away from your smartphone or compact camera and into the more flexible world of mirrorless system cameras? Here are three entry-level beauties that wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t put a crimp in your bank account.

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G R O U P

T E S T

Nikon 1 J5

Upscaled compact cam for newbies Nikon was one of the last major camera manufacturers to adopt the mirrorless concept, but even though the brand remains focused on their DSLR cameras, they do make innovative Nikon 1 series cameras such as the waterproof Nikon 1 AW1.

The Nikon 1 J5 replaces the J4 but is a completely redesigned camera, sporting a new form-factor with a nice grip for righthanded shooting. Also new is a 20.8-megapixel CX-format sensor, as well as a 3-inch tilting touchscreen that like the Fujifilm X-A2 automatically switches to selfie mode when you rotate it 180 degrees.

To keep the weight down the J5 has a plastic body, but looks metallic and feels pretty decent in the hand. Physical controls are actually minimal, though if you like manual control when shooting there’s two scroll dials for shutter speed and aperture.

The touchscreen also comes in handy for single point focusing; all you have to do is tap on where you want the camera to focus.

Impressively, the J5 can capture up to 60 fps continuously, although you’ll need to drop down the image resolution a couple of steps. Couple that with a fast shutter and a hybrid AF system with 171 focusing points, and you have a pretty awesome mirrorless camera for sports and action photography.

RATING ★★★★★

Technical specifications:

from S$709 www.nikon.com.sg

Dimensions Approx. 98 x 60 x 32mm Weight Approx. 231g Sensor size 21-megapixel 1-inch BSI-CMOS sensor Max resolution 5568 x 3712 ISO ISO 160-12800 Image Modes pop, retro, high-contrast monochrome, nostalgic sepia, HDR, easy panorama, soft, miniature effect, selective color, cross process, toy camera effect, cross screen, fisheye, skin softening, night landscape, night portrait, landscape, close-up Maximum video quality 4K@15p LCD 3.0”, 180-degree tilting Connectivity WiFi, NFC

The Nikon 1 J5 performs like an upscaled compact camera with a removable lens, which makes it really easy for new photographers to master but simply can’t match the superior imaging quality of the other cameras.

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G R O U P

T E S T

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II

The update of the popular OM-D E-10 packs in a more powerful processor and 60fps video.

Following on from the success of the original OM-D E-M10, the Olympus E-M10 Mark II actually has a number of features that have trickled down from the more advanced OM-D E-M5 such as 5-axis image stabilisation, and as with all current Olympus interchangeable lens cameras it uses a 16-megapixel micro four-thirds sensor.

While comparatively small, the OM-D E-M10 MkII is actually the largest camera in this test, and has a bit of weight to it. The front

and thumb grips frankly felt slightly insecure in my not-so-large hands, though Olympus does have an enlarged external grip as an accessory. The controls are reasonably neat - with two top mounted dials and three multi-function buttons - two around the dials and the third on the left near the on/off switch. The tilting LCD touchscreen is sharp and you can snap an image just by tapping where you want to focus on the screen, though unlike some of the other cameras in this test the tilt angle is limited so you can’t use it for selfie shots.

The 14-42mm kit lens that comes with the E-M10 mkII is fully powered and folds down into a compact shape, with the power zoom responding quite accurately to the dial. It photographs well, with strong solid colours, while for capturing video there’s an interesting 4K Time Lapse feature at 5 frames per second.

RATING ★★★★

Technical specifications:

If you aren’t concerned with physical sensor size but you’re seeking a small interchangeable lens system camera with excellent performance, then the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II is a camera for you. from S$1,148 www.olympusimage.com.sg

Dimensions Approx. 119.5 x 83.1 x 46.7mm Weight Approx. 343g (body only) Image sensor 16 megapixel 4/3 Live MOS sensor Max resolution 4608 x 3456 ISO 100-25600 Image Modes 14 Art Filters; Portrait, e-Portrait, Landscape, Landscape + Portrait, Sport, Hand-held Starlight, Night scene, Night + Portrait, Children, High Key, Low Key, DIS mode, Macro, Nature Macro, Candle, Sunset, Documents, Panorama, Fireworks, Beach & Snow, Fisheye Conv., Wide Conv., Macro Conv.,Panning, 3D Maximum video quality 1080@30fps / 4K@5fps LCD 3.0” Touch, Tilt Connectivity WiFi

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G R O U P

T E S T

Fujifilm X-A2

The chic camera for selfie shots Fuji’s new entry-level mirrorless camera is a smart little fella that shares some of the best features of it’s more expensive siblings in Fujiflim’s X-series including a 16.3-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor and a really nice premium build with an all-metal body with a faux leather body wrap. There’s an LCD display that flips and tilts; and when you rotate it 175 degrees the camera activates a ‘selfie mode’, which automatically ensures faces and eyes are in clear focus. The X-A2 comes bundles with a decent 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 lens with optical stabilization, which is pretty useful for most situations.

Beginner photographers will enjoy how simple and easy the X-A2 is to use, with a control layout that enables easy onehanded use. There are quite a lot of features to explore and level up with like automatic scene modes, filters and film simulations – the latter of which emulates the performance of some of Fujifilm’s best old school films. For example, ‘Classic Chrome’ creates a warm soft colour palette that’s wonderful for scenic photography. For close-up photography, the A2 automatically switches to Auto Marco AF to make it a breeze to snap small objects, like a butterfly sipping nectar from a flower. As Fujifilm are one of the pioneers in low-light photography for compact cameras, the X-A2 also shoots well at higher-ISO settings.

RATING ★★★★★

Technical specifications:

The X-A2 makes it simple to capture not only lovely images but to also more artistic photography. But it lacks both the WiFi remote ability and 4K video capture of the other cameras. from S$899 www.fujifilm.com.sg

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Dimensions Approx. 117 x 67 x 40mm Weight Approx. 350g Image sensor 16.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor Max resolution 4896 x 3264 Max ISO 200-6400 (expandable 100-25600) Image Modes Film Simulation mode; Night, Landscape, Portrait Enhancer, Scene Position, Toy camera, Miniature, Pop color, Highkey, Low-key, Dynamic tone, Soft focus, Partial color Maximum video quality 1080@30p LCD 3.0”, 175-degree tilt Connectivity Wifi

G R O U P

T E S T

GROUP TEST WINNER

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II

The Nikon 1 J5 scores well across the board, but due to its small sensor size it’s a little bit lacking in image quality compared to the Olympus and Fujifilm. That said, it’s the lightest in this test and a very handy camera for travel photography. Speaking of image quality, we love the colours that you can achieve with the film

(out of 5)

emulation modes from the Fujifilm X-A2. Where it’s not up to stuff, however, is in the lack of a touchscreen and WiFi connectivity, both of which are now pretty much standard.

On to the test winner, the Olympus E-M10 MkII. Apart from our small gripe about how this camera felt to hold, it’s actually an excellent camera, and just about perfect as a mirrorless camera to step up for more advanced photography, with an excellent manual mode, image stabilization and good video recording.

Nikon 1 J5

Olympus OM-D E-10mk2

25 / 30

28/ 30

Fujifilm X-A2

Ergonomics Build Quality Ease of Use Image Quality Video Recording Extra Features 25 / 30

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G U R U

The ultimate cheat sheet to find your perfect headphones

A good headphone is one of those things that you never knew you needed until you hear it. So now that you’ve seen the light (or heard the choirs of angels), and you’re looking to chuck aside those pre-packaged headphones, what do you get next?

T

he variety of headphones available is mind boggling. Whether you are searching for an authentic studio-grade headphone or the ultimate fashion accessory, or a mix of both, chances are there’s one for you.

On-Ear Headphones

by JUSTIN CHOO

Possibly the most common headphone that you can find on the street, as their relatively compact size makes them easier to store in your bag. Plus it doesn’t look like a brace if you hang it around your neck.

Strengths: • Compact and light • Some offer foldable options Weaknesses: • Noise isolation minimal • Sound quality won’t be the best Get this if: • You value portability slightly more than sound quality • You want it to double up as a fashion accessory See Fashion Forward, The Sound Hounds, The Sound of Silence



Headphones by type Earphones

Over-Ear Headphones More suited for home or studio use, their size often makes them unwieldy. However, they often are the best-sounding headphones.

Strengths: • Better noise isolation (except for open-back) • Bigger drivers for better sound Weaknesses: • Huge, heavy, unwieldy, and hot • Enthusiast and pro models require amplifier Get this if: • You intend to use it at home • You want the best possible sound money can buy See Full-sized Fun on the Road, The Big Guns, The Sound of Silence

The most prevalent of the lot, they’re light and easy to pack.

Usually the choice pick of most people, for practical reasons.

Strengths: • As compact as you can get • Best at isolating external noise Weaknesses: • Can’t get a big sense of space compared to full-sized headphones • Need a good fit in ear to sound good Get this if: • You want something really small and discreet • You want to block out external noise, short of active noise cancelling See Familiarity Breeds Contemporary, In-Ear Magic

Wireless We’ll only be discussing Bluetooth wireless here. Wireless headphones are the ultimate in convenience; commuters will appreciate this most, as they know the dangers of dangling wires meeting stray shopping bags. Spoiler alert: it never ends well.

Strengths: • Freedom from stupid wires • Light and portable Weaknesses: • Need to recharge batteries • Slight compromise in sound quality Get this if: • Cables are the bane of your life • You really, really, really hate cables See Wireless Freedom

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G U R U Fashion forward

(On-Ear Headphones) Let’s face it, headphones are accessories, especially on the go.

Sometimes, we find it important to have a nice-looking headphone to match the attire, and there are quite a fair number of notable candidates.

Aedle VK-1 French in origin, these are luxury and looks personified, and they don’t sound half bad either. Premium lambskin leather and pristinely-finished metals make these an absolute stunner.

USD$350, aedle.net

Beats Solo 2 Where the French are refined, the Americans are brash and effervescent; but in a good way. Beats once garnered a reputation for poor sound despite the price, but that has since changed; it’s actually decent now.

S$310, sg.beatsbydre.com

Urbanears Humlan Clean looks, quite literally as well – the headband and ear pads can be washed. In all honesty, this is more about looks than anything else, but is also proof that stylish headphones that sound decent need not be terribly expensive.

S$79, stereo.com.sg

The Sound Hounds (On-Ear Headphones) On-ear headphones used to have a reputation for not having a good sound compared to over-ear headphones. That’s not true these days, and they now have the right balance of portability and sound quality to satisfy those who prefer this style of headphone.

Grado SR60e The gold standard in entry-level ‘audiophile’ headphones with an undeniable retro charm. The sound leaks, the plastic looks cheap, but it’s a reliable performer with an infectious sound signature that’s perfect for rock n’ roll.

S$125, grado.com.sg

Bowers & Wilkins P5 Sennheiser Momentum On-Ear Sennheiser’s successful foray into mainstream audio brings a good balance of looks, comfort, and contemporary sound. There’s little to dislike, especially when you have so many colours to choose from.

S$299, en-sg.sennheiser.com

Another gold standard, but this time, in the upper reaches of the genre. Bowers & Wilkins offers an elegant design paired with a sublime audio performance that stretches the limits of what portable audio can offer as a complete package.

S$499, theexperts.com.sg

Tips: • Make sure the headphone fits well on your ear. It’s the biggest factor to determine if the headphone will sound its best.

• Headphones that clamp hard on your head may not be comfortable for long stretches, so bear that in mind.

• Open back headphones have a nice ‘big’ sound but leaks. If you’re conscious about what people can hear, it may not be for you.

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G U R U Full-sized fun on the road (over-ear headphones) If our sweltering heat isn’t a problem, there are fewer implements more comfortable than an over-ear headphone, and that sound better as well.

These over-ear headphones can easily be powered by portable devices, which is just brilliant. For the uncompromising ones.

AKG K551 Stretching the limits of portability, the K551 may need some special love in the form of better amplification (HTC One, iPhone, or portable amp), but rewards with nuances aplenty, if that’s what you want.

S$449, akg.com

OPPO PM-3 Cutting edge planar magnetic tech, made accessible and relatively affordable. For the consummate audiophile who wants an elegant solution on the move.

S$589, oppodigital.com

Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Although there are many other headphones in this price range, but the M50x is peerless for its combination of comfort, sound, and durability.

Works well with most players.

S$228, sea.audio-technica.com

Tips: • Most portable players should be powerful enough to drive these headphones, but it never hurts to check.

It’s important that you have your regular player on hand to see if they pair well.

• As always, check the fit to ensure you’re getting the best possible sound.

The big guns

(over-ear headphones) If you’re mostly looking to use your headphones at home, then size doesn’t matter; they can be as big and unwieldy as they come. But you will need to pair them with a headphone amplifier to get the best results, which chances are you’ll do anyway.

Shure SRH1540 The SRH1540 sounds good with portable sources so it’s almost tempting to bring this out on the road. It fares even better when amped properly, and sounds very spacious for a closed back headphone.

S$699, shureasia.com

AKG K7XX Massdrop edition Sennheiser HD800 While the planar magnetics and electrostatic speaker monsters remain the pinnacle of sheer indulgence (price-wise as well), Sennheiser’s trusty HD800 is still to this day, the benchmark for studio-quality accuracy.

S$1,790, en-sg.sennheiser.com

A recurring Massdrop exclusive, it is a ridiculously-priced version of AKG’s excellent K7 series of reference headphones. Consider this the entry level of reference headphones.

USD$200, massdrop.com

Tips:

Did you know:

• High quality music files are especially needed (e.g. 24 bit lossless) to gain the benefits.

• While they sound great, expect to spend some time finding matching amplifiers if you want a perfect sound.

• Closed-back headphones fare better in keeping external noise out, as well as preventing sound from leaking out and annoy others around you. Open-back headphones aren’t concerned about either of the above considerations. Their priority is to deliver a sound that feels more spacious, like you are in a bigger room and all the instruments are well spaced out.

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G U R U Familiarity Breeds Contemporary

(Earphones) The classic ear-buds style earphones are still around for a reason – they work. They’re evolving with the times, and these days boast comfort and sound excellence in equal measure. For the fuss-free users and extremely portable to boot.

Final Audio Heaven VI The epitome of Japanese obsession, Final Audio makes the most elegant designs, in both the aesthetic and engineering sense.

Heaven VI can pump out a good sound without an amp.

S$699, JABEN.NET

Audio-Technica ATH-CKX9iS Affordable, practical, looks good, and has a well-rounded sound with excellent bass.

Not much more you can ask for in an everyday-use earphone.

S$138, sea.audio-technica.com

Sennheiser IE800 The kind of earphone that will evoke incredulous gasps at the price, that is, until you try it yourself and hear how good it is. Much like Final Audio, its simplicity and elegance belies the fact that you don’t need to carry a clunky amplifier to use the IE800.

S$1,139, EN-SG.SENNHEISER.COM

Tips:

Did you know:

• Make sure the earbuds are of the correct size and fit your ear canals perfectly.

• Ensure that the unit sits comfortably in your ear and doesn’t feel like it’s going to move.

• There are primarily two sorts of drivers (speakers) used in earphones.

Dynamic drivers and Balanced Armatures. Dynamic drivers tend to offer better bass, while Balance Armatures tend to offer better detail. Some manufacturers offer hybrids.

In-Ear MagiC (Earphones) Designed for professional musicians, but slowly finding popularity as the best earphones money can buy. They boast a more secure fit as well.

Custom models are also available for those who want only the very best.

Dita The Balanced This homegrown brand has been making waves with its universal-fit (one size fits all) IEMs. It’s a no-expenses-spared affair featuring a marriage of top quality components and good old fashioned tuning for the ultimate in IEM luxury.

S$1,699, DITAAUDIO.COM

JHA Audio Layla

Sony MDR-EX750NA H.ear in NC Sony’s new MDR-EX750NA lets you tune out the crowd, combing Sony’s newly developed compact 9mm driver unit with a rechargeable battery unit that provides up to 16 hours of noise cancelling.

S$199, www.sony.com.sg

A custom IEM named after the eponymous Eric Clapton song, this is the flagship to top all flagships (aka full retard because you can). It has 12 drivers (speakers) in each unit and a complex circuit in place to make chaos become sweet music.

From S$3,399, jaben.net

Tips: • Ensure perfect fit for best possible sound.

• Make sure your IEMs are a good pairing with your player.

Bring it along when you test.

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• You can save quite a bit of money buy getting universal fit monitors (if they have an option) instead of going the custom route.

Try them out before you decide.

G U R U Wireless Freedom (Wireless) Bluetooth headphones don’t have a good reputation for being capable of a good sound. But they’re making big strides with improved Bluetooth bandwidth and smarter algorithms. It’s no longer a question of whether they sound good; it’s about picking out one that suits your fancy now.

Jabra Move Wireless A spartan design that actually looks good.

Short of being foldable, the Move Wireless ticks all the check boxes in ergonomics, and not to mention sound quality as well.

S$148, jabra.sg

Parrot Zik 2.0 Philippe Starck may have left his mark on the Zik, but it’s the software features of the Zik that make it a truly futuristic headphone. One trick pony it is not, and it’s amongst the best Bluetooth headphones ever conceived.

S$589, engsiang.com

Jaybird X2 Jaybird’s near legendary wireless earbuds are now sweat-resistant and sport a better Bluetooth audio transport with their proprietary Shift tech.

It’s great for workouts too.

S$259,leader.com.hk

Tips: • For best results use the latest Bluetooth v4 devices for more efficient power usage.

• Bluetooth headphones are dependent on the operating system of your player, so be cautious and check online for potential issues before you update the firmware of the player.

• AptX is the latest mainstream standard for efficient audio compression, but make sure that your player supports it to reap maximum benefits.

The Sound of Silence (Noise-cancelling) The enemy of most headphone listening experiences is the dreaded background noise, and the same could be said of the sleeping experience on a red-eye flight. If these are your bugbears, then a good noisecancelling headphone will put those problems to rest.

Bose Quietcomfort QC25 Bose has a monopoly on the top spot for noise cancelling, and currently holds the title with its flagship QC25. Combines a decent sound and excellent noise cancelling tech for the best possible sound fortress of solitude.

S$529, bose.com

Sony MDR-ZX770BN Bluetooth? Check. Noise-cancelling? Check.

NFC? Check. AptX support? Check. Sony’s wireless noise cancelling headphone also supports high quality audio streaming. And at S$249, is tantamount to eating your cake and having it.

S$249, sony.com.sg

Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H8 As you would expect from a B&O product, the BeoPlay H8 is well-built and designed to turn heads. No expense is spared on materials – finely polished anodised aluminum, soft lambskin leather combine with a convenient touch interface for that bells and whistles experience.

S$698, bang-olufsen.com

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G U R U

Filler for Headphone Guru

(Headphone accessories) It doesn’t hurt to splurge a little more now that you have a spanking new pair of headphones or in-ears. After all, it’s all about what you feel, and how you enjoy the moment.

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Edens Headphone case

Brainwavz Hard Carrying Case Standard

A general purpose hard shell case that will fit many of the bigger headphones, especially the non-folding type. With this, you’ll never find out the hard way how easy it is to put a nick on your headphones…

S$49, stereo.com.sg

As tempted as you are to throw your in-ears into your bag, the odds of tangling and accidental damage are high, and the stakes are even higher now that you’ve invested hard earned cash into it. Always better to be safe than sorry.

USD$15.90, brainwavzaudio.com

Oppo HA-2 Headphone amp

Rooms Audio Line Typ FS Kopfhörerständer

The Oppo HA-2 will give your sleek smartphone a run for its money in the looks department – we’re not kidding. But it’s not form over function; this portable DAC/amplifier has been designed to take your mobile audio experience up another level.

S$469, oppodigital.com

The humble headphone stand is not only functional, it’s an indication of good taste. This classy headphone stand from Germany is available in three stylish finishes and is likely to be only slightly less pleasurable than the music. €89, rooms-design.de

P R I M E

by JUSTIN CHOO

The Hottest Gadgets, Gear and Tech!

150 SMARTPHONES 151 PHABLETS 152 TABLETS 153 notebooks 154 Televisions 155 media streamers 156 home audio systems 157 headphones 158 earphones 159 smartwatches 160 wearables 161 dslrs 162 mirrorless cameras 163

compact cameras

149

P R I M E

Smartphones Apple iPhone 6s Apple’s ‘S’ update of the iPhone 6 adds lots of cool new features, including enhanced 3D Touch, a tougher aluminium body and faster processor, making the new iPhone the new king of smartphones.

★★★★

www.apple.com/sg

1

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Why would you buy the Galaxy S6 when the S6 Edge has all the same features plus a sexy curved screen? Packs a rocking camera and brilliant touchscreen in a glass covered body.

★★★★

2

www.samsung.com.sg

Sony Xperia Z5 Sony hasn’t really changed the Xperia design much, but on the inside the Z5 is a totally new beast, with that awesome 23-megapixel camera, Hi-Res audio playback and a cleverly placed fingerprint sensor on the power button.

★★★★

3

www.sony.com.sg

Samsung Galaxy S6 Why would you buy the Galaxy S6 Edge when you’re just paying more for an S6 with ostentatious trim? Packs a rocking camera and brilliant touchscreen, as well as a perfect juxtaposition of glass and aluminium.

★★★★

4

www.samsung.com.sg

HTC One M9 The One M9 boasts a restyled polished metal body and great build quality, and it packs a great camera and HTC’s BoomSound stereo speakers. Apart from that it seems to be a mild upgrade of the HTC One M8.

★★★★★

5

www.htc.com/sea

Accessories

150

UE Boom 2

Olloclip for iPhone 6s/6s Plus

Pump out the music, rain or shine. This waterproof, dustproof, shockproof speaker takes care of itself so that you can concentrate on enjoying yourself. www.ultimateears.com/en-sg

A smartphone camera is an essential tool for almost everyone. Expand its usability with Olloclip’s clip on lenses to give you an even wider range of shots possible. olloclip.com

P R I M E

Phablets Apple iPhone 6s Plus Apple’s popular phablet, now enhanced with 3D Touch, a potentially game changing way of interacting with your phone. Oh yes, there’s the usual plethora of hardware upgrades as well. King of the phablets, but only just because of 3D Touch.

★★★★

1

www.apple.com/sg

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Samsung’s fifth attempt at the phablet has brought it close to perfection, attaining a large screen size in the smallest body possible while the stylus is refined beyond belief. Also sports excellent video stabilisation that has to be seen to be believed.

2

★★★★

www.samsung.com.sg

Sony Xperia Z5 Premium Sony hasn’t really changed the Xperia design much, but on the inside the Z5 is a totally new beast, with that awesome 23-megapixel camera, Hi-Res audio playback and a 5.5-inch screen with 4K resolution, the first ever on a mobile!

★★★★

3

www.samsung.com.sg

LG G4 The LG G4’s novel curved body and screen gets it noticed, especially when you get the leather-backed version that feels luxuriously warm and organic. What’s not luxurious is the plastic chassis. It does come with a great camera though.

★★★★★

4

www.lg.com/sg

Xiaomi Mi Note Xiaomi’s Mi Note is a slick phablet for an affordable price : a colourful screen, long battery life and a 13-megapixel Sony camera packed into a slim glass encased body, which unfortunately is very slippery and a fingerprint magnet.

★★★★★

5

www.mi.com/sg

Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 16,000mAh

i&Plus Bunker Ring

Phablet draining batteries quickly? Equip yourself with the affordable 16,000mAh power bank from Xiaomi and wave your battery woes goodbye. www.mi.com/sg

Phablets may be more than a handful sometimes, but you can now use the Bunker Ring for added security. Also doubles up as a kickstand. www.bunkerring.com

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Tablets Apple iPad Pro What Jobs hated, this has. 12.9 inches? Check. Stylus? Check. But times change, and people change. The Pro was designed for a specific purpose, with its Pencil stylus and Smart Keyboard, so it may not be for everyone.

★★★★

www.apple.com/sg

1

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Microsoft’s best attempt at bridging the world between tablet and laptop. The Surface Pro 3 is a true laptop killer, and suffers no identity crisis in switching between both laptop and tablet modes. Everything at once, indeed.

★★★★

2

www.microsoft.com/surface

Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet Slim and powerful are the two buzzwords to think about when it comes to the Xperia Z4. Top of the line hardware is matched by an excellent display and the overall package is waterproof and dust-proof to boot.

★★★★

3

www.sony.com.sg

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 The world’s thinnest tablet has a great display resized for reading digital content and gets Samsung’s latest touch-enabled Fingerprint Scanner off the Galaxy S5. Sadly super-thin in this case also means a below-average battery life.

★★★★★

4

www.samsung.com.sg

Dell Venue 8 7000 Dell’s Venue 8 7000 is a bit of a quirk. On the one hand its well built and has a great battery life and excellent screen. It also features Intel’s RealSense camera.

★★★★★

5

www.dell.com.sg

Accessories

152

invite.L iPad Pouch

Logitech Keys-to-Go

Tablet cases may protect your device but they aren’t exactly comfortable. Use the stylish invite.L Pouch to protect your tablet at its most vulnerable – whilst traveling. www.iluvo.com.sg

Much like the Microsoft Surface keyboard, Logitech’s Keys-to-Go is extremely slim and portable. Plus it’s splash proof (and worry-free) as well. www.logitech.com/en-sg

P R I M E

Notebooks Dell XPS 13 The XPS 13 was always set up to chase the Macbook and it might just have done the job. Good design, excellent display, good performance paired with decent battery life and portability, and priced reasonably? Sign us up.

★★★★

www.dell.com/sg

1

Apple Macbook Pro Still the benchmark for laptops, the current Macbook Pro strikes a good balance between form factor, battery life, and performance power. It’s never a contender in the value buy department, but owners of a Macbook Pro never suffer buyers’ remorse, either.

2

★★★★

www.apple.com/sg

Asus ZenBook UX305 When it comes to bang for your buck, Asus is one of its best proponents. The UX305 was designed with affordability in mind, without compromising aesthetics, ergonomics, and performance. A great value ultrabook.

★★★★

3

www.asus.com/sg

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Business friendly ultrabook with a nifty carbon-fibre reinforced plastic lid to keep weight to a minimum. Has a great display let down by an anti-glare coating that doesn’t seem to work. Battery life is also average.

★★★★★

4

www.lenovo.com.sg

Razer Blade The world’s slimmest gaming notebook isn’t exactly cheap but for your money you get a well specced notebook with fast GPU and CPU and a brilliant QHD+ screen. But for serious gaming on-the-go, you’re only gonna get a few hours of battery life.

★★★★★

5

www.razerzone.com/sg

Filson Original Briefcase

Arc Touch Mouse Surface Edition

Rugged, spacious, and simple. Filson’s simple design is functional and looks good in an old-fashioned way (aka retro). Also good when not carrying an actual laptop. www.filson.com

Sleek, elegant, and bendable. Easy to stow away and yet able to arch itself into a comfortable shape for your hands, the Arc Touch Mouse is a great portable solution. www.microsoft.com/surface/en-sg 153

P R I M E

Televisions LG 55EG960T Once you go OLED black, you never go back is what they say these days. LG’s EG960T is a curved OLED TV that’s priced within reason – it’s still cheaper than a Leica mind you – and offers the benefit of the best screen black tech since plasma. Did we mention that it’s remarkably stylish as well?

★★★★

1

www.lg.com/sg

Sony KD-55X9000C Sony goes quite the distance for the ultimate 4K TV experience – well not quite, this model is still priced within reason. Measures 4.9mm at its thinnest, and has a tiny bezel as well. Coupled with its tried and tested Triluminos tech, this is a visual treat in more ways than one.

2

★★★★

www.sony.com.sg

Samsung UE65JS9500 Samsung’s curved Series 9 is a 4K wonder with a Nano Crystal Display for outstanding colours. This expensive TV is packed with everything you need for a life in 4K UHD, from HDR compatibility to Smart apps and software upgradability.

★★★★

3

www.samsung.com.sg

LG 55UF680T LG’s 680T is a 4K-enabled TV that also sports ColorPrime technology – which is a tech to improve the colour gamut of the display. For its price, it’s pretty well decked out. This TV also has an integrated 4K HEVC 60p decoder built-in, as well as Harman/Kardon designed speakers.

4

★★★★★

www.lg.com/sg

Samsung UA55JU7500 The Series 7 is Samsung’s affordable 4K curved panel offering and lacks Samsung’s latest and greatest panel technology, but it’s still a very decent display with great blacks and good colour.

★★★★★

5

www.samsung.com.sg

Accessories

154

Philips HTL2153B/12

Samsung 3D Smart Blu-Ray Player

Sometimes you just want a cheap, fuss-free solution for your crappy TV speakers. This soundbar from Philips is a reasonable upgrade for more than reasonable money. www.philips.com.sg

Samsung’s latest Blu-Ray Player has UHD upscaling and with multicode support it’ll play practically any media file from an external drive. www.samsung.com.sg

P R I M E

Media Streamers Viewqwest 4K Viewqwest’s latest set top box makes it brilliantly simple to access their Freedom VPN service from any ISP, so you can enjoy Hulu and Netflix with no worries.

★★★★

www.viewqwest.com

1

AC Ryan Veolo 4K Get the most of out your 4K TV with AC Ryan’s 4K Streaming Media Player. As it runs on Android, it does more than just video – ‘upsize’ your Android gaming too!

★★★★

www.acryan.com

Apple TV The latest Apple TV comes with a snazzy new controller with a touchpad and a mic so you can say “Siri, rewind 15 seconds”. Sadly iTunes Movie content is still limited to 1080p.

★★★★

2 3

www.apple.com/sg

Google Chromecast Just plug Chromecast directly to your TV’s HDMI port, and use your mobile device to access entertainment and apps. However, it’s restricted to 1080p video at the moment.

★★★★★

4

info.singtel.com/personal/chromecast

Starhub TV on Fibre Starhub collaborated with Samsung for this IPTV box, so you no longer need a cable connection to access Starhub TV’s 200 HD channels.

★★★★★

5

www.starhub.com

Asus RT-AC3200

Western Digital My Cloud EX2

Not intending to take any chances with network speed? The RT-AC3200 is a tri-band behemoth designed to cope with homes where everyone’s fighting for a piece of bandwidth. www.asus.com/sg

An easy-to-use, Network Attached Storage to keep your media files ready for viewing and listening over your home network. www.wdc.com

155

P R I M E

Home Audio Systems Bluesound Pulse For audiophiles, only lossless or high-res music will do, and Bluesound is one of precious few who can deliver a robust home network streaming system and sound immaculate at the same time – and at a price that’s not audiophile-level crazy (audiophiles will get the joke).

★★★★

1

www.bluesound.com

Sonos Playbar The Sonos Playbar is a must have for users who have bought into the Sonos ecosystem. A soundbar for your television, it will declutter your living room and do away with plenty of messy speaker cables. And oh it looks great too...

★★★★

2

www.sonos.com

LG Music Flow HS6 An alternative to Sonos, LG’s Music Flow HS6 is a credible rival that pretty much does the same thing; but it also has a leg up on its rival – it supports high resolution music playback to boot.

★★★★

3

www.lg.com/sg

Philips Fidelio B5 The novel Fidelio B5 is a soundbar with detachable satellite speakers that transforms it into a 4.1 speaker system for up to 10 hours of play between recharging, and you can even take the speakers into another room.

★★★★

4

www.philips.com.sg

Harman/Kardon Sabre SB35 The Sabre SB35 is a gorgeously designed slim soundbar with a surprisingly powerful wireless subwoofer. It’s a decent audio performer until you pump up the volume, as that thin frame creates noticeable audio distortion.

★★★★★

5

www.harmankardon.com

Accessories

156

Atacama Moseco 6

Focal Universal Wireless Receiver

Speaker stands that sound as good as they look – the excellent build quality helps to sonically complement the sound of your speakers as well. www.atacama-audio.co.uk

Wired setups are unequivocally better, but sometimes practicality will prevail. This universal wireless receiver will minimise wire clutter while maintaining audio enjoyment. www.ongradio.com

P R I M E

Headphones Oppo PM-3 It might look like it has more style than substance, but the Oppo PM-3 utilises planar magnetic technology – almost unheard of in a portable headphone – and is mindblowingly good, save for the price. Even so, it’s a shoo-in for best in class.

★★★★

www.oppodigital.com

1

Sennheiser Momentum 2 Sennheiser went mainstream through the first Momentum with resounding success, and Momentum 2 is an evolution, incorporating a folding design as well as fine tuning its sound. While the Oppo above is about accuracy, the Momentum 2 is about fun.

2

★★★★

www.sennheiser.com

Sony MDR-1A Sony’s MDR-1A looks as Sony product should; forward thinking, very Japanese electronics-esque. It also sounds Sony-ish: great audio performance but on Sony’s terms; a punchy sound that’s decidedly modern. Very comfortable to wear too.

★★★★

3

www.sony.com.sg

Bose QuietComfort QC25 Still the best noise-cancelling headphones on the market, the QC25 folds into a small carrying case but has big comfortable cans that you can wear for hours and great noise cancelling technology.

★★★★

4

www.atlas-sv.com

Audio-Techinca ATH-M50x The ATH-M50x delivers a very balanced sound experience with accurate bass.

Well built and comfortable to wear, these headphones should be on the list of every beginner audiophile.

★★★★

5

sea.audio-technica.com

Sieveking Omega Headphone Stand

Oppo HA-2

Classiness comes at a price, but it’s one many will be willing to pay.

Beautifully laminated, bent, and finished, these headphone stands simply scream good taste. decibel.sg

Portable headphone amps generally look clumsy, period. But the Oppo HA-2 won’t look out of place next to your smartly-dressed phone. www.oppodigital.com

157

P R I M E

Earphones Sennheiser IE800 There are many in-ears that ultimately will best the IE800, but they are mostly audiophile-centric gear. The IE800 was designed for the ‘mass market’ (albeit not mass market price) and precious few have come close to balancing style and substance with such aplomb.

★★★★

1

www.sennheiser.com

RHA T10i RHA’s reputation for punching above its weight with its offerings is apparent here again in its T10i. In addition to stylish looks and excellent build, the T10i is also customisable and features a generous amounts of earbud tips and comes with changeable tuning filters too.

2

★★★★

www.rha-audio.com

Jaybird X2 Wireless The undisputed king of bluetooth earbuds. Ease of use coupled with good ergonomics and decent sound quality ensured that the BlueBuds X will remain a cult favourite for those who need wireless in-ears.

★★★★

3

www.jaybirdsport.com

Sennheiser Momentum In-Ear Sennheiser’s Momentum In-Ear is a well rounded performer that sounds as good as they look, with a sophisticated sporty design, flat cables and tuned drivers that delivers a warm and large sound with great bass.

★★★★

4

www.sennheiser.com

Bose QuietComfort 20i Boasting Bose’s TriPort audio technology and a number of different silicon ear tips to sit comfortably in your ear, the iOS compatible QuietComfort 20i offers an excellent sound quality and noise-cancelling, for a pretty steep price.

★★★★

5

www.atlas-sv.com

Accessories

158

Comply Foam Tips

Dotz Earbud Case

We all know that a good fit will always give you a better sound. And Comply replacement foam tips designed to sit comfortably in your ear canal and get the best out of your in-ears. www.complyfoam.com

It might be easy to simply toss your earphones into the bag, but think about the tangles and god forbid, stripped wires that may result. And earbud case will keep your precious buds safe and organised. cordotz.com

P R I M E

SmartWatches Samsung Gear S2 Classic The Gear S2 is without a doubt an excellent smartwatch with a novel bezel control as well as a touchscreen and has three days of battery life. The snazzy Classic version is also compatible with NATO straps.

★★★★

www.samsung.com/sg

1

Pebble Time Now updated with a slimmer profile and a simpler-to-comprehend interface, the Pebble Time also has a smart accessory port built into the watch for upcoming plug-in sensors and electronics.

★★★★

2

www.pebble.sg

Apple Watch Lusciously available in a host of colours and materials, the Apple Watch is the choice of stylistas everywhere, but there’s also plenty of Watch apps and a Friends feature to stay connected to your buddies.

★★★★

3

www.apple.com/sg

Huawei Watch Huawei’s smartwatch is Android Wear in stainless steel, sapphire glass and leather, the classic watchmaking materials. It’s available in six models including a lovely real rose gold plated.

★★★★★

4

www.huawei.com/sg

Asus ZenWatch 2 A smartwatch for the masses, the sleek ZenWatch 2 is available two stainless steel case sizes, 1.63 inches or 1.43 inches, and a number of straps that you can interchange to personalise your device.

★★★★★

5

www.asus.com/sg

Nomad Charging Stand for Apple Watch

wiWare wiTraveler

A stylish watch deserves a stylish stand from which to charge it from.

The Nomad’s minimalist design is perfectly in sync with the Apple Watch’s clean lines. www.hellonomad.com

A portable all-in-one charger with built-in battery, so you can charge your watch on the move. Great for travel as well. www.wi-ware.com

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Wearables Misfit Speedo Shine The versatile coin-like Misfit Shine can be worn in a multitude of ways, from pendant to ankle strap. It’s also waterproof, and with the Speedo Shine gets a more accurate lap counter for swimming.

★★★★

www.misfit.com

1

Sony Smart B-Trainer It’s a waterproof wireless music player with 16GB storage, syncs to your mobile for calls, and comes with B-Trainer that will track and map your workouts and even auto-select music to match your heart rate!

★★★★

2

www.sony.com/sg

Fitbit Charge With up to 10 days of battery life, the Charge will monitor your activities as you work, play and sleep. The comfortable band design and bright display makes this quite easy to wear.

★★★★

3

www.fitbit.com/sg

Jawbone Up3 Stylishly designed 24/7 activity tracker with a range of bio-sensors including passive heart rate monitoring, skin temperature and respiration tracking. Perfect for keeping a close watch of your health.

★★★★★

4

jawbone.com

Zepp Golf Get professional insight into your game by wearing a Zepp Golf sensor on your glove. It’ll not only record every aspect of your swing from angle to speed, but it’ll allow you to compare your swing to pro golfers’ as well!

★★★★★

5

www.zepp.com

Accessories

160

Tory Burch for Fitbit Flex

Ribbon Wristband for Misfit

Turn your fitness trackers into true fashion accessories. Tory Burch’s accessories range from sassy silicone printed affairs to stylish pendants and bracelets. www.toryburch.com

Designed for the Misfit Shine, Flash, and Link, these simple but stylish nylon wristbands make wearables easier to pair with your wardrobe. griffintechnology.com

P R I M E

DSLRs Canon 5DSR Totally unnecessary if you’re not a pro, totally necessary if you are a die-hard pixel peeper. The 5DSR offers a whopping 50.6 megapixels, closing the gap between medium format cameras and DSLRs – the upside though, is that you don’t need to buy another set of lenses...

★★★★

1

www.canon.com.sg

Nikon D810 While still on the subject of pixel peepers, Nikon’s D800 used to hold that crown, but now the D810 has comfortably settled on evolving and tying up loose ends.

The result is a much more polished camera that’s also capable of considerable levels of detail as well.

2

★★★★

www.nikon.com.sg

Nikon D7200 Sitting on the top of Nikon’s DX-format camera family, the 24 megapixel D7200 is an excellent camera for DSLR enthusiasts. Autofocusing is fast and the buffer has been improved for continious shooting, but it’s at night where this camera really shines.

3

★★★★

www.nikon.com.sg

Canon 750D Canon 750D is one of the most solid cameras you can buy. A good 24.2 megapixel sensor produces clean images, while a nineteen point autofocus system helps you nail more shots than not. Warning: you can’t blame the camera for bad shots now.

4

★★★★

www.canon.com.sg

Nikon D3300 An affordable entry-level DSLR for beginners, the D3300 has simple controls and decent image and video performance. Perhaps it’s a bit too beginner focused, because turning off Auto ISO requires a trip through the menu.

★★★★★

5

www.nikon.com.sg

LensPen Professional

SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-II

One of the most useful tools a photographer can have, this cleaner has a brush to remove dust, and a non-liquid based cleaner to remove grime. www.lenspen.com

To maximise the performance of your UHS-II capable cameras, only the fastest cards will do. The SanDisk Extreme Pro will bring out your camera’s potential. www.sandisk.sg 161

P R I M E

Mirrorless Cameras FujiFilm X-T10 FujiFilm has been leading the charge for the mirrorless field with its excellent X-series cameras, and the X-T10 is a relatively affordable number that shares most of the best features on its flagship X-T1. If lack of weatherproofing, and a ISO dial isn’t a deal breaker, you have yourself a deal.

★★★★

1

www.fujifilm.com.sg

Olympus EM10 II The EM10 II epitomes the first advanced mirrorless that you will own. Chock full of features, including Olympus’ excellent five-axis image stabilisation, the EM10 II has most features an enthusiast would want, short of weatherproofing. It lacks 4K video, however.

2

★★★★

www.olympus.com.sg

Sony A7R II The Sony A7R II has been making waves in the industry and no wonder; it’s a technical achievement – serious 4K video and serious 42-megapixel camera in one compact package, with great performance all-round that will definitely have the DSLR big boys worried without doubt.

3

★★★★

www.sony.com.sg

Sony A6000 Pretty much an A7 in a more compact, less pro-focused body. The A6000 shoots wonderful images with a fast AF and excellent control layout that’s customisable.

★★★★

4

www.sony.com.sg

Panasonic GX8 Panasonic’s GX8 is a solidly built new camera with a 20 megapixel Four-Thirds sensor. Dust and weather proof, it sports an excellent viewfinder and a versatile tilting touchscreen.

★★★★

5

www.panasonic.com.sg

Accessories

162

Langly Paracord Strap

ONA The Bowery

As the name suggests, paracord was originally used in parachutes, but now have a new lease of life in the form of attractive and durable camera straps. www.langly.co

Small, stylish and versatile, The Bowery has room for your camera and an additional lens and some small paraphernalia. tkfoto.com.sg

P R I M E

Compact cameras Panasonic TZ70 You don’t want to bring much on your travels, which is why the TZ70 is perfect.

Designed to satisfy both beginners and advanced users, its feature set covers a lot of ground. The 30x optical zoom is its highlight, but it also sports a viewfinder as well as manual controls for the avid shooter.

★★★★

1

www.panasonic.com/sg

Sony RX100 Mk 4 The RX100 is the ultimate compact camera with its combination of size, features and performance. Mk4 adds 4K video, super slow motion video, as well as 1/32,000 super quick shutter speeds and 16fps continuous shooting mode. It’s still the one to beat, but for its price.

2

★★★★

www.sony.com.sg

Panasonic LX100 Enthusiast compacts are increasingly popular, and the LX100 is a stellar example of a compact camera bearing a large sensor. Coupled with a bright, Leica designed zoom lens, the LX100 is essentially a good mirrorless camera in a more streamlined form factor.

3

★★★★

www.panasonic.com/sg

FujiFilm X30 Gorgeous retro looks hide modern camera features including a digital lens control ring that’s part of a well though out control layout. Shoots excellent images especially if you like Fujiflim’s film simulation modes like Velvia and Astia.

★★★★

4

www.fujifilm.com.sg

Olympus TG-4 The tough TG-4 is built to take the knocks and shocks of sports photography and it’ll stand freezing temperatures and go 15 metres underwater, where its fast f2.0 lens makes shooting macro underwater a breeze.

★★★★

5

www.olympus.com.sg

Joby GPod Mini Magnetic

Gordy’s Camera Straps

Great for awkward positions and made even better with magnetic feet, the GPod Mini Magnetic works great with GoPros as well. joby.com

Made from Latigo belt leather and wrapped with durable, waxed polyester cord, Gordy’s stylish straps offers looks and added security in equal measures. www.gordyscamerastraps.com 163

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B P RI GI M T E H I N G

A Formula 1 For the Future

An aero-morphing F1 racer partially powered by solar energy? McLaren’s dreams of a future Formula One car might just become reality.

by SHAWN CHUNG

L

166

it’s McLaren dreaming of better days ahead. All we know is that the McLaren MP4-X is a real stunner, with McLaren conceptualising a list of cutting-edge technological features that could be incorporated into such a racer, with not only more environmentally friendly hybrid energy systems including solar charging, but also a deep look into new structural materials, active aerodynamics, morphing materials and augmented reality heads-up displays for drivers, as well as thought control!

ewis Hamilton and Mercedes Benz may have won this year’s

But one aspect of this concept car should appear sooner rather

Formula One World Drivers and Constructors Championships

than later. The MP4-X concept includes a fully enclosed canopy that can

at a canter, but the unprecedented off-track turmoil that

be easily opened by the driver. It’s a feature that’s undergone intense

marked the 2015 F1 season sees little signs of abating, as teams, engine

investigation in recent years as a result of a number of tragic accidents

manufacturers and F1’s organisers hammer out the rule changes for

where drivers of open-cockpit racing cars suffered head injuries,

2017 and beyond.

including the death of F1 driver Jules Bianchi almost a year after his

So it’s telling that McLaren, who endured a dismal 2015 with Honda’s

Marussia F1 car crashed into a recovery vehicle at the 2014 Japanese

underperforming engines (granted, 2015 was the Honda’s first year back

Grand Prix, and Indycar driver Justin Wilson, who was hit in the head by

in F1 since 2008) have revealed their concept for a future Formula One

debris from another car in August 2015.

car. The McLaren MP4-X. Perhaps it’s McLaren’s marketing department trying to put a good spin at the end of a terrible season, or perhaps

A cleaner, meaner and safer Formula One? We’d like to see that. www.mclaren.com/formula1/car/mclaren-mp4-x