New blackberry Android phones - Blackberry Priv

Blackberry Priv

The first smartphone that i have owned was a blackberry, that was back in 2010 where smartphone was something new, at that point of time Nokia rule the mobile phone market. My first blackberry model was a blackberry torch.

Blackberry torch has served me very well and I am really excited to finally be able to use a smartphone with touchscreen capability. During those days everyone was using phone that have keypad. Everyone was either using Nokia, Samsung or Ericson. Nowadays most people are either using Samsung or Apple. Reason being is that the application eco system.

Now blackberry has attempted a final comeback for its blackberry phone which. After many months of rumors and speculation, and an arguably somewhat quiet announcement, we have finally reached the point where it's time to take a look at the Priv by BlackBerry. Unlike every BlackBerry smartphone released before it, the Priv does not use its BlackBerry's proprietary OS and instead comes loaded with Android, Lollipop 5.1.1 to be specific, and pairs it up with the best of BlackBerry security, privacy and productivity.

Up front, there's a 5.43-inch AMOLED Gorilla Glass 4 display that is nice and crisp and delivers a pixel density of 540 PPI. Also on the front of the device to the top left is where you will find the proximity and ambient light sensor and to the right of that, the multi-color pulse notification light as well as the front-facing 2MP camera. In between both is the earpiece speaker that makes use of the BlackBerry Natural Sound system that adapts the sound experience during a call based on how you are holding the Priv. This, combined with three high dynamic range microphones, aims to provide the best voice call quality possible. At the bottom, you'll spot the user-facing speaker grill that has laser-drilled holes to offer great sound output, and they serve the device well. The speaker output is nice and loud, crisp for music and clear for speakerphone calls.

I feel that with this smartphone, blackberry will finally be able to regain market share and hopefully to relieve its past success.

Information Technology outsourcing

Information Technology (IT) outsourcing

I wanted to share my view about Information Technology (IT) outsourcing in Malaysia, during my observation for the past 8 years I have noticed that it is becoming a trend for global companies to outsource their IT function.

One of the reason is that IT is not the company core business and they would like to save as much cost of hiring and training staffs. By outsourcing the IT function, they can rely for the IT service provider to provide. One of the example is the IT outsourcing by Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) to Hewlett Packard (HP) whereby Shell has outsourced its entire End User Computing (EUC) division to HP as part of IT infrastructure outsourcing. By doing so, few thousand employees was transition from HP to Shell and and Shell hopes to have further savings from its IT function, it is also to optimize and capitalize HP expertise in technology.

IT Infrastructure Technology is key to the success of Shell’s business strategy, and IT (infrastructure) is the pervasive technology that impacts the performance of all its business activities. Between 2002 and 2005, Shell accomplished a successful initiative to globalize its IT infrastructure. The organization, technology and processes were standardized and streamlined, while many parts moved to Malaysia and India. Reliability, global working and unit costs improved immensely, providing Shell with robust and efficient infrastructure services. Shell will now focus on new requirements and service levels, leaving the development and delivery of services to the service providers.

For IT infrastructure strategy, architecture and planning, all partners will have to contribute and seek accommodation of other views. Though cost levels need to be closely managed, Shell needs to provide space to pursue other goals as well, such as collaboration on business innovations. Shell created the Innovation Council which is a team including representatives from the service providers that is tasked with developing opportunities that can improve business performance. Shell has strategic service providers for products, applications management and infrastructure management. Together with some critical niche service providers and its own IT organization, they have forge a “OneIT” model in which service providers work together driven by the goal to improve Shell’s business, not just their own bottom line. Shell refers to it as the ecosystem. With all players working together it thrives, but if one or more won’t play, it falters.

MyfitnessPal application

For most of us, life already requires a balancing act: we have family, friends, work, working out, and hopefully some downtime in between. Add keeping track of your entire food intake and logging all your exercises in a journal to the equation, and it may seem impossible. Within the past few years, new smart phone apps have been popping up left and right in an effort to help people manage their weight easier and on the go.

One of the most popular apps, MyFitnessPal is a website that helps people count their calories by entering it into an online diary, as well as keep track of their exercise. It’s for anyone with a busy life, looking to lose weight or simply maintain a healthy weight. It can be tailored to fit the needs of anyone with specific and/or doctor/dietitian-recommended requirements. The free application is available for Blackberry, Android, Windows, and the iPhone.

MyFitnessPal Review: Key Features

Community: MyFitnessPal’s community aspect basically consists of a forum, where other fellow users of the app are free to exchange tips and advice, as well as to create relationships through sharing personal experiences or struggles.

Exercise Tracker: MyFitnessPal has more than 350 exercise stored in its database, and it shows how much each person burns during each activity, based on their specific height, weight, and gender. It includes most cardio and strength training workouts, as well as yoga and Pilates.

Calorie Counter: The app’s calorie counter is basically an online diary of each MyFitnessPal member’s intake. The counter allows members to set daily goals, and the app can add multiple foods at once. It also automatically stores food and meals that members eat often, which makes them easy to find when they eat them again and need to log them.

Sonic Gear Earpump Review

A younger brother of the Earpump Studio Pro, which I've tested before the non-pro version. And I had set my expectations to be lower than what the Pro version is offering. Obviously, I can't compare this headset with the Pro version, obviously the Pro ones is better. But, there are almost no competitor in this price range. This headset retails for around RM79, you can get it from leapfroglobal.net. 

First, let's take a quick look on what you will get inside

What you will get inside is pretty much the same as the Studio Pro, the headset itself.

OVERVIEW

The main differences about the headset from the Pro version can be identified immediately. The earpads are smaller, the padding on the headband is a lot lesser, and there is no additional 3.5mm audio-output on the headset. The only similarities that they share with its older brother is the fact that it is foldable, and has a built-in mic. The entire constructure of the headset was made out of the plastic, it feels cheap and flimsy. For the durability, I can only score this headset 2 out of 5 because the headband adjustment feels pretty weak and it could just snap if you bend it too far. The cable length is also the same as the Pro version, which is 1.2m long, and personally, it is okay if you are using it with your smartphones or mobile devices, but if you are using this with a computer like me, you will need a longer cable. The built-in mic is always a very convenient add-on if you are searching for 'on-the-go' headset.

PERFORMANCE

Like I said, I'm not expecting a great experience with this headset or the Pro version, but the Pro version left me speechless except for 'Buy it if you need great headset and have a tight budget'. Unfortunately, the non-Pro version doesn't meet my low expectations. First of all, I find this headset is very uncomfortable to wear. Unlike the Pro version, which is an over-ear design headset, this headset is supra-aural (on-ear) design headset. The earpads are pretty dense and not as soft as the Pro version. There is almost no padding on the headband, I'm not sure what material they used to cover the headband, but it is better than nothing and it doesn't add any discomfort for me. But, because of the poorly made earpads, it is very uncomfortable for me to wear it even for 30 minutes. I would score this headset 2 out of 5 in terms of comfort. For sound quality, it sound pretty similar with my CM Storm Ceres 400. Overall sound is clean, with clear vocals reproduction and a brighter side of trebles. The bass is pretty decent for its price, you can hear it booming, but it is not spectacular. Most of the instruments sound good except for the acoustic-based instruments, which sounds pretty dull and quiet. The highs can be heard very clear and non fatiguing . In terms of sound quality, I would score this 3.5 out of 5. 

CONCLUSION 

After I tested this out, the only positive things I can say about this headset is that it is foldable, have built-in mic and pretty good sound quality for its price. Other than that, it is very uncomfortable to wear, and the headset was made out of cheap plastic. Personally, I don't think its worth the money to spend even when you have absolutely no money. I would say IEM in this price range sounds better. But, of course, if you don't like IEM, I would suggest you to save up some money and buy the Studio Pro version, which is way better than the non-pro version. I'm sorry, Sonic Gear, unfortunately, I can't recommend this headset to any potential buyer, since my first priority is comfort.

Rapoo E6700 Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard

 

Specification 

• Innovative technology combined with stylish design and aluminum body 
• Built-in high-performance rechargeable lithium battery 
• Environment-friendly, prevents battery replacement hassles 
• Reliable scissor keys for the prefect key strokes 
• The accurate scissor-key mechanical structure distributes pressure on the keys evenly, making every keystroke natural, smooth and correct 
• Bluetooth Connection 
• Enjoy long-range Bluetooth control from up to 10 meters (33 feet) away 
• 82 keys layout keyboard 
• Abundant touch gestures 
• Support Window 8 / 7 / Vista / XP 
• Dimension: 332 x 102 x 10mm (approx.) 
• Weight: 263

Unboxing

The Rapoo E6700 Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard.

Close up at the reliable scissor keys of the keyboard.

Close up of the touchpad that support multitouch gesture.

Rapoo E6700 wireless Bluetooth keyboard is one of Rapoo’s wide range of keyboard selection. The keyboard is a perfect fusion of buttons and touch and it can be used with Windows and Mac computers along with tablets and phones. The wireless keyboard is built with ultra slim design of metal technology elements with different selection of colours. Furthermore, the keyboard come with built-in environment friendly rechargeable lithium battery. The keyboard design with reliable scissor keys for the perfect key strokes. The touchpad of this keyboard support multitouch gestures.FeaturesThe products is well wrapped with clear plastic cover for the whole box of the keyboard. The box is clear and some part of the keyboard and touchpad can be seen clearly from the outside.The elegant design of the bottom of the keyboard built with aluminum metal in gold colour.

Conclusion

The Rapoo E6700 Wireless Keyboard is a very good quality keyboard developed by Rapoo. The small and ultra-thin size of the keyboard make it very portable and easy to use anywhere. The keyboard work extremely well with Android devices that can make the larger size Android tablet into a full working desktop or laptop replacement. Unfortunately I can’t say the same for IOS devices. The keyboard work fine but you don’t get the cursor like interface like the Android thus the touchpad has no function in the IOS devices. Typing using this keyboard has the premium feel due to the good built quality and materials of the Rapoo E6700 Wireless Keyboard. The battery life of the keyboard is outstanding. With 3 hours of charging and it can last for about 11 days of usage. Overall this is a very good quality wireless keyboard for tablets.