HTC Malaysia launches the new One M8

This evening, HTC Malaysia officially launches the long awaiting One M8. It is a replacement for the One M7 and the new facelit promises alot to consumer.

HTC One M8 Key Specification :

• 5.0 inches Super LCD 3 screen with 1080 x 1920 of resolution
• 2.5 GHz quad core Qualcomm MSM8974AB Snapdragon 801 processor with Krait 400
• Andreno 330 GPU
• 2GB RAM
• 16 GB internal memory with microSD slot
• Dual 4 MP Ultrapixel camera with dual-LED (dual tone) flash
• 5MP front facing camera
• 2600 mAh battery
• Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat with Sense 6
• 146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4 mm
• 160 g

Like most company flagship phone, the One M8 is upgrade of One M7. Bigger screen, faster processor, microSD slot and camera as well. Of course, the new design now is much better than the predecessor. It is more metal now, rounded edge and feel slimmer. Personally, it is one of the beautiful crafted phone that I'll appreciate it. The HTC One M8 also come with new Sense 6 which bring alot improvement. One of the coolest new features brought by the updated package is Motion Launch, which lets you quickly open the camera or unlock the phone while the screen is off. Picking up the One (M8) in landscape mode and pressing the volume button will launch the camera. There's double tap or slide up from the bottom to wake the phone. While locked you can pick up the phone in portrait mode and swipe left on its screen to launch the widget panel or right for BlinkFeed.

Check out my quick hands on video on the HTC One M8 that focused most on the new camera features.

Eventhough it is still the same 4MP Ultrapixel camera, HTC introduces the secondary camera at the back which uses to capture depth information. HTC calls this Duo Camera. It mimics the stereoscopic abilities of the human eye - two independent lenses able to calculate the relative distance of the subjects in an image. HTC's dual camera setup enables cool effects such as selective focus (shallow depth of field) and post-shot refocusing. Unfortunately the editing has limitation where only auto mode and without flash images taken by the camera can proceed the editing. The optical image stabilization of the original One is now gone, and the One (M8) will rely solely on digital stabilization. Similarly to Apple, HTC has improved the flash of the smartphone by using a two toned one - one cold and one warm LED, which can help the smartphone produce more accurate color tones in low-light conditions. HTC also claims the One (M8) can focus in just 0.3s. If that's not enough for you, HTC is generous enough to packed the front facing camera with 5 Megapixel for selfie lover.

As I mentioned earlier, I love the design and material used in the HTC One M8. Personally, I still prefer the rough surface on One M7 since the One M8 surface pretty smooth as if it feel like plastic. It is no surprise that the UI and animation transition everything is smooth since Sense UI has been tone down since Sense 5. I still hate the fact the camera still 4MP since I am very much a pixel peep guy. However, I can assured that HTC One M8 camera works as advertise. It is quick in focus, great for low light capture as well and a tones of fun processing mode to be use. Overall, it is really a beauty plus functionality phone, one of the kind phone at the moment and it is for people who dare to change, to try and to explore the possibility using this phone. So once again, HTC did it!

The HTC One comes with a variety of accessories like the Flip Case, Double Dip case (each in three colors), Dot View case (showing you alarms, events, calls, battery, weather and more in a colorful dotted way) and more. The HTC One is available today with RRP RM 2,399.

Oppo Malaysia officially launches Oppo Find 7 & Find 7a

Few months down the road, I believe Oppo is no longer a strange name in Malaysia Market. Recently, they have been really aggressive in penetrating Malaysia market and I am pretty sure they'll give a major smart phone brand a pretty good competition. This evening, Oppo Malaysia officially unveiled their latest flagship smartphone, Oppo Find 7 & Find 7a. Here are the specification for both flagship phone.

Oppo Find 7 Key specification :

• 5.5 inches IPS LCD display with 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution
• 2.5 GHz Quad-core Qualcomm MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801 Krait 400
• Adreno 330
• 3 GB RAM
• 32GB internal memory with microSD slot
• 13 MP back facing camera with dual-LED flash
• 5 MP front facing camera
• 171 gram
• 152.6 x 75 x 9.2 mm
• Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean)
• 3000 mAh

Oppo Find 7a Key specification :

• 5.5 inches IPS LCD display with 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution
• 2.3 GHz Quad-core Qualcomm MSM8974AB Snapdragon 801 Krait 400
• Adreno 330
• 2 GB RAM
• 16GB internal memory with microSD slot
• 13 MP back facing camera with dual-LED flash
• 5 MP front facing camera
• 170 gram
• 152.6 x 75 x 9.2 mm
• Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean)
• 2800 mAh

* From left : Find 7 and Find 7a *

* Back design for both Find 7 and 7a *

Obviously there are nothing changes in terms of physical design and also measurement in between Find 7 and Find 7a. The only difference would be the screen resolution, processor speed, RAM, internal memory and also smaller battery capacity. I guess it is a great alternate for those who those who felt the higher spec abit overkill for them :) Personally, I can't tell the difference in QHD and FHD display. You seriously need a superhuman eye to distinguish it.

* Chen Lu - Brand Manager Oppo Malaysia *

* Candice Liu, Assistant CEO Oppo Malaysia *

* William Fang, CEO Oppo *

Check out my hands on video!

Like most latest smartphone in current market, Oppo Find 7/7a packed with latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor together with Andreno 330 GPU. Pair with 3GB or 2GB RAM, your experiences with the phone and multitasking will be smooth sail. Not to mention, the chipset supported LTE.

Both Find 7 also equipped with the Pure Image 2.0, an image processing that enchances images taken by the 13 megapixel camera. The back facing camera is built with six physical lenses, the latest Sony Stacked CMOS IMX214 sensor and f/2 aperture which obviously good for lowlight. I am surprise Oppo Find 7 and 7a included RAW file option as well. Pure RAW shooter gonna be enjoy! One of the worth mentioned camera features in both Find 7 is the "Ultra-HD" mode. Ultra-HD mode combine ten photos at the back end with just one press of a buttonto create images perfect for high quality print. In other words, it created a 50 megapixel image! It is pretty cool if you ask me!

Here are some sample photos taken by the camera using back facing camera and also the Ultra HD mode. Click the link for full res ya!

Ultra HD Mode

Also the 4K Ultra HD video recording!

One of the innovation worth praising on Oppo find 7 is the newly developed VOOC fast charging technology that easily shortens charging time, boosting the phone's battery life to 75% within 30 minutes. If you're worried the charging rate is too fast and it might damage the phone, don't worry! This rapid charging tech has a safety feature made up of five layers of thermal protective coating that prevents overheating while charging. So it is safe!

Oppo also partnered with MaxxAudio's in their latest Find 7 to enchant the dynamic range and frequency of the phone speakers. I am not sure how well it does if against big player such as HTC One M8 and also Sony Xperia Z2, but for me Oppo Find 7/7a speaker is loud enough and clear.

The Find 7a is officially available at all outlet at price RM 1598 while the Find 7 will be selling at price RM 1998 and will be available in Malaysia nationwide end of June.

Personally I love what Oppo did on their Find 7/7a. Nothing wow on the physical design but I love black most for sure since it has Carbon Fibre pattern design on it. 5.5 inch might sound too big but it actually fit my palm since it share the similar width with my Xperia Z1. Nice IPS display by providing most natural color but the QHD display seem unnecessary for me. The 13 megapixel back facing camera are capable to delivered what it should and Ultra HD mode is interesting too. I wouldn't hesitate using that mode or landscape shooting. Not to mentioned, with RAW I can do more wonder in photography using Find 7/7a! The only things I dislike is the ColorOS UI itself. It is too cartoonish and coloful to my liking. Of course, there are theme store provided by Oppo itself. I guess I can live with it or I'll just use other launcher :P

Hopefully I can request a review unit and able to provide full review. Who know, it might change my mind on the ColorOS UI and grow love on it?

Friday night at Prodigy KL

Yup, another well spent Friday night at Prodigy last week with friends. Mr Fluff was the DJ of the night and whoever attended last Friday, they can stand a chance to win exclusive passes to FLIGHT NIGHT in Genting Highlands!

* Kah Mon & Su Yin *

* It has been time. A photos with Su Yin :) *

* And the night wouldn't be complete with these people *

Brought along for the Samsung NX Mini this time around for some party snapshot and also selfie with friends. Isn't it the small size camera do a better job this time? Easy to carry and won't be a burden since I am already in party and drinking mode. All shot was taken with Samsung NX Mini with build in flash. Ok alot selfie wefie whatever-fie photos spam in this post!

* Kah Mon, Su Yin & Li Chuen *

* With Li Chuen *

* with Ah Pond, Chutipond *

* Three of us *

* Three of us again *

The camera was slow in focus in low light even with AF lamp assist. Not to mentioned the greenish hue on skin tone on low light appears in some of my photos. I remember back to those day when I review Samsung NX 200 (I know my review was not matured during those time! But what my eye see things still the same until today), I mentioned how much I dislike the greenish hue.

* Why am I doing Ryan wink?? *

* Heh love ma bitch *

* I have same expression again. Damnit *

Thanks Su Yin for coming out to party with us. Thanks to Don & Manoah too for the awesome night :)
I shall be start shooting and prepare a series of review for the Samsung NX Mini.

* With Don & Li Chuen *

Samsung NX Mini event & First impression

Last weekend, I am lucky to be invited to attend Samsung NX Mini event where I am getting a review set as well. Mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with flip screen is nothing new in the market. But, if something as small as Samsung NX Mini, then it is something difference than other competitor. Eventhough Samsung NX Mini not the smallest interchangeable lens camera, but it is still as small as compact camera size that offer superb compatibility when mount together with 9mm f3.5 lens. Check out the key spec for Samsung NX Mini.

Samsung NX Mini Key Specification :

• 21 megapixels
• 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) BSI-CMOS Sensor
• ISO 160 - 12800 (extends to 100-25600)
• 21 Number of focus points
• 3″ 180 degree tilting screen with 460,800 screen dot and capacitive touchscreen
• 6 fps Continuous drive
• 1920 x 1080, 1280 x 720, 640 x 480, 320 x 240 (all 30 fps) video recording
• Built-In wireless and NFC
• B740 lithium-ion battery
• 110 x 62 x 23 mm
• 196 g

1 inch size sensor just a sweet spot for Samsung NX Mini (thanks God it wasn't 1/2.3" sensor size). Despite being small in size, it has large 3" capacitive touchscreen on it's back and of course, it is tiltable for selfie purposes. With Wifi & NFC present in the camera, there are no excuses for someone who love selfie couldn't share better photos in their favourite social media site. As much as I love the camera itself, it is lack of grip when holding it due to small size. It feel like will slip from my hand anytime. Hopefully some third party manufacture able to release a detachable grip for this camera to solve the problem.. or Samsung will you listen to my request? :P

Getting know to use the camera is pretty easy since it is straight forward and just need spend abit time to dig into the menu for all the setting you needs. Unfortunately it wasn't built for speed manual shooter user since adjusting exposure could be a little bit slow like what we expected from a small size camera which lack of buttons and dials. By the way, there are only one flap on the right side of the camera that featured micro USB slot, HDMI slot, micro SD card slot and battery slot. All in one! The flap look abit fragile though.

Overall the camera feel solid on hand.

* First photo from the camera. With my partner of the day, Chutipond. Still playing around with the camera setting *

* Another selfie of myself. ISO 3200 *

Alright I've talk too much on the camera. Maybe I should let the pics speak itself since pics worth thousands words :) On that day, we are divided into three groups and we are given topic to shoot at Petaling Street area. I am lucky to get "Sight and sound" topic which basically shoot humans. Hey isn't that's what I been doing almost every weekend? LOL so yea not a big deal for me. Plus I been Petaling Street for several times when shoot with Robin and I am pretty familiar with the area. Hence, Chutipond, Ryan, Yeeing & me walk together and begin to shoot. I am given 9mm f3.5 lens only to shoot on that day.

My setting of the camera on that day : 20mp resolution, jpeg super fine quality, auto WB and switching in between Aperture Priority and Manual mode. I turn off any unnecessary setting like face detection, noise reduction and quick view.

* Writing. ISO 200 *

* Friendly uncle. ISO 200 *

* 100% crop from previous image *

* Waiting for passenger? ISO 200 *

* Hanging out. ISO 200 *

* Sweeping. ISO 200 *

Personally, I love the 9mm f3.5 lens. It was a perfect match for NX Mini. Do note that 1 inch sensor means it is 2.7x crop factor. Hence, 9mm x 2.7 = 24.3mm in 35mm equivalent, one of my favourite focal length. Despite being a wide angle lens, I am surprise the 9mm could easily focus as close as 0.11m on the subject. Perhaps, this is my first time seeing wide angle lens could focus pretty close. It just gave me advantages shooting portrait as close up as I like, though unfortunately f3.5 with 2.7x crop factor hardly get any bokeh at background.

* Jose stick. ISO 800 *

* Great father & daughter. Forgot to change the ISO after shooting inside the temple. ISO 800 *

* 100% crop from previous image *

* Another friendly stranger. ISO 800 *

* 100% crop from previous image *

* Enjoy what you love to do. ISO 400 *

* Sitting on top of the world. ISO 400 *

* Cutting. ISO 400 *

* Texting? ISO 200 *

* Taxi driver. ISO 200 *

* 100% crop from previous image *

The lens might not the fastest in focusing speed but it is not disappointing either. With the NX Mini, I rarely miss the focus though it happened sometimes. I have yet given chance to use it on low light. Hence, I can't fully judge it at the moment. Give me a week or two, you'll see my full review since I will use it from time to time. Selfie ftw! Oh before I forgot, the 9mm lens is lack of OIS. But it is wide angle lens, I doubt it is needed or else the size gonna be bigger.

Done shooting, we went to Johnnie Rocket at Avenue K for lunch. Thanks Samsung for the luxury treats.

To summarize, here are my first impression of Samsung NX Mini

LIKE

• Small in size for both camera body & 9mm lens
• Wifi/NFC availability
• Ability to shoot RAW
• Awesome 3" capacitive touch screen and also 180 degree tiltable
• Great color rendering on day light
• Super-fast 1/16,000s electronic shutter
• 2330mAh battery capacity

Dislike

• Lack of grip
• microSD card
• SEF-7A external flash not included as default accessories
• Lack of OIS in 9mm lens
• No lens cap for 9mm lens

Samsung NX Mini is now available in market with RM1399 retail for body + 9mm f3.5 lens. I heard kit lens is coming in few weeks time with RM1699 retail price and the body are available in 5 colors: White, baby pink, mint green, brown and black.