I waited for a full month before it reached me from dealextreme.com . It costs me US$8.30, and shipping is free.
Check out the label, it's even got the Angry Birds logo:
Dimensions: 7.48 in x 7.09 in x 6.30 in (19.0 cm x 18.0 cm x 16.0 cm)
The fabric surface is very silky, but the plush is rather hard on the inside. It's the kind of quality that you will expect to find selling in reputable department stores. It comes with a suction cup and a string. If you don't like it, just cut it away.
There are other birds on sale too, but I decided not to get them as I'm only interested in getting the red one for iconic purposes. I'd be waiting for the Green Pig to be on sale (hopefully they will offer it).
Order yours here! And if you can't wait for a month, you can opt for express shipment that costs more than the item itself. You do the math.
P.S. If you want a larger Angry Bird (26cm) that cannot be hung, you might be interested in this link.
Samsung has just launched its third mirrorless interchangeable lens (MIL) camera. NX11 marries some of the features found in NX100 with identical body design as NX10 (only the grip is modified). The kit lens now comes with the i-Function button to allow the user to adjust the important shooting parameters - aperture, shutter, ISO, WB - without leaving the eyes off the viewfinder
Here's what I found based on my experience over the past 2 weeks of using the NX11.
Added from NX10: - i-Function and i-Scene modes, selectable from the mode dial - Sound Picture is selectable from the mode dial - GPS settings is built in the menu - Smart Filter is added for post processing
New features not available in the previous NX series: - When pressing i-Function buttons on the lens, on-screen instructions appear on the top to provide additional guide - new kit lens 18-55mm II OIS (with i-Function) offers more silent focusing for still and video recording - faster and more accurate continuous auto focus (CAF) during video recording - able to adjust the brightness and colour of the EVF and the AMOLED display independently - able to manually select EVF or AMOLED display or AUTO - Auto ISO now goes up to ISO 1600, and it displays the chosen ISO after you half-press the shutter. NEAT! - Panorama shooting mode
What's no longer there: - Maximum ISO is 3200, whereas NX100 can go up to ISO 6400, albeit extremely noisy - Smart Filters for Sketch and Vignetting are not available - Video recording AF is default to continuous (CAF), and there is no option to set as single AF. A simple workaround is the toggle AF-MF at the lens, provided the lens has this option. The NX11 kit lens has it, but not the NX100.
From what it appears, the NX11 is positioned as a different product line from the NX100, as it does not inherit all the features. It also did not undergo any major design changes from the NX10. I suppose the model number says it all: NX11 is a minor upgrade from NX10. Between the NX100 and NX11, I would prefer the button layout of the NX100 but the grip and built-in EVF and pop-up flash of the NX11. In particular, the 2-scroll NX100 facilitates changing of aperture and shutter simultaneously in Manual mode. Not-so-particular users can still easily change them using the i-Function buttons, but one at a time.
The one new NX11 feature that is worth shouting for is the Panorama mode. The way it's implemented on NX11 is the press-and-sweep method, meaning just press the shutter once and then slowly sweep at the desired direction. The NX11 detects the direction and will capture automatically at regular intervals until it senses that you have stopped moving or when the memory is full. Here are some samples I've snapped:
Here's another way to make use of Panorama: portrait mode.
The stitched photos are around 800-1200 pixels at the short end (when panning at landscape orientation), while the long end can go as far as 5800 pixels. There are limited settings you can customise with Panorama mode: only EV compensation, AF mode, JPG quality, Color Space (RGB mode) are modifiable.
NX10 owners might be jealous of this new model, but frankly, there isn't much technical enhancements. Given the price-value, NX10 is a good grab, unless you don't mind paying a third more for the Panorama function in NX11. And the Sound Picture function. And the new kit lens. And the improved video recording mode. OK, sorry I'm not helping.
Singapore is one of the first countries in the world to launch the Fujifilm X100 for sale (at S$1699). And I have the privilege of testing one myself, thanks to a friend who went to buy it at the IT Show (reportedly sold out within 2 hours).
Shot on the X100 newspaper advert
This is what I gather from the quick 15 minute hands-on.
It's got the retro look and feel. The workmanship is excellent. It's built with a conventional photographer in mind, and certainly not for a modern techie.
The camera start-up and shutdown speed is rather slow. The AF is also not speedy. However, it delivers fast 5 frame-per-second rapidly fired with silent shutter curtain similar to compact cameras. The post-shot review speed is also very speedy.
The fix-focal length 23mm lens f2.0 exhibits extreme softness at close-up, as you can see in the sample below. Increasing to f4.0 reduces the softness. This softness does not show when shooting normal-distance images.
The electronic viewfinder resolution is excellent, certainly one of the better ones I've seen. The optical viewfinder is also generously large and bright.
I like the feature where I can switch the X100 into silent mode by holding the "Display" button. In silent mode, the flash is also disabled, along with all the operation sounds.
The lens cap is premium-built metal finish with velvet lining inside the cap to protect the lens.
Bokeh test
I find that the aperture ring is too close to the body and so it's hard for me to adjust easily. The focus ring requires huge turning radius to adjust manual focus.
Putting aside all the technical limitations, I would love to get the X100 just to be seen using it, if I had spare cash. Otherwise, most of my existing cameras could do a better job in capturing images.
Do you use the Android phone as a music player in your car? Do you find that it's a hassle to use it while driving? One, the touchscreen turns off after a while (unless you plug the car kit which keeps the screen alive). Two, you have to press the buttons accurately to switch tracks or albums while keeping your eyes on the road.
Well, I found this android app called MortPlayer Music that appears to work well when I'm driving.
What MortPlayer Music does (where other apps don't): - The screen is always on during playback, so that I can see the album art and tracks, and it's always ready for me to change tracks.
- The app supports swipe gestures. Swipe left-right to switch albums; swipe up-down to switch tracks. This means I can keep my eyes off the phone and still can control the player.
- The albums are sorted by folders, not by artists or albums as read in the ID3 tags. I prefer this so that I can organise my tracks the way I like it.
- You can define the music folder that you want the app to read, so that only the child folders and files will be scanned by the player. I also like this feature so that the player doesn't read every file in the phone.
- Once you unplug the 3.5mm line-out cable from the phone, the player pauses automatically.
- Able to control orientation within the app independent of your phone orientation settings.
- Resumes from last track you stopped even after you exit the app.
There are other features that may be useful when you use the app outside the car - alarm clock - sleep function - displays on notification bar when running in background
The app is still in beta, and I do find that at times the playback will stutter a little.
Download and try it out yourself. After all, it's free.
2011 is such an exciting year for me, because Samsung has unveiled some great products that are going to improve many aspects of my life.
During the recent Samsung SEA, Ocenia and Taiwan Forum 2011 held at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre from 7 to 9 Mar 2011, I glimpsed into the future that Samsung has planned. Clearly, Samsung products have given the consumers a smarter life. With products ranging from thin-bezel 3D TV, Blu-ray players, wireless monitors, ultra-thin laptops, dual-core mobile devices, enriching camera functions, Samsung products offer great designs, enrich users’ experiences, and deliver inter-connectivity among devices.
Smart TV: How Smart?
The new Samsung TV aims to offer a seamless experience to the user. The bezel is ultra-thin (at only 5mm) so that it blends the TV into your living space. The TV lets you access the Internet, connect computing and storage devices in your home network and watch all the content on the Samsung TV. You can install HDTV apps to expand the capabilities, or use the Samsung Galaxy Tab or Galaxy S Smartphone as a wireless input device to navigate the screen.
I’m certainly delighted to know that my future TV will not have thick bezels that make the TV look big and heavy. For the same size, Samsung now offers larger screen dimensions. Now that’s smart!
I’m also excited that the new Samsung TV can be the one screen to access content within my home and the world outside. In one screen, I would be able to stream music and video from say, my PC in my study room. I can even use my Samsung Galaxy S/Galaxy Tab to control the TV, or as a keyboard and keypad to surf the Internet. And using an app called “Social TV” lets me chat with others (with Google Chat) as well as checking my Facebook status and Twitter feeds while watching the same TV content. All these interactive features, plus improved viewing quality from Samsung, TV experience will never be the same.
Blu-ray Players
The companion to the TV, the latest Blu-ray players lets you watch 3D Blu-ray content and effortlessly converts your 2D movies to 3D. But on top of that, the premium Blu-ray players now also come built-in with WiFi and Smart Hub so that you get to enjoy the same interactive experience if you do not have the latest Samsung Smart TV. The top-line product, D8900 comes with 1TB of storage to record your TV shows in full HD! The D7500 is currently the world’s slimmest Blu-ray player, and looks stunning when wall-mounted.
The 3D TV Experience
In 2011, Samsung continues to innovate the 3D experience. Samsung has further improved the 2D to 3D conversion, which means you get to watch your existing 2D content in better 3D results. The new 3D glasses use Bluetooth technology and are an absolute comfort to wear! Samsung redesigned the glasses so that the weight of the glasses is shifted to behind the ear. Charging the glasses is no longer a messy wired affair, as Samsung has implemented wireless charging using magnetic resonance technology. I believe Samsung is one of the first major companies to use this technology on a mass-market product.
Ultra-Thin Ultra-Durable Notebooks
The excitement does not end yet! Moving on to IT products, Samsung has designed a 13-inch notebook that is thinner and lighter than the 13-inch MacBook Air! It is the new Series 9, with 13.3 inch SuperBright Plus display, 0.64 inch thin, 1.32kg light, and built using Duralumin, which is twice tougher than aluminum. What I like is how the external ports flip open when you need to use them, and closes to flush with the bottom panel when not in use. So elegant.
Running on 128GB SSD which has no moving harddisk parts, the Series 9 notebook can start up in just 15 seconds, and wake from standby in just 3 seconds. A great advantage of SSD is that you will not encounter harddisk failures due to rough handling.
Other premium specs include USB 3.0, Bluetooth 3.0, and up to 6.5-hour battery life.
Monitors: 3D and Wireless
Samsung extends the “Smarter Life” philosophy to desktop monitors. Monitors are important to me, because personally, I use the PC more than I watch TV. 3D content is also fast picking up on the desktop, with 3D-enabled graphics cards and multi-core processors to deliver bandwidth-intensive games and movies. I never thought how desktop monitors can also be revolutionised to enrich our lives.
Samsung TA950
Samsung latest full HD 3D LED monitor Series 9 wows me with its unique asymmetrical design and supports full 3D content, or even converts 2D to 3D with ease. The TA950 ups the ante with built in Smart Hub features (as mentioned in the Samsung TV and Blu-ray sections), digital TV tuner, and speakers that support Dolby Digital, SRS TheatreSound HD, DTS 2.0 and 3D sound! This is certainly an all-in-one device that encompasses all of Samsung’s 2011 vision.
But my personal favourite among these products would have to be the Central Station Series 7 monitors. These monitors have built-in hubs which you can connect multiple devices to. The beauty is that all the devices – printers, keyboards, HDD, camera, Blu-ray players, LAN – communicate wirelessly via a wireless USB mini-dongle plugged to your laptop. Can you imagine that there is no need for you to plug wires onto your laptop everytime you get back to your work desk? With this wireless solution, there is no need to buy a separate docking station that only fits your laptop model.
Closing Off
Samsung mentioned that the 2011 products are created based on 4 guiding principles of the “Four As”: Access, Align, Amaze and Act. The way I see, “Access” is achieved with innovations like the “Smart Hub” feature so that consumers can access content beyond the TV. “Align” is about blending the products into consumers’ lives, as seen with the thin-bezel TV and the ultra-thin Series 9 notebook. “Amaze” is delivered through improved 3D experience and end-user solutions like the wireless monitor. “Act” refers to being environmental friendly by reducing power consumption for Samsung new products, which in turn benefits the consumers with lower electricity bill.
I am overwhelmed with all the life-changing products that Samsung has announced for 2011. And here I am only talking about TV, Blu-ray and IT products. The mobile product line and camera offerings are equally exciting, which I will share in the next post.
Epilogue: Marina Bay Sands
The Samsung Forum has given me the perfect opportunity to step into MBS, albeit only around the Convention Centre area. On this Monday afternoon, there weren't many people, perfect location to enjoy some personal space of your own.
All photos captured using Samsung NX100 and EX1. Thanks to Samsung Singapore for nominating me as one of their Roving Reporters for the event. Join the Samsung Singapore Facebook page for more TV/AV/IT product news. More photos can also be found in the Roving Reporter page.
