webe was initially launched with a single mobile postpaid plan that provided unlimited calls, SMS and data on a single device. For those who need a SIM for data sharing, webe has finally introduced its webe broadband at RM59/month.
There’s only a single broadband plan option and it comes with 10GB each month. As a limited time promo, webe is also giving additional 20GB quota but it is valid until 28th February 2017. That means you’ll get just 10GB of data beginning 1st March 2017.
Unlike its postpaid plan, the webe broadband comes with free tethering up to 10 concurrent devices. webe isn’t offering any device bundles and you can slot the SIM card into your existing MiFi modems or tablets. There’s no activation fee but a RM50 upfront fee is required during signup. Since it is a data-only SIM, you can’t make calls or SMS with webe broadband. Once you’ve hit your quota limit, speeds will be throttled at 128kbps.
Some of you might be thinking, isn’t this the same as its former P1 W1MAX offering? On the surface it looks like it but webe’s wireless broadband is SIM based and it runs on their new 4G LTE network. As webe is embarking on a network expansion exercise in 2017, it is likely that webe will be switching most of its former P1 WiMAX customers to LTE. You can check if your place is covered with their coverage map.
For more info, head over to the webebroadband page.
Microsoft‘s
latest device is definitely something I did not expect. I thought we’d
see a new Surface Pro or a new laptop. Instead, the Microsoft announces a
brand new, ultra-thin all-in-one device. Meet the Microsoft Surface Studio. The Surface Studio is designed for creators which was a recurring theme
throughout Microsoft’s big event. What Microsoft has created looks like
it’s supposed to be the ultimate device to empower your inner creative
mind.
The Surface Studio comes equipped with
up to a 6th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, 32GB of RAM, a 2TB
hybrid drive and a 4GB NVIDIA GeForce 980M graphics card. The base
configuration bumps the power down to an 6th-gen Intel Core i5
processor, 1TB of internal storage, 8GB of RAM with a 2GB GPU. Alternatively, you can opt for the mid-spec model that bumps the CPU to a
Core i7 chip while doubling the RAM to 16GB. It also has a big beautiful display. Coming in at 28-inches, the
Surface Studio’s monitor is designed to be true to life with TrueColour
and True Scale technology. According to Panos Panay, one inch on the
monitor is one inch in real life. This display pushes 13.5 million
pixels, bringing the pixel density to 192 ppi across the 3:2 display. What’s more, Microsoft is also calling it the thinnest LCD display in
the world as the LCD portion is only 1.3mm thick while the entire
monitor with the forged aluminium enclosure comes in at 12.5mm thick.
This display can also switch between DCI-P3 and sRGB colours on the fly. Microsoft says that the Surface Studio’s design purpose was to be as
unobtrusive as possible. This is because the company believes that when
creators come together to create, it’s supposed to be just the creators
and the screen in front of them. So they’ve housed all the PC’s components into a tiny little base,
slapped on an unprecedented cooling system and worked on keeping the
acoustics as low as possible. Even the chrome arms that hold the screen
up are designed to blend into the background so they aren’t as obvious. Oh and did I mention that the display can be adjusted down to a
20-degree angle (almost flat) from an upright position with little to no
effort? Microsoft says this is possible because of the Studio’s
zero-gravity hinge which contains 80 parts and custom-tuned springs to
make the display feel weightless. Since it’s a Surface device, the Studio obviously comes running
Windows 10 with support for Cortana, Windows Hello and has an HD camera
on the front. It will also come with a Surface Pen and something called
the Surface Dial. I’m not quite sure what to call this little contraption, but it’s
designed to be a new form of input that you interact with by pressing
down and turning it left or right. You can also either do that on the
desktop or plop it on your screen for a whole new way of controlling
your creative process. The good news for old Surface users is that the Dial will also work with a Surface Pro 3, a Surface Pro 4 and a Surface Book. Speaking of Surface Books, Microsoft also announced a new
top-of-the-line Surface Book called the Surface Book i7 which comes with
more power in the form of a 6th-gen Intel Core i7, 2x the graphical
performance (3x more than the MacBook Pro 13…at least until tomorrow)
with a new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M and 30% more batteries. That
increase in battery capacity is supposed to give the Surface Book a
16-hour battery life. The new Surface Studio will be priced as follows:
It will be available for pre-order on the 26th of October in the US.
On the other hand, the new Surface Book i7 will be priced at USD2,399
(around RM9,970) and can be pre-ordered on the 26th of October.
Celcom has once again revamped its FIRST Postpaid plans following Digi’s recent new postpaid refresh.
Not only they are offering more mobile data but they are also giving
you the option to combine both all day and weekend quota for greater
freedom.
The popular FIRST Gold Postpaid Plan at RM80/month now gets twice the
amount of data (20GB) with 10GB all day and another 10GB for weekend
use. If that’s not enough, you can double up again with Gold PLUS plan
(40GB) which gives you 20GB of all day and 20GB of weekend data for only
RM98/month. Meanwhile, its top tier FIRST Platinum Plan at RM150/month
now offers a whopping 60GB of data which is split between 30GB all day
and 30GB for weekend use.
While unlimited calls are still retained across FIRST Gold and
Platinum plans, Celcom no longer lets you carry forward unused data to
the following month. All existing FIRST Gold and FIRST Platinum
subscribers will be upgraded to these new plans automatically without
extra charge by 1 November. The entry-level FIRST Blue postpaid plan
remains unchanged and it still retains the same 2GB + 2GB (weekend) data
bundle with 50 minutes of calls and 50 SMS for RM45/month.
When it comes to data, having split quotas can be annoying especially
when Celcom splits the weekend data on a weekly basis. So if you have
10GB of weekend data, that’s 2.5GB per weekend and you can’t carry
forward unused data to the following weekend. For greater freedom,
Celcom has introduced its AnydayGB add-on at RM10/month. This would
combine both all day and weekend data, allowing you to maximise your
data allocation without any weekday/weekend restrictions. As always, the
new plans are offered for a limited time and it’s valid until 31
December 2016.
It looks like our Malaysian telcos have engaged in yet another round
of postpaid price war. Now you can easily get at least 20GB of data for
less than RM100/month from Celcom, Digi and U Mobile. This is good news
for consumers and we’ll see if Maxis will respond to this.
During the press event, Celcom CMO Zalman Aefendy Zainal Abidin has
also shared that the Celcom FIRST postpaid app will be ready by end of
next month. At the moment, the app is currently available as a beta download.
Apple’s keynote today focused on the Mac and the company's vision
idea for the future of TV. New MacBook Pros are coming, including one
that’s thinner than the Macbook Air, as is a new feature called the
Touch Bar. The Touch Bar replaces the function keys and adjusts to the
software a laptop is running. Overall, it was a small event with not a
lot of news, but hey, new laptops! Exciting!
The MacBook Pro has an all-new update
This week marks the 25th anniversary of the original PowerBook,
Apple’s first laptop, making it a particularly fitting time for
(finally) an update to the MacBook Pro. As previously leaked, the new
MacBook Pro has made the function keys defunct with a OLED touch strip
that Apple is calling the Touch Bar.
The design itself has been slimmed down from the previous Retina
MacBook Pro (Apple’s saying 14-17 percent thinner and almost a
half-pound lighter), and is available in 13-inch and 15-inch models, in
either silver or space gray colors. The new MacBook Pro also brings over
the Force Touch trackpad and an updated second-generation butterfly
switch from the 12-inch MacBook.
For the 15-inch model, Apple’s offering a quad-core Core i7
processor, AMD Radeon Pro graphics with up to 4GB of video memory, and
up to 16 GB of RAM, while the 13-inch version will offer either Core i5
or i7 processors and an Intel Iris GPU. There are 4 USC-C Thunderbolt 3
ports, any of which can be used to charge the computer, along with a
3.5mm headphone jack, although the SD card slot from the former
generation has been removed.
Touch Bar replaces the function keys with an interactive touchscreen
The Touch Bar was today's showstopper. The retina display bar
replaces the keyboard's function keys and responds to touch and
gestures. It also changes with software, so if a user is in a web
browser, the Touch Bar will bring up bookmarks, as well as the option to
add a new tab, move between tabs, or navigate to a different website.
In Photos, editing controls pop up. Users can slide their finger across
the Touch Bar to browse photos, change filters, or resize. Similarly to
the Dock, users can control what defaults show up on their Touch Bar,
including system controls, which can also be immediately accessed by
holding down fn key on the keyboard. Overall, it seems to present an
alternative to a touchscreen.
Touch ID comes to the MacBook Pro
Touch ID is also integrated next to the Touch Bar, built right into
the power button. It uses the same faster second-gen Touch ID sensor
from iPhone 6S / 7 with a sapphire cover, and includes a new T1 chip
with a local secure enclave for Apple Pay security. Touch ID also can be
used for multi-user machines to quickly switch between accounts simply
by tapping the button.
Professional applications get updates
Apple showed off an update for a variety of professional applications
for the MacBook Pros. The new Final Cut Pro supports the Touch Bar, and
can show an interactive view of the video timeline even while video is
playing full screen, along with contextual controls for things like
audio sliders. Apple also showed off similar kinds of Touch Bar
integration with Adobe Photoshop, and DJ Pro. Other apps with announced
support include Microsoft Office, Pixelmator, Sketch, and DaVinci
Resolve.
LG UltraFine 5K Display
LG built a 5K display specifically for the new Macbook Pro. Apple
executive Phil Schiller called it the "ultimate docking station" because
it can simultaneously display from the laptop while charging it. We
didn’t get many details on the display, but we do know one Macbook Pro
can support two of them.
Apple Sidelines the MacBook Air
Apple also announced that it won’t be updating the MacBook Air line
today, instead directing users to a new entry-level variant of the
13-inch MacBook Pro that lacks the Touch Bar and offers only two USB-C
Thunderbolt 3 ports, starting at $1,499. However, MacBook Air fans can
take comfort in the fact that the 13-inch Pro is actually thinner and
smaller than the older MacBook Air. The old MacBook Air will be sticking
around as well as a budget option.
Apple TV gets a unified "TV" app
Apple hasn’t been shy about marketing it as a media and gaming device
that it wants to be the center of your living room. So it makes sense
that the newest Apple TV is characterized by the fact that it can run
apps, including Minecraft and over 2,000 other games on the platform.
More importantly, Apple announced a new "TV" app for the Apple TV, a
new unified hub for content across all the various apps you have
installed. The TV app also utilizes a single sign on method,
automatically signing you into new applications as you add them to the
device. The TV app will also available for iPhone and iPad as well,
letting you access the same content with the same authentication across
all your devices. The TV app will be made available in a free update
later this year.
Apple also wants to help viewers watch live TV through Siri voice
navigation. People can tell Siri to go directly to news channels or the
sport they want to watch. So if someone asks to watch the Chicago Bears
game, Siri knows what app is playing it and will navigate directly
there. Siri can also list entire sports schedules with scores. Taken
with the TV app, Apple is making it a lot easier to find what you want
to watch without hunting through apps.
What's next?
Along with the new products comes the death of certain features. RIP
function keys, (potentially) MagSafe, and the SD card slot. We might
miss you after we stop staring at our new Touch Bar.
Maxis has finally responded to the recent postpaid price war by upgrading all MaxisONE plans with up to 9GB of extra data. These new upgraded plans will be rolled out to all new and existing subscribers by the end of this month. While waiting for that to kick in, Maxis is giving 3GB extra data next week to all MaxisONE plan customers.
So how does Maxis’ postpaid offering compare against the rest? It’s time for another round of postpaid comparison.
Maxis
In our previous comparison, Maxis looked pretty costly with a paltry 1GB of data for its base RM98 plan. Now they have bumped up their data allocation from 1GB to 5GB, 3GB to 8GB, 5GB to 12GB and 7GB to 16GB. The monthly subscription fee remains unchanged except for East Malaysia, where they are offering RM30 off each month and they are offering unlimited data usage between 1AM to 7AM daily. Celcom, Digi and U Mobile For Celcom, they have extended its FIRST postpaid offering until 31st May. To recap, FIRST Blue at RM45/month comes with 4GB of data (2GB all time + 2GB weekend), 50 minutes of calls and 50 SMS. For heavy duty users, FIRST Gold offers 10GB of data (5GB all time + 5GB weekend) plus unlimited calls and SMS for RM80/month.
Digi on the other hand revamped its postpaid offering last month with more data and internet rollover. As a limited time promo, they are allocating more data for its higher “More Internet” plans and a RM20/month discount for its “More Talk” options of RM98 and above. Hitting the sweet spot for Digi is probably their Postpaid 98 (More Voice), as it offers 7GB of data and unlimited calls at RM78/month.
Over at team orange, U Mobile has recently boosted its P70 Hero Postpaid plan with a whopping 15GB data for RM70/month. This plan also comes with unlimited voice calls. Note that the extra 8GB is given as a promo until 30th June 2016. So how does it all stack up? Click on our comparison table below for a clearer view.
Postpaid Plans under RM100
Postpaid Plans above RM100
Conclusion It is commendable for Maxis to bump up more data for their plans but the pricing is still on the high side when compared to its competitors. If you’re looking solely at cost per GB, Celcom’s FIRST Gold is likely your top pick as it offers 10GB of data at RM80/month in addition to its unlimited calls and SMS. Both U Mobile and Digi are quite generous as well by offering more than 5GB of data for RM70 and under. If you can’t finish your data quota, Celcom and Digi lets you carry forward unused data (up to a certain limit) to the following month.
Beyond the cost of data, calls and SMS, there are other factors to consider such as network quality and customer service. Each telco will perform differently depending on location, so it is best to pick one that has optimal coverage for both home and work. You can use OpenSignal to get a rough idea of which network performs better in your area. After all, what’s the use of getting lots of data if you can’t use them?
For those that travel, another factor to consider is their international roaming packages. Most telcos these days do have daily roaming plans but they could vary in terms of price and countries supported. Most recently U Mobile has started offering RM10/day data roam for selected countries while Maxis has thrown additional unlimited calls and SMS with MaxisONE World.
Looking for a newer alternative? Webe is launching next week. If their purported unlimited plan is real, this could be the best postpaid ever.
With the recent Maxis scandal and their unfair treatment towards their various customers has lead the company, Maxis to dig their own grave, it’s indeed tough to have realized you’ve spent so much of your money on a way too expensive plan from an untrustworthy company. We at The Coverage Bureauwrote an article about the recent Maxis scandal which you can read over here.
It’s such a hassle whenever people like us, who know little about the many choices of major telcos to choose from especially if we want to be very sure on the best postpaid plan among all. Questions you should ask yourself when choosing your major telco are such as “What postpaid plan would suit me best with the work I do” and “What are my personal needs?”. To those who had just found out about the Maxis scandal and wish to change your major telco company, fear not! We’ve got you covered.
Courtesy of SoyaCincau, the country’s most influential technology site that covers anything and everything tech related for their great write up.
THE ANALYSIS:
To break it down as a commoner like the majority of the people here, we’ll look at the price at first hand, you can see that U-mobile’s Hero P70 offers the lowest price among all the major telcos, at the price of RM70, lead up by Digi’s SmartPlan 75 at RM75, thenCelcom FIRST Gold at RM80 and the most expensive being MaxisOne 98 at literally RM98 in price. Maxis has a price difference between RM18 – RM28 from its competitors. That’s a huge price difference, and in a year Maxis users can pay up to a minimum of an extra RM216 compared to the second highest prices postpaid plan (Celcom)
Of course, all these prices are set with different benefits to the users, so we’ll take a look at that.
Internet Mobile Data is pretty important to the majority of those who leave their houses often. So taking a look here, Both Digi and U mobile offers 7GB of data, while Celcom offers the highest amount of Data at 10GB (5 – all day and 5- weekend). While the telco who offered the most expensive prepaid plan only offers the least amount of data which is 1GB to their users.
THE BREAKDOWN:
Celcom among the four major Telcos has the best plan among all. Their pricing offersRM8 per GB with the only exception that the 10GB is split in half. 5GB for an all day use and the other 5 for the weekend. The RM20 top up per GB is also pretty worth it considering you already have 10GB on the go. Not to mention, you get unlimited free calls and SMS when you join up with the plan.
Coming in second place is a tie between Digi and U mobile. Their prices are so similar that it doesn’t even matter. Digi’s plan is priced at about RM10.71 per GB and if you want to top it up to 10 GB, the price will become RM99 in total, higher compared to Celcom.For U mobile, the plan is priced at about RM10 per GB (slightly cheaper compared to Digi) and if you want to top it up as well to 10 GB, the price will become RM90 in total, still a little bit more expensive compared to Celcom. Both Digi’s and U mobile’s top up data is only valid until its time limit is up, for Digi it’s 1GB for 2 days and for U mobile it’s 1.5GB for 3 days.
The MOST expensive of them all is Maxis (of course it is) pricing their plan at literally RM98 per GB. Way more expensive compared to Celcom and the other Telco plans. If you plan to top it up to 10GB as well, the total price would be RM368 (using the 1GB top up for RM30). Compare it side by side with the other telco plans and do the math, you’ll find out it is at all not worth your money at all. You might defend and say that 10GB is too much, I only use 1GB. Well… then why still pay for RM98 for basically the same offer as Celcom? Celcom just provides you the 10GB, doesn’t mean you have to use it right? Even if you want less data, go for Digi or U mobile, both telco’s are still way cheaper compared to Maxis!
THE CONCLUSION:
Whatever your preferable plan is, it is still your choice. Each telco plans have their own benefits such as “for Celcom, they are offering unlimited music service via Yonder, while Digi offers unlimited music streaming for 120 days and free iflix for a year.” according to SoyaCincau.
The point i’m trying to get through here is that, Maxis clearly has priced up their plan to an unreasonable price, it’s as if they want their customers to burn up their money when clearly they could have been using it wisely with other Telco plans. I was unaware at first too but now that I’m aware of it, I’m sharing it with you so that you may know as well the better choices for you and your money’s worth.
As of now, Maxis hasn’t earned their customer’s trust and respect after the whole “scandal” that is. Until Maxis learns to really buck up and lower their prices down for a better worth in the market, only then will people once again come back and use their services.
Evolution works in weird ways. (New Chromecast is on the bottom.)
It all raises the question: "why then, if the change is mostly cosmetic, should you buy a Chromecast 2?" The short and potentially not-so-sweet answer is that maybe you shouldn't, unless you really don't have anything better to spend $35 (£30, AU$49) on.
Now, that said, for anyone who doesn't already own one of these near-flawless, original streaming devices or can't stand the buffering issues of the previous generation, I'm glad to report that the new Chromecast is easily the best streaming device at its price point.
But before we get into the nitty gritty details, let's rehash the story of how the original stole our hearts.
Chromecast: what is it?
The idea behind the Chromecast was to bring smart functionality to the series of "dumb" TVs that hit the market before smart TVs rose to popularity near the end of the last decade.
Like the original, the new Chromecast plugs directly into your TV's HDMI port (make sure it has one of those before you buy it) and streams video from your mobile phone, tablet or PC.
Here's the odd part: it doesn't have a remote or a user-interface per se. Google's little streamer will sit there like an electronic canine waiting for your other devices to tell it what to do.
It's different in that way from its main competition – the Amazon Fire TV Stickand Roku Streaming Stick – the two devices that only came about after Chromecast's debut. All of these devices can take streaming content from apps like Netflix, Sling TV, HBO Now and, in Amazon Fire TV's case, Amazon Prime Video, and toss it onto your TV.
But more impressive than any individual external detail or snippet of code is its price. The new Chromecast only costs $35 (£30, AU$49), around $10 or £5 less than its closest competitor. At roughly the cost of two Blu-rays, it's tough to turn down.
Chromecast vs. the competition
The Chromecast's calling card is the ability to sync with your mobile phone, tablet and PC. Few devices work as seamlessly with your electronics as Chromecast does, and any that do require you to be bought into a particular family of products.
Chromecast vs. Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick: Chromecast is by far the cheaper streaming stick and can outperform Amazon's streaming device, thanks to its new-and-improved 802.11ac Wi-Fi antenna. Both Amazon products – $99 (£79, about AU$140) for the box and $39 (£35, about AU$56) for the stick – come with a remote, but also rely heavily on a subscription to Amazon Prime to function at their fullest potential.
That said, if you are an Amazon Prime subscriber you won't be able to watch the service on Google's streaming stick – Amazon's mobile app doesn't support Google Cast functionality.
Chromecast vs. Roku 3 and Roku Streaming Stick: Here's a story of David and the Goliath. The circular Chromecast does much of what the $99 (£79, about AU$140) Roku 3 does, though it depends more on your phone, tablet and PC to keep pace. Roku is known for having thousands of channels of content and universal search functionality that allows you to search multiple sources at once.
Google has adopted the latter into the latest version of its Chromecast app, but doesn't have near the amount of channels Roku has. If you're looking for full-size streaming device with access to any and every streaming service, Roku can't be beat. If you're looking for a simplistic solution to putting audio and video on your TV, however, Chromecast is the way to go.
Chromecast vs. the new Apple TV:Apple TV, like Amazon's streamer, favors its own ecosystem, at least in terms of hardware. On the software side of things, Apple opened up its app store to every developer for the first time in the history of its home entertainment device, making it a bit more well-rounded than the Chromecast. It also includes a new remote and an 802.11ac antenna, identical to the one found in the new Chromecast. That said, Apple TV costs a whopping $149 (about £96, AU$200).
You know what they say about too much of a good thing, which is why we decided to split our 2016 Bangkok Motor Show ending postinto two. With the brief of ‘one girl, one pic’ photographer Sherman Sim braved the crowds at Impact, snapped away, processed the pics and handed over his ‘Top 100’ of BIMS 2016. One hundred pics may be a bit jelak, and we’re fans of 50:50 weight distribution, so there you go.
Just like our time at the show, first things first – cars. The undisputed headlining act was the new Honda Civic, which is available there in four variants (1.8 NA, 1.5 Turbo) and Modulo accessories. Honda Malaysia has hinted at the radical tenth-gen car’s arrival this year, along with the Accord facelift, which sees the D-segment sedan get a new face and new equipment.
Another Thailand-before-us new model is the W213 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, which now looks like it fully belongs in Daimler’s core sedan family, a junior S-Class in many ways. GM previewed facelifts of the Colorado pick-up truck and Trailblazer SUV via a pair of aggressive-looking concepts, while Subaru gave the Malaysian-made Forester SUV a regional debut.
The most bizarre car on display has to be the Thairung Transformer II, a Hummer on a Hilux wearing Iron Man’s mask. Yes, you read that right. Check out Part 1 of the girly gallery here.
