CONSUMERS got a peek at what’s new with Lenovo during the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and now, four of the 11 new IdeaPad notebooks and IdeaCentre desktops have made their way to Malaysia.

To those thinking that the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid is among the four – sorry, it’s not one of them.

IT appears the personal computer market has yet to reach saturation point.

Crackberry addicts rejoice! The second generation of the popular Bold and much maligned Storm have landed on our shores.

At the official launch held today by Research In Motion (RIM), the company unveiled the sleek BlackBerry Bold 9700 and BlackBerry Storm2 smartphones for customers in Malaysia.

IT was the worst kept secret of 2009 — hands down.

If the rumours blazing through the Techvine are to be believed, then the much talked about Google phone — the Nexus One — will be officially unveiled and launched come Tuesday Jan 5.

The timing appears to be an attempt to upstage the Consumer Electronics Show, the annual technology extravaganza which opens in Las Vegas on Jan 7.

 

TO hardcore Mac lovers, there are only two types of people in the world: the Mac user, and the ones yet to be enlightened.

 

For them, a Mac is not a tool for everyday living, it is a lifestyle. Instead of using Windows-based PCs, they'd rather jump off one.

 

Think different, they say.

 

THE “Internet as a level playing field” notion just got itself a new poster boy.

Uruguayan producer Fede Alvarez snagged himself an offer for a USD$30 million movie deal, sponsored by  director Sam Raimi (of Spiderman and Evil Dead fame) after his short video caught the attention of Hollywood studios.

His short film Ataque de Panico! (Panic Attack!), which is 4 minutes 48 seconds long and made on a budget of USD$300, was uploaded on to video sharing site YouTube in early November.

WHEN it comes to shocking celebrity news, everyone's interested. Including cybercriminals who prey on the fact that the curious would click on any link... just to find out. The Malay Mail (courtesy of Symantec Security Response) presents the most dangerous celebrities of 2009!

BLOGGING is usually a private and largely personal process, at least when it comes to crafting a post.

Then again, Malaysians are game for anything in the name of winning freebies.

 

What: Samsung i8910 HD (recommended retail price: RM2,699)

 

Who: Gabey Goh (Lifestyle – Tech & Gadgets)

Why: Gabey's personal phone can only send an SMS by hanging itself for five minutes. She has the most suicidal phone in the office, even though it has tassels and charms on it.

YouTube addicts with fast computers and faster broadband (the lucky few in Malaysia) can now indulge in full high-resolution content.

The video-sharing site's HD mode has added support for viewing videos in 720p or 1080p, depending on the resolution of the original source, up from the maximum output of 720p previously.

However, the company plans to re-encode all of this previously created material so that viewers will be able to take advantage of its original resolution.

 

WHAT: MSI X400 Ultra Portable Notebook (recommended retail price: RM2,099)

 

WHO: Marhalim Abas (Crime Desk)

Maxis now provides a full range of mobile services to the top three Social Networking Services (SNS) in Malaysia, namely Facebook, Twitter and Friendster. With the launch of a new service called ‘fb2mobile’, the communications service provider connects its mobile subscribers to Facebook and Twitter via SMS and MMS.

Maxis had previously launched the Friendster Alert service in May 2009, allowing subscribers to receive updates on their Friendster account via SMS.

 

THEY say that to succeed in business, one has to find a niche and fill it.

 

This is precisely what the people behind iBoxX Tuition TV (ITTV) are banking on.

What is Tuition TV?

What: iPod Shuffle 4GB (Silver)

Who: Joseph Kaos Jr – Reporter, News Desk

Why: Joseph likes music and brings his music along, wherever he goes. It’s good to relieve stress and to fill up the space whenever he is going to or coming back from assignments. Music makes his train rides more tolerable.

Need a printer at 3am? Head to the InnoTech Centre at Wisma HELP in Damansara.

Who: Muzliza Mustafa (Crime Desk)

What : Samsung N110 Mini Notebook (recommended retail price: RM1,699)

Club for Net security and anti-virus fans

Kaspersky Lab invites members of the public to join in the fun and excitement of its week-long K-Klub road show at the Main Concourse of Low Yat Plaza, Bukit Bintang from now until Oct 17.

This road show, held from 10am to 10pm, is in conjunction with the official launch of Kaspersky’s integrated online community, Kaspersky Friends and Fan Klub (K-Klub) on Oct 16.

WHAT: Blackberry Curve 8520 Gemini (Recommended retail price: RM1,199)

WHO: Janis Seet (Reporter – Lifestyle Desk)

HOT HARDWARE

LED-ing the way

BenQ just launched their new range of LED monitors into the Malaysian market and their initial offerings promoted an eco-centric approach to technology.

They include the V Series 24” V2400 (16:9) LED Full HD and the world’s first 21.5” V2200 (16:9) LED Full HD, as well as G Series 18.5” G922HDL (16:9), which is the world’s first LED display in the 18.5” W segment.