tech

Review of ASUS ZenFone Max VS iPhone 6

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So here’s the long awaited review for ASUS ZenFone Max!





To spice things up a little bit, we have decided to pit it against the ubiquitous Apple’s IPhone 6 since the latter is still gathering a substantial fan base!

For a start, I must say that I am intrigued by the whole Unique Selling Point behind the ASUS ZenFone Max as it has hit the sweet spot on every smartphone users’ main concern!

Yes! It is the Battery size!

Battery

Agreed that most of your smartphones shuts down before you do? Unless you are do not use social media platform nor send SMS/phone call regularly, if not I am sure the answer is a resounding YES! In fact, this is very much issue faced by Maybeline because of her heavy usage. She scrolls through her social media feeds ALOT. Literally every minute – unless she is at work!

So far, M has been using the phone for TWO weeks & I noticed a significant reduction on her reliance of  her portable charger as compared to when she is using her IPhone! The reason is because of ZenFone MAX’s 5000mAh battery that grants a generous standby time of 38.1 days (914 hours) vs IPhone 6’s 1810mAh battery that gives only a mere standby time of 10.4 days (250 hours) !





Now let’s compare the exterior!

Exterior & Attractiveness Level

Who do you think stands out the most judging from appearance?

I would think it is subjective. Nonetheless, I felt that ASUS designers have proven themselves to be really good in creating attractive- & luxurious- looking smartphones eg ZenFone Zoom. Similarly, I was very much attracted to the combination of metallic Champagne Gold(surrounding the sides of the ZenFone Max) against a glossy black screen. A tinge of exquisiteness is further added on with its Matt Faux Leather back cover, thus making the whole phone easily more outstanding that the IPhone 6 in my opinion!

Maybeline however, prefers the simple and clean look of iPhone 6.





Portability & Weight

Portability wise, it would be fairer to compare the iPhone 6 Plus against the ZenFone Max. However, both of us do not carry the iPhone 6 Plus for the sake of portability. Especially so for guys like me who carries my phone in my pocket most of the time. Hence, the limitation to my review not being able to compare with the IPhone 6 Plus.

Nonetheless, the Max weighs a reasonable 202g vs IPhone 6 at 129g.

Screen Size & Resolution

To make up for its additional weight, the Max has a whooping 5.5-inch, HD (1280 x 720) screen giving a comparable resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels (vs iPhone’s 750 x 1334 pixels).

Camera

Let’s see how it fare in another important aspect of a Smartphone: its Camera! I find this aspect to be as important as its battery because I find it a hassle to bring an additional camera out to take pictures. Even for ladies who carries a handbag, I believe they would rather use their smartphone’s camera than to bring one more item in their limited bag space!

For this aspect, the ASUS ZenFone Max wins hands down with their 13 Megapixel Back camera & 5 Megapixel front camera (vs iPhone 6’s 8 megapixels back camera & 1.2 Megapixel Front camera). With this, I could not only take a sharper selfie picture of myself but also a perfect portrait of Maybeline using the back camera! Also, lesser time spend on editing our pictures using Filter ><





Capacity & Price

The Internal Storage of ZenFone Max is only a mere 16GB but it makes up with a Micro SD Card slot which gives you the flexibility to expand its memory up to 64GB. In short, the Max can go up to 80GB of memory! Whereas for IPhone 6, everyone would know it comes with a rigid 16GB, 64GB or 128 GB memory space.

Let’s do an apple to apple comparison literally on the Pricing. If you were to max out the expandable memory of the ZenFone Max, the cost of the phone would be SDG $249. The closest to this comparison from the IPhone 6 would be the 64GB itself. However, I just checked the price of a used 64GB IPhone selling on Carousell & found it to easily command a premium of $600 & above (which is 3x more expensive than a NEW Max). A USED IPhone 6 is definitely so much more expensive, not to mention a totally new one!





Sim Card Slots

ZenFone Max (Dual Sim Card)

For those who travel overseas often example, my mum who travel back to Malaysia or would like to separate work & personal. She can always put in two Sim Card.

iPhone 6 (Single Sim Card)

iPhone for this case, only have a single sim card slot.





RAM

 We know that when it comes to computers, the bigger the ram, the faster the speed. ZenFone Max has 2048 MB RAM while iPhone 6 has 1024 MB RAM. That is double of the iPhone!! We swear we could feel the difference in speed while using both phones.

Stay tune for something really exciting coming up!!

For more information, please visit: https://www.asus.com/sg/Phone/ZenFone-Max-ZC550KL/ or follow them on their Facebook https://www.facebook.com/asus.sg/ for more updates!

LG OLED TV & Sound Bar

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Not only knows that my love for watching TV stems from my dad being an extremely HUGE fan of televisions! So much so, he upgrades our home TV once every 2 years and ‘donates’ these not-very-old TVs to my relatives. Some relatives even mistaken this to be his favorite hobby & they happily accepts it!

After seeing so many TVs came and go in his lifetime, I must say there aren’t many that can give him the WOW factor. However, I am very confident that he will be as amazed as me when he sees the latest LG OLED TV!

I am not exaggerating but I was so amazed by the image quality projected on its screen the first time I saw it! Because of how REALISTIC the images was!

I can still remember it was showing a lush green scenery of a jungle! Stepping towards the LG OLED TV was as if I was walking right into that jungle!





This phenomenon was only possible because of it played the combination of ‘Brightness’, ‘Vibrancy’ & ‘Contrast’ very well!

Question is how did it do so?

The Saturation is well-enhanced by a ‘4 Pixel Colour Technology’ which adds an ADDITIONAL white sub pixel into the 3 color pixel (Red, Green & Blue). As such, it was able to produce a wider spectral of color range, thus produce a more realistic depiction of the video-ed scene.

On the other hand,  the OLED features an ‘Infinite Contrast Ratio’ which allow their self lighting pixel to on and off individually. This simply means every pixel can shut itself off to achieve that ABSOLUTE BLACK! This power of absolute black is exhibited when placed against any other colors especially White to project a BRIGHTER white!
=
The combination of this TWO technology allow the LG OLED TV to produce a brighter image in higher contrast as compared to many LCD TVs in the current market!





Another USP of the OLED is its ULTRA-thinness with size ranging from 55” to 77” for those who like to built their own ‘cinema’ at home! Would you believe if I said the thickness of the screen is NO MORE than the thickness of 3 credit cards stacked together? Yes, I could hardly believe it too the first time I heard it! Yay! Moving heavy appliance is no longer an issue anymore!

Furthermore, what this means to TV addicts like my dad & I is the viewing distance is greatly reduced as compared to those TVs with their large lamps & tubes. This makes it applicable even in smaller living rooms which is a common sight in most of our local homes & BTOs.

This three technologies are my top pick reasons why I find the OLED attractive & unique! For more information on the other features such as the Smart Technology & Magic remote, do visit their website at http://www.lg.com/sg/oled-tvs

For more reviews on LG OLED TV, head over to read what was previously published on Straits Times: http://www.straitstimes.com/tech/oled-tvs-come-with-unmatched-colours-but-at-a-price

LG SOUND 360

TVs isn’t the only highlight!  LG also launched its innovative 360-degree Bluetooth Speaker!

And they did so tastefully! And by tasteful, I do meant it literally! Doesn’t it look like a bottle of milk especially the White one!





Make no mistake, LG did so intentionally! The whole intention was very much to let it blend with your home decoration, even in the kitchen! This is exactly what James did in his IG video to show how to operate this interesting speaker in his kitchen (Video IG @james_awyong)

Make a guess on how to ON this speaker?  Simply by pressing the top of the ‘bottle’! It immediately reveals the 360 surround sound speaker!

Lining the circumference of the top lid are all touch-sensitive control buttons which lights up beautifully in the dark! So much so you must just mistaken it for Iron Man stepping into the room with its ring light being lit up! Do it in the dark and you will know what I mean!

The sound quality was very neat with good treble & bass! And don’t be deceived by its gentle-looking exterior, this speaker is power-packed with a surprisingly loud volume, with no problem anchoring a party at the chalet!

The Bluetooth Speaker comes in 3 colors namely Baby Blue, Pink & White! Just stay tuned for this home-decor-friendly device to be out!

You can find LG at major electronics stores.

Review: Unboxing ASUS ZenFone Max

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James and I have got new power banks!! YAYYYYY.

You must be wondering, why are we so happy over power banks? And if it’s power bank, why are photos of ASUS phone uploaded?

Yes yes, we are not that silly. We know what we are doing. The new ASUS ZenFone Max works as a powerbank as well!! Yayyy. I don’t have to carry two heavy items in my bag anymore! As heavy as it sounds, ASUS ZenFone Max is a lot lighter than expected. I will do a more detailed review on it in my next entry. But the take away message for this post, other than unboxing the unit, is MAX can even charge other phones!!





For an unbeatable price of $249, I wasn’t expecting to find a cool set of earphones in it. Surprisingly, it did come with one, along with two pairs of earbuds, a cable, and a charger.





What I love about this MAX, other than being able to charge other phones and it’s unbeatable price, is the 5.5″ screen! Both of us had Osmium black unit!





It may be dull with just black but what if the sides are Rose Gold in colour? Doesn’t black and rose gold sounds like a good combination?

If you want my take on the phone, it looks sleek and classy. If I don’t know it’s actual retail price in Singapore, I would have thought that one would easily cost at least $500!!





If you are not amazed by how slim and beautiful Max is, then look at the back of the phone.

Although the back is not made of real leather, but gosh, the faux leather made the entire phone even more expensive!! For a price so affordable, let’s not whine about it being not leather. However, if you prefer it to be real, maybe you can look at ZenFone Zoom, which James had previously reviewed here: http://maybelinesim.sg/2016/03/04/unboxing-the-worlds-thinnest-optical-zoom-smartphone-asus-zenfone-zoom/





With a battery life so strong, I can bring this phone out for vacations when I want to pack light and not worry about it dying.

Please come back for a more detailed review of the phone soon 🙂

For more information, please visit: https://www.asus.com/sg/Phone/ZenFone-Max-ZC550KL/ or follow them on their Facebook https://www.facebook.com/asus.sg/ for more updates!

ASUS ZenFone Zoom’s Camera Review

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This is my FINAL and the MOST important post for the ASUS ZenFone Zoom! This is because I will not only share but also do a comparison on its unique selling feature: the 13MP rear-facing camera with 10-element Hoya 3x zoom lenses and Optical Image stabilization to deliver that good DSLR-like images!

From a technical perspective, I must say it is pretty fascinating viewing how this “built-in” lenses work its magic on my lifestyle photos!

Why “built-in”? This is because you will never see the lenses leave its protective housing when you are doing a zoom in! If you take a deep stare into the lenses, you could actually see the lenses moving into place to give you up to 3x optical zoom!





Doesn’t the phone look great without any protruding lenses when you are zooming in!





The exquisite-looking back casing seats well with any branded daily necessities !





Before I proceed to share the images taken with the ZenFone Zoom, let me set a disclaimer: All photos shared below are raw which means they are neither edited nor filtered!

With that said, let me jump in to share how amazed I am with the quality of the images taken! In fact, AMAZED is an understatement!!

Despite the low light condition (taken during evening time approximately 5pm), notice how punchy the colours of the image is!

I attempted to take the same picture with my IPhone 6. In the end, the picture appeared too grainy and dark.





Now, let’s take a look at the quality of the images taken after zooming in!

Standing at almost the same distance away with 1x zoom-in!

I was expecting the picture to have a lower resolution, however, the resolution is not very much affected. In fact, the details are very much retained!





Even at 3X optical zoom by zooming in all the way (below), the object in focus maintain most of its level of sharpness and details (just see the details on my coat fabric)!





One minor yet noteworthy feature which makes photo-taking with the ZenFone Zoom a pleasant one is its quick focusing speed. Living in a fast pace society like Singapore, we like everything to be fast and efficient! Good thing that there is hardly any delay in the zooming in and out!





Moving on to the ZenFone Zoom’s Camera App, it is extremely well-designed with 18 shooting modes namely HDR, Beautification, Super Resolution, Depth of Field, Effect, Panaroma, Slow Motion and more. For those who enjoys exploring pictures in different perspective, the ZenFone Zoom is definitely a fine consideration for you as there isn’t any smartphone that offers this many shooting modes currently in the market!

Personally, one of the most useful mode is the ‘Smart Remove’ which remove any moving objects during the shoot! Imagine how this comes in handy when people try to photo-bomb you ! They almost 100% going to fail as the camera will detect them moving and delete their existence from the picture!

For the professional photographer, there is a quick toggle switch for ‘Manual‘ mode placed just next to the shutter button. This allow you to set your own setting instead of relying on the camera’s auto-intelligence.

In addition, there is another quick toggle switch for ‘Low Light(3M)‘ condition. Because of this, it took me less than 3 seconds to find the best setting to snap during the low light evening period! Should the natural light gets any dimmer, the powerful dual-LED flash would come in handy. However, the drawback is that this flash is useful only for short distances!

Comparison of a Digital Camera VS ASUS ZenFone ZOOM

Digital Camera:





ASUS ZenFone ZOOM





Asus has done a commendable job with the design and build of this phone, thus making it the ideal phone for any of your social function.

For the image quality, you would not expect it to be similar to that of a DSLR but it does deliver a decent level of detail, colour and resolution thus making it the best in the class for smartphone camera!




For more information, please visit: ASUS Website or follow them on their Facebook!

Clash of the Smartphone Titans : ASUS ZenFone Zoom VS iPhone 6 Plus

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This post is written to satiate the interest of those who ponders upon the controversial topic of how the latest ASUS ZenFone Zoom fare against the Iphone 6 series. To be more fair, I have chose to compare the Zoom against the Iphone 6 Plus in consideration of their relatively similar size and dimension.

I will be sharing my perspective as a lifestyle blogger and how these two phones impact my daily life!

I am going to kick off this article with an important disclaimer (as usual) – Both ASUS or Apple did NOT pay me to praise nor slam any brands thus removing any forms of conflict of interest.

Firstly, let’s plunge straight into the topic which interest all the fellow Singaporean : Affordability. ASUS phones are best known for their affordability while not compromising on its built quality. On the other hand, Apple has consistently been commanding a premium for every single series of their IPhones.

This is proven simply by doing a quick comparison at Starhub on the Pricing of these two phones. You will be astounded to find out that the ASUS ZenFone Zoom easily cost a few hundreds lesser than an iPhone 6 Plus.

For the aspect on Design, iPhone’s back inarguably does look sleek and classy with its matt gold ‘sexyback’, but ASUS ZenFone Zoom does give IPhone a run for its money with its premium-looking genuine leather casing. However, I would give an additional point to ASUS for going the extra mile to make the back look like an exquisite digital camera! As a lifestyle blogger, it does generate a greater appeal and an instant head-turner when I am using it to snap pictures of my friends! So much so, they end up more curious about the phone than their own image after snapping!

Furthermore, I find the ZenFone Zoom’s leather casing more functional! Why do I say that? More than often, I hear the common complaint that the IPhone 6 is too ‘slippery’. In fact, I have lost count of the number of times my own IPhone 6 slip through my hands. The leather back gives a better grip hence saving you the worry of burning your pocket over replacing the expensive phone screen.

Now going into the Specification of the back camera! The Zoom’s back camera could perform even better than it looks. It’s like having a pocket-sized DSLR that grants you the picture perfect moment any time, any where!

Bet you never knew, but ASUS ZenFone Zoom is the world’s thinnest 3X optical zoom smartphone with 13MP PixelMaster Camera, 10-element lens, laser auto-focus and 5mm edge while iPhone 6 plus is only 8 MegaPixel. If you are impressed with the images delivered by your current iPhone6 Plus, wait till you see the ZOOM. I do have some lifestyle images to prove my point BUT let me save this for the next upcoming entry!





Let us now compare the Screen size. I would think both are comparable.

ASUS ZenFone Zoom: 5.5 inch with 1920 x 1080 Full HD Resolution

iPhone 6 plus: 5.5 inch with 1920 x 1080 16M colors

With display of the same size, which one will you go for, given that one can save your pocket from catching fire?





Following on is the Memory Space, Zoom comes with an internal memory of 64GB, Micro SD card slot up to 128GB supported and mDDR3 4GB RAM.

It is also widely known that iPhones are available in different storage size of 16/64/128 GB, no Micro SD card slot and 1 GB RAM DDR3. Thus, your phone memory capacity is fixed the moment you made a decision at the mobile store.

In terms of the flexibility of customizing your memory space, ASUS ZenFone Zoom won again. This feature is important for active mobile photographers like me who always run into memory space issues in a short span of a year or so. With the Zoom, I am assured that I could easily replace my current Micro SD card with a new one should the phone’s memory space run out!

For Dimensions, I prefer the iPhone’s thin and sleek body more. Reason being which I always keep my phone in my pocket, so the thinner and portable it is, the better for me.





I know Maybeline has mentioned this before, but one other drawback of the iPhone 6 when it comes to Charging the phone is that you will have to bring 2 cables out. 1 to charge the powerbank (at work) and 1 to charge iPhone whereas all the other brands such as ASUS uses the same cable head. 2 cables means 2 times hassle and 2 times probability of misplacing your cables!

In addition, you will also be surprised to know that the Zoom charges very fast because of its BoostMaster fast-charging! I could fully charge my phone from 0% in a matter of an hour! Hence, if I have to do a quick last minute charge, the Zoom can still do a decent level of battery life to last you for the time you are outside!





To end off this post, I shall do a sneak preview of a lifestyle photo taken with the Zenphone Zoom! See how clear the picture is to every single tiny details and pixels!





The ASUS Zenfone Zoom is just like a DSLR hidden within the cloak of a premium-looking smartphone!

In conclusion, even though the IPhone 6 Plus might triumph in the aspect of portability, the ASUS ZenFone Zoom does prove itself to be more attractive, functional and affordable!

Thus, I would pick the ZenFone Zoom as a more ideal choice between the two!

Unboxing the World’s Thinnest Optical Zoom Smartphone – ASUS ZenFone Zoom

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Sponsored

If there is anything new that you should be excited about recently in the ‘Tech’ world, it should be the latest addition to the ASUS Smartphone series! It is the ‘ASUS ZenFone Zoom’ – the world’s thinnest premium smartphone with 3x optical zoom.

Nothing makes me more excited and privileged than being chosen to be the Lifestyle representative of ASUS Zenfone Zoom! What more, I have always been keen in photography and here I am equipped with the best phone for mobile photography!

For this post, I shall mainly share on the unboxing of ZOOM!

For the exterior of the packaging, it is clean, simple & exquisite-looking with ‘Zenfone Zoom’ written on it. Any guess what’s with the ‘Circle’ right next to the wordings?

I would think it signifies the key selling feature of this phone which is the 13MP back camera!





Upon unboxing the package, the gorgeous ZenFone Zoom reveals itself on the right side. On the left hand side resides a white leather hand strap capped at one end in Matt Gold metal plate with the ‘ASUS’ logo embossed on it!

The phone shares a similar colour theme: A perfect combination of Champagne gold & white. The flawless workmanship combined together with this colour theme makes the Zoom appear extremely exclusive!





Let’s take a closer look at the front of the phone. Residing at the top right hand corner is a 5MP front camera. In the middle is a large screen with a dimension of 12.3cm x 7cm & protected with a sturdy Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

At the bottom is 3 function buttons which is similar to its predecessor. I just love how the button glistens with a beautiful glow of champagne gold upon the touch of light!





As I picked up the phone, I am glad to say it is not heavy, weighing approximately 185g. This is partially owing to its slim design with a side as thin as 11.95mm. (picture below)

At the side of the phone, there is a Volume button which doubles up as the zoom in/out button in the ‘shooting’ mode. Right below these buttons is the On/Off button.

The Zenfone Zoom is also equipped with the Shutter and Recording button on the other corner.





And now for the star of this phone: the Back Camera with 3x optical offering up to 12X zoom-in effect!

The Zenfone Zoom is “backed” by genuine white leather which gives it the “expensive” look & provide for a good ergonomic grip even for the most slippery hands. On the bottom right, there is an imprint of the “Intel” logo which represents the platform the Zoom is operating on (Intel Quad Core Atom Processor).





Whereas on the middle left, there is a ‘ASUS’ logo.





Apart from the phone & leather hand strap, there are also 1x Charger, 1x USB Cable, 1x Earphone & 1x Warranty Book.





The ASUS Zenfone Zoom has been launched on 2nd March and the on-shelf date is 10th March. The list of places that sell are as follow

I shall leave the review to the next post! Do check back for the review of this beautiful camera soon!

For more information, please visit: https://www.asus.com/sg/Phone/ZenFone-Zoom-ZX551ML/ or follow them on their Facebook https://www.facebook.com/asus.sg/ for more updates!

New Selfie Camera for a beautiful you: Casio TR70 Review

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Know what is the best way to do JUSTICE to a selfie camera! That is by just snapping NON-STOP!

I do practice what I just preached! At this point of my life, I CANNOT LEAVE MY HOUSE WITHOUT MY TR. ESPECIALLY DO YOU KNOW WHAT?

THE NEW TR70 IS OUT NOW!

My heart AND my mind was one! Both just kept chanting: “I want the one in whiteeee. I want I want I want!!!!! In the end, fairy god mother did pop one for me for this review! Yeppy! As always, Casio is my favourite camera brand! A definite TOP of the mind when it comes to selfie cameras and it serves as a pocket mirror whenever I need to touch up my makeup.








In fact, the design of TR70 is soooo versatile, even the vain pot guys like my dear J can use it too without appearing too metrosexual! ><

The new TR70’s design is so beautiful and elegant, don’t you think so? Pretty much because of the full metal frame and the lens decoration! Easily the state-of-the-art for Selfie camera!








Apart from the design of the camera, do you know what I love most most most?

The VERSION UP Make-up Mode!!!

If you think the old model of TR series was already answering your need to look flawless, just imagine this VERSION UP one!





Personally, after taking a few shots with it, I felt the TR70 delivers a whiter tone as compared to its predeccesor, thus making the subject look even fairer. Furthermore, a more smooth, dewy-looking skin in the pictures too! Best of all, you will still look natural in it unlike those typical over-filtered shots in IG !

WARNING: BEWARE OF THE FLOOD OF SELFIES BELOW BECAUSE I TOOK THEM ON DIFFERENT DAYS, DIFFERENT TIMINGS.

I am extremely satisfied with the quality of the photos! You can be the judge for yourself too! 🙂











Selfie under low lighting. This was taken at Henderson Wave at 10pm so you can imagine how dim the lights were. Surprisingly, the selfie is not as grainy as I thought it would be due to the low exposure! KUDOS to its night shots!





Because I have a camera thisssss good, more guys came to join in for a flawless wefie!

It has a 21mm wide angle lens that is wide enough for group portraits. Because of the screen’s flexibility to rotate and freely movable frame, you can capture a lot of error-free wefie with your friends!








There are also two new functions:

Make-up on Movie – which is very good for make short vlogs and video reviews!!! Make up mode is on even when you are recording yourself. Who doesn’t want to look flawless in videos too you tell me?!

Instant Movie – You can join multiple cuts together to make your own movie. It’s like creating a higher quality video for Instagram!

Like other Casio camera,

You can download Exilim CONNECt in apps store or google play and have your desired photo transferred to you instantly. No more blurry photos for your social media platforms? Only prettier and clearer selfies? YAY!!





Other functions like Selfie Art, Selfie Pad and more remains the same from my previous review. To find out more, read here: http://maybelinesim.sg/2015/04/29/casio-tr60-selfie-camera-singapore-review/

TR70 is retailing at $1399 and is available in three colors: Gold, White, Vivid Pink.





PSST: I WANT THE WHITE ONE PRETTY PLEASEEEEE.

JamesnMaybel’s Bali Adventure Trip with Casio FR100

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If 2016 is a 365 page book, I would think JamesnMaybel has already penned down an exciting first chapter by being part of Casio’s Project: To review their latest FR100 camera in Bali!

But before I begin, let us set three important disclaimers. One to fully credit the pictures & another to prove our objectivity in reviewing this camera.

1)All photos are NOT edited (aka #nofilter in IG term) & FULLY taken with the Casio FR100.

2)No payment nor sponsorship of FR100 was exchanged for this project.

3)All opinions are made solely based on our own experience – JamesnMaybel.

With that said, now you are all set to click your way through this post as though you were also on this Bali adventure with JamesnMaybel + Casio crew!

Why Bali? What better place to review the FR100 other than Bali with its myriad of exciting outdoor activities! In fact, some of the activities we engaged in are definitely ready to put the camera to its TOUGHEST durability test yet. In terms of the extremity, let’s just say some bruises were inflicted upon our limbs during these activities which took more than a week to heal! *Sob*

So, was the FR100 able to prove itself to be as tough as its sister brand, the G-Shock? Let’s see ><

How can we go Bali without a single picture of its beautiful beaches! So let me start the post with my most satisfied photo of the peaceful beach at Crystal Bay!





Why am I satisfied?

Simply because we managed to still capture this landscape picture clean, clear and most importantly in HIGH resolution despite of the difficult condition we faced that day due to strong lighting. No conditions is ever too difficult for the FR100 to handle with its facelifted engine & lens! Good for those who are camera/photography newbies, this is simply a quick cheat to show off your photography skills with the pictures taken by the FR100! ><


Activities done to test the camera:

1. AVT Ride (@ Bali Quad Discovery Tours)

First day was all about beaches & high resolution landscape shots. The real adventure came on the second day with the AVT Ride being the first challenge for the FR100!

First, let me show you the standard ‘Casio-Approved’ stance we took to snap most of our shots during this trip: Shot Free-Style (With the camera lens at the tip of a selfie stick while controlled close to you)!





Truth be told, I used to sneer at the sight of selfie sticks but the versatility of FR100 combined with a selfie stick just proved me all wrong! Detaching the camera from the controller makes for a more advanced free-style camera which allow us to creatively snap our selfies/wefies!

See our Epic 360 ‘Trusurround View’ shot taken on our  AVT ride!





Combined with its 16mm (35mm film equivalent) SUPER W-I-D-E-angle lens, this allows for easy capture of the magnificent outdoor as natural backdrop! Outdoor shooting never been this fun till we got hold of the FR100!





On the flip side, it is so wide, I find it hard to not get photobomb sometimes! Grrr!


One other versatile & creative way we snap our AVT ride experience was to mount the camera lens onto the front of the vehicle which continuously took videos of us going up and down the bumpy mountains!





This is just 2 of the 6 ways we manipulated the FR100 to create a wholesome gallery of our AVT ride experience. We showcased 2! We shall save the other 4 methods to your creativity! Lol!





Off JamesnMaybel go!

2. Canyon Tubing (@Bali Quad Discovery Tours)

There was hardly any time for us to catch our breadth as we were rushed to the next station after the AVT Ride: the Canyon Tubing!

After passing the ‘Shake’ test, now it is for the ‘Water’ test! How would the FR100 fare in this seemingly perilous environment?





We have absolutely no idea just like J with his worried & clueless face in this picture! Nonetheless, this was his most EPIC picture for this trip as he absolutely love the vibrancy in the ’50 shades of green’ around him as well as the clear resolution of the gushing stream!





Whereas for me, my most EPIC photo just got to be this one below! Capture at the moment when I was busy snapping selfies until I felt a drop!

One moment I was seating on the tubing. Next moment, the tubing was seating on me! Haha! I was fully drenched along with my FR100!

First thought that came to my mind: Is my camera is working?!





The verdict to the Water Test was positive! The FR100 has proved itself to be waterproof! After which, I didn’t spare any moment worrying about the water threat anymore as long as the USB ports are closed!

In fact, I wasn’t the only one capsizing. Even J capsized multiple times & to our amazement, the FR100 remained alive all these while till the end of our tubing session! KUDOS to its water-proof function I must say!





One other good thing J & I agree unanimously was its user-friendly interface! I would say it is almost idiot proof. We took less than 10 minutes to figure all its function! The function buttons were well arranged on the touch screen interface! So we save much time ‘sulking’ OVER navigating around the buttons and instead IN FRONT of the camera (for fun)!





Even after our ‘sulking’ wefies, I still have enough time for my own selfies! Love Casio for being so customer user oriented !





The whole ride was approximately 2 hours long!

You must have thought that after turning on the FR100 for a straight 1 hours of video recording (AVT ride) followed by 2 hours of On & Off ‘Time Lapse’ on th(Canyon Tubing) would have fully flatten the battery! Then you are wrong! Our battery was only 3/4 burnt at this point of time!





With such durable battery life span, I must say it surely does live up to its name to be an Adventurer Camera!

3. Snorkeling (Crystal Bay & Mangrove Point @ Nusa Penida)

For the very last activity before we make our way back to homeland Singapore! One which JamesnMaybel has been waiting most eagerly for: Snorkeling @ 2 of the most highly-raved locations (Crystal Bay & Mangrove Point) in Bali!

At this point of time, the test is more than just ‘Quality of pictures taken’, ‘Durability’ & ‘Waterproof’. This time around, we want to experience all 3 of this qualities put together: How good are the shots taken by FR100 underwater!





Off we go to Crystal Bay first!

FR100 has proven its worth in taking landscape shots, here is the proof it can take nice human wefie shot …





..as well as selfie shot!





*Splash*

Into the clear waters with my FR100 well secured to my life jacket!





Shots delivered by Fr100 for you readers to judge!

My photos were taken without any casing! Do note that we were only on the surface of the water while taking these photos hence this was a good 3-4m away from where we were.





Also, I must say I put my life on the line taking these shots. Firstly, I have very bad motion sickness. To compound the problem, the current on that day was much stronger than usual! Hence, my hands was shaking non-stop!

However, I think the shot was still considered relatively clear (as seen in these two pictures) very much thanks to to improved high level of stabilization in 3-axis for shake that occurs when moved while shooting!





For divers, good news for you! The FR100 can go up to 20m deep if you buy the marine casing!

Other functions of the camera which I love:

-Time Lapse

Like the videos of moving clouds and sunset in shows while the buildings in them remains stationary? You can do this with FR100.

You can record the process of the sun setting with this.

Let me show you an example of a Time Lapse clip.



-Strong Stabilization

I used another camera before and we were going around with the camera. My friend had motion sickness after watching the video so a strong stabilization helps! We recorded some videos during the AVT ride and I will share the videos with you guys soon.

-Photo Collage

You can summarize your day with these functions by rating your pictures in the camera. The higher the rating, the chances of them appearing in the random collage will be higher!





Time to end the post with a glass of refreshing watermelon juice!

Oh! And not to forget mentioning this photo was taken and transferred immediately & conveniently through the ExilimCONNECT. This app makes transferring of photo from the camera to any smartphone a simple task ANYTIME ANYWHERE!





If there is one thing we have to complain about this camera would be its price point! Currently, the FR100 is retailing at SGD699 (not inclusive of equipments for photo-taking e.g. selfie).

We really do love this camera and would certainly hope that the price point come down to a more affordable level especially when we do travel quite frequently. Furthermore, we don’t usually have the luxury of someone taking our wefies with a wide shot of the backdrop for us! The FR100 would be the perfect camera for this task!

Somebody stole my ASUS ZenFone 2 6 inch Full HD!!

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The phone was only with me for a month before it was gone…….





I can’t help but agree the HUGE ASS screen and DUAL SPEAKERS are really attractive. The screen itself is almost the size of my face and I need it for drama catch up every night because I am currently chasing after a new series of drama.





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No wonder my this culprit took it away from me.


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This person is none other than my dad. My dad is actually way older than he look. He goes for phones with bigger screen and LOUD ringtone so this phone suits both of the criterial. Best of all is… It was way cheaper than he thought!! He could have just get another one but he chose to take my happiness away from me 🙁

He uses them to surf YouTube and my dad is a YouTube-addict. He watches everything from pranks to music videos to drama on YouTube.





My dad drop his phone a few times a day, I feel more at ease knowing that ASUS ZenFone 2 6 inch is incorporated with Corning Gorilla Glass 4. Phew~

Now, if you need my review, click here.

For more information, please visit https://www.asus.com/Phone/ZenFone-2-Laser-ZE601KL/ or https://www.facebook.com/asus.sg/

LG Tone Active – Perfect For Workouts

maybeline

People always say couple that exercise together stays together! Hence, we are adopting a healthier lifestyle! Sometimes we will do jogging or cycling together. In fact, we just came back from Bali & every single day there, we were doing outdoor activities such as ATV rides! Loving the sun & sweating it out!

It’s common for people to listen to music when exercising & as the right music will spur you on further! On the other hand, I find it quite irritating when the wires of the earphones dances around me when I am running or cycling! Thank God, LG sent me my new toy: the latest LG Tone Active (HBS-850)

My new favourite toy during workout!





Don’t be deceived by this sleek exterior to look like a weak device. It is far more durable and tough than it seem! The LG Active Tone is water and sweat resistant and able to take on any of your hardest workout! Furthermore, this simple yet sleek contoured design fit nicely around any neck without feeling suffocation while still able to maintain good secure fit during a workout regardless how vigorous it is!





This is how it look like when you pull out the ear buds to listen to music. It is hassle free & able to retract fully into the headset to eliminate tangled cords!





Speaking of hassle free, the retractable ear buds isn’t the only one. The Bluetooth Wireless connectivity is also very simple to connect and it applies to all Bluetooth-enabled smartphone.

The buttons for volume and on/off is conveniently located by the side of the headset. Hence, it is very easy to locate and adjust the volume!





On the other side, it is the on/off & play/stop button.





The ear buds are comfortable to wear and customized fit with two ear bud size for a more secure and in-ear fit. Because of this secure fit, it helped with the noise cancellation which helps to truly deliver music with better clarity! The LG Active Tone adopts the Quad-Layer Speaker Technology and Digital MEMS Microphone which explains for the robust bass and crisp treble in the music! So much so, there were times when J has to shout to me to get my attention!


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Who says men cannot fit pink! If you do not like pink, there are three other electrifying colours to choose from: Lime, Blue & Orange.





Now, the LG Active Tone becomes an integral part of my exercise regime which I cannot go without!








Currently, it is retailing at all leading at all leading electronic stores at S$189.00 at all leading electronic retailers.

So tempted to get the orange or blue one for James so that we can wear it together whenever we workout!