Opensignal April 2021 Report: Digi Overtakes Maxis In Terms of Download Speed

Opensignal today has published its first Mobile Network Experience Report of 2021 for Malaysia and as always, it contained several interesting observations regarding the general state of our telcos. Using data that was collected from 1 Dec 2020 until 28 February 2021, Digi is apparently the fastest telco in Malaysia right now when it comes to download speed.

According to the report, the telco managed to overcome Maxis who has been holding on to the Download Speed Experience title for so many years although the gap between both companies is not that big at just 1.4Mbps. On another hand, it is still a worrying sign for Maxis though as Opensignal has noted that the telco’s download speed has dropped further since the last report in September 2020.

Specifically, Maxis’ download speed has gone down from 14.5Mbps in September 2020’s report to 11.9Mbps. However, Maxis is far from the only telco that has seen a drop in download speed though.

The new report also said that Celcom download speed is now 7.7Mbps as opposed to 10.2Mbps back in September. This has also put the telco at the bottom of the chart which is quite a surprise given its status in the market.

U Mobile has also experienced some drop in speed although not by much; from 10.1Mbps in September to 9.6Mbps. On another hand, unifi Mobile joins Digi as the only other telco that has improved its download speed from 6.7Mbps in September to 9.1Mbps.

In addition to download speed, Maxis has also lost its Video Experience throne to Digi but still managed to maintain its Games Experience lead although the telco has to share the title with U Mobile under the April 2021 report. U Mobile has also retained its hold on the Upload Speed and Voice App Experience.

Meanwhile, Celcom once again emerged as the leader in terms of 4G coverage as per last’s report. The same also applies for 4G Availability but the telco has to share the title with unifi Mobile which generally is almost on par with Celcom in this segment of the report.

What we mentioned above is just the tip of the iceberg. You can check out the full report over at Opensignal’s website right here to gain even deeper insights into the performances of our telcos for the past few months.

Leslie Cheung online concert on YouTube April 1, 2021, 7:30pm - 8:30pm

Concert dedicated to late singer and actor Leslie Cheung will take place online on Apr. 1, 2021, 7:30pm - 8:30pm.

The Hong Kong icon had passed away at the age of 46 on Apr. 1, 2003.

Industry veteran Lawrence Cheng, who is also the concert's creative director, said that he had been granted permission from Cheung's former manager Florence Chan and life partner Daffy Tong, Yahoo Malaysia reported.

Called In Loving Memory of Leslie Cheung Online Concert 2021, the event is jointly supported by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Harbour City, and「哥」迷會 LesFANmily, which is Cheung's fan club.

A number of Cheung’s classic songs will be performed by Samuel Hui, Karen Mok, Hacken Lee, Julian Cheung, Metro Vocal Group, and HKBU Symphony Orchestra.

The event will be hosted on HiEggo's YouTube channel and Facebook page.

HiEggo has previously held two other concerts: Sam Hui Online Concert 2020 and Aaron Kwok Cheer up & Dance Online Charity Concert 2020.

Additionally, donations received from the YouTube stream will be donated to Hong Kong charity organisation Food Angel, which prepares meal boxes for underprivileged communities in the country.

In Loving Memory of Leslie Cheung Online Concert 2021

Date: April 1, 2021 (Thursday)

Time:

Best of Leslie Cheung’s Performances, 7pm - 7:30pm

In Loving Memory of Leslie Cheung Online Concert 2021, 7:30pm - 8:30pm

Platforms:

• HiEggo’s YouTube channel
• HiEggo’s Facebook page

realme Buds Air 2 with ANC Coming To Malaysia This April For RM 199

realme has recently announced its plan to launch the new Buds Air 2 in Malaysia next month. Based on the specs stated on realme Malaysia’s website, the new true wireless earbuds (TWEs) seemed to offer plenty of upgrades over their predecessor while being made available at a much lower price point.

In many ways, the Buds Air 2 seemed to carry on the torch from the Buds Air Pro rather than the original Buds Air. Powered by the brand-new R2 chip, the second generation model adopts the in-ear design and also features active noise cancellation (ANC) although at up to 25db, the effective range is not as high as the Buds Air Pro that can go up to 35db.

Equipped with a pair of 10mm drivers which realme claimed have been covered with carbon coating to make them more durable, the Buds Air 2 also features a mode called Bass Boost+ that apparently was co-created by the well-known EDM duo, The Chainsmokers. The new TWEs have also been designed to meet the IPX5 standard which means that they should be able to withstand sweats during your workout.

In terms of battery life, the TWEs can run for up to 4 to 5 hours depending on whether the ANC is on or off while the total operational hours can go up to 25 hours when you add Buds Air 2’s charging case into the picture. There is also a fast charge feature that allows users to obtain 2 hours of playback with 10 minutes of charging time.

Price-wise, the new realme Buds Air 2 goes for RM 199 when it is made available in our shores at realme Brand Store and authorised dealers nationwide on 3 April 2021. For those who prefer to purchase the TWEs online, they can do so starting from 8 April via realme’s official store at Lazada.

Dell G15 Gaming Laptop Coming To Our Shores This April; Price Starts At RM 3799

Dell generally has two gaming laptop groups under its wing with the premium segment being the Alienware m-Series while there is also the G Series which is being offered at a much lower price point. This exact reason made the newly revealed Dell G15 rather interesting.

This is because the G15 carries a new physical design that is skewed towards Alienware Legend design identity rather than what Dell has implemented on the current G Series. Just take a look at the laptop when put side-by-side with the Alienware m15 R4 which has just made its way to Malaysia recently:

 

Based on general specs alone though, the G15 seems to be positioned as an entry-level gaming laptop. According to the official websites of Dell China and Hong Kong which are the two initial markets for the new gaming laptop, it is equipped with Intel Core i5-10200H and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics alongside 15.6-inch 120Hz Full HD display.

When we reached out to Dell Malaysia, the company has confirmed that the G15 is expected to arrive in Malaysia sometime in April. The base model for our market will carry similar specs from China and Hong Kong that we mentioned above, alongside 8GB of RAM and a RM 3,799 price tag.

There are reports which said that the G15 will be made available with more powerful CPU options, RTX 30 Series graphics, and 360Hz panel but naturally, the full hardware options can only be known when the laptop goes live on Dell Malaysia’s website. We’ll keep you posted once that takes place, so stay tuned.

Angry Birds Activity Park Johor Bahru To Close Down This April

The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent Movement Control Order (MCO) implementation have a major impact on so many industries throughout the country including tourism. Some are able to withstand the tide but for others such as the Angry Birds Activity Park Johor Bahru, things didn’t bode too well for them.

Located at Komtar JBCC which is just across the road from Johor Bahru’s main transportation hub JB Sentral, the Angry Birds Activity Park originally opened in October 2014. Said to be the first Angry Birds theme park in Southeast Asia, it was a joint venture between a subsidiary of Johor Corporation, Damansara Assets together with the creators of Angry Birds, Rovio Entertainment.

The 26,000 square feet indoor activity park is mainly designed for children and given its name, all of the attractions within it were inspired by the acclaimed game franchise. Naturally, the park also contains a gift shop that sells official Angry Birds merchandises.

As per the announcement on its Facebook page, the Angry Birds Activity Park Johor Bahru will be closing its doors on 5 April 2021. Since Johor is still being categorised as a Conditional MCO zone, there may be not enough time for Angry Birds fans from outside the state to make their final visit to the park.

Nevertheless, those who are able to make the journey to Komtar JBCC can take advantage of the lowered admission fee for the park which is now listed as RM 35 for kids and RM 25 for adults while a family of five can pick up the family ticket for RM 140.

Leica To Increase Prices Across All Product Lines Starting April 2021

Leica has announced that it will be increasing the prices across all of its product line starting on 1 April 2021. According to a press release provided to website Red Dot Forum, the camera maker says that the new prices will vary by product, but will generally reflect on an average of 2% to 5% increase.

“Over the past year, the relationship between the US Dollar and Euro has suffered and we have absorbed these costs,” Leica wrote. “However, as this continues, we need to adjust our pricing in order to ensure pricing integrity across all Leica subsidiaries and to continue delivering the highest quality of products.”

According to the product price list provided by the company via Red Dot Forum, a majority of Leica lenses will be seeing an increase of US$100 to US$200 – with the exception of higher-end models such as the Summilux-M 90mm f/1.5 ASPH, which is listed to have an increase of US$700. The same can be said for the brand’s camera collection as well, with the likes of the Q and S series to see a price hike as low as US$100 and as high as US$1,000. Although Leica says the upcoming price hike will see a 5% increase at most, the list actually reveals jumps reaching up to 9% – albeit only affecting a small number of its products.

The camera maker noted that not all of its products will see a price increase next month. Recent releases such as the APO-Summicron-M 35 f/2.0 ASPH, Leica D-Lux 7 Street Kit, Q2 Daniel Craig x Greg Williams, and the APO Summicron-SL 28mm f/2.0 ASPH will be exempted from this.

The upcoming price adjustment is slated to apply across all markets simultaneously on 1 April. For a full list of products and their new prices, please refer to the Red Dot Forum link provided below. Before you ask, Leica Malaysia has confirmed with us that the price changes will be reflected on all of the brand’s products sold in the local market as well. However, it noted that the updated price list has not been made available just yet.

Canon PowerShot Zoom Coming To Malaysia In April; Retailing At RM1379

Canon has announced that the PowerShot Zoom will be arriving in Malaysia later in April. The device was originally unveiled last year in September and was also a Japan-only exclusive up until recently. It is also the only PowerShot-branded product to be presented in a monocular-like form factor, enabling for easy one-handed controls.

As a quick recap, the Canon PowerShot Zoom is a pocket-sized camera that weighs only at 145g – featuring a 12.1MP 1/3-inch CMOS sensor, paired with the company’s own DIGIC 8 processor. With that, it is capable of recording Full HD videos at 1080/60p, and snapping high resolution photos at up to 10 frames per second. Unfortunately, 4K recording is not in the cards for the Zoom. 

The camera also comes with several built-in features such as Face Detection autofocus, built-in stabilisation, and a maximum ISO of 3200. True to its namesake, it offers an impressive zooming range equivalent to 100-400mm lenses via optical, and up to 800mm digitally.

For shot framing assistance, the PowerShot Zoom features a 0.39-inch electronic viewfinder (EVF) that has a resolution of 2.36 million dots, which Canon says is similar to the one equipped on its EOS RP mirrorless camera. As for connectivity, the Zoom comes with Bluetooth and WiFi support which allows you to pair it with a smartphone to review captured photos or videos. 

In terms of battery life, Canon says that the monocular camera – when fully charged – is able to provide approximately 60 minutes of movie record time, 150 still shots, and a live viewing time of 70 minutes. Other than that, it also includes a microSDXC card slot,  a USB-C port for charging and data transfer, and a wrist strap attachment.

Despite looking and functioning like a spy gadget, the Zoom is intended to let users get closer to the action – regardless whether at a football match, concert, or even birdwatching. That being said, we do not condone spying or any similar acts that intrude on privacy.

The Canon PowerShot Zoom will retail at RM1,379 once it lands in Malaysia later in April.