Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 Pre-Order To Begin On 19 August; Price Starts At RM3,999

Alongside the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Watch4 Series, Samsung has also announced the pre-order program for another new device that it has announced last week at the Galaxy Unpacked August event. Just like its higher-end sibling, the Galaxy Z Flip3 will also be available for pre-order in Malaysia starting from this Thursday, 19 August onwards.

True to the information from last weekend, the Z Flip3 will indeed be priced at RM3,999 for the 128GB model while the 256GB variant goes for RM4,199. Regardless of the storage option, the Z Flip3 is certainly much cheaper than the original Z Flip which was released in Malaysia last March for RM5,888.

Meanwhile, pre-order customers will be provided with an e-voucher worth RM 600 that they can spend at Samsung Malaysia’s e-Store. Additionally, they will also receive Samsung Care+ 1-year protection plan for their new Z Flip3 which is in line with the global announcement last week.

That being said, the Samsung Care+ protection that will be provided in Malaysia is full coverage as opposed to certain markets. To last until 21 September, the pre-order program for Z Flip3 will be available through Samsung Malaysia’s e-Store as well as physical Samsung Experience Stores and Authorized Partners all over Malaysia.

COVID-19 Breathalyzer Test To Begin Trial At Singapore-Malaysia Border Soon

Singaporean authorities have recently provisionally approved a COVID-19 breathalyzer test, which is claimed to be capable of determining if an individual is infected with the virus in under a minute. A trial of the device is set to begin soon at the Singapore-Malaysia border, according to a report by Reuters.

The breathalyzer test is developed by the country’s Breathonix Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of the National University of Singapore. The company says that the technology used analyses the chemical compounds of a person’s breath in order to determine whether a person is infected. This is done by blowing into disposable mouthpieces that are connected to the tester, which would be replaced during each test to prevent cross-contamination risks.

Breathonix says that the device has achieved more than 90% accuracy after a series of pilot clinical trials in the country. It is also faster and non-intrusive when compared to the traditional COVID-19 swab test that are regularly used, which makes it ideal for checkpoint-based inspections such as those at borders.

Speaking of which, Reuters says that the company will be working together with Singapore’s health ministry for the upcoming trial for the breathalyzer at the country’s Malaysia-Singapore border. According to Breathonix’s recent post on Facebook, the tester will be deployed at the Tuas checkpoint and is slated to begin “in the next few days”.

It’s also worth noting that the test will be carried out alongside the current compulsory COVID-19 antigen rapid swab test during the trial. Those screened as positive, on the other hand, are required to undergo a confirmatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab test, the company added.

Meanwhile, MYEG announced that it has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Breathonix, with the aim of becoming the latter’s exclusive local distribution partner. The company added that it will apply for the requisite regulatory approvals and certifications for the breathalyzer test and associated systems in preparations to have them available commercially in Malaysia.

There has been no announcements or plans on having Breathonix’s COVID-19 breathalyzer test to be used at the Malaysia-Singapore border in Johor at this time. The same can be said for its potential deployment and testing in other local locations as well.

Huawei Will Begin Charging 5G Royalties To Apple, Samsung And Others

Huawei announced it will begin charging fees for access to its patented 5G technologies – a move that will affect smartphone leaders like Apple and Samsung, Bloomberg and CNBC reported.

Frustrated by the continuing US sanctions, the Chinese tech giant has been trying to bolster and diversify its revenue streams. Huawei said it will be charging a “reasonable” royalty rate of up to US$2.50 (~RM10.29) for every phone that uses its 5G technology.

That US$2.50 cap might seem relatively modest compared to those of competitors. CNBC noted that Nokia caps its rate at €3 (~RM14.70) per device, while Ericsson charges from US$2.50 to US$5 (~RM20.59) per device.

For further comparison, chipmaker Qualcomm demanded US$7.50 (~RM30.88) from Apple for every iPhone, causing a feud between the tech giants, Bloomberg said. The companies finally made peace in 2019.

Huawei expects to pull in about US$1.2 billion (~RM4.9 billion) to US$1.3 billion (~RM5.4 billion) in revenue from patent licensing between 2019 and 2021. Obviously, those figures are likely to grow as the transition to 5G begins across the world.

Also, it’s plausible that Huawei is retaliating for a recent US move to further restrict component supplies for Huawei’s 5G devices. Washington, under Trump and now Biden, has often emphasised the need to protect American technology from Chinese firms.

Now, Huawei may be eager to publicly assert and leverage the dependence of others, especially in the West, on its technologies. In other words, it’s a game of tit for tat.

Starlink Begin To Accept Deposit From Malaysian Customers Ahead Of Its 2022 Rollout

While most people mainly know the company due to its Mars ambition as well as its founder Elon Musk, SpaceX does have plenty of interesting projects under its wings. One of them is Starlink which aims to provide Internet connectivity throughout the world via thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit.

Years in the making, SpaceX kicked off the public beta test for Starlink in the U.S and Canada in October 2020 before moving on to other countries a few months later. Now, SpaceX has begun to accept deposit from those who are interested to be among the first to use Starlink in Malaysia.

We have learned about the deposit through a newsletter that came into our inbox which said that we can now place a deposit for Starlink. We originally registered our interest in the service sometime in the first week of February, just out of curiosity.

Years in the making, SpaceX kicked off the public beta test for Starlink in the U.S and Canada in October 2020 before moving on to other countries a few months later. Now, SpaceX has begun to accept deposit from those who are interested to be among the first to use Starlink in Malaysia.

We have learned about the deposit through a newsletter that came into our inbox which said that we can now place a deposit for Starlink. We originally registered our interest in the service sometime in the first week of February, just out of curiosity.

In the e-mail above, SpaceX noted that it may take a year or even more before we can actually utilise Starlink in Malaysia. True enough, Starlink’s website said that the service is expected to be here only in 2022 after we provided the general vicinity of our headquarters into the site.

In order to verify whether the 2022 rollout date is meant just for Kuala Lumpur or also in other parts of Malaysia, we have entered random addresses from other areas throughout Malaysia:

In the e-mail above, SpaceX noted that it may take a year or even more before we can actually utilise Starlink in Malaysia. True enough, Starlink’s website said that the service is expected to be here only in 2022 after we provided the general vicinity of our headquarters into the site.

In order to verify whether the 2022 rollout date is meant just for Kuala Lumpur or also in other parts of Malaysia, we have entered random addresses from other areas throughout Malaysia:

According to the Deposit Payment Terms on Starlink’s official website, the refundable USD 99 (~RM 401) deposit will be applied for the purchase of Starlink Kit once it is available for our region. The actual price for the kit has not yet been revealed for Malaysia although it cost USD 499 (~RM 2,022) in the U.S without including tax and shipping fees.

Meanwhile, the website has also stated that users can expect data speed from 50Mbps to 150Mbps together with a latency range of between 20ms to 40ms during beta period. It also pointed out that Starlink’s speed, latency, and uptime will improve as SpaceX continue to launch more satellites for the service and Elon Musk himself has tweeted earlier this week that the speed will soon be increased to around 300Mbps.

As a comparison, CONNECTme which is an Internet service run by local satellite operator, Measat provides a download speed of up to 20Mbps as well as 1Mbps upload speed. While the monthly fee in Malaysia was not revealed by SpaceX, the Starlink’s beta stage in the U.S carries a monthly cost of USD 99 (~RM 401) which is much higher than Measat who charges between RM 198 to RM 298 per month for CONNECTme.

However, we don’t have any knowledge regarding Starlink or SpaceX operation in Malaysia for the time being. In fact, we don’t know if SpaceX has actually received approvals or engaged with local authorities such as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission in order to offer Starlink in our market.

We are now reaching out to SpaceX for further clarification but nevertheless, do check out Starlink’s official website right here if you want to know more about the new satellite-based Internet service.