Hear me! Hear me! Because… a part of this roadshow is to spread the awareness on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Blogging! Now it links up ya?

So if you’re free this Saturday, 22 May 2010, head over to D’Tent at Downtown East anytime from 10am to 6pm! What’s more! There’ll be great prizes to be won! Details below in the poster…

You can RSVP too if you want at the event page on Facebook. If you’re coming, don’t forget to say hi ya! Maybe I’ll buy you an ice-cream or two! :P

Bring along your great grandparents, grandparents, parents, uncle, aunties, friends and everyone! I want to see you there!

I may have missed the chance to meet Tord Boontje, the designer of this amazingly beautiful HP Mini, but I sure am not missing out on the usability and portability of this HP designer netbook.

As compared to the previous HP Mini by Vivienne Tam, which I got a chance to review, this is even better! I love the intrigue design and the 3D surface, otherwise known as HP Imprint 3D.

After my experience with my previous white macbook, I am quite afraid of using another white notebook. But this is just too tempting to resists. Thanks to the invitation to the HP regional launch held some time back at Sentosa, and thanks to Daniel Tsou, I get to add this sleek netbook to the collection at work.

The HP Mini is a good companion for our lady team mates to bring around for presentation and meetings. The VGA slot makes this HP Mini not so mini with secondary screen or a projector. I can visualize myself pitching to clients with this.

This HP Mini also comes with the HP Instant Web feature. Don’t need to wait for the slow Windows XP (mine’s on XP, the ones in market come with Windows 7) to boot up. Check your email, access to IM, the web, your favorite photos and music right from the Instant Web startup. And what I love about this, is the instant startup the moment I switched on the Mini. Great for on the on surfing and email checking.

Now my fingers have gotten quite used to the keyboard on the Mini. Yes, I’m typing this on the HP Mini! Don’t envy me. Hurhur!

Don’t you just love this elegant HP Mini by Studio Tord Boontje? :P

Meet me and I’ll show you! It’s beautiful!

This is what my phone will look like…

Can you recognised which parts come from which model? Yes, its a mashed up! Let me explain more about my ideal mobile phone…

Currently I’m owning the Samsung Innov8, which I’m loving for its camera and audio experience. But the flash on the Innov8 would have been better if it was Xeon flash. So I’d edited it with the Sony Ericsson C905 flash. However, its not optimised enough for content consumption. Having tried the HTC Touch HD for a month now, I’m really loving how big the screen is and the clarity of it. Than there’s the Nokia E63 which I just tried, the QWERTY keyboard is one that I love. And the email features too. But the screen is just not optimised for web browsing. Than!! The iphone interface! This I don’t need to elaborate I guess.

So in short, my ideal phone will look something like the above. I wonder if anyone would really have something like that soon? I think not.

So what’s YOUR ideal phone? Do a mashup and share it! Leave a link so I can go check it out!

P/s: Why am I calling it my ideal phone for April 09? Cos there’s always better features and better phones coming out! Since its my ideal phone, I get to decide how it looks or works anytime I like right? =P

Right… alighting from the train now.

Very often we, as consumers, make a purchase base on form and factors that we’ve pre-listed in our mind the moment we register that we’re going to make a purchase. These can be in terms of the features we want in that mobile phone, the design and form factor, the pricing and perhaps the colors available too.

Most of the time, before anyone in my family (and extended family), and circle of friends, wants to buy a computer or camera, they’ll come seek my advice. Being the more techie person in the family, I’ll often end up repeating myself more than once to different people asking the same question. But thanks to blogs and forums, they now know where to go for resources and information. Or rather, to seek my advice, they just read my blog. (But dear friends and family, as I only have that limited knowledge of the few brands that I’ve contact with, it doesn’t mean that my opinion is the best. Unless I start getting to try out all the brands and gadgets, than perhaps I can give you better advices.)

Right, I diverted… back to the serious stuff.

Do you know what this is???

Nope! It’s not the latest spider robot!

Before I tell you what the above is (if you not already know), let me first ask another question – When you’re planning to buy that netbook, laptop or mobile phone, have you ever think about the brain in those gadgets? I’m referring to the brain that’s processing all the information, data and what not so that you can use your gadgets. Yes, this brain is call the processor. And the photo above was how the first few Intel processor looked like!

Long long time ago, these processor chips come in much bigger sizes, as shown above. (Image on right shows the inside of one of the first Intel microprocessor.) And because of the size, the motherboards and circuit boards and what not, to hold and power the processor were huge and bulky too (as compared to now) . Can you remember that huge ugly looking CPU that has to be laid flat on the table and you’ll have your bulky monitor sitting on top of it? Yap! Ugly right? Thanks goodness those are ancient history!

Now, great power does not have to come in big packages anymore. If you’re among the geeky crew, I’m sure you’ll know the history of Intel and how tiny these processors are becoming. But if you’re non-geek, here’s how the chip looks like.

The above is the Intel Core 2 Duo processor

If you think that’s tiny already, wait till you meet the Atom! Let me show you the Atom processor! Image on the left is how the inside of the Intel Atom looks like. And please take note that this image is like about 30 times blown up of the real thing ok! And this is the tiny brain that is inside the sexy red Vivienne Tam digital clutch, which served the red very well. Powering it right for the portable needs and giving quite a decent battery life to it. *(Do note that the Centrino 2 is of better performance than the Atom and should not be used to compare when buying a notebook vs a netbook!)

If you still can’t imagine how tiny the Atom processor is (cause what you can’t see you can hardly believe right?), here’s a screen shot of the chip in the hand of a man… Ya lah!! It’s THAT tiny can??

Still cannot tell how tiny the Atom is? Here’s a comparison of the actual Atom with a rice grain!

With the Atom processor, Intel’s smallest and lowest power processor, it allows the latest Mobile Internet Devices and netbooks to get the power necessary for fast and power-saving processing. The Atom processors also provides for better performance and increased system responsiveness. How cool is that!

During my time spent with the red, it became my friend on the go. I surfed while I was traveling. I watched videos in bed (don’t let your mind wander please!) and I must say, those tiny speakers on the Vivienne Tam wowed me! And of course, the sleek design and classic digital clutch turn heads almost all the time. When I use it in the train, I can sense those envious eyes glazing towards the red. Feel shiok lah! Too bad that’s not mine to keep.

Besides myself, all these people and more had met the red too…





Have you seen the red?

Click here to view photos taken with Samsung Innov8

Thanks to the kind people at Intel, I’m able to hold it, play with it, use it, adore it, hug it, love it, flaunt it and even sleep with this hot babe! (For a week) And because I’m loving it so much, I thought why not spread some love around the people I meet too!

So here’s the thing, if you’re going to meet me anytime this week (till Tuesday), you’ll get to touch it, play with it, lick it, smell it and take a photo with it! If you’re going to be seeing this hot red babe, I’m going to take a photo of you with the red and you’ll join in the album of “Seeing red“! This is just something fun I want to do. It has got nothing to do with Intel, HP nor any agency.

Where you can find Claudia for the next few days…

• Today (Thu): 7pm at the social media people meetup
• Fri: Should be at office (Call me to check)
• Sat: BarcampSG
• Sun: Sorry its family and friends day
• Mon: At office (Come visit me)
• Tue: At office (Can come visit me also)

Hmm… wonder if Intel will allow me to hang on to it for another week so I can bring this red to BlogOUT too!

Here are some friends who’ve seen, felt and played with the red…

Diana

Brennan

Amelia

Oh! And yes! This post is created on the red too!!

I was interested to find out how HP increases its laptop sales by 85% using bloggers.

And from there, I clicked myself towards HP latest campaigns where they’re giving out USD6,000 worth of products via 50 blogs. Talking about mass social media marketing campaign!

From the previous campaign, quoted from Janet Meiners…
The result was that the first five pages of Google results for searches on HP and HP Dragon were blog posts about the contest. According to HP they had over 380,000 links to the 31 sites discussing the contest. Bloggers got over 25,000 contest entries and an average 150% increase in traffic. Here’s the kicker though – almost 85% increase in sales of a computer that was released nine months ago!

I recall a brand doing similar concept campaign here in Singapore where LCD TVs were given out as prizes on several blogs. I wonder if they got the same kind of effect as the HP campaign. Anyone has a case study to share?

This is one of the reasons why I prefer twitter than plurk. Twitter helps me build knowledge, plurk doesn’t. I would love Twitter even deeper if it stops hanging itself so often.

Thanks for everyone’s support for my first issue of Claud talks Gadgets. That issue is now among the top 20 most frequently visited page on Claudia.sg. Although I do not have that many traffic as the famous sites and blogs in Singapore, but I’m happy for where I am. Really appreciate all your support and do continue to support Claudia.sg ya! :P

In this issue, I’ll be covering a mixture of gadgets, as suggested by some of you. I write about them based on my own understanding and feeling towards the gadget. So please don’t quote from me ok.

What do you want to read?
1. Sony wants to lead – Alpha 900 is here!
2. The Lenovo Netbook – Compact and Steady
3. Print Photos Anywhere in Style
4. Claud’s Latest Gadgets Discovery
5. So who won the limited edition t-shirt?

Sony wants to lead – Alpha 900 is here!

I was super excited when I heard about the launch and I couldn’t wait to see the real thing! Although this is not going to be one of those DSLR that I will own in my entire life, but having a chance to feel and test out the real thing is good enough for me.

The Sony alpha900 is their top-of-the-line high-performance DSLR. With 24.6-megapixel, you’re be able to capture the most ‘disturbing’ picture with this camera! Imagine looking at a blow-up A1 size of your portrait without makeup! All the facial hair, pimples, holes and spots!! Ewww!! But that’s the power of this kick-ass Sony alpha900 DSLR!

I shall not bore you with the many great features of the alpha900. You can read about them on their website. But one thing that I find very useful, and not yet available on other DSLR, is the intelligent preview function.

With a press of a special button, you can capture a test shot of the subject you want to shoot and simulate the effect with the settings on that preview shot! Adjust the exposure, white balance and D-Range optimizer and watch the preview of these effects on the 3-inch Xtra fine LCD monitor! To save the optimized setting, you’ll just need to press the shutter release button and all is set to go! This makes adjusting of settings so much easier and faster. Love this great feature on the alpha900.

With so many features and functions on the Sony alpha900, you might think that the camera will be super heavy. But surprisingly, body alone is only about 850gram. I can imagine myself traveling around with this baby with a 50mm or a light weight lens. Imagine the quality of the photos you can take! Yap, but I could only imagine! The price tag is just way beyond what I can afford.

Too bad I’m not making a living out of photography. If I am, I’ll probably invest money in the Sony alpha900. For now, I’m happy with my Nikon D40, although its failing me at times.

Sony a900 will be available in Singapore from October 2008.
Suggested retail price for the body alone is est. about SGD4000. | more details here

Back up to content

The Lenovo S10 Netbook – Compact and Steady

Having seen many brands of netbooks in the market, I’ve to say that Lenovo S10 is one that is worth considering. At first look it may seem a little plastic to me, but when you fiddle with it more, this compact netbook seems pretty steady and strong. Like all netbooks, one cannot expect to do too much with it. The usual web browsing, document editing, emailing, light entertainment with music and videos should do fine with the Lenovo S10.

Comes with a 10.2-inch screen and a 85% of the full size keyboard, typing and working on the S10 shouldn’t be too tough. With inbuilt Wifi and bluetooth feature, you can stay connected anytime anywhere.

Lenovo S10 comes in glossy finish in black, white, pink, red and blue.

Suggested retail price: SGD739 | More details here.

Back up to content

Print Photos Anywhere In Style

Canon Selphy ES3 and ES30

Being a canon photo printer user for years, I’ve to say they are one of the better brand for great print-outs. Having used their earlier models of Selphy printer, I’m attracted to their latest release of the Selphy range. The retro looking body makes one wants to carry it everywhere to show it off. It looks like a portable radio from the 70s.

Printing and sharing photos is so much more easy and fun with these cute machines! You can also print photos with additional effects and designs too. I’m sure your family and friends will adore this at gatherings and events. But be sure to pack sufficient photo paper and cartridge sets!

The ES3 is also the first of its kind to have inbuilt 1GB memory. Now you can carry on shooting on your camera while your photos are being printed. Just have to transfer the photos from your memory cards to the inbuilt memory on the ES3.

Suggested retail price: ES3 at SGD 349 and ES30 at SGD 299 | More details here and here

Back up to content

Claud’s Latest Gadgets Discovery

In this section, I will be posting short notes of some gadgets which I discovered and am attracted to. Nothing much to read though, it’ll be just images and short blurbs about them. If you’ve any cool gadgets to recommend to me, you can drop me a note here.

HP’s Digital Clutch

Which lady can resists such a pretty looking clutch!! The product of a collaboration between Renowned Designer Vivienne Tam and HP. This digital clutch will be available in early 2009. Ladies keep a look out for it!

What I like about it?
The sexy design! And from looks of it, I’ll be loving the feel and texture of it in my hands too!

What I don’t like about it?
Ermm… I need to look at the real thing first. But perhaps I guess it’ll be the price tag.

No pricing yet | more details here

Canon HD camcorder HG21

What I like about it?
The durable body and easy control.

What I don’t like about it?
The feel of it in my hand isn’t that comfortable as compared to the one I’d used.

Suggested retail price: SGD2899 | more details here

Back up to content

Claud talks Gadgets Giveaway

Thanks to those who’d commented in my first issue of Claud talks Gadgets. I did receive a couple of emails from my shy readers. Thanks a lot of your encourage and feedback! I did the draw in the old-fashion way, I wrote all the names on pieces of scraps and picked 2 winners with my eyes shut.

So who won this super stylo t-shirt?

And the postcards go to…

Daphne! Thanks for your feedback and I’ll try to cut short my post. ;)

Back up to content

Thank you for reading my 2nd issue of Claud talks Gadgets. If you have any interesting leads or gadgets to share, please don’t hesitate to contact me. :)

So good you don’t want meh?

All you need to do is to tell me What will your life be like with HP TouchSmart? (Post your creative idea in the comments section of this post)

Imagine… this sexy and sleek babe sitting right in the center of the living room where your entire family will get to use this as the communication platform, for entertainment and for viewing all the SEXY photos and videos you took during your holiday trips! Shiok right??

For more details of the HP TouchSmart IQ500 desktop pc, please visit their official website or watch the video below for a quick glance of its ultra sexy TOUCHY features!.

I was there to touch it for the first time when it just arrived in Singapore! And I tell you!! It’s really very SEXY lah! So what you waiting for? Submit your most creative ideas now!!

If your idea is the most SEXY and creative and you’re the FIRST person to post it, you’ll get to have one HP TouchSmart to touch all you want!! And I get to get one too! Cool right?

So ya! Come come! Start touching your not-as-sexy-keyboard now! Contest ends at 0000hr on 12 July 2008!!

Leave a comment in this post and tell me What will your life be like with HP TouchSmart?

Just a few guidelines for the contests:

• Only Singaporean based bloggers and readers are entitled to participate in the competition
• Collection of prizes by bloggers only (Bloggers to receive prize on behalf of readers)
• Bloggers need to ensure that all the comments are time-stamped. For different/duplicate ideas on different blogs, the earliest one will be selected.
• Winners will be determined by the staff at HP and winners will be announced here on 18 July 2008 at 1500hr.

Or you can also give a chance to the following bloggers: Krisandro or Jacelyn or Nadnut or Yin … more to come soon…

UPDATED on 18 July 2008

Its sleek, sexy, cool, slim, beautiful and intelligent! She’s a beauty in her own league. And she simply loves to be touched. You can be gentle with it, and yet she can take it if you’re rough too. Come, let’s touch her together with me…

HP had an exclusive preview of their latest product HP TouchSmart IQ500 to a group of famous and popular Singapore bloggers on Tuesday, 24 June 2008.

We got the first hand experience with the second generation of HP TouchSmart PCs. First look at it and wow! Loving it. But it’s not quite my type of PC, but still loving it if I can have one at home. This beauty is more suitable for family use and entertainment purposes. Suitable for the very young, and the very young at heart, to the grandmas and grandpas.

Will do a more detail review when I’ve the time, but for now, here’s a quick look at what happened at the event and who was touching what!

Thanks to the lovely people at Waggener Edstrom and HP for hosting this wonderful event. And thanks Daryl for the invitation! The event was great! People from Waggener and HP were very friendly and smiley! Looking forward to future events.

For official press release please click here.

(Wonder what’s going to be announced next week! Hmmm…)

UPDATED
Check out HP TouchSmart Singapore Blog for updates and links to all bloggers who attended the event.