Electree - the Eco-friendly solar powered charger

It's actually beautiful and would probably 'mix' well with your other plants at the balcony. Meet Electree+, the solar powered multipurpose charger. Communication tools like hand phones come to mind.

Electree+ by Vivien Muller

Electree+ solar charger

Its leaves might not be green, but its potential for energy efficiency most certainly is. This little mock bonsai tree might look like the kind of thing that just sits prettily on top of a coffee table, but it is actually a rather ornate phone charger.

The Electree+ doubles as both an ornament and a charger for everyday electrical devices - without the need for any delicate pruning.

The device has 27 miniature silicon solar panels - or 'leaves', as they are called - that can be arranged in any way the owner wants to create their own bespoke tree. 

The base of the gadget conceals a battery that stores the solar energy. 

At full capacity it can hold enough power to charge an iPad twice and can charge a phone in just four hours. With energy costs soaring, the gadget has been designed to help technology-geeks charge their phone in a green-friendly manner. 

Created by French designer Vivien Muller, the Electree+ conceals a USB connection underneath its wood-topped base unit. The designer said he was inspired to make the product after observing real trees, noticing that their leaves acted as natural solar panels.

The designer is waiting to receive 400 presale orders for the product before commencing production. Bonsai is a traditional Japanese art form in which trees are grown in miniature pots.

But while the gadget may cut down on your energy bills, it might take you a while to recoup the savings, as it will costs £283.

Wow! that's a lot of money for a charger. Price is equivalent to RM1,387.00


Source: dailymail.co.uk

First Malaysia-branded Android tablet for RM999

Last week MalTechPro Sdn Bhd unveiled the first Malaysian made 7-inch tablet known as 1Malaysia Pad, or 1Mpad which is fully equipped with a capacitive touch screen, android system, wireless broadband, 3G and the latest applications.

The 1Malaysia Pad launched on 24 May 2012. Picture credit: The Sun Daily

In my previous posting, I wrote an article regarding India's world cheapest tablet, the Aakash and Malaysia seem to have followed suit in launching an Android tablet. But unlike the US$45 to $70 Indian version, the 1Malaysia Pad is priced further up at RM999 (US$315).


1Mpad specifications in brief

Not much was available from the media coverage but for a start, this are what have been made known:
Price                       : RM999 (introductory price for the first 5,000 units)
Screen size             : 7 inch
Operating system     : Android 2.3, Gingerbread
Storage capacity      : TBA
Mobile connectivity   : WiFi, 3G
Camera                   : 3 MP
Released                 : May 2012
Availability               : available now for pre-order

The Borneo Post reported that the tablet is equipped with a proprietary 1Malaysia messenger app which would allow users to send messages, pictures and videos for free.


First impression

While this appears to be more powerful than the low-coast Aakash, at its current high list price, the tablet doesn't appear to be a fantastic deal. RM999 is relatively expensive for a 7" tablet, more so with better specced and affordable offerings in the market are available, such as the Galaxy Tab 7 Plus at RM1,200 (US$380) and still dropping in price. Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 was last seen priced cheaper at RM799 (US$250) but I'm unsure if this model is still available in Malaysia.


Who will buy them?

Befitting its name, this tablet is targetted to be first marketed to students at a discounted price. Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the ministry planned to include MalTechPro as a merchant in the ministry’s student discount card program, due to kick off next month.

The amount of the discount has not been decided yet but this is touted to be a replacement for the current 1Malaysia netbooks in universities.

Would you buy one of these for yourself? I think it is too expensive and the manufacturer will have to persuade the government to push it to the people through various 'donation' programs.


Early Verdict

An introductory price of RM699 - RM799 would have been more appealing considering such technology has been around for sometime, plus, the OS is an outdated one. Throw in the option for WiFi and Wifi + 3G to reduce the price further.

New Galaxy S3 launched and Compared with 4S, S2 and One X

The new Galaxy S3 that many have been waiting for is finally here.

All questions and rumours of specifications of the new Samsung Galaxy S3 has now been answered with its official announcement on 3rd May 2012. In case you were wondering if all the speculated specs materialised, head on to All New Samsung Galaxy S3, published back in March 2012.

First impression is that, the S3 resembles the iPhone 3GS, minus the excessive curved corners when front-viewed. Not that it looks bad; it is something I personally wanted done on the iPhone 4S.

Comparison with its predecessor Galaxy S2, rivals One X and iPhone 4S

The comparison is purely on specifications and not based on practical test on each gadget as at the time of compiling this article, the Galaxy S3 is not yet available to the public. There are two main aspect that consumers tend to pit a particular smart phone against another namely ease of use and 'on-paper' performance. On-paper performance refers to technical data sheet providing details of manufacturer's measured parameters. 

Many instances of tests done in the past tell us that higher specced smart phone does not necessarily perform better when bench-marked hands on with another that is slightly falls below it. The likely winner would be one that could combine the better specifications with ease of use.

 

From L-to-R: Galaxy S2, Galaxy S3, iPhone 4S and HTC One X

Galaxy S2 and iPhone 4S are included in this table to give you an idea of what kind of improvements the manufacturers of S3 and One X have included in the newer gadgets.

If you ask me, I would say the S3 look nicely built and is is only fair that Android should match that with a more stable OS and improved intuitiveness. Will just have to wait for it to be launched in Malaysia to get to feel the metal.

All New Samsung Galaxy S3

Let's take a time out on the smoking issues of Rare Earth and Lynas, and take a look at updates on New Gadgets.

Ok, you've been deceived, well just a little. The new Samsung Galaxy S3 is not yet out. But here is an interesting possibility of its imminent launch. By the way the S3 is of particular interest as my better half is currently using Galaxy S2 and she may want to check this one out.

Work of the rumour millers.

Galaxy S3 Announcement?

With Mobile World Congress (MWC) over now and nothing happened, the rumour mill will probably be shifting to higher gears once more. It was understood that Samsung performed very well during the recent MWC with some great devices.

In Korea, check out what ZDNet said and the S3 would probably be launched in April, with London and the UK one of the initial launch markets. This would be best timed for this year's Olympic Games. Note that Samsung is an official partner of the games.

Speculated Galaxy S3 Specifications

The Galaxy S3 would be powered by a 1.5-GHz quad-core Samsung Exynos CPU, with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich available out of the box. A possible full edge-to-edge HD screen measuring 4.8 inches ans the option to choose from 32 GB or 64 GB internal storage. A big 2 GB of internal memory and an 8MP camera.

Comparing the S2 and S3, but no promise, just hope. Lets see if Galaxy S3 fans would be sorely disappointed as did iPhone fans with the eventual release of the 4S instead of 5.

For the hopefuls' reading pleasure.

Form Factor

Samsung is going to set the bar very high with a thinner phone making it further competitive compared to iPhone 4S. The 4S is currently thicker than the S2. As for dimensions and weight, no single rumour miller has provided any information so far, or at least I haven't seen any on the Internet yet.

Verdict

The Galaxy S3 is going to attract a lot of iPhone fans and it will come in no surprise if the rumoured features become reality. Moreover, iPhone 5 (or whatever they may call it) is still many months away from possible launch.