I had been missing in action for a while here. This will be my baby project and it is one of its kind for a MNC in Malaysia having a blog launch party. After more than a month of planning, the full mechanics are up. I am working with Nuffnang to make this possible. This will be a closed event by invitation only.
To get the exclusive invites please check out the details here or join Facebook LG Malaysia Fan Club. Win the invites and you might be walking home with a brand new LG Full HD LCD TV and many other prizes from LG!
And guys, if you win the invites, I will see you there! An after another gruelling and challenging day tomorrow, it's Labor Day and I will be spending the long awaited holiday in Perhentian Island.
My colleagues nicknamed me "Gadget Man", knowing that I love to toy around with gadgets. I am also invited for the latest S-Class UI LG Arena launch and will be one of the reviewer for the latest LG flagship phone.
My gadgets parade (L-R): LG Prada 2, Apple 2G iPod Touch 32GB & the latest MARSHAL 4.3" Navigator
Let's not sway into LG Arena today, I wanna introduce a happy addition to my gadgets today, the MARSHAL Navigation System. The most well known navigation system in Malaysia now is certainly under the brand name Garmin. However a 4.3" Garmin navigation system is retailing at about RM999 and the price is pretty steep for a navigation system especially when most of the PDAs now in the market are GPS-enabled.
I got hold of my toy today. It is new in the market, specially custom-made GPS navigation system on Mapking platform. Mapking is popular among PDA users using Windows Mobile OS. It is fully custom made and manufactured in China and do not be judgemental on the quality of the product as it comes with a one(1) year warranty and three(3) months one-to-one exchange warranty policy. And mind you, my ipod touch is also manufactured in China. Most importantly is that this gadget is a good bargain especially during this time of recession where we want to stretch our every dollars & cents.
So what is in the box?
1. MARSHAL Portable Navigation Device 2. AC Adapter 3. Car mount system 4. User Manual 5. USB Cable (for charging via USB) 6. In car charger 7. 2GB SD Memory Card 8. Carrying pouch 9. Screen protector 10. Ear piece 11. Warranty card
For half the price you are paying for Garmin, it is definitely a value buy as it has multimedia functions which I will explain later with more photos. IMHO, the design is pretty sleek and slim. The buttons shown here is the on-off button and the menu button.
On the left side of the device, you will find the SD Card slot, small pin hole for master reset, AV in which allow other devices with AV out such as portable DVD player to hook it up, earphone jack in that allow you to listen to your favourite MP3s & watching movies and lastly the mini USB for charging purposes.
Let's look into the main menu of this device. The main menu is pretty interactive and this navigation system comes with 2 different models, one with bluetooth and another one is non-bluetooth (I will explain later on the bluetooth function). Once you are in the main menu, you will be greeted with the colorful interface with smaller function tabs on the bottom panel of the screen. On the top panel, you will see smaller icons lining up, starting with power indicator, GPS satellites status, bluetooth, microphone, speaker & time.
Let's start from the first tab, the GPS. Double click on it will execute the Mapking software. Once you are in the Mapking menu, you can select to navigate, select route, find locations by landmarks or road names, settings, etc which I will not elaborate further. As per the screen shot, the map is showing my last stop route which is in Selayang.
As for the second tab on the main menu will be the music function. Load in your favourite songs in MP3, WMA & WAV file format and enjoy the song from the device itself. Play your music at its best with the equalizer function included. The device also supports WMV, ASF & AVI video file format so you can load your favourite movies onto the SD card and watch from the same screen itself. You can also download e-book in txt file format and do your reading there. It also play flash file & most of the photo file formats.
To make this device even more interactive, it comes with a pre-loaded games. Games that may be lame but can be really good to kill time.
All the above functions are both available on bluetooth & non-bluetooth models. What I had with me now is the bluetooth unit. So what is the bluetooth function all about? I will not go into detail on this but basically the bluetooth unit allows you to pair with your bluetooth enabled phone and once it is successfully paired, the device will act like the screen of your phone so you can in fact do the dialing & receiving calls from the device. The bluetooth unit comes with a built-in microphone so it is pretty convenient while you are on the wheel. I have not fully played with the device as I had just got it today and I will share the in depth once I am hands on this device.
On top of all this, the settings menu allow you to select the default language & volume. Plus it has a FM transmitter function so that in the event that you feel the built-in speaker is not loud enough, you can always transmit the audio via your car stereo system using the FM transmitter.
Pretty cool isn't it? Anyway, the only down point that I have to be frank will be the battery life of this device but heck care when you are equipped with the in-car charger provided in the package. Product brochure as follow, click for larger view.
Interested? As of today, I am already sold out of the non-bluetooth unit. What is available now will be the bluetooth units which are limited. The next shipment will be in 20 days from now. I can assure you that the price will be a killer. Email me at songm@hotmail.com for serious buyer and I will reply accordingly. Trading will be by COD in Klang Valley & Melaka only. I have not been thinking of shipping to other states as yet but it can be arranged.
I need some self motivation. This is my 589th post on this blog and I am proud that I had gone this far in terms of blogging. If you may not know, I am also managing a corporate weblog, The Life's Good Blog. So it is about juggling my time in between this 2 blogs and also managing my day time responsibility as the biz development manager for a MNC.
In working terms, despite the recession, my daily schedule is filled with endless appointments, meetings and reports that I had to rush for my immediate superior. Weekdays especially, I really have hard time to allocate time to pamper myself.
And for the past few weeks, I had been scouting the whole PJ for a condo that I like and within my budget. My agent had been helpful arranging appointments with owners and so far I had shortlisted 2 properties to my liking. Another one more to go and I will be able to make my selection. Hopefully 2009 will be the year I commit myself to something big.
Now back to my personal life. They said you felt low especially when you are sick. And for the past few days, I had been sick with my family members away from me, I am longing for that care. Care that I had been missing for a while. Hopefully I will get well soon and with my mind focus on my day job & blogging. In relationship point of view, I met some really good girls around me lately. At my age, physical attraction is no longer an important criteria, it is more towards compatibility I would say. But most of the girls that I am attracted to are either attached or showing no interest to progress another level further. Anyway, I felt God has arrangement for every human in this world. Be it single or in a relationship or even it's complicated, I will leave it in the hands of God.
Just a short one from me from Starbucks, Menara Hap Seng while waiting for my coming meeting at 8PM.
Thanks to Jazzy Group & my friend Alan, I had the chance to experience the performance of this new rising star Hins Cheung. The invitation came a bit late and I am glad that I did not reject it. It was one of the best concerts that I had attended so far. Very strong and good vocal although I am not very familiar with his songs. Very talented indeed. And he has Malay fans too :)
And it was also my first time in the Arena of Stars, Genting Highlands. There were 7 of us attended the concert and we bumped into our ex-colleagues Elaine & Sheryl up there. Thanks to Alan who drove me & Stephen up. Thanks for the ride brother!
After the concert we went to Starbucks and by the time we reached home, it was already 3AM. Tired but it was really a very worthwhile concert. Way to go Hins! Enjoy the video taken with my digicam, not very clear and pretty poor audio :)
When one in love, one tend to do anything & everything, even it's the silliest thing ever. Love this song when I bumped into it last night while youtubing.
When will I found the feeling of love again? Soon? Hmm...
Happy weekend to all. If you are out of idea where to go this weekend, check this link out!
My agent had been diligently seeking and shortlisted a few for me which are within my budget. Yes, I am on a big plan to buy a property soon. I always like PJ area and with a very good interest rate from the bank, it had never been a better time.
Here are the few that really caught my attention;
Pelangi Astana
Sunway Sutera
Kelana Mahkota
All 3 condos are priced about the same, I had yet to view Sunway Sutera yet. Tough decision. Hmmphh...
This year marked 10 years... 10 fucking great years & going strong. I survived 3 failed relationships, hit the lowest point of my life personally & financially but I had enjoyed 10 great years with my 2 brothers.
Let me be as it is complicated, enjoy the song and most importantly the lyrics :)
singalongsong - khalil fong
i wrote this song it's not too long cos i'd been thinking bout u
i wrote this song maybe i'm wrong to be caught up bout you
well i don't know what you think bout me maybe you think nothing at all
BUT maybe you could just lie to me and we could be in love, you see
oh, it's a singalong song that's not too long it's when i think about you that i hear songs and you can singalong maybe if you want to cos baby i wrote this, i wrote this for you
i wrote this song it's not too long cos i'm the one who loves you
i wrote this song this can't be wrong i don't wanna smile without you
well i just want to make you happy BUT maybe you want nothing at all
and how i wish that you're meant to be forever and a day with me
oh, it's a singalong song that's not too long it's when i think about you that i hear songs and you can singalong maybe if you want to cos baby i wrote this, i wrote this for you
in every way you mean more to me than you'll ever know girl i'll do my best to show these words are true and if you'd like to make a song and be a perfect harmony with me i'd find the greatest words to sing so we could write our own romance
oh, it's a singalong song that's not too long it's when i think about you that i hear songs and you can singalong maybe if you want to cos baby i wrote this, i wrote this for you
Perhaps it should be something that I would have done long long ago. I felt a sense of relief, I finally got rid of the ghost. It took a bit of courage but over a sane mind I told her off like an adult. She just needs to carry on with her life, I am tired of playing such role for the past 3 years. I hope that we can be friends and nothing more than a friend really, hope she will read this.
It is a brand new me, I had great satisfaction at work, with more responsibility & commitment. And met a lot of new friends. I hope this blog will not cover her stories anymore, I move forward :)
I am still ecstatic over the experience I had for this very recent 2009 Malaysian F1 Grand Prix which had just ended over the weekend.
I am the lucky few from my company to be selected to experience live from the Paddock Club. If you would not know, Paddock Club is the most exclusive arrangement to watch the F1 live from the circuit. The total cost per pax come to about RM20,000 per person to enjoy this experience.
We were greeted by Elizabeth (a UK correspondent for an agency who does the VVIP arrangement for F1 racing all over the world), registered ourselves and were given a specially made access card to the Paddock Club, a guide & also a goodies bag with LG official merchandises as the global & technology partner of F1.
We disembarked from Hilton KL, chauffeured driven by Mitsubishi Grandis complete with LG stickers all over the official car. And guess what, our driver for the day is of German nationality. Wow!
It took approximately 40 minutes to reach the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) and all these people who are involved in the arrangement I believe had been in Malaysia a few days prior to this big event. Why do I say so? This is because our driver is super familiar with the route from KL city to the circuit. Given me, I would have use the normal North South highway exitting from Sungei Besi enroute to Sepang. But this driver is using MEX (a new highway all together)
With the special sticker on the car, it is allowed to access into the pit right away where the Paddock Club. I am not sure about other circuits, but the Paddock Club in SIC is located right on top of the pit of all teams.
We were guided to the Paddock Suite and the place is heavily guarded with avant garde security. None of the security officers are local and most of them are kwai lous and this applies also for the staff who served us.
We were leaded to a round table for 10 pax and were first served with champagne. And I heard these champagnes are of those kind where drivers on the podium enjoy when they won the race. Awesome!
There was a menu for the day and they served 3 different set of menus throughout the 3 days racing event.
Food presentation is second to none of I had experienced in any fine dining restaurant and we started off with a starter dish of duck breast with mango. And continue with the buffet line with free flow of beverages.
Inside the Paddock suite, there is a dessert & drink bars and I can see plenty of LG LCDs all over the place.
Like I mentioned before, the Paddock Club is located above the pits. Right below the Paddock Suite would be the Toyota team and the place where we witnessed the F1 overseeing the Grand Stand. Let the pictures do the talking.
While enjoying our meals, there would be a personnel informing us of Pit Walk session. We are all allowed for an hour of pit walking. There are only 2 sessions each day and you need a special green color pass to access into it.
And this is the closest I had ever been with a real F1 cars & its crew.
As for the second session of pit walking, we toured the area where the crew, drivers, their WAGs & family members mingle. The exact location is right at the back of the pit. I saw Jenson Button, Bernie Ecclestone & Lewis Hamilton's dad who is also the agent for him.
However, we were all too stunned to flash out our camera and they seem not be disturbed.
Here we also can see the Bridgestone staff threading the tyres for reuse at a later stage.
We then went to the LG Technology Center located at the Mall Area. It is seriously an experience of a lifetime.
