Face off in Malaysia

Ain't it nice? One of our featured photographers in Snapshots just had his book published.

Steven Lee loves snapping portraits and his second book is just about that. The A5 hardcover book, titled Malaysians, is filled with a bounty of over 240 portraits of Malaysian citizens. But it's not just about the mugshots. The book aims to convey the diversity of Malaysia's cultures by using these faces as representations.

You can take a peek at some of them in Lee's Snapshot feature. For the entirety, you can buy it here.

Eat that, Apple! S60 goes touchscreen

S60 (a.k.a. Symbian Series60) has gone touchscreen! Isn't that wonderful news? Or am I the only one who feels that it's a long overdue announcement on Nokia's part. At the recent Symbian Smartphone Show held in London, the Finnish company showed off its new S60 touch interface that brings several added features to the handheld platform. It includes support for tactile feedback, backward compatiblity to run existing S60 apps (without any modification), detection of motion, orientation, proximity, light as well as the capability to display Flash videos on the S60 Web browser. The new technology is expected to be available to device manufacturers only in 2008.

When exactly? We are not sure. And Nokia is certainly not going to give more specific details. Hopefully, we can see the first products based on the touchscreen Series60 platform before the Apple iPhone reaches Asia. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed.

Picture Credit: Symbian

Design your own ASUS Eee PC

Since the ASUS Eee PC was showcased in Computex, there has been great anticipation for this UMPC. It was not because the Eee PC broke any technological barriers, nor was it because it looked exceptionally beautiful. What was appealing about the machine was that it was touted as the cheapest UMPC to date, with the basic configuration starting at US$199 (S$292.42).

Taiwanese consumers got a headstart on this UMPC, with 50 units being made available for NT12,800 (S$575.86). Though it is going for almost twice the groundbreaking US$199 price tag, it was still more affordable than the competition, including the Kohjinsha SA1 which hovers at the S$1,000 (US$735.29) mark.

It seems that Singapore users will not have too long to wait for the Eee PC. The company is holding an Eee PC skin design competition for schools and the public. The closing date for submission is till the end of this month, with the winners getting a unit of the Eee PC along with several prizes. More details of the competition can be obtained here. The winning entries will be showcased during the official launch of the Eee PC which will be announced at a later date.

Japan's yen for vending machines

In Japan, you walk. A lot. Mostly because taxis are expensive, and buses are few and far in between. I had that opportunity recently to rediscover unused calf muscles and sore feet while in Japan to attend a Sony press event this week. Joining the sea of humanity surging in a relentless tide from concrete island to concrete island and across crossings wide enough to accommodate hundreds of pedestrians, you notice yet another indigenous feature: Vending machines. Or as the Japanese call them, jido-hanbaiki (jido = automatic, hanbai = vending, ki = machine).

Thirsty? Check out your nearest friendly vending machine

Convenient caddies

Whether in the old parts of Tokyo or new city sections, you'll find a vending machine or several on duty at just about every street corner. Even inside 24-hour convenience stores. It makes economic sense when one considers the high cost of labor and space in Japan. Vending machines, available round-the-clock, offer convenience and will work even harder than the hardworking Japanese for no pay or time off. But what's truly amazing is that every machine that one comes across is in pristine working condition with none vandalized or out of order. What's even more surprising is that the Japanese haven't yet made paying by cell phone a regular option. Cash and coins are still the accepted mode.
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Gigabyte UMPC spotted in Singapore

Another UMPC has joined the fray. This time, the entrant hails from Gigabyte, a brand better known for making mainboards. The Gigabyte U60 is probably the first VIA-based UMPC available in Singapore.

This UMPC may be the only one which is capable of running Windows Vista while not using an Intel chipset, unlike AMD-based models such as the Everun and Kohjinsha SA1 which run on Windows XP. However, the 1GHz VIA Esther ULV processor coupled with a non-upgradable 768MB memory may prove to be a bottleneck when it comes to the resource hogging Vista OS. Weighing only 740g with a footprint of 190 x 120.8 x 28.3mm, it comes with a standard two-cell battery that rates only 3 hours of uptime.

The 6.5-inch display has a LED backlight, which reduces power consumption while offering higher brightness. For storage, it uses a 1.8-inch 30GB drive while network connectivity is restricted to a 802.11b/g radio (Bluetooth is not available). Other features include a Webcam, two USB 2.0 ports, SD card reader and a VGA output. A docking station (which adds 10/100 Ethernet capabilities) is available as a S$109 (US$80.15) option, while a GPS module can also be integrated for an additional S$129 (US$94.85).

The Gigabyte U60 is now available in Singapore stores for S$1,549 (US$1,138.97).

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