For the past year, I have been travelling quite a bit and this year I’ll probably do the same. So, I will visit this year’s Natas Fair 2012 to find out the latest favorite destinations and check on the prices of package tours to a couple of places. I want to visit Mongolia and Korea. I reckon package group tours will be the better option than free-and-easy package because the language barrier.

Pre Natas Fair 2012

In order to find out as much information as possible on these 2 countries before I visit Natas Fair 2012 at Singapore Expo, I also googled for pre natas fair promotion on these destinations. To my disappointment, there wasn’t any useful information. I was hoping that bigger tour agencies in Singapore, such as Chan Brothers, CTC Travel or SA Tours will advertise or publicise when and where they’ll hold their Pre-Natas Fair promotions. No info on that either. Not giving up, I asked my friends via Facebook and was told that many, if not all the Pre Natas promotions are held at Suntec City over the weekends.

I need your help…

Please leave a comment below if you know of any upcoming Pre Natas Fair at Suntec City.

5 Tips to NATAS Fair Deals

What I did find useful was an article in the Top 5 Tips to Great Natas Fair Deals. Here’s the 5 tips:

• Do Not Go Too Early
• Bring All Your Credit Cards
• Freedom On Wheels
• Travel Insurance Deals
• Airfare Promotion

I agree to the advice on arriving an hour after the official opening hour. Two years ago, I was arrived at Singapore Expo just before 10am and have to queue for 20 minutes to get in. When I was leaving after an hour or so, there was no queue.

NATAS Fair 2012
24-26 February 2012
Singapore Expo
Hall 3B, 5 and 6
**Natas Fair opening hours from 10am to 9.30pm

I only got to know about the lunar eclipse which could be seen in Singapore a couple of hours before it happened on the night of 10 Dec 2011. It was a cool windy night and the sky was clear. Rarely we have so little clouds and even rarer a chance to witness a total lunar eclipse from my home in Singapore.

In fact, I have not seen a lunar eclipse. So this is my first attempt at taking photos of a total lunar eclipse with a compact camera.

Camera: Olympus E-P2

Lens: m.Zuiko 40-150mm at 150mm

Aperture: f/5.6

Shutter: 2s

iPhone 4S will be available in Singapore on 28 October. This is the launch date posted on the official Singapore Apple Online Store web page. I reckon the local telcos, especially Singtel will be able to start sell the iPhone 4S on that date too.

You can find out more on the iPhone 4S Singapore launch date at this official Apple web page:

http://store.apple.com/sg/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone

No pricing of the new iPhone 4S in Singapore dollar yet, however, I expected the price of the iPhone 4S without contract to be same as iPhone 4. SGD888 for 16GB and SGD1,048 for the 32GB model.

At the time of writing, there is no news from any of the telcos: Singtel, Starhub or M1 on their official launch date of iPhone 4S in Singapore yet. Meanwhile, we just have to wait for a few more days for the confirmed date and pricing for the iPhone 4S plans.

I have been using the Galaxy S2 for about 2 months now. After spending about 2 years with the iPhone 3GS, I renewed my Singtel contract in July and got the Samsung Galaxy SII. To be very very honest, I don’t miss the iPhone!

I love the iPhone 3GS. That’s why I didn’t upgrade to a iPhone 4 when it was launched last year. I wanted a phone with better reception and longer battery life.

Better Reception & Longer Battery Life

Samsung Galaxy S2 gives me better reception and longer battery life. My phone calls didn’t get drop as often when going into the lift. And I don’t have to recharge the Galaxy S2 every 8 to 10 hours. I can use the Galaxy S2 for up to 2 days with recharging.

The Samsung interface for Andriod is ok. I got used to it within 2 days. Apple iOS is still superior in this aspect. Apple iPhone OS is a lot more intuitive.

Great Phone Camera

I like the quality of the photo taken by the Galaxy S2 8MP camera. It gives sharp picture in bright outdoor and usable photos in low-light enviroment. You can also adjust the exposure to compensate for extreme lighting condition. In addition, the camera app has built-in editor for you to crop your images.

Email App

I don’t like the email app. It is slow and not intuitive to use. So I do not download to read email messages unless I think it’s urgent and important. I rather access my email on my MacBook.

Bluetooth Connectivity

Many iPhone users complain about the limitation of sharing files over Bluetooth**. One reason I switch to an Andriod phone is because I wanted to try out first hand the advantage of using Bluetooth to transfer file. Honestly, after 2 months, I still don’t see myself using this Bluetooth transfer frequently – I only transferred via Bluetooth 3 times so far.

Why?

Because I used Dropbox. I find it more convenient to transfer files via Dropbox App between my Galaxy S2, iPad and MacBook.

**iPhone 3GS Bluetooth Not Working

The HP Touchpad was officially launched in Singapore on 12 Aug 2011. You have seen the HP Touchpad ad in the newspaper and TV Commercial. So you are tempted by the cheap price as compared with the iPad 2 and the rest of the copycats.

So, should you buy the HP Touchpad?

The answer is NO.

The several HP Touchpad reviews that I’ve read indicated that this is an “obsolete” tablet.

Why is it Obsolete?

Because it was developed with iPad (1st generation) in mind and to compete with a product obsoleted by iPad 2.

Heavier, Thicker & Few Apps

HP Touchpad is a Brick — BusinessInsider

If you compare the HP Touchpad to the iPad 2, physically, the former is heavier and bulkier. And, of course, it has very few apps compare to what you could install on an iPad.

The HP Touchpad and the WebOS is doomed.

In fact, I just got the news that HP will kill off this 6-week old product.

Unless you are an ultra-geek or a collector, don’t waste the money to buy the HP Touchpad because of the aggressive ad campaign.

[Latest Updated - 1 Sep 2011] Comex 2011 – HP Touchpad Sale – Now you can get the HP Touchpad in Singapore at sale price. Be the first 200 to grab it at the Comex 2011 beginning 1 Sep 2011 at Suntec Singapore. The price of the Touchpad 16GB has been slashed to SGD118 and Touchpad 32GB to SGD188.

[Latest Updated - 22 Aug 2011] HP Touchpad Sale – Major electronics retailers are trying to clear the now obsoleted HP Touchpad. 16GB model price is slashed to $98 and 32GB model at $148 in Australia. — Source: current.com.au

It’s the June school again. One of the biggest events this month is the PC Show Singapore 2011. This is the second of the 4 major electronics and IT fairs: The IT Show in March, The PC Show in June, COMEX Singapore in August and SITEX Singapore in November.

PC Show 2011 9 -12 June 2011 Level 1, 3, 4 & 6 Suntec Singapore Opening hours: 12pm – 9pm

Big Brands at the PC Show 2011

Yes, the big brands will be there. Check out the table below to find out on which floor your favorite brands are located.

Beside IT products such as notebook and tablet PC, there will be the digital cameras and the latest smart TVs from major electronics manufacturers such as Sony, Samsung and LG.

Telcos PC Show Promotion

Bargain hunters looking for free computer could sign up for broadband promotion packages by Singtel, Starhub and M1. For example, Singtel PC Show promotion in previous year offered free MacBook when you signed up for a 2 years broadband contract.

Singtel PC Show 2011 Promotion – Free MacBook Pro

There are a lot more bargain items you can find at the PC Show and for controlled price items such as Apple computers and iPad, retailers will bundle it with free gifts to make it worth your while to visit the show.

SingTel iPad 2 will be available from Sat, 14 May 2011. The cheapest iPad 2 with data plan offered by SingTel starts at SGD399. The mobile broadband plan costs SGD40 per month.

SingTel iPad 2 Mobile Broadband Plan at $40/mth

If you have made up your mind to get the iPad 2 64GB WiFi+3G, it will cost only SGD599 – you save SGD509. Factoring the data plan cost for 24 months which total to SGD960, you end up paying SGD18.80 per month for the 7.2 mbps data plan. I think the SingTel iPad 2 offer is reasonable and quite attractive.

To be among the first to get hold your iPad 2 from SingTel, go register your interest before 12pm, 13 May 2011 at

www.singtelshop.com/ipad/register.html

It was announced last month that Singapore will get it’s Apple iPad 2 in April 2011. Finally, the iPad 2 was launched on April 29, 2011. The cheapest iPad 2, the 16GB WiFi model costs S$668 and the most expensive 64GB with 3G costs S$1,108.

There were rumours that the new iPad 2 price will be lower than that of the iPad in the initial launch due to the stronger Sing Dollar. But who’s complaining about the price? It’s the delay of the launch in Singapore that upset Apple fans in Singapore.

Apple to ship iPhone 5 in September?

According to a report at Yahoo Finance, iPhone 5 will be available in September 2011.

Now that the date of iPhone 5 is drawing near, will people wait to see what new features iPhone 5 has to offer before deciding whether to buy the iPad 2?

Mother’s Day 2011 falls on 8 May. In Singapore it is common to take Mum out for dinner and we will also buy her Mother’s Day flowers and gifts.

And so we have been seeing florists, restaurants and hotels getting ever more creative with their Mother Day’s promotion to make you spend more money to spoil Mum on her special day.

Mother’s Day Credit Card Promotion

If you do own credit cards, you probably are aware of the banks’ Mother’s Day promotion. Citibank, HSBC and UOB offer generous discount when you use their credit cards to pay for the Mother’s Day dinner, flowers and spa packages.

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas: Cartier, Gucci and SKII

Over the recent years, husbands are splurging on Mother’s Day! We are talking about the husband pampering his wife with spa packages, SK2 skincare products, expensive designer handbags and Cartier watches.

So which Mother’s Day promotion are you getting for your Mum and wife?

The official iPad 2 release date is 11 March 2011 in the US and will be available in 26 other countries on 25 March 2011.

And the 26 countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Hungary, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, POrtugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and UK.

No, Singapore is not in the list. There is no exact iPad 2 release date in Singapore yet.

[Updated 23 March 2011] According to a report in The Straits Times, iPad 2 will be available in Singapore in April 2011.

iPad 2 Specifications

As for the new iPad 2 specs…

• Thinner and lighter
• Faster processor, dual-core A5
• 9 times faster graphics
• 2 cameras: 1 front and 1 back
• 10-hour battery life

Detailed technical specs at http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/

iPad 2 Singapore Release Date

We, in Singapore, usually have to wait until the 2nd tier or even 3rd tier launch date which could be as long as 6 months after the official launch in the US.

I am hoping that the iPad 2 release date in Singapore to be within 45 days of the initial launch and I could pre-order at Apple Store tomorrow.

[UPDATE] Apple released a press release on Mar 22, 2011 announcing that the iPad 2 will be available in Singapore, Hong Kong and Korea in April.

Sources:

Apple confirms March 2 iPad event

Rumors pin iPad 2 announcement on March 2

Before iPad 2 release date there are production issue to be sorted out