Try a lomo camera. All the photographs you see above are taken using the Holga 135BC camera, and I have one purple unit to give away!

Here’s what the purple camera looks like:

For a chance to win this camera, simply identify correctly the following locations.

#1

Clue: The Big Swamp Land, the 2nd satellite town in Singapore

#2

Clue: One where we get our water from

You can find the answers from the SG Tidbits 365 photo contest entries. Once you know the answers, submit them here.

Update: The contest has ended. Thanks to everyone for your participation!

Want more prizes? Participate in the SG Tidbits 365 photo contest. Snap a picture/video with your camera (or camera phone) and you may win prizes including an iPhone 3GS.

Contest Results

The winner is Solange Chee. Congratulations!

Missed this contest? Subscribe to Sparklette through RSS feed or email and never miss another chance to win attractive prizes.

Posted by Veron in Contests, Tech category | Gadget

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/tech/holga-camera/ | 8 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

The freebies promotion has been extended to November 30 at all hello! shops.

Don’t forget to use this voucher print-out:

Enlarge and print

Get it and start social networking on the go!

Posted by Veron in Tech category | Gadget, Mobile Phone, Social Networking Software

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/tech/inqmobile-freebies/ | 4 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

Well, we have a winner! Actually, 2 in fact.
- Wei Wen wins S$100 cash and S$100 shopping vouchers.
- Out of all the contestants across 10 blogs, Sparklette reader Daphne wins the grand prize of S$500 cash.

Congratulations!

If you have been looking to lay your hands on one of these social networking devices, grab your chance now! Sign up for your INQ Mini 3G mobile phone at the roadshow this weekend and get these freebies with this voucher print-out:

Enlarge and print

- 3x INQ Mini 3G mobile phone battery covers (worth $34.95)
- Waiver of registration and SIM card charges (worth $42.80)
- One lucky customer each day wins a 12-month SingTel mobile subscription.

Posted by Veron in Contests category | Gadget, Mobile Phone, Social Networking Software

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/contests/inqmobile-winners/ |

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

INQ is the maker of the world’s first social phones that have truly integrated email, instant messaging and social networking. An INQ social phone comes installed with social network software that allows you to:

• Track friends’ Twitter updates
• Network with people through Windows Live instant messaging
• Use VoIP on Skype
• Tune in to Last.fm media player
• Facebook like there’s no tomorrow!

And more!

Now, here’s an easy way you can win $200. Learn more about these cool social networking phones, then leave a comment here to tell us what attracts you most. One lucky Sparklette reader gets to win $100 cash and $100 shopping vouchers!

Ready to get lucky? Here are the detailed instructions:

1. Find out more about the INQ social networking phones.
2. Leave a comment below to share what you like about INQ social networking phones.
3. In true social networking fashion, tweet, Plurk and/or Facebook update about this contest to up your chances of winning! You may use this line:

   I discovered a new phone via @sparklette! Check it out and you may win $200! Details at http://pea.to/inqsk! #INQmobile

   If you have done so, don’t forget to include your Twitter ID, Plurk ID and/or Facebook URL in your comment!

4. Please use a valid email address when leaving a comment so that I can contact you if you are the winner.

If you’d prefer, you may use the above image for linking, too. Just remember to hyperlink to http://pea.to/inqsk.

Note: Contest is open only to Singapore citizens, PR and residents.

That’s it! Contest ends September 14, 2009 (2359 hours). So join fast, spread the word and good luck!

Update: Winner announced! Find out who won.

Posted by Veron in Contests category | Gadget, Mobile Phone, Social Networking Software

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/contests/inqmobile/ | 45 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

The mobile phone is mostly black, with parts of it in silver. It has an unusual rounded bottom edge too. Both men and women should find its form factor attractive. Here it is next to my gorgeous metallic LG Shine, also a 3G mobile phone.

Not only is the mobile phone black on the outside, it has a matching black and white user interface too.

The white icons juxtaposed against the all-black background reminds me of the LG Prada. For those of you that do prefer having more colors on your phone, there are a couple more colorful themes other than this cool default one.

Friends fiddling with my mobile phone for the first time would automatically start looking for the numeric keypad. The thing is — there isn’t one! Other than the 3 buttons on the front and 2 by the side, you would only be pressing on the large LCD touchscreen. Apple iPhone, anyone? Come to think of it, with its black form factor and touchscreen, the Viewty does bear a certain resemblance to the iPhone!

For SMS addicts, besides typing messages through the numeric keypad, you also have the option of using a horizontal QWERTY keyboard (like the keyboard on your computer) for quicker typing.

Speaking of the touchscreen capability, this mobile phone does come with a stylus in the form of a dongle (there is nowhere to slot it). But I prefer not to use it. It is sensitive enough for you to use your fingers alone, or as what Steve Jobs would call the “best pointing device in the world”. You can also turn on the touch feedback, so that each time you press a key, you feel a gentle vibration.

Another thing that I do really like about this mobile phone is the image gallery. After taking pictures using its excellent 5-megapixel Schneider-Kreuznach camera (see photo samples here), I can view them in a nice-looking… Let’s call it the tabletop interface. It sure looks as though the photos are spread out over a table in a haphazard fashion. Touching any photo would bring it to the front. Nice!

It is pretty apparent that LG has paid much attention to designing the Viewty, in terms of both form factor and user interface. I do have one major gripe though. The MicroSD memory card slot is inconveniently located within the mobile phone rather than being on the side. To access the slot, it would mean turning off the mobile phone, opening the back cover and removing the battery. Quite a big hassle for doing something so simple.

But that alone is unlikely to deter anyone. I would still continue using the Viewty. The beautiful user interface (very much improved over the LG Shine) and easy navigation are enough to keep me as a fan!

Posted by Veron in Tech category | Gadget, LG Phone, Mobile Phone

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/tech/lg-viewty/ | 16 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

Currently, the iPhone is only available to the US market. Bak2u develops anti-theft software for various laptops and mobile phones. So in order to have the software ready for the iPhone before it hits the Asian market next year, paddy paid a bomb to import a few sets to Singapore!

Here’s a video of what this blog looks like on an iPhone, along with all the awesome motion-sensor functionality!

Credits to Adrian for being my hand model in the video

Like the LG Shine, the iPhone also has a full-panel shiny surface (although it isn’t a mirror). It’s said to be highly scratch-resistant too, which is very important since navigation would be done solely on fingers.

What really struck me was how slim and lightweight it was. Although of a much larger form factor, the iPhone was distinctly lighter than my LG Shine.

Despite this being my first time handling an iPhone, I found myself navigating the phone functions with much ease and familiarity. All those iPhone videos floating around the internet over the past few months really helped!

Thanks so much, paddy, for generously and graciously offering us a sneak preview of the Apple iPhone!

Oh, if you’re interested, here’s a post I did earlier this month on another mobile phone with awesome motion-sensor features too!

Posted by Veron in Tech category | Gadget, Mobile Phone

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/tech/iphone/ | 19 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

Many of my blog readers (and their dogs too) must have at least heard of Kevin lim and his blog at theory.isthereason. I love hanging out with him because he’s hawt, and the fact that each time we hang out, he lets me play with his, er, equipment.

I have played with his Sony vaio ux230p (an ultra-portable micro pc) and Sony cybershot m2 (a hybrid digital camera cum video recorder). That camera’s hawt! So hawt that when I try borrowing it, he would protectively say “don’t break it hor!”

Over dinner recently, he showed me his newest gadget — pocket pda. Yeah, that’s the name AND brand of this made-in-china device. Normally, I wouldn’t pay much attention to products from China. But my, this one’s hawt!

Watch this video of hawt Kevin introducing the 3 main motion sensor functions of his hawt pocket pda to see how hawt it is (and him too). I’ll bet you wanna buy one after this!

Youtube link

In the video, Kevin does a walk-through on the 3 main motion sensor functions of this pda phone:

• air sign — enter some text (either Chinese or English) and it would appear along the side LED panel of the phone as you wave the phone! This is motion-activated so only at a certain speed can the text be seen. Great for clubbers and deaf people! In the video, Kevin demonstrates with the word “BYE” and a smiley face. Cool!
• portrait/landscape auto detection — when viewing a video in portrait mode, try rotating the phone to landscape mode. The motion sensor would detect the change in orientation and automatically rotate the video 90 degrees — just like the Apple iPhone! Gawd, that’s a bloody hawt feature.
• simulated dice — simply shake the phone, and the on-screen animated dice would roll with actual sounds of dice-rolling! You can toggle the number of dice too. Very useful for card games. Now no one has to worry about losing his dice!

Photo by Kevin

Some other uber-cool (and hawt) features of this phone:

• video display ID — when a friend calls, have a video play instead of the usual caller photo display.
• neon lights alert — cool light effects along the side LED panel when someone calls or a message arrives.
• photo card/neoprint — cute preset frames and stamps to add to photos, much like the actual Japanese photo card and neoprint machines!
• photo artist — image-editing application that allows the toggling of brightness, contrast, hue and various other color settings of pictures.
• car racing/obstacle game — a game that makes use of the motion sensor. Tilt or turn the phone to steer the car or “hop” over obstacles!
• english-chinese translator — key in anything in English and it’ll be translated to Chinese. ’nuff said.
• health functions — bmi calculator and pink schedule (for the ladehz)
• pedometer — yet another motion sensor feature that detects the number of steps you walk/run
• it’s nice — a smiley face appears each time you execute a command. This phone is nice!
• cute GUI — I especially like the cute on-screen keypad and little icons.
• small form factor — for a pda phone that is jam-packed with so many features, it sure is small and lightweight.

Wow, that’s hawt! Certainly one of the most interesting gadgets I’ve seen in a long while! I just might get one too! Someone convince Kevin to sell his to me cheap please, before he leaves for buffalo!

kevin lim is a highly popular technology blogger, and one of the few people that frequently get invitations to all sorts of technology conferences or bloggers events. Be it paneling discussions or doing live webcasting of events with all his cool video gear, Kevin’s da man. I introduced him in my iX conference informal highlights too.

Visit him at theory.isthereason.

Kevin: Crossover Video – Veron on my China Pocket PDA (aka iPhone clone)

Posted by Veron in Tech category | Gadget, Mobile Phone

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/tech/hawt-kevin-with-his-hawt-pocket-pda/ | 29 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette

I have used the mobile phone only since yesterday, so this post would still be largely based on my first impression. Note that LG doesn’t require me to blog about the mobile phone. But really, why wouldn’t I?

The main highlight of this LG phone, other than its 3G function and 2 megapixel camera (with Schneider-Kreuznach lens, auto-focus, flash), is its stunning form factor. What a gorgeous piece of gadget! Its mirror finish front panel would no doubt elicit many oohs and ahhs from strangers. My elder brother was certainly wowed by it!

Contrary to popular belief, fingerprint marks will not smudge that smooth and shiny surface. Or at least, mine didn’t.

These are the things that came with the handset. From left: manual, screen protection film, usb connector, screen wiper, software disc, remote controller, headset, travel charger.

Like the popular LG chocolate phone, the LG Shine is also a slider phone. Sliding the front panel upwards reveals a surprisingly flat keypad with blue backlight and laser-etched buttons.

The brushed metal look spanning the keypad and the phone’s entire back panel would probably appeal very much to men. The metal finishing makes it feel really solid in the hand. Overall, the LG Shine manages to look both classy and fashionable at the same time.

Size-wise, the handset measures 99.8 by 50.6 by 13.8 mm. In actual fact, it probably looks slimmer than it really is. This is how it compares with my O2 Atom and iPod Nano.

When I received the mobile phone, I was surprised that there were no terms and conditions involved (other than the fact that I have to return it 3 months later). I’m not even obligated to blog about it, even though the only reason why I’m getting the phone is that I’m a blogger.

All I got in the package were the silver box containing the handset and a letter acknowledging that I have received it!

I would blog more about it after I have played around with it for some time. This is the first time I’m using a LG phone and already, it is the most gorgeous phone, from any brand at all, that I have ever held in my hand!

Posted by Veron in Tech category | Gadget, LG Phone, Mobile Phone

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/tech/lg-shine/ | 24 comments

You are reading the original content of Sparklette.
Republishing of content, photographs, design or RSS feed, whether in part or in full, is strictly not allowed.

© 2003-2010 Sparklette