Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by wxph

Recommendations for a good TV of RM1000-RM1200?

wxph — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 23:49:35 +0800

Hi guys,

I'm getting a flat-screen TV for my father tomorrow as a gift. My budget is RM1000-1200. I've gone through the Plasma and LCD threads, and though I understand what's going on, I'd rather prefer personal recommendations of specific models.

A quick brief of the situation:

1. My father's needs are simple: it should be able to connect to Astro and his DVD player, and the TV should look good.
2. If it's not too expensive a premium, I'd like the TV to have DLNA support (so that I can stream things to it from the computer's hard-disk) and HDMI inputs.
3. For RM1000-1200, what's the biggest size TV that I can get?
4. My father, being quite old and out of touch with technology, would hardly recognize or prefer the difference between plasma or LCD -- so which type do you suggest I get?

I'd appreciate any specific TV brand/model recommendations. (That way I can just tell the store assistant the model number and be able to leave quickly.)

Asus EEE Pad Transformer 2

wxph — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 03:49:56 +0800

As we all know, the Asus EEE Pad Transformer 2 will be coming out circa October 2011, as confirmed by several sources (News 1 and
News 2) and the ASUS chairman himself.

Some things that we already know/can look forward to, in brief:

- That it'll be "impressive" (nothing further than this, but short guesses would be improved screen resolutions)
- a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, currently codenamed Kal-El (see demo of its powers here with dynamic lighting/PhysX support and here with the amazing floating castle demo)
- probably a bunch of other features (and now we're going into the realm of pure speculation) -- who knows, a full HDMI connection, more USB ports, improved battery life (even without the keyboard dock add-on), etc.
- that ASUS has signed on two new manufacturers this time around, which will prevent the long queues/delays involved with the production of the first generation of ASUS Transformers

So I have some questions, for now:

1. How long do Malaysian customers usually have to wait before we can get our hands on a recently released ASUS product? E.g. if the product is "officially released" in October, is there any chance that we can purchase it here in Malaysia in the month of October itself?

2. If we are unable to purchase the Transformer from here in Malaysia, how/where can we order it from? E.g. if the item is available only in Taiwan, would any Low Yat forumers be able to purchase it from there for us?

3. How long after the ASUS EEE Pad Transformer (1) was released that you were able to get it for yourself?

4. Anyone here looking forward to and planning to get an ASUS EEE Pad Transformer 2 for yourself?

Is it cheaper to buy Apple products in the US?

wxph — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 22:13:08 +0800

I might be heading to the US for a family holiday in late October or early November. By then, Apple would have already released the rumoured iPad HD/iPad 3, or the revised iPod Touch, or the iPhone 5.

Thus, if it's cheaper to buy Apple products (for my personal use, not for resale) while I'm in the US, I will. However, I have some questions:

1. Would buying any of those products (while I'm there in the US) really be cheaper than buying the same product here? Do I have to pay tax of any sort on the product? (And if I rip open the new product's box and use it while I'm already there, will the authorities still know that it's a US item and thus taxable?)

2. Why is there a disparity in the prices of Apple products in different countries? E.g. Currently a 64GB iPod Touch in the US Apple Store is USD $399 -> ~ RM1187, but in the Apple Store Malaysia the same product is RM1400.

3. Would the US warranty still be usable in Malaysia?

4. Are the Apple Stores in the US stocked well, to your knowledge? i.e. Do they have the "not enough stock, you have to wait for the next arrival" problems we keep having over here? I'm just worried that the Apple Stores I go to over there won't have the items I want when I do visit them.

Buying a PS3: Some questions, and recommendations.

wxph — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 02:38:41 +0800

I'm going to get a PS3 in the next few weeks, and so I've some questions to ask from the learned and helpful members of the Low Yat forum. (NOTE: Yes, I've read the FAQ! But these are additional questions that I haven't yet found any answers to.)

1. Are there any truly important differences between a Malaysia and a Singapore PS3 unit? As far as I can tell the difference is only on the issue of warranty. If it's a Singapore set, this means that I have to go all the way to Singapore to claim my warranty for hardware issues, right? (Because if I buy a PS3 from, say, the Low Yat forums, it seems that the sets are all Singapore-based, but for the sake of convenience I prefer a nearer place to more quickly settle any warranty issues that may occur.)

2. I'd like to know whether it's worth my money and peace of mind to buy a PS3 at the Sony Centre, versus at those game stores in, say, Sungei Wang Plaza or Low Yat. A slightly higher price difference of RM100-RM200 is okay to me so long as it gives me peace of mind in case of severe hardware problems, and so long as I will not be troubled to have to drive to far-off places to send/pick up my PS3 for repairs.

3. I want to buy an LCD monitor and a cheap sound system with the PS3. I already have one laptop at the office and a dual-monitor desktop setup at home, so this LCD monitor will just be something that's dedicated for the PS3 itself. Could you please recommend me a good LCD, that's perfect for the PS3 (i.e. I don't have to worry about HDMI inputs and lack of audio jacks, et cetera) around RM400 to RM700? A large enough screen is perfect for me -- I'm not aiming for those scarily gigantic 40-inchers -- especially because I'll mostly be gaming alone usually, or online if with other people.

4. Are there any distinct advantages to buying a game via the PSN, versus buying the actual physical disc itself? Aside from price differences, if any? (I don't have a PS3 right now, so I can't log into the PSN Store to check the prices yet.) The advantage, I think, is that I have unlimited backups of the same game because I can re-download the game infinitely to the same system (which prevents the issue of having to worry about heavy disk-scratching problems), and 4 other backup copies for other PS3s in case I have to buy a new PS3. But with PSN downloads, then I lose the re-sale value of the game, right?

5. If you could recommend me a good and trustworthy games-shop to buy the PS3 at, instead of Sony Centre, please do so now. After making up my mind, if I decide to go to your recommended shop I will definitely say that you referred me. (For helping me out, you deserve the referral credit ) Also if it's a good and personal shop (i.e. I don't want shops with cold employees who ignore you or talk rudely to you) then I'd love to give my repeated business to them. If it matters, I live near Ampang, and KLCC is only 10 minutes away.