Google Music is an online music streaming service where you can store up to 20,000 songs from your music collection, buy music from Android Market and listen the songs from anywhere either your PC, laptop or your Android phone by just logging in to the service. Currently the service is only available to US residents only, but there are ways to get this if you are outside the US. Here’s how you get it.

The Google Music server recognize you as US residents by the IP address that you are using. So the easiest way to bypass this is to use a US proxy when you log on to Google Music website. Go to Hidemyass.com and key in music.google.com. At the advanced option panel, select the proxy server as USA proxy server, just as below and click Hide my ass!! You may use other web proxy website to do this but I find Hidemyass is one of the easiest.

Once your browser directs you to the Google Music website, just hit “Create an account” and key in your details accordingly. Your Google Music account will be created and you can use the service instantly! This change of proxy method only needed for creating a new Google Music account, after that you can access to Google Music right from your browser. All that remains to be done on your desktop is to install the upload tool and start uploading music.

Now on the Android phone part, you need to install the Google Music apps into your phone. Since you are outside of the US, you will need to source for the app file elsewhere. If your Android phone is rooted, try install Market enabler and emulate your network provider as T-Mobile US. Search Google Music in the Market and install it right to your phone.

If your phone is not rooted, hit Google and search for com.google.android.music.4.0.9.apk. Download the apk file and store inside your phone to install it. Once installed, just login and you will be able to play your favorite songs fom there.

Do take note that playing songs from the Music app requires internet connection so connecting to the WiFi is a better choice for this. The songs that have been played will be stored as cache in your phone so you don’t need to stream the song from the internet again the next time you play it. Have fun!!

Opps, this news seems to be 2 weeks ago but what the heck. The HTC Incredible S is packed with 4″ WVGA Super LCD (800×480 pixels), 8 megapixel rear camera with dual flash, 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera with built-in video calling functionality, 1Ghz CPU, Bluetooth 2.1, 1.1GB internal storage and 768 MB of RAM. The phone will be available exclusively from Digi and available at HTC authorized resellers from end of April onwards at the price of RM1999. At this low price, this is really a good buy in my opinion.

Press release as follows.

HTC INTRODUCES HTC INCREDIBLE Sä in MALAYSIA

New smartphone combines cutting-edge design with a premium mobile experience

MALAYSIA – 18 March, 2011 – HTC Corporation, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today unveiled a new version of one of its most popular and advanced smartphones – HTC Incredible S – as part of its commitment to expanding the market for advanced smartphones while providing distinct choices in design, power and value.  The HTC Incredible S includes HTC Sense, HTC’s unique customer-focused user experience that puts people at the center by making phones work in a more simple and natural way.

“HTC developed the HTC Sense experience to bring cutting-edge innovation to our customers in simple and natural ways that just make sense – this is what HTC Incredible S represents best,” said Peter Chou, CEO  of HTC Corporation.  “These new phones offer an exhilarating mix of style, innovation and features that extend people’s mobile experience in ways that feel personal and completely original.”

 

The alluring HTC Incredible S smartphone combines cutting-edge design with a premium mobile experience for those who dare to be different. Showing what can be achieved when engineers and designers work together to raise the bar for mobile phone design, the HTC Incredible S smartphone features a stunning, contoured body that highlights the internal hardware components of the device. Capturing and viewing video in crystal clear High-Definition has never been so easy and a bright 4-inch WVGA Super LCD display and stereo surround sound bring a vibrant cinematic experience to the palm of your hand.

 

HTC Incredible S also takes high quality pictures with its 8-megapixel camera with dual flash, and it easily enables videos, photos and music to be shared from the handset direct to a TV using DLNA® technology. Thanks to the HTC Incredible S’s front facing camera and video call functionality, users will constantly be able to chat with their friends face-to-face.

 

Availability

The HTC Incredible S will be available exclusively at all DiGi Centres and DiGi Specialised stores at a subsidized price with contract. For more details, visit the DiGi website.

Retail units will be available at all HTC authorized resellers at a suggested retail price of RM 1,999.00 from the end April onwards.

 

Apple had just released a new iPad 2 video entitled “We Believe”. Although the video seems very “touching” but it’s a little bit too much I would say. Have a look at the video below.

Apple has just announced iPad 2 in its event in the USA. The new iPad 2 had enhanced the hardware and the software compared to the old iPad 1, mainly on an upgraded processor (1GHz dual core A5 processor), front and rear cameras and lighter + thinner design which comes in black and white color. Surprisingly, the battery life remains the same as 10 hours after upgrading the processor, and the price is exactly the same as iPad 1! Sadly, the iPad 2 screen resolution still remain the same as iPad 1 at 1024×768 pixels unlike the iPhone 4 retina display.

Take a look at the video below on the full features of the iPad 2.

Here are the comparisons between iPad 2 & iPad 1.

Apple iPad 2 VS Apple iPad 1 – Hardware and Software Enhancements

• iPad 2 has dual core A5 processor compared to A4 single core processor in iPad 1
• iPad 2 has twice as fast CPU as iPad 1 has.
• iPad has 9 times faster graphics performance as compared to iPad 1
• Same power consumption as iPad 1 which is good as it saves battery
• There are two video cameras, front and rear
• Video Conferencing and facetime is possible with iPad 2 between iPad 2 and iPad 2, iPhone or Mac OS
• Thickness is reduced by 33%, from 13.4 mm in iPad 1 to just 8.8 mm in iPad 2 which makes it very sleek
• iPad 2 weights only 1.3 pound compared to 1.5 pound for iPad 1
• Comes in both Black and White colour opposed to only black in iPad 1
• Works with both Verizon and AT&T
• 10 Hours battery life – same as iPad 1 without any compromise
• Added new gyroscopes for motion sensing in iPad 2 which was not there in iPad 1
• iPad 2 comes with HDMI output which was not there in iPad 1
• iPad 2 HDMI output is mirrored in full HD resolution which was not there in iPad 1
• iPad 2 can remain in charging while connected to HDMI output
• iPad 2 HDMI output supports screen rotation and all apps
• iPad 2 HDMI output connector is sold separately for $39
• iPad 2 has optional Covers which are magnetic and cover the screen. They stick to the iPad 2 using magnets
• iPad 2 cover can be used as stand and back cover to hold it in convenient position
• iPad 2 covers don’t add much weight and keep the screen clean, it also auto locks the display when the cover is on.

The smart cover is something really smart though!

The iPad 2 will be available in the US starting on 11th March 2011. Other regions will be available by end March. Malaysia? Well I guess we will have to wait at least 4-5 months just to have this in store considering the iPad 1 just launched here few months ago. You may have a look at the comparison below between the new iPad 2 and some of the latest tablets launched lately.

So what do you think about the new iPad 2? Is the new design revolutionary? By the way, if you are still interested in getting the iPad 1, here’s the great news!! The iPad 1 price had just been reduced where the 16GB wifi version is only at RM1199 now! Click here to have a look.

Fujitsu PC Asia Pacific today announced the debut of Fujitsu’s first MeeGo™ netbook based on the Intel® Atom™ processor –  LIFEBOOK MH330. Press release as follows.

Fujitsu introduces its First

MeeGo™-Based Netbook in Asia Pacific

Unlocks Infinite Social Capabilities

The MeeGo operating system provides fun and interactive interface, a wealth of social networking capabilities, and enhanced user experience to Fujitsu’s LIFEBOOK MH330.

Malaysia, February 11, 2011 – Fujitsu PC Asia Pacific today announced the debut of Fujitsu’s first MeeGo™ netbook based on the Intel® Atom™ processor, the LIFEBOOK MH330, opening up infinite social capabilities for tomorrow’s computing experience.

“For our valued users, the MeeGo-based netbook’s human-centric nature not only transcends the boundaries of netbooks but also serves as the new standard for tomorrow’s computing experience. The netbook crystallizes these two best-of-breed products and MeeGo is part of Fujitsu and Intel’s combined efforts to take the industry a big step forward,” said Mr. Lim Teck Sin Vice President, Engineering and Product Marketing, Fujitsu PC Asia Pacific. “For multimedia natives who long for enhanced interactivity and immediate multimedia access, the refreshed LIFEBOOK MH330 will definitely surpass their expectations.”

“The MeeGo open source software platform with Intel® Atom™ processors give mobile device manufacturers both the freedom and the powerful capabilities to suit a consumer’s mobile lifestyle,” said Ram Peddibhotla, System Software Marketing Director, Intel Corporation. “Intel welcomes Fujitsu and other manufacturers to the MeeGo ecosystem to give consumers a personalized netbook experience with the benefits of an optimized battery life, rich multimedia support and fast boot time.”

ENHANCED USER EXPERIENCE

Fujitsu’s latest LIFEBOOK MH330 features MeeGo’s rich interface that allows users to have seamless access to a full suite of usable applications that include social networking tools and multimedia capabilities. Users can get automatic updates and transit easily between applications, browsers and various social networking sites on MeeGo’s powerful user interface which is also flexible and easy to use.

EASY SYSTEM MANAGEMENT

Enjoy lesser waiting time and faster web-browsing experience with the significant reduction in system reboot time. Also, users can easily manage system devices, networks, time and date, and emails, through the simple and straightforward navigation panels.

MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT

Specially designed for multimedia natives, the media panel provides an organized view of the videos and music files stored in the media library and offers immediate access and play. The panel also has a built-in control for playback.

SOCIAL NETWORKING ON-THE-GO

The Myzone panel offers a quick snapshot of the user’s personal activity and shows instant updates about the happenings in their social media sphere. Get connected easily with popular social network tools, such as twitter and Facebook, or be in touch with friends via chat.

MEEGO

The MeeGo™ project combines Intel’s Moblin™ and Nokia’s Maemo projects into one Linux-based, open source software platform for the next generation of computing devices. The MeeGo software platform is designed to give developers the broadest range of device segments to target for their applications, including netbooks and entry-level desktops, handheld computing and communications devices, in-vehicle infotainment devices, connected TVs, media phones and more. For consumers, MeeGo will offer innovative application experiences that they can take from device to device. The MeeGo project is hosted by the Linux Foundation. For more information on MeeGo, visit www.meego.com.
Fujitsu remains firmly committed to the promotion of a cleaner environment and complies with the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive (RoHS) across its entire range of products. In addition, Fujitsu has established a set of commitments that goes beyond RoHS requirements, thus allowing it to stay keenly focused on its customers’ health and well-being as well as to embrace a healthier environment for all. By adopting a green factory concept and being committed to the cause of energy-efficient computing, Fujitsu also fights to sustain the Earth as a sponsor and a member of the Climate Savers Computing Initiative.

Motorola just put up their “Tablet Evolution” teaser video for their CES 2011 announcements. In the video, it calls the iPad a “giant iPhone” and says the Samsung Galaxy Tab is running Android “for a phone” and ended with a buzzing bee flying over a red Motorola logo. If you are not aware of this, this Android Tablet running on Honeycomb (not Gingerbread) produced by Motorola was spotted earlier this month at D: Dive Into Mobile event. Rumors said that the tablet got video chat, an NVIDIA processor, a “dual core 3D processor,” and so on but all the details will soon be unveiled when Motorola announce it at CES 2011 which will be held next month.

Have a look at the teaser video below. How many more Android Tablets gonna be launched next year? I wonder..

Western Digital launched their latest WD TV Media Player, the WD TV Live Hub Media Center yesterday in Malaysia. Designed with a brand new look and user interface, the network friendly WD TV Live Hub is now more powerful than ever – capable of playing an extensive array of file formats in full high definition or stream movies directly from the internet right into your living room. Also WD launched the new My Book Live home network drive which will help you store, organize and enjoy all your digital content no matter when and where you are.

The WD TV Live Hub media center comes with 1TB of storage and costs RM 749.00 while the My Book Live home network drive is RM 499 for 1 TB and RM 669 for 2 TB. Check out the hot models product photos during the launch event. Press release as follows.

WD’s NEW HD MEDIA CENTER STREAMS POPULAR MOVIES AND THE BROADEST RANGE OF PERSONAL CONTENT

WD TV® Live Hub^™ Media Center with 1 TB Storage Allows Users to Centralize Video, Music and Photos and Play Full-HD 1080p Video on HD TVs Throughout the Home

Kuala Lumpur – 30 November 2010 – Western Digital^® (NYSE: WDC), the world’s leader in external storage solutions and maker of the popular WD TV media player family, today introduced the WD TV® Live Hub™ media center (photo), a Full-HD 1080p media player with a 1 terabyte (TB) built-in network hard drive that gives users the freedom to play all their personal media on any screen in the home. The WD TV Live Hub media center brings new experiences to the WD TV family, including instantly renting or purchasing the newest releases through Blockbuster On Demand® service, as well as  interacting with personal Facebook® communities.

The WD TV Live Hub media center plays a wide variety of media file types, including popular Full-HD 1080p video formats such as .mkv, .mp4 and .mov. The integrated, compact and quiet 1 TB hard drive enables users to centralize their digital media from multiple sources for smooth, glitch-free playback of even the highest resolution videos.  Digital media can be easily transferred to the internal drive from shared folders on PCs and Mac®s on the network or directly from external hard drives, thumb drives, camcorders or cameras connected via one of the two USB ports.  Users also can stream videos from home network drives with a DLNA/UPnP™ server such as the recently announced My Book® Live™ home network drive.

The WD TV Live Hub media center also is a media server: HD video, music and photos can be streamed from the onboard hard drive to any DLNA/UPnP-compatible TV or multimedia device, anywhere in the connected home, including the WD TV  Live  HD media player, connected TVs, Blu-ray Disc^™ players, Xbox 360®, and PlayStation® 3 game consoles. Users also can stream content from their WD TV Live Hub media center to iPads™, iPhones® or Android™ smartphones using third-party applications.

The WD TV Live Hub media center offers unique Facebook integration, which lets users upload photos and videos, share their status, view their wall and get the latest newsfeed from their network of friends – all on the big screen TV.  In addition, the WD TV Live Hub media center provides viewing of Netflix® for movie streaming, YouTube^™ for user-generated videos and Flickr^® for photo sharing, as well as listening to Pandora^®, a personalized Internet radio service.  Additional content includes local and international weather forecasts from AccuWeather.com^®, and MediaFly^® daily video podcasts fromCNN^®, NBC^®, MTV^® and ESPN^® [1].

The customizable WD TV Live Hub media center’s user interface enables personalization of screen backgrounds and user interface themes, as well as setting of favorites and content ratings.  Standard wired or wireless USB keyboards can be used for simpler text input for activities such as searches of local content and YouTube and Facebook interaction.

“The WD TV Live Hub media center lets users create a personalized media jukebox that brings your entire personal content collection and the best of Internet content to the biggest screen in the house,” said Craig Davis, Director, Sales & Marketing, Branded Product Group, Western Digital Asia Pacific Region.. “With the WD TV Live Hub media center, consumers can take their home entertainment experience to the next level, streaming personal content to multiple rooms at the same time, so they can play a Netflix video on their HDTV screen in the family room, while sharing vacation slideshows on the computer in their home office.”

Other key features of the WD TV Live Hub media center include:

• Compatibility with virtually all TV sets thanks to an HDMI 1.4, composite video and component video output;
• Automatic sync of shared digital media folders from PCs and Macs on the network with the internal hard drive to provide easy playback of new content.
• Customizable user interface and programmable remote;
• Ultra-compact design that easily fits into almost any entertainment center;
• Two USB ports that allow seamless media playback from USB drives, camcorders and digital cameras;
• WiFi-readiness (with adapter); and
• A 1-year limited warranty

The full set of features and list of file compatibility is available on WD’s web site.

Capacity and Compatibility
The WD TV Live Hub media center is available in 1 TB (terabyte) storage capacity and supports a large variety of the most popular file formats, including HD camcorder video formats. It is also compatible with Windows® 7, including the Windows 7 Play To feature, and any DLNA/UPnP-enabled device.

Price and Availability

The WD TV Live Hub media center is available worldwide (Netflix, Blockbuster and Pandora services are available only in the U.S.) and is distributed by Achieva Technology Sdn Bhd, Amber Action Sdn Bhd and SiS Distribution (M) Sdn Bhd in Malaysia. MSRP for the WD TV Live Hub media center is RM 749.00.

---

[1] Service availability varies by country.

WD^® PROVIDES CONSUMERS FASTEST ACCESS TO THEIR CONTENT WITH NEW HOME NETWORK DRIVE

The My Book^® Live^™ Home Network Drive Enables Users to Easily and Securely Centralize, Share and Stream Digital Content at Home…or When Away

Kuala Lumpur – 30 November 2010 – WD^® (NYSE: WDC), the world’s leader inexternal storage solutions, today introduced its My Book^® Live^™ home network drive(photo), which gives consumers the fastest storage of and access to their content among consumer-grade network drives and provides a seamless set-up for centralizing a home’s digital media. The drives present an easy and secure way to consolidate movies, music, and photos in one location while providing convenient access to digital content from multimedia devices in the connected home.

WD has leveraged the latest processor technology to deliver transfer speeds up to 100 MBps, more than triple the speed of traditional USB 2.0 drives and at least double the speeds of other network drives in its class.

My Book Live home network drive’s built-in media server makes it a fast, simple solution for users who wish to view videos, music and images on any Mac^® or PC connected to the home network and stream digital media to a television set through a DLNA^®-certified multimedia device such as WD TV^® Live HD media player, Blu-ray Disc^™ player, Xbox 360^® or PlayStation^® 3 game console.

Users can also play music and videos stored on their drive in iTunes^®, as well as view their digital photos anywhere in the world on their Android™ smartphone, iPhone^®, iPod touch^®and iPad^™ with the swipe of a finger through the WD Photos^™ application available free download from either the Android Market™ or Apple™ iTunes Store®.  Users can also securely access and share all the content and files stored on the My Book Live from any Internet-connected PC or Mac using WD’s free remote access service.

“Network attached storage presents tremendous opportunity for families wishing to centralize all of their digital content and enjoy it on computers, TVs and smartphones around their home and beyond,” said Craig Davis, Director, Sales & Marketing, Branded Product Group, Western Digital Asia Pacific Region.. “Our consumer research tells us that consumers need a simple way to set up a one-stop shop for their digital media. WD’s My Book Live home network drive makes it easy for anyone to enjoy the benefits of network storage and delivers blazing read speeds to boot.”

My Book Live Home Network Drive

My Book Live home network drive features:

-       Simple set-up – ready in minutes;

-       Seamless video streaming with a built-in DLNA media server;

-       Automatic backup with WD SmartWare^™ software for Windows;

-       Apple^® Time Machine^® compatibility;

-       Gigabit Ethernet technology for speeds faster than USB 2.0 drives; and,

-       A 3-year limited warranty.

Capacity and Compatibility
My Book Live home network drive is available in capacities of 1 TB and 2 TB and is compatible with Windows^® XP, Windows Vista^®, Windows 7, Mac OS^® X Leopard^® and Snow Leopard^®, as well as DLNA/UPnP^® enabled devices.

Price and Availability

My Book Live home network drive has a 3-year limited warranty and is distributed by Amble Action Sdn Bhd, Achieva Technology Sdn Bhd and SiS Distribution (M) Sdn Bhd in Malaysia. MSRP is RM 499 for 1 TB and RM 669 for 2 TB.

Recently there’s a buzz on the internet regarding on some strange directions generated by Google Maps. Apparently this issue already surfaced since 2007 but seems that there’s not fix on this problem. Browse through the few examples below and it will give you a good laugh for the day. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Apparently if you follow the directions in Google Maps, it takes 38 days and 3 hours just to reach China from USA by “kayaking through the Pacific Ocean”.

From Japan to China, it will take 2 days and 11 hours to reach if you jet ski across the Pacific Ocean.

And since Taiwan is nearer to China, you can swim across the Pacific Ocean just to get there and it takes 2 days and 12 hours.

Weird part is that I can’t find the directions from other countries towards China. Perhaps this was purposely done by Google as a joke or something? If you do find one, please let me know will ya?

Source: Penn Olson

RockMelt, a new web browser went into limited public beta today. This browser uses Facebook authentication to synchronize a user’s browsing experience across machines, which makes it easy for you to do the things you do every single day on the Web: share and keep up with your friends, stay up-to-date on news and information, and search.

Users of Google Chrome will feel at home, because RockMelt is built on Chromium, the open source project behind Google’s browser. The major differences are columns running down each side of the browser. A video worth a thousands words so have a look at the demonstration video of this new browser below. Head down to Rockmelt website to apply for the invitation of the limited beta.

Western Digital had announced the new WD Elements Play Multimedia Drive today. The WD Elements Play is a new dedicated multimedia drive that stores as much as two terabytes of consumers’ digital videos, photos and music for playback on big-screen home theatre systems in up to Full-HD 1080p resolution. The WD Elements Play multimedia drive will run most of the file formats popular with consumers for their personal content, including H.264, MKV, .MOV and Real Media’s RMVB, common in the Asia-Pacific region. The retail price for WD Elements Play multimedia drive 1TB is RM 599 and the WD Elements Play multimedia drive 2TB is RM 749.

For RM599, what you get is a 1TB hard disk that can play media files on the go connected to your HDTV compared to those lousy not-that-cheap China made external players that you can get from most electronic outlets which do not support some video formats. Is this is a good deal? You tell me. Press release as follows.

WD® MULTIMEDIA DRIVE STORES 2 TERABYTES

AND PLAYS MEDIA IN FULL-HD 1080P

New WD Elements Play™ Multimedia Drive Runs Wide Variety of Formats, Including MKV and Real Media RMVB

Kuala Lumpur – 29 September 2010 – Western Digital^® (NYSE: WDC), the world’s leader in external storage solutions, today introduced a new dedicated multimedia drive that stores as much as two terabytes of consumers’ digital videos, photos and music for playback on big-screen home theater systems in up to Full-HD 1080p resolution. The WD Elements Play™ multimedia drive will run most of the file formats popular with consumers for their personal content, including H.264, MKV, .MOV and Real Media’s RMVB, common in the Asia-Pacific region.

The new WD Elements Play multimedia drive streamlines the sometimes arduous task of managing personal media collections by combining high-capacity storage with a high-definition media player. Users now can aggregate their personal media collection into one library and play them on the largest screen and highest fidelity sound system in their home – all from the same, simple device. The multimedia drive attaches directly to users’ televisions with composite video or HDMI connections for Full-HD 1080p resolution.

According to research firm Parks Associates, consumers are amassing increasing amounts of digital content.  The average content stored per household was nearly 100 gigabytes in 2009, including 350 video files, and is expected to grow more than eightfold by 2014. Consumers continue to seek easy-to-use solutions for enjoying that content in their living room and on the best screen in the house.

“Consumers manage their growing media collections in many different ways,” said Craig Davis, Director, Sales & Marketing, Branded Product Group, Western Digital Asia Pacific Region. “WD is providing an increasing range of devices that assist people with saving, protecting and enjoying their personal digital content. With over two terabytes of capacity and the ability to connect to HDTVs, WD Elements Play multimedia drive consolidates these functions in one device, making it easier than ever for consumers to experience their entertainment on their best equipment.”

Additional WD Elements Play features are:

• Intuitive interface with DVD navigation;
• Photo slideshow with music playback;
• Video playback with audio channel selection and subtitle support;
• Digital audio output via optical or HDMI;
• Multiple-language support;
• File transfer or deletion directly from the user interface;
• Automatic play from local storage for digital signage;
• 3-year limited warranty; and
• Camera compatibility.

Price and Availability

The new WD Elements Play multimedia drive is available in 1 TB and 2 TB capacities and has a three-year limited warranty. The WD Elements Play multimedia drive are distributed by Eternal Asia Sdn Bhd. MSRP for the WD Elements Play multimedia drive 1TB is RM 599 and the WD Elements Play multimedia drive 2TB is RM 749.