Malaysia

POCO M3 launches with Snapdragon 662, triple rear cameras

Is it a worthy successor?

Published

November 24, 2020

Shivam Vahia

POCO has been teasing the global launch of the POCO M3 for quite some time now and the brand has finally unveiled the new phone. Expanding its lineup in the affordable segment, the POCO M3 is supposed to be an all-rounder that’ll succeed the POCO M2.

Going with a fresh design, the phone has a significantly large POCO branding on the rear. It gets a side-mounted physical fingerprint scanner along with a large camera module on the rear. POCO says the rear is designed to be anti-fingerprint, so you don’t have to worry about smudges.

The POCO M3 sports a 6.5-inch Full HD+ display with a water-drop notch, Gorilla Glass 3 protection, and a maximum brightness of 400 nits. Powering the phone is an octa-core Snapdragon 662 processor with 4GB RAM. Storage options include 64GB and 128GB, along with a microSD card option for expansion.

On the rear is a triple camera setup consisting of a 48-megapixel primary sensor, a 2-megapixel macro lens, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. On the front is an 8-megapixel camera for selfies. Software options include portrait mode, night mode, and 120fps slo-mo.

Backing these internals is a massive 6000mAh battery that supports 18W fast charging. The phone comes bundled with a 22.5W fast charging brick and the phone will be available in Cool Blue, POCO Yellow, and Power Black color options. It runs MIUI 12 out-of-the-box and is based on Android 10.

Pricing and availability

USA

4GB+64GB — US$ 149
4GB+128GB — US$ 169

Special Black Friday pricing are as follows: US$ 129 for 4GB+64GB and US$ 149 for 4GB+128GB

Philippines

4GB+64GB — PhP 6,990
4GB+128GB — PhP 7,990

As part of the first sale in The Philippines, a 48-hour deal for both variants will be available on November 27 and 28 at early bird prices of PhP 5,990 (4GB+64GB) and PhP 6,990 (4GB+128GB).

In addition, those who purchase POCO M3 on November 27 from 12AM-2AM will receive a free gift — the Mi In-Ear Headphones Basic Piston Earphone, while stocks last.

Malaysia

4GB+64GB — MYR 599
4GB+128GB — MYR 699

Gaming

Pizza Hut Malaysia, Genshin Impact collaborate

For unique dining experience

Published

July 4, 2023

GadgetMatch

Genshin Impact is among the most popular mobile games in Southeast Asia. Establishing its presence further in Malaysia, HoYoverse’s hit open-world RPG has collaborated with equally renowned pizza chain Pizza Hut for a six-week promotional campaign with the official slogan “A Tasty Adventure with Pizza Hut.”

The two brands are bringing the unique experience to Malaysia this time. This, following the success of familiar campaigns in China, Taiwan, and Japan.

There will be a lot of physical manifestation of the collaboration at Pizza Hut Malaysia stores; three flagship stores will be transformed into Genshin Impact-themed scenery to become the perfect haven for fans.

Exclusive fan events will be held at these three stores on the following dates:

Pizza Hut Sunway Pyramid: July 8
Pizza Hut Queensbay Mall (Penang): July 15
Pizza Hut Midvalley Southkey (Johor Bahru): July 22

Tickets to the event are priced at MYR 60, inclusive of a MyBox Melts Genshin Impact Premium meal set worth MYR 47.90, a limited-edition merchandise, and in-game inspired beverage.

The Pizza Hut x Genshin Impact merchandise will release in three phases to allow players to collect items featuring specific characters:

July 5 to 18: Ningguang
July 19 to August 1: Yelan
August 2 to 15: Xiangling

Fans may choose from two MyBox Melts collaboration combo packages:

Standard Meal Set: MYR 27.90 + photocards + sticker packs
Premium Meal Set: MYR 47.90 + photocard + sticker pack + notebook

Malaysia

Study: Smartphones least affordable in Philippines, Vietnam

About two months’ worth of salary

Published

July 25, 2022

GadgetMatch

With inflation rates skyrocketing everywhere lately, consumers wonder how much spending power has been generally affected.

Well, a recent iPrice study, “Highly Connected, But Highly Priced: Smartphones Out of Reach for Many in SEA”, revealed that when it comes to smartphone affordability, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia lag behind considerably.

The study took into account the salaries of workers in the three countries, and found out that mid-range smartphones cost twice an employee’s monthly salary on average.

In the same countries, high-end smartphones come as expensive investments, as they cost anywhere between about three to six times the monthly average salary of workers.

And as if adding insult to injury, the prices of phones top brands like Apple, OPPO, vivo, and Samsung are generally higher in the Philippines and Indonesia compared to other countries in the region.

This leads to consumers opting for postpaid plans from telecom providers, capitalizing on the free device in exchange of a two-year lock-in period.

The finding is a stark contrast to the same smartphones’ affordability in Singapore and Malaysia. In those two peninsular countries, phones cost only about a third of an employee’s monthly average salary.

The main takeaway from the study is: average monthly salaries do not only differ from one ASEAN country to another; for some reason, products and services in countries with less spending power also cost more. Life is unfair, isn’t it?

Gaming

God of War: Ragnarok price and availability

Comes in 4 editions

Published

July 8, 2022

GadgetMatch

After it was revealed earlier on the PlayStation Blog that God of War: Ragnarok’s release date will be on November 9, 2022, people are naturally curious to know how the price tags for the sequel to the 2018 game.

Luckily, we have all the details for you. God of War: Ragnarok will come in Standard Edition, Launch Edition, Collector’s Edition, and the premium Jotnar Edition.

Watch this unboxing to see what each Edition has to offer:

Of course, the pricier the edition you pre-order starting on July 15, the more extra premium items you’ll be able to enjoy with the full copy of the game.

For now, here are the prices for the physical and digital packages of the game for Singapore, Philippines, and Malaysia: