Malaysia

Nokia goes all-in on more Android One phones

HMD Global confirms

Published

January 21, 2019

Luigi Leonardo

More than two years ago, Nokia started its comeback story. After selling out to Microsoft, the former market leader resurrected its properties under a new direction. Now, after setting up shop anew, Nokia is one of recent history’s success stories.

With success in the bag, Nokia has set its sights towards the future. In a recent interview with Neowin, Vijay Thangavelu, HMD Global’s country manager for Malaysia and Myanmar, described the company’s plans for future success.

Among others, Nokia’s plan includes a stronger dedication to its current market. Notably, the company earned back a lot of respect because of its current feature phone lineup. Rather than attack the lucrative premium phone market, Nokia injected a lot of volume into the budget-friendly market. The company created affordable but memorable feature phones across the two years.

Spotting this key strength, Nokia will reinforce this lineup in the future. “Our smartphones in the Android One family offer a high-quality software experience designed by Google,” Thangavelu said. “At this point in time, we are confident that the Android One programme will continue delivering the best user experience on a Nokia smartphone.”

Powered by Google, the Android One program punctually delivers the latest Android software experience to participating phones. Over time, the program has become synonymous with the vanilla Android experience. Throughout its recent success, Nokia has partnered with Android One frequently. Given Thangavelu’s statement, Nokia will still go all-in on more Android One phones in the future.

Unfortunately, Thangavelu declines to comment on other potential developments. When asked about the recent PureView acquisition and the penta-camera phone, he asks everyone to just “stay tuned.”

Regardless, his statements have shed some optimistic light on Nokia’s future. Prepare for more of Nokia’s Android Ones in the future.

Related Topics:Android One HMD Global Nokia

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: