Malaysia

Nokia goes all-in on more Android One phones

HMD Global confirms

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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.

SEE ALSO: Android 9 Pie finally available for Nokia 8 Sirocco

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Events

Stellar Blade: PlayStation taps cosplayers to play Eve for game’s launch

Exclusive items up for grabs too

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April 12, 2024

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Stellar Blade Eve
L-R: @larissarochefort, @rurusama9, @lejosette_

PlayStation Asia has tapped different cosplayers to dress-up as Eve in anticipation of sci-fi action adventure title Stellar Blade. Larissa Rochefort, Le Josette, and Rurusama will grace a one-of-a-kind meet and greet event on April 27. That’s the same weekend of the game’s launch.

There will be three simultaneous meet and greets across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Since slots are limited, fans are encouraged to register via PlayStation Asia’s link here.

The venue and time details are as follows:

  • Indonesia: GSSHOP, Gandaria City Lt. 2, Jakarta, 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
  • Malaysia: Anime Fest+ 2024 booth A25 and A26, Tropicana Gardens Mall Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
  • Singapore: 313@Somerset, 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Aside from seeing the cosplayers as the title’s main character, fans will also get a chance to redeem exclusive merchandise and try the game on PlayStation 5. Based from PlayStation Asia’s posts, prizes include exclusive vinyl and USB flash drives.

Here’s a glimpse of the cosplayers.

Rurusama

Larissa Rochefort

Le Josette

GadgetMatch was already able to try Stellar Blade‘s demo preview. For a quick refresher, here’s the link where you’ll find more details about the game’s visuals, character designs, gameplay, and more: Stellar Blade First Impressions

It’s fitting that PlayStation Asia thought of this idea for a launch event. We already know for a fact that players can customize Eve with various outfits. Seeing the cosplayers in the flesh is like seeing different versions of Eve. And that’s just a glimpse of the entire sci-fi world Shift Up’s platformer is about to offer.

Stellar Blade will be accessible by April 26.

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Gaming

Pizza Hut Malaysia, Genshin Impact collaborate

For unique dining experience

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July 4, 2023

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Pizza Hut Genshin

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
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Malaysia

Study: Smartphones least affordable in Philippines, Vietnam

About two months’ worth of salary

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July 25, 2022

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Xiaomi 12 Pro

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.

Study Smartphone

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?

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