Malaysia
Huawei Nova 5T: ‘Fashionable’ and powerful
Same chip as the P30 Pro
The next #NovaStar has arrived. Huawei just launched the Nova 5T — a midrange phone that they say is fashion-focused while still packing some power.
The phone features a glass back design and will come in three colors: Midsummer Purple, Crush Blue and Black.
Nova 5T has flagship specs for a midrange phone
In terms of its display, the phone has a 6.26 inch FHD LCD display with a punch hole at the top left of the display. The punch hole houses the 32MP front-facing camera. Meanwhile, there are quad cameras on the back — consisting of a 48MP main camera with an f/1.8 aperture wide-angle lens, a 16MP ultra-wide angle camera, a 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor.
A side-mounted fingerprint sensor is included for secure unlocking.
Powering the device is the Kirin 980 processor. This chip can also be found on Huawei’s flagships like the Huawei P30 Pro and the Mate 20 Pro. Memory is generous with 8GB of RAM, and onboard storage is more than enough with 128GB.
It has a 3,750 mAh battery that can be topped up with a 22.5W SuperCharge fast charging technology.
Pricing and Availability
In Singapore, the Huawei nova 5T will go on sale starting September 14. Pricing will be announced September 5. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, the phone will be available in stores on September 7 and will retail for MYR 1,599. In the Philippines, the phone will retail for PhP 18,990.
Events
[UPDATED] Stellar Blade: PlayStation taps cosplayers to play Eve for game’s launch
Exclusive items up for grabs too
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.
UPDATE: On launch day, Filipino Cosplayer Charess revealed that she too was cosplaying Eve.
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
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?
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