Asus Vivotab Note 8 promotion - SGD 399 with free Microsoft Wedge Keyboard and Asus sleeve

7 Nov 2014: Saw advertisement that it is selling at SGD 299 but limited to 5 sets per Best Denki store. It is definitely a good deal if you can grab it.

This is actually not the cheapest deal as Amazon is actually selling this for USD 229 and it also provides free shipping to Singapore. Please note that Amazon deal is without Microsoft wedge keyboard and Asus sleeve, so if you add these 2 items as part of your purchase, the cost will probably be around USD 300. This is still consider cheaper but with so many reported stylus problem, it is probably better to get a local set which will make the repair easier if it happens. The promotion is from 1st August to 9th August and you can only get from Best Denki which is the only place you can get the local set.

This is what you will get

Unboxing Asus Vivotab Note 8, got Asus Vivotab Note 8 itself, UK type power adapter (So good thing about local set is you get the 3 pins power adapter), micro USB cable, Office Home and Student 2013 product key card, manual and quick start guide.

 I got the white colour version. The bad thing about this is glossy surface. The manufacturer date is June, 2014. So hopefully this batch of Vivotab has less problem on the stylus.

The stylus also is white colour. I do find it quite difficult to take out the stylus from Asus Vivotab Note 8. Probably this is good thing as this means it is not easy to lose your stylus.

The keyboard is actually not bad, comfortable to use and the keys is not that small also.

Size comparison, keyboard is actually longer than Asus Vivotab Note 8. So that's is also why the key can be made bigger.

The keyboard itself is actually not that heavy but with the cover then you can feel the weight. The keyboard is powered on once you remove the cover. So besides can be used as a stand to hold the tablet, it can be used to power up/off the keyboard also.

So this shows how the cover can be used as a stand for the tablet. As you can see here also, the keyboard is elevated at certain angle.

The components below the keyboard hold 2 triple A batteries. This is also why the keyboard is elevated.

The sleeve is actually quite OK. Offer adequate protection and at the same time can be used as a stand also.

It fits the table nicely

Use as stand, put the table in more vertical position

Another position

Generally, i still feel this is quite a good deal consider the free gifts throw in are actually quite useful and not those useless low quality free gifts. As for the tablet itself, so far i have no issue with it but i still need more time to play with it before i can conclude anything and i will try to create another post to describe my experience on that.

I bought a micro-USB SD Card reader so that i can easily read my camera SD card photos. You can read about my purchase here.

Olympus 45mm f1.8 promotion - 125 cash rebate (April/May/June/Nov 2014)

3 May 2014: Promotion extended to May! :)

6 June 2014: further extended to June! This time it says "Extended for 1 last month", how true is this, we will see next month. :)

4 Nov 2014: I think this lens cash back promotion really helps to boost up Olympus sales and they do it again on November! Please click this link for details.

Is a fantastic deal and after instant rebate, i get the lens from SLR revolution (Funan IT Mall) for around SGD 286. As the price varies between shop to shop and also some shops might already run out of stock, it is advisable to call the shops before going down. For the list of shops to call, you can refer to this list.

on my E-PM2 now :)

hop.shop.go PromoCode (Dec 2013)

Grab this for items that can only be shipped to US address.

Lowepro CompuDay Photo 250 Backpack (Black) for USD 44.95 at B&H

Ordered one and now waiting for arrival. :)

link.

3 August 2014 update: Saw this at Best Denki VivoCity and it is selling at SGD 69.

Jumping to Green Camp (StarHub Cable Broadband)

I getting the 25 Mbps plan from the roadshow in Tampines Mall which is only $24.90 per month with $50 NTUC voucher and free 1st month subscription. This in fact to me is a better deal compare to the September Comex show where only $30 voucher is given and  mobile broadband (1GB usage) which i don't need.

The installation was carried out today. It was with a bit of drama when the technician told me that my house termination point signal is very weak. So i left with 2 choices of either cancel the plan or call the contractor to come in to take a look and i have to pay for it. As i had been told is not expensive, i decided to fix the problem rather than cancel the trip. So when the contractor was here, he found out that the problem is in the main box outside of my house and the fix is a pretty straight forward process. After the fix, he mentioned there will be a service charge of $30 and as the problem is not in my house, i asked him whether can waive the charges and luckily i asked, he made a call and the charges was waived. Connecting my ancient Linksys wireless router also is another issue. Only after i google then i realize the important of making sure my cable modem is power cycled before power up my Linksys router.

So far the speed of surfing is good for me and i think this will be probably  true for me for any upgrade as my previous broadband is the ancient 1 Mbps plan for Singtel (The cheapest, $22.90). Just to quantify the speed a bit, i also did the speedtest and for local, the speed is around 15Mbps (Saturday night) and 24Mbps (Saturday afternoon) and for oversea, the speed range is around 1 Mbps to 10 Mbps.

Japan

ShangHai

LA

KL

p.s. Called to singtel for termination and they countered offer 15Mbps plan for 29.9 per month, not really that attractive. I once get an offer for 12 moth free subscription for my 1Mbps plan.

Olympus E-PM2 for 498 in Singapore

Bought this from the COMEX show today. The price is SGD 498 (~USD 391) and come with one extra original battery, one 8GB SD card, case and one China made tablet. With just the price itself, i think is a bargain as US price is actually USD 449 and it is so rare to see that Singapore price is actually cheaper compare to US after conversion.

E-PM2 box content

Free gifts. Probably the most useful free gift is the extra original battery. The case is very big and seems like is for the E-PLx or E-Px type of camera. The card is only class 4. The tablet is china made tablet running on single core processor, 512MB RAM and 8GB space, not fantastic but still usable, just have to tolerate some lagging. (3 August 2014 update: Basically i never use the tablet now as it is really lag, my regret on getting this free gift, maybe should try fight for other free gift next time)

p.s. The price is still 498 at Courts online website with free 8GB SD card and case.

27 Oct 2013 update: The online deal is no longer available but i did see deal at Courts Tampines where it is advertised as SGD 438. If the deal is not a gimmick, it is indeed a very nice price. But looking at that price, i do feel that the price might get lower in the future.

Olympus products are covered under international warranty.