There is a new Pokémon Cafe that opened in March 2018 in Tokyo, Japan. This unlike the previous Pokémon cafe, is a permanent cafe located in Nihonbashi area and is not a pop-up cafe. If you are traveling to Tokyo and also a Pokémon fan, this is a pilgrimage you must make. However, the cafe is not available for walk-in. Follow our guide here on how to get a reservation. For a review of the cafe, read about our experience here.
Getting a reservation
Pokémon cafe is still very popular having open just recently. Booking can only be done via their website and not possible via phone or other methods. Also the website is available only in Japanese. But fret not, here is our guide to make the reservation.
Press the button indicated below to start your reservation.
2. Select number of guests
Tip: Reservation is only for max of 4 guests. If you have a party of more than 4, simply book multiple slots. However do note the reservation is tagged to a certain timing and each timing has limited slots, so be sure you make the reservation in quick succession.
3. Select a date
Once you have selected the number of guests, a calendar will pop out below.
The dates that are greyed out means it is full (red box) or the date is not yet open for reservation. You can only select those that are white in color (green box).
Tip: You can only reserve up to a month in advance. Seats are rather limited and can be full fairly quickly. To be the earliest, at 6pm Tokyo time, a month before the date you wish to reserve, visit the reservation site and you will be one of the first to access the booking for the date.
4. Choose a timing
5. Enter your details
This is likely the hardest part for non-Japanese speaker. Basically, you have to enter 1) your name, 2) your phonetic name in ‘hiragana’ (a type of Japanese writing), 3) your contact number and 4) your email.
A sample of filled details:
The mobile number enter should be a Japanese number but you may enter your own country number. The form checks for 10 number characters, so you might want to ensure you enter only 10 number. Alternatively, you can use the number of the hotel you will be staying in. For the 2) phonetic name, just head to http://japanesetransliteration.com, type in your first name and copy and pasted the hiragana into the field.
6. Optional purchase and confirmation
At the next page you can opt in to buy some of the merchandise.
You will need to prepay using your credit card. Click next to continue.
Finally at the confirmation page, click the button above to confirm your reservation.
You are finally done! You should be receiving a confirmation email about your booking.
Last Friday, our team at GameTrader was invited to the media preview of the new Sandbox VR at Orchard Central for an out of this world VR experience. We screamed, laughed and thoroughly enjoyed ourself as we battle zombies and ghouls on a tattered pirate ship. It was truly a different kind of VR experience at a new level of realism.
By now most of you would have experienced Virtual Reality (VR) in some form or another. From the simple Google Cardboard that uses your mobile phone as a VR screen to the PlayStation VR, VR was proliferated rather quickly to the masses in recent years.
If you have a mobile phone, which you would most likely have, you can get easily buy a VR headset and jump into VR. Some of these headsets cost only SGD10. If you wish to have a better VR experience, you can also spend a few hundred dollars on higher-end VR sets like the Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive.
Google Cupboard – The low-cost VR headset
The current state of VR
Unfortunately, the much excitement surrounding VR has mostly been subsided in the last two years or so. It’s seems that VR is going down the same path as 3D television, in which the latter is declared a failure by the TV industry.
Farpoint VR game on PlayStation VR
The major complain that I have with VR is the giddiness that I will usually get after being in VR for even just 5 minutes. Having tried the recent Farpoint VR game on the Sony PlayStation VR, I felt nauseating after less than 5 minutes of play. The main problem of that VR game was that the player uses the analog stick to move in a fairly big open space. My brain simply cannot reconcile with the fact that I’m moving in VR but stationary in the real word. What I see simply doesn’t match with what my body experience. This remains the main reason why I think VR gaming will not take off in the near future unless this issue is fixed.
Sandbox VR immersive VR
Sandbox VR opened their first store in Hong Kong in June 2017. The booking for the Hong Kong store is usually full. Customers have to make booking weeks in advance. Their success have attracted Alibaba to invest $3 million in the company. They also produced their own proprietary games such as Deadwood Mansion and Curse of Davy Jones.
What makes Sandbox VR different
Your tactical vest and weapons
Unlike other VR, Sandbox VR combined motion tracking together with latest VR hardware technology to bring about an wholistic full-dive VR experience. Other that the Oculus Rift VR headset, players would have to don on a backpack, motion tracking devices on their arms and leg as well as a tactical vest which provides mechanical feedback. If you get injured or shot, you will get vibration on the vest adding to the realism.
Staff explaining how to wear the motion tracker
The combination of all hardwares together with the high fidelity graphic of the game, will literally teleport you into another world. In the virtual world, your avatar move as you move yourself physically within the room. You can also see your friends, albeit in their chosen avatar, in the same gameplay. Everything felt realistic from the sight, the sound and even the physical surrounding. I shall not spoil the game for you but the fans shown below are not to keep you cool.
Fans not design to keep you cool
Game Play
Soldier from the future
Players can choose between the two games that are currently available. They are Deadwood Mansion and The Curse of Davy Jones.
The game is social unlike most VR game. Each room can accommodate 2-6 players together in the same game play. The games are design to be cooperative in nature. For example, if your party member is down, you would need to hold on to their shoulders to recover them, much like Left 4 Dead. At one point when all three of us were swamped by pirate zombies, we were literally cuddling up together at a corner of the room in true bromance fashion. Needless to say, there were lots of laughter and screaming at that point in the game.
The game that we tried, The Curse of Davy Jones, was quite unlike other VR games we have played before. It is fairly challenging. At the beginning, pirate zombies just rush to you in a haphazard manner. But towards the end, flying ghosts will dash in your direction like a homing missiles. That is when the game really get serious.
Shoot all zombies!
Unlike the typical escape room, we experienced a total of four different ‘room’ throughout our 30 minutes in the game. Besides the zombie horde that you have to shoot to kill throughout each level, there are also a total of three to four bosses to battle. Each has their own vulnerability that you have to figure out yourself. The game requires brawl and brain as well. To advance to next level there are also puzzles that you and your friends have to solve.
GameTrader.SG Tips for Players
Wear your contact lenses if you have.
No glasses are allowed to prevent scratches of the Oculus Rift lenses. Hence if you have your own contact lenses, do wear them. However if you don’t have, Sandbox VR does have some prescriptive lenses at various degree. They are available in limited quantity so you might not get the exact same degree as your spectacles.
Make full use of your body
Remember that this is not your typical VR game. Move your body around to avoid the enemy. Dodge the projectile like how you will in real life. Don’t be shy and move that body.
Use that torch
The team leader will be given a torch. That is actually a rather useful piece of equipment. While you are busy shooting the enemies, do not forget that your torch can help you and your team mate as well.
Teamwork is important
The zombies are going to come at all directions. Shout out to your team mate if the enemies are coming from your direction. Strategize beforehand. Assign team mates to cover certain angle so that there will be no crossfire and all angles are covered. See that zombie creeping up your friend? Shout to them or shoot them for him. When your teammate is low in health, be sure to rush to them and heal them.
Experiencing Sandbox VR
Sandbox VR is located at Orchard Central level 5 unit #5-31. Their official opening hours and pricing are as such (as of 31st March 2018) :
Sandbox VR storefront
Official Store Launch: Friday, 30 March 2018 Pricing
● Monday – Friday from 11.30am – 6.00pm: $38/pax
● Monday – Thursday from 6.00pm – 10pm: $48/pax
● Friday from 6.00pm – 11:30pm: $48/pax
● Saturday – Sunday from 11.30am – 11pm: $48/pax
An entire session is about an hour with 15 minutes briefing and preparation of gears followed by 30 minutes of gameplay. Finally you will be debriefed and will get to see videos of your team in action which will last about another 15 minutes. At the end of the session, you will also get your gameplay video which they will upload to their Facebook page as well.
You can start booking at their home page with this link. Walk-in are also welcome.
A new 2017 Gaming report by IDC and App Annie has shown that the spending on mobile game has way exceeded that of console and PC. To be exact, according to the report, mobile gaming is 2.3 times that of PC/Mac games and 3.6 times of home gaming consoles. Now, it’s no longer the case of console vs PC. Mobile is officially the newest and shiniest kid in the block.
This chart from the report tells it all. The emerging trend of mobile game is overshadowing both PC/Mac gaming as well as home gaming console.
What it means for gamer
Good news for you if you are mostly playing games on your mobile phones. Already we have seen some very high quality mobile games recently such as Lineage 2 Revolution, Fate Grand Order and Onmyoji . With this ongoing trend, expect more investors pouring money into development of mobile gaming. So more choices and high quality games for you. On the flip side, being such a lucrative market, gamers may see more pay-to-win games emerging. Developers may also start to get creative with ways to get you to part your money via micro transactions.
Console game developers are fighting back
Not to lose out on the growth of mobile gaming, lately we have seen traditional console game developers such as Nintendo and Square Enix moving into the mobile space.
Nintendo now has a number of titles in the iOS and Android store. Amongst them Super Mario Run which was a paid game at $9.99. Traditionally, Mario had never leave the Nintendo console ecosystem. This game is the first for the Mario franchise and a pretty bold move for Nintendo.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp launched in October 2017 has also attracted a fervent group of gaming. Some of whom turned the game into a weird experimental cult game. Nonetheless, for Nintendo, it is an encouraging results from their early foray into Mobile gaming.
Then you have games that used to be on consoles but are now ported to mobile. Some like Final Fantasy VII and IX are mere direct port from the original console version.
The latest Final Fantasy XV (15) Pocket edition is Square Enix first attempt at repurposing a console game title into a mobile games built almost from ground up. I must say that the playability, graphics and experience of FF15 Pocket is way better than the normal direct port version of other Final Fantasy.
Gaming by region
Asia is the biggest spender in gaming. According to IDC and App Annie, 60% of the global spend on gaming came from the Asia Pacific region, led mostly by China, Japan and South Korea.
Gaming experience
Recently, there are many distasteful decision by game developers aiming at monetizing their game. You may have encountered some of these games.
Whatever the outcome of this gaming war is going to be, we sincerely hope that developers do not deviate from providing the best gaming experience to gamers.
Usually, we don’t do food review. However, today, we will be doing our first food review of the limited-time Bak Kut Teh Ramen from Keisuke at Suntec. By the way this is not a sponsored post in case you are wondering. This unique fusion ramen will make a good lunch for you when you visit the IT Show at Suntec this weekend.
Bak Kut Teh Ramen is created by the Founder of Keisuke, Keisuke Takeda which is launched in conjunction with the upcoming Ramen Teh movie by Eric Khoo. You can read more about it on Mothership. It’s also worthwhile to note that Ippudo does have its own rendition of Bak Kut Teh inspired Ramen.
Now on to the food…
I was a bit surprised by how well presented the dish was. Perhaps my expectation isn’t high to begin with. After all, we are all used to order Bak Kut Teh at hawker center where the meats are just stacked up randomly in the bowl of soup. Like the other type of Ramen from Keisuke, I can see that extra attention has been put into placing the ribs and vegetable. The bowl is kind of unique by itself too.
However, the three pieces of You Tiao do look a bit out of place as I’m used to seeing larger portion of You Tiao with Bak Kut Teh. Otherwise, the You Tiao is crispy and crunchy, and goes very well with the soup. In fact, it’s even better than at some specialized Bak Kut Teh shop that I have been too!
The soup itself is delightful and at the same time surprising. Knowing that you are eating Bak Kut Teh Ramen, it should not come to your surprise that the soup indeed taste like our local Bak Kut Teh with a familiar peppery flavour to it. What surprised me was that the soup has a slight taste of Tonkutsu! So while it taste familiar, you will also get a feeling that the soup is not something you have tasted before.
The Bak Kut aka pork ribs looks tough on the outside, but they are actually very tender. They slip off the bone fairly easily and together with the dark soya sauce, it will certainly delight your taste buds.
Overall, we really recommend this Ramen. It is only available till 30th April 2018 and only at the Keisuke Ramen branch at Suntec. I saw many who ordered this Ramen dish today at the restaurant. And do be warn that it is a fairly big portion. Perhaps enough for two ladies to share. As for me, I left with a stomach full of Bak Kut Teh warmth.
IT Show 2018
The yearly IT Show 2018 is now happening at Suntec till 18th Mar. The Keisuke Ramen branch that sells this Ramen is just nearby.
PS: There is a PlayStation booth at level 6 where you can try out games like Shadow of the Colossus and Monster Hunter. Be sure to check that out if you have time.
If you like the yearly Anime Festival Asia and GameStart, you will be happy to know that the organizers of both events have just announced their strategic alliance. SOZO, the organizer of the popular regional Anime Festival Asia, will team up with Eliphant, organizer of the much-loved GameStart, to bring about greater offering for anime fan and gaming fan in Singapore and SE Asia.
What it could mean for us?
We are big fans of both AFA and GameStart. Over the years, both events have constantly get better and bigger. We have always wonder, wouldn’t it be nice to have a AFA plus GameStart event for both the Anime and Gaming fans? Cosplayers from both camps can meet together and it would be so much fun to see the two communities coming together. With this announcement, we can expect this year AFA to have a greater emphasis on gaming such as Esports and GameStart to have more manga/anime exhibitions and activities. “Southeast Asia emerges as one of the fastest growing markets for gaming and content, we recognised that both AFA and GameStart audiences have diverse interests in both gaming and anime. With our partnership, we hope to work closely to bring even more exhilarating content and holistic experiences to both fanbases across the regions,” said Shawn Chin, Managing Director of SOZO and founder of Anime Festival Asia.
Also we can expect more events in the South East Asia region. For a start, GameStart will be expanding to Indonesia this year, its first foray into Indonesia with the support of SOZO. “We are extremely excited to be able to bring our event to various regions, with the support of our partners. We are determined to support the regional gaming industry, especially in esports and game development. We are positive that our partnership will provide more events and enable us to bring awesome content to both gamers and anime fans, ” said Elicia Lee, founder of GameStart Asia and CEO of Eliphant Pte Ltd.
We hope that with the alliance, we can see more ACG events in Singapore and the larger SE Asia. This announcement is definitely good news for many who enjoyed gaming and anime. We will be on a lookout for what both SOZO and Eliphant have in store for us this year.
Singapore is having her very own Final Fantasy Cafe. From now till 10 February, come down to Watanabe Coffee at Shaw House Orchard road which has been transformed into a Final Fantasy Theme Cafe.
Things to Eat
While the full Watanabe Coffee menu is still available, the only special Final Fantasy dish is the Moogle Curry And White Stew set (Kupo!) with a choice of a Moogle Drink Or Materia.
Both drinks are flavoured drink. Nothing really that special. As for the Curry Rice, it was decent but not something that you would want to keep coming back for. My Moogle’s face is a bit distorted as well. Otherwise, it would have looked more like a Moogle.
Things to See And Try
The entire cafe is decked out with Final Fantasy poster and standees. Outside the cafe, you can take pictures with standees of well known Final Fantasy character like Sephiroth and Lightning.
Three PlayStation 4 loaded with the Dissidia Final Fantasy NT are available for you to try. The original Dissidia was only released in Arcade around Japan. It’s basically a fighting game where you can play as characters from the Final Fantasy universe. This game is not your typical Final Fantasy RPG but would definitely appeal to fans with affinity for fighting games.
Things to Buy
Even if you are not eating, which you can probably skip if you are not into themed cafe, there are things to buy as well. The plush toys are really popular. When we were there, the Cactuar, Moogle and Tonberry were all sold out. We were told by the staff that they maybe restocking but are unsure of when.
Things to Take Home
There are free coasters given to each diner. I ordered the Moogle set and got two! The coasters come in a few designs but are given at random. A free poster is given out to each customers as well. As of the time of visit, only two posters are available for choosing from Final Fantasy XIV which we thought Dissidia poster maybe more appropriate.
Worth it?
Overall, it is worth the trip only if you are a Final Fantasy Fan. The food is a bit overpriced as of most theme cafe and a bit underwhelming. If merchandise is your thing, it’s also a bit disappointing that most stuff are out of stock. Hey but if you are truly a fan, you would have come earlier to get them.
We came during lunch hours and there isn’t much of a queue. The same cannot be said for weekends. Nonetheless, given a week more to go, do visit the cafe if you have the time.
Details
Pop-up Date: 24 Jan – 10 Feb 2018
Venue: Watanabe Coffee (350 Orchard Road Shaw House #01-00)
Final Fantasy Menu: Available from 11 am onwards
Opening Hours: 8:30 am to 10pm (Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Sun), 8:30 am to 11pm (Fri, Sat)
GameStart 2018 is officially announced! Attracting more than 24,000 visitors last year, GameStart was a fun-filled event that gamers should not miss. Like last year, we will be there to bring you the highlights of GameStart 2018.
This year, GameStart will be venturing outside Singapore and into Indonesia’s shore where they will hold the first inaugural GameStart 2018 Indonesia. More details will be provided by GameStart later this year.
With games across multiple platforms, from PC to mobile, console and tabletop, there is will be something for any types of gamers. Esports, cosplay and Founders Base, which provides discounted booths for startups, artists and indie developers to showcase their products, will again be part of the event.
SEA Major, the top fighting game tournament in South East Asia will also be back at GameStart 2018. Lineup of games include Street Fighter V, Tekken 7 and more. Check out more details at www.beastapac.com.
Meanwhile, you can read up on the last year event here as well as view the video below for some of the highlights of GameStart 2017.
Japan pop culture lovers are having a wonderful time this weekend. C3 Anime Festival Asia 2017 Singapore (C3AFASG17) is happening now at the Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre. It runs from 24th Nov (Fri) to 26th Nov (Sun) opening daily at 9:30am.
Aptly named as Anime Festival Asia, anime lovers will be able to indulge in their inner otaku at this event. From buying figurines to checking out the latest anime, there are endless amount of things to do. However, you should not be thinking that C3 AFA is all about anime only. There are a number of booth showcasing uniquely Japanese technology and food as well.
Aniplex Booth
One of the largest anime production house in Japan, Aniplex exhibition spans across three booths each showcasing their latest anime titles. The three titles that are being promoted are Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend, the upcoming Record of Grancrest War and Black Butler.
At the ‘Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend’ booth, one thing stood out. This 1:1 life-size figurine of Kato Megumi (one of the main character of this anime) is the most expensive one that you can find in the entire show. If you have SGD25,000 to spare, you can bring one home. And yes, it comes with free shipping. This life-size Kato Megumi is an extremely rare figurine with only 20 pieces produced to date.
If you do not have SGD25,000, fret not. The booth feature an Augmented Reality (AR) experience. Just download an app and you can see Kato Megumi spring to life on your mobile phone.
You can also learn more about the World Of Grancrest War at the Aniplex booth.
Idols Showcase – Nogizaka46
Love Live! and Idolmaster has bridged the world of Idols and Anime for lots of Anime Fans. On showcase at C3AFASG17 for the first time outside Japan is the idol group Nogizaka46. Nogizaka46 is the official rival of the more well-known AKB48. The group is created by the same producer for AKB48, Yasushi Akimoto.
Unlike AKB48 which has a largely male fanbase, Nogizaka46 has a significant population of female fanbase. The group does regular modeling and appears on the cover page of popular female fashion magazines. Learn more about the group which started in 2012 at their booth.
Uniquely Japanese Technology
While being a show dedicated to the Japan pop culture, who can forget about Japanese technology which itself is one with the pop culture?
Nawatobi Jumper
A relatively simple game; jump on a skipping rope and blast a cat off in a rocket. The idea behind the game is to encourage people to exercise in a fun way. We were told that this gaming booth can be found in some malls in Japan.
We have the National Step Challenges. Perhaps the next one could be a National Skipping Challenge power by this technology.
VOLLY – Your Voice In A Rolling Ball
A ball toy that looks a bit like Wilson from the Cast Away movie is on displayed at this year AFA. It’s a very simple toy for kids. Using stickers, they can create their own unique Volly. After which, they would record their voice into it by speaking to the toy.
By rolling the ball around, the recorded voice will be playback with a twist. Depending on the speed and angle of the roll, the voice get distorted adding a mechanical overlay to it. Unique to this show is a pair of Nogizaka46 Vollys that comes prerecorded with two members of the idol group.
Body Odour Machine
Always wonder whether you have weird odour coming out from your body that no one has ever told you about? Fret not, now there is a device that helps you do just that! Kunkun Body, a body odour measuring solution by Konica Minolta, is available at this year C3AFASG17. The device can detect three kinds of odour, namely sweaty smell, middle-aged-oil smell and old-aged smell.
The device can be used to measure different parts of your body such as the foot, armpits and head. It is paired to a mobile device and will display a numerical value between 0-100. 100 being the worst and 0 being the best.
We have mixed feeling about this product. On one hand, it can indeed be useful for us since generally people don’t tell you upfront that you smell bad. On the other hand, ignorance is bliss at times.
Performance
Credit: C3 Anime Festival Singapore
There are a total of two stages at C3AFASG17. A main stage which requires additional cost, and the Super Akiba Stage which is situated in the exhibition hall.
The main stage has performance by Artistes such as Ayasa the Violinist,FLOW, 乃木坂46 (NOGIZAKA46),Tomohisa Sako,Shiena Nishizawa and more.
Several featured anime will also be showcased at the Stage. The highlight will be world premiere of Record of Grancrest War’s first episode. Lead voice actor, Kentaro Kumagai will be present at the convention to meet fans of the anime. You can check out the stage schedule here to decide whether you want to spend the extra dollar on the access to the stage area.
Ayasa had a special segment on the first day of event at the main stage
The Super Akiba Stage located at the Canon exhibition area are packed with exciting shows and performances as well. A range of activities such as Cosplayer Showcase, Talk Shows and Performance will be held throughout the day.
Guest Cosplayer Angie at Super Akiba Stage
Let’s Go Shopping
This Gundam Model may not be as grand as the 1:1 scale Gundam Model in Tokyo. But standing at a height of more than 3 adults, this model is impressive by its own rights. Although this is not something you can buy home, there are many other things you can buy at AFA.
Toys, Figurines, Lucky bags and all things anime. AFA is indeed a heaven for anime lovers. Tons of things to buy and see. Time to reward yourself after a year of hard work!
Credit: C3 Anime Festival Asia Singapore
The Odex booth is by far the most popular booth with a long snaking queue. If you have time, this is one booth that you cannot miss.
Credit: C3 Anime Festival Asia Singapore
Canon Imaging Experience
Take Picture with a Giant Pikachu
At the Canon Imaging Experience, photo taking services, complete with backdrop and even print out are provided for free! Various backdrops are available.
Cosplay
This is one of the special days where one can freely wear a brightly coloured wig without getting too much stares. Fans of games and anime don on their favourite 2D character costume and bring live to Anime Festival Asia every year. If you are not into cosplay, you are welcomed to take photos of the cosplayers. Practice basic, ask the cosplayer for permission first before your photo taking. Most of them are very friendly.
C3AFASG17 features a number of guest cosplayers. Take this opportunity to have a photo with them.
Anime Tourism
Where to visit in Japan for Anime Fans? This map located at the back of the hall shows you exactly where you can go. It features location where various anime has been based on so you can take your very own Anime Pilgrimage. A copy of the 2018 official edition is available at the booth for free. Make sure to ask the staff for a copy.
It’s the time of the year again for some Christmas shopping! If you have a electronic that you wish to buy in 2017, SITEX is your last chance to get good deals at a major consumer electronics event. This yearly event is happening right now at Hall 7 and 8 of the Singapore Expo from 23-26 Nov 2017 (Thu-Sun) from 11am till 9pm.
With the opening of the new phase 3 downtown line, it is even easier to get to SITEX this year. Do take note that unlike previous year, this year, SITEX is located at Hall 7 & 8.
Something for the Gamers…
Game console trade-in is provided by GameXtreme at Hall 7. You can trade in your old console and get a new one at a discount. For those who wish to quickly get rid of their consoles while buying the latest PS4 Pro or Nintendo Switch, this could be what you need. If not, you can always post it on GameTrader.SG and sell it on your own.
The latest PS4 Pro and PS4 Slim are the top selling consoles at GameXtreme.
Here are the trade-in prices.
Do check out their booth at Hall 7.
Something for the Treasure Hunter…
While you are at SITEX, how about winning some free prizes such as a Moto M Smartphone or a SkullCandy Headphones? You would just have to visit each of the five zones (Smart Home, AutoTech, KidsTech, VR/AR and The Audio Room) and answer three to five simple questions. The TechHunt has two sessions, one on the 23rd of Nov (Thu) and the other on the 26th of Nov (Sun).
The first 300 registrant will be entitled to a free TrackR. TrackR is basically a bluetooth tracker that will ring and light up when you activate it remotely via the TrackR app. Perfect for those who keeps misplacing their items.
Apple Fans have their iPhone X to drool about while Android fans have the latest Google Pixel 2 XL and the much talk about Razer Phone. Both of them are available for you to try out at the Singtel Booth (Hall 7).
Google Pixel 2 XL
The Google Pixel 2 XL feels great on my hand. Display is crisp and colours are vivid. And being a Google ‘official’ phone, it will get the latest Android OS right after the release. So you can be sure your Pixel 2 XL will always be running the latest OS.
Razer Phone
This is the baby that we can’t wait to try out. Although it is being marketed as a gaming phone, this Android Phone is highly capable of being a mini home-theater system.
We tried the video that demonstrated the power of the Razer Phone sound system powered by Dolby Atmos (the same sound system used by some theather). We were blown away! Despite the noisy background, the sound coming out from the phone sounds really good. The two powerful speaker residing on both sides of the phone does an excellent job in throwing out the audio to us with surround sound quality.
Gaming-wise, there are three games to try at the booth. Definitely, the visual look fantastics on the display. However, we feel that there could be more that the Razer Phone is capable of. Perhaps not all Android games that is out in the market now will be able to harness the full power of the Razer Phone which is a pity.
Buyer has to note that the new Razer Phone is running on Android 7.1 (Nougat) and not the latest Android 8 (Oreo). While we are told that the update will be coming in a few weeks time, no one is really sure when exactly it will be coming.
Something for the Audiophiles….
If you like listening to good quality music, you must visit SITEX’s Audio Room. Tuck away in a corner of Hall 8, it’s the best place to go to chill out amidst the hustle and bustle on the show floor.
Listen to some music from the DJ or plug in your own devices to try out some of the headphones at the Audio Room. We pampered our ears with the top end Klipsch Heritage HP-3 Headphones. It cost around USD1,200 and is showcased at this year CES 2017 in Las Vegas. You would have to try the headphones yourself to experience it yourself.
Something for the Cryptocurrency Beginner…
Heard of Cryptocurrency and always wanted to have your own mining server? Building your own computer to mine cryptocurrency like Ethereum and Bitcoin may not be a trivial task.
The guys are the Mining Rig Club are there to help. Located at Hall 8 at the Innovation Zone, Mining Rig Club is a newly form startup that had concoct what they believe is the highest ROI rig for cryptocurrency. Buy a rig from them and let them run and service it for a monthly fee. It is that simple. Their rig comes configured for your use so you don’t have to trawl through the internet to find out what to install or run in order to mine cryptocurrency.
They are located at the Innovation Zone at Hall 8.
Something for the Smart-Shopper
IUIGA is a start-up that promotes luxurious quality product at affordable prices. They are kind of like your Muji except a lot cheaper with products at the same quality.
How do they do it? IUIGA operate via a Original Designer Manufacturer (ODM) business model. A ODM is a manufacturer that does designing and produce the good for a brand. The ODM owns the product and design rights. Hence, IUIGA is able to find those same Manufacture for well-known brands like Muji and Samsonite. Their ‘Aluminium Alloy Frame Luggage Bag‘, which is the from same manufacturer a Samsonite but at almost half the price, is already sold out.
WIth things to buy, win and see, spending your weekend at SITEX will be well worth your time. Also, get your Christmas presents early. SITEX would most likely have what your love one needs.
Happy Holidays Everyone!
GameTrader.SG is the official Media Partner for SITEX 2017
On the flip side, being such a lucrative market, gamers may see more pay-to-win games emerging. Developers may also start to get creative with ways to get you to part your money via micro transactions.
