Dual display Yotaphone selects Singapore as manfucturing home - VR

In a press release sent out early Wednesday Morning, Yota Devices announced that they will be working with Singapore’s Hi-P to manufacture their Yotaphone, and that they will be opening an Asian sales office in Singapore as well.

For those of you that don’t know, the Yota Phone was announced in December, but first really came into the spotlight gained during January’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) where it garnered Cnet’s “Best of CES” award for phones, beating out more well-known competitors like Samsung, LG, and HTC. What makes this Android phone so special compared to the dozens of others?

From the front the Yotaphone looks like a standard Android device, but from the backside it’s transformed, with a touch e-ink display resembling those on e-readers, offering a low power consumption option to check emails, browse the web, or do just about anything.

Since the inception of smartphones, it’s been a constant uphill battle to increase battery life even as hardware becomes more powerful, and consumes more power itself. Device Makers like Apple, and Samsung have built in sensors, and software tweaks to stretch battery life as far as possible, but the fact is that the bright color displays of today consume an immense amount of power, and there’s no way around it.

E-ink displays are naturally more efficient, because when they’re static they consume very little power or none at all.  The Kindle Paperwhite, for example, offers up to eight weeks of battery life. Offering this lower-consumption screen is what has brought the Yotaphone its’ fame, because it offers a solution that lets you use your phone without the normal drain. 

In the release, Yota’s CEO Vlad Martynov commented:

“Bringing a unique product like YotaPhone to the market requires an experienced manufacturing partner with both qualitative and quantitative engineering skills and Hi-P excels in both.”

In addition to doing the manufacturing and opening a sales office, Yota is also opening a new Research and Development office in Singapore alongside their Finland, Russia, and US offices. They hinted at working on future iterations of Yotaphone in a generational way, indicating that they may try to stick to the single flagship phone model followed by Apple, with a regular release cycle of one phone per year. The company estimate that the release date for the phone will come sometime in mid-2013.

Dual display Yotaphone selects Singapore as manfucturing home - VR

The Quincy Singapore, Hotel Butik Paling Trendi di Asia

 

Kolam renang minimalis dengan pemandangan Kota Singapura di The Quincy Hotel (Aan/detikTravel)

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Singapura – The Quincy Hotel berdiri megah dan trendi di pusat kota Negeri Merlion. Hotel berlantai 14 ini menarik hati wisatawan muda berkantong tebal untuk menikmati keistimewaan boutique hotel.

The Quincy Hotel terletak di Orchard Road, Singapura. Lokasi hotel ini sangat strategis, dekat dengan Mount Elizabeth Medical Center, Orchard Road, Taman Anggrek Nasional, Haji Lane dan Chinatown Heritage Center.

detiktravel pada Kamis sampai Sabtu (14-16/2/2013) menjajal layanan hotel berbintang yang didapuk sebagai hotel paling trendi di Asia 2012 oleh TripAdvisor. Bagi traveler yang menginap di hotel ini dan hobi berbelanja serta ingin mencari hiburan, cukup berjalan kaki menuju Orchard Road yang terkenal di Negeri Singa. Pusat perbelanjaan terkenal itu ada di depan mata.

The Quincy Hotel dari manajemen Far East Hospitality tercatat sebagai hotel pertama yang menyajikan layanan terpadu. Hotel ini bertarif mulai SGD 280++ atau Rp 2,2 juta++. Hotel ini memberikan akses kartu top-notch untuk keamanan tamu yang pertama ada di Singapura.

Hotel berbintang 4 ini didominasi fasad kaca dan baja. Lobi hotel ini dihiasi sofa berbentuk telur. Ada 108 kamar full AC yang dilengkapi bankas dan koran gratis. Resepsionisnya pun siaga 24 jam.

Semua kamar didekorasi elegan dan modern. Setiap kamar dilengkapi tempat tidur dan bantal dengan seprai berkualitas premium. Selain itu, semua kamar dilengkapi dengan pemandangan kota yang indah yang bisa ditangkap dari balik tirai jendela. Ada remote control untuk lampu maupun tirai.

Akses internet gratis tersedia tidak hanya di kamar pengunjung tetapi di seluruh hotel tersebut. Ada juga televisi LCD 42 inchi, mini bar gratis, dan telepon untuk panggilan lokal.

Melongok ke kamar mandi, ada bathtub dan pancuran terpisah dengan fasilitas mandi Molton Brown sensory nan menyegarkan. Kamar mandi juga dilengkapi timbangan badan, jubah mandi, dan perlengkapan mandi. Fasilitas tambahan mencakup sandal dan pengering rambut. Pembenahan kamar dilakukan rutin harian.

The Quincy Hotel memiliki dapur terbuka dan menjamu pelanggan dengan masakan lezat lokal dan internasional saat jam makan siang dan makan malam, sarapan secara prasmanan, serta kopi. The Quincy Hotel memiliki sebuah restoran dan bar di mana bisa menjadi alternatif bagi para tamu yang ingin bersantai di akhir hari.

Saat naik ke lantai 12, ada berbagai fasilitas nan menarik. The Quincy Hotel menyediakan kolam renang infinity dan lampu LED menghadap ke kota. Hotel ini juga memiliki pusat kebugaran serta lemari brankas.

“Tamu hotel dapat menonton film malam hari melalui proyektor ini setiap hari Sabtu. Ada juga gym, kamar mandi uap dan sauna yang disediakan untuk pelanggan unisex maksimal 4 orang,” kata Public Relation Far East Hospitality Management, Lim Wee Ling.

Pada Hari Valentine kemarin, pelanggan muda mudi merayakan dengan makan malam romantis di The Quincy Hotel. Hotel butik ini bisa jadi pilihan akomodasi traveler yang bertandang ke Negeri Singa.

The Quincy Singapore, Hotel Butik Paling Trendi di Asia

Across The Straits: Malaysia And Singapore Plan High-Speed Rail Linkage

Malaysia’s Star Online newspaper reported that the project will be undertaken by private companies and eventually serve 400,000 commuters daily.

BBC reported that, once completed, the rail link will reduce the time taken to travel between Singapore and the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, to 90 minutes from the current six hours. On the road, the trip takes about four hours.

Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman told local media that both states will take a year to draw up a draft of plans for the new rail line.

“Once this is decided, we can move to phase two,” Anifah said at a briefing while accompanying Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on a two-day visit to Singapore.

Both Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Razak said the project will also lead to increased trade between the two countries.

“This is a strategic development in bilateral relations that will dramatically improve the connectivity between Malaysia and Singapore,” they said in a joint statement.

“It will usher in a new era of strong growth, prosperity and opportunities for both countries. It will facilitate seamless travel between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, enhance business linkages, and bring the peoples of Malaysia and Singapore closer together.  Ultimately, this project will give both countries greater stakes in each other’s prosperity and success.”

Up until now, the two countries were connected by the Tuas Second Link – a bridge that links Singapore and Johor, Malaysia — and the Johor-Singapore Causeway, a highway that opened in 1998.

Chua Hak Bin, Southeast Asian economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, told Reuters that the new railway project represents a “major breakthrough.”

“It’s technologically possible. We’ve seen how fast China builds these things,” he said. “It makes a lot of sense. There is a huge amount of business, trade and investment between the countries. There are also a large number of Malaysians working in Singapore.”

Singapore, which broke off from Malaysia and declared its independence in 1965, has long endured a tense relationship with its much larger neighbor.

Nonetheless, Malaysia is now Singapore’s largest trading partner — as of 2011, bilateral trade totalled S$112 billion (US$90.5-billion), up from S$106.7 billion in 2010, according to Singaporean government statistics.

The two nations have also developed strong military ties — under the so-called Five Power Defense Arrangement, which also includes Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, member states engage in joint military exercises.

Across The Straits: Malaysia And Singapore Plan High-Speed Rail Linkage

7000 Cambodian workers from failed Singapore firm to get paid this week

KANDAL, Cambodia – About 7,000 workers from Singapore’s failed Yung Wah Industrial (Cambodia) Co Ltd are getting their unpaid salaries this week, an official said.

Kandal Deputy Governor Phay Bun Chhoeun said Prime Minister Hun Sen had ordered the Ministry of Economy and Finance to offer them US$6.4 million (S$7.9 million). This is in addition to US$900,000 in government funds for unpaid salaries for January.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, the deputy governor said the government was sorry the workers had lost their jobs but appealed to them to halt their illegal protests.

Thousands of Tung Wah workers blocked National Road 21 for two days last week to demand their unpaid salaries.

The Singapore company started operating in 1999, initially with about 2,000 workers. Located in Preak Samrong village in Takmao district, it made T-shirts and polo shirts.

7000 Cambodian workers from failed Singapore firm to get paid this week