Do you still remember the good old days when we used to send and receive physical Chinese New Year cards? The ones that we used to buy in packs of 5 or 10, in which all of them looked similar and had the same theme of red colour? It’s been ages since I last received a physical card for Chinese New Year, thanks to the evolution of internet. They say if you can’t fight it, embrace it! So instead of mourning over the death of physical cards, why don’t we embrace the latest method of sending greetings – via e-card? And to make things fun, Maybank has created an app for us to design our e-card in the form of a Lion dance!

The Golden Lion dance as Chinese New Year e-card

Log on to this link and launch the app to see the Golden Lion dance above. Apparently, if your Golden Lion greeting is picked as one of the best 3, they will send a real lion dance to your house! Without further ado, I tried my hand at designing a Golden Lion dance e-card. The steps were simple – 1) Choose a song, 2) Drag and drop the Lion dance sequence and 3) Write your greetings!

Choose a song and select the dancing moves

Once it’s completed, you can choose to send the e-card to your friends in Facebook or Share it on your wall. Get everyone in the CNY mood.

My completed Golden Lion e-card

Apart from the Golden Lion, the app also has a feature called Zodiac Mash-up, where they combine the Chinese Zodiac and your Horoscope and come up with a new term. In my case, it’s Dogbra! Haha.. no prize for guessing which horoscope I am.

Zodiac Mash-Up

Also, if you notice at the bottom, there’s a fortune cookie waiting to be cracked open! Let’s check out what my fortune for this year is.

Wise words from Confucius

Last but not least, the feature that I found to be most informative was the CNY Facts. There are plenty of information here regarding Chinese New Year, some of which even I wasn’t aware of. For example, did you know what’s the purpose of lanterns during CNY? Or why do Chinese burn joss sticks? You’d be surprised to read the stories behind these customs! My favourite one was the Do’s and Don’ts for CNY.

Facts about Joss Sticks

Do’s and Don’ts for Chinese New Year

If you want to create the Golden Lion dance e-card, check out your Zodiac Mash-Up or read up more on CNY Facts, log on to the Maybank App here!

Wishing you a Big Red Dragon Chinese New Year!

*Note: This is a sponsored post.

Sometimes when your phone rings and it is located away from you,have you experienced running all the way to your phone to answer it anxiously, only to have it stop ringing once you pick it up? To me, that’s one of the most annoying things to happen. Why wouldn’t the caller hang on for just that one second longer? To prevent this from happening again, why don’t you consider downloading Call Me Tones? If you don’t already know, these are the tones that your friends hear whenever they call your phone. Instead of the boring tut-tut sound, let your callers listen to the songs that you like. Download the coolest hits from the biggest stars and entertain your callers, so that they would stay on the phone longer and you have more time to answer it.

Call Me Tones

But don’t just get one Call Me Tone. Join the Call Me Tone-A-thon and get as many Call Me Tones as you like! Give them variety so that your callers hear a different song every time they buzz you. If you’re worried about song choices, there is a whopping 4,000-song list for you to choose from.

Call Me Tone-A-Thon Contest

Win up to RM7,000 in daily cash prize! Every day one lucky Call Me Tones subscriber will win cash worth anywhere from RM2,000 to RM7,000! The best part is, when you join Call Me Tone-A-Thon, you also stand to win the grand prize which is a Volkswagen Polo!

Volkswagen Polo could be yours

How to join Call Me Tone-A-Thon?

It’s SUPER easy. From 14^th December 2011 until 12^th January 2012, you can:

Type CAR and send it to 22222

You’ll get 2 x Call Me Tones and will be charged RM5.00. That’s ONLY RM5 for 2 Call Me Tones for 1 month! (normal price is RM12). You can then redeem your Call Me Tones at www.thecube.my. To qualify for the cash Daily Prize, you need to send at least 3 SMS-es to 22222 and purchase 6 Call Me Tones at RM15.00 from 12am until 11.59pm every day during promotion period.

So hurry and join the Call Me Tone-A-Thon and be on your way to getting awesome songs on your mobile as well as winning fantastic prizes!

*This is a sponsored post.

It’s just one more day to Christmas! Can’t help but feel all giggly with the long weekend ahead and the prospects of a nice home-cooked Christmas meal tomorrow. Yes, I have the menu all ready! How about Christmas gifts, you say? Every year, I look forward to buying something for myself as a reward for the hard work that I’ve put in all year, the effort and the determination in getting my targets achieved. For this year though, I have lined up a few items in my wish list, and owning a tablet is one of them. I’m referring to Tablet PC of course, no one wants to have medicine tablets in their wish list!

What’s your favourite tablet?

With so many brands available in the market, it’s hard to choose the perfect tablet that fits one’s needs, style or size. Some are too big, some are too small and some could be too heavy. I, for one, prefer a tablet that can be held comfortably with one hand and can fit nicely into my handbag. The latest Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 8.9 seems to fit my requirements. To be honest, I sometimes get confused with so many models being released one after another, faster than I can catch up! But I applaud Samsung for continuously trying to fine-tune its products and to come up with various sizes that would meet different individual’s demands.

The new Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9

With a tablet, I can store my files, play games, listen to music, check my emails, Tweet and Facebook in one convenient, lightweight gadget. Some of the notable features of the Galaxy Tab 8.9:

• Android 3.1 (Honeycomb)
• 8.9” touch screen display
• 1.5GHz dual-core processor
• 2MP front camera, 3MP rear camera
• Thinner (8.6mm)
• Lighter (453g)
• 16GB internal memory
• Supports Wi-Fi and 3G

The thin and lightweight Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9

But in order to get the best surfing and web experience, I’d also need a reliable network connection with good coverage. This is where Celcom comes into play. It has the best network and widest coverage in the country! That means I don’t have to worry about being out of touch even when I travel to the highest mountain or deepest jungle. The plans from Celcom are pretty affordable too, you can get the Galaxy Tab 8.9 from as low as RM1,288 (RRP: RM1,699)

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 Plans from Celcom

For more details on the plans and to compare with other tablets, check out www.celcom.com.my/smartphones.

*This is a sponsored post.

That aside, Saucer and I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year 2012! Cheers to a bigger, better and stronger year ahead!

Merry Christmas from witch and Saucer!

So 11.11.11 has just come and gone. What significance did they day bring to you? I spent it just like any other day, since to me, every day is special and unique on its own. But there is one extra reason to commemorate 11.11.11 though, and that is the launch of Samsung Galaxy Note in Malaysia! Yes, it’s finally here! I don’t know about you, but Saucer has been watching countless of videos on how amazing this nifty smartphone is, and has been contemplating about getting one for himself. He, the big iPhone fan, is thinking of converting. To me, that is a big deal. Why would he do that? Perhaps it’s the

S Pen Experience?

S Pen, apparently, is not like any other stylus. It provides users with the ability to freely capture and sketch ideas wherever they are. I can go on and on about this amazing feature, but here are some of the reasons why this innovation is so useful. Do you remember the times when we used to take notes (either lecture notes or to-do lists, etc) by writing them on paper, and later wished that someone could transfer them to electronic form so that we can store them in our PC or notebook?

The S Pen

Wonders of S Memo?

I used to write pages of notes during classes last time, and ended up losing those papers simply because they were such a chore to manage! I always told myself to get organized and to type the notes nicely into the PC to avoid losing them but of course, I never got around to doing that. But now, I can write the notes onto the Galaxy Note, and there’s a function in S Memo that would Digitize my handwriting, converting my notes into legible and tidy electronic words! Can you imagine how wonderful this makes life? No more using of papers. No more worrying about losing the notes. And no more worrying about reading illegible words!

The many functions of S Memo

For artists or comic bloggers, I can imagine that this nifty pen would be God-sent. I was watching the video below and saw how easily the person could draw and colour pictures on the spot. Gone were the days of painstakingly drawing using Paint and mouse.

Samsung Galaxy Note – the S Pen experience

S Planner – Ditch your Diary!

With the S Planner, there’s no need to carry the heavy diary around. Everything from appointments, tasks, important meetings, things to-do could now be recorded in the calendar, complete with colour-coding.

S Planner

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

With the amazing S Pen, it completely changes the way communication works. Just look at the illustration below, do you remember having a hard time telling people how to get to a certain place just by words alone? Save the words and start drawing! A picture is worth a thousand words.

Communication brought to the next level

With so many benefits just from S Pen and S Memo alone, is it any wonder that the Samsung Galaxy Note is going to be the next best thing in the world of smartphone?

For more features of the Samsung Galaxy Note, check out the following videos:

• Polaris Office – http://bit.ly/udX8g4
• Social Hub & Reader Hub – http://bit.ly/sTHYpz
• Portability – http://bit.ly/tolFIs

*Note: This is a sponsored post.

So after all the hype and posts on the greatness of Samsung Galaxy Note phone, the most common question I get asked is “How much is it?” The good news is, Celcom is among the first to come out with the best deals and plans. Celcom is going to launch the elusive Samsung Galaxy Note on 11th of November from 10am-10pm  at the following locations:

• Pavilion KL (La Bodega)
• JUSCO AEON Tebrau, JB
• Queensbay Mall, Penang

The Samsung Galaxy Note – best of smartphone and tablet!

The slim phone with S Pen

Some of the brilliant features of Samsung Galaxy Note:

• High speed performance with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and 1.4GHz dual-core processor.
• See and do everything in life-size reality with the stunning 5.3” HD Super AMOLED display.
• Take notes easily and quickly with the S Pen stylus.
• Capture life’s greatest moments with the 8 mega-pixel rear camera and 2MP front camera.
• Store all your necessities with the internal memory of 16GB, upgradable to 32GB with microSD.

The plans start from as low as RM1,368 with Celcom Exec. With the Celcom Exec 250, you get to have 5GB of data per month! Gosh, I’ve never used that much amount of data with my phone. How about downloading movies now?

The best part of all, you can get this on Malaysia’s best network with the best coverage.

• Celcom has the widest network coverage anywhere in Malaysia, indoors, outdoors and on-the-move.
• Celcom offers the best network quality, be it messaging, voice calls, video calling, surfing, email, etc.
• Celcom gives you the richest web and video streaming experience with its stable connection.
• Celcom gives the best and most affordable plans which suit your needs.

Find out more about the Samsung Galaxy Note packages with Celcom, as well as phone specifications, features and more. Visit the website for more details : http://www.celcom.com.my/smartphones

*Note: This is a sponsored post.

Is it a phone? Is it a tablet? It’s the new Samsung GALAXY Note, finally coming to visit Malaysia soon! Do you remember watching this cute advertisement in the cinema about a noisy clucking chicken finally keeping quiet when it saw some very realistic eggs shown on a smartphone? Well, that’s the power of Super AMOLED Display in Samsung Galaxy S2, but the good news is, it’s going to be bigger and better in the 5.3″ screen of the Galaxy Note.

The AMOLED display of Galaxy S2 is also in Galaxy Note

5.3″ Super AMOLED Display in Samsung Galaxy Note

Don’t you just love the size of the Samsung Galaxy Note? It’s big enough to watch movies without squinting your eyes, yet portable enough to be kept in the pockets! Just look at this video, I didn’t know that it’s even small enough to be kept in shorts.

Fits all pockets

The perfect size?

One of the features that makes Galaxy Note stand out:

The S Memo lets you record all forms of ideas instantly and freely. A quick memo can be taken from any screen to capture your ideas before they float away. Those ideas along with pictures, voice recordings, typed text, handwritten notes or drawings can be captured into S Memo, to be edited, annotated and shared as desired.

I suppose this feature is what makes the Samsung GALAXY Note as good as a Notebook!

Samsung GALAXY Note

One of the biggest selling point for me as a blogger, is its 8MP camera. Isn’t it such a common problem with phone cameras giving poor quality photos that are noisy, grainy and blur? With the powerful camera feature in the Galaxy Note, you can capture the world’s every moment in deep detail. Not to forget the power of AMOLED display, the picture taken would come alive with vivid colours too. Just thinking about it makes me want to grab a unit right now. I wasn’t aware that it has already reached Malaysian shores until I spotted some videos of “Unboxing the Samsung GALAXY Note” here! There is also one in BM version here. Are you tempted yet?

Unboxing the Samsung GALAXY Note

For more videos, check out:

http://bit.ly/umlcDb
http://bit.ly/rLVYaf
http://bit.ly/vhO2Vu

*Note: This is a sponsored post

If you still remember a couple of weeks back, I did a post on Hotlink’s Prepaid Data Roaming contest – Bloggers without Borders, asking for your votes to send me to Philippines. Well, the contest officially ended last week and the traveling period was to be this week. Unfortunately, none of us in the Food category was able to make it for the trip in the specified duration. Therefore, I feel incredibly sorry and guilty that I’m making this apology video to those of you who have been so kind to vote for me.

Apology video – don’t laugh!

In case you don’t have access to YouTube, I’m going to summarize what I said in the video here: I made the video last week, and the trip was supposed to be this week but I was recently bombarded with work such that I couldn’t take a whole week off. However, I’m going to make it up to you guys by making sure that I go to Philippines somehow, using my own expense, hopefully by end of the year. Fair enough?

Last but not least, please don’t be mad at me.

10 years ago, when I had my first mobile phone, my mother got me a Hotlink prepaid SIM Card. Back then, calling was extremely expensive, at 60 cents per minute. Since the top-up value was RM30 per month, I only had about RM1 worth of talk time per day, which was just a little over a minute! Don’t even mention data surfing or even roaming, which was non-existent. Fast forward 10 years later, I’m proud to know that Hotlink has improved by leaps and bounds, by being the first ever telco in the country to introduce Prepaid Data Roaming, allowing Hotlink users to retrieve data while roaming internationally.

This exclusive service currently covers 150 destinations around the world, and still counting. Don’t you think this is God sent? No more worrying about being disconnected whenever we travel overseas! With Hotlink’s Prepaid Data Roaming, we can go anywhere in the world and still be in touch on Facebook, Twitter and blog!

Now to demonstrate the power of Hotlink’s Prepaid Data Roaming, several selected bloggers would be sent overseas to Bangkok, Bali or Philippines while staying connected through data roaming. I would LOVE for a chance to go to Philippines myself because that’s the only place that I haven’t been to in the list! Therefore, may I please request for your kindness to Vote for me as your favourite ‘Remote Control Blogger’ and send me to the Philippines? Check out the video below and this page for more info!

*Note: This is a sponsored post.

Still remember my first post on the discovery of Osim uKimono slimming belt? Well, that was about 2 weeks ago and I suppose it’s high time for a quick update! Both Saucer and I have been religiously using the belt for the past 2 weeks, daily, for about half an hour each. I’m telling you this belt is just so easy to use! It’s now my habit to put it on whenever I’m sitting on my couch watching the TV. A caution though: ALWAYS empty your bladder before using it! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Putting on the Osim uKimono

Slimming comfortably

Now many have asked me the question on whether this product works or not. We have used the uKimono for 2 weeks now and we’re happy to report that both of us have lost about 1 inch each so far! Just to show you Saucer’s measurement from 2 weeks before, it was about 39.7 inches.

Before – 39.7 inches

And now, the measurement tape says 38.9 inches.

After – 38.9 inches

And here is the detailed report card on his measurements for the past 2 weeks:

Report card measurements

What do you think? Bear in mind during the past 2 weeks, our eating habit has been normal (no intentional cutting down on food) and also, we’re ashamed to admit, we didn’t exercise. Now I’m not saying that this slimming belt is an alternative to exercise because it’s definitely not. I would think of it more of a shaping instrument, to complement a healthy eating habit and lifestyle.

We still have about 2 more weeks to try out this product, making it a complete one month period. Stay tuned to find out if we continue losing any more inches in my last installment of Lose the Inches with Osim uKimono!

iPad 2, the successor of the famous brainchild from Apple, is now the talk of the town. When the first iPad was announced early last year, I immediately brushed off the idea of getting one, thinking that it’s rather redundant and a waste of money, especially since I already had an iPhone and a laptop. Fast forward a year later, I’m about to bite my own words. I have to say, it took me about that long to realize that the iPad is not just an accessory, it’s almost a necessity especially for travelers. To think that the iPad 2 now comes lighter and slimmer, I am just THIS close to getting one for myself!

Slimmer and sexier!

This is why I want to get an iPad 2!

1. Blogging on the Go

Whenever I travel, my blog would be left high and dry, because I just could not bear the thought of bringing my heavy laptop about, together with its long wires and power adaptor. Therefore, no laptop = no blogging. Some might think that I should not even be thinking about blogging when I’m out having a vacation, but sometimes, when you see that spectacular view or that magnificent sunset, you just had to share it! It’s true! When I was touring in Australia, I couldn’t help but be awed by the beautiful scenery and sunset that I just had to get my words and pictures out. With no laptop in hand, I tried blogging using my iPhone 3GS and boy, was it hard work! Typing was a chore, so was resizing pictures! Not to mention, the pictures taken by my iPhone did not do justice to the gorgeous place at all! You can read this post if you don’t believe me.

Typing is a breeze with iPad 2

Now with an iPad 2, I can foresee myself blogging on the go, whenever necessary. Not only that, I am also able to blog hop and reply emails easily. If there’s no internet, I can always look for Wi-fi spots or buy a temporary broadband SIM card. Easy!

Surfing would be easier

2. Never get lost!

During my Australian road trip, we rented a car to drive to the suburbs on our own. Being the navigator, I had to rely on the paper map, the GPS and Google maps on my phone! It was NOT easy juggling among these three. But what I found out was I could rely on the Google maps on my iPhone more compared to the other two, since it had a better database. I only wished for a bigger screen! Now with iPad 2, I would have nothing to complain about. No need for the tiresome zooming in and out to find out how far my destination point is from where I am.

Juggling among the map, iPhone and GPS

Bigger Google maps on iPad 2

3. Photos on the big screen

I love taking photos! Photos of food, of places, of people.. Having a big screen for me to review my pictures would be so much better than my small camera LCD. That way, I could immediately see how my pictures would look like on the big screen instead of having to painstakingly zoom in with my camera LCD.

Photo albums

Better still, if I had an Eye-Fi SD card, my pictures from the camera would immediately be viewable through the gorgeous iPad screen! Talk about efficiency. It means I could edit pictures, upload them and share on the spot!

Photo viewing made easy

Sharing pictures on the spot

4. Entertainment on my fingertips

I visit my hometown in Kampar once a month, usually by taking the train. The 2-hour journey in the train is usually spent either sleeping away or staring into space. But with an iPad 2 in hand, there is so much that I can do! I can choose to play games..

Playing games on the iPad 2

watch movies…

Choosing a movie

or even read an e-book! The possibilities are endless! And literally, all of them within my fingertips. Just thinking about it is already putting me in a gleeful mood!

Library of e-books

5. Communication, communication, communication

Last but not least, an iPad 2 keeps me connected to the world! As long as I have internet connection, I not only can chat online with my family or friends, I can also do a video call. It doesn’t matter anymore where I am in the world.

Video call with iPad 2

With so many reasons screaming at me to get an iPad 2, I can’t wait to get my hands on it already! When is iPad 2 coming to Malaysia I wonder?

Note: All images from www.apple.com/ipad