Samsung LCD TV Model LA37S8IBX

Samsung LCD TV LA37S8IBX

Lemme make things very clear, I don't work for MBf Cards nor Samsung. However, their latest joint promotion is really good not to be mentioned as it has gotten me really excited wanting to get myself one unit.

This exquisite model is only available to MBf Cards holders only and you can get yourself one by the following options:-

1) Get 3 credit card slips with 5 as the last digit approval code in it, all within one month. Yeah, that's pretty easy to get.... NOT!!

2) Balance transfer minimum RM7500, then keep a minimum balance of RM7000 for 39 months!!! Downside to this, you need to keep paying the minimum 5% monthly repayment that equals to RM350. Meaning that you need to spend a minimum of RM350 each month to ensure you keep the required RM7000 balance in your account. Yeah..... that's pretty easy to do.... NOT!!

3) 0% Easy Payment Plan (EPP)
a) Get yourself a new MBf Credit Card, and then 0% Easy Payment Plan it, at a very affordable RM100 for 43 months (making the unit price of RM4300), or

b) Existing card holders pay RM100 for 39 months ONLY!! Or for RM162.50 for 24 months!!
Outta all the options as above, its the 0% EPP that attracts me the most. I am a MBf card holder, so I qualify to get the spanking new 37inch Samsung LCD TV at a super discounted price of RM3900!! Whoa.....

Moreover, this model is not available in retail shops out there. It's a 37 inch model at a price that is very close to the street price of the 32inch, which are being sold at a promotional price of..... RM3499. So for additional RM401, I get a unit with a much bigger screen display. Better yet, its only RM100 or RM162.50 per month.

Now all this will be not interesting if the said model is not attractive in features or display. Sporting a HD-ready 1,366 x 768-pixel Super Patterned Vertical Alignment LCD panel, this panel is rated to deliver a high 7,000:1 dynamic contrast and a 500nit brightness. Coupled these with a fast 8ms response time and industry-leading 178 degree viewing angle and it's customary DNIE picture-processing engine, Samsung has got itself an extremely powerful TV that's currently leading the pack in the entry level price segment.

Even better are the TWO HDMI ports, along with another two sets of analog component-video sockets at the rear. That's a total of FOUR 1080i-ready inputs to go with your HD-enabled playback devices (Blu-Ray DVD players, HD-DVD player, XBOX360 or PS3). Oh, there are also the customary S-Video and regular composite video at the side too.

I have to admit that I have not laid eyes on any display in any form from this LCD TV, as its an exclusive Mbf Card offer. However, I could view its bigger brother, the LA40S8IBX. The display is very impressive, no problems in displaying fast moving movie action scenes without ghosting, thanks to its fast 8ms response time. Colors are very sharp due to its high contrast ratio and details are very sharp. This is about as technical I will get into. Summary, the display is very impressive for a 40in model (street price of RM6499), and with a slightly smaller in screen size, the display will be equally impressive in the 37in model.

There you have it, my reason being excited. Impressive displays, 2 HDMI imputs, 37in screen at 32in prices. Best part of it all, 0%EPP at RM100 per month for 39 month.

MBf, expect an order to me real soon, and Samsung, pls send it to me soonest possible!!!

Modded PS3 available, in KL??

An extremely reliable birdy told me something very interesting early last week. I have been spending some time investigating this piece of information; I was in my extremely curious mode and tried to dig as much info as I can get from this, to verify its existence or to debunk it (much like one of my favorite shows on the Discovery Channel, Mythbusters). So with the help of several friends, this is what I found out. The info that got me so worked up was this:

PS3 have been modded, with games available for it, and its available in KL!

There are also 10-15 "DVD" games available for the modded PS3, and is available in two options: Japanese PS3 or US PS3 sets. More surprisingly, the Jap PS3 is black and the US PS3 is in WHITE! And to top it off, Jap PS3 retails at RM1300++ and US PS3 is for you to take home at RM1600++, bundled with one Original and one "compatible" (???) controller, and 10 DVD games!!!

Now I pulled my immediate gaming resources (meaning I called Kenny Gan of Wega Enterprise in Sungei Wang) to get to the bottom of this. I had suspect that he didn't know of it either, else he would have told me of it. He confirmed that he didn't, and that got me to look for the little reliable birdy to confirm her story. This lead to one crazy exchanges of SMSes and furious online chats just to confirm the story.

Long story told short, we got someone to help us do the legwork to confirm the existence of modded PS3s in KL, while I went online to verify that someone indeed have successfully done such a thing. It seems that not all stores selling PS3 are aware of this (like Wega Ent), and it seems only a handful do. A quick check in Sg Wang and Leisure Mall shows that these places are unaware, while its available in two undisclosed locations, for now. This is what I found out.

A quick check on the internet does reveal that someone has successfully done it. YouTube have numerous video proof of playing "back-ups" on a PS3 (but you have to take it with many pinches of salt to believe some of them). Some of these videos are so blurry and many can be taken as fake, but there are a few seemingly genuine videos that looks very real.

My legwork source have verified that he has personally seen the modded PS3 and the "DVD" discs and they do run on the modded PS3s. Some titles available are Oblivion, FIFA, but don't take my word for it as I have not seen the titles with my own eyes. Only black PS3 (supposedly Jap PS3) are seen in stock and no WHITE PS3 (supposedly US PS3) can be found.

The modded PS3s sold in KL are of the cancelled 20GB variants. 20GB PS3 have been cancelled since last 2006 and are no longer in production. It has a smaller HDD size,does not have WiFi nor a built in card reader as compared to the 60GB big brother that has. The US retail price for the 20GB is USD499 versus USD599 for the 60GB one. The games are indeed available in DVD format, but the library for it is pretty much limited. I have not personally seen the titles, so i cant comment about them here.

So there you have it. Its TRUE, modded PS3 have landed in KL, and yes, the prices are indeed as cheap as I was told. BUT, I had many doubt and issues with those modded PS3 that keeps me from running to the store to get one unit of my own right now. I will put them up in my next post.

What's new?? Modded Wii!!!

While I have been away since the begining of this year, several key gadgets have arrived in KL, some to much fanfare while some making a more quiet entrance.

Firstly, a modded Nintendo Wii (hereafter to be known as Wii only) has hit the stores in KL, way back in April 07. What this means is that Wii have been cracked and chipped to play pirated games. While WiiKey and its many clones have been available in the market for few months now, it has only recently showed up in MY.

There are two types of Wii systems in MY, the Japanese version and the US version. Most of the units sold here are of the Japanese varient, as its about RM300 cheaper than the US version. So whats the difference??

There are two main differences, firstly is the language. Japanese Wii have menu screens in Japanese, while the US version has an English for its menu (duh!!). Note that the Wii does not have options to change language unlike the PS3. So if you got yourself a Japanese Wii, you are stuck with Japanese menu. While this may not be a very big deal to many, I would go for the US version for the friendliness of the the menu. As I cant read Japanese, this limits my ability to change the preset options of the Wii, like the sound output, the video output, the internet connection setting, the Wii Connect24 options, the many Wii Channels setting, and even the cool blue LED lights at the DVD slot. I want full control over my unit, and this alone makes the RM300 seems worth it.

However, if you got the Japanese system and have limited command of the Japanese language, there are many system FAQs out there online, so you can learn the menu setting, what buttons means what and what to do to change the settings on your Wii. One good site to start is www.gamefaqs.com. If I am up for it, I may post the settings here at a later date.

One other difference to the Japanese versus the US version is that the latter comes with Wii Sports as a bundle. Now as pirated versions of Wii games are available at a fraction cost of the original softwares, this may seem insignificant. Still, its a good bundle to have for free.

Most stores will sell you a Japanese Wii, so if you wish to be able to read your Wii settings in English, pls specify that you want the slightly costlier US Wii. The current market price is RM1199 for the Japanese Wii, and its RM1499 for the US version. The pirated games retail for RM15 each, they can be found in most stores around KL.

For my blog readers, head over to Wega Enterprise (LG floor, in front of Parkson side entrance, opposite Michael Ling hair saloon), look for Kenny Gan and tell him Steven (thats me!!) sent you. He will give you a better price (for the Wii only) than the retail price as above.

Back from my hiatus!!

I have been missing from my own blog for a few months time. Something bad happened to my brother, he was infected by dengue and was warded few days after my previous entry. Long story short, he was warded into a hospital, turned very critical that had him staying in ICU for over a month, and took him another few weeks there to recuperate. He has since been discharged and is recovering at home. He is not at his optimal, but we are working to get him back to normal.

For all those who knows me and my family incident, those who had helped me pray for him, those that had help me get blessing for him, those that had just thought of us during this time, I wish to THANK YOU with all my heart, and wish all the good things in life for you.

I will contribute to this blog more, and try to make it a bigger and more informative site for gadgets (that i can get my hands on for review) in Malaysia.

Thank you for your continued support.