The skyscraper index tells us that tall buildings and the market are closely correlated—and the unlucky ones being built during a catastrophic economic crisis run the risk of remaining incomplete forever. Such was the case with Sathorn Unique.
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Thailand isn’t exactly known for its unquestionable ethics; activities that would quickly be labeled as illegal in the West are practiced in plain view in Bangkok. Loose regulations mean that a nearly limitless array of goods and services can be purchased with cash and even credit — a currency like Bitcoin would only be necessary for the most heinous of exchanges. It’s a bit ironic, then, that the Thai government is now the world’s first to ban Bitcoin. Following a conference at the Bank of Thailand yesterday, the Foreign Exchange Administration and Policy Department voted to make the digital coinage illegal, prohibiting people from buying, selling or trading Bitcoins for goods or services. Additionally, Bitcoins cannot be moved into or out of the country, rendering any current stockpiles worthless. The Bank of Thailand ended its dispatch with a promise to revisit the ruling in the future, though this landmark decision could prove to be the beginning of the end for Bitcoin.
Filed under: Household, Internet
Via: The Telegraph
Source: Bitcoin Co. Ltd.
Apple is investigating claims that tin used in its products comes from mines on Bangka Island in Indonesia. This comes after environmental watchdog Friends of the Earth (FoE) pressured the tech giant to identify the source of the metal used for soldering components in iDevices. While the island region is one of the largest suppliers of tin in the world, mining conditions are far from ideal. Landslides consistently claim the lives of workers, and mining itself has had an adverse effect on the local environment. The group successfully pressured Samsung to admit its involvement with the area’s tin supplies in April.
For its part, Apple commissioned a fact-finding visit to learn more and is helping to fund a new study on mining in the region so they “can better understand the situation.” Or maybe they could save some time and money by reading the one conducted by The Guardian and FoE from last November. You know, the one that found that unregulated tin mining leans heavily on child labor, destroys the environment and causes on average 100 – 150 miner fatalities every year. Cupertino has already vowed to not use conflict minerals and appointed a former EPA administrator to focus on its environmental efforts, so it at least looks responsible. Now to see if it can back up its actions.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Apple
Via: The Verge
After first being rolled out in Korea in February, the LG Optimus G Pro is now coming to other Asian markets. With the announcement on May 30, LG’s flagship 5.5-inch Android “phablet” will debut in Hong Kong in June followed by Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia over the course of the month.
The full press release with explanation of its specs and features is below:
___________________________________________________________
LG OPTIMUS G PRO ARRIVES IN ASIA
Fully Packed with Advanced UX and Features, LG’s Biggest Smartphone
Offers Asian Consumers Differentiated Smartphone Experience
SEOUL, May 30, 2013 — LG Electronics (LG) is demonstrating its commitment to the premium smartphone market in Asia with the introduction of its flagship smartphone, Optimus G Pro, in the rest of the region. Originally introduced in its home market of Korea earlier this year, the 5.5-inch display Android device is being rolled-out in the rest of the region starting on May 30. The smartphone will debut in Hong Kong in June followed by other Asian markets including Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Philippine, Vietnam and Malaysia throughout the month.
“LG’s Optimus G Pro sets a new benchmark in the over 5-inch display smartphone category which is catching on with consumers everywhere who aren’t interested in owning both a phone and a tablet,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Asian customers are leading many of today’s technology trends and we’re confident Optimus G Pro will find a large following in this region.”
The Optimus G Pro is equipped with the swift Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, which features a 1.7GHz Quad-Core CPU and Adreno 320 GPU. Combined with other industry-leading features such as a long-lasting 3,140mAh battery and 2GB RAM, LG’s Optimus G Pro is one of the most advanced smartphones currently on the market today. With its expansive 5.5-inch 1080p Full HD IPS display delivering a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels at 400ppi, the Optimus G Pro provides razor sharp images and wide viewing angles as well as a comfortable in-hand experience and great “pocketability.”
Backed by powerful hardware features, the Optimus G Pro also comes packed with differentiated UX features, such as:
• Dual Camera and Dual Recording: The Dual Camera and Dual Recording functions allow users to capture pictures or videos with both the front and rear cameras simultaneously for a unique picture-in-picture experience;
• VR Panorama: The VR Panorama allows shots of entire horizontal and vertical environments for a full 360° view;
• Pause and Resume Recording: The Pause and Resume Recording feature allows for the recording of short snippets of video which can then be viewed as one continuous file.
• Smart Video: Smart Video recognizes the position of the viewer’s eyes and automatically plays or stops the video without any manual input from the user.
Key Specifications:
• Operating System: Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2
• Processor: 1.7GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm? Snapdragon™ 600 Processor
• Display: 5.5-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels / 400ppi)
• Memory: 16GB / microSD (up to 64GB)
• RAM: 2GB DDR
• Camera: Rear 13.0MP / Front 2.1MP
• Battery: 3,140mAh (removable)
• Size: 150.2 x 76.1 x 9.4mm
• Colors: Indigo Black, Lunar White
# # #
About LG Electronics, Inc.
LG Electronics Inc. (KSE: 066570.KS) is a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, mobile communications and home appliances, employing 87,000 people working in 113 offices around the world. With 2012 global sales of USD 45.22 billion (KRW 50.96 trillion), LG comprises four business units – Home Entertainment, Mobile Communications, Home Appliance, and Air Conditioning & Energy Solution – and is one of the world’s leading producers of flat panel TVs, mobile devices, air conditioners, washing machines and refrigerators. LG Electronics is a 2013 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year.
Following our previous post on Taxis in Asia’s most developed cities we decided to take the bumpier road and provide a round up of taxis in four of Asia’s emerging metropolises.
1- Bangkok: Tuk-tuk
Overview: uncomfortable, overpriced and inefficient. You are better off taking a regular taxi. Then again tuk-tuks have become synonymous with transportation in Bangkok and worth taking for a short ride just for the experience.
Price: Should be negotiated with the driver before riding. Be prepared to haggle tough… then again you will still get ripped off whatever price you agree on anyway.
Pimped out disco light tuk-tuk.
Bonuses: Interesting pimped out interiors with various kinds of decoration. A great way to experience the heat, congestion, and intensity of Bangkok, but probably not recommended if you are severely jet-lagged or hungover.
Haggling with a tuk-tuk driver.
Warnings: Often drivers will ask you to visit a shop (or two, or three) so that he can receive gas coupons from the shop owners in exchange for bringing them business, so always refuse this and insist on going to your destination. Avoid picking up tuk-tuks right outside of tourist areas and instead walk a couple of blocks and hail one off the street. Be prepared for a bumpy ride so don’t indulge in too much Thai food and beer before riding!
2- Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): Motorbike taxi
Overview: In Ho Chi Minh its better to be on a motorbike than off one, as its often much safer to catch a bike ride somewhere than try to walk it. Motorbikes are also more capable of navigating through the chaotic and dense traffic, narrow backstreets and old neighborhoods than the buses or regular taxis.
Price: Its always good to ask a local friend or hotel staff about the average price of getting from A to B by motorbike taxi, obviously expect to pay a bit more than locals and be sure to settle the price before jumping on and strapping your helmet.
Bonuses: relatively cheap, safe, fast and exciting. What better way to experience getting around Vietnam than they way most locals do!
Warnings: The driver may pretend to know your destination and instead take you somewhere else and hope to escape with his fare before you realize so make sure you are at the right place before paying! This happened to me a couple of times. Most importantly- always wear a helmet! Its the law in Vietnam so don’t suffer the penalty fine.
Average price from Ho Chi Minh Airport to downtown: Around 70,000 Dong ($US3-4)
3- Mumbai: Taxi
Overview: widely available, safer, cleaner and more comfortable than auto-rickshaws and for the most part fairly priced. Older taxis such as the black and yellow Padmini, ubiquitous with old ‘Bombay’ are slowly fizzling out of the traffic scene in favor of newer air-conditioned models.
Price: Rs19 ($US0.35) for first 1.5Km, Rs12.35 ($US0.23) per additional Km.
Bonuses: Cheap, metered, and several cab companies including MeruCabs and TabCab offer services allowing you to book pick ups online and through the phone which is often allot more reliable especially if travelling for business or getting to airports on time.
Warnings: If taking a regular taxi rather than a fleet taxi then always make sure that the driver re-sets the meter, especially if he is using a mechanical meter. You can check for the reliability of the rates by carrying a ‘rate-card’ available at the airport since some drivers will carry a fake rate-card with higher prices. Often drivers are reluctant to take you short distances, in this case offer them a flat rate. Most importantly do not get into a taxi if they say the meter is not working!
4- Kathmandu- Taxi
Overview: Kathmandu isn’t exactly a sprawling metropolis but the fact that taxis in and around the city take you across some spectacular Himalayan scenery is worth a mention. Most taxis in Kathmandu are small, cozy Suzuki Marutis which barely fit two passengers let alone their luggage.
Price:most drivers are willing to go by meter for short trips at the rate of Rs 8 ($US0.09) for every 200m although to/from major tourist destinations you have to negotiate the price. Since Nepal is a poor country and prices in general are cheap its not worth arguing to much to save a few cents.
Bonuses: a cheap, convenient way to get to cross the emerging city, access amazing Himalayan views and check out historical towns. From my experience taxi drivers in Kathmandu were super friendly, invited us to lunch, smoke and educated us about Nepali life.
Warnings: By law taxis are required to go by the meter, but in a corrupt state as Nepal officials have turned a blind eye to this. Not going by the meter for longer journeys means you will probably be asked to pay 5-10 times the metered price so negotiation is necessary. But if you are in a hurry just settle the deal quickly otherwise you will find yourself wasting time haggling or arguing about using the meter. If you have a larger budget its worth using transport arranged by your hotel, tour operator or company.
Once upon a time (2007) in a land far, far away (Thailand) lived the i-mobile 902, a pseudo Sony Ericsson W800 clone featuring a trick five-megapixel autofocus camera with a Sony-made CCD sensor and xenon flash. At the time, it produced shots with the most detail and best low-light performance we’d ever experienced on any cameraphone, ever — make no mistake, it took several years before CMOS-based shooters caught up. It was a well made handset, but fell somewhat short in every other area besides imaging. Fast-forward to yesterday, when Thai phone manufacturer i-mobile published a series of pictures of the IQ X and IQ XA, a pair of thin, handsome-looking Android 4.2 devices with a 4.7-inch 720p display and MediaTek‘s quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 SoC (MT6589). Read on and we’ll run through the some of the more curious specs — not least the resolution of the rear camera.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
Via: Siamphone
Source: i-mobile Thailand (Facebook)
Sometimes, things aren’t what they seem. For example, what looks like a wall to you might look like an ad to someone else. This might sound like a strange occurrence, but it happens more than you think.
In fact, it happens every time to people who chance upon HomePro’s ad campaign where they’ve put up a bunch of temporary billboards that have ads on one side and a wall on the other.
HomePro is a hardware store based in Thailand and they’re trying to do something different with their Other Side campaign. Instead of just putting up a bunch of billboards to advertise their stuff, they’re also showing off their wares by constructing a wall on the other side of the ad. But these aren’t designed just to be ads. As many people in the country live in underprivileged areas, they’ve been know to recycle old billboards and use them to create improvised walls for their shelters.
These billboards help them out a little by providing them with a ready-to-install wall on the other side, so when the campaign is over, the wall will continue to serve a useful purpose.
[via Pop Up City]
Remember that unnamed Acer phone we caught skulking about Intel’s CES event? It’s been given a proper launch: meet the Liquid C1. True to form, the fully revealed device centers around a Lexington-based, 1.2GHz Atom Z2420 processor. The chip gives the C1 enough grunt to power an 8-megapixel camera with burst shooting while keeping the price in check, at about 9,990 baht ($335) off-contract for the inaugural Thailand release in February. Locals will otherwise get a solid Android 4.0 smartphone with a 4.3-inch display, HSPA+ 3G and a battery that lasts for nine hours of 3G talk. Other countries in southeast Asia are next on the list to get Acer’s turn at an Intel-powered handset, although we wouldn’t expect to see it everywhere — Intel’s Uday Marty warns ZDNet that the absence of LTE will keep phones like the C1 away from markets where the faster data is commonplace.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Acer
Source: ZDNet
Elephants are pretty cool, and there are plenty around in Thailand. However, you don’t expect them to have the same penchant for smartphones as humans. This one at a Thai animal part took a liking to a Chinese tourist’s iPhone and decided to swallow it whole.
If you’re an elephant and you swallow something, you’d better believe that it’s coming out the other end, sooner or later. That’s apparently what happened with the iPhone, no worse for wear, but perhaps a tad smellier. A little while after the incident, the handler nonchalantly digs through the elephant’s poop, looking for the ringing phone.
While at first glance, it looks like the real deal, I think that the video could be a fake. Given the circumstances, everyone seems a bit too relaxed, including the handler and the woman who lost the phone. Still, it’s pretty funny to watch.
[via Ubergizmo]
When I visit a zoo or anywhere else animals are the main attraction, I can’t help but to snap a few photos to later view and remind myself of my recent visit. One thing I don’t do is have my phone so close to an animal that they can snatch it out of my hand and eat it, which is exactly what happened to the Chinese tourist in the following video.
The video follows two Chinese tourists as they visit an elephant park in Thailand. One tourist can be seen feeding one of the elephants by hand, while the other holds her iPhone up in order to get a shot of the elephant-feeding action. The elephant can then be seen snagging the iPhone up and proceeds to eat it, which makes sense seeing as there’s an Apple logo on the back of the device.
The rest of the video I’ll leave for you to watch, but let’s just say, the woman goes through the process of retrieving her eaten iPhone and it’s not how most people would want to spend their afternoon in an elephant park.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Check out Apple’s iPhone 5 rendered in full 3D[Video], Netflix iOS App Update Adds New Player, Controls, Facebook Sharing Toggle and More,
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
