Bespoke Samsung Galaxy options land in Singapore

Samsung is making it easier for consumers to customise their new Galaxy device in Singapore. 

Visitors to the Samsung Online Store will have more options on how their Galaxy Z Flip4 5G looks and feels with the Galaxy Z Flip4 5G Bespoke Edition.

There are 75 Bespoke Edition combinations of glass colours and frame options to choose from, including frame options of Black, Silver, or Gold as well as front and back colours of Yellow, White, Navy, Khaki or Red. The custom looks are available only for the 256 GB variant, and the phone will cost S$1,548. Please allow up to four weeks for delivery. 

 

Source: Samsung. There are 75 colourway combinations for the Galaxy Z Flip4 Bespoke Edition. 

The Galaxy Z Fold4 5G will also be available at the Samsung Online Store in an exclusive colourway and additional internal storage.  Users can now purchase a 1 TB edition of the Galaxy Z Fold4 5G. There will also be an exclusive Burgundy colour variant available for the Galaxy Z Fold4 5G in its 256 GB and 512 GB variants.

In addition, Samsung Singapore is introducing Galaxy Watch Bespoke Studio in Singapore to allow users to mix-and-match their Galaxy Watch5 Series strap and watch faces. The model, size, case colour and strap can be selected in up to 96 unique combinations at preorder.

Available watch straps include the all-new D Buckle Sport Band (default with the Watch5 Pro), Sport Band (default with the Watch5), Link Bracelet Titanium, Two-tone Sport Band, and Rugged Sport Band.

Rolls-Royce shares Bespoke models from 2017

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has shared the finest examples of bespoke design and craftsmanship to be completed by the luxury house over the past 12 months. The Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Bespoke department is a collective of designers, engineers and craftspeople who bring patrons’ most ambitious and personal visions to reality. Today, almost every motor car made by Rolls-Royce is bespoke.

According to the company, 2017 was the year that Rolls-Royce elevated its Bespoke initiative to unprecedented new levels, resulting in one of the most significant years for the Bespoke department in the 114-year history of the brand.

Sweptail

Source: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. The Sweptail.

Rolls-Royce Sweptail premiered in 2017, draws on the lineage of 1920s and 1930s Rolls-Royce motor cars. The client’s vision was for a coach-built two seater coupé featuring a large panoramic glass roof.

The grille, milled from solid aluminium, presents a distinct formality. The side profile of Sweptail defines its stately character, whilst the rear taper of the motor car pays homage to the world of racing yachts. The rear culminates in the registration number 08, milled from ingots of aluminium and hand-polished to a mirror finish.

Phantom and The Gallery

Source: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. The Thorsten Franck Bespoke Phantom Gallery.

This new Rolls-Royce Phantom has at the heart of its design aesthetic The Gallery, a contemporary and luxury reinterpretation of a motor car’s dashboard and instrument panel.

An application of glass runs uninterrupted across the fascia, providing an unprecedented opportunity to present artwork within a car.

Dawn and Wraith at Porto Cervo

Two motor cars were created in honour of the 2017 Rolls-Royce Summer Studio, Porto Cervo, Sardinia in Italy. A bespoke Dawn drophead coupé and a Wraith Black Badge were commissioned to encapsulate the essence of the island.

Source: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. The Porto Cervo motif in sapphires and mother of pearl, in the Dawn.

Dawn adopted a nautical theme, evoking emotions of a Mediterranean sojourn. The Porto Cervo motif, encrusted with genuine sapphires and mother of pearl, is embedded into the front fascia of the motor car. Navy blue and arctic white hues complement an expanse of teak, including the decking and floor.

The Porto Cervo Wraith emulates Sardinia’s night time ambience. A two-tone Diamond Black exterior is contrasted with gloss and matte paint applications, while black woven leather door panniers infer Wraith Black Badge’s dark and complex character.

Spirit of Calligraphy Ghost

A special one-off commission unveiled in Dubai, UAE in 2017, the Bespoke Spirit of Calligraphy Ghost draws its design inspiration from the art of Arabic calligraphy. Words are harmoniously moulded into shapes called calligrams, creating a unique effect where text and image become one.

Source: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Detail of calligraphy motif, Spirit of Calligraphy Ghost.

Sir Henry Royce’s words “Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it”, in their Arabic form are shaped into Rolls-Royce’s flying mascot, the Spirit of Ecstasy. The calligram, created by artist Khaled Al Saaei, features as a silver inlay on the centre panel and as embroidery on the rear centre seat, amidst an array of Turchese, Black and Arctic White leathers.

Ghost Elegance

Commissioned for an individual collector, the Ghost Elegance is the first motor car to be finished in a paint infused with diamonds. Named Diamond Stardust, the unique paint incorporates 1,000 diamonds crushed to form a very fine powder, giving the finished panels unmatched lustre and sparkle.

Source: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. The Ghost Elegance.

The flanks of the car are highlighted with Mugello Red and Black twin coachlines, reflected inside with black leather seats and accents in Mugello Red, carried through stitching on the doors and piping on the seats. The detailed fascia of smooth open-pore Tudor Oak veneer is also complemented with a Mugello Red single stitch along the top of the dashboard, and finished with a Bespoke clock.

Source: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Dawn in Fuxia.

Dawn in Fuxia
In 2017, US collector Michael Fux was presented with his 10th Bespoke model from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Following a visit to Pebble Beach, US in 2016, where he collected a cluster of fuchsia petals, he challenged the Bespoke team at Goodwood - the home of Rolls-Royce - with a commission to bring a new colour to Dawn.

Dawn in Fuxia represents a unique hue to the Rolls-Royce Colour Collection, and is reserved exclusively for Fux. His most recent commission is his second Dawn, having collected the first – in one-off Fux Blue – in 2016. Reminiscent of that car, the interior of Dawn in Fuxia is trimmed in Arctic White leather.

Dawn B50 for Hotel Byblos

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Hotel Byblos in Saint-Tropez, France in 2017, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars revealed the Dawn B50, a Bespoke car inspired by the warmth and vibrancy of the Côte d'Azur.

Commissioned by the Hotel Byblos as the automotive Jewel of Saint-Tropez, the Dawn B50 has two dominant exterior colours. The combination was developed exclusively to celebrate the hotel’s anniversary, along with bespoke door treadplates and a unique hand-painted coachline on each side bearing the B50 logo. The sophisticated interior takes inspiration from the Mediterranean sun, with tangerine tones that accentuate the dashboard and echo the stitching across the seat upholstery and floor mats.

A special Silver Dawn

Prominently displayed at the Home of Rolls-Royce is a very rare 1952 Silver Dawn. It was sold new to a customer in Canada, and in 2017 a commission for a new Dawn from the same country led to a homage to this particular car in its 65th anniversary year.

Finished in two-tone Midnight Sapphire and Jubilee Silver, the new Dawn closely emulates the original finishes of the 1952 motor car, with a Bespoke painted coachline, broken for the first time on a Rolls-Royce. Inside, Selby Grey and Navy leather are combined with Crossbanded Walnut Burr veneer, closely matched to the original. The finishing touches include a Bespoke clock with 1952 lettering and a Spirit of Ecstasy veneer inlay.

Inspiration from South Korea

The Bespoke Collection for Korea embraces the aesthetic heritage of South Korea with contemporary flair. The Ghost Seoul Edition reflects colours that grace the country’s Taegukgi national flag, finished in bright Andalusian White with a twin coachline in Cobalto Blue and Mugello Red – along with a handpainted Bespoke motif that captures the silhouette of the iconic Namsan Seoul Tower. Inside, the black leather upholstery is complemented by contrasting bands in Arctic White, as well as blue and red highlights for stitching and piping.

The Wraith Busan Edition is inspired by the hues of the coastal city of the same name, with a two-tone exterior in Royal Blue and Jubilee Silver that conjures up the shimmering sea. The rear pillar motif echoes the delicate latticework of traditional Korean hanok screen doors, and is also carried inside the car across the dashboard. Emulating the dusk sky across nearby mountains, a single coachline in Blushing Pink draws attention to the shoulder line. The colour is also applied to the seat stitching, instrument panel and RR headrest monograms inside, as a flourish to the Selby Grey and Cobalto Blue upholstery.

RTA opens another round of applications for vanity plates

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai has launched a new phase of the Get Your Special Moments on Your Number Plate initiative, offering Dubai drivers a chance to select five-digit plates that reflect dates of significance.

Sultan Al Marzooki, Director of Vehicles Licensing at RTA’s Licensing Agency, said: “Phase II of this initiative follows the remarkable response garnered by the initial phase, which was restricted to those born from 1981 to 1998 under Code S.

"This initiative reflects RTA's core responsibility for offering new and excellent services adding more satisfaction and happiness to customers through engaging them in selecting numbers of importance in their lives as vehicle plates. Therefore, the new phase enables customers to have important or personal dates reflected in their vehicle licensing plates. Such plates must necessarily be of five digits only to cover the day, month and year."

Interested?

Number plates bearing Code T will be issued subject to the availability on RTA’s website against a total fee of AED1,620 per plate. Plates can be sourced from all Customer’s Happiness Centers in Dubai, service providers, strategic partners, from the RTA website or the Drivers & Vehicles smart app. The current phase of this initiative applies to those born from 1967 to 2016.

Olympus Imaging Singapore launches OM-D E-M5 Mark II customisataion service

Source: Olympus Imaging Singapore. The OM-D E-M5 Mark II.

Olympus Imaging Singapore has launched the OM-D E-M5 Mark II customisation service, an online service that allows customers to personalise their OM-D E-M5 Mark II body from the mounts to the dials at the point of purchase. This is Olympus Singapore's second online customisation service after the PEN E-PL7.

Each customised camera unit will be complemented by a leather wrist strap or handcrafted neck strap with personalised initials. The feature is unique to the OM-D E-M5 Mark II and will include email confirmation from Olympus.

The service also allows customers to choose from a selection of M. ZUIKO PREMIUM lenses in monochromatic colours to match the camera mount. The premium lenses range from the 12mm F2.0 lens, perfect for capturing architecture and landscapes, to the 75mm F1.8 lens which is ideal for capturing portraits and close-ups.

The OM-D E-M5 Mark II is reminiscent of classic OM System 35mm film cameras. An improved in-body five-axis image stabilisation system achieves the world's highest compensation performance, making handheld shooting enjoyable and enabling the shooting of telephoto situations without worrying about camera shake. The camera body is dustproof and splashproof. Prices for the OM-D E-M5 Mark II start at S$1,498 for the body only to S$3,096 when bundled with M. ZUIKO PREMIUM 75mm F1.8 lens.

Interested?

Explore the options available for the OM-D E-M5 Mark II customisation service. Pictures show how the camera will look like at each step of the customisation process, while a running tally highlights how much the customised camera will cost

Mix and match to build your HP Pavilion convertibles and notebooks

Source: HP. The HP Pavilion x360 in notebook mode. This model is in the new Minty Green shade.

HP has announced a new wave of Pavilion convertibles and notebooks that offer more processor, graphics and display options. Specifically, HP announced:

 Colourful HP Pavilion x360s that flip from notebook mode for working, stand mode for watching, tent mode for playing games and tablet mode for on-the-go.

 Customisable HP Pavilion notebooks that offer more hardware choices including discrete graphics and higher resolution displays. 

"Customers told us that they wanted more colour choices, more hardware options and better battery life in our Pavilion notebooks and x360 convertible PCs,” said Anneliese Olson, VP, Computing Solutions, Printing & Personal Systems, HP Asia-Pacific & Japan. “With our 2015 Pavilion line up, we have combined bold new colours from the runways in Milan with the latest processors to give customers systems with a fresh new look that deliver better performance and battery life across the board.”

“A new wave of millennials are demanding technology to empower them to work and play on their terms. Thanks to Moore’s Law, Intel has been pushing the limits of personal computing, enabling devices that are thinner, lighter, and more versatile than ever before,” said Tim Parker, Vice President and General Manager of Direct and Channel Sales for Intel in Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ). 

“The new range of HP devices with Intel inside combine Intel’s processing power and user experience with HP’s fresh new designs, effortlessly rising up to meet the high expectations of today’s connected generation.”

The HP Pavilion x360s have an innovative hinge that uses a set of three spiral gears for synchronised and precise movement to ensure the display glides smoothly and stays in place, where the user wants it. They are available in a new colour palette, including Sunset Red and Minty Green, and include full-sized, 1.5mm travel keyboards for comfort. A full-sized HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port are supported.

Source: HP. The new Pavilion x360 in stand mode. The model is in the new Sunset Red shade.

The high definition (HD) IPS display makes gaming and movies more enjoyable with crisp images that look great at any angle^{1, 2}. For the best sound reproduction, the HP Pavilion x360s have B&O Play audio.

For 2015 the HP Pavilion x360 is now available with Intel Core M-5Y10C processors in addition to Intel Celeron or Pentium processors³. With a 32 watt-hour battery and the Intel Core M processor, the new HP Pavilion x360 packs up to four more hours of power than the previous Pentium-based model. Customers can enjoy up to eight hours and 15 minutes of battery life⁴. The HP Pavilion x360 comes with up to 8 GB of system memory⁵.

For portability and power, the HP Pavilion notebooks are thinner and lighter with longer battery life. The 14" and 15" HP Pavilions offer up to eight hours and 15 minutes and seven and a half hours of battery life respectively, while weight is reduced across the line⁴. The notebooks have a redesigned unibody chassis n a variety of colours including Natural Silver, Blizzard White, Sunset Red, Cobalt Blue, Violet Purple, and Peachy Pink. Dual speakers tuned by B&O Play provide more immersive sound.

Source: HP. The HP Pavilion notebook in Violet Purple.

The HP Pavilion notebooks are offered with HD or Full HD on the 15" notebook, touch or no touch in both the 14" and 15" displays^{1, 2}. HP Pavilions come with the fifth generation Intel Core i3 through i7 processors³, up to 2 TB of HDD on select models and up to 16 GB of system memory⁵. Customers have the option to select between AMD Radeon and NVidia discrete graphics processors for this family. 

The Pavilion x360 is available for S$699, while both the 14" Pavilion notebook (500GB) and the 15" Pavilion notebook start at S$849. All devices will be available in June 2015.

1 High definition (HD) content is required to view high-definition images.

2 Full High definition (HD) content is required to view quad high-definition images.

3 Intel’s numbering is not a measurement of higher performance.

4 Battery life will vary depending on various factors including product model, configuration, loaded applications, features, use, wireless functionality, and power management settings. The maximum capacity of the battery will naturally decrease with time and usage. Battery life was tested using MobileMark 12.

5 For hard drives, GB = 1 billion bytes. Actual formatted capacity is less. Up to 30GB of the hard drive is reserved for system recovery software.

McDonald's introduces a Create your Own burger option

Dinner at McDonald's JEM: a small French fries, Heaven & Earth green tea, and an Angus beef burger that I designed myself, with a slice of Colby cheese, tomato, lettuce, garlic sauce and tomato jalapeno sauce.

The McDonald's at JEM has introduced self-service order kiosks which allow diners not only to order what's on the standard menu, but also to create do-it-yourself burgers with premium ingredients. According to the friendly McDonald's staff who was there to help people creating their own burgers, custom burgers may only be ordered through the kiosks, and not at the counter.

The basic burger with an Angus beef patty costs S$8.95 but may be more expensive as a meal (add S$2 for small fries and a soft drink) or if various options are added. While much care has clearly gone into the design of the software, the actual ordering process is somewhat confusing.

Firstly, diners may have to scroll down to view the full set of options. There is no indication that there are more options onscreen, and diners have to be aware that they should swipe up on the screen in order to view the rest of the screen. I, being used to Windows, tried swiping up on the scroll bar to the right. That did not work.

The next question mark had to do with which options are part of the basic burger at S$8.95, and which are not. There is no pricing information on the screens. There are some options clustered on the same screen which are included in the base price, such as red onions, jalapeno peppers, lettuce and tomatoes. You can choose more than one sauce as well. There are other options for which you may only choose one, such as the type of bread, and still others which come with an additional charge. While I'm willing to pay for a customised burger, I would still like to know how much that burger is going to cost as I go along.

I ordered a burger meal and was surprised to see that the bill did not list the French fries, though it noted that I had changed my drink to Heaven & Earth green tea. What I didn't realise was that when the receipt says 'Create Your Own Meal' that it meant that there would be French fries and a drink involved, and if it doesn't say 'meal' that it's just the burger. As a first-timer to reading a custom burger receipt, it worried me that my French fries were not listed, but the McDonald's staff assisting me assured me I would get them, and I did.

My burger meal cost me S$11.45 in the end, $8.95 for the burger, $2 for the meal and $0.50 for switching to green tea (I thought it was $0.30 if you buy a standard meal but it might have gone up while I wasn't looking). Payment is cashless and painless, and the receipt comes with a number that you can use for picking up your order at the counter. Custom burgers come with those buzzing discs that will sound when your order is ready for pickup - you pick one at random from a stack by the side of each kiosk, and tell the software what number it is. Strangely enough, I was told that I don't actually need to wait around for my order - they would actually serve it to me. In this case the disc acted like those numbered signs that tell staff where to find you.

The meal, when it arrived, was very prettily arranged on a wooden Moda breadboard, on dull gold paper. The fries came in a little wire basket that was lined with paper, and my green tea in a clear plastic to-go cup instead of the waxed paper variety. I had a 'hand & face refresher' wet tissue in addition to serviettes which was a nice touch, and a straw in a paper jacket. The only thing which was missing was the tomato or chilli sauce for the fries (if you want them).The assistant, to his credit, had actually asked me to go get the sauces, but it would have meant giving up my seat as a lone diner and sauces in little disposable plastic saucers spoils the mood somewhat.

The taste test? It is definitely much better than the normal McDonald's burger because of the Angus beef - a different texture - and all the other ingredients. The standard burgers don't come with a tomato slice and that always makes such a difference for me. The sauces - I chose a garlic sauce (creamy garlic aioli) and a tomato jalapeno sauce (tomato jalapeno relish) - added a definite sparkle to the taste, and I contemplated asking if I could have extra for the French fries, because it would have tasted SO good with them. 

I left without clearing up because I really wasn't sure what to do with the wire basket - you can't possibly toss that into the bin like you would with the remains of a standard meal. More guidance on how to clear up would be useful.

The verdict? Be warned that the burger isn't huge - you would get more dollar for dollar at Swensen's - but I loved the idea of deciding exactly what I wanted to have in it. I loved the 'plating', which by the way is about the same internationally; I have seen variations with fake newspaper but it's all breadboards and wire baskets. When you consider that some of the standard burger meals at McDonald's are pretty close in price 'Create your Own' is a definite winner, especially if you go with others and can discuss your choices with each other.

I'm told that JEM is the only McDonald's in Singapore with the Create your Own option, though self service kiosks may be introduced to more outlets in future, paving the way for fewer counter staff as diners will do all the ordering and paying by themselves. The next time though I might try the pre-designed options, which look like they would cost more than S$8.95 if you put them together by yourself.