Alan Soon's Blog

Ocean Restaurant at SEA Aquarium – Resort World Sentosa | Dining with an Ocean View | Food Places Review

Alan Soon — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 06:18:30 +0000

Among all the theme-based restaurants which we have visited in Resort World Sentosa, this is by far the most interesting and enjoyable one – Ocean Restaurant.

Clearly illustrated by its name, it is pretty straightforward to assume one can savor a good variety of seafood pieces. Except that one can also enjoy the splendid view of the ocean while dining underwater.

Ocean Restaurant is operated by Resorts World Sentosa in partnership with Cat Cora – the renowned Iron Chef and the only female celebrity chef in Singapore. She is also the first and only female Iron Chef in America.

The restaurant holds approximately 18 tables for in-dining. It would definitely be wise to do advanced booking especially during peak seasons or weekends.

Me and my family were fortunate to have a table just next to the ocean viewing glass wall. We enjoyed the splendid view of fishes swimming leisurely past us while savoring the award winning dishes from Cat.

Though I must say, it was wierd munching on cooked fishes while the live ones were watching closely over us.

We ordered a few of their signature dishes and I must say we are very impressed with the taste and unique presentation of the dishes.

A) Sous Vide 48 degree King Salmon

Slab of excellent cooked salmon which instantly melts in the mouth.

B) Locally farmed seabass

Just right texture to enjoy its sweetness, together with vegetables infused with soup stock.

C) Ocean sashimi in bouillabaisse

D) Sauted black Oyster

E) Desert – Almond and Chcolate Fondant tart

F) Desert – Raspberry and Yogurt Pearl

There are 2 ways to get to the Ocean Restaurant:

1. The main entrance at West Zone Carpark, B1M, near Equarius Hotel. Thereafter, you can still purchase the tickets to the SEA Aquarium if you wish to tour round after your meal.

2. Within the SEA Aquarium towards the centre of the regular tour route. That said, it will be a long queue before you can head into the Aquarium during a peak day. However, RWSInvite members will get priority entrance.

Details for booking the Ocean Restaurant:

Daily Operating hours: 11am – 10.30pm(Last order 10pm)

Tel No: +65 6577 6869

Email: ocean@rwsentosa.com

The Southeast Asia Aquarium (S.E.A. Aquarium) is the largest in the world, housing 100, 000 marine animals from 800 species. There are 10 zones, according to the geographic locations where the animals are found.

S.E.A. Aquarium (includes Maritime Museum) Ticket Prices

One-day pass : Adult $29; Child $20; Senior $20

Annual pass : Adult $88; Child $58; Senior $58

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Microsoft Surface Pro – A worthy component in the mobile gadget space? | IT Gadget Review

Alan Soon — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 07:52:45 +0000

Although Microsoft has released their all new Windows 8 powered tablet back in Q4 2012, the stocks were quite limited in availability within US & Europe. It is only recently I have managed to laid my hands on the new Microsoft Surface Pro loaded with Windows 8 Professional OS.

I even got a nice red limited edition Touch keyboard cover to go with the main set. Packaging is quite decent and simple.

It comes with the power kit and the accompanying stylus. Similar to approach by the Amazon, Google & Apple, it does not load in tons of user guide and it assumes that the Surface is pretty user friendly enough for the average individual.

I have decided to go straight for the Windows Pro Surface purely on the assumption that Windows usually requires fairly decent specifications to perform optimally. The other key reason is that Windows 8 will promise compatibility with all existing and past regular desktop softwares. Having an i5 processor and Intel HD 4000 GPU (+HD screen panel) definitely puts this tablet as a worth desktop replacement. The compromise for the added performance is the overall increase in thickness & weight for the Surface Pro.

Below are some photos taken to illustrate the various perspectives of the Microsoft Surface (against my current Macbook Air & Apple iPad Mini):

Though the Microsoft Surface Pro is slightly smaller than Macbook Air, it is slightly thicker.

Under the Windows 8 environment, one can easily toggle between the new Metro desktop or the Classic Windows desktop.

Having the chance to seriously use the Microsoft Surface Pro for more than a week, my personal assessment is that Microsoft still has a mile before she can convince the consumer of a winning case in the tablet space.

The Surface is too heavy and thick to compete directly with the Samsung’s Note series nor the Apple’s iPads. With an i5 processor and still a heavy Windows Pro OS, battery life is still a constrain for a typical mobility. The Surface RT has too weak a specification to ensure decent user experience.

However, the Surface Pro still has an edge to be a decent desktop replacement with mobility. This places it a good contender with the ultra laptops or the Macbook Air.

Still, it does comes with a package of both good & not so desirable points.

Pros

- Touch is responsive
- Decent battery life (~ 5hrs)
- Touch keyboard is of a good built and attaches very securely to the Surface body.
- Sufficient ports for needed connectivity (e.g. x1 USB 3.0 port, display port video out for presentation
- Wake up in ~1-2 seconds
- Brilliant HD screen panel for browsing & video replays
- All existing desktop Windows apps works well (esp Microsoft Office)
- Able to login to work domains (comply with network security compliance requirements)

Cons

- Limited apps from the Microsoft Store (to operate in Windows 8 Metro mode)
- Inter operability between Metro & Classic mode can be quite confusing for new comers or hard core users in previous desktop Windows editions
- May not be pleasant for extended mobility due to its weight. It is definitely not suitable for one hand operation (like a regular tablet)
- On screen keyboard UI needs to be improved (size)

In short, the Microsoft Surface Pro is still a good consideration if you are keen to use it more for business mobility rather than for leisure.

New Jailbreak for iOS 6.X and Apple A6, A5 devices is out! – Evasi0n | IT Guides

Alan Soon — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 02:18:49 +0000

Finally, after a long wait the A5 & A6 devices can be jailbreak-ed with the all new Evasi0n patch. This means that all new iPad mini, iphone5, iPad 4 including the old iOS devices can enjoy the OS liberalisation!

The whole process is pretty straightforward. You will need to download the patch file from www.evasi0n.com and follow the necessary instructions. The process will take approximately 5-10 mins.

Once it is done, you can proceed to download your previous jailbreak apps from Cydia!

Apple stocks plunged 9% after announcing their Q1 2013 results – a bargain buy? | Fundamental Analysis | US Stocks

Alan Soon — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 03:09:40 +0000

Apple (AAPL) just announced their fiscal 2013 Q1 results which came in ‘unspectacular’ against what traders were anticipating. Nevertheless, it is still a very decent report card if we do look into the details.

Key performance summary:

Revenue: $54.5 billion versus $54.58 billion expected
EPS: $13.81 versus $13.34 expected
Gross Margin: 38.6% versus 39.5% expected
iPhone: 47.8 million versus 50 million expected
iPad: 22.9 million versus 23 million expected
Mac: 4.1 million versus 5 million expected
iPod: 12.7 million versus 12 million expected
March quarter revenue: $42 billion versus $41 billion
Apple’s cash pile is up $39.5 billion in the past year.

Apple has also started to share the good revenue growth in Greater China – including Taiwan and Hong Kong – revenues were $6.83 billion, up from $5.43 billion in the previous quarter and $4.08 billion a year ago. That represents growth of 26 percent and 67 percent, respectively.

Q1 Performance comparison to previous years

It is a definite conclusion that the stellar growth in EPS is gone though the absolute EPS for Q1 2013 is still very decent. Apple expects revenue to rise about 7% in the current period after reporting an 18% gain in the holiday quarter. Earnings per share rose 7.23% when adjusting for the missing 14th week in Dec 2012 vs Dec 2011.

Performance breakdown for various product items

a. Mac – sales were extremely disappointing. In addition to being a weak overall PC market, Apple appeared to have some supply constraints. Thus, it was not able to get its new line totally out for the holiday season.
b. iPhone – ASP is halting around $645 though unit growth was up nearly 39%.
c. iPad – 59.5% growth over last year’s period when you factor in the extra week. But ASP fell as expected with the new iPad mini but this has definitely help to boost the overall sales volume.
d. iPod – unit sales came in slightly above expectations.

Apple provided the following guidance for its fiscal 2013 second quarter:

revenue – between $41 billion and $43 billion
gross margin – between 37.5 percent and 38.5 percent
operating expenses – between $3.8 billion and $3.9 billion
other income/(expense) – $350 million
tax rate – 26%

In summary, the market has not been very rational w.r.t. AAPL.

Google (GOOG) last announced 5% profit growth and the stock went up 5%.
Apple (AAPL) announced 13.5% profit growth and its stock was sold off, after hours, by -10%.

Google sells for 31 times trailing earnings and has declining average click prices.
Apple sells for less than 12 times earnings and average selling prices are stable or increasing across their product lines.

The hanging sentiments from all traders/investors which Apple (AAPL) will need to resolve are:

a. How to maintain the iOS market share, esp iPhone (accounts for 50% of the revenue) if there is no new product lines
b. Any new innovations to bring in new money on the table to pad the eroding ASP of the existing product lines
c. Positive works from the recent organisation change – Apple’s iOS chief Scott Forstall and retail chief John Browett who last left the company

Till then, there may not be a good catalyst to reverse the price downtrend even though the fundamental support price of Apple is very near.

Data roaming in Korea – Rent local Telco Sim Card for web surfing | Travel Tips

Alan Soon — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 15:44:06 +0000

To me, the most important must-have is internet connectivity especially if it is during an overseas trip. However, my last trip to Korea, I’m rather taken aback on the lack of ready pre-paid data sim card for tourist like myself.

Fortunately, after a quick hunt, I managed to locate a reliable domestic telco where I can rent a Sim Card. They have both the regular sim and micro sim versions, though there is limited stocks for the latter one.

Sadly, they do not have a nano sim version. So for the new iDevice users, you may need to bring a mifi to establish a wireless hotspot or simply bring along another smartphone which accepts the other sim versions.

The rental cost is pretty affordable though I would not recommend you exceed the given 1GB per day. The extra tariff can be astonishing as x3 the rental cost.

The rental card also allows you to make both domestic & overseas calls. The rates are stipulated below:

Enjoy your next vacation in Korea and stay connected!

The battle of the smartphones – S3 vs Note 2 vs iPhone 5 | IT Gadgets Review

Alan Soon — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 06:33:42 +0000

This Q4 2012 has been a very busy quarter for most major handset manufacturers in attempt to release their very own handsets before the festive period so as to grab the needed market share. In Singapore, of late popularity, there are 3 high end models released in the last 2 months alone – Samsung S3 LTE, Samsung Note 2 LTE and Apple iPhone 5.

Owning them and having to use them for a few weeks each on a daily basis, I would say that they each have their own key strengths, worthy of their top end ratings.

Again, rather than detailing and running through the technical specifications which can be easily summarised below, I would like to highlight the key considerations if you are thinking of choosing of one of them as your primary smartphone – which can be a difficult task!

Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE

- high speed LTE data connectivity if you are already having the 4G data plan. Having tried the M1 LTE service, I’m impressed on the coverage and the speeds even in areas where 3G data speed are horrible

- Sleek & much lighter than its brother Note 2

- Comes in pink which is ideal for ladies

- includes a microSD expandable slots which support the latest high end Sandisk 64gb Class 10

- support NFC which is an useful payment alternative supported by most regular merchants within Singapore

- battery pack can be easily changed

- handy Google Maps (part of Android standard app)

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 LTE

- larger screen for reading / video playback

- SPen which is useful for note taking or graphics illustrations

- much better battery life (fully charged battery can last a day of regular call/surfing activities

- also support microSD & NFC

- high speed LTE data connectivity like the S3

- battery pack can be easily changed

- handy Google Maps (part of Android standard app)

Apple iPhone 5

- compatible with iCloud and access to your existing apps from AppStore. Personally, native iOS apps are still better designed and faster than the Android equivalent. Greater access to larger variety of well designed games.

- lightest & thinest high end smartphone available in the market now

- battery life is slightly better than S3

- physical built is much more sturdy & metal finishing is excellent

- high speed LTE data connectivity

- more suitable for guys for the best mobility in the absence of carrier bags unlike the ladies

At the end of the day, all 3 are excellent smartphones, you will just need to choose one which best match your mobile lifestyle.

Useful tips and guides – Driving to Legoland Malaysia from Singapore | Travel & Drive

Alan Soon — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:07:06 +0000

Asia 1st Legoland theme park is officially launched since September 2012. The 76-acre (31-hectare) park, which will offer 40 rides is one of the main attractions of Iskandar Malaysia – a dedicated economic development zone bordering Singapore.

For Singaporeans, this offer yet another option for family outing which is just another 10 mins car ride after clearing the Tuas Immigration checkpoints. It is quite a straightforward trip if you are driving in from Singapore. But here are some useful short tips compiled after my first trip there.

A. Driving to Legoland Malaysia from Singapore

- Taking the 2nd link at Tuas might be a more hassle free drive as it is relative closer than from Woodlands checkpoint
- Do prepare sufficient stored credits in your Cashcard (to be used at SG checkpoint) and Touch&Go (to be used at MY checkpoint)
For cars using 2nd Link:
SG side (one way) : S$3.20
MY end (one way) : RM7.50

For cars using Woodlands Causeway:
SG side (one way) : S$1.20
MY end (one way) : RM2.90

rates are accurate at publish time of post.

You can get the MY TouchNGo card when you drive into the 2nd gantry from the furthest left. A brand new card costs RM30 inclusive of RM10 deposit. I would advice you to do a top up on the spot. Else you can still do the topup on the way back at the MY Shell Petrol Station before hitting the MY checkpoint.

- From MY checkpoint, just proceed along the highway and only exit at 312C (Nusajaya), illustrated from the official map:

After the highway exit, there is an important roundabout, which you will need to exit only at the second exit (with Legoland label

- There are 3 zones to park at Legoland. It is recommended to park at Zon 3, the one closer to the Medini Lifestyle Mall. Park close to the long shelter walkway as near to the mall entrance as possible. There is plenty of parking lots. Even at night, it is well lit and secured (by roaming security guards) even though it is an open carpark. Parking is free.

- One can walk through the comfort of the mall to reach the Legoland main entrance (appx 700m)

B. Things useful for the one-day trip

- Bring your own water bottles as there is no water points within the park. Of course, you can still purchase soft drinks / mineral water from the food outlets within the park
- Umbrella/ Ponchos and sun block spray are highly recommended (especially during extreme weather conditions)

- It will be quite a walk within the park, so go with your most comfortable shoe wear. You can rent strollers or alternatively, you can bring your own one along

- Pants are recommended as some rides are through elevations

C. Other suggestions / tips

- Useful to consider the Annual Pass it may take more than one trip to fully explore & try out all rides especially during the peak periods / days

- There are nice restaurants outside the theme park within the Medini Mall for your lunch or dinner, on top of the standard food outlets within the park which are pricier

- Do check out the weather forecast prior your trip to avoid any disappointment
- It will be an added experience if you can stay towards the evening hours when some features of the park are lighted up e.g. the Mini World

Hope you will have a good driving trip to Legoland. Don’t forget to share your experiences here for subsequent readers who are also planning their drive up to Legoland.

Save electricity with the new Aztech PSC100 S-Plug | IT Products Review

Alan Soon — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 04:55:51 +0000

Over the weekend, I managed to get this new innovative product from Aztech. Simple concept but goes a long way to help us reduce our carbon footprint.

Aztech PSC100 S-Plug is a powersaving plug that automatically switches off attached electronic devices which are in standby mode.

Appliances on standby mode still consume electricity, even though they are not actually on. Aztech S-Plug intelligently turns off the standby mode automatically to save power and lower electricity bills.

Setting it up is pretty straightforward:

a. Connect the series of appliances (including the main remote controlled device e.g. TV) onto the Aztech S-Plug

b. Learn the IR ‘power on’ on the remote for the primary device

c. Put all the connected devices in standby mode

d. Activate learning mode for Aztech S-Plug

e. Done. The S-plug will automatically cut off the electricity when all connected devices in standby mode for 15 seconds. One can turn on the S-Plug by using the same remote to turn on the primary device.

Technically, there should be decent energy saving but will check against the monthly power bill when it comes!

Apple missed the financial forecasts again – how’s the market responding? | Technical Analysis | US Stock Market

Alan Soon — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 05:57:42 +0000

Last Thurs (25th Nov), Apple (AAPL) announced its earnings for its fourth fiscal quarter of 2012. Apple’s revenue amounted to $36 billion in Q4. With earnings of $8.67 per share. Apple posted $8.2 billion in profit. The revenue numbers beat industry estimates, but profit did not.

The company is still making boatloads of cash and its revenues were higher than expected.

On average, the pros are looking for Apple to report earnings per share of $8.82 on sales of $36.02 billion.
The independents are expecting earnings of $10.14 on sales of $38.8 billion.

That’s a gap of $2.79 billion (7.7%) on revenue and $1.32 (15%) on EPS

Though it is seen that the sales have U-turned with the latest release of iPhone 5, the full real telling will be in Q1 2013 when the sales take into account the newly refreshed iMac and iPads.

Profit margin will still be challenged with the lower yield iPad mini.

EPS continues to soften from the high achieved in Q1/12.

Rising iPad revenue contribution is seen to be increasing at an expense of iPod revenue contribution, not totally unexpected.

At current P/E ratio of 13.72, AAPL is considered pretty reasonably pricey against its similar peers within the technology sector. With an dividend yield at 1.75%, it should offer some long term investors a comfort to have decent dividends while awaiting for capital appreciation.

Short term support is seen to be at $580. If prices stay above $600 for the week, the upward channel should resume.

In summary, the key assessment will be in Q1 2013 to access the business profitability with most of their mainstream products refreshed. If there are further new innovations which come, AAPL stock should once again regain some needed rejuvenation.

General disclaimer : The author has based this post on information obtained from sources which he believes to be reliable. He does not make any representation or warranty nor accept any responsibility or liability as to its accuracy, completeness or correctness. This post is not intended to be an offer, or the solicitation of any offer, to buy or sell the securities referred to herein.

SoftBank makes aggressive investment in Sprint – short term dilution but long term strategic move | M&A | Stock Market

Alan Soon — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 15:00:34 +0000

One of Japan’s largest wireless carriers, SoftBank Corp is spending $20.1 billion to gain a foothold in one of the world’s biggest and most lucrative mobile markets.

SoftBank Corp., Japan’s third-largest carrier, is taking a 70% stake in struggling U.S. carrier Sprint Nextel Corp. It would mark the largest-ever overseas acquisition by a Japanese company.

Softbank Corp.’s $20 billion takeover of Sprint Nextel Corp. is a calculated bet that the Japanese company can once again fix up a troubled mobile carrier and use it to rattle the industry’s leaders.

Sprint shares fell 4 cents Monday to $5.69.

Let me try to unveil some valuation around this structured M&A.

Assuming the last market price of $5.69 at Tuesday closing:

Scenario A (all transactions are done) i.e. s/n #1-4

Estimated share price value = $6.13

Scenario B (after new shares issued – max dilution) i.e. s/n #3 & #4

Estimated share price value = $5.54

Fundamentally, that should provide an indicative price range during this period based on simple calculation assuming all else equal (e.g. EPS, operating margin etc). However, in reality, Sprint would get $8 billion to pay down debt and build out its high-speed LTE network so it could better compete with its bigger rivals, Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc.

On technical front, the key resistance will be at $6.40 and near term support at $5.10.

Overall, Softbank-Sprint ranks as the 128th-largest global M&A deal of all time, according to Thomson Reuters.
In terms of telecom transactions, Softbank-Sprint ranks #27, and is the largest such deal since Mexico’s Carso Global Telecom bought America Movil for over $27 billion in 2010. Below is a list of the all-time top telecom M&A deals, courtesy of Thomson Reuters:

Alan Soon's Blog

Ocean Restaurant at SEA Aquarium – Resort World Sentosa | Dining with an Ocean View | Food Places Review

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