August 2010 | arystle's scribbles

To London for Lampard!

Posted by Arystle Wednesday, August 25, 2010 6 comments

Meeting Lampard come September!

Maxis has given me an early birthday present this year! An e-mail congratulating and notifying me as one of the winner to meet Lampard in person, I was in disbelief and in utter shock!! Just a month back, I entered the 'The Biggest Fan Contest' with much hope to meet Messi. I needed to prove that I was Messi's biggest fan and hence I submitted both a video and image and prayed hard I win! True enough, luck was on my side. But strangely, I was selected to meet Lampard instead of Messi. I'm dying to ask the Maxis reps behind this contest on how the selection of winners were made. But alas, winning this contest is a dream come true. Thank you Maxis!! It is without a doubt that I find myself still so loyal to Maxis for the past 12 years now. :)

This is rather weird as I am not even a Chelsea supporter. My heart is still strongly tied with Liverpool - and always will be. And yet, with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Lampard, no way am I going to give this a miss! This Meet & Greet prize includes an all expense paid 3 days 2 nights trip for 2 people to the selected country. In my case, it'll be London! The prize also includes the flight tickets, lodging, visa charges and meals. Am i just lucky or really blessed? :) Thank you again Maxis!!

I'm really excited to meet Lampard, but really - I want to meet Messi! Maxis, bring me to Messi! oh well. Frank James Lampard - I know he's like getting 200k, in pounds, mind you, for each week throughout the year. He has also won the Chelsea Player of the Year award for three times now, and is Chelsea's 3rd all-time goalscorer with 158 goals in all competitions, including over 100 league goals, the most in the club's history for a midfielder. Wow! Now, I'm thinking of what to say, what to ask, what to do, when I finally meet him in person. Hmmmm.....

Messinspiration!

Will definitely be blogging about the entire trip! More to come! Stay tuned! :)

My Water Moments with Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX5!

Posted by Arystle Wednesday, August 18, 2010 5 comments

Being an ultimate beach bum and one who loves water sports, i've been on a lookout for a waterproof camera. one that can accompany me deep into the water and one that can also capture those water memories for me. what perfect timing it was, when Advertlets had an event with Sony Malaysia to snap, spash and win with their DSC-TX5 at Mali Cove in Sunway Lagoon.

come one, come all, for a day of fun, fun, fun!

"My Water Moments with TX5!"

Barely 9.30am and Mali cove was already packed with bloggers and public alike. the sun was beaming and somewhat showed a sign of promise that today's going to be a good day indeed. :) both Josh Lim and Rebecca was busy running about, ensuring everything runs smoothly. go Advertlets! :)

Rebecca and Josh trying to coax the Sony rep.

The minute we passed the entrance gates of sunway lagoon, we were all really excited and could barely wait to see what was planned for us for the day! in whole, the TX5 came in handy, as we snapped away and splashed away and had a ball of a time! someone once said, great things come in small packages. this is very true with the TX5! measuring with only a 3/4" thin body, the TX5 is easily built and functioned to shoot both images and videos.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX5

Shockproof, dustproof, waterproof and freeze-proof, the TX5 was built to withstand all kinds of weather conditions and environment. Pocket-sized to fit any skinny jeans at all, the TXS has a 4x wide-angle zoom and a 3-inch touchscreen LCD (230k pixels). slide you finger across, top and bottom to select the readily available picture options to suit the current setting you're in.

Shockproof, dustproof, waterproof and freeze-proof!

if there's only one flaw worth mentioning about the TX5, it has to be the slow processing method. when taking a shot, I had to wait slightly longer than usual to snap the next picture. this is not good, especially when you're in the spur of the moment and if you have only a few seconds apart to snap a particular moment. Sony should look into this and ensure it's other addition to the family doesn't experience the same thing.

so go ahead an explore the TX5 and let me know if you liked it. after all, the button we press to snap that particular moment speaks a thousand words about us.

with Zen and Betz!

"There is only you and your camera. The limitations is in your photography and in yourself, for what we see is what we are."

- Ernst Haas

Honda FREED the MPV Dream!

Posted by Arystle Monday, August 9, 2010 4 comments

Vroom.....vroooom......vroooooooom....

ready.

set.

go!

MPV dream FREED!

Good news all MPV lovers, Honda Malaysia has finally brought the All-New Freed - the premium compact MPV! Targeted to young urban families and professionals, this stylish MPV has an advantage of its own when compared to the other available MPVs in the market. For start, their unique selling points are such as the automatic sliding door, the flat floor design as well as the walkable cabin space!

Advertlets Bloggers + Honda Crews altogether now. Credits to http://smashpop.net

Last Saturday, a group of 32 bloggers were invited by Honda Malaysia to test drive its latest addition to the family - the all-new Honda Freed!! Boy! I was really excited, first of all because it is Honda and secondly, I was able to test drive this powerful 1.5L 118PS i-VTEC engine powered vehicle!

A real fun & free day!

We gathered at SOULed Out, Desa Sri Hartamas for a quick breakfast and a detailed briefing on the Honda Freed as well as the route we'll be driving for the test drive. Themed “4 Seater + IDEAS”, the team at Honda did a pretty good job to ensure the entire event ran smoothly and with the least flaw at all. Honda's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Toru Takahashi was there as well and a round of applause rose when he was introduced to the excited team of bloggers.

with Paul Tan.

And ooooh, guess what? It was my very first time meeting Paul Tan! Don't even know why I was feeling nervous. Maybe because he was like the Mr know-it-all about cars and I felt like a total doofus next to him! haha! He along with his team mate Harvinder Singh shared some insightful tips with us on what we should pay attention to when conducting a test drive. All 8 Honda Freed were in convoy and we were somewhat pampered with snacks, drinks and a Touch n Go card, that's to be used when passing the toll. We had fun with the polaroid camera and walkie-talkies as well. The entire journey covered about 80km and took approximately 2 hours, from SOULed Out, Desa Sri Hartamas to Putrajaya Waterpark.

the handsome Honda Freed

I am no car review expert and if you're looking to read more on the technical aspects of it, do read up what Paul Tan has to say about it here. However, being a female driver and one who ogles at cars, I will share my personal take and observation about the all-new Honda Freed with you. First up, the design - for a female driver, the first thing that comes to mind is always the design! :)

DESIGN

The Honda Freed is a lil too square for my liking. But do know that the 'square' design was implemented for a reason - to allow a compact yet spacious form of vehicle that is really apt for families. Furthermore, as illustrated below, the triangular shape at the front of is for aerodynamic purposes and thus, enabling the MPV to move about in a much smoother manner. The walkthrough cabin with a 200mm walkway is good if you’re a parent and if you need to climb to the backseat to attend to your child. The walkway has sufficient leg space and a flat floor to enable easier access of the 2nd row seats, 3rd row seats or even the cargo.

The magical combination of both the square and triangle

Walkthrough cabin with a 200mm walkway

ample leg space -to accommodate your feet in comfort.

STYLE

One plus point about the Honda Freed has got to be its automated sliding doors. I love how each I’m able to step out of the car especially when parked really near the next vehicle beside me. I do not need to squeeze myself in between the tight space to get in or out of the car because the doors are automated and can be opened by both the driver’s seat, remote or by sensory touch – in this case, I can really step out of the MPV with ‘style’. :) The best part yet is that the doors are equipped with an anti-pinch sensor that immediately reverses the closing doors when obstacles are detected. With the side door opening width of 600mm, the Honda Freed help to solve the space problem for passengers on the 2nd and 3rd row seating.

automated sliding doors

TECHNOLOGY

The Honda Freed has a small turning radius of 5.2m. What this means is that when manoeuvring narrow or tight-spaced lanes, the Honda Freed ensures a better turn and this is especially useful on the many, many single-lane roads in Malaysia. Also equipped with a shifting 5-gear automatic transmission that helps to keep the engine range within its most efficient speed, this MPV is one MPV that can offer you better fuel efficiency.

equipped with a shifting 5-gear automatic transmission

SAFETY

For every car buyer, we’ll never, never ever overlook the safety aspect of the vehicle we’re interested to purchase. The Honda Freed was designed with the ‘safe’ phase as its core feature. Given a 6-star rating for its driver seat and passenger seat by the Japan New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP), this MPV gives you the assurance you need when bringing your family to and fro each day.

6-star rating for its driver seat and passenger

UTILITIES

If anything at all, the Honda Freed has lil compartments at each and every corner of its structure to make those who tend to have lotsa stuff in the car really happy! :) alongside its light, cargo, dashboard, etc.

perfect for hanging your stuff

backseat pockets

the lights

music to keep you going!

hot or cold? you get to decide.

you can fit anything in here. well, almost anything.

turn right. turn left.

lotsa compartments!

Honda Freed tyres

PRICE

The Honda Freed is available only in one model - the 1.5E.

Peninsular Malaysia

On-the-road price with insurance = RM112,980.00

On-the-road price with Modulo Accessories = RM 115,180.00

Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Miri & Sibu

On-the-road price with insurance = RM113,980.00

Langkawi & Labuan

On-the-road price with insurance = RM79,980.00

The Honda Freed is available in 3 colours in Malaysia

Crystal Black Pearl. Brilliant White Pearl. Polished Metal Metallic.

WARRANTY

Honda Malaysia offers 3 years warranty or 100,000km (whichever comes first) and 6 months free service or 10,000km (whichever comes first). The battery warranty is 2 years or 40,000km (whichever comes first).

Free the Freed

AREAS TO IMPROVE

My personal take on how the Honda Freed can be improved:

1. The driver's seat should have a rear pocket so that items such as the sun shade, magazines, perfume, etc. can be stored

2. Arm rest needed for the passenger seat as well - after all they're more important than the second row seats behind!

3. Leather seats will be leatherlicious! :)

4. Side lights for the second and third row seats

5. Air-cond at the back of the car!

6. Headrest for 3^rd row seats. It’ll be very uncomfortable especially during a long ride.

7. Wider leg space for the 3^rd row seats.

8. Seatbelt reminder/warning for the passenger side as well. Currently, only the driver seat has a reminder when the seatbelt isn’t fasten.

Thank you Advertlets and Honda for this vrooooming event. The bloggers had a blast with the activities planned and the Polaroid camera with never ending refill of films was a sure hit. What else more, the prizes for the activities was beyond expected and a big congrats to all those lucky ones who won! GO HONDA! :)