Sunday, 17 May 2015

Westin KL, Stayed and Reviewed.

I had the opportunity to stay at the Westin KL in March and April 2015. Both are single night stay. I booked it through Agoda. There were a couple of reasons for staying at the Westin for my visit. A number of my clients were around this area. So I do not need a taxi to visit them since it is all walking distance. The hotel is located in front of the Pavilion, which is a huge mall with an equally huge food court and has many restaurants. So I do not have to eat at the hotel with its high price. It was also a chance for me try the hotel's Heavenly Bed

The Westin Heavenly Bed is one of their selling points. It comprises of 10 layers of 'heavenly comfort'. This includes a custom-designed pillow top mattress, three 400 thread count sheets and a down blanket, a comforter, white duvet, five pillows, two king sized goose feather pillows, two standard non-allergenic pillows and a decorative boudoir pillow. The whole Heavenly bed is available on Amazon.

I have stayed at the Westin Bali and I blogged about it here. Somehow, I remember the Heavenly Bed to be more 'thicker' in Bali as compared to the one in KL. But then again, it could be my imagination as that was 2 years ago.

Nevertheless, it was an excellent hotel. Excellent service from the staff. Very accommodating. The rooms are clean and very nice. I would definitely come back for a stay here next time.

Map link here.



The Westin in the heart of KL, Bukit Bintang area



On the right of the Westin, is the Marriott.


Next to Marriott is Sephora and the Fahrenheit mall.



The hotel lobby area. Free water on the left of the picture
and the Concierge counter on the right.



This is the check-in counter, opposite the concierge counter.



The weird concoction free water.



Upon entry of the room.



The colour tone makes the room very bright.




The study table and chair looks a bit dated. I remember the chair
as not being ergonomic. They could have used the Herman-Miller
Aeron chair.



Another view of the table....




The study lamp.



The day-bed by the window with a nice marble top table.




The in-room bar counter.



And the Heavenly Bed.



Another view.



Somehow I feel Westin Bali bed is much thicker. Westin uses
Simmons mattress.


The bathroom is quite spacious.


The bathtub.



The single sink with amenities.



The shower area.



The wardrobe.


The view from my room overlooks another hotel, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.




This view is the Ritz Residence.

For SPG members, you will get free room wifi. You can even signup on the spot after check-in. But there are expiry dates to the points accumulated from the SPG group stay. And booking through 3rd party website does not entitle you to any staying points.

Otherwise, staying at the Westin has always been enjoyable. 

Sunday, 26 April 2015

IT Show 2015: Sandisk 32GB Wireless Media Drive

I bought the Sandisk 32GB Wireless Media Drive at the March IT Show. I have been eyeing this device for quite some time. I could not find it on any of the brochures for that IT Show but it was coincidence that I bumped into the counter doing a demo.

It is quite an impressive product, although a bit understated. It acts as a central depository of media files. It supports iDevices and Android. Connectivity is via wifi or micro-USB. It can even connect to the internet via the wifi and has a memory card slot.

Lets take a typical family holiday scenario. My camera uses a memory card but it does not have in-built wifi. So after the trip, I would come home and make copies to the common drive as backup and upload to Google+. From there, my family members can view the photos. However, with this device, I can slot in the memory card and the family can view the photos via any of our mobile devices while still on holiday. If the hotel TV is a smart TV, I can share it via USB cable. During flights, I can store her My Little Pony series inside the Media Drive to keep the Daughter occupied. I do not have to use space within the iPad or Tab.


Features:

Stream Five HD Movies Simultaneously
The SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive makes it easy for you to take your movies, videos, music, and photos wherever you go. It connects up to eight mobile devices and can stream up to five different HD movies at once, so everyone can watch their favorite movie. No Internet connection is needed, so you can stream content to your mobile device wherever you go.

Stream up to 8 hours of content on a single charge
The SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive provides up to eight hours of continuous streaming on a single charge**—perfect on that long car or plane ride. It comes with a USB cable and AC adaptor for recharging

Available in multiple storage capacity options, with SD card slot to add even more
Instantly share those awesome birthday pictures you just took on your digital camera with friends and family—no Internet connection required.

SanDisk Wireless Media Drive App
Easily and quickly set up the SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive with the SanDisk Media Drive app. Just download the app onto your devices and link them to the drive via a wireless connection.

Compatibility and System Requirements
The SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive requires a USB 2.0 connection or higher and is compatible with iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Kindle Fire, and Android devices. It can be used with PC or Mac computers running Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Mac OS 10.6 or higher.

The unboxing photos:


Box: front



Box: Side




Box: The other side.



Box: Bottom side.



Box: Back




Box contents



The Media Device has a nice texture and a chrome accent
around it.




The 3 light indicator is for Internet, Wifi and Battery, respectively.
Power button next to it.



SD-Card on the left. Micro-USB port on the right.



Wifi mode.



Accessing the Media Drive.




The App is quite useful. It even tells you the
battery and memory capacity.

Saturday, 18 April 2015

IT Show 2015: Tylt Syncable-Duo for Lightning and Micro-USB (30cm)

Another Tylt charging cable I bought from the recent IT Show is the Tylt Syncable-Duo. It is a micro-USB tip with a Lightning tip extension. Unfortunately, it is short compared to the Tylt Syncable Lightning Cable, which I blog earlier here. It is only 30 cm. Cost is SGD$24 for the IT Show. Usual price is SGD$30.

This cable would be used for The Wife's business trips as she is carrying the corporate iPhone 5S and her Samsung. I guess it would be suitable for her since she wants to carry as little things as possible.

Unboxing photos.



Box: Front


Box: Back


Box: Side



Its a pasta type cable. Rather short.



With the Lightning tip extension



Works with the Samsung device using micro-USB




With the Lightning tip.

Saturday, 4 April 2015

IT Show 2015: Tylt Syncable Lightning Cable (1 Meter)

The Wife is using the iPhone5, issued by her office. So its another device in the household with a different set of charging cable. It was quite manageable before this, mainly with micro-USB and 30-pin iDevice charging cable. But now, I have to make way for 1 cable solely for her iPhone. Thanks Apple.

I have tried to use a number of Lightning cables. But somehow, it only works for a couple of charge, after which the dreaded error message saying that the cable is not suitable for charging would appear. I have to admit that these are not 'official certified' Lightning cables. The Wife brought one of these cables, which I bought, for her business trip and it died on her. Horror of horrors!! She had to look high and low for an alternate certified Lightning cable at the hotel and with her office colleagues. I got quite an earful from that incident.

So no more. I bought the Tylt Syncable Lightning Cable at the recent IT Show to help with the charging cable management. The length is 1 meter. The quality of the Tylt cable is quite good.

I am using this 1 meter cable with the Bluelounge Sanctuary4 for local charging. There is another Tylt Lightning cable which I will give to The Wife for her business trips. Its a Syncable Duo, which I will write in my next blog.

In the mean time, here are the unboxing photos:



Box: Front


Box: Back



Box: Another view.



Contents



USB with Lightning tip.




Connection to iPhone5





Using it on the Bluelounge Sanctuary4.

Saturday, 28 March 2015

IT Show 2015: Tylt Energi5K+ Battery Pack

I bought for The Wife the Tylt Energi 5K+ Battery Pack at the recent IT Show. It costs SGD99 but during the IT Show, its costs SGD79 at Epicentre booth.

The Wife has been using the Jumbox Jelly Power 5200 Powerbank for quite a while. It has served her well. But she would need to bring along 2 cables in a pouch with the battery inside, one for her micro-USB Samsung phone and the other is the lightning cable for her office iPhone 5. I am worried that she might misplaced the cables on one of her trips.

That is the reason I bought the Tylt Energi 5K battery pack. It comes with two integrated cables, lightning and micro-USB, saving The Wife from bringing additional cables. It is slim which fits into her handbag and not too heavy.

Specifications:
Battery Cell: Lithium Ion
Battery Capacity: 5.2k
Output Voltage: 4.75V-5.25V
Output Current: 3A
Battery Charge Time: 6 hours
Dimensions: 14.3mm x 70mm x 142mm
Weight: Approximately 127 grams




Box Front


Box Back.


The battery pack with contents.



With the attached lightning cable. 



With the attached micro-USB cable.



Comparing it against the iPhone 5.



With the attached cables tuck-in, there is another USB output
with the micro-USB input next to it.



The power button determines the amount of charge left in the
battery pack. Green LED solid: 70-100% full. During charging
the LED will turn off when it is fully charge.


Charging the iPhone




Charging the Blackberry.



It is a good buy for the ladies, looking for a slim battery pack that is not too heavy. It is fuss-free as the cables are all integrated and it goes neatly into a handbag.