Have you Kata today?

As promised, I'm doing my review on my latest toy Kata i3s! Being a recently converted Android user, I am looking forward to what Kata phones have in store for me and boy would I say I am not at all disappointed. Looking at the specs of the phone, one wouldnt even dare think of this phone being one of the most affordable smartphones in the entire Singapore.

Kata i3s Specifications

5-inch HD display, 294ppi
1.3GHz MediaTek MTK6582 quad-core CPU

1GB RAM
16GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
13 megapixel AF rear camera w/ LED flash
5 megapixel front camera
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
3G HSPA+
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0 + HS
Android 4.4 Kitkat
2,250mAh Li-po battery
152.8 x 79 x 8.5 mm
168.9 g
Grey, Violet, Blue

What amazes me the most when I first got the phone is its camera. 13 MP camera on a phone that costs less than SGD$200? Are you serious? Absolutely yes! Check out the photos I took with my Kata i3s!

The 5 MP front camera also allows me to take almost HD videos from front. I did a test while covering Jay Chou's latest song 算什么男人 last week. I took the video using the front camera Kata i3s.

Speed test on the Kata i3s was ok. No lags was observed and apps launch pretty fast. The scrolling was pretty smooth and sensitive too. The user interface is almost the same as what you would see on any android phones, with a pretty much customisable everything including widgets and the google search bar. The on off button is on the side and the screen is the same "slide to unlock" feature. Keyboard typing is precise and accurate and supports multi languages.

Watching a movie on the Kata i3s is also an amazing experience. The 5 inch HD display gives me the ultimate visual satisfaction when I put on 1080p movies. The speaker is loud and clear too and you can hear to the slightest footsteps sound in the movie. There was no lag or whatsoever. Clean and clear 2 hour amazing movie experience.

That being said, using the Kata i3s as an MP3 player is also an ideal choice. Gone were the days where I need to bring an extra MP3 Player everywhere I go now that the internal memory can hold up to 32GB. Being at less than 169 grams so meant that I can carry it while I go for my usual jog with my headphones plugged in blasting music while exercising.

Battery life is also one of the another plus point of the Kata phone. I only need to charge on the 2nd day after some intensive use of the phone compared to my previous smartphone, which requires me to charge daily. It can also connect to Bluetooth Devices and can also tether internet connection. One of the other main features of Kata products is the inclusion of Kata Cloud, which lets you backup your data like iCloud does for Apple.

All in all, I would say that my Kata experience so far has been magical. I always have my doubts when taking on new challenges but the Kata i3s simply blew me away after I start using it. At this price, I would say it is an absolute steal and value for money for everyone. I would strongly recommend Kata i3s to anyone who wants a user friendly, is a camera freak, movie buff, music lover and multitasker phone but yet enjoy economic savings on your pocket. That being said, I cant wait for the release of Kata i4, coming soon.....

Kata i3s is currently on sale at:

1 Irving Place

#02-26 The Commerze @ Irving

Have you Kata today? Anyway, hereby wishing all my friends and music supporters, clients and partners at I-Asia Star, clients and colleagues at Assurance Awareness and Property Awareness, volunteers and sponsors at Project Awareness, a Blessed and Merry Christmas!

Do a kind deed and hashtag "#KindnessChallengeElson"

It's December again and speaking of December the first thing that comes to everybody's mind will be Christmas! Yep. It's the season of giving again. Not just giving gifts and chocolates, but also love and concern, about bonding with people around you. Remember to support some of the Perk's products at their official Facebook Page Perk Beverages today!

To me 2014 has been a fruitful year. I met many new friends and comrades who has been very supportive towards me. I appreciate time spent with fellow real estate agents from every company as there is always something to learn and share between everyone, sometimes me to them, sometimes them to me. For one I am not a fan of doing bad things to your competitors and this is also one of the rules in Property Awareness as well - Be friend and kind to your competitors!

To me we should not be fighting against one another but rather bond together as one to forge a more productive relationship and close more deals. And it also applies to my singing industry as well. Which is why till today although I had times when my trust was misplaced in people, I move on and make peace with myself.

In Project Awareness bonding is also important. Not just with my volunteers and families but also encourage the families to bond within themselves. Many a time I visit households with family problems and it is really sad to see people suffer especially young kids. We must really put our hands together and help as many people as possible.

Lets all try for the month of December to either do one kind deed or say a word of kindness starting from today 13/12/14. This is a challenge to all my readers, fans and friends.

Instagram and Facebook users you may post a quote or post anything on kindness or a photo of you or your friend doing a kind deed and hashtag "#KindnessChallengeElson". I will pick three lucky winner each Friday of the week to win something special. It may not be much but I hope everyone can take this chance to do good. Even by hugging your parents, taking a selfie with them, teaching them how to use a computer etc can also qualify.

So lets roll out our hearts and do good this December! 大家一起跟我說：行善之舉，由我做起！

Singapore can also do good quality music and productions

Time really flies. 2014 is coming to an end soon. Thinking back, it's been a long time since I was exposed to the music industry. I've met alot of kind people and mentor along the way, made some really good friends along the way, experience the pain of being betrayed by people around me along the way and also been the target of unprovoked hating by people whom I didn't even know or worse still people whom I thought were my friends.

 

2014 had been kind to me. I made my debut in Taiwan and Korea, became the Voice of Kindness ambassador to Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM), endorsed a few new products and also released my new single 彩虹也会哭 (Rainbows Do Cry). I am also happy to see Project Awareness progressing well now even though we met some unforeseen obstacles sometime back. I think thats what the mean by sunshine after the rain.

 

Debuting in Taiwan has always been my dream as a kid and when I finally got to do it, I was thrilled and anxious at the same time. I met several stars along the way like Jam Hsiao 《萧敬腾》 and Lan Xin Mei 《蓝心湄大姐》 etc and also made friends with 小冷老师，the composer of Rainie Yang's 暧昧. I also finally met my Taiwan fans and friends who have been supporting me even before I made my debut in Taiwan. It was a magical experience which I can never forget!

 

Going to Korea was a bonus. I got invited to perform at a music festival at Hong Dae by one of my sponsor and that's how I got there. It's surprising to know that I have supporters in Korea too, despite me not being active there. Thank you all too. Love you guys.

Come to think of it, I have released about 20 songs in 3 different languages so far. Well people often ask me what is my favourite song but again, coming from a composer point of view, every song is my favourite song if not why would I even bother releasing right? Haha. However on a serious note, if I were to really need to choose, I guess these will be my top 3 favourites.

For the Chinese song category, I will choose 《彩虹也会哭》 (Rainbows Do Cry). It's because it's my first ever new song to be performed overseas, namely Taiwan, and also my first song new song to be aired by Taiwan radio. I would have chosen 《Saranghamnida》 too if I can because it's the first song that made me known by my Taiwan supporters. 《彩虹也会哭》is also special because it's the first time I worked with my producer cum idol Jim Lim （林倛玉老师）and I had wonderful memories of our work time. I also learnt a lot in the process.

 

For the English song category I will choose 《You'll Never Be Mine》. This song is the first ever English song I wrote based on a story about not having the person you want. It's also my first ever song which I self-penned the lyrics. It's also the first song which I directed the music video myself.

 

As for my two Malay songs, I will choose 《Cinta Padamu》 to be my favourite. Firstly, from a composer point of view, it's one of the songs which I felt the melody was written differently from my usual compositions. The song also won praises from my another idol producer Peng Xue Bin 《彭学斌老师》, which I felt truly honoured to receive. It's also my first ever Malay song that was released which made me known in the Malay market locally and overseas.

I have always dreamt of making my country proud, like how Stefanie Sun, JJ Lin and Tanya Chua did. But I wanted something more. I wanted to make Singapore to be known as a musically recognised country too. Which was why my album and songs were all composed by local lyricists, produced by local producers, arranged by local song arrangers, recorded in local studios and album photos by local photographers. Then I bring my song out to overseas and let everyone know that we can also produce international quality songs.

It is surprising though along the way I received some negative feedback not from people overseas, but from some of our own people back in Singapore. I don't blame them though as everything to me is part of a learning process.

 

Till today I have never given up on this dream. Everywhere I go, I still carry my country's flag proudly telling everyone how Singapore can also do good quality music and productions.

Come year 2015, I have plans to compose and produce a local song on Kindness. I hope to be able to bring all my aspirations and plans together in one song. I also hope more local people can encourage local artists. Will keep everyone updated. Meanwhile to all my readers, do take care and god bless all of you. Love.

The spirit of volunteerism at Project Awareness

I am proud to announce another successful distribution by Project Awareness yesterday! It was a rainy morning but I'm glad all my volunteers took time off and effort to brave the rain and participate in yesterday's event.

Just a week back, we had joined forces with Singapore Kindness Movement and Gardenia to complete the Nation Of Kindness event, distributing 500 loaves of bread to the residents of Block 8, French Road and Block 7, King's George Avenue and yesterday, we are giving out ready to eat rations.

Some of you may not have known why are we giving out food twice in such a short time span to the same area, maybe I'll explain here. The rations that we give to families adopted by Project Awareness (PA) are usually separated into Dry and Fresh rations. Dry Rations being canned food, instant noodles, rice etc and Fresh Rations being Bread, Chicken, Fish, Vegetables etc.

Since we have given only bread the last round, I decided that we should complete the set for them yesterday. Also as some of you may know we do not always have enough to give to the entire area and so sometimes we need to do 2-3 rounds of distribution in order to cover all the blocks.

I am glad to see many new and familiar faces. Apart from my volunteers from Project Awareness and property agents from Property Awareness yesterday, we are also graced by the presence of local actress Kanny Theng 邓晴冰, famous food blogger Brad (Lady Iron Chef) and other several famous online personalities, Sheila (Holly Hoque), Melody, Ang Geck Geck and their friends. It is heartening to see everyone coming together as one, working together for a common cause, regardless of their status and fame. They are all so humble and nice in person!

I want to also take this opportunity to thank all my volunteers who came down yesterday. For without your time and effort, this event would not have gone so smoothly and efficiently. Thank you all so much for lending your helping hand to the families.

Like I have said, volunteering is a meaningful activity as you are giving up a part of your life that you will not get back to make someone else's life better. Thank you all for walking the talk and also helping me to spread the spirit of volunteerism!

I would also like to thank my sponsors for yesterday's activity. Thank you all for contributing to the cause and feeding the people in need and making their lives better.

Thank you:

Lock Tze Chiang

Irene Lek

Audrey Tay

Chong Muimoi

Stephanie Toh and Friends

For contributing 100 fresh ready to eat chickens today.

Thank you:

Sheila (Holly Hoque) and her friend Liz, for contributing 100 packets of biscuits.

Thank you:

Chef Pang, CEO of Sugar Daddy Group Pte Ltd (Owner of Antoinette and PiqueNique restaurants), for contributing 100 loaves of French Raisin Bread and 100 Packets of Instant Noodles.

Finally, I sincerely apologize for the crop up by Kee Song Online regarding some of the orders today. We will arrange another distribution for the undelivered chickens or otherwise Kee Song Online will refund our donors who had purchased from them via Project Awareness.

Nevertheless, it is wonderful to see so many of you here yesterday. Thank you all and god bless your kind heart! Hope to see you guys soon again and remember, a little thought can mean so much! Spread the spirit of volunteerism today! #NationofKindness #ProjectAwareness #PropertyAwareness