Parents, when was the last time you bring your kids to the playground? Or a funfair for a pure unadulterated outdoor fun?

It’s been awhile for me.

The last time I really brought my son for a REAL outdoor fun was a few months back, somewhere in April 2013. The pictures above were taken during a picnic hosted by Expat Lifestyle where families were invited for an outdoor picnic. Sorting through the pictures definitely gives me guilt. I mean, my kid is cooped up indoors most of the time and hardly have any fun in the sun. 🙁 Unlike me, his childhood is pretty boring. His entertainment comes mainly from the idiot box or the laptop or my smartphone! Yes, I do allow my son to play with my smartphone, occasionally. To keep him occupied when I desperately need to get things done without interruptions. Guilty as charged. 😛

To be honest, it’s not exactly the kind of childhood that I envision for my son. When I was a little girl, I’m allowed to play outdoors daily…without adult supervision. And my toys are definitely not iPad or tablet PCs. The closest thing that I had to a tablet or a ‘smartphone’ is this.

 

Are you familiar with these? I’m sure those who were born in 70s, 80s or even the 90s are familiar with these. These are tin can telephone. A tin can telephone is a type of acoustic, non-electrical, speech-transmitting device made up of two tin cans, paper cups or similarly shaped items attached to either end of a taut string or wire. It is a form of mechanical telephony, where sound is converted into and then conveyed by vibrations along a liquid or solid medium, and then reconverted back to sound. It’s a item commonly used in preschools and elementary schools to teach children about sound vibration, but my son was not exactly impressed with this tin can telephone he made in school, not when he is more used to something more hip, trendy and hi-tech like my Android smartphone.

His logic: Why play with these tin can telephone when you can skype and make video calls via tablet or smartphones? 🙁 Tsk. I guess I’m getting really old. When I was a little girl, there was no such thing as tablets or smartphones as toys or entertainment outlet. We played outside the good old ways and get dirty. But I guess it’s different now. Time changes and youngsters are getting hippier, trendier and tech alert with each passing days.

And speaking of hip and trendy, it reminds me of an event that I attended with my son quite some time ago in the end of July in KL Hilton. I brought my son along with me to the Ninetology Urbanite Blogger Gathering that night.

Bloggers were brought together to witness the showcase of Ninetology new premium line of smartphones.

The event was made possible by Ninetology, of course, and thanks to the lovely Ms. Rebecca Saw of Rogue Communication who sent me the invite for the Urbanite Blogger Gathering, my son and I had fun not only with the new line of Ninetology smartphone, but get to have fun with this big kitty cat too. 😛 Say hello… I mean MEOWWW to the big kitty, ladies. Ain’t he cute? Wonder if I can adopt him and make him babysit my son? LOL… now, that’s a devious thought!

Group photo before the unveiling of the new phones. Tsk… yes… bloggers… we can never resist taking some photos together. 😛 I may be camera shy, but I’ve always love snapping around with my camera. It’s really fun, though it would be better if I can carry around something less bulky than my DSLR to snap a good shot! 😛 *ahemm* Anyone wanna sponsor me a good smartphone that comes with a good megapixel camera? 😛

It was still Ramadan when the event took place. Here’s a picture of our Muslim blogger friends, chillax-ing while waiting for breaking fast time.

Refreshments were provided for those who were fasting and of course, for those non-Muslim who were not fasting too. There’s plenty of sweet and savoury pastries.

The fried vermicelli and spring-rolls were quite a hot stuff that night and it goes *POOF* within minutes. We bloggers are big eaters or what? 😛 Neway, I’m just glad there are refills for the food. 😀

When our tummy finally stopped growling and settled down, the event finally commence and there’s an unveiling of the newly launched Ninetology U9 premium smartphones.

Introducing the Ninetology U9 Series

The three models showcased that night are the newly launched X1, Z1 and the Z1+ with the tagline “Top Notch”, “Stands Out” and “Larger Than Life” respectively. All these devices run on Android Jellybean 4.2.1 and are powered by a MediaTek MT6589 1.2GHz Quad-core processor. The phones are designed to cater to the youth and urbanites. The smartphones are definitely stylish devices that offers not only speedy and precise performance but value for your money. Yups, you’re reading that right. I assure you that these phones are on the competitive side of the price, so they are kinda affordable for phones with high-end specs. I’ll get to the pricing and the specs later. For now, feast your eyes and drool over these cool and trendy phones.

This is Ninetology U9X1. The smallest in size among the other two. But don’t judge a phone by it’s design and appearance. Running on Android Jellybean 4.2.1, this small babe packed quite a punch and provides not only stability, but speed as well. I know Android Jellybean 4.2.1 is not the latest Android, but it is definitely upgradeable to the latest version of Android.

The Ninetology U9X1 is kinda slim and sleek. Great for ladies, bloggers and travelers, I reckon. It has 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD, and is armed with a 13-megapixel shooter. Yups, that’s definitely a plus point for us bloggers. To be able to take good photos on the go with a small device that can be carried around in our pocket. You know how it’s like now. Snatch thief are everywhere. Carrying bulky gadgets will only attract the attentions of the criminals. 🙁

Apart from that, the phone also features 16GB of internal storage and 1GB of RAM. There’s also dual-sim support on this device, which means, you can put two simcard in it. Great, isn’t it? I mean, with this phone, you no longer need to carry a few phones for your business and personal number.

There’s a 2200mAh battery running it, providing hours of talk-time, browsing and loads of entertainment fun. This phone comes in Ruby Red too! 😛 Would really love to get my hands on this phone for real. I bet it goes really well with my wardrobe! 😛

Next up, my son and I tested the U9Z1. My son did not like the X1 the way I do. He prefers the bigger models better. I suppose it is much more sturdy and easier to grip for his tiny little fingers. We tested the front and the rear camera, and he loves the fact that he could take selfies with this. Apart from that, the boy tested the sound on this phone by playing, and it is safe to say that it was loud, clear and satisfactory enough for him to listen to mp3 or watch Youtube with it.

Ninetology U9Z1 has Super AMOLED HD displays ranging from 4.8 inches to 5.7 inches and equipped with 13 megapixels rear and 5 megapixels front cameras. Much like the X1, it also comes with 16GB of storage and 1GB of RAM. It does however feature wireless charging, which is a pretty wonderful feature to have.

Last but not least we went and further abuse the phones that’s showcased that night. Our next victim was Ninetology U9Z1+. It has 5.0-inch display. There’s also the 13-megapixel rear camera and 5 megapixel front camera as seen on the X1 and ‘dual camera’ function that allows for simultaneous use of both front and rear cameras. It is also capable of continuous shot, smile and face detection, quick panorama, burst shot and HD video recording.The unique thing about this device is its aluminum finishing. Great for those who wants not only a sleek and slim phone, but professionally trendy as well.

Generally, my son and I love these phones. And I’m pleased to note that these phones are not only hip, trendy and great in performance, but absolutely durable as well. The U9 series (Z1 and Z1+ model of the smartphones) are also utilizing Corning’s Gorilla Glass 2 to ensure the brilliant displays remain protected in even the most robust use. Yeah, basically, it earned my approval as a mum, considering that it won’t spoil easily if my son were to drop it carelessly after playing Angry Bird or something. The U9 series devices are slim and light too – the X1 is 10mm slim, and weighs just 160g; Z1 at 9.3mm and 191g and finally; the Z1+ measures just 9mm and weighs 158g.

Here is my audio commentary on the phones. Do check it out. 😀 It’s my first live commentary, ever, so please, please be kind to me. 😛

Ninetology U9 commentary by Cleffairy (audio review)

Not impressed yet? Need more details before you make a grab at these? Well, below is the detailed product sheet for your geeky and techie consideration:

Product sheets and video, as released by Ninetology

 

“Stands Out” like U9X1

U9X1 specification

 

Next up is the U9Z1

 

“Life can be Larger” with U9Z1

U9Z1 Specification

Retail Price: RM 1,199

The specs for U9Z1+

 

Be “Top Notch” as U9Z1+

U9Z1+ Specification

 

Interested in buying the phones?

Here’s a testimonial video from Ninetology U9 spokesperson, Z Chen on U9X1I. Maybe the video will help you get a clearer picture on what the phones can do.

The X1 comes in red and black, while the Z1 will be in black and Z1+ in white. These three models will be available at the recommended retail price of RM1099, RM1199 and RM1299 respectively. Each unit comes with a complimentary powerbank from Ninetology.The U9 smartphones are available at all major smart phone retailers in mid August.

Here’s an unboxing video from Ninetology Sabah for U9X1 phone.

Being a Ninetology user myself, I can vouch for it’s quality. I am a proud owner of Ninetology Pallette. I got it somewhere in February by using the SKMM rebate for just RM99.The Ninetology Pallete is on the lower end, and so far has been pretty much abused by my son.

I was definitely eye-ing on the phones showcased that night. It’s a much better deal in terms of quality and specs, that goes without saying. So when the emcee announced that there will be a Q&A session where all invited bloggers stands a chance to bring back home one of the phones showcased that night, I got really excited.

 

Bloggers were divided into groups. Those who answered wrongly were eliminated.

Lady luck was not on my side. My team was eliminated early. 🙁

And another blogger walks away with the prized phone instead. 😀

 

 

Oh well… I can always try another day, I guess. After all, the Ninetology folks had announced their Tech Kaiju Arena Program to create and to promote transparent and creative blogging as part of Ninetology’s yearlong Ethical Blogging & Responsible Blogging initiative that will go hand in hand with sharing the latest gadget information, both Ninetology and other competitor brands.

Tech Kaiju Arena campaign starts on 12th Aug until 31st Dec 2013 with different themes every 30 days. 1. By the end of the campaign date, three bloggers who drove in the most subscription via their post and will be rewarded as follows:

a. Grand Prize: A Ninetology’s Latest Device and RM3000
b. 1st Runner-Up: A Ninetology’s Latest Device and RM2000
c. 2nd Runner-UP: A Ninetology’s Latest Device and RM1000

Monthly, they will also be allocating from RM15,000 to RM20,000 worth of Ninetology E-Vouchers just for the 1st 100 readers who subscribes to Ninetology newsletter via the banner.

Bloggers who are interested to participate may register with Samuel Lee : [email protected]

Required Details:
• Name, Blog URL, Email, Contact Number and the units which you wish to loan; 1x Ninetology Device + 1x Other Latest Mobile Brand available

For more information and update, just hop over to:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NinetologyMalaysia
Website: https://www.ninetology.com