Hyundai is 'Inspire'd.

Got this photo from Paul Tan's blog. The front reminds me a lot like Honda's Inspire in Japan, no? Except Inspire's headlight juts out a little giving the entire front a more muscular jawline.

But I thought the commercial was really well done though. What's with the whole world Transforming? Optimus really made his mark huh. Very nicely executed and very nice soundtrack. I don't remember Koreans looking like this though...

Gollywog! It's a G-phone!

Says it all. JY suggested the killer duo (which I'm sure is also highly speculated by now) Google + iPhone. But it seems like it will be going beyond that. Any phone can be a Gphone which is basically (drumroll, get this) a user-generated phone. Already, in my previous study done, I found that Malaysians' new best friend is called Phone, Mobile Phone. Can't leave home without it. Or hang on, scratch home and I mean LIVE. Malaysians rely so much on their mobile phones, they won't be able to live without it at all. It's beyond the superficial of connecting you to another human, I'm talking beyond human connection! Your phone 'talks' to you when you're unhappy using music. 'Plays' with you when you're bored using games. 'Makes life easier' for you when booking cinema tickets. 'Get things done anywhere' through WIFI. 'Manages finance' through mobile money and banking. 'Keeps you entertained everywhere' through mobile TV. And here's something really grassroot: 'Helps you remember stuff' through its camera. How? Here's how.

Man comparing price of a furniture he saw awhile ago using a snapshot he took using his mobile phone

Wait no more.

Awhile ago, we talked about foodie blogger turned do-er. And were hoping to see more Malaysians 'do' instead of just 'talk talk talk talk talk'. I guess there's no need to duplicate a local webbie just to get people into the action. Newly launched imcooked does just that. Cook it, film it, share it. Now it's up to videocam makers to consider how to create vcams that can stand all that heat in the kitchen. I mean, it isn't easy to grind, chop, fry with your right hand and record all these actions with your left. Hmm. That just opens up a whole new can of... spaghetti, doesn't it?

Malaysia doughnut craze?

On November 1st, The Star published an article (photo) on the absurd queue of Malaysians, all waiting for a bite of the new craze in town - J.Co Donuts and Coffee. At first glance, KL-ites might think that they're having a slice of something ala Krispy Kreme. But what they didn't know is behind the all-premium facade of J.Co lies a proud Indonesian heritage. Same goes with the newly established Big Apple in The Curve. You think Big Apple = NY? Heck, no! It's owned by a proud Malaysian who actually cared enough to learn the art of doughnuts in the REAL Big Apple. I guess his hardwork did pay off as people were queuing up for doughnuts like there was no tomorrow! But. My question is. What's the sudden biggy with these buns with a hole huh?

Dunkin Donuts have been around for yonkers and they were either happily resting on their laurels or were about to go under, till these two donuteers came to save the day and pretty much revived people's craving for these little sweet things. Well, I think it's because if you're in the food industry. No, scrape that. If you're in ANY industry for that matter, it's about the ripest time it can get for you to introduce new ways of living. Awhile back, the craze was cupcakes. I don't think it has died down completely but people fancied the idea of having these cute little diabetic-inducing cakes as a replacement for our usual 1kg chocolate cake or whatever have you. Heck, did you know these little cuppa cakes can be a hell lot more expensive than the normal cakes if you count cost per gramme. What are Malaysians doing, wasting their hard-earned money like that!?

That's what happens when you have a sizeable percentage of the population laced with new money. In other words, young professionals who don't need to contribute anything to the household or double income earners who don't need to contribute anything to kids or double income earners who willingly contribute a whole lot of cash to their kids because of, well, what else but guilt. Well, whichever way you're seeing it, it makes perfect sense. New money earners have found this new sense of liberation from their income. Here stemmed the roots of narcism and incessant pleasure gratification. As in, the automatic habit of constant self-reward. There isn't a need to put a value to how much they are earning or how much the reward cost. The fundamental of this behavior doesn't change whether it's a new shirt or a new phone or even an overpriced piece of dough, ultimately it is because 'I now can'.

This phenomenon (although I know most of you would hardly call a donut fad a phenomenon) really intrigues me, which is why I'm gonna pledge some time to concentrate on a new research to find out the changing lifestyle of these urbanites (by the way, 70% of Malaysia is urbanised yea?) and what are the implications of various products and brands, and subsequently how these brands can meet the real needs of people in the midst of all these changes. Looks like I've got my work cut out for me this Christmas...

Today's imagination: Taboo goes mobile.

Last night while doing some catching up with some friends, a wild idea came out - Mobile Taboo. For those who are not familiar with the game (where on earth have you been?), it's a game where your team members have to guess the word you're trying to describe without mentioning some key words stated on the card. Believe me. I've seen people shouting 'Donald' frantically when the word on the card is 'TRUMPet'. Ha ha ha. Hilarious.

Listen here mobile games provider (or Facebook app developers :), here's an idea which you can plagiarize :) Imagine, having taboo in your mobile phone with these specifications:
1) Each card will appear on your mobile screen with an in-built alarm which will go off if the card is not guessed within the time limit
2) The player's mobile will track highest scores between teams so that they can pause and continue whenever
3) Unlike the actual game where after a few rounds, Taboo-ians would be able to easily describe and guess every single card, the one on the mobile is update-able online. There could be millions of words out there categorized from Level 1 to infinity, or even according to categories such as verb, noun, famous people, animals, most wanted, you get my point. Great way to improve our puny little Malaysian vocab if you ask me.
4) Also, there could be many versions of Taboo in Malay, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, imagine the possibilities!
5) Two mobiles can be sync for a game so that Team A and B, each have their own screens

Now, translate all of the above into web application language. Instead of 'saying', you can 'type' the description within a time limit. Mention any taboo words, and you're forfeited. Wee~

Go on, plagiarise me!