Singapore Home Loan Calculator with what-if feature launched

Current interest rates are artificially low thanks to giant money printing machines in major world economies. And although these ultra low rates stayed for a very long time to make some think that they will stay like this for ever, they wont. Worse, it may be very likely that ultra low interest rate period can bite us with a long term ultra high interest rates.

Anyway, when the interest rates will start to rise is a question but they will start to rise. And when they rises, things will be difficult. So it is more prudent to make your home loan calculations with some "what-if" in your mind.

Unfortunately, wxisting home loan calculators compare the interest rates for new home loans and refinancing with the current interest rates. Now FindaHomeLoan.sg develops the first of its kind Singapore “what-if” calculator, which takes into account the possibility of rising interest rates within the loan period.

Many are currently flocking to invest in the booming real estate markets in Singapore, especially with low interest rates. However, with so many financial institutions and home loan packages to choose from, it is also a challenge for buyers to apply for suitable home loans. It is from this predicament that the founders of home loan comparison website FindaHomeLoan.sg developed a groundbreaking comparison portal for comparing the best home loan rates from Singapore-based banks for properties in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, United Kingdom and other countries.

“We recognized the gap in the market where property buyers might not be well-served in your interests. Not only is the portal free-to-use, our mortgage consultants will understand your needs and help you in deciding the choice of home loans, without advisory fees,” said Sean Lim, Founder of FindaHomeLoan.sg.

The portal boasts the most comprehensive home loan calculators available online, comparing rates for New Home Loans, Refinancing and a first ever “What-If” calculator.

The New Home Loan calculator allows users to choose properties by type and completion status, and then filters results by floating rates, fixed rates and interest offset rates. It then calculates monthly installments according to interest rates for each year, while most available calculators apply the first year rate to all subsequent years. This is designed to cater to the unique structure of home loans provided by banks in Singapore.

The calculator then groups the interest payable into 3 groups: year 1 to 3 and 1 to 5. This caters to short, medium and long-term investors. Extracting the most attractive features of each loan package, it then publishes a list of recommended loans based on lowest interest rates and popularity.

The Refinance calculator does all of the above in addition to calculating the potential savings accumulated on the monthly installments and interest payable.

The What-If home loan calculator is a first of its kind in Singapore, allowing users to do comparative calculations around fluctuating interest rates over the course of a housing loan. What happens when interest rates rise over the next two years? What if benchmark rates such as SIBOR or SOR inflate on the third year?

“These are the what-if scenarios buyers and investors often ponder upon. The What-If calculator helps you answer these questions independently and as a result, facilitate your decision on choosing the right home loan,” Sean added.

Flights from Singapore to Surabaya by Garuda Indonesia

From 19 July 2013 Garuda Indonesia will start flights from Surabaya to Singapore, Garuda’s busiest destination outside of Indonesia. With the addition of this new four times weekly service, the airline will operate over 80 weekly flights from Singapore to five Indonesian destinations: Bali, Jakarta, Makassar, Balikpapan and Surabaya.

To celebrate the launch of the new Singapore - Surabaya flights, Garuda Indonesia is now running a sale valid until 8 August 2013 for travel from 19 July to 9 August 2013. The return flights in economy class are on sale from S$265 with terms and conditions apply.

Surabaya  is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 3.1 million (7-9 million in the metropolitan area), and the capital of the province of East Java. Other than Garuda Indonesia, budget carrier Jetstar and Singapore Airline's regional arm SilkAir operates non-stop flights from Singapore to Surabaya.

Flights from Singapore to Bali are also expanding with a new four times weekly service from 19 July and introduce the addition of a ninth daily flight between Singapore and Jakarta starting 18 August.

"Southeast Asia is an important region and Singapore in particular is a key growth market for Garuda Indonesia. We are constantly looking to improve our flight offerings to provide Singapore travellers better connectivity into Indonesia,” said Nicodemus Lampe, Vice President, Area Asia, Garuda Indonesia. “With these new services, we aim to increase our passenger appeal and are confident that we will be able to capture a larger share of the market, in line with Garuda Indonesia’s ‘Quantum Leap’ strategy of becoming one the most profitable airlines in Asia.”

The new route and developments will be supported by a fleet of Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft featuring upgraded on-board services such as individual touch-screen LCD TVs throughout Executive and Economy Classes with Video on Demand entertainment systems.

Why Website Investments Are Better Than Stock Market Investments

Many do not know but there is a special type of "market" brewing out there where a significant amount of money is changing hand a new "investment" vehicle is rising. What we refer to is web site market. Almost nay web site can be monetized which means its traffic can be converted to cash flow. Website monetization converts existing traffic being sent to a particular website into revenue through methods like Pay per click (PPC) , affiliate marketing, etc.

And when a web site generates cash flow, it becomes an asset. And there are many people out there buying and selling this assets. Just take a look at Flippa.com's Just Sold section (Flippa.com is a market place where web sites are sold and bought): You will see many closed sales with thousands of dollars of cash.

As I was writing this article there was a site on the list named SocialDataExcavation.Com which was sold for $14,500. Why someone pays $50,000 for a site which was just created in April 2013 (domain registration was listed on the sale page)? Because if the revenue claims are true, the site was making $3,150 net income per month. So if there is no fraud here and the same level of income is maintained the buyer will earn $37,800 in the next 12 months which is 260% ROI.

Although not for everyone, web sites are emerging as cash flow
generating investments as market places like Flippa.com make
it easier to sell and buy them.

Above example is a marginal one indeed. Usually the return is much less than this but still can be very high compared to traditional investment vehicles:

With proper research, due diligence and experience, a website portfolio will return on average between 40-100% of your investment after one year’s time. No stocks will pay this dividend. But what I like most about web site investment is that, you are not a passive financial investor or stake holder but you are an active entity who can do more to improve the ROI for the website. You can actively promote the site, draw more traffic to it, add more content, more SOE, etc.

Read more here Why Website Investments Are Better Than Stock Market Investments.

Disclaimer
This blog article is to provide general information only and should not be treated as an invitation to buy or sell anything.  Users of this article should consider this as a one of the many factors in making their investment decision. Users should make reference to other sources of information and specific investment advice to obtain a more objective view of the market. Asia Singapore shall not be responsible for losses suffered.

How to invest hedge funds and index funds?

Most investors, thanks to partly financial regulations, invest their  money in index funds. These funds usually invest in all stocks –including failing companies and stocks with sky-high valuations and in fact aren't the right choice for most investors. Last decade was a good example: S&P 500 index has lost 24.8% in the ten years between 2000 and 2010 even when you take the dividends into account. While indexes performed poorly, talented hedge fund managers like billionaire David Einhorn returned 249.4% after fees and expenses during the same 10 years! Not only that, in fact, he has beaten the market in every single year.

But as you may have known, if you are not very rich, you cannot invest in hedge funds. In fact, even the very rich can’t invest in the most successful hedge funds because most of them are closed to new investors.

So your only option seems to use your own time and knowledge to pick stocks to invest. But just in USA markets, there are more than 6000 publicly traded companies. You probably don’t have the knowledge, resources, or time to follow and analyze all of these companies.

But there are some other options for retail investors out there. One of them is Insider Monkey.

Insider Monkey, one of the fastest growing financial research websites on the web, read by 1.5 million people every month, is a good option to mimic the investments by hedge funds. Although they have a web site with some free content, with a yearly fee, they also offer a premium newsletter that isolates the hottest stocks among the BEST hedge funds.

Insider Monkey is managed by New York based Ian Dogan who has a Ph.D. in financial economics and is an expert in insider trading. He has managed a $200+ million portfolio within a large hedge fund and now he is utilizing his skills to bring alpha generating investment strategies to Insider Monkey’s premium members.

Insider Monkey claims that their 15 Stock Small Cap Strategy has beaten the market by 18 percentage points per year between 1999 and 2009. Since the end of August last year, they have been sharing the stock picks of this strategy and according to them these stocks gained an average of 48.9% between September 4th and May 31st, vs. 17.8% for the S&P 500 index.

The subscription to Insider Monkey quarterly premium newsletter is for $499 per year. Other than quarterly newsletters, subscribers also get monthly mini newsletters. If you would like to see what does newsletter look like, you can download the free edition here.

Disclaimer
This blog article is to provide general information only and should not be treated as an invitation to buy or sell anything.  Users of this article should consider this as a one of the many factors in making their investment decision. Users should make reference to other sources of information and specific investment advice to obtain a more objective view of the market. Asia Singapore shall not be responsible for losses suffered.

Scoot flights from Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2

Singapore-based low-cost long-haul airline Scoot currently operates operates flights on medium and long-haul routes from Singapore. The airline currently flies to 11 destinations : Gold Coast, Sydney, Qingdao, Shenyang, Tianjin, Nanjing, Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and Bangkok.

The Scoot currently operates Boeing 777-200 ER  aircraft which offers Economy (Fly, FlyBag and FlyBagEat) and Business Class (ScootBiz) seats.

Scoot departs from Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 1 (T1) to these destinations. Some destinations like Seoul, Tokyo and Shenyang are via other cities.

Here is the list of these destinations and frequency of budget flights offered by Scoot:

From Singapore to Bangkok	-	Daily	Direct
From Singapore to Sydney	-	Daily	Direct
From Singapore to Gold Coast	-	5X per week	Direct
From Singapore to Nanjing	-	3X per week	Direct
From Singapore to Qingdao	-	3X per week	Direct
From Singapore to Shenyang	-	3X per week	via Qingdao
From Singapore to Tianjin	-	4X per week	Direct
From Singapore to Taipei	-	3X per week	Direct
From Singapore to Tokyo-Narita	-	3X per week	via Taipei
From Singapore to Seoul-Incheon(*)	-	3X per week	via Taipei
From Singapore to Hong Kong (**)	-	5X per week	Direct

Where Scoot Airlines fly?

(*) - Scoot is the only airline offering cheap flights from Singapore to Seoul.
(**) - Starting on November 15th 2013.

Adventure Cove Waterpark Ticket Prices

This aquatic adventure park under Marine Life Park offers attractions like thrilling water slides (dueling racer, pipeline plunge, riptide rocket, spiral washout, splashworks, tidal twister and whirlpool washout), immensive experiences (Ray Bay and Rainbow Reef), Adventure River, BlueWater Bay, etc.

Since it is a new attraction, it is currently suffering over-crowding issue so if you can try to visit this attraction during non-peak days.

Adventure Cove Waterpark Day Pass allows one-day visit at Adventure Cove Waterpark for a single guest and is non-transferable and non-refundable. The price differs based on the date: peak date adult price is $33 while non-pick date adult pass is $29. For children and seniors the admission is cheaper.

Below table summarizes the ticket prices. You can see the peak/non-peak date calendar here.

Ticket Type	Adult	Child (4 to 12 years old)	Senior (60 years old & above)
Non-Peak One Day Pass	$29	$20	$20
Peak One Day Pass	$33	$23	$23

Other than single day pass, there are multi-park passes for those who want to visit more than one attraction in Marine Life Park. These passes are valid for one or two day (consecutive days) as stated on the pass and admission is only applicable to attractions stated on the pass.

Parks	Ticket Type	Adult	Child (4 to 12 years old)	Senior (60 years old & above)
Adventure Cove Waterpark™ + S.E.A. Aquarium™	One Day Pass	$59	$42	$42
	Two Day Pass	$100	$68	$68
Adventure Cove Waterpark™ + S.E.A. Aquarium™ + Universal Studios Singapore™	One Day Pass	-	-	-
	Two Day Pass	$206	$148	$122

Long haul cheap flights by Jetstar

Long haul flights are usually associated with full service carriers but thanks to long haul budget carriers, you can now find cheap flight tickets on routes like Singapore - Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur Beijing, Sydney Honolulu, etc.

Jetstar Airways is one of those budget airlines offering long haul budget flights to many destinations from Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, etc. The budget carrier operates Airbus A 330 aircraft on long haul flights with 2 class configuration: Economy Class and Business Class.

Currently Jetstar Asia flies long haul to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Beijing (China), Tokyo and Osaka (Japan), Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane Gold Coast and Cairns (Australia), Auckland (New Zealand), Phuket and Bangkok (Thailand), Bali (Indonesia) and Hawaii (USA).

Current long haul non-stop flight routes by Jetstar are:

Kuala Lumpur - Beijing
Singapore - Auckland
Singapore - Melbourne
Sydney - Bali
Sydney - Hononlulu
Sydney - Phuket
Brisbane Gold Coast - Tokyo (Narita)
Brisbane Gold Coast - Osaka (Kansai)
Cairns - Tokyo (Narita)
Cairns - Osaka (Kansai)
Melbourne - Bali
Melbourne - Bangkok

Below map shows these routes.

Jetstar long haul route map and A330 seatplan

Costa Victoria Cruise promotion : 5D4N Langkawi/Phuket or Kuantan & Koh Samui

As cruise vacation is increasingly getting popular in Asia and Southeast Asia is becoming the Caribbean of Asia, the competition is also getting higher. Now many international cruises deploys more ships for the region. Costa Victoria is one of those cruise ships. She has been deployed in the region since November 2012 (and recently joined by her sister Costa Atlantica), it offers "Italy at Sea" themed experience to the popular tourist destinations in South East Asia.

For cruise travelers more ships mean more choices but also more deals and promotions thanks to the competition. Now go to the travel deals page of any group buying site in Singapore, you will most likely see an active cruise promotion. Here is one of them. This 5D4N Langkawi/Phuket or Kuantan & Koh Samui Cruise deal starts from $312 per person ($512 savings or 47% savings on the usual price of $824) and has several options both for couples (2 passengers) or families (2 adults and 2 children) to enjoy. The cruises are on November and December 2013 and offers great getaway for families from Singapore.

There are 5 options 2 choose from:

Cruise Option 1 : 
5D4N Langkawi/Phuket OR Kuantan & Koh Samui Cruise (Departure on 11 November 2013 & 19 November 2013) – Only $568 per pax instead of $824 (Min 2 Pax - Twin Sharing)

Cruise Option 2 :
5D4N Langkawi/Phuket OR Kuantan & Koh Samui Cruise (Departure on 11 November 2013, 15 November 2013 & 19 November 2013) – Only $375 per pax instead of $824 (Min 4 Pax - 2 Adults & 2 Children under 18 years old*)

5D4N Langkawi/Phuket or Kuantan and Koh Samui

Cruise Option 3 :
5D4N Langkawi/Phuket OR Kuantan & Koh Samui Cruise (Departure on 15 November 2013) – Only $655 per pax instead of $824 (Min 2 Pax - Twin Sharing)

Cruise Option 4 :
5D4N Langkawai/Phuket OR Kuantan & Koh Samui Cruise (Departure on 30 November 2013, 7 December 2013 & 14 December 2013) – Only $609 per pax instead of $824 (Min 2 Pax - Twin Sharing)

Cruise Option 5 :
5D4N Langkawi/Phuket OR Kuantan & Koh Samui Cruise (Departure on 30 November 2013, 7 December 2013 & 14 December 2013) – Only $406 per pax instead of $824 (Min 4 Pax - 2 Adults & 2 Children under 18 years old*)

The cruise package includes inside classic cabin stay, all meals throughout the day (breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner & supper), gala nights, on-board entertainment shows and activities and Children’s Squok Club.

Costa Victoria is equipped with 5 restaurants, 10 bars, 4 jacuzzis / 3 pools, theatre on 2 levels, Pompeii Spa, outdoor jogging track, a casino and a disco.

Flights from Singapore to Melbourne

A flight from Singapore to Melbourne is a long one. The distance between Singapore and Melbourne is about  3,748.58 miles and it takes 7.5 hours (sometime 8 hours depending on the wind) fly this route.

You have several full service and budget flight options on this long haul. Singapore Airlines, Emirates, China Eastern Airlines, Qantas offers non-stop flights from Singapore to Melbourne. Some other airlines including Thai Airways, British Airways, Virgin Australia, Etihad Airways, China Southern Airlines and Kenya Airways operate 1-stop flights on the route, Sydney being the most popular connection. A 1-stop flight from Singapore to Melbourne will take almost 3 hours longer than direct flight of 7.5 hours.

Cheap flights from Singapore to Melbourne

Jetstar Airways operates long haul direct budget flights from Singapore to Melbourne.  The airline operates Airbus A330-200 aircraft on the route  with two cabin classes and a range of food, beverage and entertainment options. Another budget option is AirAsia but AirAsia flights are not direct: You first fly from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur (1 hour flight) and then take a AirAsia X flight from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne. Although not direct, this route is usually the cheapest way to fly between Singapore and Melbourne and AirAsia offers something like 500++ SGD all-in-fare one way on the route.

Flights are operated between Singapore Changi Airport and Melbourne Tullamarine Airport, second busiest airport in Australia. Although there are four airports serving the Melbourne metropolitan area, Melbourne Tullamarine Airport is the only international airport among these.

Other options
If a direct or one stop flight is not possible on the route, there are several options: Malaysia Airlines flies to Melbourne from Kuala Lumpur so a flight can be taken to KL before boarding a plane from there. Same is true for Ho Chi Minh City from where a flight can be taken.

Direct non-stop flights from Singapore to Melbourne take 7.5 hours.

Flights to Langkawi from Singapore

Langkawi island off the northwestern shores of Malaysia is a very popular island getaway destination from Singapore.

Currently there are 2 airlines offering flights from Singapore to Langkawi: AirAsia and SilkAir (when you book Singapore - Langkawi flight from Singapore Airlines, it is operated by SilkAir).

AirAsia is your only budget flight option to Langkawi from Singapore. The low cost carrier flies daily between Langkawi and Singapore. The flight from Singapore to Langkawi usually takes of around 11:00 in the morning and the flight from Langkawi to Singapore usually takes of around 08:00 PM in the evening.

SilkAir, a regional arm of Singapore Airlines, flies to Langkawi in all weekdays except Monday and Wednesday.

The flight between Singapore and Langkawi takes about 1 hour 30 minutes. The flights operate between Singapore Changi Airport and Langkawi International Airport.

Other than Singapore, there are direct flights to Langkawi from Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Hat Yai, and Phuket.

If you cannot find direct flights from Singapore to Langkawi, you have several options: You can for example fly from Singapore to Penang and from there take a ferry to Langkawi which is about a 2 hours travel time. Or you can fly to KL first and take a flight from there to Langkawi.

Langkawi is almost 13 hours bus travel away from Johor Bahru so if you are not really a budget traveler, your first option should be flying there (unlike Penang Island Langkawi is not connected to mainland Malaysia so after bus, you still need to take a ferry). If you think flying is expensive, you can take a sleeper train to Kuala Kedah and then take a taxi to ferry terminal.

Photo Credit - Deal.sg

How to find cheap flights to Langkawi from Singapore?
Well, since AirAsia and Tigerair are the only budget airlines flying directly from Singapore to Langkawi, it is best to check their web sites first. If you are lucky, you can even catch a flight promotion for Langkawi.

If this option is closes, the second best option might be to fly budget to Penang or Kuala Lumpur and then take a ferry from Penang to Langkawi. JetStar, Tiger Airways and AirAsia are the budget carriers flying directly from Singapore to Penang Island. JetStar and AirAsia are the only two budget operators flying to Kuala Lumpur from Singapore.

If you are planning a holiday in Langkawi, you can also try your luck to find a package deal in one of Singapore based deal sites such as Deal.com.sg. From time to time, there are deals for Langkawi where hotel stay plus a return flight can be purchased for less than 200 SGD.

How to really make money from a web site?

I have come accross this article named Web Site as an online passive income generating investment where the writer explains why  most people do not earn a lot from their blog and what is the basic thing to do to increase your income from your blog or web site.

Earning more money from a blog and web site requires a mindset change according to the article where the editor(s) of the site should look at it as a business/investment rather than a pseudo-hobby where they spend their time with no defined money making process and no investment to it at all other than some time.


When they hear “investment”, many people think financial investment instruments as stocks, bonds or assets like property, gold or silver. Investment means putting your money and time into something with the expectation of gain, usually over a longer term. This “something” can be anything and in this article I will introduce an unknown “investment” which can potentially bring quite a high return on investment.

"In my previous article named How To Make Money Online?, I have mentioned that if you create and manage a web site as a chicken coop you will earn a few eggs per day but if you create and manage a web site as a chicken farm, you will earn a truck load of eggs. Many do not make a lot of money from their web sites because they treat their sites or blogs as chicken coops. They try to do everything on their own with their limited time and they only invest time in the sites, not money. In order a web site to bring significant money (eggs) you need a lot of moderate to high traffic, quality articles (good breed, well maintained chickens) and a lot of traffic. In order to do that, you need to create and maintain a web site as an investment not a hobby."

You can continue to read the article here: Web Site as an online passive income generating investment

Qatar Airways Promotion 2013: Great Singapore Sales to Europe

World's 5-star airline Qatar Airways is offering a Great Singapore Sales to Europe promotion where you can find cheap flight deals to several cities in Europe from Singapore. Open for booking till 30th June 2013 and for travel period between 5th September - 10th December 2013, the prices start from S$1095 (flights to Istanbul). Fares include all taxes, fees and surcharges.

Qatar Airways is also offering some attractive business class specials till 30th June 2013 to several destinations around the world. Check Qatar Airways Singapore page for details.

Qatar Airways flies from Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3 and their check-in desks are at Row 5. Please refer to the check-in information on the departure screens for more information. It usually flies from Singapore to Doha where you change plane to continue to your final destination.

Destination	Class	All-in-fares starting from
Barcelona (BCN)	Economy	SGD 1200
Frankfurt (FRA)	Economy	SGD 1250
Istanbul (IST)	Economy	SGD 1095
London (LHR)	Economy	SGD 1250
Madrid (MAD)	Economy	SGD 1235
Milan (MXP)	Economy	SGD 1250
Paris (CDG)	Economy	SGD 1230
Rome (FCO)	Economy	SGD 1255
Zurich (ZRH)	Economy	SGD 1190

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini With LTE in Singapore

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini With LTE will be available in Singapore by 6 July 2013. Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is the smaller version of its present flagship Samsung Galaxy S4. 4.3-inch handset will be available in White Frost or Black Mist and its price will be S$698 without contract.

Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy S4 mini on 30 May 2013. Galaxy S4 mini has a smaller 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display (960 x 540 pixels) and runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. It has a dual-core 1.7GHz processor and 1.5GB RAM.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone by Samsung Electronics was announced in New York City on March 14, 2013 as the successor to the Samsung Galaxy S III. The phone has many distinguishing software features such as Air Gesture, Smart Stay, and Smart Scroll. The S4 was made available in late April 2013 on 327 networks worldwide and in 155 countries and upon its release, it became the fastest selling smartphone in Samsung's history, with 10 million devices sold as of May 22, 2013.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini versus Samsung Galaxy S4 versus Galaxy S3 mini[1]

Device	Samsung Galaxy S4 mini	Samsung Galaxy S4	Samsung Galaxy S3 mini
OS	Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean	Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean	Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
Processor	Dual-core 1.7GHz	Quad-core 1.9GHz	Dual-core 1GHz
RAM	1.5GB	2GB	1GB
Storage	8GB	16/32/64GB	8/16GB
Display	4.3-inch Super AMOLED	5.0-inch Super AMOLED	4.0-inch Super AMOLED
Resolution	960 x 540 pixels	1920 x 1080 pixels	800 x 480 pixels
Cameras	Rear: 8MP Front: 1.9MP	Rear: 13MP Front: 2MP	Rear: 5MP Front: VGA
Battery Capacity	1900mAh	2600mAh	1500mAh
Dimensions Weight	124.6 x 61.3 x 8.94mm / 107g	136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9mm / 130g	121.55 x 63 x 9.9 mm / 112.2g

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini With LTE

[1] - Hands-on: Samsung Galaxy S4 mini

LG Optimus G Pro in Singapore

LG's first phablet, LG Optimus G Pro, will be available in Singapore in early July. The Android device is   equipped with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 1.7GHz processor and a 5.5 inch IPS full-HD display and the price for it will be S$868.

LG Optimus G Pro was released in South Korea in March 2013. The handset was launched in Hong Kong in June and gradually launching in other Asian countries Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.

Back in March, the handset had 4 starts out of 5 from CNet Asia review citing bright screen, great battery life, fast processor, interesting software features (such as dual-recording and VR Panorama) and extra battery as the strengths of the device. On the negative side LG Optimus G Pro does not have stylus (unlike its direct competitor Samsung Galaxy Note II), sports a plastic chassis and an average camera.

LG Optimus G Pro will be available in Indigo Black or Lunar White.

LG Optimus G Pro in Singapore by July 2013

The phone has got 4 out of 5 points from Singapore Digital Life of The Straits Times: 5/5 for value for money, 4/5 for features, design, performance and battery life. LG Optimus G Pro is a real value for money: although offering a very high end and quality hardware (Qualcomm) its retail price in Singapore without an operator contract is just $868.  

Money Saving Tips for Singapore Frequent Travelers

It has become cheaper for Singaporeans to travel to Japan, Europe and USA thanks to stronger Singapore Dollar. While the strong Singapore Dollar helps, it is still best to find ways to save money on flights, hotels, transportation and even administration fees for attractions.

To help frugal travelers to further stretch their travel budget, GoingPlaces.sg, a popular travel website among Singapore residents, has published a list of 15 money saving travel tips at .Here's the summary of the money saving travel tips list:

1. Fly on a Wednesday (because according to FareCompare you can find cheapest flight tickets on Wednesdays)
2. Be prepared to take connecting flights
3. Book with the airline directly
4. Consider couchsurfing
5. Stay at travel rentals
6. Change money at the money changer (not in hotels or ATMS)
7. Register at the Singapore Embassy
8. Sightsee when it's free
9. Eat street food
10. Take the road less traveled
11. Always use public transport
12. Look out for city passes
13. Leave the malls behind
14. Bring a re-usable water bottle
15. Buy travel insurance - delayed and canceled flights could be expensive.

"More than 60 per cent of Singapore's holidaymakers are making two or more overseas trips per year and many of them will love to travel further to destinations in Europe or the USA. Hence, we share these money saving tips to help travelers to stretch their travel budget to afford even more vacations every year," says owner of GoingPlaces.sg, Lim Phing Phing.

Tips for Airplane Travel with Baby

As any parent on the go knows, traveling with a baby can be more than a handful. The makers of FlyeBaby, the infant hammock to use during the cruise portion of a flight, are offering up tips to make the most of your travel time.

Infant Airplane Seat, Flyebaby, is a hammock-type seat that can be used on an airplane during the cruise portion of the flight as a comfortable and convenient place to put your baby. It can also attach to most dining room chairs to serve as a portable high chair. FlyeBaby allows for face to face interaction between you and your little one, and makes for a stress free flight during nap and play time.

Here are FlyeBaby’s tips for traveling with an infant this summer:

• Think about timing when you book your flight; if at all possible book flights during nap times or the evening so your baby will sleep during the flight.
• Pack a carry-on bag with everything you need for the baby for the duration of the flight that you can keep within easy reach. Must-haves include: snacks for the whole family, extra clothes, diapers, wipes, blankets, plastic bags for dirty things and items to entertain the baby.
• If you have a traveling partner have them board the plane first. They can stow carry-ons, and get everything settled without holding the baby. This also reduces the amount of time the baby is actually on the plane. When the flight is over, let everyone else get off the plane first and take your time, it will make disembarking much less stressful.
• Nursing, bottle feeding or even sucking on a pacifier can help relieve ear pressure during take-off and landing. If possible, start the feeding before it’s a problem.
• Don’t sweat it! Your baby may cry on the flight. Try to ignore any rude looks and comments from other passengers and do the best you can.

Flyebaby, is a hammock-type seat that can be
used on an airplane during the cruise portion
of the flight as a comfortable and convenient place
to put your baby.

It’s also best to think about the length of the trip and how everyone will remain comfortable. Most people can’t afford an extra seat for an infant, but the FlyeBaby allows caregivers to be hands-free and have eye contact with the child throughout the cruise portion of the flights.

Flights from Singapore to Seoul by Scoot

At last we have a cheap flight from Singapore to Seoul: Singapore based low-cost, long haul airline Scoot has launched its inaugural flight from Singapore to Seoul on 12 june 2013. Scoot's budget flight from Singapore to Seoul is the only low-cost flight between Singapore and Seoul, the capital and largest metropolis of Korea!

Seoul is one of Asia's hottest destinations, gaining more popularity thanks to Korean wave. It offers great shopping, sight-seeing and eating opportunities and is a city to visit. Scoot's Singapore - Seoul flights add Seoul as the 11th city to the Scoot's network.

Scoot will operate thrice-weekly service on Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays from Singapore Changi Airport to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport, transiting Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport en route. As a consequence, Scoot’s frequency between Singapore and Taipei will also increase from seven to 10 per week.

“Taipei is an important hub for us, with 10 flights per week to Singapore, daily flights to Tokyo and three flights per week to Seoul. The timing of these new frequencies between Singapore and Taipei complement those of our existing services.Scoot now offers both mid-night and mid-day services ex-Singapore to Taipei, and both afternoon and night-time departures ex-Taipei back to Singapore, providing guests even more choice,” added Campbell.

Flight Schedules – to and from Seoul

Flights from Singapore to Seoul (via Taipei)

TZ 206 (Wed, Fri, Sun)	Depart	Arrive
Singapore to Taipei	1.35pm	6.15pm
Taipei to Seoul	7.15pm	10.35pm

Flights from Seoul to Singapore (via Taipei)

TZ 205 (Wed, Fri, Sun)	Depart	Arrive
Seoul to Taipei	11.45pm	1.25am(+1)
Taipei to Singapore	2.25am (+1)	6.45am (+1)

Flight Schedules – between Singapore and Taipei

Flights from Singapore to Taipei

	Depart	Arrive
TZ 206 (Wed, Fri, Sun)	1.35pm	6.15pm
TZ 202 (Daily)	12.55am	5.40am

Flights from Seoul to Singapore (via Taipei)

	Depart	Arrive
TZ 205 (Mon, Thu, Sat)	2.25am	6.45am
TZ 201(Daily)	3.35pm	7.55pm

*All times stated in local.
**+1 refers to one day after the date of departure from Singapore. 

Scoot’s network now comprises 11cities including Singapore, Sydney, Gold Coast, Bangkok, Taipei, Tokyo, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shenyang, Nanjing, and Seoul. In conjunction with three partner airlines, Scoot offers 36 more cities for sale, bringing the total number to 47.