Sunday, December 1, 2013

Astro offers free On-The-Go (OTG) service to all subscribers until 15 Feb 2014

Parallel to the recent Astro price hike to sport pack and family pack in September 2013 which affects most of their subscribers, Astro has made an offer to all its subscribers to have FREE access to Astro On-The-Go (OTG) until 15 February 2014 to watch/listen some of their TV and radio channels over the Internet using either web browser from computer, or Android smart mobile devices (phone/tablet), or Apple smart mobile devices (iPhone/iPad).

Note that not all the channels in your Astro subscription are available in OTG, only some of them are made available. One of the good OTG features is Catch-up TV, which enables you to watch your favourite TV programme and/or drama that you have missed out when they are on show in Astro live TV.

In order to access Astro OTG, you need to register for an Astro ID that link to your Astro subscription account.

To access to Astro OTG using web browser, go to https://onthego.astro.com.my/ and login your Astro ID.


To access Astro OTG with your Android smartphone or tablet, install the Astro On-The-Go app from Google Play Store here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.astro.astro



To access Astro OTG with your iPhone or iPad, install the Astro On-The-Go app from iTune App Store here: https://itunes.apple.com/my/app/astro-on-the-go/id521993797

After 15 February 2014, this Astro OTG will still be free to Superpack, Multiroom and Sports Pack subscribers.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Suitable home loan offers in Malaysia

Looking for the most suitable home loan?

Almost every bank in Malaysia offers housing loans at varying rates and terms. There is no definite answer, as to which one is the best because it all largely depends on the customer’s needs and capacities.

If you plan on applying for a home loan, the first thing you need to do is make a serious assessment of your current financial situation and a concrete plan that includes the property you wish to acquire, as well as the interest rate and loan duration that works best for you.

Other things to remember:

  • Most banks lend up to 90% of the property asking price or valuation
  • Some home loans only apply to uncompleted properties
  • The best loan will also largely depend on whether you are first-time home buyer or someone looking to re-mortgage
  • Many Malaysian banks offer flexi-loans
  • Loan approvals may be given depending on your minimum income and credit score

Once you are ready to shop for the most suitable housing loan, remember that the lowest interest rate or the fastest application processing period does not always mean the best. You may have to make a choice between taking a loan with a fixed interest rate or a variable interest rate. Some home loans incur fixed interest for the first few years (lock-in period) before shifting to variable or floating rates. To get started in your search for the best loan to finance your dream home, check out the following housing loan offers:


AIA Tiered Home Loan

The Tiered Home Loan package by AIA is an example of a home loan with a fixed interest of 4.25% within a lock-in period. For the first two years, the rate on your mortgage would not fluctuate based on the base lending rates. Foreigners who are participants of the MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home Program) are eligible for this loan.


Citibank FlexiHome Loan

Flexible home loans such as those offered by Citibank allow borrowers to pay an extra sum on top of the designated monthly mortgage, whenever possible, as a way to reduce minimum and costs from interest. Eligible applicants can borrow up to RM100,00 with Citibank’s FlexiHome Loan, which can be payable over a period of 35 years. You would have to have an annual income of at least RM24,000 to be qualified.


Maybank Home Financing

If you would like a housing loan that allows you to pay a fixed amount every time you make a repayment, apply for Maybank’s Home Financing programme. Maybank Home Financing is shariah-compliant, which means that it adheres to the principles of Islamic banking. Islamic loans are offered by several other Malaysian banks.


AmBank Home Link

Loans such as Ambank’s Home Link come with flexible terms that allow borrowers to connect their loan account with a current bank account, as a way to shorten the loan period and save on loan interest rates. You can borrow up to RM800,000 at an interest rate of as low as 4.20%. Like most home loans in Malaysia, both citizens and non-citizens can apply for the Home Link program.

If you would like to see more housing loan offers available, you can try using a comparison tool and be able to view more loan offers from different Malaysian banks.

Note: This is a guest post by CompareHero.my, a Malaysia’s financial comparison portal which helps consumer in finding the right financial products at the right price.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Google Play Services is draining battery of many Android devices recently

Over the past few days, both my Android phone and Android tablet are experiencing abnormal battery draining, causing the battery to discharge at a faster rate than before and need to be recharged more often.

I suspect the culprit of this battery draining is the latest updated version of Google Play Services. Google Play Services is an integral part of the Android system and will automatically update itself from time to time when the Internet connection is available. It is used by Google Play Store (f.k.a. Android Market) and some other Google services in the phone.

If you search the Internet with the keywords "Google Play Services draining battery" and set the timeframe to "past week", you will find that a lot of Android device users are experiencing the same problem as well. If you don't set the searching timeframe, you will also find that this problem seems to happen occasionally every few months. However, the impact to my Android devices last time (if ever happened) was not as severe as this round, as I was not aware of such problem before this.

My Samsung Galaxy Note 8 shows that its Google Play Services stay awake and not gone for sleeping most of the time. That could be the problem.



Hope that Google will fix this soon, and update the Google Play Services in our Android devices with the bug fixed version at once.



Hint: Click on the "Older Posts" link to continue reading, or click here for a listing of all my past 3 months articles.