If flat-screen TVs, cameras or printers had ruled previous tech bazaars in Singapore, then this year’s IT Show is surely being taken over by an overwhelming range of ultrabooks.

The latest craze among laptop makers to go really slim, yet retaining most of the power of a full-fledged machine while keeping costs relatively low, means that buyers are spoilt for choice when shopping for a PC for both work and play.

We’ve all seen how nice the first wave of ultrabooks from Asus and Lenovo are from last year. The next wave, from Acer’s Aspire Timeline Ultra to HP’s stunning Envy 14 Spectre, brings even more choice.

Here are a few to check out as you make your way through the crowds at the IT Show at Suntec City this weekend. …

Heading down to SITEX this weekend? Here are some deals we spotted to whet your appetite!

Huawei Sonic (S$248, no contract)
The Huawei Sonic is an Android 2.3 Gingerbread phone with an unbelievably low price. And yet, the phone doesn’t feel that cheap, and it actually quite sturdy. Specs-wise, the phone does feel like it came out of the era of the first iPhone: a low-res screen, 600MHz processor and 256MB of RAM all add up to a phone which pales in comparison to the powerhouses out there today. But if you can look past all that and won’t use it to play intensive games, the Sonic is a decent low-end Android phone.

M1 Fibre Broadband (S$39/month)
M1’s fibre broadband promotion just keeps going! Introduced at COMEX earlier this year, the 100Mbps can be yours for just S$39 per month. M1 says “it’s a steal”, and we couldn’t agree more. The only catch: if you’re too invested in other telco packages – such as StarHub’s cable TV – it will be difficult to decide whether you should switch.
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You can actually walk through the halls without squeezing past sweaty people – well, in most parts – at this year’s Comex show at Suntec City.

At nearby Raffles City, there was even ample parking – many empty lots – at about 6pm on Friday when I visited this year’s third quarterly computer and electronics bazaar.

So, what are the good deals that Techgoondu recommends you check out? I’d say the usual stuff were in store – large-screen TVs and portable hard disks – but there were one of two surprises, like Audio Technica’s headphones.

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Lots of Asian laptop/netbook/device makers seem to be jumping on the smartphone bandwagon, especially at the entry level range of the spectrum. Asus. Garmin. And now Acer.

Acer announced their ambition at a press event yesterday to be one of the top five players in smartphones globally. At the event, they officially launched five smartphones in the Asia Pacific region.

DX900
Price: S$799
Availability: April 2009
Touted as the world’s first dual-SIM smartphone to support both HSDPA and EDGE at the same time, this touch phone is designed for those that travel quite a lot. Might be useful for those who want one device for two phone lines, typically one a personal line and the other a business line.

DX650
Price: S$599
Availability: April 2009
A touch phone with a dual-face design, featuring a 2.8-inch touch screen on one side and a T-9 keypad on the other. Designed for ease of use in mind.

X960
Price: S$699
Availability: May 2009
A balanced smartphone with typically every function you would expect from a mid-range phone. Has most connectivity options available, GPS, a 3.2-megapixel camera and 2.8-inch touch screen.

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Do check out Part I if you haven’t done so!

At every computer show I always check out memory card prices just to see how much they have fallen. Here’s what I spotted at the Kingston booth at Hall 6.

For a comparison, look at some of the memory card prices from last November’s Sitex.

Prices of memory cards, especially the 8GB and 16GB varieties, have fallen. The 8GB micro SD has dropped from around $32 to $25 and the 16GB micro SD from $112 to $84.

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