I got a Xiaomi Poco M3 and this is what I think of it

 

I wouldn't go into the specs of the phone, you can easily find it online, like Gsmarena.

Anyway, I know nuts about phone (like their chipset and all the technical stuffs) so it's no point I write about them and pretend like I know what I'm saying...LOL 

But I do know what kind of user experience I expect from a phone. So I'll just be sharing about my user experience.

This will be a brief one because I've just mainly used the phone as a music player and for light gaming (Kairosoft games if you know about them). 

I must say I love the look of the phone. The bright Yellow back cover is very attractive and is highly anti-fingerprint. It's good to hold and seems to be anti-slip as well. I know its loud and more "cute" design may not be for everyone, but it does comes in Blue and Black too if you like things "toned down".

The audio jack is at the top of the phone with the dual SIM card + MicroSD card slot at the left side while the volume button and On/Off button on the right side.

Yes, shameless Advertising again :p
Note: Photo is blurry because I didn't get the focus right.

There are speakers both on the top and bottom of the phone. Poco M3 uses a USB C charger and comes with 18W fast charging. I didn't use the power brick as I usually charge my phone overnight, so I can't comment on how efficient it is.

However, it is advertised to charge 25% of the battery in 30 minutes and 46% in one hour.

Starting Up and MIUI OS

I can't say I like the starting up of the phone. It took way too long to boot up the phone. Say a 20-30 seconds just to boot the phone to Home screen. 

The MIUI OS seems to be very heavy on the phone, taking up to 13.43GB and there are a whole load of "useless" (at least to me) apps pre-installed on the phone. They really just take up space and slows down the booting.

The phone also comes "pre-installed" with Ads, they are not intrusive but are kinda annoying. There are ways to toggle them off, and I found a good tutorial >> How to remove ads from Xiaomi phones with MIUI

Fingerprint Unlocking

The fingerprint sensor is on the On/Off button which actually makes it quite difficult when registering my fingerprint but when it comes to unlocking, it's lightning fast.

I actually don't enjoy the sensor being at the side because it slightly hard to reach and also not as convenient as iPhone 7 whereby you just put your thumb on the "Home" button. I ended up still having to pick up the phone to unlock it versus I can just unlock my iPhone while it's on the table.

Display and Brightness

Though limited, there are some option to customise the display like - the "colour scheme" and colour temperature. I thought it's a nice touch.  

I think the screen brightness is good for day to day use, especially for using indoors but if there is some sun, you might need to adjust the brightness level. 

So far, I haven't face a situation whereby I can't see the screen due to being outdoors.

Update: I realise the Poco M3 doesn't have enough brightness in some shows (like Kingdom) with a lot of dark or dimly lighted scenes. You'll have some problem with them even on high brightness. Sometimes, 100% is not enough still.

Music and Video

I enjoyed listening to music on the phone. I've all my audio files saved on the MicroSD card and there is no lag when reading from it. And I love that there are many options for music players - I got a player called "Black Player" which comes with a whole lot of functions like editing the meta-tags, setting the equalizer ...etc.

I also used the phone for YouTube and I must say its great. I feel its no difference from my iPhone, except that I won't be needing an adaptor!

The speakers are loud enough in most conditions even not at max volume. They are a little less energetic in the higher range but they're good in almost all other ranges. Bass is boomy and enjoyable.

Gaming

I didn't actually game intensively on this phone. I've played one round of PUBG (which I finished 11th). I must say, there will be some lag, but not that kind of lag that makes the game unplayable. I've faced worst lag on my iPhone to be honest, so much so that I thought I'm playing the game in 0.5x speed. Also, my iPhone heats up much more than the Poco M3 when playing PUBG.

I've also played hours of "Ninja Village" by Kairosoft and I'm surprised by how smooth the gameplay was. I always have problem with my iPhone heating up after hours of playing any Kairosoft games and then there will be noticeable lag. But I don't seems to have this problem with the Poco M3. 

But let's be fair, my iPhone is quite old already and it has been "abused". 

Updated: Played Mobile Legend on Medium setting and gameplay is mostly smooth (played 2 continuous game), however character introduction animations lags quite badly. No heating problem.

Downloaded Fire Emblem Heroes and Genshi Impact. Took a long time to download and install all the files on initial setup (didn't know why it's so slow as I'm very near to my router and internet connection is good). Phone gets warm to touch after the initial downloading completes.

Genshi Impact runs pretty well but stutters once in awhile. Still playable in my opinion but I didn't progress further into the game (I deleted it after completing the first 2 mission. I don't really enjoy this genre of game). 

I've completed more than 10 of Fire Emblem Heroes story maps already and I enjoyed every part of the game. No stutter and no lag. I've no problem with phone heating up thus far.

PPSSPP works very well on the phone (with slight stutters on some demanding parts of game, but so far I only get stutter in 1 game I played) with no heating problem. I'm talking about playing 3-4 hours straight with games like Gungnir and Itsuka Kono Te ga Kegareru Toki ni: Spectral Force Legacy)

Camera

The Poco M3 have a 48MP rear camera and I must say I like the image quality. Well, I compared it to the iPhone 7 plus and I think the photo is more appealing and vivid. But both the phones have problem with low light - even with the night mode on.

iPhone 7 Plus

Poco M3 "Normal" Mode

Poco M3 Night mode

Battery

I guess the "selling point" of this phone has to be its battery - 6000mAh battery!!

I didn't really keep track of how long the battery can last but I can safely assume that if you're just listening to music for 3-4 hours a day, it can last about 2 or more days on a full charge.

I've on a day, listened to music for 4-5 hours, watched 1-2 hours of YouTube and 1-2 hours of light gaming and I still have more than 65% of battery left. (And No, I don't have the habit to kill app).

Conclusion

Pros		Cons
+ Cool, colourful design		- MIUI OS
+ Anti-slip and fingerprint cover		- Slow booting up
+ 6000mAh battery		- Not for heavy gaming
+ 3.5mm Audio jack		- Annoying Ads (unless toggle off)
+ 48 MP camera		- Unwanted apps preinstalled
+ Cheap		- Fingerprint sensor position
+ MicroSD card expansion

I must say Xiaomi Poco M3 is a really great budget phone. It's slightly under SG$200 (for 4GB Ram and 64GB ROM) and if you add another SG$20-30, you can get the phone with 128GB ROM, which I think is quite worth it, especially if you're a heavy user. Alternately, you can choose to expand the storage with a MicroSD card, up to 512GB. This should be enough for most users.

However, do note that this is a budget phone and there will be trade-offs. You can't expect it to run like the high-end phone that cost twice or more. The Poco M3 works just fine as a day to day phone and qualify as an entertainment device, if you're into music, social media, dramas/movies and light gaming.

Check out Poco M3 on Amazon: Poco M3 Unlocked Cell Phone - International Version

Benjie Nuo Bi Xing v3 Audio Player Review

 

Nuo Bi Xing v3 audio player

Battery: 

500 mAh

(About 4.5 hours of music on loud speaker, volume 25/31)

Functions: 

FM Radio, music player, dictionary, 

voice recording, e-book, video player, 

image viewer, alarm, bluetooth

Audio Formats:

MP3, WMA, DRM, OGG, APE,
FLAC, WAV, ACC-LC, ACELP

Video and e-Book Formats:

- Not mentioned -

I just got fed up with the dual lightning adaptor for my iPhone! They just seem to stop working after like within 2 weeks, some get passed the 3 weeks mark but almost none made it pass the 4th week! It's annoying!

So I decided that I should just get an audio player, maybe a mp3 or mp4. I didn't do much of a research but I wanted something with touchscreen so I don't need to be pressing button after button just to get to a song I wanted to listen.

But mind you, audio players with a touchscreen and decent screen size (say 2" and above) are not that cheap. I mean if you get a "non-branded" one with buttons control, it'll cost you around SG$9-15 but a 2" touchscreen audio player can easily cost twice as much or more.

I just happen to come across this audio player from Nuo Bi Xing which cost only SG$16 during the 12.12 sales. It's selling under Shopee Mall and has a 15 days return policy whereby I can return it if I didn't like it. All fees to return the item are covered, so I don't need to fork out a single cent. So I thought, "Why not?".

Accessories 

There is nothing fanciful about the packaging - just a simple box with the accessories and player inside. Funny enough, I've a hard time finding any information about Nuo Bi Xing and when I turned the box around, I saw that it's actually under the company "Benjie" and the website provided is also that of Benjie. 

I headed over to the website only to find nothing about Nuo Bi Xing. The only product on the site which resembles the v3 player is the Benjie A36, which specs is much better. (better battery, built, material used and functions) But of course the price is also much higher.

However I'm quite impressed with the accessories included. There is the MicroUSB charging cable, a screen protector, a soft rubber casing and an OTG cable.

There is also a Product manual which is... not helpful at all. 

The Player

The player is surprisingly thick and heavier than I thought it to be. It's screen to body ratio also ... well, I've included the photo being shown on Shopee below, you can make the comparison yourself ... 

Image Source: Shopee.sg

It's obviously that the photo is misleading... and the screen is much smaller. What was advertise as 2.5" full touchscreen turned out to be a 2.3-2.4" screen with a thick border around. -_-"

The switch and volume button is on the right side of the device while the micro SD card slot is on the left. There is no information on how much capacity can this player takes up to, I've used a 32GB card and it works just fine. Tried a 128GB card, it detects the card but somehow it wasn't able to read everything on the card, so only half the songs are loaded. Weird

The 3.5mm audio jack and microUSB port is on the bottom. The loud speaker is at the back of the player, which sometimes could be accidentally blocked.

The player can also be used as a flash drive or card reader for the microSD card. But mind you, it's read and write speed is quite slow.

Functionality and Performance

Touch Screen

I'll first start with the touch screen. It's pretty smooth in the main "home" menu, however it does gets a little laggy and less precise as you navigate deeper into the functions menus. (or is it my fat finger?)

The player doesn't have the function to scroll down by swiping, so when you need to scroll through a list of long items (say "All songs"), you'll have to use the arrows at the bottom of the screen to go through one item by one item. It's kinda inconvenient but at least it isn't laggy ... most of the time.

Image Viewer

The image viewer ... well, you know you cannot expect much from a player with LCD screen. The image are well, not appealing and some of the images are heavily pixelated. Not to mention that, you can't view the image full screen if you let the music run in the background.

Dictionary

If you get passed the small keyboard, the dictionary function is pretty cool. It function as a dictionary/English to Chinese translator and the pronunciation/read function is very handy. 

FM Radio

The radio works but it has quite a lot of interference, which is not exactly ideal for listening.

Voice Recording

Unfortunately the microphone doesn't pick up sound too well. I need to get quite close to have a clear and loud enough recording. 

e-Book Reading

I've managed to figure out the format which the device could recognise and it's the ".txt" format. There is 2 font size to choose from "Original" and the "Large". The large is really huge and should be clear for most people. However, you cannot drag and scroll by lines as you would on your smartphone, you can only do a page flip, so it may not be that ideal if you're using it to view lyrics.

Sadly, I didn't get to try the video function. I've tried varies format but wasn't able to find one that could work on the player. I also didn't try out the bluetooth as my only wireless earphone went missing -_-

Music Player and Sound Quality

The player seems to lack the ability to show lyrics or perhaps it's me not saving the meta tags correctly but anyway, I've not succeeded in getting the lyrics to show up in the player. You also cannot forward or rewind the song, it'll just play from start to end. There is however a really interesting function of AB repeating whereby you can set and loop a segment of a song.

The navigation can be quite a headache if you've a long list of songs. However, if you do fill up the meta tags of the songs correctly, you'll be able to filter by "Artist" or "Albums". Alternatively, you can also create a playlist. 

To be honest, the built-in loud speaker is not very impressive. It's a little on the dull side (lacking the boom factor in the bass) and also tends to crack at certain frequency especially on higher volume. (25/31) If the song gets "complicated", it tends to crack even more. 

The audio via the 3.5mm audio seems to be slightly better but when compared to the audio quality of the iPhone 7, it just seems to be duller and less energetic. The lack of boomy bass is also disappointing. 

Overall, the player is acceptable for the price but of course, if you want something better (or iPhone quality), you need to get something else. This player is not for bass-head. 

I almost got scam into giving my credit card details!!

It's really scary!

Ok, let's me explain why I find it so scary.

I just recently ordered an item on Carousell. The seller sent the item out 2 days before I've received the above phishing email. I actually believed what was written on the email and I did click the link, typed 1/3 or my credit card number... ...

But somehow, I suddenly remembered that the seller actually sent me a photo of the package prior to sending it out and she had got my address correct. I did double check so then the parcel couldn't be sent to the wrong address.

I did a quick search online and found out that this is a common phishing trick scammers use to get your credit card details.

I'm so glad I didn't fall for it... but then ... the scary part is ...

How the hell did they know that I'm anticipating a parcel? 

Is it coincidental or is it that somehow, they can see everything I'm doing? 

Rant: No accident is temporary

Image Source: EHS Daily Advisor

Today I am going to "talk" (rant) about accident... Wait, I think that is not specific enough... I'm actually going to talk more of the "make-do" attitude in safety measures.

There are many areas under construction in my neighbourhood. They're expanding the MRT lines and my neighbourhood was one of the lucky ones. However, for the same reason, our area have become more dangerous.

We've a lot of reroutes, uneven and narrow "temporary roads" and sudden blockages on the roads. And many of them, there are no signs or warning beforehand. It's definitely not very safe for cyclists and I've seen some elders struggle with their "push carts" on the uneven roads.

However, whenever, I talked about the various blind-spots and danger lurking areas in the neighbourhood, I always get this response "It's temporary". I even got similar respond from LTA when I feedback to them about one of the blind-spot.

So yeah, that is the attitude towards the safety of the pedestrians and cyclists. And that is SCARY to me. I mean, there is NO temporary accident or even deaths. It's not like someone will miraculously revive or heal just because its a "temporary measure". 

If something is dangerous, it is dangerous, it won't suddenly become "temporary safe".

I've taken these Diet Enzyme tablets from Ishokudogen(iSDG) for 30 days!

Firstly, I must apologise as I'm not very discipline in taking these pills. I should be taking them diligently for 30 days but in actual fact, I missed quite a couple of days in between.

Also, I must say that this is personal experience and will not be a fair or accurate gauge because of many other factors and lifestyles changes. 

But anyway, I'll still share my experience for you to reference on.

TimeLine

I kept a record of the days I took the pills, the days I did pass motions in the table below. It's a little small, so you have to click to enlarge to see the details.

However, if you're lazy, I'll do a quick summary:

Out of the 37 days (from 15 Oct - 20 Nov), I took the Day Pills (D) for only 16 days and Night Pills (N) for 24 days. Passed motions (P) for a total of 8 times. 

I did stopped for a few days between 24-26 Oct on purpose because I was having constant mild headaches and thought it could be a side effect from taking the pills. I only continued after it went away. After which, I no longer experience any headaches so I concluded that it wasn't the pills.

Mom had stop taking the Night Pills by then because whenever she took them with an empty stomach, she get terrible gastric. She had to take something with or after taking the pills which she didn't want to (since Night Pills are supposed to be taken 30 minutes before bed). She continued with taking the Day Pills but "gave up" soon too because she just simply forget to take them. 

Effects of the Pills

To be really honest, I don't think they really work. But it could be because I'm not determined or disciplined enough. Anyway, I'll be breaking down the effects into 3 parts - Improving sleep, Improving digestion and Weight lost.

Improving Sleep - 3/10.

I must admit that they did kinda work initially. For the first week, I do feel some strong tiredness coming in after taking the pills and I did went to bed earlier and woke up earlier. It feels good to be honest and I don't feel so tired during the noon, which I usually do if I wake up early.

But somehow, the effects just faded off. I think it started when I started binge watching a CDrama and ignored the tiredness, which usually just last for an hour. From that day onwards, the pills no longer makes me tired enough to go to bed and it gradually didn't even make me tired at all. 

Improving Digestion - 3.5/10.

Hmm... this is a tough one. Well, from the statistics, it'll look like it didn't really work well at all (8 times in 37 days) but I think it did work a little initially too.

I mean, I feel more comfortable for a week or 2, and I did see a small reduction in the gaps between the days I passed motions. But then everything were back to "normal" soon after. 

I actually do see a link between my sleeping habits and my digestion. I feel more negative effects from my indigestion (bloating and pain) when I sleep later than normal, say after 4 am(please don't kill me). So could this be the reason? Since the Night Pills' sleep effects no longer works on me so the whole system "broke down"? 

Weight Lost - 6/10

Good news for those who are taking these pills for weight lost. I think they work quite well, at least that is the case for me. But of course, you've to take into considerations that my lifestyle was like shit too so that could also play a small part. 

My weight dropped from 45.1 to 43.8kg (Note there will be a discrepancy of 0.1-0.3kg) and my waist from 76 to 73cm. 

However, like I've mentioned earlier, I haven't been on the best lifestyle routine. I'm sleeping late, skipping or having irregular meals and I guess one of the reason is also that I've been getting orders that are further away. So, I do "exercise" a little more due to having to walk or cycle more to deliver orders.

But I guess it's undeniable that the Pills played a part in the weight loss.

Conclusion

I obviously overestimated my determination. I thought I could maintain my previous lifestyle (sleeping before/around 2am, waking up early enough for breakfast and the Day Pills...etc) for 30 days but I didn't. -_-"

 

Anyway, I cannot say the pills doesn't work at all, but it just doesn't work well, if you're not determine enough or change your lifestyle to a healthier one. They could help you initially (making you tired so you sleep earlier, making your digestion slightly better and taking away the discomfort) but eventually, it's up to you to make it last.

Anyway, I'll still continue to take them till the last one.

GrabFood Rant: Something interesting happened ...

What happened was, some time ago, during 3+ am, I received an order from a nearby restaurant to a few blocks away from my house.

It's a short distance to walk but I was quoted a $5. Oh well, that happens as Grab will usually sometimes pay more for Wee hours deliveries. And it's almost 3:30 am when the order came in.

Somehow, the merchant cancelled the order. Minutes later, the order came again. Same order, same location and even the same food items. (I've checked the number of items in case it's a large order)

And this time round, the order pays only $4.10.

I find it really weird. So I decided to head down to the store and collect the order. I asked the merchant who admitted he cancelled the order due to some items being sold out.

Anyway, since the order came back, he decided to accept it but asked me to call the customer to see if they accept replacement for the food items that are sold out. Unfortunately, customer wasn't responsive and all GrabFood CS (chat and hotline) are closed already. So I left a message and told customer about the replacement of food and that I'll continue with deliver if they don't respond.

Food was already prepared by the time customer responded 5 minutes later and luckily he agreed to the replacements.

What really puzzled me was, why was the first time order $5 but then quickly it reduces to $4.10? Everything was the same. Why the reduction? Does GrabFood walker's pay depreciate $0.90 in a few minutes?

How is TPG coverage for NSL and NEL MRT lines?

 

Image Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/

I travelled with my mother to Sentosa during the weekend and while I was taking the MRT, I thought I can try out TPG's coverage in the underground.

Currently, TPG promised coverage in North-East line (NEL) and Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL). They promised to expand their coverage and gave a timeline for it, as seen below.

Underground Location (Expressways and MRT)

Provision of Network Coverage*

North-East Line (NEL) - Q3 2020

Changi Airport Line (Along EWL) - Q4 2020

Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) - Q2 2021

North-South and East-West Lines (NSL/EWL) - Q2 2021

Circle Line (CCL) - Q2 2021

Downtown Line (DTL) - Q2 2021

Well, we started out from North-South Line (NSL) Yio Chu Kang Station and took all the way to Dhoby Ghaut Station. I know NSL is not being covered yet, but still let's see how bad can it get.

From Yio Chu Kang all the way down to Ang Mo Kio (Note: All stations are not underground), I still enjoy 4 bars of reception.  Once we hit the underground of Bishan station, reception was gone immediately and there is "No Service". For the rest of the journey till Dhoby Ghaut, there are zero reception as they were all underground. 

Mother was on Starhub 3G and she had reception throughout and was watching YouTube videos... and I could only sit there and do nothing -_-". Sianz

However, once we walked over to the NEL side of Dhoby Ghaut, reception was full bar again, so was the rest of the journey till Harbour Front Station. 

We took the Sentosa Broadwalk to the Resort World Sentosa. While there, coverage is good, but at certain areas in the Sentosa, reception was only 2 bars and it's the same for mom's phone. We accidentally ventured into the lobby of a certain hotel, there, reception was 2 bars for TPG and Starhub has only 1 bar. I could still send out Whatsapp messages (with slight delay) but my mom's reception was too weak to do anything.

Everything was fine when we got out of the lobby. 

Well, this conclude my finding for the coverage of TPG Data SIM connection in 2 of the MRT lines and some parts of Resort World Sentosa. TPG is doing good in North-East Line (NEL), but have zero reception in North-South line. 

But of course, I most probably won't be sticking around till they expand to the other MRT lines. I've encountered enough "No Service" during my GrabFood deliveries for me to double-double confirm that I want to terminate the line.

I signed up for the Simba (previously known as TPG) 50GB SIM only plan and here is what I think about the plan

 

Well, I was quite annoyed by Starhub unstableness. It's like I can have super laggy moments at home with my wifi right in front of me. Not to mention that I'm still on 3G and it can be dead slow - like taking a minute to refresh a webpage.

At the worst, it affected my GrabFood deliveries - like I got disconnected and then couldn't receive any jobs. I also cannot complete a job because the connection was too weak or unstable.

Anyway, I did previously signed up for the TPG free trial. It was not too bad, except that I couldn't get it to work on my mom's iPhone 6S+. It worked on my iPhone 7+ and iPad Mini 2. I remembered it to be pretty smooth for my usual usage. I didn't test it in the undergrounds but my cousin reported that it didn't have any connection underground.

However, this time round, TPG promised better connections and more coverage. But is it true? Let's find out!

The TPG 50GB SIM only Plan

50GB SIM ONLY PLAN

$

10

 

For 30 days

 

50GB DATA

+1GB Roaming Data

to selected countries

300 Local Call Minutes

30 Local SMS

.

To be honest, the plan is very attractive because its a lot of data for such a cheap price. You cannot find another Telco that is cheaper than this! 

$10 for 30 days of 50GB 4G data, 300 call minutes and 30 SMS is quite a deal!

Connection 

I'm using the SIM plan mainly for GrabFood, Youtube, online Shopping and some light social gaming (Clash of Clans and Clash Royale). My area of activities will be around my neighbourhood area whereby I'll be doing my GrabFood deliveries. Occasionally, I'll head down to the central area of my Zone.

I first tested the reception in my own house, just the reception, not the connection and speed as I'll still be on Wifi. The reception was full bar in my living room but when it gets to my room, it went down a bar. I don't know what to say about it but it doesn't seems like good news. I've not gotten anything less than full bar in my own house with my 3G Starhub plan. (Unless, Starhub is having problem)

So my plan was activated on 23rd October and I've been using it for a week now. To be honest, TPG isn't the most stable network and the coverage is limited as of now. They promised to expand their coverage over the next quarters but I guess they should work harder on maintaining stability of their network first.   

For now, I feel TPG is not a good plan to use for GrabFood or if you need fast and stable connections on the go. I've encountered "No service" twice within the 7 days I've been using the card and the longest lasted for up to 10 minutes.

Reception is not good in (some)lifts and can get to just 1 bar of reception. That is as good as my previous 3G line, which can get weak in lifts too. I didn't see the improvement I expected from 4G line, except that, maybe YouTube videos did load slightly faster.

There was also once that I was randomly connected to "Celcom" (I think it's a Malaysia Telco) and then notified with an SMS "Welcome back to Singapore". Although the roaming data wasn't used, I don't really like the scare. What if it happens again and I'm being charged for data roaming?

We're looking at $3 per GB of roaming data once exceeding 1 GB.

Only support VoLTE calls

The TPG 50GB SIM only plan doesn't support calling and you need a phone that supports VoLTE to be able to make "normal" (call time) calls (not Whatsapp calls, Whatsapp calls work just fine). Although my phone model should support VoLTE, the option is not available when I tried to set it up, which means I cannot make VoLTE calls. 

TPG provided an alternative solution which is to download an App "TPG 4G Voice" and you call make and receive calls via the app. I've tried calling out with it and it did work. I got my sister to call me and I'm able to receive the call. I've chat over the app and it seems pretty clear though not that smooth, with short lags but it doesn't affect the conversation much.

Updated: By the way, a downside for GrabFood delivery partners is that, if you can't make VoLTE calls, you cannot call the customer at all! Because when you call via the Grab Driver App, it will not connect you to the TPG 4G App to make the call. You also can't manually call the customer via TPG App because you won't have their number (privacy protection). You can only call the hotline or chat with Grab CS to have them call the customer on your behalf.

OTP SMS

I've not tried to activate anything with my TPG number but a number of users have reported that they cannot received the OTP for their signups. It's believed that TPG could have blocked some 5 digits phone numbers from the servers hence the OTP cannot get through.

Well, this sucks big time as many of the apps and signups requires an OTP!

Charged Twice

I just realised this mistake when I was checking my bank balance earlier. TPG has charged me twice for the plan. What happened was that, while I was making payment for the first time, there was an error message saying payment failed after I entered the OTP and so I thought it didn't get through. So I tried a 2nd time, only then the payment went through without any error. 

But then I realised that both payment went through, so I actually paid $20 for the plan! I've emailed their support and surprisingly I got a respond the next day. They asked for some information which I gave them and they swiftly responded on the next working day stating they would investigate and then refund if there really is a double payment. Refund may take up to 21 days though... which is pretty slow in my opinion. 

A reminder to all who had signed up or planning to sign up for TPG plans, many users have complained about being double charged or randomly charged to their credit cards. Some reported still being billed AFTER emailing to terminate their plans!

I think it's safer to inform them about cancellation much early before your next bill date. Say give them 2 weeks notice. That is what I plan to do as I don't think I'll carry on with this plan, at least not until it becomes more stable.

To be fair, I definitely won't recommend TPG as your main line especially if you're always on the go or need constant connection like for food delivery, but it will make a nice and cheap secondary/backup plan when your main plan is running out of data. Over the last few days of using, the connection seems to have been a little more stable.

Updated (03 May 2021): Erm... they've yet to refund me the double payment as they promised... even after I sent them a 2nd email in December last year -_-" But I was too lazy to contact them a 3rd time! Anyway, plan was cancelled in December last year, as it's not ideal for GrabFood. It's quite OK for normal use if you don't travel around a lot.

The woes of GrabFood walker months into Phrase 2 of Circuit Breaker

 

I've to make it clear that whatever I write in this posts are personal experience and judgement. They're not official and could be wrong.

So here goes ... 

1. Higher competition, decreased in orders

I think it's no secret that an astonishing number of riders joins GrabFood during the Circuit breaker. This increased the competition between riders, more so now that the Circuit breaker is over and people are allowed to eat out.

The problem now is, demand is much lesser than the supply, so riders will face lesser jobs. I think the "golden age" whereby you can earn a decent amount by working "office hours" or lesser is over. Now you slog and still may not earn as much as before.

I've personally tried this out over a period of time. For walkers, the peak periods are almost always out of our league.

But why? I thought peak periods = more orders? You may ask.

Well, since it's an equation everyone knows, that's why the competition is even higher! Imagine everyone logging on during the peak periods!

Also you've to take into account that with the new "pay more for further distance", customers are indeed paying more just to get orders they prefers from somewhere further. Which means, more orders that is out of the range of walkers.

 

So just head down to those hot spots areas! You say.

Well, once again, this is just another equation everyone knows about, so what makes you think competition will be lesser in the hot spots?

I've personally been to the hotspot area during the lunch and dinner peak hours. On the worst day, I've 0 order for the lunch peak hours and 1 for the dinner peak hours. On better days, 1 order for both periods or 1 order for lunch and 2 for dinner.

But of course, I have only camped there for about 4-5 days during the past few months, I just don't see any benefit from travelling down there as orders aren't that much as well. And while I was there, I saw many green and pink shirts idling around, waiting for orders. That is just how competitive that area is.

2. No Compensations

I know I've ranted about this. But I would like to touch on this again. 

GrabFood used to be very prompt and fair on paying their compensations. If you've waited for more than 30 minutes at a restaurant, you get compensation. The same goes for large orders.

Now?

They're just very prompt with rejecting compensation requests. Seriously, I don't know if there are people gaming the system but I don't think anyone can game the system for large orders since Grab will know what is being ordered.

That's why I don't see why a quantity that qualified for compensation previously doesn't qualify for compensation now. Did they expect riders to evolve like Machop and end up as Machamp with 4 arms?

As for the long waiting time, well, that could be gamed. I mean someone can really just rot at the restaurant for 30 minutes to claim that.

But I don't think anyone would be doing that because time = money for GrabFood riders. The longer time you take to complete an order, the longer you're added to the pool of available riders. I don't see what benefit does that do, as the compensation is not much, just $2.50 I think (correct me if I'm wrong). But even if it's more than that, you're just wasting potential chance to earn more.

I can't help but think this is another of the "bait and switch" tactics by GrabFood because riders do not want to accept orders from certain restaurants due to long waiting time or will cancel heavy or difficult to carry orders. (It's not easy to rider or walk with 5-6 large drinks without spilling even a little). Pray hard you don't get a fussy customer.

So are all these compensations just to bait riders into taking these orders, after which, you end up fulfilling the orders only to get your compensation requests rejected?

Updated: I've gotten one of my long waiting time request approved recently. And guess how long I waited? 1 hours 12 minutes and it's during peak dinner hours. They compensated me $6.

Anyway, just a reminder, if you received order from a Certain "Tall" ramen, you might want to consider cancelling as they are super slow... like so slow that I waited for more than 1 hour!

3. Decreased allowance for Cancellation and Rejection of Orders

Before I go on, I think I need to explain once again what are the Acceptance and Cancellation Rates. (You can skip all the explanations if you already know)

Acceptance Rate (AR) = Number of Accepted Orders/Number of Orders given to you.

Cancellation Rate (CR) = Number of Jobs you Cancelled after accepting/Number of Jobs you accepted.

I know it maybe confusing for some, but take orders as calls. So when someone calls you, you can either answer (accept) or reject it. This is the Acceptance Rate (AR)

After you accepted the call, maybe its some annoying insurance agent call, you can either end call (cancel) or let them finish talking (complete the order). This is the Cancellation Rate (CR).

These rates are highly important if you're working to get the Quest Incentives. I believe they also affect other things like the number of orders given to you or even temporary freezing of your account.

Anyway, Grab have increased the Acceptance Rate to qualify for the quest incentive. It was previously 80% and now it's 90%. 

Which means you can only reject 3 orders (3.5 actually, but you can't do half an order) out of 35 orders. (35 is the minimum number of orders you've to complete to qualify for the Weekday Quest bonus of $30)

For cancellation rate, it has dropped from 20% to 10%. Meaning again, you can only cancel 3 out of 35 orders. So if GrabFood decided to be evil and give you many large orders, then you'll eventually have to

accept at least one of them, unless you're prepared to do more orders to make up for the percentage or forgo the quest incentives. 

Now, I think these changes put the riders at a disadvantage positions and are practically forcing them to take whatever orders thrown to them, ignoring their ability to complete them. Also the high rejection rate of compensation requests is just very demoralising for the riders who waited a long time for an order or took the risk of spilling drinks and withstand the muscle aches and picked up a large order.

Times have been difficult for most of us and I wish GrabFood isn't just showing care in the form of words but also actions. Empty talks is cheap, don't make yourself cheap, GrabFood.

I took the voluntary swab test for front line workers...

Well, this will just be a quick update. 

The government have provided free swab tests for front line workers, including food delivery partners. They plant carry them out nation wide and will move to different region or GRC/SMC over the pass few months.

This time round. it was located quite near to where I stay, so I headed down for a check. It's free for me anyway.

I was surprised that there is almost no one else there for the test during the timing I booked (3-4pm). You know, Singaporeans loves "free" stuffs! But granted, this free test is only for front line workers and they're usually to busy working. No work, no money.

The Swab Test

After I was registered (you need a photo ID and your delivery app, they'll need to verify that you're a food delivery worker), I was asked to head to the testing station. There, I was briefed about what they're going to do. They'll swab my throat and both my nostrils. I was also asked if I have had head or nose operations previously. 

I didn't and they went ahead.

The tester (I don't know what to call them) opened a new cotton bud and then asked me to open my mouth.

Say "AHH" loudly. You need to open your mouth large enough for them to swab the back of your tongue. It was quite deep back in there. It was uncomfortable but ended quickly so I didn't have the nauseous feeling.

I think and I must emphasis, I THINK that they use the same cotton bud and then stick into my nostril. 

What happened was, I was busy adjusting my mask because they will ask you to pull down your mask when doing the throat swab and then you've to pull your mask up to cover your mouth when doing the nostril swabs. Anyway, I didn't see it so I couldn't confirm, but I'm guessing they used the same one as I didn't hear anything like the opening of packaging.

Anyway, the nostril swab was extremely uncomfortable. They stick deep into your nostril (areas that you'll never access when you dig your nose) and then they turn the cotton butt and count to 5.

I can tell you, I almost teared when the cotton butt was stick in there. It's uncomfortable and it can trigger you to start tearing. But it's not painful, if you cna take injection, you can take the level of "pain" for this swab test.

The swab test only lasted less than 5 minutes and I was allowed to go. As I was leaving, I was given a goodie bag with 2 masks, a finger oximeter, 2 bottles of hand sanitisers.

I was feeling fine for the 10-15 minutes I was walking home. But I developed a slight running nose and headache after that. 

I cannot conclude if it's caused by the swab test or that I was tired after making a few food deliveries under the hot sun prior to taking the test. It was very hot that day. 

Anyway, it wasn't a big deal, just a slight headache and running nose that went away in an hour or so.

The next day, I was informed that I tested NEGATIVE!!

YEAY!!

I tried to get into the Treasure Zone today ...

 

I was our delivering food today when I was notified of a Treasure Zone starting in a location which I thought was pretty near.

I was given 9 minutes to get into the zone. So I decided that I should try, as I was feeling pretty fit and the weather is quite ok.

I only have my legs with me as a "mode of transport", no bicycle and no money or ezlink on me. So the only option is to walk. 

Actually the only option is to jog and breeze walk. If you walk like you're shopping, then don't even bother. 

I'm badly equipped for this journey because I'm wearing sandals and have the mask on (ok, everyone does). 

I'm not proud of this, but I've to jaywalk, break a few traffic rules (run across the road with less than 10 seconds left on the counter), took my mask off because I'm panting too much and jogged for a large part of the journey.

And still, the zone expired when I was just about 500-600 meters away from it! I was already at the block opposite the edge of the zone. WTF right?

Anyway, after that I made my way home. I've no interest to get into that zone if not for the treasure zone. 

While I was walking back I googled the distance between where I received the notification and the edge of the zone. It's 1.7 meters and google map quoted 22 minutes to get there by foot.

I don't think I'll ever try to get into treasure zones again unless it's somewhere nearer or more time is given... or perhaps it's that I'm not fit enough? But anyway, too tiring and too much rushing. 

I cannot imagine how many rules does one needs to break just to rush into the zones within the given timeframe, especially for those who are on the road. It's dangerous and calling for accidents to happen.

I'll be taking these Diet Enzyme tablets from Ishokudogen(iSDG) for 30 days!

 

Source: takaski.com

I've always have digestion problems. The longest I didn't go to the toilet (to poop) is 14 or 15 days! That is how bad it is. Being indigested is never fun, it's a lot of discomfort (bloating, fullness) and sometimes it comes with pain that made you just want to lay still. I've seen doctor a few times and they seems to give "temporary" solutions like pills to loosen the stools and such. The effect never really lasted.

Recently, my indigestion have became worst, from the normal once in 3-4 days to now almost only once a week. I've gotten back to doing the tummy exercises (Here), especially the leg lifts as an attempt to try to make things better, but it's not very effective.

One day, I was watching TV and came across Digestion Enzymes. According to the host, the enzymes are very helpful in detoxing, improving indigestion and increasing the metabolism rate. They're even helpful for better skin conditions and slowing down ageing!

I went online and did a quick search and realised that these enzyme tablets can be found on Shopee SG and they're selling like hotcakes. The reviews are generally positive (for this particular local Seller) and some even reported seeing some improvements hence they came back to buy a 2nd time.

I decided to get one to try for myself.

I got 2 of them actually - I really couldn't choose between them as the each got at least 1-2 effects I really want.

Detox Enzyme (White Packaging)

This is the description of the product:

"the Soukai Enzyme Supplement Premium is formulated with 232 types of vegetable enzymes! Apart of enzymes, it is also formulated with Lactobacillus Bifidus, which ensures that the intestine does not absorb any extra nutrients. Those who eat alot of food and yet do not put on weight, has more Lactobacillus Bifidus in their intestines than the average person. This basic type is also recommended for anyone who face constipation."

It's a lot of scientific terms which I don't understand so I asked the seller, who told me that this pills will:

1. Remove stool and eliminate toxin ✔

2. Promote digestion and keep intestinal health (for constipation problems)  ✔

3. Whiten skin and desalt spots ✔

4. Lose weight and shape body (improve fat burning rate) 

5. Relieve sore throat and keep the health of respiratory system 

6. Neutralize peptic acid

My eyes brightened at the 3rd effect! Oh wow! That'll be a HUGE bonus! 

Night Enzyme (Blue Packaging)

This is the description of the product:

"Night Diet Enzyme Supplement is for anyone who unconsciously overeat at night. We tend to overeat from time to time, especially as a reward to our tired bodies after a long day. However, this is hard work for the enzymes within our bodies, and the fat burning process is unable to perform at full capacity. The Night Diet Enzyme has four types of Amino Acid, which acts as support for the enzymes, and help encourage the metabolic process while we sleep. Since the standard is to take 2-4 diet enzyme supplement pills every day, you can take the Basic supplement in the morning, and the Night Diet supplement at night, which might lead to better results!"

The seller told me this pill will actually help improve sleep quality too. Which is something that would be a huge plus!! I've mentioned in a previous post that my sleep habit has been a mess after trying to deliver GrabFood in the wee hours for a month.

This is how the tablets look like for the Night enzymes. There are 120 of them in one packet. Instruction says take 2-4 tablets per night before sleep, so I'm going to take 2 per night.
 
I've yet to open the Detox one as it's to be taken in the day, so I'll probably start only tomorrow.

The tablet does have a slight smell but it's not your usual bitter, medicine kind of smell, it actually kind of reminds me of some Japanese sauce. I don't know why.

Anyway, in any case you don't like its taste (which I doubt so), the tablets are small enough, you can actually just swallow them without really having to taste them.

What I wish to Achieve

So now, I'm going to take these tablets for 30 days. Why 30 days when there are 120 tablets? Well, I'm sharing this with Mum. She is very excited about its effects too.

Anyway, what I wish to achieve by taking these tablets:

Main:

- Increase the number of times I poop in a week

- Eliminate the discomfort of indigestion 

- Improve sleep quality

Secondary:

- Reduce tummy

- Improve skin

So now, I'm going to well, disclose my weight and waist size once again... ... ... 

I'm 45.1kg. (Note there will be a discrepancy of 0.1-0.3kg) and my waist is 76cm. (Yes, I've gained back the fats I lost in The 3 months Tummy-Flattening Challenge!)

So let's hope by the end of the 30 days, there will be some positive changes.