Samsung Appstar 2012

Last Month, Samsung Malaysia finally came out from Samsung Appstar 2012 winner.

The first price was won by a group called Rigel from USM. The app they proposed was Gynoid, an app that protects women by recording the surronding space when they are in danger and sends video alert to loved ones.
Not only they won RM 24k worth of schoolarship, they also won away a Samsung Galaxy S3 each with a chance of getting their apps developed.


The second price was won by Gangnam Team from Asia Pacific University (APU). Their app Ocean box let user fully customise the grids with multiple of pictures, locations oe even videos of their choices into a single masterpiece posting


The third price was won by Apps creator 2020 by UniTen. The app E-train provides public transportation schedule and route map. Online tickets can be purchased with this app too.


As for the most favorite app, Practical innovation team from UM create an apps to avoid time wasting on queuing up as you can be more productive during that time.


The event was undoubtedly successful. All prices were won at the end of the event.


Thanks to Samsung who organize such meaningful event to help our younger generations to sharpen their various skills, from innovations, marketing, presentation etc.


Each group give their 100 percent effort for this contest. Some were even traveled from other states!


And also thanks to The Bee Publika for hosting us. And thanks to the entertainers, Sue and the boys.

ZTE Nubia Z5 officially unveiled

ZTE next flagship phone is here! Like the previous leaked, it is 5inch device with 1080p display and also slim body (7.6mm) built with 2.67 mm bezel. The screen was made by Sharp and sports a pixel density of 443ppi.

ZTE Nubia Z5 Key Specification :

• 5.0-inch with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 display
• Qualcomm S4 Pro 1.5GHz quad-core APQ8064 processor
• 2GB of RAM
• 13MP camera and 2MP front camera
• 32GB internal memory
  
• 2,300mAh battery


• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

The ZTE Nubia Z5 will be priced at approximately $555 when launched in China and no news on international availability of the device yet.

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Huawei's 'Ascend To New Heights' Media Launch @ Taman Tasik Titiwangsa

Last Friday, Huawei officially launch the 'Ascend To New Heights' campaign at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa. In the campaign, public can fully experiences their brand new smartphones and also stand a chance to win a trip for 2 to Dubai

In the media launch, Huawei's announces their new partner, Midland Network Sdn Bhd as a way to expand the distribution of Huawei's smartphones in Malaysia. Huawei also officially launch three new smart phones - Ascend D1 Quad, Ascend G600 and also Ascend G330. Of course, special price are given for public who attended the roadshow and also interested to get the phone on the spot.

I bet you're curious how's the phones isn't? I manage to make a quick hands on on those phones. Let's check them out 1 by 1.

Huawei Ascend G330 packed with 1Ghz Dual core Snapdragon processor, 512MB RAM, 5MP camera and 4 inch screen with pricing RRP RM599. This made the phone is direct competitor with Samsung Galaxy Y or Sony Xperia U who has the similar pricing. But hey, the price is cheaper than Sony Xperia U and also the spec is better than Samsung Galaxy Y. In fact, it is a recommended smartphone for those on budget ;)

Huawei Ascend G600 is one of the mid range smartphone that grab my attention most. Imagine with pricing RRP RM799 you can get nice 4.5 inch IPS display, 1.2Ghz dual core Snapdragon processor, 768MB RAM and also 8MP shooter at the back. The spec more or less on Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Sensation and Sony Xperia P league. No doubt I will go for Huawei G600 for the cheaper price, bigger screen, nice IPS screen and also 8MP camera.

Huawei Ascend D1 quad is Huawei flagship phone. It is direct competitor with other current smartphones that running quad core processor (Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Note II, HTC One X, HTC One X+) that offer promising performance with lower price, RM 1239. Huawei Ascend D1 quad offers 720p resolution in the 4.5 inch screen, their very own in house processor clocked at 1.5ghz quad core, 16 GPU processor and also 8MP BSI sensor camera.

Huawei Ascend P1 is not new but it is one of the worth mentioning device that has large screen and slim (7.69mm). Unfortunately they did not release the another twin, Ascend P1s (6.7mm thickness) version here. The Huawei Ascend P1 has a higher price range compare with Ascend G600 - RM 1099. It packed with 1.5ghz dual core processor, 1GB RAM, 8MP back facing camera and also 4.3 inch qHD  Super AMOLED display.

Overall, it is very good first step for Huawei to penetrate their smartphone to Malaysia. I been highly looking up on Huawei since last year because they not only offer high quality built and premium feel Android Smartphones, the price is very reasonable and affordable. If you're having doubt about the performance to compare with other well known brand, I can unsure you they are 100% running same hardware and chipset. So what to worry about? It is always good we are giving multiple smartphones to choose rather than just stick into the same "thing" and not to be different. If you know what I mean :P

Nevertheless, year 2013 will be another awesome year for smartphone industry. 1080p screen resolution, 8 core, bigger camera sensor and thinner design for sure be one of the elements that make smartphone very attractive.

Let's stay tune and wait CES 2012 and WMC 2013.

Samsung Unveiled GALAXY Grand

Looking for alternate 5 Inch phone beside Samsung Galaxy Note series? Well here we are, Samsung Galaxy Grand, a 5 inch Android with so yesterday spec.



Samsung Galaxy Grand Key Specification :

5-inch with 800 x 480 resolution LCD
1.2GHz dual core processor
1GB RAM
8MP rear camera and 2MP front facing camera
8GB internal memory with microSD card slot
Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
2,100mAh battery

Of course, it come with the usual range of Samsung features, including S Voice, multi window mode, Direct Call, AllShare Play, Smart Alert, Popup Play and all the Samsung Hubs.

The phone will be sold in two variants, I9080, which will be the single SIM variant and I9082, which will be the dual-SIM variant. Pricing and availability is still unknown.


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YotaPhone to bring E-Ink and LCD in one smartphone

Dual screen phone is no exactly strange to anyone but YotaPhone is doing something special instead. The upcoming YotaPhone smartphone will feature a rear-facing E-Ink display to compliment the LCD display on the front of the device.

YotaPhone Key Specification :

• 4.3" display LCD resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels, while the E-Ink will have a density of 200 dpi
• dual-core 1.5GHz processor
• 2GB of RAM
• 12MP Front facing camera
• 32/64GB internal memory. no microSD slot
• LTE
• 2,100mAh

With E-Ink's ability to display notifications and such at very little energy cost, the YotaPhone claims to increase battery performance by as much as 50%. Pricing and avaibility not confirm yet but we sure will look at it more on coming WMC2013 on next February.

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Oppo Find 5 become official

Finally Oppo Find 5 has become official. The spec is exactly like the previous leaked.

Oppo Find 5 Key Specification :

• 5-inch 1080p IPS display with 441 PPI
• 1.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm APQ8064 processor
• Adreno 320 GPU
• 2GB RAM
• 16 GB of internal storage and no microSD slot
• 13MP back facing camera with 120fps video recording. 1.9MP front facing camera.
• 2500 mAh
• Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean

The smartphone owes its sleek looks to the steel front frame, which takes 4 hours and 12 manufacturing processes to make, and the 8.8mm slim waistline. Oppo Find 5 is set to launch in early 2013 across selected markets and will be priced on $499.00 (Approximately RM 1,500).

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HTC Butterfly announced for the China market

Also known as Deluxe DLX (not confirm) for international, the HTC has officially unveiled the Butterfly, which is the GSM variant of the J Butterfly released in Japan two months ago. The spec exactly same with HTC J Butterfly but we have no confirmation on the water and dust proof.

HTC Butterfly Key Specification :

• 5.0-inch Super LCD3 with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 display
• Qualcomm S4 Pro 1.5GHz quad-core APQ8064 processor
• 2GB of RAM
• 8MP camera and 2MP front camera
• NFC
• 2,020mAh battery
• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
• Black, red, white color variations

There's no word on the pricing or availability of the HTC Butterfly for now but it is confirm only for China market at the moment.

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Upcoming ZTE flagship with 5-inch 1080p display pictured

ZTE is rushing up to the 1080p display party with the new Nubia Z5 flagship! The slick chassis has a thin, 7.6mm profile, unibody construction, dual rear speakers, and should be priced very competitively, given ZTE's track record.

ZTE Nubia Z5 Key Specification :

• 5-inch 1080p display
• 1.5 GHz Quad Core Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 chipset
• 2 GB of RAM
• 13 MP rear camera

The ZTE Nubia Z5 is expected to see a China release next week. Price and availability will be announce on that day.

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Nokia Announce budget WP8, Lumia 620 enter the stage

It is no strange Nokia releasing difference range of Window Phone. Today, Nokia has just introduced a new member family of WP8 smartphones, The Nokia Lumia 620. Of course, it is budget phone with pretty impressive spec.

Nokia Lumia 620 Key Specification :

• 3.8" ClearBlack LCD display of WVGA resolution
• 1GHz Dual Core S4 snapdragon processor
• Adreno 305 GPU
• 512MB RAM
• 8GB Internal memory with expandable microSD card
• 5 MP rear camera and a VGA front-facing camera
• 1300 mAh

Being a part of the Nokia Lumia lineup, the 620 has access to the exclusive Nokia Drive app, which provides free lifetime voice-guided navigation and offline access. The Nokia Music no log-in streaming service is also available.

The Nokia Lumia 620 will be available in lime green, orange, magenta, yellow, cyan, white and black color. It's estimated to cost $249 (Approximately RM 750), excluding taxes and subsidies and will begin selling in January 2013 in Asia, followed closely by Europe and the Middle East before expanding further.

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Oppo Find 5 full spec sheet and price revealed

We know HTC wasn't the only manufacture go on with 1080p screen resolution. The Oppo Find 5 also has been making waves recently with rumors of a 5-inch 1080p display. Now, we finally get to see the full spec and price of this beast.

Oppo Find 5 Key Specification :

• 5-inch 1080p display with 441 PPI
• 1.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm APQ8064 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 16 GB of internal storage
• 2500 mAh
• Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean

Where is the camera? Well I am sure there is. Let's wait for the final announcement for confirmation. The Oppo Find 5 will be price on $499.00 (Approximately RM 1,500).

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Sony announces the Xperia E and Xperia E dual

While most manufacture phone slowly going to quad core, Sony is still stuck entry level phone. Sony just announced the Xperia E and Xperia E dual. Design pretty much same with Xperia J, T/TX and V. Like the name suggest, E come with single SIM slot and Android 4.1 out of box but unfortunately Xperia E Dual who come with dual SIM slot stuck at Android 4.0

Sony Xperia E and E dual Key Specification :

• 3.5-inch displays of HVGA resolution
• 1GHz CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7227A chipset
• 3.2MP camera rear camera
• 4GB internal memory
• 1530mAh
• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean/Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Sony Xperia E will be available in black, white and pink, while the Xperia E Dual will be sold in black and gold only. Both the Xperia E and Xperia E Dual will launch early next year, but pricing is still unknown.

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Meizu MX2 goes official

After the success of first generation Meizu MX, the company officially unveils the new MX2 with erhmm..not really impressive spec but it is match with the competitors.

Meizu MX2 Key Specification :

• 4.4" screen of WXGA resolution (1280 x 800 pixels)
• 1.5Ghz Quad Core 32nm Cortex-A9, MX5S chipset
• 2GB RAM
• 8MP camera
• 16/32/64 GB internal memory
• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with Flyme 2.0

The Meizu MX2 will hit the shelves in China in the middle of December in 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB versions. They will cost $400 (Rm1200), $480 (RM1440) or $640 (RM1920) respectively. It remains unclear if the MX2 will launch globally and when.

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Lenovo P770 droid phone packs a 3,500mAh battery

Lenovo take up the challenge with Motorola and offered their latest droid device, P770 with 3,500 mAh battery! Well it is 200mAh more than the Motorola RAZR MAXX HD. However the thickness is 11.9mm, not as slim as Motorola if to compare.

Lenovo P770 Key Specification :

• 4.5" qHD IPS screen
• 1.2GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 processor
• 1GB of RAM
• 5MP camera with LED flash, VGA front-facing camera
• Expandable SD card
• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

The P770 is priced CNY 1,699 ($273, €210, RM819) in China (it's available now) and you get an 8GB microSD card in the box. For now the phone is available only in China and Lenovo hasn’t announced plans to make it available worldwide.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II Review: Specification and First Impression

It is no strange to everyone now to back to old time - big size phone. Samsung Galaxy Note series aiming to be Phablet device packed with huge screen officially released new successor, know as Samsung Galaxy Note II. Of course beside being big size in screen, the Stylus or known as S Pen is add on point for this Phablet.

I am lucky enough to get a review set from Nuffnang and Samsung. I will separate few parts of the review so that I could stress it out some important point and my own opinion on the Samsung Galaxy Note II.

Let's start with the specification. Samsung Galaxy Note II is packed with 5.5 inch display with Super AMOLED screen and 720 x 1280 pixel. It running the Samsung latest quad core processor - 1.6 GHz quad-core Cortex-A9 CPU (Exynos 4412 Quad chipset), Mali-400MP GPU and 2GB of RAM for smooth multitask sailing. It come with variant storage size which are 16/32/64GB internal storage with expandable microSD slot.

Of coz on the back it has same 8 MP camera unit with Samsung Galaxy S III. So we are expecting the same image processing and quality. Front facing camera is 1.9MP. Samsung slapped a huge battery on the Note II, which is 3100 mAh and still manage to maintain the slim profile, 9.4mm. Well, not the best. Really because Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX HD has 3300 mAh with 9.3mm thickness.

Other than that, Samsung Galaxy Note II come with removable battery on the back. It also used micro Sim like most of the smart phones now days. Not to mention it has built in NFC which allowed Android Beam and S Beam.

Overall, I felt that Samsung Galaxy Note II is too big for my palm. I do mentioned before I already dislike the size on Samsung Galaxy S III. My small palm just perfect to fit in 3.5-4.3 inch smart phone. Here some comparison of size with my current Asus Padfone.

The difference position of BACK and OPTION button pretty frustrated as well.

Another thing I dislike was the back casing. Well it just make the phone easily get scratches and also finger print magnet. I will appreciated the nice metal brush texture if only the plastic layer is removed.

Alright that's all my first impression on Samsung Galaxy Note II. I am not touching on the software part yet which I gonna cover it on the next review. Here some bonus images comparison between Samsung Galaxy Note and Note II.

Do check out my first hands on video k?

For those Samsung Galaxy Note II user, tell me do you like your current phone? ;)

Nikon unveils 24.1MP D5200 DSLR with optional Wi-Fi

Nikon D5100 time has up and finally been replace with the latest model, D5200. Interestingly, the D5200 is equipped with a significantly upgraded AF system, based around the same Multi-Cam 4800DX AF sensor that is used in the D7000, and the same 2016-pixel RGB metering sensor. The D5200 is also compatible with Nikon's optional WU-1a WiFi module.

Nikon D5200 Key Specification :

• 24.1 megapixels
• APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) CMOS sensor
• Expeed 3 imaging processor
• ISO 100 - 6400 (25600 with boost)
• 39 focus points
• 3" Fully articulated LCD screen
• 1920 x 1080 (60, 50, 30, 25, 24 fps) video recording

Pricing and availability has yet to be confirmed, and Nikon has yet to officially announce the D5200 in the US.

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Huawei Honor 2 officially announced for China

Huawei officially announced the Honor replacement, Honor 2 in China on November 4 for 1888 yuan (or $302).

Huawei Honor 2 Key Specification :

• 4.5-inch IPS display with 1280 x 720 pixels
• 1.4 GHz quad-core processor
• 2 GB of RAM (with a 1 GB optional)
• 8 megapixel rear camera
• 8 GB internal storage
• 2230 mAh
• Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich

The price is really cheap considered it has up to date hardware and also impressive display with 326 PPI. So, Any taker? ;)

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Android 4.2 Jelly Bean : What's New?

Android has updated to version 4.2 and yet it still called Jelly Bean. However this updated version brought a bunch of updates and new user experience.

Photo Sphere: A new way to capture panorama photos, Photo Sphere creates huge multi-shot scrollable images very similar to those found in Google Maps Street View.

Gesture Typing: Lots of comparisons being made to the third party Swype keyboard, and rightfully so. You can now type by tracing the words on the keyboard with a single finger.

Multiple User Support: A feature that many people have been asking for, Android 4.2 now supports multiple user logins on a single tablet device. Widgets, wallpapers and even game save states are all tied to the unique user logins.

Wireless Screen Sharing: Watch YouTube videos, movies and anything that's on your screen to an HDTV with a wireless HDMI adapter.

Daydream: Setup your tablet to display photos, news and more while the device is idle or docked.

Expandable, Actionable Notifications: First introduced in Android 4.1, improved in Android 4.2. Interact with apps directly from the notification pane.

Google Now: A headline feature coming with the first release of Jelly Bean, Google Now is getting revamped with new kinds of cards and improved interactions.

Expecting Jelly Bean 4.2 will roll on out November 13 with unknown which Nexus devices will available.