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In a message sent out to employees, Apple's Senior Vice President of Apple Retail and Online stores revealed that the Apple Watch will be delayed to Q2 of 2015. Initially rumoured to be coming in early 2015, the message clearly says "we've got a new watch launch coming in spring". The Apple Watch brings a new interface and premium rounded corners to the usual thick slab of touchscreen design language along with various other features. It will be priced from $350 (RM1163) so this just means you have a few more months to save up for Apple's first smartwatch device. No Malaysia release dates or pricing but we expect it to be available locally near the end of Q2 of 2015.

The first Lumia smartphone to use Microsoft branding has appeared at China's TENAA as the Lumia RM-1090. While this is definitely not the expected replacement for the Lumia 1020, it could be something for the midrange as it features a rear camera with LED flash and a 5-inch display with 960 x 540 pixel resolution. Other tech specs includes a 1900 mAh battery, 140.2 x 72.4 x 9.3mm measurements and support for dual-SIM slots and 3G with HSPA connectivity. The shots reveal a polycarbonate backside with rounded corners and we're guessing it could be a step below the Lumia 730.

We've been watching out for the Sony SmartBand Talk SWR-30 for a while after it was announced back in September 2014, and now it has appeared on the Sony Malaysia site with official retail pricing.  A step up from the SmartBand, the SmartBand Talk features an energy efficient 1.4-inch e-ink display with a 288 x 128 pixel resolution. Other tech specs include an ARM Cortex-M4 processor, two sizes, IP68 certification (waterproof up to 1.5m) and the ability to take and answer calls directly through the smartband. It also displays notifications from your smartphone and tracks your fitness and other health statistics. According to Sony, the SmartBand Talk should last 2-3 days on a single charge and connects via both NFC and Bluetooth. Previously announced at 159 euros (RM653) the official Malaysia pricing has now been set at RM579 making it one of the more attractive smartbands with displays in the Malaysia market today. Check out the videos in this artilce for a refresher of the Sony SmartBand Talk.

Maxis are now offering the Sony Xperia Z3 with a trade-in offer up to RM950. Certain smartphones like the Apple iPhone 5S or Samsung Galaxy S5 will get this rebate but even if you bring in a no-name phone it will still get a trade-in value of RM200 (as long as it is still working). Granted, you will have to sign up for a Maxis One plan for 24 months but you'll be able to get the Xperia Z3 from RM1499 which is quite a drop from the retail value of RM2399. Check out the details in the table in this article.

It seems Samsung and LG aren't the only ones to have flexible touchscreen technology as Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL) recently showed off an 8.7-inch Super AMOLED display that can be folded into three parts. Featuring a full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, the touchscreen can be bent up to a 2mm to 4mm radius and is durable up to 100000 times of being bent. SEL also showed off a smaller 5.9-inch flexible display but this one only offered 720p HD resolutions and is not a touchscreen. The company have not revealed when this flexible technology could come to tablets or smartphones of the future but it does seem to indicate that flexible display devices could be coming in 2015.

After months of teasing, the Samsung Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 smartphones were finally and officially announced recently. Designed for the young and trendy, the two new smartphones are slim, thin and come with a metal frame much like the more premium Samsung Galaxy Alpha. Notable tech specs for the two smartphones include 64-bit processors, 4G LTE connectivity and a 5MP front camera for selfies. The Galaxy A5 measures in a 6.7mm thin while the Galaxy A3 come in at 6.9mm thin. A variety of colours to choose from will be available inlcuding, black, blue, gold, pink, silver and white. Check out the full tech specs and features list for the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 below:

• Samsung Galaxy A5
• 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB storage + up to 64GB microSD
• 5-inch Super AMOLED display (720 x 1280 pixel resolution, 294 ppi pixel density)
• 13MP rear camera (autofocus, LED flash) + 5MP front camera
• 139.3  x  69.7  x  6.7 mm | 123g
• supports 4G LTE, NFC, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, A-GPS
• Android 4.4.4 KitKat
• 2300 mAh battery

• Samsung Galaxy A3
• 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor
• 1GB RAM
• 16GB storage + up to 64GB microSD
• 4.5-inch Super AMOLED display (540 x 960 pixel resolution, 245 ppi pixel density)
• 8MP rear camera (autofocus, LED flash) + 5MP front camera
• 130.1  x  65.5  x  6.9 mm | 110.3g
• supports 4G LTE, NFC, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, A-GPS
• Android 4.4.4 KitKat
• 1900 mAh battery

ASUS Malaysia are now offering 2 brand new ASUS Fonepad 8 FE380CG tablets for free. All users have to do is play the new "FonePad is Calling - Halloween" Facebook game to be in the running for a lucky draw. With a contest period going all the way to 23 November 2014, 2 lucky winners will be able to get their hands on the very capable 64-bit Intel Atom processor based Fonepad 8 complete with tech specs and features that include 3G smartphone functionality and a large 8-inch display. For further details about the ASUS Fonepad 8 FE380CG do check out our review of the tablet. Check out the game instructions below:

1. Participant have to invite one of their friends to play the game
2. Once the game starts, there will be random calls from the “ghost” or the participant’s friend.
3. If the “ghost” calls, participants have to click the “hang up” icon
4. If the “friend” calls, participants have to click the “pick up” icon.
5. Winners will be selected according to random draw (draw will not be based on highest score to avoid hacking/dispute)

Huawei Malaysia has recently sent out invites for an event happening on the 13 of November 2014. The invite clearly shows the back of the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 with it's fingerprint sensor, indicating that we could see the phablet make an appearance there. Asides from a fingerprint sensor, other features include a near bezel-free x-inch display and Huawei's latest Kirin 925 octa -core processor along with up to 3GB of RAM. Priced at 499 euros (RM2047) with the 3GB RAM and 32GB storage version going from 599 euros (RM2458), we're hoping the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 is priced a bit more affordably here in Malaysia. While there is no news about other devices launching here in Malaysia along with it, the Ascend Mate 7 launched together with the Huawei Ascend G7 smartphone in China, so it could be coming here too. No actual Malaysia release dates just yet, but we'll find out about it in the next couple of weeks so stay tuned for more developments. In the meantime, check out the tech specs, features and videos for the Ascend Mate 7 and Ascend G7 below:

• Huawei Ascend Mate7
• 1.8GHZ octa-core Huawei Kirin 925 processor
• 2GB / 3GB RAM
• 16GB / 32GB storage
• 6-inch display (1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, 1500:1 contrast ratio)
• 13MP rear camera (Sony BSI sensor, f/2.0 aperture) + 5MP front camera
• 157 x 81 x 7.9mm | 185g
• features single-touch rear fingerprint sensor, ultra low power saving mode,
• supports 4G LTE Cat6, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS,
• 4100 mAh battery
• Android 4.4 KitKat + Emotion UI 3.0

Rumours have it that Apple may have fixed their latest batch of Apple iPhone 6 Plus smartphones so that they do not bend as easily as before. According to rumours, this was discovered by a reddit user named doctorkuddles who had initially bought a 16GB iPhone 6 Plus smartphone for his wife and recently bought a new 128GB iPhone 6 Plus smartphone for himself. Upon closer inspection he discovered that his newer 128GB iPhone 6 was both heavier and more solid than the earlier bought 16GB iPhone 6 smartphone. His exact words were that he discovered a "red colored object placed in the volume down button crank". After contacting iFixit, they discovered that the latest batch of iPhone 6 Plus smartphones were 8g heavier than the first batch. While it doesn't confirm anything (at least until someone tries bending the latest batch of iPhone 6 Plus smartphones), it could mean that if you do accidentally bend your iPhone 6 Plus, you will get the fixed version as a replacement. Apple have not confirmed anything and doesn't seem like they are recalling any of their earlier released bendable iPhone 6 Plus smartphones either. While this may be good news for iPhone 6 Plus users do take this rumour with a good pinch of salt and don't go bending your smartphones intentionally.

Maxis is also offering the Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on pre-order. The iPhone 6 is available from as low RM659 while the iPhone 6 Plus can be had for as low as RM999. This is of course on a 24 month contract but you also have the option to sign up for a 12 month contract as well. As a bonus to Maxis fans and helping it stand out from the other telcos, Maxis will be offering their Midnight Express delivery service as well. In short, Maxis will select a few lucky users from their Pre-order list and send it to you on 6 November 2014 for FREE anywhere, as long as you put down the details in the Deliver Option field for the pre-order. Check out all the details and links in this article.