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HP has announced 4 new Android tablets for their Slate 7 range of tablets with launch dates happening in November 2013. These include the Slate 8 Pro, Slate 7 HD, Slate 10 HD and Slate 7 Extreme. While there are 2 new 7-inch tablets in the announcement, they probably won't be replacing the current Slate 7 tablet. Tech specs for the tablets include the following:

• Slate 8 Pro
• NVIDIA Tegra 4 Processor
• 7.98-inch display (1600 x 1200, 4:3 ratio)
• 8MP rear camera + 2MP front camera
• supports microSD + micro USB + micro HDMI

• Slate 7 HD
• Dual-core processor
• 7-inch display (1280 x 800, IPS)
• may support LTE + Beats Audio

• Slate 10 HD
• Dual-core processor
• 10-inch display (1280 x 800, IPS)
• may support LTE + Beats Audio

• Slate 7 Extreme
• NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor
• 7-inch display (1280 x 800, IPS) 
• comes with stylus

As mentioned in an earlier report, the BlackBerry Z30 has been officially announced here in Malaysia. While it will be available from 5 October 2013, Celcom has exclusive rights over the smartphone for the next 14 days starting from that date. As such Celcom are teasing a number of fairly interesting freebies for those who sign up for a BlackBerry Z30 under a Celcom plan during this 14 day period. This includes a FREE BlackBerry Z10, 2 Alicia Keys concert tickets for KL, free download of Alicia Keys "Girl on Fire" album and an UrbanGears headset for the first 200 subscribers. After the first 200, the next 800 will also get freebies, but what exactly these freebies are still hasn't been announced just yet. So if you're gunning for a BlackBerry Z30, save 5 October 2013 as the day to do so, preferably at a nearby Celcom Bluecube store. Stay tuned and we'll keep you posted.

Nikon recently announced the Nikon 1 AW1, the first mirrorless digital camera with interchangeable lens that is water proof. On top of that, it also comes with two waterproof, shockproof and freeze proof lense in the form of the Nikkor AW 11-27.5mm and Nikkor AW 10mm f/2.8. Both lens offer much flexibility and more options as the wide angle 10mm lens offers a wider aperture and shallow depth of field in low lighting conditions while the 11-27.5mm lens has a 2.5x zoom range. The AW1 camera itself can be submerged down to 49 feet, is shockproof up to 6.6 feet and freeze proof up to 14 degrees F. Features like the pop-up flash are also water proof and the 14.2MP CMOS sensor works well with the Nikon EXPEED 3A image processing engine to bring better imaging in a super rugged body. Other tech specs and features include ISO ranging from 160 to 6400, full HD 1080p video recording, slow motion video recording at 400fps or 1200 fps, built-in GPS and WU-1B wireless mobile adapter support. The Nikon AW1 is priced at $800 (RM2531) for a single lens kit and $1000 (RM3160) for the double-lens kit. You have a choice of black, silver and white with Malaysia release dates starting in or after October 2013.

Updated (20-9-2013):-

Samsung Malaysia have just released the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch at a local launch event held today in Malaysia. It marks the availability of the Galaxy Gear smartwatch in Malaysia from 25 September 2013 at RM999. The smartwatch comes with a number of features and tech specs which include an 800 MHz processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, 1.9MP backside-illuminated camera, 1.63-inch Super AMOLED display with 320 x 320 resolution, accelerometer, gyroscope, pedometer, microphone, speakers and 315 mAh battery for up to 25 hours of use on a single charge. The Galaxy Gear is also IP55 rated so it can stand a little dust and water.

Please check out the Samsung Galxy Note 3 Malaysia release date and info.

Updated (20-9-2013):-

Finally, Samsung Malaysia have officially announced the availability of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 phablet for Malaysian consumers. In a launch event held today, Samsung Malaysia are offering the 4G version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 LTE and will be available in the market from 25 September 2013. This Samsung Galaxy Note 3 LTE will be priced from RM2399 but will not have a combo deal with the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch priced RM999. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will be available in three colours, Jet Black, Blush Pink and Classic White. Samsung leave the option to the local telco instead. So you might need to crap the FREE Galaxy Gear chance fast when you signing up with the telco.

BlackBerry Malaysia recently announced their newest flagship BlackBerry device with the BlackBerry Z30. Formerly known as both the A10 and the Aristo, this 5-inch display smartphone features the same touchscreen interface as the BlackBerry Z10 and gesture control scheme in the newest update to the BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry 10.2. While it doesn't really pack many tech spec surprises, the Z30 does do one thing that BlackBerry has never done before, which is to offer a flagship device like the BlackBerry Z30 at just RM1998. Other tech specs available on the BlackBerry Z30 include:

• 1.7GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor 
• Quad-core Adreno 320 GPU
• 5-inch Super AMOLED (1280 x 720)
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB storage
• 8MP rear camera (5x digital zoom, 1080 HD video recording) + 2MP front camera (720p HD recording)
• 3x speakers
• 2880 mAh 

Sony have recently announced that their upcoming next-generation PlayStation 4 gaming console will be released in Malaysia and other selected Asian Markets in December 2013. The selected markets include Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. The PlayStation 4 will come with the console and certain peripherals (probably just one DualShock 4 controller). However, extra controllers, charging docks and the PS4 camera will also be made available at the same time. Unfortunately, still no pricing or exact Malaysia release dates for those of you looking to camp out for the usual early bird combos. Stay tuned and we'll keep you updated as to any new developments.

Nokia recently announced that it would be holding an event on 22 October 2013. Announced on their Twitter feed, the accompanying image doesn't really reveal much except for some hashtags such as "#blazing", "#stories" and "#innovationreinvented". The image itself shows sand skiers in a desert which seems a bit odd if this event is for the Nokia Sirius Windows RT tablet. Instead, it could just barely fit with the upcoming Nokia Lumia 1520 which is the rumoured phablet formerly known as Bandit. Perhaps it could come with a new Nokia Maps update or have a rugged casing accessory. As a refresher, the Nokia Lumia 1520 phablet may have tech specs or features like a 6-inch screen, 20MP PureView camera, Optical Image Stabilization and Carl Zeiss lens. No news on pricing or Malaysia release dates just yet but we should know everything in about 1 month or so. 

DiGi has announced that it will now be offering the Samsung Galaxy Grand Quattro Duos, from just RM0. Yep, you can get it for free, provided you sign up for the DG SmartPlan 148 under a 24 month contract. If you don't mind the same 24 month contract but are not such a heavy mobile internet user you can also sign up for the DG SmartPlan 58 or DG SmartPlan 88 at fairly low subsidized prices. For the full details check out the table and links in this article

Fujifilm recently announced the X-A1 DSLR digital camera, featuring an X-mount mirrorless digital camera body targeting the entry-level market. The X-A1 looks a lot like the X-M1 but uses a 16MP sensor with conventional Bayer color filter array unlike the other X-series models which use the X-Trans design. The X-A1 still has some interesting tech specs and features including a 920k-dot tilting rear screen and built-in WiFi along with an EXR Processor II to help increase the overall speed performance. Since it is an entry-level model the price is $599 (RM1929) with the XC 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OIS standard zoom. Despite this the X-A1 should still offer a good starting point for those just going into DSLRs as the kit offers a compact yet lightweight body with good features and an above average zoom lens.