Latest News

Celcom is currently offering 2 new devices for their Celcom First plans in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 and the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 will be offered from RM888 while the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active will be offered from RM1388. Both are available on the Celcom First voice and / or data plans under 12 month or 18  month contracts.

Both devices offer LTE support but while the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 is a dual-core 8-inch tablet, the Galaxy S4 Active is the rugged waterproof version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone. You can get more information regarding this deal from the respective Celcom Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 and Celcom Samsung Galaxy S4 Active sites. Alternatively, you can also check out our other Celcom telco plans as well.

Panasonic recently made an announcement that they would be officially withdrawing from the consumer smartphone market. $15 billion worth of losses is nothing to sneeze at and is probably the main reason why Panasonic are doing so. While they tried to expand in Europe last year from March 2012, the attempt didn't come out as planned. Kazuhiro Tsuga, President of Panasonic had this to say:

"it's not acceptable for the company to be bleeding red ink like this, so we have to think about ways to develop assets that we do have in a more effective direction."

Panasonic will continue to sell consumer handsets in emerging markets (like Malaysia) but won't be making the devices themselves. Rather, the brand will be Panasonic but the manufacturers will be different. In related news, Panasonic may still be developing a Toughphone like their now famous Toughbook line of notebook computers, which may or may not see the light of day. No news on Malaysia release dates or pricing just yet but we will keep you posted.

Just revealed at the IFA 2013 and already the Sony Xperia Z1 has been officially launched in Malaysia. The smartphone formerly known as the Honami sticks in a 20.7MP 1/2.3-inch Exmore RS digital compact camera sensor along with a 5-inch Full HD Triluminos display smartphone, Sony G Lens, a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GB of RAM into the now familiar Omni-balance designed form factor. The Xperia Z1 looks and feels like other premium Xperia Z smartphones as it maintains the same aluminum unibody chassis sandwiched by two slabs of tempered glass. While the Z1 is IP58 water proof certified it also packs in a dedicated camera button, so you can bring it underwater with you and take advantage of the powerful camera. Sony Mobile Malaysia say that the Sony Xperia Z1 should be available in the first week of October 2013, while a whole bunch of accessories will come later in mid-October.

Nikon recently announced their new Coolpix S6600 and Coolpix P7800 digital cameras. What makes the S6600 so notable is that it is the first Coolpix S-series to get a vari-angle monitor which is also available for the Coolpix P7800. The S6600 is more of a flexible consumer model but offers a Gesture Control function for self portrait shots. Other tech specs for the S6600 include a 16MP backside illumination CMOS image sensor, lens-shift vibration reduction, 12x optical zoom NIKKOR lens featuring 2cm macro and built-in WiFi for easy wireless transmission.

Sony recently unveiled their first consumer 4K Handycam with the Sony FDR-AX1 4K Handycam. Granted, most of the 13MP smartphones packing a Snapdragon 800 processor can record 4K video as well but the 4K Handycam is aimed squarely at the professional with the ability to record 4K and HD movies in XAVC S format. This is done using MP4 AVC/H.264 Long GOP for video, Linear PCM for audio compression all saved in an MP4 file format. Tech specs for the 4K Handycam include a 4K (3840 x 2160) capable 1/2.3-type Exmore R CMOS image sensor, G Lens, 2 XQD memory card slots, HDMI 2.0 and 20x optical zoom. Features include Optical SteadyShot, up to 4 filter settings, 5 paint functions and more. As usual, no specific release dates for Malaysia but it is expected to arrive in October 2013 for around $4499.99 (RM14976).

The Toshiba Encore is probably the 2nd touchscreen tablet in the first wave of 8-inch Windows 8 tablets and devices below or around $300. Toshiba recently announced the Encore with features that include Windows 8.1 and the free Microsoft Office package. Other tech specs include dual microphones, a 2MP front camera certified by Skype, an 8-inch HFFS display with multi-touch and 1280 x 800 pixel resolutions, a quad-core Intel Atom Bay Trail processor and 32GB worth of storage. Connection-wise the tablet packs in a Micro USB 2.0 port, micro HDMI port, dual-band WiFi and a GPS. No exact Malaysia release dates were available but it is expected globally in November 2013 for $329.99 (RM1096). The tech specs make the Toshiba Encore a very tempting device, but we'll hold off judgement until we see what sort of keyboard and other accessories the tablet will be packing.

Ever wanted a better camera for your smartphone but didn't want to buy a new smartphone? Well now you can, as Sony officially announce their Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX100 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10 wireless lens cameras. Designed to be paired up with your smartphone (and probably tablet) it is basically the telescoping zoom part of a digital camera with wireless and NFC capabilities. The lens cameras mark the first of the QX series in Sony's Cyber-shot range and they can be used with any iOS and Android smartphone. Confirming many of the tech specs and features from past leaks and rumours the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX100 and QX10 have the following tech specs:

• Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX100
• 1-inch 20.2MP Exmor R sensor
• Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens (3.6x optical zoom)
• BIONZ image processor
• manual focus/zoom control ring

• Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10
• 18.2MP Exmor R sensor
• 10x optical zoom
• built-in optical image stabilization
• 4 oz

The newly announced Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch have a number of features which are both innovative and complex, so Samsung have gone and made a very instructional video on all of these new features. The video explains how you can use the Air Command function and all the other shortcut features like Action Memo and S Finder. It also shows how to use the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch in a more personal way and explores all the little details in a friendly instructional manner. While it doesn't show a real-life setting, it does get everything explained nicely so do check out the video in this article.

Samsung have been known to offer practically every "S" app available with each new device they release. The new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is no exception, but while it still has all the previous bloatware (granted, some are definitely useful) the new software or apps designed especially for the Note 3 seem to offer a new focus on usefulness. The main feature we're talking about here is the Air Command function which is basically a circular ring shortcut menu which pops up each time you click the button on the new S Pen stylus and touch the screen with it. This gives you access to some pretty useful options which include:

• Action Memo - Continuing on from S Memo, you can write down text or a number and rather than just save it as an image, call the number directly from the app.
• Scrapbook - Much like Google Keep or Pocket, this app lets you store content for later reading, arranging and organizing it for an easier read later.
• Screen Write - a more powerful screen capture which lets you scribble or add comments on to the screen capture, making it perfect for commenting.
• S Finder - search everything in your Note 3 according to specific categories which could include hand-written notes or even symbols and formulas.
• Pen Window - outline a window with the S Pen and launch a bunch of commonly used apps into that window, where the app will match those measurements exactly and float or hover over your existing screen.

Qualcomm has officially joined the smartwatch race by it's official announcement of the Toq smartwatch. While in terms of functionality, the Toq doesn't differ that much from other previous Bluetooth notification remote devices, what sets it apart is the Mirasol screen it uses. Mirasol is like a hybrid version of LCD and e-ink displays, so it offers the energy efficiency of an e-ink display with the colour clarity of an LCD. Going for a button-less display, everything is run from the capacitive screen which certainly looks sharp and clear. Tech specs weren't really available at the time of announcement but it looks to offer the ability to receive calls through a bluetooth headset and charge wirelessly through Qualcomm's own wireless charging technology. There are no external ports on the Toq as it connects through WiFi or Bluetooth.