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Samsung Malaysia Electronics recently announced a special 3-day promotion for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo phablet starting from 10am on 20 May 2014 to 22 May 2014. The promotion offers a 50% discount on the Galaxy Note 3 Neo which is normally priced at RM1699 for a special price of just RM850. While there are 62 participating Samsung Mobile Brand Stores, only 1240 units will be available. Check out list 1 and list 2 of Samsung Mobile Brand stores to find one nearby. Bear in mind that stock is limited for each store so check other stores in the list if one is out of stock. For a refresher check out the tech specs and features of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo below:

• Hexa-core (1.7GHz dual-core + 1.3GHz quad-core)  Samsung Exynos 5260 processor
• Mali-T624 graphics
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB storage + up to 64GB microSD
• 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display (720 x 1280 pixel resolution)
• 8MP rear camera (LED flash) + 2MP front camera
• supports 3G, 4G LTE, S Pen, S Voice, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, WiFi
• 148.4 x 77.4 x 8.6mm | 162.5g
• Android 4.3 Jelly bean
• 3100 mAh battery

While it had a rather soft landing when it was first announced, Xiaomi Malaysia officially launched today with a bang. On top of news that they will begin selling their Xiaomi Mi 3 smartphone for RM889 and Mi Power Bank for RM36 tomorrow, they also revealed that the Mi 3 will be made available via DiGi, Celcom and Maxis. The current version of the MIUI interface running on the Mi 3 has been revealed to be Android 4.3 with news that the Android 4.4 Kitkat version is coming soon as well. In preparation for the upcoming deluge of Xiaomi users, Xiaomi Malaysia will open 4 service centers in Malaysia, with a centre in Kelantan, Perak, Pulau Pinang and Selangor for now.

Xiaomi Malaysia will begin selling their Xiaomi Mi 3 smartphone at RM889 and 10400 mAh Mi Power Bank at RM36 tomorrow at exactly 12pm on 20 May 2014. Sales will be done entirely online and there are only limited amounts of the Xiaomi Mi 3 (4000 units) and Mi Power Bank (5000 units). We expect them to be gone in minutes if not seconds but Xiaomi Malaysia are limiting only 1 unit of Mi 3 smartphone per order and 2 units of Mi Power Bank per order. Both come in just Silver so there won't be any rush for gold or red colour versions. You will have to register for PayPal which you can do with any local credit card and most debit cards. We advise you to login early and have a very fast connection to stand a chance of getting any units from the first batch but do remember that more batches will be coming so don't get too down if you don't make it. Also remember that just getting it to your cart does not mean you've bought it, so once you do, make sure you get a confirmed payment as soon as possible. For a step by step guide check out this article.

Samsung Malaysia recently announced that new Samsung Galaxy S5 owners could get the chance to win flight tickets to catch the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil or win a 55-inch Samsung Curved UHD TV or even limited edition Galaxy 11 footballs. To win, new Samsung Galaxy S5 owners may submit entries at www.galaxy11.my. The grand prize of two tickets to Brazil are worth up to RM20000 while another five units of Samsung Curved UHD TVs up for grabs are worth RM15999 each. The first 10000 to submit their entries will get a limited edition GALAXY 11 football. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is currently priced at RM2399 while the Galaxy Gear smartwatch goes for RM799. The Gear Fit smartband on the other hand will go for RM599 with all three devices readily available at Samsung Experience Stores and authorized dealers. In line with the Galaxy 11 campaign, Samsung Malaysia will be doing various activities with the details listed in this article.

The Nokia X is Nokia's Android powered smartphone for the masses with a retail price of RM399. Therefore, it makes sense that Celcom is now offering the Nokia X for FREE provided you sign up for the Celcom First Data plan under a 24-month contract. Normally, the Celcom First Data plan is more suitable for tablets and not smartphones, but Celcom has provided voice, SMS and MMS features appropriate for a smartphone as well. The good part is that you get 4GB of data per month, which is much more than a usual lower-end post-paid smartphone plan. Celcom sweetens the deal by providing RM35 monthly rebates for 10 months but you will have to make an upfront payment. Check out the table and links in this article for more information.

Samsung Mobile has just tweeted an image for their upcoming Samsung Galaxy Premier 2014 with the title "Tab into Color". This hints at a new Galaxy Tab coming soon and with the Galaxy Tab 4 range already well and announced, we're thinking it could be the premium Samsung Galaxy Tab S recently rumoured to appear. Estimated tech specs for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S include an 8.4-inch display version and a 10.5-inch display version with both displays being AMOLED type screens offering 2K or 2560 x 1600 pixel resolutions. This could point to the hint which says "Tab into Color" as AMOLED screens do tend to have more vibrant colours. Other features that could appear include a built-in fingerprint scanner, Samsung Exynos 5420 processor, hexa-core Mali T628 graphics, 3GB LPDDR3e RAM, 8MP rear camera and 2.1MP front camera. Many are also thinking that other devices could also be showcased as well but it feels a little too early for the Galaxy Note 4 still. Stay tuned for more developments.

Xiaomi has officially announced their tablet called the Xiaomi MiPad and it is currently the world's first Android tablet to use an NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor and chipset. Gunning for the Apple iPad mini, the MiPad features a 7.9-inch display with 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution, making it on par with the Retina Display on the iPad mini. Unlike the iPad mini, the MiPad goes for 6 trendy pastel colours including blue, green, pink and yellow. The overall design is a slim 8.5mm thin tablet with rounded corners and thin bezels while a polycarbonate backside keeps it tough and durable. Other notable tech specs and features for the Xiaomi MiPad include the following:

• 2.2GHz NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor (192-core Kepler GPU)
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB / 64GB storage + up to 128GB microSD
• 7.9-inch display (IPS, 2014 x 1536 pixel resolution, 324 ppi)
• 8MP rear camera (Sony sensor, f/2.0) + 5MP front camera (f/2.0)
• Supports 802.11ac WiFi, MIMO antenna, WiFi Direct, BlueTooth 4.0
• 202.1 x 135.4 x 8.5mm | 360g
• 6700 mAh battery

Confirming previous rumours about the mini version of the HTC One (M8), HTC have officially announced the HTC One Mini 2. Featuring the same brushed metal look as the larger version, the mini offers a 4.5-inch display with 720p pixel resolution making it slightly larger than the previous HTC One Mini. The most notable feature difference here though, is that there is no Duo camera, but HTC have opted for a conventional 13MP BSI camera sensor instead of the usual UltraPixel camera. Other tech specs include a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, up to 128GB microSD support, 5MP front camera, GPS, NFC, 4G LTE and a 2100 mAh battery. No news on Malaysia pricing or specific Malaysia release dates yet but the HTC One Mini 2 is expected to be launched in North Asia by June 2014. The smartphone will come in the standard Amber Gold, Glacial Silver and Gunmetal Gray colours.

Quite a few people here in Malaysia are thrilled by the Xiaomi Mi 3 smartphone that will be coming to Malaysia on 20 May 2014. However, there is a downside to this as Xiaomi Malaysia have announced that there will only be 4000 sets available in the first batch of smartphones for the country. Quite a few online buyers are miffed at this but realistically speaking, it isn't very easy to bring in a lot of stock to multiple markets, especially when you enter so many different markets at the same time. For now, we're just thankful that we can get such high-end tech specs that the Xiaomi Mi 3 is offering at a super-low price of RM889. Does it really matter if you're the first one to get it? Nevertheless, we expect the 4000 sets to be gone in minutes if not seconds, as Xiaomi usually sells out in the same amount of time or less for previous markets such as Singapore and even it's main base of China.

While OPPO have already announced their flagship smartphone with the OPPO Find 7, they are currently refreshing their existing range of devices including the recent 4G LTE enabled OPPO R1s. Therefore, a new rumour that OPPO could be working on an OPPO N1 mini and OPPO N2 smartphone does sound rather believable. The rumour indicates that the new OPPO N1 mini will have tech specs which include an Octa-core MT6592 processor or other octa-core processor, 5-inch screen and a version for 3G and 4G connectivity. While the camera details have not been confirmed, we assume that the 13MP camera sensor will be retained along with the N1's rotateable camera hinge. The rumours don't say much else about the OPPO N2 however, just that OPPO are currently working on it. As usual with such rumours, do remember to take this with a pinch of salt and disbelief. No news on Malaysia release dates or pricing but we hope that it will be significantly lower than the currently priced OPPO N1.