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Earlier reports may have indicated that Samsung could be reducing the number of devices it has on hand but new rumours indicate that we could soon be seeing some new tablets. This is due to a report saying that the Samsung Galaxy Tab A, Samsung Galaxy Tab E and Samsung Galaxy Tab J trademarks have been applied for at the Korean Intellectual Property Office. No news yet whether these are just codenames or if Samsung will be streamlining their Galaxy Tab product range (Galaxy Tab, Galaxy Tab S, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note Pro) to just these three devices. No tech specs or features were mentioned but as usual, do take this rumour with a good pinch of salt or at least until we know more.

As things gear up for MWC 2015, Gionee has announced that they will come out with an ultra-slim smartphone for the event in March 2015. While they have not announced what the phone will be called or how slim it will be, they have commented on the fact that making a slim smartphone that doesn't perform is not a good thing. This implies that we could see a more powerful Gionee ultra-slim smartphone. While the Gionee Elife S5.1 has held the world's thinnest smartphone title at 5.15mm, that title has since changed hands to the Coolpad Ivvi K1 Mini at 4.7mm. Gionee will likely offer this unnamed smartphone for China and there are currently no details about Malaysia release dates or pricing just yet.

HTC Malaysia is currently offering some promotions on their HTC smartphones and devices for the upcoming Chinese New Year. According to their Facebook page, this means that you could get some extra freebies like flash memory cards or official cases with your next HTC purchase. These HTC devices include the HTC Desire EYE and some other HTC Desire smartphones, the HTC Butterfly 2 and the Nexus 9 and will be valid until 1 March 2015. To get these freebies, check out their site and fill up your particulars with your proof of purchase.

Xiaomi Malaysia have finally brought in the Xiaomi Mi Pad tablet for Chinese New Year 2015 (it was announced in May 2014). Retailing for RM799, this Android-based tablet is powered by an NVIDIA K1 Tegra processor and offers tech specs that include 2GB of RAM, an 8MP rear camera and 7.9-inch display with 2014 x 1536 pixel resolution. Featuring a colourful Apple iPad mini like casing the Mi Pad will be launched for sale on 10 February 2015. However, Xiaomi Malaysia are currently giving away some Mi Pad tablets to fans who share the news from their Facebook page. Check out the full tech specs and features below:

• 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

Teardowns are one of most interesting things about a smartphone given that a regular fan gets to know what exactly the company has packed inside its phone. Xiaomi's recently announced Mi Note was subjected to a teardown a few days back and like its exterior; the interior of the phone too is quite solid and organized. Xiaomi has just posted the official teardown of its new smartphone on its forum revealing some of the key internals of the device. Along with the regular disassembly guide, the post also explains the intricate features of the new smartphone. The person who took apart the Xiaomi Mi Note mentions that the phone was pretty easy to dismantle. The back came off easily using suction pads on the four corners and removing the screws too didn't take much time. However, it is said that the screws inside are all of different lengths which can be tricky while putting them in. Using a long screw in the slot for a small screw can damage the liquid crystal display on the phone. Overall, the review is quite detailed and the comments on each image help us understand more about the company's new affordable flagship device.

The Huawei Mate 7 smartphone recently received the "Smartphone Best New Arrival" award from the 11th Hurun Best of the Best Awards 2015. The Awards event presents such awards to deserving luxury brands including cars, watches, jewelers, jets, yachts and others. The Huawei Mate 7 sets itself apart by offering top-of-the-line tech specs and features which include a one-touch fingerprint scanner, 4G LTE, 6-inch full HD display, 7.9mm slim premium metal body and more. The Huawei Mate 7 achieved a Net Promoted Score of 79% making it the best in this category. Here's what Huawei had to say about it:

“Huawei Mate7 has been included in a growing number of high-end luxurious brand lists recently, most recently from Hurun, which is evidence that we have succeeded in creating a smartphone of premium quality that provides a great user experience. Our strategy of focusing on premium mid- to high-end products is clearly working for us. In addition to having sold an impressive more than 2 million Mate7 units since its launch in September last year, we are thrilled to see the Mate7 receive so much global recognition.” Mr. Kevin Ho, President, Huawei Consumer Business Group Handset product line

Recently, a lot of new Chinese manufacturers have amazed the market with high-end smartphones at an amazing price. Unfortunately, most of them are not available in Malaysia to purchase officially just yet. The same is the case with the recently announced flagship model, the Xiaomi Mi Note. However, a few third party resellers are currently offering the device in Malaysia. SatuGadgetDotCom's facebook page reveals that they have a few Xiaomi Mi Note units to sell. The one in stock is the 16GB LTE model which is priced at RM1888 with free shipping. However, there are others selling this new Xiaomi smartphone as well. A quick search revealed that there are at least three different sellers offering the phone at a similar price tag. The lowest price we could find online was RM1799, which is almost RM400 higher than the official retail price tag of the device. However, that's the premium you have to pay for getting the device before it gets announced officially. Do remember that this is the regular Xiaomi Mi Note model and not the Mi Note Pro which comes with the latest Snapdragon 810. The higher-end model is not yet available for purchase even in China. No exact Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet but if you can't wait, do check out the source links for more details.

Samsung is all set to unveil its next flagship device, the Galaxy S6 this year. The company has already started sending out invites for its Unpacked event to be held on 1st March 2015 where it is said that the company will launch the Galaxy S6. The invite doesn't reveal anything particular about the specs of the upcoming device, except for a curvy line which could be hinting about the rumored Galaxy S6 Edge version. Other than that, there is very little information about the upcoming flagship. However, unofficially, a new report has come up online which claims that the pricing for both the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge has been revealed. The report says that the upcoming Samsung flagship will come in three different storage variants – 32GB, 64GB and 128GB. The base storage version will start at €749 (RM3096) followed by an additional €100 (RM413) for each larger variant. As for the Galaxy S6 Edge, the device will start at €849 (RM3509) for the 32GB model going up to €1049 (RM4336) for the 128GB model. These prices have not yet been confirmed, but they are somewhat close to the launch prices of the previous flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge. Stay tuned for more details. 

Qualcomm has just issued a press release detailing some of the key features of its top end processor, theSnapdragon 810. The chip maker also revealed some of the companies which will incorporate this SoC inside their upcoming devices. There are officially two flagship phones which currently use Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, LG's high-end LG G Flex 2 and the recently announced Xiaomi Mi Note Pro. The chip maker also revealed the names of the smartphone manufacturers who will use this processor which includes Sony, OPPO and Motorola, thereby confirming at least one aspect of their upcoming flagship devices. However, these three weren't the only names brought up by Qualcomm as the press release also revealed that one of Microsoft's smartphones will also use this processor. Given the high-end placement of the chip, it is likely that the phone will be the next Lumia flagship. This is quite surprising as Lumia devices are generally not known to come with the latest Snapdragon chipsets. It is still not known what Microsoft device will feature this chip, but it would most likely come with the new Windows 10 operating system. Expect more details at MWC 2015 to be held in Barcelona next month. 

Huawei has just announced a new smartphone in the Chinese market called the Huawei C199S. This will be the upgraded model of the older C199 and will retain some of the tech specs and design aspects of the device. The new C199S comes with a metal back and a gold color option too. Inside, the phone features the latest 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor with Adreno 405 GPU and 2GB of onboard RAM. There will be 16GB internal storage (of which 12GB is available to the user) which can be further expanded via microSD. At the front, the phone sports a 5.5-inch 1280 x 720 pixel display. The rear camera will be 13MP and can shoot 1080p Full HD videos. The front shooter will be 5MP, ideal for selfies and video calls and can take videos at 720p resolution. The phone will be an aluminum unibody and will measure just 7.6mm in thickness. It will weigh about 167 grams. For connectivity, the Huawei C199S will support 4G LTE networks, 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Glonass / GPS navigation. Huawei have also included a large 3000 mAh battery to power all these tech specs. Huawei will sell the device for a price tag of CNY 2300 (RM1343) in China. No details about a Malaysia release date or pricing have been revealed just yet.