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Sony recently announced the Limited Edition variants of its Sony Xperia Z3, Xperia Z3 Compact and Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact with unique design inscriptions on the back plate of each of the three devices. The designs are inspired by architecture from Berlin, Tokyo and Warsaw. Each device will have a design based on one of the above mentioned city's architecture. The Xperia Z3's back plate will be inspired by Berlin, the Xperia Z3 Compact by Tokyo and finally, the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact by Warsaw's architecture. It is said that three different designers gathered each of the city's landmarks and inscribed them onto the phone's back plate. There are 33 Limited Edition models of the above devices, but they probably won't be available outside of Germany. The regular variants of all the three models had a Malaysia release date around two months back. The flagship Xperia Z3 is priced at RM2399, the Z3 Compact at RM1899 and the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact at RM1669. Sony is giving out freebies up till 4 January 2015 on a number of its smartphones and tablets including these three devices. Some of the freebies included an 8GB microSD card, SBH20 stereo Bluetooth headset, KFC Vouchers and a gadget stand. 

According to the latest poster released by HTC on its Weibo page, the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer will unveil at least one Desire smartphone at the upcoming CES 2015 event which will be held at Las Vegas starting 5 January 2015. The teaser image says 'Always Desire more' which probably hints at a new HTC Desire smartphone from the company this year. HTC's Desire range has shown some promise recently especially with the Desire Eye smartphone and the Desire 820. The Desire range usually offer  mid-range specs and the new Desire phone expected to be unveiled on 6 January 2015 will most likely be a mid-range smartphone as well. Given that HTC has not yet hinted at a new 'One' branded phone, it's very likely that the company won't announce a flagship device at the event. Traditionally, HTC announces its 'HTC One' flagship sometime later during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) which happens in February 2015. Hence, the leaked HTC One (M9) Hima flagship model could debut around March this year too. As for the new Desire smartphone, there aren't many details like Malaysia release dates or pricing available just yet. It could be something new and big like the unique Desire Eye smartphone with a 13MP front camera. Stay tuned for more updates from CES 2015 in the coming days.

Samsung Malaysia will be bringing in their Samsung Galaxy A series of smartphone to Malaysia on 8 January 2015 as they have already sent out save-the-date invites. While they didn't mention specific models, the Samsung Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 are expected to arrive ahead of the Galaxy A7. Bearing a similar thin metal frame design with the Galaxy Alpha smartphone, the new Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 are aimed at the young and trendy. As such, the two may be priced rather attractively, perhaps below RM1K. This news comes amidst reports that the Galaxy Alpha itself could soon be discontinued with existing stock being allowed to run out. Check out the tech specs of the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 smartphones 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

Intel Malaysia recently provided the two winners of their 'Level Up Your Business' competition RM30000 worth of devices and support for a significant Tech Boost for each startup. The two winning tech startups include Edu 360 and Tableapp while the 'Level Up Your Business' contest was designed to increase ICT adoption while making life a bit easier for Malaysian SMEs. Edu 360 provides robotics and animation enrichment activities to help develop more creative and problem-solving kids. Tableapp on the other hand is a real-time online reservation service for Malaysian restaurants. Hopefully the Tech Boosts will help accelerate and improve overall growth of the two startups and open up interest from other Malaysian startups and SMEs.

The upcoming Xiaomi MiPad 2 tablet has had a number of rumours about it crop up, not least of which include tech specs and features. While the previous MiPad packed in a 2.2GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor, the MiPad 2 could come with a 1.8GHz Intel Atom processor instead. We expect this to be partly becaue that Intel Atom processor is 64-bit and also because Intel is making it really easy for manufacturers to get their mobile processors. Other tech specs and features include a 7.9-inch display with 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution along with 2GB RAM and Android 4.4.4. Leaked pictures indicate that the MiPad 2 will have a less rounded corners look but will still be thin and slim. No news yet on Malaysia release dates or pricing but the Xiaomi MiPad 2 is expected during CES 2015 so we shouldn't have to wait very long.

According to GFX Benchmark, a new Microsoft Lumia device could soon be coming with a 14MP rear camera. The RM-1062 appearing as the device could well be the Lumia 1330 as it also came with other tech specs and features similar to the Lumia 1320. These include a 5.7-inch display with 720 x 1280 pixel resolution, quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 512MB RAM and 32GB storage. Apart from the 14MP rear camera the smartphone could also come with a 5MP front camera as well. From the tech specs, the Lumia 1330 could well be the little brother of the Lumia 1320 phablet but the Snapdragon 400 processor could also mean that the Lumia 1330 will come with 4G LTE connectivity. We expect the dual SIM version to arrive in Malaysia but there are still no exact Malaysia release dates or pricing details just yet.

According to recent announcements, Kodak could be coming out with their own cameraphones as soon as CES 2015. The camera maker announced that it will be collaborating with Bullit to make some Android devices that includes two phones, one tablet and a smart camera (a digital camera with WiFi or mobile connectivity) which in their own words includes:

"... a range of Android mobile devices offering best-in-class image management software and features, along with great design and user experience".

"... bespoke image capture, management, and sharing features ..."  

"... advanced remote management software"

"... the latest Android OS and features found on high-end smartphones"

Still no Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet but we expect more information will be available in the next few weeks.

Pictures and a release date for the Huawei Ascend P8 smartphone have reportedly appeared. The pictures show the metal frame of the Ascend P8 and from a comparison with the Ascend P7, the P8 looks to be slightly thinner. Considering that the Ascend P7 was already quite thin at 6.5mm we're guessing that the Ascend P8 will probably shave it down to 6.3 or 6.1mm thin. While there are no details on actual tech specs, we expect it to use the latest HiSilicon Kirin processor from Huawei, perhaps the 925 or better and it would be great if they could manage to fit a one-touch fingerprint scanner like on the Huawei Ascend Mate 7. There are still no details on Malaysia release dates but the Ascend P8 is expected to get announced in March 2015 with a probable Malaysia release date happening sometime in June 2015 (about the same time as the Ascend P7).

We've seen quite a few unique devices get announced by KDDI from Japan and from it's looks alone, the newly announced LG Fx0 is definitely one of them. While tech specs and features are rather entry-level to midrange, the main unique features includes a transparent casing and Firefox logo round home button. Other tech specs include a rather outdated 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 1.5GB Ram, 16GB storage, 4.7-inch display with 720 x 1280 pixel resolution, 8MP rear camera, 2.1MP front camera and 2370 mAh battery. The phone will run Firefox OS and according to Mozilla, the Fx0 is the most powerful Firefox OS smartphone to date (which is true, but a bit underwhelming). Priced at 50000 yen (RM1446) the Fx0 measures in at 139 x 70 x 10.5mm and 148g with support for 4G LTE. No news on Malaysia release dates or pricing yet but considering that LG is making a comeback to Malaysia, we could eventually see the LG Fx0 make an appearance here.

The leaked tech specs of the HTC A12 have appeared, courtesy of new serial leaker @upleaks. Appearing to be an entry-level to midranger smartphone, the HTC A12 may have tech specs that include a 64-bit 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 MSM8916 processor, 1GB of RAM, 4.7-inch 720p display, 8MP rear camera, 1.3MP front camera and 2100 mAh battery. It is rumoured to measure in around 139.8 x 69.5 x 9.5mm making it rather chunky all things considered. No Malaysia release dates or pricing details were available but it is expected to arrive in the US for February 2015. As usual of such rumours, do take this with a pinch of salt but with such detailed tech specs we expect that this is probably true.