Latest News

U Mobile has come out with the bundles for the Huawei Ascend P7 and the starting price for this 6.5mm super thin flagship smartphone is now available from a surprisingly low RM188. In addition, there is also a no upfront payment for certain subscribers. Available with the U58, U88 and U Plus plans, subscribers will have to sign up for a 24-month contract. The U58 plan is the only one that requires an upfront payment of RM538. While there are freebies of a free power bank and wireless modem each worth RM199, it is only available for the first 100 customers who pre-order from selected U Mobile stores. For more details, check out the table and links in this article.

The rumoured Blackberry Passport recently appeared in a number of leaks including the video below of the Passport's browser. From the pictures, the Passport looks even wider than an LG Vu and definitely larger than the Apple iPhone 4 it is placed next to. Tech specs and features rumoured to be available in the Blackberry Passport include an LCD display with 1440 x 1440 pixel resolution, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, 3450 mAh non-removable battery and support for microSD. No news yet on Malaysia release dates or pricing so stay tuned for more information.

As the 64-bit revolution begins for smartphones and mobile devices, it appears that such devices won't be that expensive when they do come as Lenovo recently proved. The company has announced the Lenovo A805e phablet with tech specs that include a 64-bit 1.2GHZ Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor. Other tech specs and features include 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, a 5.5-inch display with 540 x 960 pixel resolution, 8MP rear camera and 2500 mAh battery. It will also support 4G LTE, NFC abd dual-SIM. Released in China for now, it will come with an artificial leather backside for a more comfortable grip and Android KitKat 4.4.2. While there are still no details on Malaysia pricing or release dates, it is expected to be priced below $200 (RM641). If it retains this same price tag when or if it comes here to Malaysia, it should stir up the midrange market even more so stay tuned for more developments.

In a press preview today, Microsoft Devices recently revealed that the upcoming Nokia Lumia 930 will be coming to Malaysia as soon as next week for RM1999. Designed as the successor to the Nokia Lumia 925, the Lumia 930 retains an aluminum unibody chassis for the more premium look but covers the back with a polycarbonate backside which comes in orange, green, white and black. The press preview also included a demo of Nokia's treasure tags bluetooth locators.

As part of the preview, Microsoft Devices also revealed that the Nokia Lumia 930 will be available for Pre-order at the Nokia Transformer Roadshow in Lowyat Plaza from 30 June 2014 to 6 July 2014 which includes a free Nokia Treasure Tag, 4400 mAh power bank and flip cover. Tech specs for the Nokia Lumia 930 are quite impressive and includes:

• 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 32GB storage with 7GB OneDrive cloud storage
• 5-inch display (1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, Corning Gorilla Glass 3)
• 20MP Pureview rear camera (ZEISS lens, OIS)
• Supports 4G LTE, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, Qi wireless charging, 4 microphones
• 137 x 71 x 9.8mm | 167g
• 2420 mAh battery
• Windows Phone 8.1

Samsung Malaysia has started a new fitness promotion with their Gear Fit Gym Challenge. Available at selected Celebrity Fitness and Fitness First gyms, the challenge will run from 16 June 2014 to 27 August. The challenge will be open to gym members and involve completing a 5km run on a treadmill within 30 minutes, with the challenger who gets the shortest time winning a Samsung Gear Fit smartband. Challengers will put on a Gear Fit smartband, take the run and see their scores posted on the leaderboard. The challenger who gets the best time at the end of the challenge period will win the smartband. Of course, challengers can participate as many times as they want, so check out the Gear Fit Gym Challenge schedule in this article.

Google recently unveiled devices for their new Android Wear wearable operating system with three new smartwatches from major brands. This includes the LG G Watch, Motorola Moto 360 and Samsung Gear Live. While the Motorola Moto 360 and LG G Watch have both been announced, the Samsung Gear Live makes it's first appearance here. However, it is more or less the same in both look and feel as a Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatch. Check out the tech specs and features of the LG G Watch, Motorola Moto 360 and Samsung Gear Live below:

• LG G Watch
• 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor
• 1.65-inch display (IPS, 280 x 280 pixel resolution)
• 512MB RAM
• 4GB storage
• 63g
• 400 mAh battery
• Compatible with device running Android 4.3 + Bluetooth 4.0
• IP67 certified
• $229 (RM740)

The Huawei Ascend P7 is now being offered for pre-booking at U Mobile. The super-slim flagship smartphone from Huawei was recently launched here in Malaysia at a very affordable retail price of RM1499, but the pre-order promo from U Mobile will provide the first 100 pre-book users to also get a free Huawei Power bank and Huawei Wireless Modem worth RM199 each. According to U Mobile, the pre-order is available on any U Plan as long as you subscribe using a credit card and get the Huawei Ascend P7 from VMALL.my during a certain time period. You also have to do the Pre-order at specific U Mobile stores. These include the U Store outlets at Berjaya Times Square, Queensbay Penang, Taman Molek Johor Bahru and Melaka. For more information about this pre-order deal, check out the U Mobile site and the VMALL.my site.

ndroid 5.0 was officially announced yesterday at the Google I/O event. While it still hasn't got it's official codename, the codename will start with L. The current Android version is still at Android 4.4 KitKat, so a jump to 5.0 should bring quite a lot of changes and improvements. While new features are on the way, the most notable features and improvements include:

• Flatter Material Design interface: The new Android will look flatter with practically every element including the navigation keys being changed. Colours are more pastel and the overall design is flatter for a softer but more comfortable look. More animation will also be included. This design will be applied to all Google platforms including Chrome OS, Android Wear and Android TV.
• More powerful Search: When you search for something now, the Search will also include usage from other apps like Google Earth to finetune your search. Other third-party apps will aslo be able to use this.
• Recent apps menu: The Recent apps get a rework with bigger tabs and more clickable stuff. Again, third-party app devs will also get access to this.
• More actionable notifications: Notifications are more interactive and can size up into a floating box when tapped so you don't have to open the app first.
• More Contextually Aware: Want to bypass your lockscreen but forgot you're wearing your smartwatch? Android 5.0 will now detect it for you, and pass you through.
• 64-bit ready: Through the use of the ART runtime, you can now run 64-bit apps with a reported 2x increase in performance. Some apps may even do better by up to 400% while you can now expect more RAM as you are no longer limited to just 4GB.
• Console graphics: Using the Android Extension pack you can now expect graphic effects like tessellation and geometry shaders for console-like levels of quality in your games and apps.
• Better battery life: Through Project Volta, Android subsystems will be better managed and therefore save more energy.
• Better enterprise features: This includes Samsung Knox integration, bulk app deployment and better data separation and security.

As teased earlier, Xiaomi Malaysia has announced their Xiaomi Redmi 1S smartphone and Xiaomi Redmi Note phablet for Malaysia. The Xiaomi Redmi 1S will be going for RM419 and will be available from 8 July 2014 while the Xiaomi Redmi Note will be going for RM509 on 22 July 2014. As usual, the two devices will be available online from Xiaomi Malaysia but there are promos for the two devices. Go to the main post on the Facebook page, share the post, tag a friend and convince them why they should buy either the Xiaomi Redmi 1s or Xiaomi Redmi Note. After you've done that, PM Xiaomi Malaysia your name, IC number, mobile number and email address. The most creatively convincing commenter will win either the Xiaomi Redmi 1s or Xiaomi Redmi Note. Check out the tech specs and features of the Xiaomi Redmi 1S and Xiaomi Redmi Note below:

• Xiaomi Redmi 1S
• 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB storage + microSD
• 4.7-inch display (IPS, 1280 x 720 pixel resolution)
• 8MP rear camera (LED flash)
• 2000 mAh battery
• MIUI V5 (Android 4.3)
• RM419

• Xiaomi Redmi Note
• 1.7GHz octa-core MT6592 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 8GB storage + supports up to 32GB microSD
• 5.5-inch display (IPS, 1280 x 720 pixel resolution)
• 13MP rear camera (LED flash, f/2.2 aperture) + 5MP front camera (wide angle)
• Supports 3G, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi
• 3200 mAh battery
• RM509

The recently launched Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and Galaxy Tab S 10.5 tablets have been tested by DisplayMate as the best displays on a tablet yet. For those who don't know, DisplayMate produces display calibration, evaluation and diagnostic products so they are experts when it comes to displays. For the Samsung Galaxy Tab S tablets, tests included the screen performance, highest colour accuracy, lower screen reflectance and smallest brightness variation with viewing angles with the tablets getting the best in all these tests. While the tablets did score the best in the aforementioned tests, it didn't offer the same in terms of brightness but at 546 nits, this is still an impressive number. The new Samsung Galaxy Tab S tablets are the first to pack in Super AMOLED screens of this size since the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 and should mark wider usage of Super AMOLED screens in other devices as well. For the record, the Apple iPad Air is rated as third best according to DisplayMate, but for a full tech spec comparison do check out our Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 vs Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 vs Apple iPad Air comparison tool.