News & Reviews:   Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Samsung Malaysia have just opened up a trade-in programme for their latest Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge smartphones with 19 smartphone models to trade-in that give discounts off the existing retail price from RM95 to RM1000. Considering that the standard Galaxy S6 is priced at RM2599 while the Galaxy S6 edge retails for RM3099, this is a pretty good offer on the surface, especially as you now have the option to get the Galaxy S6 edge with 64GB storage at RM3599 and the previously unavailable Blue Topaz for the Galaxy S6 and Green Emerald for the Galaxy S6 edge. The offer is valid until 31 May 2015. Take a closer look at the trade-in table in this article.

When the Xiaomi Mi Note first came out it really made waves as the successor to the flagshipXiaomi Mi 4. Unlike the Mi 4, the Mi Note goes for a larger 5.7-inch phablet form factor and a beautiful curved glass-based design different from previous Xiaomi smartphones. Released in two versions, the Xiaomi Mi Note and the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro, the Mi Note is the lower-end version of the two but still offers flagship features like dual 4G LTE connectivity, a brushed metal body, 2.5D front glass, 3D back glass, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and more. Does it deliver the same level of premium as better known brands? Check out our full review of the Xiaomi Mi Note below to find out.

Celebrate an abundance of good fortune with a brand new smartphone and the best plans to stay on top of this Chinese New Year 2015! Taking advantage of Malaysia's fastest and most reliable mobile network, Celcom are offering various smartphones for the Year of the Goat with the FIRST by Celcom plan. Utilizing Celcom's OPTIMISER feature with the FIRST plans you can get a mobile plan personalized exactly for your needs based on your usage. Featuring up to 4GB of WiFi Internet or up to 250 minutes of voice and 250 SMS FIRST plans offer one of the best packages around. Offering something for every user, the smartphones available for Celcom's Blue Cube Outlets Chinese New Year Campaign include the following from RM38 to RM1088:

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G ~ RM88 with Celcom FIRST plans (RRP: RM589)

• Samsung GALAXY Note 4 ~ RM1088 with Celcom FIRST plans (RRP: RM2,499)

• BlackBerry Passport ~ RM988 with Celcom FIRST plans (RRP: RM2,399)

• Sony Xperia Z3 ~ RM988 with Celcom FIRST plans (RRP: RM2,399)

• OPPO Find 7 ~ RM538 with Celcom FIRST plans (RRP: RM1,798)

• OPPO Neo 5 ~ RM38  with Celcom FIRST plans (RRP: RM598)

Drop by a CELCOM BLUE CUBE store and ask for any of these smartphones and the plan, FIRST by Celcom to get massive savings for this Chinese New Year. For more information regarding this promotion and the various smartphones check out the Celcom site or www.celcom.com.my.

Set for announcement at MWC 2015, leaked pics of the Huawei P8 have surfaced, showing bits and pieces of the smartphone encased in a casing of some sort. The casing hides much but we expect the P8 to be thinner than the P7 and have a mostly metallic body. Huawei have indicated that they would be doing more premium products so tech specs and features for the P8 should probably be high-end as well. No confirmed tech specs yet but the P8 is expected to get a 2GHz Kirin 930 processor, 3GB RAM, 64GB storage, 5.2-inch display with 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution, 13MP rear camera, 8MP front camera and Android 5.0. Early AnTuTu benchmarks reveal a score of 47426, which is about as high as the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. No Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet but we should find out more next week.

Biometric sensors are usually located on home buttons like in the Apple iPhone 6 or the Samsung Galaxy S5. This forces companies to increase the space below the display so as to accommodate the fingerprint sensor on the button. However, CrucialTek from South Korea has come up with a better solution. The company recently patented a new technology which allows biometric sensors to be embedded directly in the touch screen panel. Once this tech is incorporated in smartphones, users will no longer have to rely on different areas for fingerprint recognition as the touchscreen itself will act as a sensor. This will save a lot of space, especially at the bottom where the sensor is located on the home button. A similar tech was expected to feature in the Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy Note 4, but that just didn't happen. As CrucialTek just received the patent, it seems doubtful that we'll see it come in the Galaxy S6 as this is set for release in the next few weeks. However, you can expect future launches, like the Galaxy Note 5 to feature this new age fingerprint module. Apple too is said to be experimenting with a similar technology and even recently patented it. Of course there are no exact Malaysia release dates but we expect such devices to appear later in the year.

While it has been available in Malaysia since 6 February 2015, we managed to get some hands-on time with the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge. Retailing at RM2999, the smartphone with a bended or curved display will be available in charcoal black and misty white. The Note Edge offers the same features as the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, right down to the improved S-Note, photo note and Air Command menu. However, it's extra curved strip of touchscreen adds on a row of customizable buttons, a notification center when you're watching or doing something else on the main screen and acting as the cover window to help save energy when you have the cover on. In short, it acts like an independant or extra screen for the Note Edge. It is a known fact that production of the Note Edge is limited, so if you want it, you'd better get it while you can. Check out the tech specs and our hands-on pictures of the Note Edge below.

• 2.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor
• 3GB RAM
• 32GB / 54GB storage + up to 64GB microSD
• 5.6-inch display (Super AMOLED, 2560 x 1440 + 160 pixel resolution)
• 16MP rear camera (auto focus, Smart Optical Image Stabilization) + 3.7MP front camera (f1.9)
• supports WiFi 802.11 ac (MIMOP), GPS, NFC, Bluetooth 4.1, IR LED, MHL 3.0, 4G LTE Cat 4 + 4G LTE Cat 6
• Features: Air Command, S Note, Snap Note, Direct Pen input, Multi Window, Ultra Power Saving Mode, Voice Recorder, Heart rate sensor, Finger print scanner, UV sensor
• 151.3 x 82.4 x 8.3mm | 174g
• Android 4.4 KitKat
• 3000 mAh battery (adaptive fast charging)

We are just a few days away from Valentine's Day. So, it isn't surprising to see Valentine's Day promotions appear. Even Samsung has a new promotional offer for 15 February 2015 with the announcement of the flagship Samsung Galaxy Note 4 in a brand new color, Blossom Pink making it the ideal gift for your Valentine's. The Galaxy Note 4 Pink version will be available for purchase throughout the country via Samsung Experience Stores and Samsung dealers for a price tag of RM2499. For this price, the phone features very high-end tech specs. This includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor with 3GB RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. The display up front is 5.7-inches and features 2K pixel resolution with Gorilla Glass 3 protection. There is a 16MP rear camera with a 3.7MP front shooter as well. Other tech specs include a fingerprint sensor, S Pen, 4G LTE support, NFC, Infrared Port, Wi-Fi and GPS. The Note 4 comes with a 3220 mAh battery to power all these features with a stated run time of 20 hours on 3G. Other than the Blossom Pink color, the phone is available in Frosted white, Charcoal black, and Bronze Gold but for a better informed decision do check out our Galaxy Note 4 review.

The newly announced ASUS ZenFone 2 and ZenFone Zoom smartphones are making waves around the world as ASUS have opted to make one really good ZenFone instead of a new version for each of the three previous original ZenFone smartphones. Due to the 5.5-inch display (which hits a very nice sweet spot in our opinion) the closest original ZenFone in terms of size would be the ZenFone 6, so we've used our tech comparison tool to compare all three smartphones. Key features that the new ZenFone 2 and ZenFone Zoom bring to the table are 64-bit Intel Processors, 5MP selfie-ready front cameras, 4G LTE cat 4 connectivity, dual tone LED flash and for the ZenFone 2, rear volume controls. While there are no Malaysia release dates yet, we expect the ZenFone 2 and ZenFone Zoom to reach us in the next few months or so as the original ASUS ZenFone smartphone range was launched regionally in April 2014.

Local Malaysia price details for the ASUS ZenFone 2 or ZenFone Zoom are also unknown still but based on the current US price of $199 (RM707) we expect the 2GB RAM ZenFone 2 to be priced around RM699. This would result in a drop in price for the existing ZenFone 6 and other previous ZenFone smartphones. Rumours indicate that AnTuTu benchmarks for the new ZenFone 2 could be around 39000 to 41000, which is a huge jump over the previous ZenFone 6 which scored 19661 on AnTuTu. Feel free to compare the ASUS ZenFone 2 or ZenFone Zoom with other smartphones using our tech spec comparison tool or check out the links below:

• ASUS ZenFone 2 vs ASUS ZenFone 5 vs ASUS ZenFone 6
• ASUS ZenFone 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 4 vs Huawei Ascend Mate 7
• ASUS ZenFone 2 vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G vs Samsung Galaxy Grand 2

The Samsung Galaxy A5, one of the company's first metal body mid-range smartphone was announced last month. Now, a Vietnamese gold plating company called Karalux is offering a special gold plated Samsung Galaxy A5 variant for an additional $200. Karalux specializes in the customization of phones and supercars and has a number of gold plated models of famous flagships like the Apple iPad Air 2, Apple iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 under its belt. As for the mid-range A5, Karalux has gold plated the entire aluminum body of the phone with 24K gold. The end result is a gold Galaxy A5 with some plastic patches left on the top, back and the bottom. The company claims that it takes around 4 hours to complete the process. Interested users can also ask for a custom design on the back plate of the device. Even with the $200 (RM711) additional charge, the total cost of the Galaxy A5 comes to around $610 (RM2169). That's a decent price for a gold plated device. As for the tech specs, the A5 comes with a Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, 5-inch 720p display and 13MP rear camera. The regular version of the Galaxy A5 is already available starting from today.    

Christmas holidays have already started and Samsung plans to put everyone in the holiday mood with its latest video. The company recently released a new dreamscape movie on its official YouTube channel called the 'Holiday Dreams'. The video is quite different than any other advertisements released by the company recently and features 74 Samsung devices which include flagship smartphones, tablets and even large screen Samsung HDTVs. From the video, we could make out some of the Galaxy devices like the Samsung Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note Edge and even some Samsung smartwatches. All these devices are built on a rig. This rig can be moved, twisted or even bended to portray the entire story in one video. The story revolves around a small girl who chases her favorite stocking in a dream. She jumps, falls and even swims across a number of Samsung devices to finally get her stocking. Samsung also points out that the story video required a lot of effort.  The transition from one device to another is not animated but captured live. The video had to be played on each device at the appropriate time to make it look like the girl seamlessly jumped across a number of devices. Below, we have added the 'Behind the scenes' video as well which shows the amount of effort required for making the whole 'Holiday Dreams' video.