News & Reviews:   Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Last week, LG Malaysia teased its current flagship, the LG G3 on its official Facebook page. The South Korean giant was expected to announce two new handsets in the country, the LG G3 and the LG G3 Stylus in the coming days. Now, LG has officially confirmed the release of the two handsets and they will be available for sale starting today from a number of LG Mobile dealers in Malaysia. The LG G3 is almost 7 months old, but it still has enough hardware to threaten the recent releases like the Motorola Moto X (2014), Nexus 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Tech specs include a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. On the outside there is a large 5.5-inch quad HD 2K pixel resolution display. The 13MP rear camera comes with OIS and Laser Autofocus, while the 2.1MP front camera can record up to 1080p videos. A 3000 mAh battery onboard to power all these specs. The G3 comes with Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box, but LG has announced an Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the device which should also make it to the G3 smartphones sold in Malaysia. The LG G3 Stylus will be a mid-range affordable smartphone with tech specs that include a quad-core Mediatek MT6582 processor, 1GB RAM and 13MP primary camera. The LG G3 and G3 Stylus will retail for a Malaysia price of RM1699 and RM799 respectively.

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha and Galaxy Note 4 will reportedly be the first smartphones in the market to feature Corning Gorilla Glass 4. The latest generation of Gorilla Glass will be 2x times drop resistant as compared to the previous versions which means it can withstand drops around 80% of the time. Corning's experts studied over hundreds of broken devices to understand why the glass breaks after a fall. The results of the study indicate that over 70 percent of breakage occurs due to the surface contact with glass. In order to avoid this, the company made its latest Gorilla Glass 4 almost two times tougher. At the same time, the company managed to reduce the glass's thickness as compared to its previous generations. With this extra thin protective glass, Samsung managed to reduce the thickness of its Galaxy Alpha smartphone to just 7mm. The metal build coupled with the Gorilla Glass 4 protection makes the device sturdy and durable in spite of its thin profile. As for the tech specs, it features Samsung's Exynos 5 chipset with 4G LTE support, 4.7 inch Super AMOLED display, 13MP rear camera, 2.1MP secondary camera and 1860mAh battery. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha is available for purchase in Malaysia for RM1899 while the Galaxy Note 4 is going for RM2499.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 offers some of the latest and greatest features and tech specs for nearly every smartphone in the world at this point of time. Fortunately, we managed to get some hands-on time with it and take it's S Pen stylus driven features for a spin. Thankfully, we weren't disappointed as the new metal frame offers a premiumly solid feel that we haven't felt in a Samsung smartphone in a long time. For an idea as to what the Galaxy Note 4 could offer you, check out our hands-on video in this article.

While the world continues to march on with newer digital devices and smartphones, billions of people still use a pen, pencil and paper to write notes. For these people, there is the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, a stylus driven beast of a smartphone that packs in tons of features and topnotch tech specs in a single 5.5-inch display sized phablet. If you're one of these people or an artist or a doodler or someone who likes powerful smartphones, then you'll definitely want to check out our in-depth review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 below (large portions of this review were written and created using the S pen, heck, this entire paragraph was written by hand despite my horrible handwriting).

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is now officially available for everyone in Malaysia with the recent consumer launch last Friday on 17 October 2014. The launch saw 500 lucky Samsung Galaxy Note 4 buyers walking away with a complimentary Gear Circle necklet-cum-Bluetooth headphones. A three day roadshow was also held with various activities and giveaways at various locations including the Blue Concourse, Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall. Samsung Malaysia and it's partners of Celcom, DiGi, Harvey Norman and Maxis provided booths for users but here is what Samsung had to say about it:

"Our three-day roadshows is just one of the ways to introduce a new experience through our latest device – the GALAXY Note 4 via the activities that we have planned. This way, our consumers can aptly correlate our product with their lifestyle that will simplify their day-to-day tasks." Lee Dong Yong, President of Samsung Malaysia Electronics

U Mobile is currently offering the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 phablet for as low as RM1099. In addition to this, they are also offering a special trade-in feature, so you can send in your old and unwanted smartphone for hopefully some rebates off the asking price. Since the Galaxy Note 4 retails at a very high RM2499, this is quite welcome and you can find out which phone qualifies from the trade-in list. For the no upfront payment scheme, you will have to sign up with your credit card and activate auto debit for the monthly commitment to qualify. Citibank credit card holders get an extra RM100 rebate provided you sign up for a 0% easy payment plan and and the aforementioned auto debit. In any case, you will have to sign up for a 24 month contract on U Mobile post paid plans. Check out the table and links in this article for more details.

Launching in Malaysia today, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is the latest S pen stylus based phablet in Samsung's pioneering phablet range. Thanks to Samsung Malaysia we managed to get some time with the Galaxy Note 4 which you can see in the images below. New features include a premium metal frame, a simplified multi window, photo note and much more. In addition, a product demo of the Galaxy Note 4 is also included but do check out the tech specs and features below:

• 2.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor / 1.9GHz octa-core Samsung Exynos 5433 (1.9GHz quad-core + 1.3GHz quad-core)
• 3GB RAM
• 32GB / 54GB storage + up to 64GB microSD
• 5.7-inch display (Super AMOLED, 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution)
• 16MP rear camera (auto focus, Smart Optical Image Stabilization) + 3.7MP front camera (f1.9)
• supports WiFi 802.11 ac (MIMO), 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
• 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5mm | 176g
• Android 4.4 KitKat
• 3220 mAh battery (adaptive fast charging)

The much-awaited Samsung Galaxy Note 4 finally makes it's way to Malaysia in a launch here today. The phablet will retail at RM2499 and be available from 17 October 2014. It will be on demo at various roadshows from 17 October 2014 to 19 October 2014 at various Samsung Experience Stores, with the first 100 buyers getting a free Samsung Gear Circle bluetooth headphones set. Telco bundle deals will also be available. Confirming previous rumours, Malaysia will be getting the 1.9GHz octa-core Samsung Exynos 5433 processor. Other notable tech specs and features include:

• 1.9GHz octa-core Samsung Exynos 5433 (1.9GHz quad-core + 1.3GHz quad-core)
• 3GB RAM
• 32GB / 54GB storage + up to 64GB microSD
• 5.7-inch display (Super AMOLED, 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, 2.5D protective glass)
• 16MP rear camera (auto focus, Smart Optical Image Stabilization) + 3.7MP front camera (f1.9)
• supports WiFi 802.11 ac (MIMO), 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
• 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5mm | 176g
• Android 4.4 KitKat
• 3220 mAh battery (adaptive fast charging)

In line with the release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 here in Malaysia, Samsung Malaysia will be offering several promotions along with a 3-day roadshow across Malaysia. The first 100 customers who purchase a GALAXY Note 4 at participating Samsung Experience Stores and authorised dealers will receive a complimentary Gear Circle bluetooth headphones while the roadshow will be happening from 17 October 2014 to 19 October 2014 at the following Samsung Experience Stores:

• Lot L6.16, L6.17 & L6.18 at Gurney Paragon Mall, Penang
• Lot G65, G66 & G67 at Centre Point Shopping Centre, Kota Kinabalu
• Lot J2-02 & J2-03 at City Square, Johor Bahru
• GC-E, Ground Floor at Kuantan Parade, Pahang

While all of the major Malaysian Telcos have come out with their own teaser images and registration of interest page, Samsung Malaysia have already sent out the invites for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 launch. Our invite revealed that we'll all know a bit more on 15 October 2014. The highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is expected to revitalise Samsung's flagging smartphone sales with tech specs that include:

• 2.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor / 1.9GHz octa-core Samsung Exynos 5433 (1.9GHz quad-core + 1.3GHz quad-core)
• 3GB RAM
• 32GB / 54GB storage + up to 64GB microSD
• 5.7-inch display (Super AMOLED, 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution)
• 16MP rear camera (auto focus, Smart Optical Image Stabilization) + 3.7MP front camera (f1.9)
• supports WiFi 802.11 ac (MIMO), 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
• 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5mm | 176g
• Android 4.4 KitKat
• 3220 mAh battery (adaptive fast charging)