News & Reviews:   Samsung Galaxy S4

While the confirmation isn't exactly official, a leaked manual for a Snapdragon 800 powered Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone has recently surfaced from Samsung's own download center. This is probably about as close to 'official' confirmation we can get for this smartphone with the model number SHV-E330S. According to tech specs within the manual, the smartphone is using a new Qualcomm MSM8974 chipset with four Krait 400 CPU cores, an Adreno 330 GPU and LTE-Advanced support. While the name hasn't been confirmed yet, all of these specs point towards the rumoured upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4 Plus which has all of the features listed.

While this doesn't really come as a surprise (since it was revealed in one of their music videos) Samsung is now offering the Samsung Galaxy S4 in 5 colours which include:

• Blue Arctic
• Purple Mirage
• Red Aurora
• Brown Autumn
• Pink Twilight

The colours were revealed at their Samsung Premiere 2013 event, but you can already see 4 of the colours from their main Samsung site here. No news when exactly these colours will be made available but we're guessing they could be here in Malaysia in a couple of weeks or so, although Samsung usually release their Pink coloured smartphones as limited editions.

While it is probably already available at local online stores, the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 is coming to Malaysia at a retail price of RM1599. Featuring the aforementioned 6.3-inch screen the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 tech specs include:

• 1.7GHz Dual-core processor
• 1.5GB RAM
• 8GB / 16GB storage + microSD
• 6.3-inch TFT screen (1280 x 720, 233ppi)
• 8MP rear camera + 1.9MP front camera
• 3200 mAh battery
• 8mm thick | 199g

It hasn't been more than 2 months and already the Samsung Galaxy S4 i9500 is getting a significant price cut from RM2199 to RM1850 for a total deduction of RM349 for the 16GB version. Samsung have also slashed the Galaxy Note II price down from RM1999 to RM1680. A quick glance at other retailers have the Samsung Galaxy S III retailing at RM1380 from RM1699 and the Samsung Galaxy Grand at RM1040 from RM1299. Even the more recnet Samsung Galaxy S4 4G LTE version with 32GB storage is set to get a price cut from RM2499 to RM2299. All of these models and prices are listed below:

• Samsung Galaxy S4 (I9500): RM1850 (Previously RM2199)
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (I9505): RM2299 (Previously RM2499)
• Samsung Galaxy Note II: RM1680 (Previously RM1999)
• Samsung Galaxy S III: RM1380 (Previously RM1699)
• Samsung Galaxy Grand: RM1040 (Previously RM1299)

If you were wishing for a Samsung Galaxy S4, LG Nexus 4, Sony Xperia Z or HTC One without any contract but still at a subsidized price, then DiGi is the first telco to offer this type of deal. Covering four of the major smartphones in Malaysia, another thing setting them apart is that they all offer Google Edition versions although, we're pretty sure you won't get the Google Edition if you buy any of them except for the LG Nexus 4. While you won't be contracted for 12 or 24 months you will be signed on with a DG SmartPlan 58 but you can terminate the plan anytime without any early termination fee. In addition to this you will also get two months monthly fee waived. For more details on pricing check out the table below:

Hot on the heels of the recent rumour about the Samsung Galaxy S4 Plus is news that a Samsung Galaxy S4 version with LTE Advanced may be coming to South Korea next month. Coming from an announcement by Samsung's CEO J.K. Shin, the news confirms the existance of such a phone but he declined to name names. The only thing he did confirm was that it would be powered by a Qualcomm chipset and cost more than the current Samsung Galaxy S4. While LTE Advanced is not 5G, it does offer transmission speeds double than those of existing 4G LTE networks. While this also means you need to have an LTE Advanced compatible network in place already, many developed countries are probably looking to implement LTE Advanced very soon.

After it was confirmed through DLNA certification the Snapdragon 800 based Samsung Galaxy S4 has surfaced on AnTuTu again. While before it only managed a score of 24179, this time around it has a score of 31491, breaking the record previously held by the Exynos 5 Octa powered Samsung Galaxy S4.

While there have been rumours and leaks nothing beats an actual event, which is what Nokia has done by sending out invites to an event on 11 July 2013 in New York. In the teaser invite, it mentions "Zoom. Reinvented". This could be a direct dig at the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom which was recently officially announced and that Nokia are finally going to release their rumoured EOS cameraphone. The Nokia EOS has already been leaked many times and will likely be the Nokia 808 PureView successor, complete with larger than average camera hump on the back.

Interested in the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom? Want a cameraphone with a serious camera but don't want to go full Samsung Galaxy Camera? If you can stomach all the perfect smiles, Samsung have been kind enough to do some "real-world" testing with their new cameraphone, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom and it looks quite nice. All of the features like the Zoom Ring, the In-call Photo share, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and Photo Suggest are put on display.

We've all seen any number drop tests, torture tests and reliability tests from various sites, but does Samsung actually do any reliability testing of their own? Well, it appears they do, and not just in the usual rather amateurish way most other tech sites go about it. Imagine having dedicated machines to test dropping, tumbling, impact, heat and water submersion and you get an idea of how strictly Samsung tests the reliability of their smartphones.