News & Reviews:   Samsung Galaxy S5

In what is becoming a common occurance for flagship smartphones in Malaysia, Celcom has also released a teaser image for the Samsung Galaxy S5. While it doesn't show any tech specs or offer an Registration of Interest (ROI) page like DiGi it does confirm that we'll see the smartphone coming from Celcom soon. No news as to specific Malaysia release dates or pricing but we hope it will be with all four colours of Charcoal Black, Copper Gold, Electric Blue and Shimmery White included.

The new Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone utilizes Samsung's own ISOCELL technology for the camera sensor. Looking to explain why the smaller sized ISOCELL camera sensor is such an improvement, Samsung have released a video explaining how it works and what benefits it offers. This includes better performance, less noise and richer picture quality in low light conditions. Check out the video for yourself in this article.

While the Samsung Galaxy S5 is expected to arrive in Malaysia sometime in April, DiGi have already opened up a Registration of Interest page for the flagship Samsung smartphone. Being quite careful this time around, DiGi's teaser doesn't reveal much more than the tech specs that we already know. The only clues visible is that the DiGi page only covers three of the four colours. These include Charcoal Black, Electric Blue and Shimmery White. Perhaps Copper Gold may be offered differently. There is no news about pricing either (which was previously leaked unintentionally) and there are no details of any pre-order promotions either.

While it has been announced, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is only coming on 11 April 2014 but if you've missed some of it's features or tech specs, Samsung have come out with some official hands-on videos of this latest flagship smartphone. The video highlights key features like the camera, heart rate monitor and fingerprint sensor while showing how to use them. In addition to the Galaxy S5, Samsung have also come out with an official hands-on video for the Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatch and Gear Fit smartband. Check out the videos for yourself in this article.

Metal-casing smartphone lovers have been predicting and wishing for a metal-casing Samsung for quite some time. With the release of the Samsung Galaxy S5 most of the hopeful users are now expecting the premium Samsung Galaxy F range of smartphones to appear with a metal chassis. Designer Ivo Mari? has come up with a concept render of this metal chassis Samsung Galaxy F smartphone which looks very realistic, which you can check out for yourself in this article.

We've mentioned the Zauba registry listing before but for those who don't know, it is India's equivalent to Malaysia's SIRIM database, providing a listing of devices brought into the country. Quite a lot of flagship smartphones have leaked from the Zauba listings with one of the most recent ones being a listing for a mystery Samsung device. With the Samsung Galaxy S5 already well and launched, we're thinking that it could be the Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo. Details about the device show it having the model numer of SM-G800F while the Samsung Galaxy S5 has the model number of SM-G900F. Other details include that the SM-G800F is valued at 31790 rupees (RM1716) while the Galaxy S5 has a 33061 rupees (RM1785) price tag. While there aren't any other tech specs or features to give it away, it does hint at a possible lower end (and hopefully more affordable) version of the Galaxy S5. As always, take this rumour with a pinch of salt as even Samsung's other Neo products are sometimes sold for more than the original depending on the location.

In line with the waterproof Samsung Galaxy S5, reports out of Korea indicate that the next LG G3 smartphone could be waterproof and dustproof. So far, both Sony and Samsung are offering such smartphones while others are going for water resistant or dust resistant devices instead. The reports don't mention any other tech specs but the likelihood of LG doing this is quite high considering that every one else is. Do remember to take this rumour with a pinch of salt though as LG could just as likely go for a lesser water or dust resistant certification or have no proofing at all.

Samsung revealed quite a lot of new devices recently including the Samsung Galaxy S5, Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 and Samsung Gear Fit. Just in case you haven't seen everything there is to see about them, Samsung have also released some official highlight videos as well. Check out the videos in this article.

Apart from overseeing Google's Android and Chrome developments, Sundar Pichai was also seen going about at the Mobile World Congress 2014 recently. He made a number of interesting comments, one of which is that the Samsung Galaxy S6 would be running Android and not Tizen, which is Samsung's own home-grown mobile operating system. So far, Samsung have already put Tizen in their Samsung Galaxy Gear 2, Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 Neo and Samsung Gear Fit smartwatches and smartband with a possible Samsung Tizen smartphone expected soon. According to Sundar Pichai though, there is no cause for alarm as there is supposedly no tension going on between Samsung and Google. With the Samsung Galaxy S5 only just announced recently, a year-long wait is quite a while for such a claim to stay valid, so do take this with a grain of salt.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 has recently been officially announced. So far, the latest in the long range of Samsung Galaxy S series flagship smartphones manages to retain more or less the same design as before except for a more perforated backside but manages to offer up a number of interesting tech specs and features nonetheless. Malaysia release dates for the Samsung Galaxy S5 are expected on or after 11 March 2014 with Malaysia pricing expected to be about $600 (RM1969). Stay tuned and we'll keep you posted, but for now, check out the Samsung Galaxy S5 tech specs below:

• 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB / 32GB storage + microSD (64GB)
• 5.1-display (FHD, Super AMOLED, 1920 x 1080)
• 16MP rear camera (UHD@30fps, HDR, video stabilization) + 2.0MP front camera
• 142.0 x 72.5 x 8.1mm | 145g
• 2800 mAh battery
• Supports LTE Cat.4, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac HT80, MIMO(2x2), Bluetooth 4.0 BLE / ANT+, USB 3.0, NFC, IR Remote
• Features Gesture(IR), Finger Scanner, Heart rate sensor, Download Booster, S Health 3.0, Quick Connect, Private Mode, Kids Mode
• IP67 Dust and Water Resistant
• Android 4.4.2 Kitkat