With the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV upon us this April, rumours surrounding this flagship smartphone are flying about like crazy. While the rumours about Malaysia receiving both the Exynos 5 Octa Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV (non-LTE) version and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 powered Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV (LTE) version seem to be true, other rumours include the fact the the Exynos 5 Octa Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV (non-LTE) version may be priced at RM2199 while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 powered Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV (LTE) may be priced at RM2399 in Malaysia.

We've all been waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV to make its appearance in Malaysia and fortunately that wait may soon be over. DiGi is one of the first telcos to offer a pre-order registration for when the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV will hit Malaysian shores (or at least when DiGi gets their hands on their first shipment) which would be 20 April 2013. For now, you can register your interest in getting the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV under a DiGi contract or deal by filling up your particulars here. There is no mention of any deals or incentives or even how much the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV may cost under DiGi but if you're done waiting, then this is probably the first Malaysian outlet to go to, at least for now. We also have other DiGi telco plans as well which you can see by clicking here.

Samsung have a lot of different products in the market, and not all of them are new nor are they all targeted at the high-end market. There are now just as many Samsung smartphones out there for the mid-range to lower-end market as there are those for the high-end. Recent deals by telcos and other organizations have caused the price to drop even further, especially for Samsung smartphones which used to be the flagship models of their time. Therefore it can be rather confusing finding the best Samsung smartphone bang for your buck, which is what this review is for. This comparison review compares the Samsung Galaxy Grand, Samsung Galaxy SIII and the Samsung Galaxy SII Plus. You can also checkout the specs comparison here.

Which offers more Bang for your Buck?

Recently it has been discovered that a third Samsung Galaxy S4 /S IV model set to be released for the South Korean market may exist (and it probably is the best). While most of us know that there are two models; one using a 1.6GHz Exynos 5 Octa processor and another using a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 S4 processor the model set for the Korean market is supposedly running a 1.8Ghz Exynos 5 Octa processor.

According to SamMobile the model numbers and other details include:

• GT-I9500 – Exynos 5 Octa 1.6 GHz without LTE
• GT-I9505 – Snapdragon 600 1.9 GHz with LTE
• SHV-E300S – Exynos 5 Octa 1.8 GHz with LTE

Samsung has officially announced that both Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8-inch and 6.3-inch models are coming soon. For now, all news points these two screen-size record breaking phablets heading outside of Malaysia and into Europe in May 2013. The tech specs that we predicted earlier on are mostly accurate except for the fact that these two new phablets will likely offer support for new software features such as Air View, Pop-up Play, Multi Windows and much more.

While the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV remains the king of the hill to beat in the smartphone market (especially the still as of now unbeaten Exynos Octa versions) its main focus has always been about making life easier, or at least that is what Samsung's marketing machine wants you to believe. Samsung's introductory video for the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV highlighted many of these "life companion" S features and now they're showing them off one by one. Check out the videos below for a sometimes heartwarming and heartpumping look at the Sound Shot, Group Play and S Translator in action for real-life situations. Expect more to come, but for now my favourite remains the S Translator (imagine the unfair advantage you could get with it on shows like the Amazing Race ;) ).

While rumours about the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 have been swirling about, it seems that it's existance has been confirmed by Samsung's own website. A recent look at the Samsung website revealed the following model codes:

• SM-T210x
• SMT210Rx
• SM-T210Xx
• SM-T211x
• SM-T215x
• SM-T310x
• SM-T310x
• SM-T310Xx
• SM-T311x
• SM-T312
• SM-T315

Samsung recently made an official confirmation that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 will be released in the US on 11 April 2013. This 8-inch tablet looks to compete with Apple's iPad Mini but raises the bar in terms of price to $399 for a 16GB device with WiFi. To put this into context the Apple iPad Mini costs around $329 while the rival Google Nexus 7 just costs $199.

As mentioned earlier, Samsung is rumoured to have been working on a 5.8-inch and 6.3-inch smartphone going by the name of the Mega under the models of GT-I9152 and GT-I9200. Recently, more rumours regarding these two models have surfaced including the tech specs:

Galaxy Mega 5.8-inch (GT-I9152)

• 5.8-inch LCD (960 x 540 pixel resolution)
• 1.4GHz dual-core processor
• 1.5GB RAM
• 8MP rear camera + 2MP front camera
• DUOS support ~ Dual-SIM capable
• 164 x 83.8 x 9.7mm
• 2600 mAh battery
• Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, GPS support

As the weeks go by, another major smartphone telco bundle drops in price and this time Celcom has decided to do that for the Samsung Galaxy Note II. While previous bundles saw the price dip down to RM1999, Celcom are now offering the Samsung Galaxy Note II from as low as RM1458. The lower subsidized price is available for their Celcom First Prime, Premier or Elite on the condition that it comes with a Mobile Internet plan and a 12 months or 18 months contract. See the table below for the details on all the bundles: