Finally, I got to get my hands on Samsung’s 2013 Android flagship smartphone – Samsung Galaxy S4. We’ve all heard so much about the smartphone. We remember how well the S3 sold globally and we’re sure that Samsung will once again deliver the goods and make the S4 such a huge success. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is meant to go head on with the iPhone as the Android phone to beat.

But is it?

Let me walk you through my review of the flagship Samsung Galaxy S4 as a user.  No weird benchmark and performance tests here… just a simple use of the S4 as my primary phone for work and play in the last few days. I tested as many features as I do (and can) as a regular user, just like you.

Hardware Overview

Samsung Galaxy S4 is their latest Android superphone successor of the highly popular Samsung Galaxy S III. This latest flagship phone certainly packs a punch with so many features and functions that’s true to a flagship phone title.

See Also : Samsung Galaxy S4 Announced & What The Tech Sites Think

Here’s a quick overview of the specification of the Samsung Galaxy S4:-

• 5″ Full HD Super AMOLED display (1920X1080)(441 ppi)
• 1.6 GHz octa core Exynnos 5 processor <– Malaysian version is non-LTE
• 16/32/64 GB internal storage (expandable microSD slot) + 2 GB RAM
• Powered by latest Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2 OS (with Samsung TouchWiz interface)
• 13 megapixel rear camera, 2 megapixel front facing camera
• 7.9  mm thin, weighing only 130 grams
• 2,600 mAH removable battery
• Connectivity : HSPA+/LTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, IR (infrared) Blaster
• Available in Black Mist and White Frost

For more information, do check out the Samsung Galaxy S4 microsite at http://www.samsung.com/my/galaxys4/

When I received my review unit (which I got to use for only 2 weeks and don’t get to keep, in case you’re wondering), I Instagram-ed a picture of the packaging on my home’s laminated flooring. Look, it blends nicely.

Let’s get to the unboxing and hardware overview of the smartphone.

Unboxing Samsung Galaxy S4

Inside the box, you’ll find the gorgeous 5″ Full HD Super AMOLED display phone. Underneath, you’ll get the standard items – 2 piece charger adapter, USB to micro USB charging / sync cable, standard in-ear headphones (with different size buds) and user manuals.

Samsung Galaxy S4 in my hands

The device is not that much bigger than the previous S3. In fact, I had a chance to measure it on top of my friend’s S3 and it’s only very slightly bigger. That was what Samsung was going for – they want to maintain the size of the much loved S3 with only millimeters of difference and reduced the bezel around the screen.

Looking around the slim Samsung Galaxy S4

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is indeed slim at only 7.9 mm thin (versus 8.5 mm on the S3). The ports and buttons are rather standard with the Power On/Off button on the right, headphone jack port up top, volume rocker on the right and sole microUSB charge/sync port at the bottom.

Closer look at the hardware and build quality

Many were also disappointed (myself included) that the S4 looks almost identical to the S3. Down to the build quality, which is sadly plastic. Ahem – or as Samsung calls it “polycarbonate”. The only addition this time round, was that there’s a criss-cross pattern at the backplate, which is (thankfully) removable to access the battery, micro SIM and micro SD slot (yes, expandable memory, too).

(L-R) Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, BlackBerry Z10, iPhone 5

External hardware wise, I have to say, there’s really nothing impressive. Because it looks and feels so much like the S3 and pretty much every other Samsung devices these days, it’s hard to stand by this phone when so many other phone manufacturers are pushing the boundaries and innovating with better build quality. Like my favourite HTC One.

Software Overview

When you power the phone on for the first time, you’d note that the “Nature inspired theme” carried across from the recent Samsung phones.

Samsung Galaxy S4 is not just a phone, it’s your “Life Companion”

Samsung named the S4′s tagline this year for the phone to be your “Life Companion”. It’s impressive how they kept this tagline across every feature in the phone – from S Translation (auto translate voice or written text) to S Health (health monitoring app) and camera functions (every setting you can think of for every picture taking moment you can think of).  The S4 this time goes beyond just being a phone that we’re all a slave to – it enriches your life as features are handy tool to help you be more efficient.

Ah – also discovered (accidentally) that you can customise the “Life Companion” text on the Lock screen. So I customised it for the phone to greet e with a “Hello Winnie” when I turn it on.

The shortcut app icons can be customised as well. These are shortcuts for you to access the apps without having to go through the steps of unlocking your phone, then going to the App Drawer, locate the app and tap to open. Customisation of these shortcuts can be tricky though. If you’re not a savvy Samsung or Android user, you might get frustrated about how these settings are so burried underneath multiple navigations.

TouchWiz – Menu, Navigation, Keyboard, Browser

The S4 runs on TouchWiz interface again. This is exactly the same as you’d find on all Samsung devices – their own skin on top of Android 4.2 OS running underneath. TouchWiz is heavy and bloated this time round as it packs in so many new features for the phone. Nevertheless, for a newbie Android user, there’s even an “Easy Mode” to help you setup your phone, customise everything and make it much easier to use it day-to-day.

TouchWiz navigation and settings

TouchWiz looks about the same from previous iterations. App Drawer, Widgets all look the same, too. When you pull down from the top to reveal your Notification Centre (bottom left), you’ll be greeted with notifications from all apps, as well as quick toggle icons for WiFi, GPS, Sound, etc. Above that, the “Gear” icon opens up your “Settings” menu.

Just next to the “Gear” icon, you’ll see another icon that looks like “App” icon. Actually, that’s an additional setting to expand more quick toggles without having to enter the “Settings” menu. There’s a total of 20 toggles here. A bit much, dontcha think? Handy? Yes. But a bit much.

Samsung improved the keyboard prediction

The default on-screen keyboard by Samsung has been improved. Word prediction is better. However, I still catch myself making multiple errors even with auto correct on. Personally, I would spring the money to get SwiftKey. In my opinion, the SwiftKey prediction, auto correct and learning is way better than any default keyboards.

Samsung browser

Default browser is good and fast. It has the usual functions such as multi-tab browsing, incognito mode, sharing and desktop mode. Nothing out of the ordinary that’s been changed here. Personally, I’d go download the Chrome browser for Android. It has the ability to sync bookmarks, passwords etc with your desktop Chrome browser tied to your Google account.

Gallery app won’t load on my device ???

I did find that the “Gallery” app wouldn’t load on my device. I believe it’s unique to only the device that I have. When the app opens (if it opens) it takes several long seconds to load the picture thumbnails. When it does, tapping on an album would simply hang with grey bars (as seen in picture above). It simply wouldn’t let me browse through my pictures.

I have to resort to opening only the last snapped picture through the “Camera” app. And with that workaround, I can’t browse through my Gallery at all. If I want to view other pictures, I have to open the “My Files” app file browser to hunt through the image I want. I hope you’re not as unlucky as I am.

Generally, I feel that the phone is rather slugggish. I don’t think I have too many downloaded apps (only 10 apps) and I don’t think I have too many pictures or files in storage and I don’t think I have too many apps running in the background (I make a habit of clearing unused apps periodically). Initially, it was fine and smooth and fast. Over time, it starts to slow down and kinda upsets me a little.

Killer Features

If you haven’t heard, there are buttloads of features that Samsung has packed into the S4. So many that it took up so much space in your phone’s memory and people were complaining.

The bad news – in a 16 GB version of the S4, you only get slightly over 9 GB of storage for your files, pictures, etc as shown here. People were understandably angry, and Samsung tried to justify the limited space complaint by telling us to use the micro SD expansion slot and be happy that we have so many features on the phone. Not long after, Samsung relented and has since pushed a new update to the Samsung Galaxy S4 that gives you a few more MB of space and allows you to move some apps to your SD card.

Hmmmm… Not a very smart thing to do there, Samsung. Well, buyers be warned!

Back to all the many features that Samsung Galaxy S4 carries. Check out my original post HERE on the launch coverage to go through these features.

Comprehensive 4 tab “Settings” menu where you toggle all the phone’s features

With so many features, obviously there must be equally as many settings you can customise. Samsung has now separated their “Settings” menu to 4 major tabs, instead of the traditional long scrolling “Settings” menu in most Android phones. The tabs help make more sense out of this whole section, and also gives you an idea of all the features included:-

• Connections – normal WiFi, Bluetooth, Data and Network settings, you also get to set NFC, “S Beam” (Samsung’s NFC app to share files), DLNA (connect to your TV), “Screen Mirroring” (share your phone screen with another S4) and Kies via WiFi (connect to your desktop sync client)
• My Device – Lock screen, display, sound, personalisation and more display related settings; such as
  • “Motions & Gesture” – actions based on how you move your hand over or on the device
    • “Air Gesture” by waving your hand over the sensors
    • “Motion” like making a call when you put your phone on your ear
    • “Palm Motion” like muting your phone when you put your palm over the screen
  • “Smart Screen” – actions depending on eye tarcking or moving the device
    • “Smart Stay” that keeps your display on as long as your eyes are still looking at the screen
    • “Smart Rotation” displays the screen according to your viewing angle
    • “Smart Pause” that pauses videos when you look away
    • “Smart Scroll” scrolls long webpages according to how you tilt your head.
  • “Air View” – like in previous Samsung Galaxy Note II you can now view more details by hovering your finger (instead of S Pen in the Note II) in Calendar, Gallery, etc.
  • “Voice Control” – using “S Voice” (Samsung’s Siri equivalent) you can now use voice commands to navigate your phone like answering calls, stop/snooze alarm clocks, take picture, control music player. All using your voice.
• Accounts – Manage all your account connections for Google, Social media, Samsung accounts etc
• More – Other settings for location, security, app manager, battery, storage etc

As you can see, there’s certainly a lot of features packed into the Samsung Galaxy S4. And I haven’t even got to the Camera features yet.

I got around to trying some of these features.

“Air View” to view more details in Calendar, Gallery etc by hovering your finger over the item

“Air View” is certainly one feature that I find handy, which was one of the reason I got the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 as a personal tablet. To be able to use only your finger for this action is awesome. In the picture above, I go to “Month” view on my Calendar (or “S Planner”) app and I hover over the dates to see detail view of my appointments, without having to tap on the day and scroll through the week or month to see what my schedule is like.

“Air Gestures” tend to be the biggest feature that friends ask me to demonstrate. It’s a  handy features for when you can’t physically touch / pick up your phone (eg,your fingers are dirty while you’re eating). I turn on the feature and show them how I scroll through pictures and webpages by waving my hand over the sensor at the top of the front of the phone. General comment I receive ranges from “Cool, I’d use this often” to “Meh” to “How is that practical?” It might work for you, it might not – so it’s always personal preference.

A number of these features are demonstrated during the Launch Event in NYC that I covered HERE. “Smart Screen” is useful for when you want to turn off your display as you’re reading in bed before you fall asleep, and “Voice Control” for hands-free use of your phone when you’re driving or otherwise occupied.

There are a few functions that didn’t quite work right when I tested it – “Smart Pause” didn’t pause the video in the multiple times I tested it, “Palm Motion” didn’t like my skinny hand because it did nothing, and “Smart Scroll” I just don’t get.

Problem is though, if you turn every feature on, it will drain your batteries. If you only turn them on when you need it, then you have to dig through so many settings to get to it, you might not do it all the time. Also, what if you need it and you didn’t turn on the feature until it’s too late?

Cool features, Samsung. But I call all these features a little too many features that are too gimmicky for my liking.

Camera

Camera wise, Samsung has up-ed the megapixel count from 8 megapixel in the S3 to a whopping 13 megapixel rear camera on this S4.

That’s not all. As with the Samsung Galaxy Note II, several of those camera features came on board the Samsung Galaxy S4 namely “Best Face”, “Best Photo” and more. Here’s a quick refresher on the various Camera features on the Samsung Galaxy S4:-

• Dual Camera - Lets you use both the front and rear camera simultaneously. Take a picture with your rear camera, as well as use the front camera to take your own picture (which will show as a framed thumbnail at the top left). The same can be done for video recording, too.
• Dual Video Call - Allows you to have a video call with your face on the front facing camera, while turning on the rear camera to let your caller see what you’re looking at. It was demonstrated at the event as a video call where the caller can say hi to the rest of the family in the room with the rear camera. Handy, I think.
• Sound & Shot - It’s like an MMS feature of sorts. You take a picture and you can record up to 9 seconds audio clip along with the picture.
• Drama Shot - Stitches a series of burst shots into one picture (good for action shots). This also comes with Eraser function that allows you to erase unwanted background distractions, like people walking in your shot.
• Story Album - Lets you create an album (think Photobook) with different layouts and theme, based on locations, events, etc.

Again, jam packed with loads of features here.

If you use the Camera app and keep it at “Auto” mode (like me) you’re mostly fine. Image quality is good, and I’m generally happy with the different condition I place the camera on in Auto mode. Check the sample pictures below (click to enlarge to original full resolution):-

When you start to click on to the “Settings” and “Mode” button, you’ll see how all the features of the Camera app come in handy (or not).

Various camera modes explained

Check out the picture above with screenshots of the various “Mode” that comes with the camera app for different situations and picture preference. From “Beauty Face” that smooths out faces to give the subject a nice glow, to “Drama” mode that stitches together an action shot to give you one picture of your action shot, to “Sound and Shot” where you can record up to 9 seconds of audio accompanying the picture, to “Eraser” mode that snaps a burst of images and intelligently remove background moving subjects of your posed shot, and more.

Some of them can be rather cool features. If you use them often, it would be a simple flick of your finger to enable that mode and snap the perfect picture. If you’re in a rush to capture an image, then the “Auto” mode serves you well just as its basic function.

Bad news though – some of my friends have been having problem with their Camera app causing their phone to shut down on its own. This is quite a common issue with some friends (who take a lot of pictures) reporting their S4 shutting down up to 5 times daily! Maybe a bug fix from Samsung is on the way?

Another bad news – is that I feel that the Camera app is really slow and sluggish. No longer do I feel what I love most about previous Samsung devices in the zero shutter lag function. The app takes a few seconds to power on, which likely made me miss several split second moment I’d like to capture in picture. Toggling between the various modes are rather slow, too. Taking a few seconds to change mode to the point that I can safely take a picture. Not good.

Battery Life

With a 2,600 mAH removable battery on board, you’d expect long battery life with this device. Personally, because I am at the desk mostly on my Ultrabook and I also carry a second tablet for note taking etc at work, I am no longer the heavy smartphone user I once was. These days, I am a moderate to heavy user with the on and off emails, social media, browsing, several calls, a number of messages and WhatsApp, several food porn pictures daily.

Battery lasts around 14 – 17 hours usually

I managed between 14 hours to 17 hours of battery usage daily until it runs painfully low and needs a recharge. This is good but not impressive, for me.

Comparing this to the HTC One that I have, which runs on 2,300 mAH battery (instead of 2,600 mAH), I get close to 18 hours with my HTC on the same usage pattern. Hmmm….

Pricing and Availability

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is available on sale now, for a Recommended Retail Price (RRP) of RM 2,199 which is RM100 cheaper than the HTC One. However, you can also purchase the device at a discount if you sign up for a plan with any of the major telcos.

Do note that when the Samsung Galaxy S4 was initially on sale, it was the non 4G / LTE version. A few days ago, Maxis finally launched the 4G / LTE capable version of the device being the only one with the 4G version. Here are all the telco plans:-

• Maxis 4G version from RM 1,399 plans HERE; Maxis One Club members’ from RM 999 plans HERE; non 4G/LTE version from RM 1,249 plans HERE
  
• Celcom non-4G version from RM 1,338 plans HERE
• DiGi non-4G version from RM 1,199, plans HERE
• U Mobile non-4G version from RM 899 plans HERE

There are other roadshows with offers, promotions and freebies running right now for the Samsung Galaxy S4.

See Also : Samsung Galaxy S4 Goes On Sale in Malaysia

See Also : Samsung Galaxy S4 Nationwide Roadshow Happening Now

Conclusion

I know a lot of you are considering between the Samsung Galaxy S4 or the HTC One as both are really impressive and high profile Android flagship smartphones. I get asked that a lot.

Without sounding like a broken record and repeating myself on the points in this long-ass review post, let me summmarise the Top 3 things I like and dislike about the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Things I Like:-

1. Some handy features like “Air View” and bountiful “Camera” modes for great pictures every time
2. Maintains a good size that fits nicely in your hands, even with a 5″ screen
3. Cheaper than the HTC One (with very attractive telco plans / outright purchase)

Things I Dislike:-

1. Buggy phone with some features, functions and app not working the way its supposed to
2. Way too many features that tends to be buried and hard to find; also making it bloated and slows down the phone
3. Plastic!

Final question – Should you buy it?

If you’ve  been an existing or long time Samsung user, you’d feel right at home here. The TouchWiz user interface is easy to use, even for beginners. Some features can come in really handy and effective for your lifestyle and usage.

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs HTC One

If you’re looking for another great smartphone to upgrade to and want the best, sexiest and most functional feature to suit your life – I suggest you go look at HTC One. That phone is way sexier and less bloated with features like the S4.

See Also : HTC One Unboxing and First Impression

Final word – this is a pure user review, based on my usage, my review unit, my personal preference. You be your own judge – go to the shops, pick up the phone, play around with the features, then make up your own mind. You might fall in love… you might not. Your call.

Related posts:

1. Samsung Galaxy S III User Review
2. Samsung Galaxy Note II User Review
3. Samsung Galaxy Note User Review

Previously, for a few years now, I was happy with the previous design that looks like any blog / sites you see out there.

WinnieKepala.com (up to mid 2012)

Last week, I shared on my Facebook, Twitter and even Google+ that I did a revamp of the blog.

Just did a quick revamp of my blog at http://t.co/l67vQbA8pJ. Go see & lemme know what you think.

— Winnie Chen-Head (@winniekepala) June 10, 2013

WinnieKepala.com – June 2013

This design wasn’t too far a departure from the traditional site layout. Instead of a scrolling banner of posts, it has square clickable images of the featured posts, with blog posts listed in the reverse chronological order at the bottom.

Over the last week, I played around with a few design options and finally – I’m happy to announce that WinnieKepala.com has a new look!

WinnieKepala.com – mid June 2013 onwards

Here are a few notes of the new WinnieKepala.com site design:-

• RESPONSIVE DESIGN – layout adapts to the screen size of the device you’re using.
• TOUCH FRIENDLY - Yes – if you have a touchscreen Windows 8 desktop, you can navigate with touch gesture and tapping on the screen to navigate on my blog!
• Cleaner, simpler and modern design – No more old chronological blogpost layout.
• Grid based content presentation – Posts are presented in squares ala Pinterest style navigation. It’s colour coded based on categories and interactive, too.
• Interactive Post Sorting – Sort post by Date, Name, Popular, etc and watch the animation as the post re-organise itself. I love this!
• “Back To Top” button – As you scroll down the page (especially with some of my super long blog posts), you’ll see an arrow at the bottom right for your one-click to go back to the top of the page. Simple design elements like this matters, no?
• Easy Share and Related Posts – At the end of each blog post, you’ll see quick buttons to easily share the post on social media. Oh – the “Related Posts” are nicely presented for you to discover new content, too.

WinnieKepala 2013 revamp (blogpost)

The site is based on (what the industry calls) “Responsive Design”. Which means that the layout adapts to whatever device and screen size you use to go to my site.

WinnieKepala.com on desktop (with touchscreen friendly design)

Navigate on your tablet (Android, iPad, Surface, etc)

Mobile friendly design on your smartphones

It took me awhile to tinkle around with this and get it working the way I like. Do note that the site is not 100% functional yet – there are some scripts and bugs here and there that I need to correct as I go along. So, if you come across some weird code language or scripts, layout problems or anything at all with the site design, let me know in the comments below.

Most importantly – Let me know what you think of the new design? Test it out on different devices and let me know if you like it!

Although it’s a pre-defined design theme, there was still a lot of customisation involved in getting it up today! In the end, I am very happy with the result – the site is keeping up with the times, touchscreen friendly and has a nice design aesthetic that truly represent me as an individual. I only hope you guys like it!

Go ahead – enjoy the new WinnieKepala.com!!!

Related posts:

1. Why I Blog?
2. No blog update, but I’m on Twitter
3. Best of WinnieKepala.com 2012

NETWORK BUSY NETWORK BUSY NETWORK BUSY !!! Maxis PROBLEM !!

— AMIRUL AMEEN (@AmeenTrendz) June 15, 2013

Why I can't call out to any number? Whats wrong @MaxisComms @MaxisListens

— Jason Goh (@smashpOp) June 15, 2013

Is Maxis voice service down? We received two reports from Subang.

— K.Kugan (@scamboy) June 15, 2013

Maxis has also been tweeting and posting on Facebook on the issue.

Update: Customers in Petaling Jaya, Petaling, Bdr Baru Sg Besi, Pekan Salak Selatan, Damansara, Klang, Ampang, KL, Semenyih, (con't)

— Maxis (@MaxisListens) June 15, 2013

(Con't) Ulu Kelang, Cheras, Dengkil, Kajang, Hulu Teriang, parts of Melaka, Negeri Sembilan & Pahang may face issues to make/receive calls.

— Maxis (@MaxisListens) June 15, 2013

(Con't) No issues for browsing & SMS. Our engineers are working diligently to rectify this. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. TQ

— Maxis (@MaxisListens) June 15, 2013

Even U Mobile, which does domestic roaming with Maxis was out.

Sesetengah pelanggan di Lembah Klang mungkin mengalami kesulitan untuk membuat/menerima panggilan pd masa ini. Ianya sedang diatasi. ^CS02

— U Mobile (@umobilesb) June 15, 2013

I also shared Maxis’ tweet and statement on my Facebook Page and personal profile.

Just moments ago, I received the official statement from Maxis’ Corporate Communications team in my inbox:-

We apologise to our customers who have experienced difficulty in making or receiving calls in the Klang Valley and extended surrounding areas. Our engineers responded to a technical incident at 4:50pm on 15/6 and have worked around-the-clock to restore the service. We were able to isolate the fault and the voice service has been restored. Our SMS and internet services were not affected.

In view of the inconvenience caused and whilst we continue to monitor the performance of the network, Maxis will offer all its customers, FREE DOMESTIC SMS service from 6:00pm on 16/6 until 11:59pm on 17/6. Once again, we apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank our customers for their understanding and patience.

I shared this immediately on my Facebook Page, Twitter and hubby who was with me.

[UPDATE] Maxis has finally posted the same statement on their Maxis Facebook Page:-

As compensation for the voice call network outage, Maxis is offering FREE domestic SMS from 6pm tonight (Sunday) until 11.59pm tomorrow (Monday). So, no WhatsApp then, just SMS like crazy!!! Hahah.

Let’s hope this doesn’t bring down the SMS and Data networks though.

Related posts:

1. Facebook Messenger Free Call available in Malaysia
2. Heads Up : HTC, Blackberries and a new tablet
3. Maxis iPhone 5 Launch in Malaysia

Posing with the Nokia banner

Nokia executive walked us through some great stats and achievements of Nokia basic voice and data phones, feature phones and the Asha series phones – including an impressive 20 million of Nokia Asha phones sold to date.

About Nokia Asha 501

Nokia Asha 501 is aimed at those who are not quite ready to jump into the full-fledge smartphone ownership, but would still like a less scary interface and functions of data and apps with their devices.

Nokia Asha 501 available in Bright Red, Yellow, Black, White, Cyan and Green

Nokia Asha 501 has a full capacitive touchscreen, supports dual SIM usage and has a full Asha series app store powered by Nokia’s developers. Here’s a quick specification overview of the Nokia Asha 501:-

• 3″QVGA TFT capcitive touchscreen display (320 x 240) (133 ppi)
• 128 MB Flash + 4 GB MMC (expandable up to 32 GB microSD slot)
• Powered by Nokia Asha Software Platform 1.0 (based on S40 OS)
• 3.2 megapixel rear camera
• 12.1 mm thin, weighing only 98 grams
• 1,200 mAH removable battery (26 days standby time; 17 hours talktime) <– No kidding!
• Connectivity : Dual standby SIM (micro SIM), 2G GPRS connection, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi
• Available in Bright Red, Yellow, Black, White, Cyan and Green

For more information on specs and features, check out the Nokia Malaysia product page for the Nokia Asha 501 HERE.

Nokia Asha 501 tiny 3″ display makes it such a cute phone

I posted some pictures on my Instagram during the event. For lack of a better word, everyone commented that the phone looks… “cute”.

Nokia Asha 501 back is polycarbonate build, just like the Lumia series

Nokia Asha 501 includes several cool features and apps that will surely appeal to the mass rural segment who wants an affordable and easy-to-use, engtry level smartphone. Remember it only has 2G/GPRS connectivity, which is why the 1,200 mAH battery gives you a whopping 26 days standby time or 17 hours of talktime!

Hardware overview of the Nokia Asha 501

Here are some key highlights of the Nokia Asha 501:-

• Standout design & build quality – the device’s back is made  of polycarbonate material, just like the high end Lumia Windows Phone series. The back is removable, which means you can swap colours as you wish. The front is a sturdy 3″ capacitive touchscreen and a single “Back” button.
• Simple interface of “Home” of “Fastlane” homescreens – “Home” screen is your typical app drawer with icons of all installed apps. “Fastlane” is the equivalent of your multitasking screen, showing you your last opened app, organised based on how you use the phone.
• New Nokia Xpress Browser – The browser compresses internet data by 90% which makes browsing faster and cheaper (less data, less cost).
• Nokia HERE Maps – using network triangulation to lock your location and present you the map, because there”s no GPS on board. Also no turn-by-turn navigation though.
• Plenty of pre-installed apps – including social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, LinkedIn), messenger apps (Line, Nimbuzz) and 40 FREE games from EA (worth USD$75). WhatsApp is supposedly coming soon.

All the lovely candy colours of the Nokia Asha 501

Nokia Asha 501 will be available  at a Recommended Retail Price (RRP) of RM 299. Yup – not kidding. This entry level, dual SIM smartphone is truly THAT affordable. It will go on sale starting end June 2013 with 3 colours of Bright Red, Yellow and Black first. The other 3 colours of White, Cyan and Green will come later.

That was not it. Nokia also took the opportunity to announce another brother to the Nokia Asha 501 that will be coming to the Malaysian market soon – the Nokia Asha 210.

About the Nokia Asha 210

The Nokia Asha 210 has a hardware QWERTY keyboard, reminding me very much of my old Nokia E93. The Asha 210 is more of a social device, also comes with dual SIM support and with a hardware keyboard instead of a touchscreen. There’s a dedicated Facebook button, which is customisable (you ca change it to Twitter, WhatsApp, etc) so this will be handy for the social  butterflies.

Harware keyboard and a customisable “Social” button for the Nokia Asha 210

Here”s some high level specs of the Nokia Asha 210:-

• 2.4″QVGA display (320 x 240)
• 64 MB Flash (expandable up to 32 GB microSD slot)
• Powered by Nokia Asha Software Platform 1.0 (based on S40 OS)
• 2 megapixel rear camera
• 11.8 mm thin, weighing only 97 grams
• Removable battery (24 days standby time; 12 hours talktime)
  
• Connectivity :  Dual SIM, 2G GPRS connection, Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi
• Available in Yellow, Black, White, Cyan and Magenta

The Nokia Asha 210 carries similar functions as the Nokia  Asha 501 with the Nokia Xpress Browser that saves you data when internet browsing, comes with pre-installed social media apps and more.

The Nokia Asha 210 will also be available for sale by end June 2013 for the Recommended Retail Price (RRP) of RM 219. Whoa… yes, these are all super affordable and long battery life entry level smartphones!!! Only Yellow, Cyan and Black will be available end June 2013, while the White and Magenta will be available later.

After the launch and getting some chance to play around with both the Nokia Asha 501 and Nokia Asha 210, we were treated to some awesome dinner from Press Room, BSC.

Dinner menu from Press Room

Thanks to Nokia Malaysia for the invitation.

Related posts:

1. CSL Switch Pluto Review – Entry level dual SIM Android phone
2. HTC Desire V & C Launched in Malaysia
3. Sony Vaio Touch Series Launch in Malaysia

Everywhere I look, I see Samsung Galaxy Note II everywhere. When you initially thought “phablets” might not work, whether it’s because it’s too big as a phone, or stylus is an old technology, boy were you wrong. Samsung did sold millions of Galaxy Note II around the world.

Samsung Galaxy Note II

As a refresher, Samsung Galaxy Note II is a 5.5″ HD Super AMOLED display, Android smartphone with a detachable S Pen stylus from Samsung.  Stylus pens are redesigned and reimagined with the Note series, including Easy Clip (crop images of any shapes), Air View (hover over folders / items for more info without tapping), Multi Window (open 2 windows/app simultaneously for multi tasking) and so much more.

For more information, check out the Samsung Galaxy Note II microsite HERE.

See Also : Samsung Galaxy Note II User Review

Introducing PicsArt – full feature photo editing app

If you’re one of the proud owners and users of Samsung Galaxy Note II, then you’d be happy to know that Samsung is introducing us to PicsArt – a photo editing and art community.

PicsArt for your Galaxy Note II

If you’re one who takes a lot of pictures with your smartphone and like to use photo editing apps then you should check out PicsArt. It’s ultimately optimised for use with your Galaxy Note II’s S Pen with full photo editing features such as:-

• Camera – enables you to take a picture and apply various effects.
• Picture Editor – Tons of photo manipulations, masks, collages, frames, borders, stickers, text effects, clipart graphics, callouts, crop, rotate, color adjust, etc.
• Magic Effects – awesome artistic photo effects such as a stenciler, cartoonizer, sketcher, Orton, Lomo, vintage, cross process, HDR, fattal, pencil, Holgaart, watercolor, contours, comic, neon, gouache, old paper, pastel, red eye remover, Popart 2, smart blur, face fix, color splash, paper, etc.and more!
• Draw – Many drawing effects including: draw, sticker mode, callouts, artistic brushes and text styles! Draw on your Facebook friend’s photos and share. Advanced functionality includes layers and the ability to hide, rearrange order, or merge layers.
• Sharing – share pictures with all major social networks or send photos by SMS and email.

Shini for Samsung Galaxy Note II & PicsArt

Samsung released this video featuring Graphic Designer and UK’s Top 10 fashion blogger, Shini, on her use of PicsArt with her Galaxy Note II for photo editing, drawing and photo sharing. Shini is born in Seoul, raised in Warsaw but currently resides in London. Her blog, Park & Cube, talks about her design inspirations, fashion, photography and  other lifestyle topics.

PicsArt is perfectly optimised for use with your S Pen on your Galaxy Note II

Watch this video where Shini talks through how she uses her Galaxy Note II and PicsArt for her inspirations, photo editing and sharing. Using the S Pen, she can easily use Air View to select through multiple images on her phone, using PicsArt to crop, apply effects and filters, recolour and more. She also uses the S Pen to put a personal note on the photos before sharing on social media. You can also create a photo collage of a series of photos.

PicsArt is a full feature photo editing app. Also, it works really well with the S Pen on the Samsung Galaxy Note II. So if you have the Note II, be sure to check it out and optimise photo editing with the S Pen and PicArt.

PicsArt is available for iOS and Android (Google Play Store HERE) or FREE!

For more videos, make sure you check out Samsung Mobile’s YouTube channel HERE.

**This post has been sponsored by Samsung**

Related posts:

1. Samsung Galaxy Note II Unboxing
2. Samsung Galaxy Note – S Pen Demo (Part 1)
3. Samsung Galaxy Note – S Pen Demo (Part 2)

The contest will run for a month, from 20 May 2013 until 20 June 2013 with prizes worth more than RM 120,000.

Lazada MY “Giveaway Extravaganza”

Note : Funnily, I checked the calendar and Hari Raya Puasa this year is actually in August 2013. With this contest ending in June, it puzzles me why it’s called “Lazada-Raya” n conjunction with Hari Raya season. ???

Nevertheless, if you visit Lazada.com.my today, you’ll see the bottom banner shouting about the “Giveaway Extravaganza” which leads you to the Contest page with details of the giveaway, prizes and T&Cs. Pries includes daily RM 300 vouchers, weekly prizes (varies every week) worth RM 2,799 weekly, and the Grand Prize of a Mazda 2 Hatchback!!!

Igor Pezelli, CEO of Lazada Malaysia, posing with the Mazda 2 Hatchback – the Grand Prize

No entry forms required, but you do need to signup for the newsletter and make minimum purchases on the website. Here’s how the contest works:-

• Signup to the Lazada newsletter & stand to win daily shopping voucher worth RM 300
• Purchase above RM 25 & 2 winners weekly will stand to win weekly prizes worth RM 2,799
• Purchase above RM 50 & stand to win Grand Prize of Mazda 2 Hatchback

Weekly Prizes for “Giveaway extravaganza” contest

There are additional prizes for in conjunction with this contest:-

• BCARD holders : Purchase above RM50 and stand to win Samsung Galaxy S4 weekly
• Facebook Fans : Share “Giveaway Extravaganza” Facebook Posts as many times as you can, and win 3 Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini

For more information, check out the Lazada Malaysia contest page at http://www.lazada.com.my/giveaway-extravaganza/ or their Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/LazadaMalaysia

Lazada Malaysia mentioned that there will be a number of deals, promotions and offers coming soon with their Hari Raya season shopping, so it makes it more enticing for you to shop online at their site. Still, with daily vouchers, weekly prizes and the Grand Prize of a CAR!!!! No better incentive to shop online with Lazada, huh?

I signed up for the Newsletter with another email I have, standby to win!!!

Personally, I have bought some camera accessories from Lazada Malaysia months ago and the item arrived quickly and on time a couple of days later. I have my eyes on some portable speakers which I might just buy in Week 3 of this contest. Because they’re giving away LCD TVs that week! *grin*

Related posts:

1. DiGi Prepaid “Menang Besar” Reload Contest with RM 1 million Cash & Prizes
2. Asus Malaysia “Explore Windows 8 & Win” Give-away
3. Mamee Golden 8 SMS Contest

As with the Note series, every device in this category comes with the S-Pen stylus, which gives allows you to use it for Samsung apps like S-Note (draw/write notes), S Planner (using Air View to hover for more details), Quick Command (swipe gesture with the S Pen to launch shortcut functions) and so much more.

Similar to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, the functions and feature for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is similar, just with a bigger 8″ screen that’s not too big for a tablet but just portable enough to fit into your (larger) jeans pocket or handbag for the ladies.

Yes, 7″ – 8″ tablets are becoming very popular these days. This includes Apple backtracking on their words and even releasing the iPad mini, Nexus 7 being one of the most popular Android tablet at 7″  screen size and more manufacturers releasing 7″ tablets. Personally, I have been using the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 for over a year now, and I absolutely love this size for its portability.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0

Just in case you’re not familiar with the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, here’s a quick overview of the specs:-

• 8″ WXGA TFT display (1280 X 800)(189 ppi)
• 1.6 GHz quad core Exynos processor
• 16 GB internal storage (expandable up to 64 GB microSD slot) + 2 GB RAM
• Powered by Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2 OS (with Samsung TouchWiz interface)
• 5 megapixel rear camera, 1.3 megapixel front facing camera
• 7.95 mm thin, weighing only 345 grams
• 4,600 mAH non-removable battery
• Connectivity : HSPA+, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, micro USB port (charge/sync)
• Available in Pearl White only

For more information on the specs and features, check out the Samsung Malaysia Product Page for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 HERE or the Samsung Mobile Malaysia Facebook Page HERE.

For your pleasure, here are some official product images of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 :-

Pricing and Availability

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is available on sale now at the Recommended Retail Price (RRP) of RM 1,699 at Samsung retail stores, with mobile telco plans or other retailers.

Celcom – Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 from RM 1.088

Currently, only Celcom has published a telco plan for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0. No news on the other telcos, if they’re offering any plans for this device.

Celcom – Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Plans HERE

Celcom offers the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 from RM 1.088 with their telco plans at http://www.celcom.com.my/devices/tablets/android/samsung-galaxy-note-8.0.php

Other Offline and Online retailer with discounts

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 available online at SenHeng HERE

You can also  purchase them online at SenHeng at http://www.senheng.com.my/tablets/12530-samsung-galaxy-note-80-16gb-wifi-3g-sam-gt-n5100zwaxme.html

There’s also other retailers offering the device at cheaper prices online:-

• SenQ started pre-orders on 22 Apr 2013, which means it’s already on sale now
• IP Mart is selling the device for RM 1,543 in White HERE and Black HERE (I didn’t know Black existed?? Although it’s listed as “Pre-Order”)
• Lazada Malaysia is selling it for RM 1,499 (Update : Promo ended) RM 1,688 in White HERE

Reviews Around The InterWebz

I’m trying to sell my one year old Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 (Update : It’s SOLD) and upgrading to this Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0. Personally, I much prefer the screen size of a 8″ device, than the 7″ version. It’s slightly bigger but works much better as a tablet, compared to other 5.5″ phablets.

Having reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Note II, there are some great features that I find useful in a tablet form factor, which includes:-

• Air View – use the S Pen to hover over pictures, calendar etc to view more details without tapping to open
• Multi window –  Multi task by opening 2 apps in separate windows
• S Note – Handwriting recognition, clipped images, draw images, record meetings and audio notes, etc. This is something handy for a regular scribbler like me.
• Quick Command – Swipe gesture on screen with the S Pen to launch Quick Command for shortcuts for Google Search, send email, call contact, etc

See Also : Samsung Galaxy Note II User Review

Since I don’t have a review unit of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 with me (which is why I’ll likely buy one with my own money), here are some interesting reads on reviews from other major tech sites.

• CNET Asia : Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 (Quad-core Processor 1.6GHz, 8-inch Display)
  
• TechRadar : Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Review
• Engadget : Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Review
• The Verge : Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Review

Did anyone of you get the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0? Are you looking forward to get one? Are you waiting for me to review one? *wink*

Related posts:

1. Samsung Galaxy S4 goes on sale in Malaysia
2. Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 launched in Malaysia
3. Samsung Galaxy Note II Launch in Malaysia

DiGi “Menang besar” contest with RM 1 million in cash and prizes

Here are the details on how to participate and win the daily and weekly prizes:-

5 Daily Prizes  of 1 Samsung Galaxy Note II per winner

• Reload minimum RM 10 (1 entry) OR Reload minimum RM 30 (1 daily prize entry + 1 weekly prize entry)
• 2 days after reload, from Mon-Fri between 3pm – 5pm, DiGi calls you to answer a question about DiGi / general knowledge
• Correct answer wins you 1 out of 5 Samsung Galaxy Note II daily

3 Weekly Prizes of up to RM 15,000 cash per winner

• Reload minimum RM 30 (1 entry)
• 1 week after reload, DiGi calls you to answer a question about DiGi / general knowledge
• 3 participants to compete in DiGi “Menang Besar” Roadshow Challenge (a simple game with the Menang Besar cruisers) to win up to RM 15,000 cash each

1 Grand Prize of RM 100,000 CASH

• Weekly winners are eligible to be in the running for the Grand Prize at the end of June 2013

This is not a random lucky draw, mind you. 5 daily and 3 weekly winners are selected based on every 100,000th reload and upon answering the question correctly when contacted by DiGi.

For more information on the contest, prizes and T&Cs, check out the DiGi “Menang Besar” contest page at http://www.digi.com.my/menangbesar

There’s going to be the DiGi “Menang Besar” cruisers heading to various locations nationwide for you to make your way over for the Weekly Prize challenge, along with other freebies.

DiGi’s Head of Products – Prepaid & Postpaid, Ting Shiew Han, standing (right) with the team inside the DiGi Prepaid Menang Besar Cruiser

DiGi’s Head of Products – Prepaid & Postpaid, Ting Shiew Han, standing (centre) with the team inside the DiGi Prepaid Menang Besar Cruiser

To check out the various locations for the DiGi “Menang Besar” Cruiser, check out the contest page HERE and click on “Roadshow Details” at the bottom of the page.

It’s so unfortunate that I’m not a DiGi Prepaid customer. Looking at these pictures of winners with their mock cheques of cash money makes me  so very jealous.

Related posts:

1. Asus Malaysia “Explore Windows 8 & Win” Give-away
2. Mamee Golden 8 SMS Contest
3. Norton 360 v6 Give-Aways