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The latest in mobile devices [New Straits Time (Malaysia)]
[June 29, 2014]

The latest in mobile devices [New Straits Time (Malaysia)]


(New Straits Time (Malaysia) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) CUTTING-EDGE TECH: The New Sunday Times takes a sneak peek at the gadgets from Samsung, BlackBerry and Huawei Galaxy Tab S THE Galaxy Tab S is all about advanced display technology and entertainment content.



The tablet with Super AMOLED screen is available in 10.5-inch and 8.4-inch models with support of 90 per cent of Adobe RGB colour coverage. It also has a 100,000:1 contrast ratio, which makes blacks darker and whites brighter.

What's more interesting is that the display automatically adjusts its sharpness based on the content viewed, as well as the viewing environment and the ambient lighting. Users can also manually adjust display settings with preset modes, AMOLED Cinema and AMOLED Photo to improve their viewing of videos and photos.


For easy viewing of content while outdoors, the tablet is supported by advanced outdoor visibility technology, which makes on- screen contents look bright and natural.

The plus point of having a Super AMOLED display is that it consumes less energy compared with LCD displays.

Designed to keep users entertained, Samsung is offering entertainment contents via Samsung Seasons and Samsung Sportsflow. Samsung Seasons enables consumers to subscribe to exclusive TV series such as Orphan Black, Doll & Em and Devious Maids at a monthly rate of US$6.50 (RM20.90) per season. For sports fans, the Sportsflow offers exclusive free sports content such as football, badminton, motorsports and golf. And, specially for Malaysian users, Samsung is throwing in a free 12-month subscription to eight lifestyle magazine titles from SPH Magazines worth RM1,920 and access to My GALAXY Music, in which consumers get to download up to 500 free songs within a six-month period.

The tablet, which supports 4G LTE, will retail at RM1,699 for the 8.4-inch model and RM1,999 for the 10.5-inch model in a choice of titanium bronze or dazzling white.

The Galaxy Tab be available from July 11 onwards, with a host of accessories such as designer covers, Bluetooth keyboard and audio products. The Bluetooth keyboard is designed specifically for the Tab 10.5-inch tablet.

BlackBerry Z3 The all-touch Z3 smartphone comes with a five-inch display and better connectivity and sharing features. Its 2,500mAh battery promises a long-lasting battery life and the company also assures users best typing experience on a touchscreen.

Although an entry-level smartphone, the BlackBerry Z3 extends the full capabilities of the BlackBerry 10 operating system version 10.2.1. It comes with a host of features like the BlackBerry Hub, BBM (BlackBerry Messaging), Instant Previews and Reply Now and Time Shift and Story Maker. The BBM includes all the latest features of the popular mobile social network, BBM voice and video chatting with screen share, among others.

Supported by the BlackBerry 10 browser, which is an industry benchmark for HTML5 performance on smartphones, users are assured of fast, fluid and responsive scrolling and zooming.

For on-the-go music, there is a built-in FM radio, which allows users to listen to local FM stations without the need for network connection.

Memory is supported by 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB of on board storage. For more storage, the Z3 has a microSD card expansion slot that supports cards up to 32GB.

The smartphone has a 5MP rear camera that can support full high- definition (HD) 1,080p videos and a 1.1MP camera in front that supports HD 720p videos.

Z3 users in the country will also be able to enjoy local content, including a set of BBM Stickers and BBM Channels featuring local characters, Upin and Ipin. Users will be able to join local BBM Channels and get updates from their favourite brands, communities and opinion leaders.

The Z3 will be available through BlackBerry authorised partners and carriers early next month at RM699.

Ascend P7 The Ascend P7 is Huawei's premium offering with 4G LTE connectivity and five-inch full HD touchscreen display with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. It is one of the slimmest 4G LTE smartphones at 6.5mm and weighing 124g. The device has a metallic chassis with a micro-pattern design and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for both front and rear covers, which gives it a sleek guise.

Powered by a 1.8GHz HiSilicon Kirin 910 quad-core processor, 2GB RAM and Android's latest Kit Kat 4.4.2, the smartphone has a custom Huawei interface known as the Emotion UI, which augments user- experience. With the Emotion UI, users can re-skin the phone according to their liking with the many themes available to change the interface, apps icon and wallpaper. Users can also access the smartphone's management software to customise the permission, network and notification manager, among others.

For taking pictures, the camera is supported by a 13MP rear- facing camera. The camera can be activated within 1.2 seconds of double-clicking the down volume button while the device is locked.

With an image signal processor on board, the camera's functions are similar to those found in professional digital SLRs, including autofocus, white balance and noise reduction.

This is the phone for selfie takers as it has a front camera with an 8MP lens equipped with IMAGESmart 2.0 software. The software has a 10-level auto-facial enhancement in beauty mode and a "groufie" function to allow the inclusion of large groups in selfies.

Its 2,500mAh lithium polymer battery is equipped with an advanced power-saving mode. According to Huawei, it helps to stretch 10 per cent of battery life to last 24 hours on standby.

For improved signal reception, the Ascend P7 is equipped with Huawei's unique dual antenna. The device, available in black and white, is priced at RM 1,499.

Huawei has also announced the availability of other LTE-enabled devices such as the Huawei X1 7.0 LTE (RM1,399); 3G (RM1,299), Huawei MediaPad M1 8.0 LTE (RM1,099); 3G (RM899), Ascend G6 LTE (RM899); 3G (RM749) and the wearable TalkBand B1 (RM499).

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