Samsung Galaxy A8 Review – Long Lasting Juice And Fun To Use

Samsung Galaxy A8

RM1,799.00

9.1

Design & Function

9.0/10

Camera Quality

9.0/10

Battery

10.0/10

Performance

8.5/10

Stability & Reliability

9.0/10

				Pros

Long lasting battery

Good camera

Ergonomic design

Waterproof

Reliable

				Cons

Screen moved while underwater

Fingerprint scanner too near to camera

Buy Now!

After almost a whole month having the Samsung Galaxy A8 for a full review, I can safely say that this is a fun-to-use phone and a reliable companion to have that won’t run out of juice that quick.

The first time I get the chance to “play” with the Samsung Galaxy A8 was during an event in Sunway Lagoon having a
splashing time with the Galaxy A8
. That was a test run and a review on how the A8 performs in wet conditions. I loved it then, I still love it now.

Now I have the chance to use and review the Samsung Galaxy A8 for about 3 weeks. Here’s my review…

Battery that keeps on going

The first thing that impressed me so much is, the damn long lasting battery life. I can not deny that I use the phone almost all the time for social apps or communications via WhatsApp. And my usage is quite high. But a fully charged Galaxy A8 (not the plus version) battery last me about 36 hours. That’s a full day and night and day again. After 36 hours, I still have 10% left.

That kind of a sorcery is this?

That kinda sucks because it disrupt my standard phone charging time which usually starts at night and ends in the morning. With the Galaxy A8, I can’t do that. I end up charging the phone either in the middle of the day or early morning. All I can say is that the Samsung Galaxy A8’s battery last too damn long.

On standby, the Galaxy A8 can last a very long time, approximately 90 hours.

Now don’t get me start on the battery life while playing games. There’s one game that I’m currently hooked on at the moment which is PUBG Mobile. Yes, it is that battle royale style first person shooter game. Playing the game on the Samsung Galaxy A8 is awesome. Not only I get the beautiful 5.6″ super AMOLED wide angle screen and almost zero lag thanks to the octa-core Exynos7885/Mali-G71 SoC with 4GB of RAM, but I can play the game for long hours too.

To put it simply, a single round of PUBG game on my other phone took at least 20% of the battery life. Playing it on the Galaxy A8, a single round of PUBG took only 5% of the juice. Therefore on a full charge A8, I can continue playing the game until I passed out from motion sickness. Mind you, I used to be a hardcore Quake gamer (I prefer Quake rather than Counter Strike, that’s a hint on why I like battle royale FPS games).

And believe it or not if I said that the battery capacity is only 3,000mAh? My other phone battery capacity is 4,000mAh and yet I have to recharge the phone as soon as I get home at night. At least that phone didn’t disrupt my normal charging hours.

Camera that blows

It certainly blew me away.

When it comes to buying a phone nowadays, I will also take a look at the camera’s hardware and performance. I think it’s because I can’t get rid of the photographer in me that I need to get a phone with an equally good camera to match.

The main rear camera is shooting at 16MP with f/1.7 and phase detection autofocus and it works well. The only tiny qualm that I have with the main camera is the slightly over-sharpening in the post-processed photos.

Camera module at the back and fingerprint sensor below it.

Don’t get me wrong, the end result is gorgeous but if you look carefully after zooming in, you can see that it has been sharpened a little too much by the camera app. Just a little.

Overall it still managed to capture some beautiful landscape and portrait images. Colours are well balanced in bright areas. It is still very well balanced at night or in low light areas as well. You can choose to shoot in night mode from within the camera app function too.

Here are some samples of indoor photos taken with the Galaxy A8

Indoor in Summit USJ.

Indoor shot at One City mall.

Indoor photos are nice and well balanced. The colours are not too vivid and it feels more natural. There’s not much “noise” in the photos either. So with this I can say that I am happy with the camera on the A8.

And here are some outdoor photos.

Balanced colour and exposure of the sky at the background and the train on the foreground.

The lighting is not on my side on this one but the details and clarity is good.

Panoramic outdoor shot at the same location and same lighting.

Outdoor shots are easier because of the lighting. Auto focus works quick and taking some good pictures is a snap. Subject details are clear, so no blurry photos with the A8. In low light especially in the evening, the A8 still performs well. All thanks to the big aperture f/1.7 in the rear camera.

Evening time, almost night time.

Close to 8pm while I was stuck in a jam in USJ.

So taking any photo with the A8 in low light is not a disappointment. You can still see clear details with little noise in the results.

I went for a food review recently and I got the Samsung Galaxy A8 just in time for that. So I went over with the A8 in my pocket. This is probably a good chance for me to tryout the in-camera app “food mode”. It is very suitable for those who love to Instagram your food before eating ’em.

Clear shot of the crab curry during the food review with the Galaxy A8.

What the mode does is that it automatically creates an outer blur and sharp focus at the center of the subject. Also great for close-up shots of your food to make it look like
bokeh
-ed shot.

A close up shot of the food taken in “Food Mode”.

Shooting in “food mode” is fun. I got some nice close-up shots of the meal I had and most of them turns up really good. I also don’t need any post-processing in Lightroom because the colours and details are just right.

Here are some other photos that I captured with the Galaxy A8

Now this is something interesting. I took a close up photo of a red rug in-front of me and you can see some sharp details it.

Here’s the rug that I saw in-front of me.

Close up shot from the top. Good details.

Even better shot taken like this.

What I like about the shots above is the level of detail and clarity produced by the A8 camera. I bet you can take lots of good close up shots of your food for Instagram. And I’m sure most Instagrammers would love to take these kind of shots. So yes, buying a Samsung Galaxy A8 will be a good deal.

Oh, the fingerprint sensor is located just below the rear camera unlike the S8. I feel that this is better because I did not accidentally touch the camera instead. The fingerprint sensor is also very responsive.

And then there’s the awesome dual front cameras.

The dual front shooters came with a 16MP f/1.9 and an 8MP f/1.9 wide angle camera. It is a lot of fun playing with the Live Focus mode with the main front shooter. You can adjust the focus point after you take the picture. Means you can take a nice portrait of yourself along with blurred background (bokeh style) and then change the intensity of the blur. This is one of my favourite front camera selfie function on the Galaxy A8.

The dual front camera setup on the A8.

Another awesome front camera feature is the wide angle camera itself. If you’re in a large group with friends, you may want to turn this feature on. This way you won’t find anyone missing especially those on either far sides.

Selfie shot with a little “bokeh” at the background.

Wide angle selfie is wide.

Underwater goodness

Did I mentioned that the Samsung Galaxy A8 is also IP68 certified water (up to 1.5m/30mins) and dust proof phone? Yes it is.

As I said earlier, I first got the chance to try out the Galaxy A8 during an event in Sunway Lagoon where each team of two were given a Galaxy A8 to use and complete some tasks that includes diving underwater and riding the Vuvuzela water slide while taking selfie videos.

It was a fun event and we had a blast. The fun was made sweeter by having the Galaxy A8 with us throughout the event. I remember last time we had to leave our phones in the locker because the water will damage our devices, right? Now ever since the existence of waterproofed smartphones, you don’t have to worry anymore.

Fun moments captured during the Sunway Lagoon event.

Your happy moments at any water park will forever be recorded as a nice memory in your Galaxy A8. The fast LTE capability coupled with Samsung Cloud will safeguard your precious images immediately, online. You don’t have to worry losing your photos and videos ever again.

Yeah. I’m all wet with the A8 in hand.

It’s not complete without an underwater shot.

Although the clarity while taking an underwater shots are not that clear, but it is still good. We can still see sharp details without losing the quality. I did wish that I had more time with this phone to be able to shoot more underwater scenes, especially when I go swimming in the river in Kalumpang.

The only qualm that I have with the phone while taking underwater selfies or photos is that the screen would change as though the water can “touch and slide”  the screen around. So it’s not that easy to keep the phone at camera mode. Probably a glitch or touch screen is too sensitive. As a workaround for this, press the volume down button to take a photo. Done.

Less bloated

One of the factors that I don’t really like Samsung phones last time is because of the sh*tloads of bloatwares that comes with any high-end Samsung phones. Usually more than 50 unwanted bloatwares will be installed in the phone before you even start using it. And there’s no way you can delete those apps (except porting to Cyanogenmod or other builds, no warranty).

But ever since Galaxy S8, newer Samsung phones comes with less bloatwares. At least 80% of the bloatwares are gone. Thank you Samsung!

And since Galaxy S8, I fell in-love with Samsung again. Less bloatwares means better performance and longer battery life. You can still have the option to install those extra  Samsung exclusive apps though. Just fire up the Galaxy Apps and you’re set. Only if you want to.

Overall experience

Another thing that I like about the Galaxy A8 is the simple elegant design. I don’t like phones with too much of an edge-to-edge display design. I would imagine that some of us still holds the phone with our thumbs resting on the left and/or right bezel. The Galaxy A8 still have some bezel space to hold the phone comfortably. The curved edge makes it a nice phone to hold.

Nice to hold because it is slim and light.

The Galaxy A8 is also a “tall and slim” type of form factor. With a screen resolution as 1080 x 2220 pixels, means it has a wider-than-normal display screen. Being tall and slim, it makes the phone quite easier to type with one hand.

One more thing that I don’t like with the one that I’m using. It is the black version of the A8, which is also the glossy type. The glossy shell makes it a fingerprint magnet. I would have to wipe the phone from time to time in order to remove the stains and palm oil. Get it? Palm oil.

Also, most of us Malaysian (guys especially) will have that oily face. So after making a call, there will sure be some oil stain on the phone. We do need to wipe it down almost all the time after making or receiving calls.

Lovely lock screen. You can also customize the clock to your liking.

But that is not anything major. It is just a minor setback that we can forget about. If it stains too much then I’ll just throw it in a bucket full of water. Problem settled.

Oh yeah. I did a benchmark on Antutu and for the Galaxy A8 performance and it scored 115787. Not bad at all. Most of my older devices only scored half of that. So this score concludes that the Samsung Galaxy A8 is not only the cheaper choice (than S9) but a reliable one as well.

Bixby works well too. Just turn it on in the settings and you’re up. Simply swipe right on the main screen and you’ll be able to use and browse through Bixby. It’s simple to use and most of the useful information are just there. Samsung Pay? Yep. That works too.

Conclusion

Forget about my earlier “complaints” about the battery life because it wasn’t a complaint at all. I truly love the long battery life on the A8 and I personally think it’s a winning factor that makes the Samsung Galaxy A8 a reliable companion 24/7.

Battery life is amazing. The Galaxy A8 lasted me the whole 24 hours and more after that. Gaming is a breeze thanks to its powerful Exynos SoC that works well with 4GB of RAM. Some of the games I tried were PUBG, CSR Racing 2, Asphalt Xtreme and Sniper 3D.

Good photo quality, definitely. If you’re looking for a camera on a phone that is comparable to any higher end smartphone that won’t break your wallet, the Samsung Galaxy A8 is a good choice.

Bottom line is, I love this phone. If you’re planning to get one for yourself, you can purchase the
Galaxy A8
 at
Samsung’s official Lazada store
 for (RRP) RM1,799.00 and RM2,499.00 for the
Galaxy A8+
.

Note:
 I am currently reviewing the Samsung Galaxy S9. Be sure to check out my review on the S9 in the next two weeks.

Samsung Galaxy A8 Specifications

Dimensions

149.2 x 70.6 x 8.4 mm (5.87 x 2.78 x 0.33 in)

Display Type

Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

Display Size

5.6 inches, 79.6 cm2 (~75.6% screen-to-body ratio)

Resolutions

1080 x 2220 pixels, 18.5:9 ratio (~441 ppi density)

SoC

Exynos 7885 Octa-core (2×2.2 GHz Cortex-A73 & 6×1.6 GHz Cortex-A53)

GPU

Mali-G71

Memory

32/64 GB, 4 GB RAM, microSD up to 256 GB

Rear Camera

16 MP (f/1.7, 1/2.8”, 1.12µm), phase detection autofocus, LED flash, 1080p@30fps

Front Camera

Dual: 16 MP (f/1.9, 1/3.1”, 1.0µm) + 8 MP (f/1.9, 1/4.0”, 1.12µm), 1080p

Battery

Non-removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery

Others

IP68 certified – dust/water proof (up to 1.5m for 30 mins)

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Samsung Shares 80th Anniversary Love & Care With Its Community

Setting a positive environment, responding to people’s needs and helping them to live better is what Samsung strives to achieve in giving back to society. Many underprivileged areas are in need of clean water, sanitary common spaces, education and the support to hear them out– and Samsung is committed to providing solutions with its annual Love & Care corporate social responsibility programme.

Held in conjunction with Samsung’s 80th anniversary this year, 80 Samsung employees volunteered to visit the community at Kampung Ulu Tual, an orang asli village in Pahang that was ‘adopted’ by Samsung back in 2015. At the one-day programme, volunteers interacted with the village people, provided basic educational sessions and distributed basic and essential necessities.

Samsung volunteers taking part in planting 80 trees with the villagers of Kampung Ulu Tual in hopes of creating a greener environment for them to live in.

Apart from providing them the necessities; this time round, Samsung wanted to instil a deep appreciation on sustaining the environment around them. Therefore, an activity of planting 80 trees with the village children of Kampung Ulu Tual was in the line-up to create a greener environment for them to live in.

Dato’ Roh Jae Yeol, Corporate Affairs Director of Samsung Malaysia Electronics, and Samsung volunteers receiving a warm welcome from the villagers.

“We are glad to be back in Kampung Ulu Tual for the 4th year consecutive, to continue what we started under Samsung’s Love & Care programme. Before this, we had provided the basic living necessities for them to lead a better life filled with possibilities. To celebrate Samsung’s 80th Anniversary this year, we have decided to take a different approach by extending love and care to the environment as well. We hope that through this, we can inspire them to continue preserving and protecting Mother Nature. I’m proud of all Samsung volunteers today who have demonstrated exemplary volunteering work and we look forward for more initiatives in future,” said Mr Yoonsoo Kim, President of Samsung Malaysia Electronics.

Children from Kampung Ulu Tual happily engaging with Samsung volunteers during the pop quiz session

Besides that, Samsung’s volunteer team utilised Samsung television for an educational session. Through screen mirroring technology, learning materials were projected and pop quizzes were conducted using Smart TV, in hopes that this will stimulate a positive learning attitude that will pave a wider path for a better future. This is part of Samsung’s ongoing efforts to increase literacy rates among the people of Kampung Ulu Tual, especially the young children.

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Held in conjunction with Samsung’s 80th anniversary this year, 80 Samsung volunteers made a visit to Kampung Ulu Tual, a small orang asli village in Pahang.

Back in 2017, Samsung donated 300 portable solar LED lights to the village and although it was a significant help to the villagers, the tech company noticed that the village still needed more light. Hence, Samsung donated an additional 100 solar LED light units this year, so that the villagers would have enough lighting especially at night; to help them get by in their activities, chores and studies.

A total of 400 solar LED lights have been donated by Samsung for the utilisation of 163 households in the village

Before leaving the village, Samsung volunteers participated in a little bit of fun by having Love & Care’s annual ‘Tug of War’ match with the villagers of Kampung Ulu Tual. Monthly rations were also distributed to 163 households of Kampung Ulu Tual for the villagers’ daily consumption. “We have been incredibly fortunate over the years, and it’s only natural that we give back in any way we can. I’m excited for what the future holds and I hope that we continue to constantly keep our surrounding communities in mind no matter where we are or what we do,” Mr Kim concluded.

The Samsung Love & Care programme was previously known as Samsung’s Nanum Village initiative. The programme commenced earlier in 2015 as part of Samsung’s local Corporate Citizenship efforts.


UnicornGo: Beautiful Cryptocurrency Game for Smart People

The UnicornGo team is now ready to offer an exceptional game where players can become owners of mythological cryptocreatures, unicorns! Buy land, grow magical candy trees and buy/sell/exchange/sire unicorns on the marketplace with tokens called CandyCoin.

CandyCoin is the internal currency of UnicornGo, backed by famous venture investor Alexander Borodich. CandyCoin currently uses smart contracts on the Ethereum platform and has a release cap of 12,000,000 tokens.

At the moment, CandyCoin is being traded on the ForkDelta exchange, and is also listed for voting on Cobinhood and other popular crypto exchanges.

The next step is to move to the Universa blockchain, which offers faster transactions and almost zero fees. The mobile version of the game, which is under priority development, will bring the player into augmented reality, with the Izetex team working on the integration of cryptounicorns into the real world.

The UnicornGo team, together with BasisNeuro, has already developed a neural interface for controlling the cryptounicorns with the power of thought! A new high-tech gadget design is being created under the guidance of a designer who previously worked for Tesla. This new gadget promises to become a real sensation of gaming controls.

The first generation of unicorns, GEN-0, can be bought on the official website. GEN-0 is limited to 30,000 unicorns, which will be the predecessors to all subsequent generations. This opens profitable gains for each user, especially early members of the community. GEN-0 unicorn genes are randomly generated with a 30 percent higher chance to get rare traits than in following generations. Moreover, any player who gets a Legendary Unicorn will get a $10,000 prize from UnicornGo as a tribute from the team for supporting the project.

The marketplace is now available in the game, where unicorns can be sold, bought or bred with other players to obtain valuable offspring. Players can also buy Land, an in-game asset that allows production of MegaCandy by growing magical trees from planted CandyCoins. MegaCandy, a special treat for unicorns, is used to shorten the breeding and tournaments cooldown.

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The mechanics of cross breeding and hereditary traits are based on real scientific genetic research. In fact, every player can contribute to the development of science by breeding and creating new species. As genetic crossovers occur, scientists can make new discoveries with the help of blockchain technology.

In addition to their digital genetic traits, every unicorn can build its own market value by gaining popularity through likes and views. In the future this can lead to the rise of celebrity unicorns. The cost of breeding with such a unicorn can result in a quite substantial payment to its owner.

Find out more about the UnicornGo project, purchase a first-generation unicorn and try your luck to win $10,000 on the company’s official website
https://play.unicorngo.io/

To create your own unique unicorn and play with its features in the sandbox, follow the link
http://demo.unicorngo.io/


Vivaldi 1.15 Update And The Browser is Just Better

Vivaldi launches its new web browser version 1.15 that enables its users to have even more control over the appearance and functionality of the browser.

More Personalized Appearance

Vivaldi lets users express their personal style with extensive theming support. Users can alter the look and feel of the browser exactly the way they want. They can choose, edit and schedule Themes according to their preferred time and mood.

With this version, Vivaldi 1.15 continues to give its users the ability to personalise the browser even more by selecting an image and setting it up as their window background.

The Window Background Image reiterates Vivaldi’s DIY (Do It Yourself) approach that fits in perfectly as the basic design criterion is to provide different ways of doing things.

Users can get started with a repeating pattern that is available as the pre-set. They can also experiment with the default pattern with various themes to browse seamlessly. By simply going to Settings, then Appearance, users can find this new feature just below the Window Appearance section.

“In Vivaldi, we give you endless possibilities to personalise and customise the User Interface,” says Atle Mo, designer at Vivaldi Technologies. “With more choices with the Window Background Image, you can add a bit of flare and individual style to your browser. A pro tip: Try using images, textures or patterns with a smooth surface and not too many contrasting elements to maintain readability.”

Powerful Bookmarking

Baked in the browser itself, Vivaldi 1.15’s comprehensive bookmark function pushes boundaries of using bookmarks differently and lets users rely less on extensions.

Vivaldi packs in numerous ways to access bookmarks. Earlier they could already be accessed from the Bookmark Panel, Bookmark manager, Bookmark Bar and Speed Dial. With Vivaldi 1.15, more flexibility has been added as users can access their favourite sites from the main Menu, giving them a convenient option.

“Our features communicate the capability of our product, and our goal at Vivaldi is to make every feature valuable and flexible for each and every user,” says Jon von Tetzchner CEO at Vivaldi Technologies. “While we are determined to incorporate more features, we are continually working on adding finer details to every aspect of the browser making Vivaldi better and better with each version.”

More enhancements

Often described as a “tweaker’s delight”, Vivaldi 1.15 pays attention to detail in its features and includes noteworthy fixes for better browsing.

Capture Page tweaks
: Capture Page feature, based on the individual needs of the users, is a trendsetting example of Vivaldi’s innovation. This screen capturing utility now allows the last selected option to persist after restarting the browser adding more efficiency to one of its most popular built-in tools.

Full-screen mode Improvements
: Users who prefer more screen real estate and fewer browsing distractions can now work more efficiently with Web pages. They can now access the various elements of the User Interface (UI) such as the Address Bar and Panels while in the full-screen mode. The appearance of the hidden UI can be toggled on and off through Keyboard Shortcuts.

Better and improved sound
: This version brings in significant progress in fixing some HTML5 Audio issues, where sound would not play or played at the wrong speed. These removes a major stumbling block for users who may have tried Vivaldi before but encountered such problems.

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Vivaldi Technologies (
https://vivaldi.com
) is an employee-owned company that creates products and services for discerning web users. It takes browsing to the next level with its numerous features that give users a more dynamic experience of the web. In everything it does, Vivaldi believes in putting its users first including their privacy and does not track any usage data. Vivaldi is headquartered in Oslo, with offices in Reykjavik, Boston and Palo Alto.


Wacom Introduces New Intuos Pen Tablet to “Get Creative”

Technologically and ergonomically improved pen tablet bundled with creative software provides an immediate start into digital art.

Today, Wacom announced a new, significantly upgraded version of its Intuos pen tablet for creative beginners and enthusiasts. Bundled with software for drawing, painting and image editing, the new Intuos tablet offers an immediate start into digital art.

Anyone interested in getting creative on a digital level will be able to enjoy a natural pen experience, improved accuracy and enhanced online navigation capability. Ambitious comic and manga fans, hobby painters and photographers just need to download a software of choice to “get creative.”

“Wacom has a legacy of providing state-of-the-art technology and full solutions to our customers,” said Faik Karaoglu, Executive Vice President at Wacom’s Creative Business Unit. “We know that only the combination of hardware and software allows for an immediate start. That is why we asked leading software partners to join us in the new pen tablet offer. We believe that our customers will love the new Intuos for its advanced technology and software options.”

Upon purchase of the new Wacom Intuos, users can download up to $160 worth of creative software, including Corel® Painter® Essentials 6 for design and illustration, CELSYS CLIP STUDIO PAINT PRO for comic and manga creation, and Corel® AfterShot 3 for photo editing. Numerous video tutorials found at
https://www.wacom.com/en-dk/getting-started/intuos
 by Wacom, Corel and Celsys will help users get started.

New Intuos features include built-in wireless Bluetooth integration on some models, and three color choices. Available in small and medium sizes, all models have the same active tablet area as previous versions but with a smaller footprint and lighter weight. A built-in pen tray, four express keys, an LED indicator and in the Bluetooth models a 60 percent improvement on battery life rounds out the upgrade.

The included pen boasts 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, battery-free Wacom EMR technology, and an improved ergonomic design with increased weight and soft touch grip area, in-pen nib compartment, and nib extractor.

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Configuration, Pricing and Availability

The new Intuos line comes in small and medium sizes and offers the following features:

Wacom Intuos Small

With Bluetooth

Software options offer a choice of two out of three software downloads:

Corel® Painter® Essentials 6, Corel® AfterShot 3, or CELSYS CLIP STUDIO PAINT PRO (in China: UDM PAINT PRO)

Color: Charcoal Black, Pistachio Green or Berry Pink (in selected regions)

Price: USD99

Without Bluetooth

Software options offer a choice of one out of two software downloads:

Corel® Painter® Essentials 6, or Corel ® AfterShot 3

Color: Charcoal Black

Price: USD79

Wacom Intuos Medium

With Bluetooth

Software: Purchasers may download all three software options:

Corel ® Painter ® Essentials 6, Corel ® AfterShot 3, or CELSYS CLIP STUDIO PAINT PRO (in China: UDM PAINT PRO)

Color: Charcoal Black, Pistachio Green or Berry Pink (in selected regions)

Price: USD199

Wacom Intuos will be available in selected retailers and online in April, 2018.


Xiaomi’s Black Shark Gaming Phone – Yay or Nay?

The Black Shark stands out with its unique design. It does look more futuristic, like something you would use for gaming.

While the leading phone makers are racing towards bezel-less display and dual camera (or triple camera setup), Xiaomi is heading towards another direction – gaming. We are starting to see many other phone makers adding in some high-end, high-powered processors in their devices. Most of them are capable of high resolution graphic gaming. So what’s the deal with Xiaomi’s new “subrand” Black Shark?

The specifications for Xiaomi’s new Black Shark is by all means great. It surpassed most of the newest phones in terms of hardware specifications. And it is specially made for gaming in mind.

Let’s have a look at the key specifications and features.

Chipset: Latest Snapdragon 845 Octa-core (4 x 2.8 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4 x 1.8 GHz Kryo 385 Silver)

GPU: Adreno 630

Memory: 128 GB + 8 GB RAM or 64 GB + 6 GB RAM

OS: Android Oreo 8.0

Display: 5.99″, 1080 x 2160 pixels, 18:9 ratio (~403 ppi density)

Primary Camera: Dual 12 MP (f/1.8, 1.25µm) + 20 MP (f/1.8, 1.0µm), 2x optical zoom, dual pixel phase detection autofocus, dual-LED dual-tone flash

Video: 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps, 720p@120fps

Secondary camera: 20 MP, (f/2.2, 1.0µm), 1080p

Since the Black Shark is made for gaming, we shall skip the camera abilities. After all, Xiaomi has been making good phones with above par photo qualities so far. So my guess is that the dual camera setup on the Black Shark should be good.

We are going to look at the core hardwares for this one. Snapdragon 845 is the latest chipset by Qualcomm and it supposedly is the current best. Performance and speed is great.

Snapdragon 845 is the first to employ ARM’s
DynamiQ CPU cluster organization
. DynamIQ enables the various different CPU cores within an SoC to be hosted within the same cluster and cache hierarchy, as opposed to having separate discrete clusters with no shared cache between them, allowing for finer-grained and more efficient approaches to when and how various clusters are powered up.

Meanwhile on the GPU side, the notoriously tight-lipped GPU group over at Qualcomm has confirmed that the Snapdragon 845 implements the first Adreno 600 series GPU, which in turn is the first new GPU architecture from Qualcomm in a couple of years and promises some significant performance improvements.

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We are already seeing some SD845 based devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Sony Xperia XZ Pro, to name a few. Both shows great improvements in speed and power. But the design of the two said phones are pretty familiar.

Black Shark stands out with its unique design. It does look more futuristic, like something you would use for gaming. The Razer phone is also made for gaming and entertainment, but falls short with it’s familiar looking design. If you put the Razer and the Black Shark together side by side, I would pick up the Black Shark if or when I feel like playing some games.

The back of the Black Shark is something we haven’t seen before on a smartphone. It also includes a new cooling system. For optimal performance, Xiaomi equipped the phone with a multi-stage integrated liquid cooling system that brings the CPU temperature 8° C lower than the other SD845 based phones.

Unlike the Razer, the Black Shark comes only with one speaker but the earpiece acts as a second speaker for a Biso stereo sound. The mic of the phone is gaming-oriented with the ability to provide simple usage of voice calls and radio chat during the game without interfering with the gameplay.

The massive 4,000mAh battery is a good thing to have with the Black Shark because gamers may want to continue playing for long hours on this beasty device.

Another perk for gamers who buys this phone early is the Black Shark Gamepad that came together with it and free for the first 50,000 buyers. It has a 340 mAh battery on its own and can connect via Bluetooth. There is also a dedicated “Shark” button on the left side that lets you devote all hardware resources to your game so you get all the available performance.

The phone is available for pre-order on JD.com until April 20. So if you wish to be an early-bird and get the free Black Shark Gamepad along with the device itself, you better hurry and pre-order one fast.

The question is, will it be worth it?


ASUS ROG Gaming Phone Rumoured To Launch in June

After the arrival of Razer phone last year, other mobile phone manufacturers are in play to create their own version of gaming phones. Xiaomi came out with their gaming phone in April called the Black Shark, followed by Nubia’s Red Magic a few weeks later. And now ASUS is eager to be in the game with their ASUS ROG brand gaming phone.

For those who don’t know, ROG stands for Republic of Gamers by ASUS. For years since its establishment, ASUS aimed to put an ever-greater emphasis on PC gaming. This process resulted in the 2006 founding of the Republic of Gamers brand (ROG), formed for the sole purpose of delivering the most innovative hardcore hardware for truly dedicated gamers.

And after their success in producing high-end hardward for PC gamers, they are looking into producing a gaming smartphone which is rumoured to be launched this June.

ASUS has been producing some awesome looking smartphones all this while with great innovative features but a gaming phone under the ASUA ROG banner? This is great news!

Before you jump the gun, this is just a rumour. Nothing is confirmed yet but speculations are there. It is to be powered by the best, namely the Snapdragon 845 chipset coupled with 8GB of RAM. Having a powerful hardware is essential for smooth gaming experience.

With the current trend of mobile gaming and the rising popularity of RPG games such as PUBG, phone manufacturers are pushing for better and more powerful devices to ensure buttery smooth gaming experience while playing these power demanding games. No surprise that the ASUS ROG gaming phone will have the best hardware included.

ASUS is readying to launch its gaming-oriented smartphone during this year’s Computex in Taiwan (June 5-9). Until then, we just have to wait for the full specifications.

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Aurora Inspired Honor 10 With AI Camera Launched in Malaysia

The industry-first handset with 15 layers of ever-changing colour craftsmanship utilizing the industry-first Semantic Image Segmentation for beauty in AI quality pictures.

honor Malaysia today unveiled the latest addition to its ever-evolving flagship devices, the honor 10, a handset delivering Semantic Image Segmentation technology, an industry first. With no two handsets that are manufactured alike, the brand’s first notched display phone in an unrivaled exquisite aurora glass meets metal design, not only comes in a stunning combination of colours, but delivers high-end performance at an extremely competitive price point of RM1,699.

“We are so excited to be able to launch our latest flagship, the honor 10 in Malaysia, just a week after the global launch. Malaysia, being one of the first international market that the company set foot in, has always been supportive of us, and we remain as committed to our fans from day one. The 15 layers of ever-changing colour craftsmanship which required high levels of precision and delicacy, resulting in the stunning aurora of the honor 10 represents our ever-evolving efforts in matching the local fans’ taste and lifestyle without compromise on aesthetic design, engineering and performance,” said Zhao Zhiwei, Head of honor Malaysia.

Zhao further added, “Our focus of providing a world of possibilities and excitement to our fans is further represented by the honor 10’s glass body design. Representing the brand’s best design capability in respect of aesthetic technology, the handset reflects light in such a way that it is up to the user’s interpretation of the device’s shade of colour. We at honor Malaysia want to inspire and motivate our fans to see and enjoy the world with their own interpretations and without limits.”

Vibrant and powerful A.I. performance

Featuring a 5.84” bezel-less FullView 2.0 Display, the honor 10 packs a vibrant and powerful A.I. performance with:

The latest HiSilicon Kirin 970 chipset which carries an independently built-in NPU processor for added AI functional blocks

A 19:9 bezel-less and True Colour display with a colour gamut as wide as NTSC 96%, creativity

The new EMUI 8.1, the first deep customization system based on the Android 8.1 which brings artificial intelligence-based capabilities to make software experience smarter and quicker due to machine learning algorithms

Beauty in A.I. photography

Understanding its fans and the importance placed on photographs, especially amongst digital natives, the features of the honor 10 were specifically engineered and designed for photography enthusiasts. While phones have yet to make a splash in the professional photography space, the honor 10 intends to change this perception with its 24MP + 16MP dual-lens AI assisted cameras.

Utilising the industry-first Semantic Image Segmentation technology, honor 10’s rear camera allows you to take apart different layers from an image and is able to identify multiple objects in one single image, making every photo taken a professional-looking one with just one click

The advanced and precise face recognition of the honor 10 ensures an accurate bokeh, which gives precision and detail to everyone’s faces in a group photo taken by the 24MP front camera, making group-fies (group selfies) instead of “a selfie with a group in a blurry background” entirely possible

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Convergence of art, vibrancy and modernity into an avant-garde design

Taking a leaf out of the Murano glassmakers’ book, the designers of honor 10 combined their love for aesthetics with a passion for engineering, where the glass curves on all sides blend seamlessly with the metal frame surrounding the device’s edges.

The stunning aurora glass design was inspired by the contemporary use of aerial net sculptures, made of layers upon layers to create 180° infinite tangent plane in which every single degree is coloured, for the ever-changing effect of the aurora sheen.

High-level security guaranteed

Being one of the rare handsets that employ an Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under the glass on the front of the phone in Malaysia, the honor 10 provides stable unlocking experience despite the user’s hands being wet and greasy and also reduces the occurrence of accidental unlocking. honor has also carved a virtual home button, enabling consumers to easily find the detection area whilst also removing the need for a physical panel for a more elegant design. The face unlock feature is also available on the honor 10.

Power house on boost

Packed into this sleek design is a 3,400 mAh battery, which is more than sufficient for its users to be on the go for more than one (1) full day. Thanks to the honor Super Charge feature that supports this handset, users are able to regain at least half power within just 25 minutes of charging.

Launch of honor 10

The launch of the honor 10 saw honor Malaysia collaborating with Mah Sing Group, another name well-known for its recent trendsetting art and technology light feature installations, to showcase the culmination of honor’s efforts in converging art, vibrancy and modernity in an aesthetic design that mesmerizes.

“Mobile phones are becoming more and more of an extension of our lives, and the honor 10 was designed to give our fans a smartphone that exudes a glamourous premium feel whilst at the same time expressing the fierce individuality of each user. Launching this powerful and aesthetically vibrant handset that won’t break the bank is our way of showing our core belief of creating premium products that blur the line between affordable smartphones and premium devices, and making them as accessible to our consumers as possible,” commented Zhao.

Special offer for Malaysians

Exuding a glamourous premium feel, the honor 10 will be made available in the Malaysia market beginning 24 May 2018 (while pre-orders have already commenced) in the colour variants of Phantom Blue, Glacier Grey and Midnight Black.

From 24 to 31 May 2018, Malaysians can enjoy a special reduced price for the honor 10, across both its online and retail stores nationwide. Online purchases for the phone will receive a RM100 instant voucher, while purchases done at the retail stores enjoy instant cashback of the same value, marking down the price of the phone to RM1,599 during this promotional period.

Those looking to purchase the phone online can visit:

hihonor:
https://www.hihonor.com/my

Shopee:
https://shopee.com.my/honormy.officialstore?utm_source=PRR&utm_medium=online

For more information on honor, visit
http://hihonor.com/my
 or

http://www.brightstarcorp.com.my/brands/honor/honordealers/


BIGO Launches Cube TV to Give Gamers a Step Up in eSport Arena

As an expansion strategy BIGO launches Cube TV. The app is focused on mobile gaming livestreaming, eSports arena and boast a game shopping mall. It aims to give users a go at turning PRO.

The new service will focus on mobile gaming livestreaming, eSports arena and a game shopping mall to meet the needs and demands of gamers.

Singapore-based BIGO who owns BIGO LIVE livestreaming app has just announced the launch of Cube TV, a service that aims to satisfy gamers’ needs for mobile gaming livestreaming held in Jakarta as they celebrate Ramadan with the local community and respecting cultural differences. The app will be rolling out in S.E.A and subsequently globally in phases.

The app also boasts Blue Ray technology allowing users to watch livestreams and videos in Blue Ray. It will roll out 8M Blue Ray and 20M full HD subsequently for videos and livestreaming.

Mr. Samuel A. Pangerapan, General Director of Applied Information (Ministry of Communication and Information of Republic of Indonesia) “BIGO LIVE has the best AI monitoring technology and the government would like to adopt BIGO’s AI monitoring technology in support of Internet Positive program in Indonesia.”

According to Aswin, Head of Marketing, Cube TV, “The idea behind is to create a vibrant gaming environment where we provide our users with the opportunity to interact in a gaming arena. Allowing them to widen their social circle and be able to share their interest with like-minded people. The shopping mall will serve the needs of gamers who are looking for gaming products and even allow them to make an earning. We hope to contribute to the e-gaming scene and foster opportunities for gamers in Asia. We’ve signed professional e-gamers such Micheal Souw, Afif, Rahmad and are expecting to see more PROs.”

James Wang, Vice- President, BIGO, “Bigo Live had $300 million of revenue in 2017 and is already profitable, Cube TV is our latest product in line of further expansion and meeting our users’ need. Providing content that users are willing to pay for is the most sustainable business model of live-streaming. We are looking at growing this new business. It has over 2 million monthly active users before its official launch in S.E.A, Middle East, South America and Russia.”

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Teguh Arifiyadi, Deputy Director for Cybercrime investigation, KOMINFO, “BIGO has been an exemplary good role model in Indonesia livestreaming industry and through our exchange visit, it has helped standardize the livestreaming practice and regulations. BIGO had always been extremely proactive and had readily rendered their assistance to fight cybercrimes.”

Cube TV Idonesia team sealing partnership with Mobile Legends together with professional Micheal Seouw (2nd from left) and Mr Fearus (4th from right)

Caya Yan, Operation Director, Mobile Legends, “BIGO is one of our most important partners and we are excited to be partnering Cube TV to hold e-Sport matches and drive in -app promotions. Mobile Legends will be increasing its focus and resources to drive the Indonesian gaming market and continue to forge deeper cooperation with Cube TV to bring more user benefits to both companies.”

BIGO will continue their R&D efforts in AI technology based in Singapore which will bring more benefits to users across all applications – BIGO LIVE, Cube TV, LIKE (a short video app) and Hello Yo (a free service voice-chat room app).

About BIGO LIVE

BIGO LIVE is founded in March 2016 and headquartered in Singapore. It is a mobile Internet company focused on live streaming technology and platform services and is committed to build a leading global social video broadcast community. BIGO LIVE has over 200 million users globally in over 20 countries and regions and is currently the market leader in the industry. It is also the fastest growing live broadcasting platform in the world. For more information, please visit
www.bigo.tv
.


Bridge Data Centres Expands APAC Footprint in Malaysia

New facilities to provide always-on, low-latency colocation services for customers across the region.

Bridge Data Centres (Bridge), a regional data centre services provider headquartered in Singapore, today announced the completion of its acquisition of two data centres located in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, from Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), a Malaysian Government Pension Fund.

The acquisition will support Bridge’s expansion of its Asia Pacific operations, as the company looks to provide reliable, scalable and low-latency colocation services for the region’s rapidly-growing digital economy. Bridge is a Bain Capital Private Equity portfolio company and maintains offices in Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur and San Francisco.

Bridge’s two new data centres, renamed MY01 and MY02 under Bridge Data Centres Malaysia Sdn Bhd, comprise approximately one million square feet of data centre facilities and 20 megawatts (MW) of critical IT load. MY01 and MY02 serve many domestic and global blue-chip customers from a diverse set of industries, and Bridge is planning to expand this footprint in Cyberjaya with a contiguous development of a further 20 MW, to cater for its large customer’s scaling needs, as Asia Pacific prepares to become the most important data centre regional market by 2020, according to industry analysts.

“We are excited to announce the completion of this complex transaction,” said Michael Foust, Executive Chairman of Bridge Data Centres. “There has been strong demand for our data centre services in Malaysia, and we will continue to invest in campus-style developments, with energy-efficient buildings, to serve the growing needs of our customers.”

Today’s announcement follows Bridge’s acquisition in November 2017, of the two data centres’ operating business and the rights to a dedicated fibre ring within Cyberjaya connecting the data centres, from CSF Group, an AIM-listed regional data centre management firm.

Bridge is also commencing construction of a new global best-in-class greenfield data centre in Mumbai, India, in June 2018. Expected to be ready for service by 4Q 2019, the 350,000 square feet facility will be certified Tier III by The Uptime Institute, and will provide 18 MW of IT load capacity for global and domestic customers.

“Due to sustained double-digit growth in the data centre industry, it has been challenging to train and retain the right talent,” said Kris Kumar, CEO Bridge Data Centres. “We believe that our people are our competitive differentiator, and we have maintained a strong focus on building a true enterprise platform as we expand into further markets in the region.

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The acquisition in Malaysia brings a further 90 data centre professionals into the Bridge family and we are excited at leveraging their local knowledge to invest and grow our business there.”

Bridge is also exploring other geographies in APAC, in order to develop a balanced portfolio across the region. Its investment efforts are led by Pithambar (Preet) Gona who also serves as CFO.

“To echo Kris’ comments, we have steadily built an investment team that can underwrite large greenfield developments, as well as execute on existing assets with complex transactions like this one we have announced today,” said Gona.

“Consistent with our strategy of developing our platform that serves our key global customers in developed and emerging markets, we recently agreed terms to acquire an industrial facility in Singapore and to redevelop it into a large facility serving the rapidly evolving needs of our customers in this key market. We expect there will be more announcements soon on our activities in Singapore and the rest of the region.”

Other recent additions to the Bridge management team to address the demand in multiple markets include:

Dz Shing Lim, Head of Facilities Engineering APAC, a skilled and experienced engineer with 15 years’ experience in the data centre industry

Karl Pope, Head of Operations APAC, a veteran critical facilities management resource from the financial services industry

About Bridge Data Centres

Bridge Data Centres is founded by Michael Foust and Kris Kumar, who collectively have more than 50 years’ experience investing in, conceptualising, designing, building, and operating high quality data centre facilities, with best-in-class operating and maintenance procedures to ensure the highest levels of uptime and reliability.

The team has executed transactions in excess of US$10 billion to invest and grow data centre platforms, and provide resilient and scalable data centre services. Bridge’s customers span multiple industry sectors, including financial institutions, technology companies, governments and large cloud services providers in Asia Pacific and worldwide.


Free Public Event – Flying With Solo at Jaya One

Free Public Event in Conjunction with Launch of Solo: A Star Wars Story.

In celebration of the upcoming theatrical release of Solo: A Star Wars Story, the Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club (SWMFC) is organising a special fan day titled “Flying With Solo” – which is supported by Carousell, the Exclusive Marketplace Platform. Fans of all ages are invited to join in the fun at The School by Jaya One.

There will be a cosplay competition, collector meetups, character appearances, games, a flea market featuring Star Wars related merchandise supported by Carousell and more.

Come dressed as your favourite Star Wars character and stand a chance to win exclusive Star Wars prizes from Carousell. The contest is open to different age groups at the following timings:

5:00 p.m. – Kids Cosplay Contest (For those under 16)

5:15 p.m. – Adults Cosplay Contest

Fans will be able to purchase exclusive limited edition Star Wars merchandise on Carousell – where buyers who make at least one purchase via Carousellers on that day will be eligible for a lucky draw prize.

Event Details

Venue
:

Level 1, The School by Jaya One

72A, Jalan Universiti PJS13,

46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Date
:

Sunday, 20 May 2018

Time
:

10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Entrance
:

Free

For more information, follow SWMFC on
www.facebook.com/starwarsmalaysiafc
 and Carousell on
www.facebook.com/carousell.my
, or download the Carousell app from the
Apple Store
 or
Google Play Store
.

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Galaxy S9 and S9+ Gets New Colours – Sunrise Gold and Burgundy Red

New, vibrant colors join the Galaxy family, offering even more personalization options for consumers.

Samsung today announced two new color editions of the Galaxy S9 and S9+ smartphones: Sunrise Gold and Burgundy Red. Launched in February 2018, the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+are also available in Midnight Black, Coral Blue, and Lilac Purple.

“People want to be able to express their style and personality through their technology and color is a big part of that personalization,” said Younghee Lee, CMO and Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics. “The new editions extend the color offerings of Galaxy S9 and S9+ with vibrant styles that embrace a modern and classic feel.”

The Sunrise Gold edition for Galaxy S9 and S9+ is Samsung’s first device to feature a satin gloss finish which wraps the smartphone in a tranquil glow and glimmer. The new Sunrise Gold color creates a feeling of both vibrancy and calm.

This sophisticated finish was developed to appeal to all users by bringing a stylistic touch of high fashion and urban interior design to a user’s mobile device. The Burgundy Red edition is one of the deepest red colors available featuring restrained gloss for added density and a look that is contemporary and traditional – perfect for users who appreciate luxurious design.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ reimagine the way we communicate, share and experience the world.

Camera Reimagined: The Galaxy S9 and S9+ cameras are built with a Super Speed Dual Pixel sensor with dedicated processing power and memory to take amazing shots with high photo quality and feature Super Slow-mo capabilities, Low Light Camera with Dual Aperture lens, AR Emoji and Bixby integration.

Immersive Entertainment: The smartphones offer premium sound experiences with stereo speakers tuned by AKG and support Dolby Atmos, giving the effect of 360-degree sound.

Galaxy Foundation: Features that users have come to love and expect are standard with the Galaxy S9 and S9+ including: iris and fingerprint scanning, facial recognition capabilities enhanced with deep learning technology and now Intelligent Scan; IP68 water and dust resistance; and fast and wireless charging capabilities.

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The Burgundy Red edition will be available in Korea and China starting in May. Sunrise Gold will also be available starting in June in select markets including Australia, Chile,Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam, with additional market availability coming soon.


Global Media Sings High Praises For LG G7 ThinQ

Media All Around the World Highly Recommended LG G7 ThinQ As a Smartphone Worth Considering.

LG Electronics’ (LG) latest premium smartphone, the LG G7 ThinQ, is receiving highly favorable reviews. The upgraded core features including Audio, Battery, Camera and Display, as well as its AI features have been the focus of attention for international media.

PhoneArena
 praised the camera of the LG G7 ThinQ, “The LG G7 ThinQ is treated to a pair of 16MP sensors broken down to a main 71-degree f/1.6 lens and a wide-angle 107-degree f/1.9 lens. The LG G7 ThinQ is just a beast of a camera phone because it now has the ability to capture stunning portrait shots with its front and rear cameras.”

Engadget
 also ran a positive review on LG’s signature Wide Angle Lens on the LG G7 ThinQ, saying that, “I can see how the wider lens would be very useful for capturing photos of more grandiose scenes like the Grand Canyon.”

Digital Trends
 focused on the Super Bright Display of the LG G7 ThinQ and said, “While we found the G6 had a stunning display — filled with color, warmth, and detail — it can’t match the LG G7 ThinQ.” Forbes also wrote that, “LG gives users the option to bump brightness up even more: up to a jaw-dropping 1,000 nits… (that is) undeniably useful when using the phone in direct, heavy sunlight.”

As for the audio of the LG G7 ThinQ, Digital Trends praised the Boombox Speaker, which utilizes the internal space of the phone as a resonance chamber to deliver more powerful base, saying that, “Music lovers will also appreciate the Boombox Speaker on the LG G7 ThinQ.”

Regarding the design of the LG G7 ThinQ, it was praised for its sleek sophistication and being comfortable to be used in one hand despite being equipped with the new 6.1-inch QHD+ FullVision display.

Engadget said, “The G7’s sides and back are subtly curved around the edges for a smooth and comfortable feel in the hand, and the display on the front curves slightly into the metal frame for a softer overall look.” Engadget also noted that it “Absolutely fell in love with the bright rosy pink hue” of the LG G7 ThinQ in Raspberry Rose.

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PhoneArena wrote, “While the G6 last year introduced us to a more modern design with its glass meets metal construction… the LG G7 ThinQ is a remarkably more refined looking smartphone in every facet.”

Android Headlines
 emphasized that the LG G7 ThinQ is one of best smartphone launched in May 2018, and told its readers, “If you are after a new smartphone this month… the LG G7 ThinQ is definitely worth considering and holding out for.”

“The LG G7 ThinQ will deliver a new level of mobile experience with its enhanced fundamentals that customers use the most along with more meaningful AI features,” said Ha Jeung-uk, senior vice president and business unit leader for LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company.

And what do I (
Ohsem.me
) think about the new LG G7 ThinQ? I think the G7 ThinQ will be among the favourites this year and users from another brand will jump onto the LG ship once it is launched here in Malaysia.

I personally love the G3, followed by the G4. LG has been riding in the backseat while Samsung sits in the front seat. All those while, LG was just observing and learning what the consumers need, slowly but surely. And as a result, the G7 ThinQ is born.

Powered by the latest and most powerful chipset, SnapDragon 845 supported by 6GB of RAM and 128GB internal space, the G7 ThinQ will be in play to compete against the recently launched “gaming” phones. G7 ThinQ is not made for gaming in mind but the high specifications made it seems like a gaming setup.

From the early previews and reviews that I’ve read, the G7 ThinQ will have a high chance of converting some other brand users to LG this time around. Sleek design, beautiful colours, bright screen and AI camera, why not?

We shall see how that goes.


Haier Unveils “Haier World of Home Appliances” in Malaysia

The spending on home appliances and consumer electronics is expected to increase year-on-year as more millennials and those from the younger generation move towards purchasing their first homes.

They would choose based not only on the product specifications, but an appliance that offers them a better quality of life, more humanised and represents a better fit with their individual values.

Haier, the global number one brand in major appliances, has further accelerated the launch of its innovative leading products in the Malaysian market this year to provide the best solutions that elevate its consumer’s lifestyle, especially of those from the younger generation.

“We will launch more than 30 new products in Malaysia this year, including innovative products with world-leading technology such as the Haier 4-Door Series Inverter Refrigerator with Triple Cooling System and Dry & Humidity Zones, Haier Direct Drive (DD) Inverter Self-Cleaning washing machine, Smart Clean Inverter air conditioner, anti-dry Smart Kitchen appliances and many more,” – said Haier Malaysia managing director, Shi Zhiyuan, at a media conference here today.

The Haier 4-Door Series Inverter Refrigerator with Triple Cooling System and Dry & Humidity separate storage function uses the brand’s unique dry-wet storage preservation technology. It solves the four major preservation problems concerning dampness, drying, freezing, and odour mix.

The first system is the refrigerator compartment consisting of both Dry & Humidity separate storages spaces – divided into humidity zone and dry zone. The humidity zone uses the evaporator air frost replenishment technology and HCS Vegetal Bio-Membrane technology to automatically sense the environment’s humidity level and at all times, maintain the optimal humidity of 95% and above for the food stored. This achieves the long-term preservation effect. Meanwhile, the dry zone uses micro air-duct technology to maintain the optimal humidity of 45% and below for the dry food stored. This is to prevent dampness and spoilage.

The second system is the freezer compartment consisting of 15KG super freezing capacity and faster freezing time. These two functions are able to preserve the food’s nutrients without loss.

The third system is the Haier switch zone that adopts variable temperature control technology. It allows for continuous adjustable temperature varying from 5°C to -20°C. Consumers can store different ingredients and adjust the temperature as needed to achieve the best preservation effect.

For example, the best storage temperature for different food is as follows: Vegetables (5°C), Yogurt (4°C), Fruits (2°C), Fermented Meat (-3°C) and Raw Fish (0°C), while Soft Frozen temperature stands at -7°C, Slight Frozen is -12°C and Frozen dips to -20°C.

These patented products –the Haier 4-Door Series Inverter Refrigerator with Triple Cooling System and Dry & Humidity Zones, Haier Direct Drive (DD) Inverter Self-Cleaning washing machine, Smart Clean Inverter air conditioner, anti-dry Smart Kitchen appliances and many more– are newly-launched worldwide by the Haier Group.

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Thanks to its leading technologies, Haier has wholly solved users’ long-standing problems and their worries on health, convenience and safety aspects. Hence, these innovative products were launched to great demand in every market where Haier is present. They were well received by the consumers, particularly those from the younger generation.

“I believe that these Haier innovations will be favourable to the consumers because our products not only provide very good solutions for their lifestyle, but also perfectly match the younger generation’s pursuit of style, humanity and values,” said Shi Zhiyuan confidently.

Globally, Haier has 10 R&D centres, 24 industrial parks and 108 factories with products marketed all over the world. In 2017, Haier was ranked the number one global brand for major home appliances for the ninth consecutive year – achieving a global turnover of 241.9 billion yuan (approximately RM 149.7 billion).

Currently, the brand has been in the Malaysian market for 16 years. It imports most of its products and distributes them through more than 300 retail outlets and major chain stores in Malaysia. The company offers a full range of home appliances including refrigerator, washing machine, freezer, domestic and commercial air conditioner, LED TV and small appliances, among others.

As part of the company’s market expansion, it unveiled the “Haier World of Home Appliances”today – a gateway into the world of Haier with new product line-ups to further expand Haier’s influence.

The unveiling is a continuation for Haier Malaysia to showcase the latest technology and innovative products to consumers following the successful opening of “Haier Experience Centre” at Setia Walk, Puchong earlier this year.

While Haier continues to launch innovative products, Shi Zhiyuan enthused that the company will further strengthen its cooperation with its distributors, especially their loyal dealers. Haier plans to build more Haier brand shop and shop-in-shop, offering the best service to consumers.

From 5th March 2018 onwards, Haier Careline had started to operate 24 hours a day (7 days a week, 365 days a year) to better serve its consumers. This is a positive indication that Haier’s frontline service in Malaysia has entered a new height.

Haier Malaysia will also offer attractive promotions during the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup and Hari Raya celebrations from 15th May till 31st July 2018.

For more information, kindly visit Haier Malaysia’s website at
www.haier.com/my
 or Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/HaierMalaysia/
.


Huawei Honor 10 Launched – Beauty in AI

Honor Launches the Honor 10, its Flagship Model for 2018, Unrivalled Smartphone AI Photography and Exquisite Aurora Glass Design.

Honor launched the Honor 10, its flagship smartphone for 2018, today in London. The launch will bring to life the concept of “Beauty in AI”, and reveal two major ground-breaking and industry leading smartphone technologies to consumers.

The first is the advanced AI 2.0 technology, applied chiefly to the smartphone’s dual-lens camera. Second is the Honor 10 CMF1 design, a 3D glass back with a stunning nano-scale optical coating composed of 15 layers of shimmering color. The Honor 10 will be available at £399.99 (MYR2,140.00) for purchase at Hihonor from May 15 16:00 BST in select markets including UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, with other markets to follow.

According to George Zhao, President of Honor, before 2016, most phones came in just three colours: black, white and gold. Honor introduced Phantom Blue in 2016, Phantom Grey in 2017, and now the exquisite Aurora, a true breakthrough in smartphone design.

“We believe the recipe of success is simple – providing consumers with a really good product! That’s what we work hard for everyday at honor,” said George Zhao, President of Honor. “But we don’t just stop at making a good product. We want to co-create a new lifestyle with young people worldwide. We listen to them, bounce ideas around with them, and cheer for them. They are our inspiration.”

With the innovative devices and a precise targeting strategy, Honor continues to lead the industry in its home market as the No. 1 smartphone e-brand in China, while expanding rapidly overseas. The brand has achieved 100% growth in overseas markets since its inception. In the UK, the Honor View10 was given 5-star rating by Stuff, The Guardian, T3 and Recombu.

The combination of award winning products and extensive partnership in both carrier and open markets has contributed to the growth rate of 200% in the country. In Russia, it ranks top 3 for 11 consecutive months, head-to-head with Samsung and Apple. In India, it remains the fastest growing smartphone brand which puts the brand among the top 5.

Key Features of the Honor 10

AI 2.0 Camera

24MP + 16MP rear camera

The Honor 10 24MP+16MP dual-lens AI camera was developed and supported by the NPU processor in the Kirin 970 chipset, which means it recognizes 500+ scenarios in 22 categories in real-time. It can pinpoint the outlines of various surrounding objects, like the sky, plants, people or even a waterfall, and identify their locations instantly.

This feature is supported by the industry-first Semantic Image Segmentation technology, which allows the Honor 10 to identify multiple objects in one single image. It is here where the Honor 10 really stands out from the crowd. These industry-first Honor 10 features apply scene-specific parameters to each photo in real-time when taking a picture, making every photo you take a professional shot with just one click.

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24MP front camera

Not only is the rear camera supported by AI 2.0 technology, the Honor 10’s 24MP front camera is your intelligent selfie companion. It supports 3D face recognition, optimizes facial details and detects over a hundred facial points to pixel-level accuracy.

The Honor 10 front camera also supports studio lighting effects with a range of lighting conditions. The advanced and precise facial recognition ensures an accurate bokeh, and captures subtle features of everyone’s face, even in a ‘groufie’ shot.

Avant-garde design

Aurora glass, radiance from every angle

The process taken to achieve the Honor 10’s minimalist finish wasn’t simple, it was a result of the world-class industrial techniques and sophisticated engineering processes, which required the utmost precision and delicacy. The Honor 10 glass design is made with 15 layers of 3D glass on the back, and this design reveals a colorful radiance from every angle, in natural light and shade.

Chic and stylish colors designed by The Paris Aesthetics Center

Immersed in art history and the digital world, the Honor 10 brings a stunning combination of colors to consumers – the Phantom Blue and Phantom Green.2 These two iconic and ground-breaking colors were created at The Paris Aesthetics Center, where the creativity and enthusiasm of Honor engineers and designers came to life.

Trendy characters all-in-one: Honor FullView and Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor Under the Glass

The Honor 10 embodies the industry-first front-placing ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under the glass, and a 5.84-inch FullView FHD+ screen with a 19:9 bezel-less display and 86% screen-to-body ratio.

Upgraded and Intimate Experience

The Honor 10 is powered by an independently built-in NPU processor. The 4GB RAM and 64GB/128GB ROM storage gives sufficient space to stock all your exciting moments recorded in galleries, apps and files. The Honor 10 also comes with Honor Super Charge3 5V/4.5A with the 3,400 mAh (typical value) battery, it can recharge 50% of power within 25 minutes.

The Honor 10 is based on the latest EMUI 8.1, which represents an overall upgrade in software function and capability, and particularly features the Easy Talk function, it reduces background noise in a windy environment when you’re talking handsfree on the road, it also increases the volume of whispering for quiet conversations.

For more information, please visit Honor online at
www.hihonor.com


HUAWEI Moves Up on Forbes Most Valuable Brands of 2018

HUAWEI is the only Chinese company to feature in the annual ranking of the world’s Most Valuable Brands 2018 compiled by Forbes. HUAWEI has been included in the list for the second consecutive year ranking 79th with a brand value of US$8.4 billion.

HUAWEI entered the list for the first time in 2017 and ranked 88th with a brand value of US$7.3 billion. After a year of rapid development, HUAWEI’s brand value increased by 15% year-on-year to US$8.4 billion, and its ranking went from 88th to 79th.

Technology companies continue to dominate the list by taking the top 5 spots and accounting for up to 20% of the TOP100. Apple came No. 1 for the eighth straight year, followed by Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon. The TOP100 brands have come from 16 countries and regions in the world, with the largest number from the U.S. taking 54 places, followed by 12 brands from Germany and 7 brands from Japan and France respectively. HUAWEI is still the only Chinese brand on the list.

2017 saw HUAWEI achieve a rapid global development driven by the full range of its products featuring the Mate, P and Nova series. The launch of the HUAWEI P10 and Mate 10 series helped to raise its premium credentials and increased HUAWEI’s influence in the high-end market. HUAWEI Nova 2s in turn won acclaim among younger generation for its focus on the latest fashion consumer trends.

HUAWEI officially launched HUAWEI P20 series in Paris in March 2018. With its unique and innovative Leica Triple Camera, twilight body design and AI features, HUAWEI P20 series has been a global sales sensation. According to IDC, HUAWEI market share has increased by 13.8% to 11.7%., and ranked third in the world in Q1, 2018.

HUAWEI’s global brand awareness went up to 85% in 2017 whilst consideration of HUAWEI’s brands among overseas consumers has gone up significantly, with a year-on-year surge of 100%. According to the IPSOS, HUAWEI’s brand awareness, consideration, and NPS rank No.1 in the Chinese market.

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Meanwhile, HUAWEI also performed well in other major global brand rankings. HUAWEI ranked 70th in Interbrand’s “TOP100” most valuable brands released in September 2017, and in February 2018, Brand Finance unveiled the “Global TOP 500 Brand Values in 2018” report ranking HUAWEI at No. 25 with a brand value of US$38 billion.

HUAWEI’s continuous growth in the global market and its increasing brand influence have benefited from its multi-year commitment to technology innovation and R&D investment. According to HUAWEI’s annual report, HUAWEI’s R&D investment for 2017 was RMB 89.7 billion, accounting for approximately 14.9% of the revenue, and the accumulated R&D expenses over the past ten years exceeded RMB 394 billion.

In terms of patents, as of December 31, 2017, HUAWEI accumulatively granted 74,307 patents, applied for 64,091 Chinese patents, and accumulated 48,758 foreign patent applications, of which more than 90% were invention patents.

In the future, HUAWEI will continue to innovate its products and technology whilst surprising consumers, with a commitment to make its brand truly loved by global consumers.

For more information please visit:
http://consumer.huawei.com
 or visit their Facebook page
www.facebook.com/HuaweiMobileMY

For regular updates on Huawei Device, follow them on:

Website:
http://consumer.huawei.com/my/

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/HuaweiMobileMY

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/HuaweiMobileMY

Instagram:
www.instagram.com/huaweimobilemy/

YouTube:
http://bit.ly/YouTubeHuaweiMobileMY


Lagi Bola, Lagi Raya! Catch All The Action with Samsung TV

Enjoy your favourite Hari Raya and football programmes in stunning 4K resolution, all at affordable prices!

Raya is a celebration that many Malaysians look forward to, as it is an opportune time to reconnect with loved ones. This year, Raya is at an all-time high as it will coincide with the world’s most anticipated football event, so how about rejoicing together over flicks and football kicks in stunning 4K resolution?

From now to 30th June 2018, Samsung Malaysia Electronics is launching its ‘Lagi Bola, Lagi Raya’ campaign that unites both festivities, giving fans and shoppers the opportunity to purchase home entertainment products and enjoy savings of up to RM6,000!

“Our ‘Lagi Bola, Lagi Raya’ campaign is our way of celebrating Hari Raya and the football season with our fans and loyal customers. With the TV being the only screen you need for merry bonding and epic football moments, this festive season will definitely be an exciting one with Samsung TVs providing the ultimate viewing experience for every household,” – Jimmy Tan, Head of Consumer Electronics, Samsung Malaysia Electronics.

For a limited time, fans can opt for an upgraded cinema-like viewing experience when they purchase Samsung’s 4K QLED and UHD TVs, while also enjoying savings of up to RM6,000! QLED TVs are designed to offer unrivalled, crystal-clear picture quality with the ground-breaking Q Picture technology, gorgeous minimalistic style with Q Style, along with Q Smart features like Smart Remote that enhance the lifestyles of consumers everywhere.

On the other hand, Samsung’s best-selling UHD TV series wears a new price tag, bringing affordability to the next level. This means that everyone can now own a premium TV, including the super large 82” Premium UHD TV for that immersive footballing viewing experience.

Viewers can also consider enhancing those football viewing marathons at home with Samsung’s Soundbar Sound+, which promises to recreate a live stadium atmosphere with ultra-rich, room-filling theater sound.

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Moreover, those looking to bond over favourite Raya flicks can add the finishing touches to their TV set with Samsung’s 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray Player that guarantees crisp and upscaled UHD picture quality.

The time to upgrade your viewing experience is here, so do take advantage of these fantastic deals by heading over to the nearest Samsung Experience Store (SES) or authorised dealers now!For more information on Samsung’s ‘Lagi Bola, Lagi Raya’ deals, please visit
http://www.samsung.com/my/offer/tv-raya-bola/
.


My Honest Samsung Galaxy S9 Review – Endless Fun

Samsung Galaxy S9

RM3,299.00

9.1

Performance

9.5/10

Price

8.5/10

Camera Quality

9.0/10

Functions

9.0/10

Design

9.5/10

				Pros

Waterproof IP68

Sleek design

Great camera

Great for gaming

Stereo speakers

				Cons

Screen too sensitive underwater

A little heat on heavy gaming

Too expensive

I had a pleasure playing and reviewing the Galaxy A8 about a month ago. But for the last 4 weeks, I had my hands on the Samsung Galaxy S9 for a similar (but better) review. And here is my honest review on the Galaxy S9.

First Impressions

As I said earlier, I was testing the Galaxy A8 about a month ago. I felt that the A8 was slim and nice to hold (and operate) with one hand. But then I held the Galaxy S9 in my hand, it felt even more slimmer and comfortable.

The design is very much similar to last year’s Galaxy S8, including the size and feel. I think they’ve only changed the hardware for better performance, but maintaining the ergonomic design. Yes, it is nice, beautiful and power packed. I immediately fell in love with the S9.

What’s In The Box

The box is pretty much standard.

At the back of the box,  you can find the basic specifications of the phone plus some of the extra features that comes with it such as the earphones are tuned by
AKG
 and it is secured by
Knox
. It does support wireless charging but I don’t have any wireless charging pad to try it with.

In the box you can find most of the basic stuffs (other than the phone itself). You have the fast charging adapter, earphones (tuned by AKG), USB to Micro USB connector (for USB OTG) and a Micro USB to USB type-C connector.

The nano SIM and MicroSD slot is located at the top of the phone. So put your SIM and MicroSD card in there and you’re good to go.

Design and Features

When it comes to phone designs, I will be very particular about where certain buttons or features are located. If the camera module is located in the center, the fingerprint scanner should also be in the center, maybe below the camera.

I kinda have that type of OCD. Everything have to be in perfect alignment. And it is a good thing that the Galaxy S9 is well proportionately designed symmetrical phone. Well, almost.

The upper and lower “lip” is evenly distributed with the round edged screen in the middle. The sides curved down towards the edge, thus having it called the “infinity display”. Screen is beautiful. Phone is gorgeous. Everything goes where it supposed to.

The lonely power button is located on the right side of the phone. While on the left side, you can find the volume rocker and the Bixby button below it. The Bixby button function as a quick Bixby launch on the main screen.

At the top of the Galaxy S9 is the nano SIM and MicroSD card slot on one end and a microphone hole on the other end. At the bottom of the phone is the 3.5mm headphone jack (thank you Samsung for not omitting this), USD type-C port, another tiny microphone hole and the phones’ loud speaker.

The 12-megapixel camera module is located at the back center. Now I don’t mind that the LED flash being on the right side of the camera because it looks “okay” there. And the fingerprint sensor is below the camera, which is a better location than the S8.

For all I know, the Galaxy S9 is a well designed phone suitable for anyone who loves a good looking phone.

Specifications and Performance

Now any tech and phone geeks would love to know about this. We (tech geeks) will always look at the specifications in order to know what the device is capable of. One thing for sure, I know that the Galaxy S9 will be able to handle whatever I throw at it.

Let’s have a look at the specifications first.

Samsung Galaxy S9

OS

Android 8.0 Oreo, Samsung Experience 9.0

Display

5.8-inch AMOLED, 2960 x 1440 (18.5:9)

Processor

Exynos 9810 Octa 10nm 64-bit

Storage

64GB

Expandable

microSD up to 400GB

RAM

4GB

Primary rear camera

12MP Super Speed Dual Pixel, OIS, f/1.5 or f/2.4

Secondary rear camera

n/a

Front camera

8MP, f/1.7, auto focus

Connectivity

Wi-Fi 802.11ac MIMO, 1.2Gbps (Cat-18) LTE, Bluetooth 5.0

Audio

Stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos, 3.5mm headphone

Battery

3000mAh

Charging

USB-C, Fast Wireless Charging

Water resistance

IP68

Security

Fingerprint sensor, Iris scanning, Face unlock

Dimensions

147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5 mm, 163 g

Colors

Midnight Black, Lilac Purple, Coral Blue, Slate Grey

Android Oreo 8.0 on the Galaxy S9 works really well. Everything is very smooth and seamless. Samsung have removed most of their bloatwares that you can find in the previous Samsung series. The bloatwares were the reason why I dislike the brand for the longest time. But after the release of Galaxy S8 last year, Samsung managed to get rid as many bloatwares as they are able to.

Also, now we are able to remove any unwanted native apps on the phone. Some of those native apps are the bloatwares. But they don’t seems to take up as much system resources as they used to. So having them around doesn’t bring any problems. You can also opt to install a native app if you wish to. That’s entirely up to you.

The Galaxy S9 is powered by Exynos 9810 Octa core chipset (2.7 GHz, Quad core, M2 Mongoose + 1.7 GHz, Quad core, Cortex A53) and Mali-G72 MP18 GPU together with 4GB of RAM. That also translated to a powerful beast ready to be unleashed.

On the Antutu test that I did, the Galaxy S9 unit that I have scored 244,896 which is in my opinion, a very good score. Why I say it’s good? An average Antutu benchmark score by an iPhoneX is 226,000 and that is according to an online statistics that I saw recently.

So I can easily say that the performance by the Galaxy S9 is way better than that particular rival.

The 3D graphics and rendering is smooth. I usually will see a stutter in the 3D video benchmark but I don’t see it on the Galaxy S9. From the moment it started, I knew this phone will have a high score on Antutu. And I was right.

Gaming on the Galaxy S9 is also a breeze, especially when it comes to graphic demanding games such as the on that I particularly hooked on at the moment – PUBG.

Players Unknown BattleGround (or PUBG) is the rising star for mobile gaming. It is a first person shooter (FPS) type of game, which I happen to love. And the gameplay is battle royale, meaning you have to be the last one standing.

The graphic demand for this game is high. Although you can set the graphics usage to “low” for your gameplay, but where’s the fun in that? With the Galaxy S9, I can set the graphic to “high” with all the details available.

So playing a game, any game, on the Galaxy S9 will be fun. That is guaranteed. With high graphic details, I can see an enemy from afar. Heh, and shooting from far is a lot of fun too. So yes, you won’t be disappointed with the Galaxy S9 when it comes to performance.

Playing games, you need good quality sound too right? Did you notice in the above specifications it says that the Galaxy S9 supports Dolby Atmos? Well, it does.

Looking at the phone, you will only see one (1) loudspeaker, which is at the bottom of the phone. But did you know that the earpiece at the top of the phone next to the front facing camera doubles as a loudspeaker too?

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So while you’re playing games or listening to music or watching a movie on the S9, both speakers are working in unison. Boom, now you have a stereo speaker powered by Dolby Atmos. No kidding.

The sound quality from the S9 is impressive. In PUBG gaming, I can actually hear footsteps (of an enemy) moving from left to right and back. I can easily know where to enemy is coming from just by listening. That’s so cool.

So, stereo speakers on S9, check! And I love it.

User Interface and Samsung Experience 9.0

As I mentioned earlier, the Android Oreo 8.0 works wonderfully on the S9. The OS is very responsive, stable and easy to use. First time users will find that they are able to master the phone within only a few hours.

Here’s how it looks like…

Home screen is kept as minimum as possible. Everything you need is available in the app drawer which you can reveal by swiping upwards anywhere on the home screen. Folders are well organised and kept simple. Which the multi-tasking apps can be browsed at one glance.

Swiping left from the right edge of the home screen will reveal the edge panel. The edge panel is a short cut for your most used apps that you can open anytime and from anywhere, not necessarily from the home screen only.  You can also install and remove the edge apps to your liking.

The call app is something familiar because it doesn’t look that much different from other phones. While the settings panel is very neat and tidy, making is easy for you to tune your phone.

Apart from the standard Google Play Store, Samsung has their very own Galaxy Apps. Most of the apps here are also available in the Play Store but there are some apps here available exclusively for Samsung Galaxy series. Here you can decide whether you want to add that extra bloatware or not.

The S9 also comes with its’ very own Device Maintenance app. I usually would use a third party “cleaner” such as Clean Master but with the S9, I don’t have to. It works wonderfully, if not, better.

Battery usage after a full charge can last me a whole day and a half. That’s about 36 hours in total before it hits below 10%. So you can leave your powerbank at home if you use an S9.

Beautiful user interface like the Samsung Experience 9.0 coupled with a gorgeous looking phone really made me feel good overall. I just keep wanting to use the phone all the time. Darn.

Camera and Underwater Goodness

Now comes the best part. Buying a smartphone is also like buying a good camera. And a good phone with a good camera is a winner. No doubt that I love the camera on the Galaxy S9. Here’s why…

We often try and take a photo quickly before we missed it. With the S9, I don’t usually miss. Double press the power button will launch the camera immediately and you’re ready to snap a picture. Everything is snappy that way. Pun intended.

The autofocus works well and fast. So getting a blurred image is very unlikely (other than bokeh), except if an F1 car sped by you at high speed of course. That will be blurred.

So how does the camera performs? I’ll just show some sample photos that I took with the S9 and you’ll be the judge yourself, ok?

Assam laksa never look so good like this.

A yummy burrito taken with selective focus mode.

While out swimming at dusk.

Underwater shot while swimming.

Low light around 9pm in a park.

Near darkness in a park, outdoor. Even I can’t see with my own eyes because it’s too dark.

Wide angle selfie because, why not? Notice the smooth and silky bokeh? That’s why I love it.

Panorama shot of the pool.

Indoor shot with the S9. Having the bokeh without using the selective focus mode.

Now this is something interesting. Below is a photo that I shot from outside my window. On the left is basically what I shot but the photo on the right is what I can see when I zoomed in. Click on the picture to enlarge.

I can see my cat! She’s sitting on the wall at the other side of the road. Even when I zoomed in, the details in the photo is still clear. Image is not distorted or whatsoever. Maybe a little “noise” but those are forgivable.

The Galaxy S9 also has a “food mode” in its’ camera app. For those who love posting food photos on Instagram, should give this one a go. Turning the food mode on will enhance the colour and focus. You will see a bokeh created around the focus area to give some sort of depth. And the focus area image will be sharper too.

Here are some samples, first photo is off and second photo is on.

Food mode off.

Food mode on

Food mode off

Food mode on

So the camera on the Galaxy S9 is, in my opinion, great. I love how it has tons of functions that came along with the camera app. I don’t get much blurry photos with the S9. Colours are natural and not washed out in bright daylight. Night or low light shots are good with no obvious noise. Images are sharp and the bokeh is so lovely.

As for the food mode, I seldom use it unless I have good and bright lighting. It tends to be over saturated while using food mode in low light places.

Last but not least, the Galaxy S9 is so much fun to use while being outdoors especially if you like water sports. Bringing this phone to Sunway Lagoon will be a whole lot of fun, that I can assure you.

Just one thing that is probably a bug is that the touch screen is too sensitive. Why I said this is because the display tends to move like you’re swiping left and right with your fingers while being underwater. It’s like the water is doing all the swiping, not your fingers. That’s all.

More photos in the photo gallery at the end of this review.

Wait, what about the video?

Ah yes, the video is something you will love. I won’t show the normal full HD video because that’s not as fun as shooting in Galaxy S9’s slo-mo function.

The Galaxy S9 can shoot at an incredible 960 frames per second (FPS) while in slo-mo mode. I know other phones already have this function but does it perform as good as the S9?

Watch my sample slo-mo video below and tell me what you think.

That’s a cool slo-mo video eh? I don’t have a good video editing software so I make do with whatever I have to edit my videos.

If you have anything to comment about my review, please do so at the end of this blog post.

Conclusion

What I think of the Galaxy S9? It’s one heck of a phone.

The performance is great. Playing games on it is absolute fun. The Dolby Atmos stereo speakers sounds good and loud. Listening to music with the stereo speakers sounds natural and acoustic. I don’t mind using the S9 as my entertainment phone, just for that purpose.

But then I won’t be using it as an entertainment phone. I will also use it as my camera because of the awesome features that comes with it. There are so much more that I can say about the S9 but that will make this a very long article. So to keep it short and straight to the point, I will say that I love the S9.

Currently I am reviewing the Samsung Galaxy S9+ as well. Be sure to check back to this website for my Galaxy S9+ review. We shall see how the dual camera S9+ goes in my next review.

Meawhile, for those who wish to purchase the Samsung Galaxy S9, you can head over to their official
Lazada page
. More info at Samsung
website
.

Photo gallery

You can view the other photos taken with the Samsung Galaxy S9 in the gallery below.


MyIX Takes A Stand Against Internet Censorship in Malaysia

MyIX Recommends Working with MCMC And the New Government To Clarify And To Address Internet Censorship Concerns.

Persatuan Pengendali Internet Malaysia
 (MyIX), operator of Malaysia Internet Exchange, today responded to the recent Internet censorship issue during Malaysia’s 14th General Election. MyIX is of the opinion that censorship may affect the long-term business growth of the Internet industry, particularly to the government’s effort in making Malaysia the next regional Internet hub.

“On behalf of Malaysia’s local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and content providers, we strongly believe Internet censorship is a step backwards in achieving the government’s vision of making Malaysia the regional Internet hub. Not only will it restrict transparency of the public participation process within country, it may also deter many international investors or internet companies from setting a presence or connecting directly to Malaysia,” said Chiew Kok Hin, the Chairman of Persatuan Pengendali Internet Malaysia.

Representing over 66 local Internet Service Providers (ISPs), content providers and hosting companies, MyIX has contributed significantly to the rapid growth of Internet ecosystem within Malaysia.

“Blocking of websites places significant constraints on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) where extra filtering is required, which will impact the growth of Internet ecosystem in Malaysia. Not only it is not conducive to the growth of Malaysia’s Internet industry, it may also deter regional players from connecting to MyIX,” Chiew adds.

Inhabited by more than 30 million people, Malaysia plans to boost its internet users to surpass the global average.

“Internet censorship does not instill confidence in all industry stakeholders, both locally and externally. Restricting transparency certainly does not paint Malaysia in a positive light going forward,” said Chiew.

In addition, Internet censorship is against the MSC Malaysia Bill of Guarantees No. 7 which states to ensure no censorship of the Internet. MSC Malaysia is the country’s initiative that grows local digital businesses into global players whilst working to continuously future-proof the local digital ecosystem.

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The Chairman concludes,

“MyIX is supportive of MCMC role as regulator of the Internet and telecommunications industry. MyIX is also committed to MCMC initiatives. Hence we strongly believe that clarifying processes, establishing protocols and offering recommendations to work together with MCMC, in accordance with best practice (eg tackling crime, child pornography), is the best way to address this issue in the long run.”

About Persatuan Pengendali Internet Malaysia (MyIX)

MyIX (Malaysia Internet Exchange) is operated by Persatuan Pengendali Internet Malaysia. The non-profit organization was initiated by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in September 2006 through the cooperation of local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to connect and exchange local Internet traffic.

MyIX is managed by a committee that comprises elected representatives of local Malaysian ISPs. MyIX’s infrastructure consists of 6 Internet Exchange nodes of which 4 were in Bayan Baru, Iskandar Puteri, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu. These add on to the MyIX nodes located in the Klang Valley at Menara AIMS (Kuala Lumpur), and CSF 1 (Telekom Malaysia, Cyberjaya).

MyIX is modelled after the Amsterdam Internet Exchange and London Internet Exchange, and aspires towards world class Internet Exchange standards. For further information, please visit
www.myix.my


No More Xpax App, We Now Welcome Celcom Life

As you may know, I am currently reviewing the Samsung Galaxy S9 for the next two weeks. While I’m using the S9, I definitely have to install some of my usual daily used app such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Another app that I “need” is the Xpax app. But when I did a search in Google Play Store, Xpax app is nowhere to be found.

Celcom Life

That is when I found out that they (Celcom) have taken the Xpax app out of Play Store with Celcom Life as a replacement. Well, I didn’t know about this and obviously I had to give it a go. I know that Xpax app is made especially for prepaid users. I wondered whether the Celcom Life is for postpaid or prepaid or both?

After installing the new Celcom Life app, only then I found out that it “auto detects” whether you’re using a postpaid or prepaid line. My initial reaction when using the new Celcom Life is, wow…especially with the new interface and speed.

I remember installing the Xpax app when it was launched. The interface is okay looking but the loading speed was too slow. They have improved the speed after many updates later but it is still too slow for me.

The new Celcom Life app on the other hand, is much more responsive. It’s also much easier to use and navigate around. Registering or rather activating your app is very easy. Just key in your phone number and wait for the activation code via SMS. Key in your activation code and you’re done.

This will be the first thing you will see. You will see your credit balance and current status. Interface is clean and very straight forward.

The 3 lines on the top left will bring you here, the menu and settings. You can reload from here, check your subscriptions, upgrade your service and much more.

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Tapping the buy more button on the home screen will bring this menu out. You can make your top-up, internet plans, add-on plans and roaming purchases from here.

I did tapped on the reload button to see how can I purchase my top-up. This will come up. You have a few choices on the amount that you want to buy. Then you can choose whether to use credit/debit card or online banking. I tried with credit card and it will bring me to fill in the payment details. Fill it all up and hit confirm, and you’re good to go.

It is that simple now.

I also did a top-up for my internet plan and I can see how much data is left and when is the expiry date. Everything is much clearer now as compared to the old Xpax app.

Conclusion

I thank Celcom for coming up with this new Celcom Life app. It is better, easier and more responsive than the previous version.

In GUI looks better. Everything that I need to check is displayed right at the home screen. Swiping left will show the data usage at a glance. I know that the Celcom Life app is still new and not working well for most users. This is probably due to phone compatibility or some bug. But I personally think they are on the right track.

So be patient for now, I’m sure they will update it frequently to make the Celcom Life app a reliable companion for Celcom users. Just keep up the good work, Celcom.

Download the new Celcom Life app now!

Android
 |
iPhone iOS