Huawei Enjoy 5s is now official, coming soon to Malaysia?

Huawei’s latest smartphone - the Huawei Enjoy 5s (yes, it’s really called like that) is now official and it’s currently listed on the company's official online store VMall (not VMALL.my, yet). Anyway, below are the tech specs:-

The device looks like it will have a full metal frame and will be available in silver and gold. It’s priced at RMB 1199 (RM789.06). China will get the goodies first on 10 December 2015, you can also make a booking fee for RMB 99 (RM65.15) but no specific Malaysia release dates yet. Stay tuned and we could soon see it either as the Huawei 5s Play or something similar.


Huawei Enjoy 6 is now official with a huge 4100 mAh battery

While everyone is waiting in anticipation for the Huawei Mate 9, the Huawei Enjoy 6 quietly made its way through TENAA in China and it's now official as a mid-range smartphone. Below are the official tech specs:

Coming grey, white, pink, gold, and blue while clocking in at 1.4 GHz, the metallic Enjoy 6 is priced at 1299 Yuan (around RM804) and will be released on 1 November in China. That being said, it's quite likely that the smartphone won't appear anywhere else according to sources. Oh well.

Stay tuned for more news at Technave.com.


Huawei Enjoy 7S officially announced in China with Kirin 659 and 3 cameras from about RM992

Looking remarkably similar to the quad camera Huawei Nova 2i, Huawei officially announced (via GSMarena) their Huawei Enjoy 7S with 13MP + 2MP dual rear cameras and one 8MP front camera, an octa-core Kirin 659 processor, a rear fingerprint sensor along with a 5.65-inch fullview display at FHD+ (2160 x 1080 pixel resolution) and a 3000 mAh battery at 3GB RAM / 32GB storage for 1499 CNY (~RM992) and 4GB RAM / 64GB storage for 1699 CNY (~RM1046). It will be available in black, blue, champagne gold and rose gold. No Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet but pre-orders have already started in China while sales are scheduled for 22 December 2017.

With the Nova 2i already going for an affordable RM1228 would you be interested in the Huawei Enjoy 7S? For how much? Stay tuned to TechNave.com for all the latest tech news and reviews.


Huawei Film Awards now accepting short film submissions, has a grand prize worth ~RM81860

These days, you can capture videos with all kinds of equipment and that includes something as simple as a smartphone. To encourage its smartphone users to such creative endeavours, Huawei has announced the Huawei Film Awards and its grand prize of USD20000 (~RM81860).

The Huawei Film Awards is opened to all short films captured using a Huawei smartphone. It will come with prizes for multiple categories, including "APAC Best Film" with its massive grand prize. Huawei has already begun to accept submissions and will continue to do so until 25th February 2020 at 11.59 pm (GMT+8). You can learn more about the competition's terms and conditions here.

Interested in participating? This is a chance for you to get creative and possibly win big while at it. Do let us know what kind of video you would submit on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news.


Huawei Flagship Store launched at Pavilion KL

Huawei Malaysia just launched their first flagship store in the Southern Pacific Region on the 5th floor at Pavilion Elite KL. Serving as a one-stop center for services, repairs and consultation the store will be offering a special promotion for the first 100 customoers who spend RM1000 and above, offering an exclusive SWN speaker and other exclusive Huawei merchandise.

Come check out the new Huawei P10 and P10 Lite in person or register for the pre-order for the P10 (graphite black / prestige gold) and P10 Lite (sapphire blue) along with a free flip phone cover.


Huawei Flagship Store launching in Pavilion KL on Saturday with plenty of offers and deals

Huawei Malaysia will be launching their largest Huawei Flagship Store in Malaysia this weekend at Pavilion Elite KL. You'll be able to check out the new Huawei P10 and P10 Lite in person. There will also be various offers for these phones including the previously announced pre-order for the P10 (graphite black / prestige gold) and P10 Lite (sapphire blue) along with a free flip phone cover. We'll be there to check it out so stay tuned to TechNave.com but for more details check out their Facebook Page.

And here's our first looks at the Huawei P10 Lite


Huawei FreeBuds 3i with ANC has been launched and it's priced at ~RM388

Truly wireless earbuds are getting more and more popular these days. One of the reasons that gives the tech gadget fame might be smartphone manufacturers don't include a 3.5mm audio jack as an option anymore. However, those earbuds without any cord are convenient without any doubt. Today, Huawei has launched a new pair of truly wireless earbuds and it's called Huawei FreeBuds 3i. The product comes with features and a price that will make AirPods Pro shiver.

The FreeBuds 3i comes with active noise cancellation that goes up to 32dB, which makes it able to block out most of the environmental noise. Each of the earbuds also comes with a 3-mic-system, with two mics facing outwards and one facing inwards to provide good call quality. The system used here is actually similar to the one that we have seen on the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ earlier.

For battery life, the pair of earbuds can last about 3.5 hours for music-listening and 2.5 hours for calls after a single full charge. With the charging case, you'll get another 14.5 hours for music-listening and 10.5 hours for calls. When it comes to charging, around one hour will be needed for the earbuds and 115 minutes for the case itself.

After seeing all these premium features, you must be thinking that the Huawei FreeBuds 3i will come with an expensive price tag, Well, you're wrong. The FreeBuds 3i is sold at only 89.99 USD (~RM388). Compared to the Apple AirPods Pro, this is surely the ideal product if you're looking for something more budget but still brings good quality. You don't even have to worry about comparing the design as they're fairly identical. Unfortunately, they're only available for the European market at the moment. Hope they'll make it here soon!

Let us know what you think about the Huawei FreeBuds 3i on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more latest tech gadget updates.


Huawei FreeBuds 4 Malaysia pre-order: Comes with a free Huawei Band 4 at RM599

We talked about the Huawei FreeBuds 4 before but it's now official - Huawei Malaysia has officially announced the wireless earbuds in the Malaysian market for RM599. If you're interested to know the availability, continue below.

Like the other Huawei products that were announced, the FreeBuds 4 can be pre-ordered at the Huawei Store Online, Lazada, Shopee and Senheng. With every pre-order made, consumers will receive a HUAWEI Band 4 worth up to RM 139, with terms and conditions apply. It is that simple.

To refresh your memory, the FreeBuds 4 uses Adaptive Ear Matching (AEM) noise cancellation technology and is the first open-fit earbuds in the industry to do so. This means that the earbuds can automatically detect your ear shape and determine the optimum noise cancellation algorithm. In terms of sound quality, the HUAWEI FreeBuds 4 uses a Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) composite diaphragm for the best sound possible.

Moreover, the FreeBuds 4 can be connected to two devices simultaneously and switched in between easily. This includes a Huawei smartphone, tablet, PC, smartwatch or HUAWEI Vision, or any other smart devices running on Android, iOS or Windows. Other features include a Kirin A1 chipset, ANC up to 25dB, 4 hours of music playback and up to 22 hours with a fully charged charging case, Qi-Wireless charging and an IPX4 splash-resistant rating.

Are you planning to get the Huawei FreeBuds 4? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


ASUS PadFone S and PadFone S Station gaming hands-on video

The ASUS PadFone S is the company's new Super Smartphone with many flagship-level features. This includes a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 4G LTE Cat4 connectivity, water and shock resistand along with a lot more for just RM899. We go hands-on with it and check out if it can handle Asphalt 8:Airborne on High visual quality settings. The reason we picked Asphalt 8:Airborne is because it is quite demanding, with most devices only able to play the game on medium quality settings at best. Some devices just hang or won't run the game at all. As such, if the PadFone S can handle Asphalt 8: Airborne on High visual quality then it should be able to handle practically everything else. Check out the video for yourself below:

See how powerful the ASUS PadFone S is with Asphalt 8:Airborne on High


Huawei FreeBuds 4 and MateView series release: Improve audio performance, up to 4K wireless display

Huawei unveiled the new Huawei FreeBuds 4 during the live stream launch, which will most likely be available in China for now. Unfortunately, there is no official information in regards to the Malaysia release date, so you might want to stay tuned for more information.

Compared to the FreeBuds 3, the FreeBuds 4 has around 50% better bass performance and each earbud weighs only 4.1g. Not only that, but it comes equipped with Open-fit ANC, in combination with the adapter ear matching technology will match the shape of the ear canal to provide a much better active noise cancellation experience.

Unfortunately, there’s not much detail in regards to the exact tech specs for now. Other than that, there's also the Huawei MateView monitor that's capable of connecting to a Huawei smartphone wirelessly. It has a 28.2-inch 4K display with a screen-to-body ratio of 94%. Additionally, it's capable of achieving display brightness of up to 500 nits and it comes equipped with a dual-stereo speaker setup.

Furthermore, Huawei unveiled the MateView GT that's catered more towards gamers as it has a 34-inch ultra-wide screen curved display, sound bar, as well as a built in microphone. No information regarding the price of these monitors, unfortunately.

With all that said, would you be interested in getting the Huawei FreeBuds 4 or the monitors as soon as it is available in the local market? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Huawei FreeBuds 4 comes with slightly updated design and a metallic silver colour

At the end of April, it was rumoured that Huawei would have a major launch soon. Specifically, the company is expected to launch the FreeBuds 4, Watch 3, MateBook X2 4G, and more tomorrow. As such, it's not surprising to see some details of the FreeBuds 4.

According to a leak on Weibo, the FreeBuds 4 will be lighter, smaller, and have a more ergonomic design. As you can see from the side-by-side comparison, the case is wider but shorter. It also has a small display that's probably for a battery indicator. Then there are the earbuds, which are now slightly larger and feature shorter stems.

The case on the left should be for the FreeBuds 4

In terms of features, not much has been mentioned, except that it would have improved noise cancellation. The larger earbuds could also mean larger sound drivers, which would lead to higher volume and improved audio quality. Aside from that, we expect the new charging case to provide a longer battery life too.

Another neat change is that Huawei seems to be adding a new metallic silver colour, which you can see in the leaked images. We'll find out if this leak is accurate tomorrow. But until then, stay tuned to TechNave for further updates.


Huawei FreeBuds 4 release: ANC and wireless charging, priced at ~RM642

While Huawei Malaysia is selling the FreeBuds 4i in Malaysia, there's also a new pair of FreeBuds 4 earphones which just got released in China today. It has the same colour options in white and red but there's a silver one replacing black. Anyway, here's what you need to know about the FreeBuds 4.

Like the FreeBuds 4i, the FreeBuds 4 also feature a Kirin A1 chipset. It has a pair of 14.3mm dynamic drivers and an Active Noise Cancellation of up to 25bd. Touch controls are present as expected and support Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, which can be paired up with two devices max.

In terms of battery, it has 4hours of music playback and up to 22 hours with a fully charged charging case. According to Huawei, a 15 minutes charge allows 2.5 hours of music playback so that's good. It supports USB C and Qi-Wireless charging. Also, it has an IPX4 splash-resistant rating.

It's currently 999 Yuan in China which is roughly around ~RM642. There's a good chance that Huawei Malaysia may import these wireless earbuds into Malaysia but we shall see. Stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Huawei FreeBuds 4 wireless earbuds review - More worthy than its predecessor

When it comes to peripherals and accessories, brands are slowly introducing their own models to consumers. In Huawei's case, they are steadily building up a range of products that interconnect with each other for convenience and lifestyle.

In this review, we take a look at the Huawei FreeBuds 4 wireless earbuds. Launched at the end of July 2021 for RM599, it may sound just a bit pricey to Malaysians, but we think it's just the right price. I got to play with it for two weeks to get a feel for it. So here is my review of the Huawei FreeBuds 4 - the pros, the cons and whether if it's worth it.

The FreeBuds 4 come in simple packaging, so I won't be going through the unboxing. But if you must know, you can find the typical warranty card, safety information, a manual book, and a USB-A to USB-C cable inside. The colourway that we got from Huawei Malaysia is Silver Frost, and it looks great. It's too bad that the red model isn't available, as it's the better-looking colour. But maybe it will come at a later date, just like before.

Still pretty much the same design as the predecessor

Just like the Freebuds 3i, the FreeBuds 4's case is circular but flat enough to fit into your pocket nicely. Even the Bluetooth pairing button is still there, while the USB-C port can be found at the bottom as usual. In case you're wondering, you can still charge this model wirelessly, and the case offers the same amount of battery life. Despite that, the FreeBuds 4 has an additional two hours of music playback. More on that later.

Since it uses the same charging case, the FreeBuds 4 and its predecessor can almost be considered the same. Well, almost. Although it has an identical design, its Active Noise Cancellation feature was upgraded to version 2.0. It also has additional Swipe Controls, a "higher" resolution sound, and Intelligent Audio Connection which doesn't need any explanation. Let's go through each feature one by one, shall we?

You can download the HUAWEI AI Life app on any Android and iOS device

(L-R) You can set the EQ effects, find your earphones if you misplace them, and my favourite - customising the gesture controls for each earbud

Let's start with ANC 2.0. Huawei claimed that the FreeBuds 4 has an open-fit ANC with greater audio immersion. It can block the sound of birds chirping and vehicles on the road outside of your room, but I can still hear some faint sounds from my fan and mechanical keyboard. To be fair, Huawei insisted that having an open-fit design is important to retain environmental sounds. This is for safety reasons, especially if you plan to wear them for many hours, so I can't really blame them for that.

However, I don't really like the audio software because it makes me feel like the bass volume increases whenever I turn it on. I also don't like the voice system interrupting me with "it's turning on" while my songs are playing in the background. Furthermore, for some reason, the sound is a lot better without ANC 2.0. It isn't very obvious, so it could just be my preference.

Wearing these wireless earbuds can be quite nice, and they almost feel weightless. However, your ears may need to take a 'breather' after half an hour or more, so I wouldn't recommend wearing them for long periods. That said, my favourite feature of the FreeBuds 4 is none other than the Swipe Controls for volume control or skipping tracks (it's customisable). In my OPPO Enco X review, I mentioned that it was (and still is) mindboggling that phone brands still aren't implementing this feature. I mean, it's 2021!

Compared to its predecessor, the FreeBuds 4 has a larger 14.3mm LCP dynamic driver with a frequency range of up to 40kHz. For the most part, the audio quality is good. There's nothing much to nitpick on, especially when the AND is disabled. As I said before, I prefer not to have too much bass boost. But if you are a bass head, you would enjoy the FreeBuds 4 a lot more than I did.

Mobile gaming audio quality performance is fine

Besides listening to music, network calls and voice chats are handled well, so there isn't much to complain about. The FreeBuds 4 can last really long, though I never went over its maximum 4 hours (as advertised) music playback time. With the charging case, these wireless earbuds can last up to 22 hours with ANC off, so that's one of its best points. You can also connect these wireless earbuds to a PC, iOS, or Android device. But its sound quality is much better when it's paired with a phone.

All in all, the FreeBuds 4 is quite straightforward. Compared with its predecessor, this model offers greater value because it has a lower price (RM599 vs RM679) and has better features. My favourite feature is the Swipe Controls, which you can set to volume control or skipping calls. Besides that, it has pretty good audio quality, especially if the ANC is disabled. Finally, it has excellent battery life.

Of course, it has competition in the market like the OPPO Enco X (RM699) and Apple AirPods Pro (RM1099). These three wireless earbuds are similar to each other. But admittedly, the AirPods Pro is still superior thanks to the Spatial Audio feature that delivers Dolby Atmos support for Apple Music users. But if you're budget-conscious, then you have a good reason to go for the FreeBuds 4, even more so to fit into the Huawei ecosystem if you own a Huawei phone.

So that's our review so far about the Huawei FreeBuds 4. Do you agree with us, and do you own one yet? Let us know in the comments below. Stay safe and stay tuned for more tech gadget reviews only at TechNave.com.


Huawei FreeBuds 4i review - Solidly versatile yet affordable TWS with ANC and other premium features

The Huawei FreeBuds 4i are Huawei’s latest TWS or True Wireless Stereo headsets and they also come with Active Noise Cancellation or ANC for below RM400. Are they the TWS for you? Read on and find out.

Going for a circular yet compact design, the Huawei FreeBuds 4i case is portable and easy to carry about. There’s a USB Type C port on a side, a status LED right below the Huawei brand and side button. The lid flips open to reveal the FreeBuds 4i earbuds.

The Huawei FreeBuds 4i come with a compact charging case

What's in the box for the Huawei FreeBuds 4i - replacement silicon eartips in S and L for the right fit

Looking much like the Apple AirPods Pro, the FreeBuds 4i follow the same overall look with a few sharper angles here and there. They fit easily and securely in the ear though and even come with L, M and S sized silicone replacement tips, so you can customize it for your ear size. Once you put them in your ears, they’re quite comfortable and don’t easily fall out, even with some serious headbanging.

The first time I listened to them, the Freebuds 4i almost seemed like they had an echo going on but after I got used to it, it’s just really strong treble performance. This results in crystal clear audio for songs with singing voices but not so much in terms of bass. To put this into perspective, listening to Whitney Houston’s “I will always love you” on the FreeBuds 4i is awesome but not so much the Game of Thrones intro theme.

The Huawei FreeBuds 4i are comfortable to use

Pairing is relatively painless even on a non-Huawei device, just flip the lid and press the button on the side of the case for 2 seconds until the center LED blinks white. With a Huawei device, just flip the case lid open and your Huawei phone will automatically detect it and ask if you want to pair.

To be honest, I’m not so sure that linking this kind of functionality to the FreeBuds 4i case lid was a good idea though as the lid is a bit flimsy. A little bump or even just a bit of force seems strong enough to break the lid off even when it’s closed.

The Huawei FreeBuds 4i case is powered by a USB Type C port

There's a button cleverly disguised on the side

Controls are done through touch sensors on the earbud stem, so a double tap to pause and play or answer calls and a long hold to activate ANC. These are responsive most of the time (you can easily miss the touch area though), but there’s a definite lag between the double tap and the pause or replay action.

The Dynamic Active Noise Cancelling or ANC work quite well for constantly and regularly repeating noise, so they do block out stuff like the rain, the hum of an aeroplane and so forth. However, they don’t block out voices and other noises completely, so you can still hold a conversation with the FreeBuds 4i still in your ears.

Connection range and stability are superb and the FreeBuds 4i are by far the best TWS in terms of this aspect I’ve tried so far. I got crystal clear audio even on the outskirts of the usual 10m range and behind doors or other rooms (yep, passed the bathroom test with flying colours).

Call quality was also excellent with clear audio from calls while those on the other side said that this was the same for them as well. This means that they should also be fine with online meetings and so forth. For games, the FreeBuds 4i work quite well with almost no lag at all.

The case looks like an egg with it's smooth white surface but it also should look great in red and black

According to Huawei, the FreeBuds 4i have 10 hours worth of continuous music playback on their own and 22 hours with the case. All we know is that we haven’t had to charge them yet over the course of a week and several days. Huawei also said that you can get 4 hours of battery in 10 minutes via the FreeBuds 4i fast charging.

Overall, the Huawei FreeBuds 4i are excellent TWS that work well over long distances and have pretty good battery life. You probably won’t like them if you’re used to TWS with Extra Bass but for everything else including gaming, the FreeBuds 4i are simply superb, especially if you own a Huawei phone. Just be careful with the flimsy case lid and you should be fine.

In terms of the price, the FreeBuds 4i are surprisingly affordable at a brand spanking new pricing of just RM379 (but there’s also an RM60 discount you can get for an RM319 price tag, at least up until 31 March 2021). The closest TWS in that price range and features are the Edifier GM5 - Hecate which costs less but is designed more for gaming. What do you think? Would you be interested in the Huawei FreeBuds 4i? Let us know on our Facebook page or in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave.com

Here are the Tech Specs and features for the Huawei FreeBuds 4i:

Pros: Works well for everything including gaming. Super light and comfortable. Works better for Huawei phones.

Cons: Dynamic ANC is selective. No Extra Bass. Works better for Huawei phones.

Summary: Affordable premium TWS with all the bells and whistles including dynamic ANC, low latency, fast charging and more.


Huawei FreeBuds 4i spotted on Bluetooth SIG's official website

It seems that the Huawei Freebuds 4i may have been spotted on Bluetooth SIG’s official website, hinting that the wireless earbuds might be unveiled very soon. While not much is known in regards to the Malaysia release date, it does give us a better idea on what to expect when it is officially available in the local market.

In terms of what was shown on the aforementioned website, it seems that the Huawei Freebuds 4i will come equipped with Bluetooth 5.2 support which has lower power consumption, as well as connect to multiple audio sources. However, do take some of the information with a grain of salt, due to the fact that Huawei has yet to provide an official statement on the leak.

Not only that, but there’s also no news on the Malaysia release date, local pricing, and exact tech specs for now. Would you be interested in getting the Huawei Freebuds 4i as soon as it is available for purchase here? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Huawei FreeBuds 5 & FreeBuds Pro 2+ release - Improved ANC, Heart rate & body monitor system, starting price from ~RM581

Not only did Huawei release the rumoured FreeBuds 5 but as well as the FreeBuds Pro 2+. We don't know yet if Huawei Malaysia plans to import them but here's what you should know about the new earbuds.

While the FreeBuds Pro 2+ design is similar to the FreeBuds Pro 2, Huawei claimed that the new wireless earbuds are the industry's first to have a dual heart rate and body temperature monitoring system. With Huawei's TruSeen heart rate algorithm, the company said that it has a high accuracy of 95% and 10bpm after SGS testing.

In terms of sound, the FreeBuds Pro 2+ features 11mm dynamic drivers which have a driving force improvement of 30% compared to the FreeBuds Pro 2. It also supports low frequency as 14H, HiRes, L2HC and LDAC, HD spatial audio, Active Noise Cancellation of up to 47dB and can connect to multiple devices.

On the other hand, the FreeBuds 5 has the most unique earbud designs to date. Huawei called it the Rupert Tears which looks like a hanging water droplet when put on your ears. According to Huawei, it adopts a semi-open Comfort Noise Reduction design and its ANC got upgraded to 3.0. Inside the droplet design, it contains the sound unit, battery and circuit board in three separate zones.

Like the FreeBuds Pro 2+, the FreeBuds 5 also has L2HC and LDAC support, as well as an 11mm driver but combined with Sound Pressure Turbo technology. This results in producing stronger sounds, amplitude, richer bass and clearer vocals. Huawei also said it can calculate the user's ear canal structure in real time.

The FreeBuds 5 price tag starts from 899 Yuan (~RM581) whereas the FreeBuds Pro 2+ is 1499 Yuan (~RM969). What do you think of the new Huawei wireless earbuds? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Huawei FreeBuds 5i launching soon next week and you can "Guess & Win" it

Today, Huawei Malaysia announced that the Huawei FreeBuds 5i True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earbuds will be launching soon 25 January 2023. There's no price tag revealed yet but the company is also inviting Malaysians to "Guess & Win”.

In the "Guess & Win” online contest, it has already begun and will last until 24 January 2023. All you have to do is take a guess of the FreeBuds 5i price and stand a chance to bring home a free pair of the wireless earbuds. Here's a hint to get you started - it's as low as RM450 or below.

To pariticpate, you have to log on to the Huawei Official Website or Huawei Official Store on Lazada Huawei Flagship Store or Shopee Huawei Official Store. After entering, take a guess of the price and drop your answer on the chat box in one of the respective channels. One lucky winner will be randomly selected from each respective channel and will be announced on 30 January 2023.

In terms of features, the FreeBuds 5i features Active Noise Cancellation and it's Hi-Res Audio Wireless certified. Moreover, it also incorporates dual-mic ANC, EQ modes, up to 28 hours long battery life (with charging case), fast charging with 4 hours of playback on a 15-minutes charge, as well as Dual Device Connection for seamless switching over different devices and operating systems.

We won't have to wait long for the official launch. Until then, stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Huawei FreeBuds 5i review - Mid-range ANC wireless earbuds that are worth it

It took some time for the Huawei FreeBuds 5i to arrive in Malaysia, months after it was unveiled. At this point, most consumers are sceptical of brands manufacturing their own wireless earbuds as part of an "ecosystem" alongside their phones. But after using this pair of wireless earbuds for two weeks, we think it's quite worth the wait.

Many consumers would also assume that the FreeBuds 5i are expensive like the other wireless earbuds. However, it should be noted that they aren't in the premium category and cost only RM349. So when compared to the FreeBuds Pro 2, it doesn't have some features but is still good enough for everyday usage.

So, let's get started with the review. The FreeBuds 5i is made of plastic and comes in a selection of Ceramic White, Isle Blue and Nebula Black. We got ourselves the black variant, in which the charging case has a matte finish and an eggshell-like texture. With this design, we are glad that it wasn't entirely made out of plastic so we can avoid fingerprint smudges.

This button on the side allows you to pair it with a phone

The charging case is extremely lightweight and comfortable, weighing at 44g only. Like every charging case, the LED light is on the outside, and the USB-C port is placed at the bottom (there is no wireless charging). While it feels cheap, it's surprisingly sturdy at the same time. You can also find different silicone ear tip sizes for the earbuds.

The earbuds weigh 5g each, so they are quite comfortable even when wearing them for a long time. We are also glad to report that these earbuds have IP54 water and sweat resistance ratings, as well as LDAC, AAC and SBC codec support. However, no EQ function can be found for them, so that's too bad.

To control the volume, answer/end calls, play/pause and noise control, you can make full use of the touch gestures on the earbuds themselves. Although the earbuds are lightweight, you won't accidentally remove them when you swipe the touch panels. Anyway, you can customise the gestures in the AI Life app.

AI Life can only be found on the AppGallery

AI Life is an app by Huawei to customise your earbuds, but we think it's not mandatory. Nevertheless, it has useful features to change certain sound settings and select modes. You can download the app directly from the QR code in the manual book and just tap to download. For your information, you need to allow the phone to install third-party applications because the HUAWEI app is not in the Google Play Store.

Moving on to the performance, the FreeBuds 5i comes with a 10mm dynamic drive and also offers a highly advanced frequency range. To be honest, we expected these earphones to only provide 'adequate' sound. But the sound quality is actually quite good. It produces a balanced sound but has less bass.

For example, in rap songs such as Douglas Lim, and SonaOne – ADUH, the bass produced isn't all that great, but the vocals and other instruments are crisp and clear. It's just that the 'bombastic' element is not in these earphones. But if you need that extra oomph, try the 'Bass Boost' mode in the AI Life app.

Comfortable to wear for a long period of time

The mids and low are well produced, but we don't really recommend that you use 'Treble Mode' because the resulting sound is a little less palatable. The sound signature shouldn't feel too sharp or muddy if you don't mess around with the modes too much. Also, the microphone works well for making calls or playing mobile games.

The FreeBuds 5i charger case comes with a 410mAh battery, while each earphone has a 55mAh battery. We can get six hours of playtime with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) turned on and about 7.5 hours with ANC turned off. The charger case provides an additional 18.6 hours of battery with the ANC turned on and 28 hours with the ANC turned off. During our two weeks with the earbuds, we kept the ANC level to 'Ultra' mode for maximum effect and consistently got 6 hours of playback.

The earbuds require about two hours to fully charged, and the charger case can provide two full charges. In our opinion, this is one of the drawbacks of the FreeBuds 5i because two hours is a very long charge time. Despite that, some of these issues are minor compared to what we liked. It's lightweight, can be connected to multiple devices, and the overall sound quality is good enough for casual users.

For RM349, you can compare it to the RM289 1MORE ComfoBuds Pro or the Anker Soundcore Life A2, which costs RM299. These are the two wireless earphones we recommend that also have ANC and some similar features. But what do you think? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more trending tech gadget reviews at TechNave.com.

Pros – Lightweight, can connect more than one device, sound quality is good enough for most casuals, and is suitable for exercising (IP54)

Cons – Not for audiophiles, no EQ settings, and the plastic body feels cheap

Conclusion – For a pair of mid-range earbuds, they are worth the price


Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 Malaysia release: now available at the price of RM899

Today, Huawei Malaysia just launched the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 in Malaysia. It's now available across the nation at the price of RM899 in Silver Blue, Ceramic White and Carbon Black. For the first 1000 customers, they can get a FreeBuds Pro 2 protective case and a free Huawei Music Premium access for 3 months.

As the pro variant, Huawei is highlighting the "Ultra-hearing True Sound Dual Driver" sound system that is said to intelligently coordinate two drivers for the best audio performance from 14Hz to 48Khz range. Equipped with ‘Triple Adaptive EQ’ technology, the FreeBuds Pro 2 can automatically tune audio according to ear canal structure, wearing posture and volume level for personalised sound in real-time.

Coupled with LDAC high-resolution audio codec protocol, the audio experience is further optimised for users for an ultra-high-definition listening experience. The FreeBuds Pro 2 is also certified with the HWA and Hi-Res Audio Wireless Certification and of course, you can expect Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). There's also a Triple Mic ANC System that boosts the average ANC depth by 15% from its predecessor.

Combining with Triple Mic ANC System, the Pure Voice call noise cancellation can provide clearer and quieter calls. Based on a 4-Mic Call Noise Cancellation system and Huawei's deep neural network (DNN) noise cancellation algorithm, it can accurately capture voices with noise cancellation. On the other hand, the FreeBuds Pro 2 features an Intelligent Dynamic ANC 2.0 that can identify the environment and choose a suitable noise cancelling mode that eliminates noise.

The FreeBuds Pro 2 is compatible with all Huawei devices, selected smartphones, tablets, PC, smartwatches, Android and Windows systems. With ANC off, it can last up to 6.5 hours of playback time and a total of 30 hours with the charging case. It's worth mentioning that it also has reverse charging support and an IP54 water splash resistance rating.

Existing Huawei users are eligible to redeem vouchers worth RM100 via MyHUAWEI App which can be used to purchase the FreeBuds Pro 2 at any HUAWEI Experience Store or HUAWEI Official Website until 11 September 2022. Then starting from 25 August to 11 September 2022, consumers can participate in the “Bop to the Beat” activity and stand a chance to win exciting prizes including the FreeBuds Pro 2, HUAWEI Sound Joy and FreeBuds SE.

You can now visit the Huawei Official Website, Huawei Official Store on Shopee or Huawei Flagship Store on Lazada and get your hands on the Freebuds Pro 2. Stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


ASUS PadFone S hands-on

Revealed in a "one more thing" style yesterday, the ASUS Padfone S smartphone can slot into a 9-inch display tablet dock so you can get the best of both worlds with either a 5-inch display smartphone or a 9-inch display tablet. Both offer full HD 1080p pixel resolutions and the Padfone S definitely looks very premium with a brushed metal frame and rounded backside. According to ASUS Malaysia, the Padfone S has been drop tested from 150cm, which is about chest height and has IPX2 water resistance. In addition to these features, it also has tech specs which are top of the line but is only priced at just RM899 for the smartphone. The dock will be sold separately for RM499 and the Malaysia release date for the Padfone S is expected to be around 15 October 2014. We managed to get some hands-on time with the "Super Smartphone" from ASUS which you can see below:


Huawei FreeBuds Pro, WATCH GT 2 Pro, and MatePad T 10s will be available in Malaysia from 10 October 2020 onwards

Huawei Malaysia has officially announced that the Huawei FreeBuds Pro, WATCH GT 2 Pro, as well as the MatePad T 10s, will be available in Malaysia starting 10 October 2020 onwards. Those who are interested in getting any of the devices mentioned can purchase over to any Huawei Experience Stores located across Malaysia or at Huawei’s Online store.

But that’s not all, knowing Huawei, it is safe to assume that Huawei will be having some sort of launch promo where you could get selected Huawei products at a much cheaper price. Unfortunately, there is no official information in regards to the official pricing of the products as of now.

Would you be interested in getting any of getting the Huawei FreeBuds Pro, WATCH GT 2 Pro, or the MatePad T 10s as soon as it is available for purchase? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Huawei FreeBuds Studio is coming to Malaysia on 30 October for RM1199

Last night, Huawei not only unveiled the Mate 40 series but as well as some new accessories such as the FreeBuds Studio. It was surely a surprise to see them introducing it, but we also got another surprise that the headphones will be arriving in Malaysia on 30 October 2020 at the price of RM1199. If you missed the livestream last night, here's what you need to know about it.

The design looks like any headphones and it is compatible with iOS, Android, Mac and Windows. It seems to have a dual-device connection, allowing the user to switch in between two platforms that we just mentioned so that's some flexibility there. Of course, there's also some touch control on the right side of the outer earcup as well.

In terms of features, it has up to 40dB Active Noise Cancellation, 48kHz frequency, and a total of 6 mics around for making calls. The battery is said to last up to 24 hours as well. Oh, it will only come in Graphite Black too.

Are you gonna get one? We already have one in our office and I'm currently reviewing it so I'll let you know how it goes. Stay tuned for that at TechNave.com.


Huawei FreeLace Wireless Earphones available on 12 July 2019 at RM369

Huawei has announced that the Huawei FreeLace Wireless Earphones, will be available for purchase in Malaysia at the price of RM369. The earphones can be purchased from all Huawei Brand Stores across the nation, as well as Huawei’s official website. The Huawei FreeLace Wireless Earphones comes with features such as the Huawei HiPair, which allows any Huawei smartphones running on EMUI 9.1 to easily pair with each other. Not only that, but the earphones let you plug itself into a USB Type-C port to quickly charge itself.

The earphone allows the user to listen up to 18 hours of music, as well as up to 13 hours to continuous talk time on a single charge. Would you be interested in getting the Huawei FreeLace worth RM369? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Huawei Freebuds 4i Malaysia release: ANC and RM60 OFF for a limited time, priced at RM379

Today, Huawei Malaysia just announced that the upcoming latest Huawei Freebuds 4i wireless earbuds now have a launching date and price. Available at just RM379, the wearables are scheduled to launch on 27 March 2021 and for a limited period, customers can get RM60 off on the audio products.

Early birds can bring home a free protective casing for the charging case but there are 3000 units only. As for the RM60 discount, customers can collect that voucher starting today onwards (23 March) and redeem the Freebuds 4i anytime between 27 to 31 March. The vouchers can be collected at the Huawei Member Centre or the official online store, then redeem at selected Huawei Experience Stores (+ partners) and the online store respectively.

Like most wireless earbuds nowadays, the Freebuds 4i also come with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) alongside Awareness Mode for users to be more aware of their surroundings. Huawei said the wearables can stand up to 10 hours of music playback on a full charge, as well as four hours of music playback after 10 minutes of charging. The Ceramic White variant is only available for now, so the Carbon Black and Honey Red will arrive at a later date.

For a pair of wireless earbuds, getting them at just RM319 is quite affordable. But what do you think? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Huawei Freebuds Pro, Watch GT 2 Pro & Mate T10s Malaysia release: starting from RM699 with a RM100 Discount Code

Just yesterday, we posted about Huawei Malaysia releasing three new devices soon which are the Freebuds Pro, Watch GT 2 Pro and Mate T10s. Officially launched today, the price tag for each has also been revealed - RM699, RM1199 and RM999 respectively.

To celebrate the launch, these new devices on sale include a RM100 discount code except for the Mate T10s. According to the 10.10 sale on Huawei Malaysia's website, the RM100 discount code will be sent to your email if you have already registered and subscribed to their Newsletter before 30 September 2020. If you already received it, the discount code can only be used during the check-out on 10 and 11 October 2020.

On top of that, the Watch GT 2 Pro and Freebuds Pro will be bundled with extra gifts. The gifts include a free watch strap as well as a CM510 Mini Speaker and protective casing for the Freebuds Pro charging case. As for the MatePad T 10s, the freebie includes a protective pad and other free apps like Viu and Huawei cloud storage.

By the way, there are other Huawei devices for sale on the website as well. Most notable ones include the Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G (8GB + 256GB) for RM2699, MateBook D15 for RM2099, and many more. You may visit their website here to check them out. Have fun shopping and stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Huawei Freebuds Studio wireless headphone review - A good first attempt, but could be better

Huawei might have a hard time promoting their smartphones to the global market, no thanks to the US government, but their other products (like the MateBooks) are solid. During the Mate 40 series live-streamed event, the company surprised us with a brand new Huawei Freebuds Studio, which is a wireless headphone and not earbuds.

Some may have doubts about the company's first-ever wireless headphone. That's doubly so when its retail price is RM1199, a price that few would buy without thinking carefully first. But if you're curious about its performance, read on to find out what we thought about it in our Huawei Freebuds Studio wireless headphone review.

Right off the bat, the first thing I noticed about the Freebuds Studio is that it has a design unlike any other wireless headphone, and I don't mean it in a bad way. Huawei has made an effort to ensure that wearing this wireless headphone would be a comfortable experience, which is something they have achieved. The cushions on the ear cups and band are so smooth and spongy that I could wear it all day long (several times if I may add) without feeling discomfort. That's just how good it is. However, I wouldn't recommend wearing it when you go exercise because sweat will eventually spoil the cushions.

The box comes with a nice carry case for the headphone and USB-C cable for charging

(L-R) The ANC, Bluetooth and power button

Interestingly, the frame for the Freebuds Studio's headband is made out of stainless steel. It has a 7mm extension that lets you adjust the fit for the headphone, so most of you should be able to find the right fit. On top of that, the Touch Controls (right side only) is easy enough to figure out. For reference, you can:

Since it's a Huawei device, pairing it with a Huawei phone is much easier. You can also pair your phone and PC/laptop to the Freebuds Studio via Bluetooth, by switching on the Bluetooth button next to the power button on the right outer earcup and wait for the signal. There's also a button on the left outer earcup for the Intelligent Dynamic Active Noise Cancellation, which comes in three modes.

The outer earcup is spacious enough to accommodate Touch Controls

If you take it off and lay it around your neck, wear detection kicks in and your current media file will be paused. However, sometimes the heat from your collarbone would accidentally activate the feature

Dual Device Connection allows you to connect to two devices at the same time, but you can only listen to one device at a time

According to the official website, the three modes are General, Cozy, and Ultra Mode. General is pretty self-explanatory, so I'm going to skip that because you are probably more interested in how well the ANC works. In short, it works, but not perfectly. Long story short, if I can still hear myself washing my hands at the sink, the wind from my fan while watching movies, or a small dog with a tame bark from another room while using Ultra Mode with music on, then it's not exactly the "best noise cancellation technology" as Huawei claimed. The ANC does filter out some of the environment and you can definitely feel the vacuum effect, but you won't get 100% sound-proof.

That's the bad news (for audiophiles with high standards), but there are other redeeming features. Network calling with the wireless headphone is great thanks to the 6-mic Call Noise Cancellation. When I took a few calls from my phone and the Zoom app with it, my friends and colleagues could hear me pretty well. It's also worth mentioning that the Bluetooth signal is strong, thanks to a dual-antenna design that provides a wider signal coverage. Even if I go to the next room or upstairs, the connection isn't likely to break off.

Of course, the one thing that you would want to know is the audio quality. At first, I felt that Huawei did a good job of delivering the sounds. To further enhance the listening experience, Huawei integrated a Tee Audio Tube (TAT) Acoustic structure, so that both of your ears can hear everything. Casual users are probably gonna love it, but perhaps not for audiophiles (me). You see, there's a problem with the TAT feature, something that's also mentioned on the website - it filters out medium and high-frequency noise, which affects some song genres like rock.

To best way to explain this is to use a song like The Gazette - Pledge (Traces Vol.2). If you listen to this song back to back on different headphones, a sharp ear would immediately notice that the electric guitars often get overshadowed by the drum bass and bass guitar, and this happens quite often in similar genres. It's like when you visit a live concert and for some reason, the sound technician lowers the electric guitar volume and increases the drum bass or bass guitar's volume instead. Apart from that, everything else sounds good despite the weird emphasis on bass, though I'm sure some people prefer that.

I also tested the Freebuds Studio with some movies and video games. Overall, it performed well enough for content like that. But what really excelled was its superb battery performance, which took a long time to completely drain. For recharging, it only takes less than an hour, though it does depend on your adapter's charging speed. By the way, if you leave it alone without switching off for too long, there's a 1-2 second delay before the audio kicks in if you when you start playing something again.

For RM1199, I think this is a fairly good first attempt from Huawei. Of all its features, battery performance is the biggest highlight, followed by clear network calling, comfort, and good audio performance (for casual music lovers). However, they still have a lot to do before being able to match other well-known audio brands, namely Sony. For example, I've had my Sony WH-1000XM3 for almost 2 years now and it's easily the better choice in terms of ANC quality and music balance.

So, that's my review on the Huawei Freebuds Studio, but what do you think? Do you agree and have you tried it? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more tech reviews at TechNave.com.

Pros: Super long battery life, clear network calling, very comfortable to wear, and good audio performance (for casual music lovers)

Cons: ANC could have been better and there's too much emphasis on the bass, tough competition against other well-known brands who have better wireless headphones as well

Conclusion: A good first attempt from Huawei making their first wireless headphone, Huawei fans might like it, as it is part of the Huawei ecosystem


Huawei G8 hands-on video

The Huawei G8 offers a full metal body complete with fingerprint sensor and 5.5-inch display with full HD resolution. While it does follow a design similar to the Huawei Mate S, it is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor and is certainly priced a lot lower at RM1250 (the Huawei Mate S is priced at RM2698). Check out our hands-on video of the Huawei G8 below for a closer look.


Huawei G8 officially announced with fingerprint sensor and 13MP RGBW rear camera with OIS

Apart from the Huawei Mate S, Huawei also officially announced the Huawei G8. Featuring a 5.5-inch FHD display with 2.5D curved gorilla glass, 13MP camera with a sapphire crystal layer and OIS the smartphone also packs in a fingerprint sensor with 3000 mAh battery, Dual SIM, Dual Access and Dual 4G LTE. Featuring a premium metal body the G8 obviously takes its design cues from the Huawei P8. Going for 399 british pounds (RM2580) the Huawei G8 is also expected to arrive in Malaysia in September 2015 with an appropriate price drop as well.


Huawei G8 smartphone and M2 tablet also launched for Malaysia both at RM1499

Asides from launching their premium Huawei Mate S smartphone for Malaysia's masses, Huawei Malaysia also launched the Huawei G8 smartphone and Huawei M2 tablet. The Huawei G8 looks to be the value offer here while offering a full metal body with fast Fingerprint 2.0 fingerprint sensor. The Huawei M2 tablet on the other hand is the successor of the Huawei MediaPad M1, featuring an 8-inch full HD display with dual front Harmon Kardon speakers. Both will be priced at RM1499 and are available starting from today.

Tech specs for the Huawei G8 include a 5.5-inch FHD display with 2.5D curved gorilla glass, 13MP camera with a sapphire crystal layer and OIS. The smartphone also packs in a fingerprint sensor with 3000 mAh battery, Dual SIM, Dual Access and Dual 4G LTE. The G8 still feels very premium with a design and build quality exceeding the honor 7, which has similar tech specs.

The Huawei M2 has a premium metal body, Kirin 930 processor and 3GB of RAM, with an 8-inch full HD display, 8MP rear camera and 5MP front camera. Design-wise, the Mediapad M8 is 7.88mm thin but the overall flat and thin design with curvy corners remains the same. Features also include 4G LTE connectivity and dual 1W speakers with Harmon Kardon Clari-Fi audio technology while a 4800 mAh battery keeps the lights on.

Huawei Malaysia also sneaked in another value smartphone in the form of the Huawei Y6. Featuring a plastic build with metal frame, a 13MP rear camera and 5MP front camera the Y6 looks to be a value beating entry-level smartphone at just RM569. Our hands-on experience of the Y6 is that it is a fairly lightweight device with a metal-like frame that looks good and works well.


Huawei G8 unboxing video

The Huawei G8 follows in the footsteps of the Huawei Mate S with a similar design and features. Available as low as RM1250, this metal body smartphone comes with tech specs that include a fingerprint sensor and Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor. Want to know what else is included in the box? Find out in our unboxing video for the Huawei G8.


ASUS PadFone S slow motion video recording

The ASUS PadFone S offers a number of features many other smartphones in the RM899 price range don't and this includes slow motion video recording. Coming with water and shock resistance this Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 powered smartphone packs in a 13MP PixelMaster camera with dedicated Image Signal Processring chip for faster and clearer shots. Check out the PadFone S slow motion performance in the video below for yourself:


Huawei HiSilicon is looking to recruit post-graduates and masters from around the world with 5x the salary

Looking for a new job is pretty tough during these current circumstances, and you'd be crazy enough if you want to resign right now. But hey, if you happen to be a fresh IT graduate (or something similar), you could give Huawei HiSilicon a chance as the company have just recently announced a global recruitment program.

According to their poster, the company is looking to add new blood and fresh talent from all over the world. As long as you're a post-graduate or you got a masters degree who graduated from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2021 (yes, until the end of next year), you are eligible to join and the company will provide with world-class challenging topics that include computer software architecture, semiconductor and chipset technology, and more. Besides that, they will also provide mentorship and 5x the salary (most probably in their China Yuan currency).

From their recruitment poster, the indirect translation reads:

"WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR TALENTS WITH A “CORE STAR” TO SHINE. WE’RE LOOKING FOR BRAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE BRAVE TO CHALLENGE IN THE NEW WORLD AND WANT TO DIVE INTO THE NEW KNOWLEDGE. MOREOVER, THEY WILL DEAL WITH THE LIMITS OF MOORE’S LAW, VON NEUMANN’S BOTTLENECK AND ETC. WE HOPE THAT OUR PEERS WILL EXPLORE THE WORLD-CLASS PROBLEMS THAT WILL EVENTUALLY FACE. THEY’LL FIND METHODS AND PATHS OF COMPUTING ARCHITECTURE, AND JOINTLY EXPAND THE BOUNDARIES OF CIVILIZATION AND PROGRESS.”

Just so you know, the Huawei HiSilicon is responsible for manufacturing the Kirin chipsets for their Huawei smartphones throughout the years, as well as 5G connectivity with the Balong modems. If you think you got what it takes, you can email them at the given email at the bottom of the recruitment poster. Stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Huawei Honor 3C Lite Preorder starting 28 November 2014 at RM399

If you are looking for a cheap smartphone, the new Huawei Honor 3C Lite is a great option. This affordable version of the Honor 3C will be available for pre-order starting 28 November 2014 from VMall.my. Starting from the above date, you can pre-order the device for just RM399 from the online store as opposed to its regular retail price of RM449. In addition, 10 lucky winners who buy the Honor 3C will get a free holiday trip to Langkawi. The pre-order starts at 10AM on the said date and ends at 6PM on 3 December 2014. The first batch of pre-orders will start shipping from 8 December 2014. Even though the Honor 3C Lite is much cheaper than the original Honor 3C, the tech specs remain more or less the same. You get a Quad Core 1.3GHz Mediatek processor, 5 inch 720p display and an 8MP rear camera like the Honor 3C model. However, the RAM is reduced to 1GB, as is the battery capacity from 2300 mAh to 2000 mAh. Surprisingly, Huawei has increased the onboard storage from 8GB to 16GB in this cheaper variant. The Honor 3C also comes with 6 months exchange warranty along with a 1 year Original Manufacturer warranty.


Huawei Honor 3C Lite coming to Malaysia soon for around RM300?

We first covered the Huawei Honor 3C Play Edition back in August 2014 when it was officially announced in China. At the time, it was priced at CNY599 (RM308) and came with a design fairly similar to the Huawei Honor 3C. It turns out that we could soon see the Honor 3C Play as the Huawei Honor 3C Lite. Tech specs are more or less the same as mentioned earlier such as  a 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6582 processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, 5-inch display at 720p pixel resolution, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, dual-SIM support and Android 4.2. Huawei Malaysia have teased it officially with teaser images on their Facebook page and at VMALL.my so we expect the Malaysia release date to be very soon. No news yet on pricing but we expect it to go for the entry-level market at around RM299 to RM349. Stay tuned for more developments.


Huawei Honor 3C Lite hands-on video

Retailing at just RM399, the Huawei Honor 3C Lite offers nearly all the same tech specs and performance as the earlier released Honor 3C smartphone. We go hands-on to prove this with the Honor 3C Lite smartphone in our hands-on video below. Check it out for yourself as we take it for a spin with demanding apps like Asphalt 8:Airborne.


Huawei Honor 3C Lite officially launched at RM399 for the brave with FISE extreme sports

Despite already being available for pre-order at VMALL.my, Huawei Malaysia have officially launched their Honor 3C Lite smartphone recently in tandem with the FISE (Festival International Sports Extreme) world championship in Langkawi, Malaysia. For those not in the know, the FISE meet covers extreme sports including BMX bike riding, skateboarding, inline skates and other extreme sports with the world championships held in Langkawi recently. Sponsored by Huawei and spearheaded by Zach Catfish (who is himself a well-known BMX and extreme sportsman himself) the event saw usage of Huawei products like the TalkBand B1, Huawei Ascend Mate 7 and the aforementioned Honor 3C Lite. The Honor 3C Lite brings a number of tech specs and features to the Malaysian market including:

Mr. Peter Tong, President, Southern Pacific Region, Consumer Business Group, Huawei Technologies was on hand to cheerfully explain everything

For a full tech spec comparison, check out our Honor 3C Lite vs Honor 3C tech comparison tool. During the FISE, we managed to try out both the Honor 3C Lite and TalkBand B1. Feel free to check out our review of the TalkBand B1 but more details about the Honor 3C Lite are on the way. During the event, Zach Catfish and the other riders showed off their skills complete with a looping or loop de loop demonstration and various other stunts and tricks.

Nicholas Zhuaifeng, Director, Southern Pacific Region eCommerce Business Department (on the right) with other Huawei Malaysia staff and fans showing how the brave do it with a jump from Zach Catfish

The FISE extreme sportsmen doing the looping of the giant Huawei TalkBand B1 with just BMX bikes

Interview with Zach Catfish on Huawei devices like the Ascend Mate 7 and extreme sports

Huawei Honor sponsored the FISE games specifically for the brave!


Huawei Honor 3C Lite review - Better than most RM400 bang-for-your-buck 5-inch smartphone

When the Huawei Honor 3C first came out, it made a big splash as one of the few smartphones in Malaysia to offer big features at a relatively tiny entry-level price of RM499. Nearing the end of the year and the Huawei Honor 3C Lite has entered the scene, cutting this price tag down even further to RM399 but at the cost of some of the features and tech specs that defined the earlier Honor 3C. Does the Huawei Honor 3C Lite measure up? Check out our review of the Honor 3C Lite below to find out.

Design-wise, the Honor 3C Lite doesn't change much, featuring the same rounded plastic backside and curvy look as the earlier Honor 3C. It still feels comfortable in the hand, while the 5-inch IPS display remains at the same 1280 x 720 pixel resolution as before. Again, the backside is a bit slippery but the overall build remains solid with the same 3.5mm audio jack on the top and 8MP camera with LED flash on the back. While it may not look different, the front camera is now 2MP (the Honor 3C had a 5MP front camera). Designed for the young and brave the Honor 3C Lite measures in at 72.3 x 142.2 x 9.4mm and weighs 156g. Check out our Honor 3C Lite vs Honor 3C tech spec comparison tool or the full tech spec and features list of the Honor 3C Lite below:

The overall look and feel remains the same as the earlier Honor 3C

Powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor, 1GB RAM and fairly large 16GB storage, the smartphone supports Dual SIM slots, 3G and has a 2000 mAh battery to keep everything going. While it may pack in Android 4.4.2 from the get go, it only uses the Huawei Emotion UI 2.0 which is more simple to use but lacks some of the motion features we're used to. The overall interface is more stable though with no problems at all in terms of hangs or lags, something that we did see with the Honor 3C. One tech spec that the Honor 3C Lite does improve is 16GB worth of storage which is double that of the 8GB in the Honor 3C. The Honor 3C Lite is also compatible with the Huawei TalkBand B1 smartband. Connectivity is fairly smooth on 3G with a stable connection for the most part.

The Honor 3C Lite works with most smartbands including the Huawei TalkBand B1

Performance is surprisingly good though, and while simple we found the Honor 3C Lite to be mostly capable with our benchmarks it is also capable with games and apps as well. For our benchmarks, it delivered an AnTuTu score of 17964, beating out the Honor 3C which scored 17132. In Epic Citadel it got 46.5fps on high quality which is quite high but in 3DMark it only managed 2071 in the Ice Storm Extreme benchmark. Camera performance was surprisingly good and while the 2MP front camera no longer offers panorama or groufie shots, both cameras deliver fast autofocus and work well in low-light conditions. The audio does sound a bit tinny but again it is enough for the job. Battery life was another surprise as Huawei Malaysia lists it at 24 hours on moderate use but on fairly heavy use (non-stop camera and video usage, browsing, social media, some gaming, some video editing) the Honor 3C Lite lasted around 1 full day and a half.

The Honor 3C Lite scores 17963 in AnTuTu

The Honor 3C Lite performance on Epic Citadel is quite respectable

However, you can still play smooth Asphalt 8:Airborne on medium quality settings

Pretty good low-light performance at 8MP, Auto

Another good low-light shot on 8MP, Auto

Some noise on low-light, but still good performance on 8MP, HDR

Still pretty good selfie shot quality on just 2MP

Video recording performance using the Honor 3C Lite is smooth

Overall, the Huawei Honor 3C Lite is a surprisingly better entry-level smartphone than it's predecessor. It also delivers better than average features and performance for it's price than many other smartphones in the RM399 range. While the lower-end EMUI 2.0 offers less features, the simplicity of use, overall performance and stability it gives is well worth it. If you're going to get a smartphone for you brave young individual then you should definitely put the Honor 3C Lite on your consideration list.

Check out our unboxing video of the Honor 3C Lite

Check out our hands-on video of the Honor 3C Lite


Huawei Honor 3C Lite unboxing video

The Huawei Honor 3C Lite offers a number of big features at an even lower price of RM399 including an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 1.3GHz quad-core processor. Offering the same looks and design, other tech specs like the 5-inch HD display are also retained. Thanks to Huawei Malaysia the Malaysian Honor team we managed to get some time with this value smartphone. Check out our unboxing video below for a look at what the Huawei Honor 3C Lite comes with:


Huawei Honor 3C Play coming soon to Malaysia from just RM312?

While the Huawei Honor 3C already has a prime spot on the value smartphone market at just RM499, this is still not entry-level pricing. As such, Huawei have since come out with teaser images of their upcoming Huawei Honor 3C Play priced at a very low price of CNY599 (RM312). Tech specs for the Honor 3C Play are quite good and include a 1g.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6583 processor, 1GB RAM, 4GB storage, 5-inch display with 720p pixel resolution, 8MP rear camera and Android 4.2.2. We suspect that the front camera will probably be a 2MP version and the rear camera won't have any LED flash but we assume it will come packing with Emotion UI 2.3 and offer an Apple iPhone like design based on the Apple logo image in one of the teasers. No news yet on actual Malaysia release dates or pricing but we expect it to come out soon in August 2014 or it may risk having to battle it out with the next Apple iPhone, Galaxy Note and Xperia Z smartphones in September 2014. Check out the teaser images for yourself below:


Huawei Honor 3C Play officially announced for CNY599 (RM308)

The Huawei Honor 3C made a big splash with it's 2GB of RAM, 8MP rear camera and 5MP front camera when it first hit Malaysia at just RM499. Now, we could be seeing the entry-level version as Huawei have officially announced the Huawei Honor 3C Play Edition which is going for just CNY599 (RM308). Tech specs for this version include a 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6582 processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, 5-inch display at 720p pixel resolution, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, dual-SIM support and Android 4.2. In terms of design, the Honor 3C Play looks more or less the same as the Huawei Honor 3C but for now, it seems like it is just for China. We expect it to arrive in Malaysia soon and shake up the entry-level market even further.


Huawei Honor 3C Review - Best value smartphone in Malaysia for under RM500

Affordably priced smartphones usually don't come with good tech specs and features but the Huawei Honor 3C is not only priced below RM500, but it also packs in 2GB of RAM, a 5-inch 720p display, 8MP rear camera and 5MP front camera all in one compact package. Does it live up to the hype? Is it actually a good value smartphone? Read on and find out how good we really think it is in our review of the Huawei Honor 3C.

At first glance, the Huawei Honor 3C looks simple and slim with a curved back that fits nicely into the palm of your hand and a number of different coloured back casings to choose from. The phone is mostly made from plastic with a smooth surface on the back which doesn't smudge too easily. At 140g it is very light for a 5-inch smartphone but balanced well enough that it doesn't seem like a toy. At 9.2mm thin, the smartphone is about standard thickness while the grip is comfortable. While it may not turn heads the second time, build quality for the Honor 3C is quite solid and it should survive most drops with no damage.

The Huawei Honor 3C has 5-inch screen with capacitive buttons placed at the bottom of the screen

The back is curved to fit in the palm of the hand well

The smartphone is still quite slim at 9.2mm

The 5-inch display offers 720p HD viewing with a resolution of 720 x 1280 resulting in a fairly high pixel density of 294 ppi. The smartphone has a single microUSB port for charging and transfer while the dual-SIM slots are only accessible after you pop open the plastic back.

The back pops off to reveal a custom battery, dual-SIM slots and a microSD slot

Huawei have somehow managed to pack in some upper midrange quality components for a smartphone priced for the entry-level market as the Huawei Honor 3C is one of the few smartphones in this range that we've seen offering an 8MP rear camera and 5MP front camera. Both cameras use wide angle lens, with the 8MP rear camera using a Sony BSI sensor, Blue Glass filter and IMAGE Smart Engine for better quality pics. While the Huawei Honor 3C uses a capable but standard 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6582 processor, it also packs in 2GB of RAM, which you will not find in most midrange smartphones much less those smartphones from the entry-level range.

The Huawei Honor 3C packs in a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and a 5-inch screen with 720 x 1280 pixel resolution

We found the Android 4.2 and Emotion UI interface working quite well. While you won't get all that many extra apps, the apps that do come with the UI are practical and useful. We particularly liked the DTS sound control and motion control which not only lets you wake up your phone with double taps but get other automatic responses from flipping the phone to shaking it. While there aren't that many camera modes, the camera features that are there are quite useful with burst mode and panorama mode for both the rear and front cameras, so you can take a wide group selfie shot (or groufie as Huawei are calling it) quite easily. As mentioned earlier, the Huawei Honor 3C offers dual-SIM support and 3G connectivity along with WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 for wireless connections. There is also DLNA and Wi-Fi Direct support along with an FM Radio, A-GPS and a 2300 mAh battery.

The Emotion UI offers some very useful functions here and there like DTS effects and motion controls

While the MediaTek processor powering the Huawei Honor 3C isn't much to brag about, the 2GB of RAM makes a whole lot of difference. Trying out all the different apps, we found that the smartphone was on a whole more stable than most. Running a demanding racing game like Asphalt 8: Airborne is surprisingly smooth and while there are some laggy points in the game, overall performance is very good.

The Huawei Honor 3C handles demanding games like Asphalt 8 very well

On AnTuTu the Huawei Honor 3C got a respectable score of 17132 while also delivering a very good frame rate of 46.3 on 1280 x 720 resolutions for the Epic Citadel benchmark. In 3DMark the smartphone offers less impressive scores of 2899 on the Ice Storm benchmark and 2903 on the Ice Storm Unlimited benchmark, proof that the 2GB of RAM helps improve performance drastically. The phone does get hot after a while but this is mostly for the 3D intensive tasks.

The Honor 3C gets a respectable AnTuTu score of 17132

Tasks that need a lot of memory get a good boost from the 2GB of RAM as this Epic Citadel benchmark shows

However, in pure 3D terms the Honor 3C isn't the greatest in the market

We were very impressed with the camera performance, particularly from the 5MP front camera. In some cases, it seemed like the 'selfie' camera handled bright light out in the open better than the higher-end 8MP rear camera. That being said, the 8MP rear camera still does a very good job, even in low-light conditions. While it doesn't pack in optimizations like some other imaging engines, the 8MP BSI camera sensor is very capable with fast auto focus and consistent quality shots in burst mode.

The 5MP front camera handles light surprisingly well

The Panorama shot can be used for both the rear and front camera

The 8MP rear camera can still handle low-light conditions well

Audio quality is nice and loud with no static but it isn't the clearest audio we've heard as it is sometimes difficult to differentiate individual sounds. Movie playback is smooth though but since it is a 720p screen, there is some loss of details when playing back a 1080p movie. Battery performance is good with about 3.5 hours of continuous heavy usage (like bouts of online multiplayer in Asphalt 8), about 1 day or so on medium usage and 1 day and a half on minimal usage. Connectivity is very good, working well behind closed doors while reception and phone quality are also similarly good.

Going for a super-low RM499, the Huawei Honor 3C has no competition in it's price range. A quick look at MobileMegaMall.com reveals that the closest competitors within this price range includes the Sony Xperia Miro, Lenovo A880 and Nokia Lumia 630. None of them offer 2GB of RAM, an 8MP rear camera, 5MP front camera or 720 x 1280 pixel resolution on a 5-inch screen. You can check their tech specs for yourself on our comparison tool. We believe that Huawei is offering the Honor 3C at cost or below price and with these tech specs, features and price combined, the Honor 3C is probably the best value smartphone under RM500 you can get in Malaysia.

As of the time of writing the Huawei Honor 3C is sold out at VMall.my but the next batch should be coming on 18 June 2014

The only issue is availability as the VMall.my site is often sold out, but Huawei Malaysia are consistently bringing in more batches, so if you're patient and can buy online, feel free to check out VMall.mt. We have found other dealers selling the phone, but at increased prices or with the not so well-liked colours. For the best price Huawei Malaysia's VMall.my is still your best bet, but even at slightly higher prices of below RM600, there are still very few competitors that can offer the same features as the Honor 3C. Newer rivals like the ASUS ZenFone 5 may give it a run for the money though.

Overall, the Huawei Honor 3C is hand's down the best performing smartphone you can get if you want midrange performance at an entry-level price tag. The Honor 3C outperforms most smartphones in the RM499 to RM599 range thanks mostly to the 2GB of RAM and this extra memory helps out in practically everything including browsing the Internet, multi-tasking and running a stable smartphone system. While the design is simple and slightly generic looking, it works well and should not be a reason to not buy the Huawei Honor 3C, unless of course you're aiming for something higher-end. This also means you're going to need more money as we still haven't found a higher-end smartphone at the same price to performance ratio as the Huawei Honor 3C.

*TechNave.com would like to thank Huawei Malaysia for not just loaning the Huawei Honor 3C review unit once but twice. It allowed us to do a more in-depth review and highlight more features.


ASUS PadFone S smartphone hands-on video

Featuring a top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, the ASUS PadFone S is now one of those few below RM1000 smartphones that should be able to take slow motion video or 4K video recording. Does it have those options available? We go hands-on with the PadFone S smartphone to find out. Along with that, we also check out it's solid design and other features that we can't help but feel makes the PadFone S sound a lot like a 'flagship killer'. Check it out below and do tune in for our full review where we'll push the PadFone S to the limits and see what it can really do.


Huawei Honor 3C officially announced, 8MP + 5MP camera combo and 2GB RAM for RM499!

Huawei recently announced their Huawei Honor 3C smartphone for the midrange market. In addition to this they also launched their Vmall.my portal and online store, where they will offer Huawei devices for Malaysian users. So far, the only device on the Vmall.my portal is the Huawei Honor 3C and it's relevant accessories, but more Huawei devices should be updated on the site soon. The Honor 3C currently available with an online offer that includes a 6-month swap warranty. In tandem with the Malaysia launch, Huawei Malaysia did a "Guess the Price" contest for the Huawei Honor 3C, only unveiling the pricing at the launch for a super-low price of RM499. Check out the tech specs for the Huawei Honor 3C below:

Check out the Huawei Honor 3C highlights video

(left to right) Mr. Gary Xu, Country Director of Consumer Business Group, Huawei Technologies Malaysia, Mr. Mike Wang, CEO of Huawei Technologies Malaysia, Jeff Liu, President of Honor Business Unit, Consumer Business Group, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, Mr. Nicolas Zhu, Ecommerce Director of Consumer Business Group, Southern Pacific, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd and Mr. Allan An, Director of Ecommerce Sales, Consumer Business Group, Huawei Technologies Malaysia with brand ambassadors showing off the new Huawei Honor 3C

The Huawei Honor 3C and it's brand ambassadors in a pretty row showing off the colours of the smartphone

The tech specs and features above along with the very competitive price tag of RM499 has already seen the Honor 3C being sold-out on Vmall.my (perhaps helped along by some early pre-orders). The smartphone is available with other third-party sellers though, but many of them are only offering it on pre-order with no news on when new stock may arrive. For now, the combination of above-average tech specs and very competitive price makes the Huawei Honor 3C a very loud challenge to all the other entry-level to midrange smartphones in Malaysia and we look forward to what others may bring to the market.

The Huawei Honor 3C being delivered by quadrocopter drone

Our first-hand impressions with the Huawei Honor 3C is that it has a rather plastic build and that  it also has many pastel colours to choose from. This includes Lamborghini Yellow, Titanium Gray, Rococo Pink, Tiffany Green, Pearl White and Champagne gold. At 140g it feels quite light, almost like a toy, despite the larger 5-inch screen. The tech specs and features should make it a very good selfie and starter phone which is the market that Huawei are targeting. We're looking forward to see what a full review could reveal about the smartphone's performance.

The Huawei Honor 3C has a mostly plastic build

The Huawei Honor 3C in Pearl white from the front and back


Huawei Honor 4X announced with 64-bit processor at 1299CNY (RM694)

Huawei recently unveiled another worthy addition to their Honor smartphone lineup with the Huawei Honor 4X. The most notable feature that it offers a 64-bit 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor. Other tech specs include a 5.5-inch display with 720 x 1280 pixel resolution, 2GB RAM, 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera, 4G LTE, 3000 mAh battery and Android 4.4. Measuring in at 7.9mm thin it uses the same flat and thin rounded corners look as the Huawei Honor 6. Like the Honor 6 it also seems to do away with any Huawei branding whatsoever but it should be noted that it is all set for Android 5.0 Lollipop as the capacitive keys below the screen match with those on Android 5.0. While we don't have any Malaysia release dates or pricing, it is currently on pre-order for 1299 CNY (RM694) which would really shake things up more in the midrange. It is expected to ship on 6 November 2014.


Huawei Honor 4x officially announced from $128 (RM450)

Asides from the Huawei Honor 6 Plus, Huawei also announced the Huawei Honor 4x, a 5.5-inch display phablet priced from a very affordable $128 (RM450). Featuring tech specs that include a new 64-bit Kirin 620 processor, 1GB / 2GB RAM and a 5.5-inch display with 720p resolution, the Honor 4x looks a lot like the Huawei Honor 3C with thinner bezels. Other tech sepcs include a 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera, NFC, 4G LTE connectivity and a 3000 mAh battery with Android 4.4 KitKat. While there are no Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet, the Honor 4x is being priced very agressively at $128 (RM450) for the 1GB RAM version and $161 (RM566) for the 2GB RAM version. Hopefully Huawei Malaysia bring it in soon but with the gift-giving holidays just next week, it could just as likely be released next year as this year.[Source, Source]


Huawei Honor 5A and 5A Plus to be released on 12 June in China

Just a few hours ago, Huawei Honor just released a new teaser image on their official Weibo page announcing a new smartphone on the way in China - The Honor 5A, which will be revealed on 12 June 2016. And it's not alone, the Honor 5A Plus will also be present on that day. Below is the specifications according to TENAA:

It's interesting to note that both devices have a different design on the back, with the 5A Plus's camera placed at the corner, while the 5A's camera is in the middle. Both devices are aimed at the lower-end of the market, so it's expected to price at 699 Yuan (around RM432). Also, do note that the tech-specs above aren't complete since the OS is unknown and we don't know whether if it has dual SIM slot too.

Stay tuned for more news at Technave.com.


Huawei Honor 5X announced from RMB 999 (RM668) with fingerprint sensor and more

The Huawei Honor 5X has been officially announced in China to succeed the Honor 4X. There are two versions for the Honor 5X, with the 2GB RAM version retailing for RMB 999 (RM 668.50), while a 3GB RAM version will go for RMB 1399 (RM 940.77). For an entry level to mid-range priced phone such as this, the tech specs and features are actually quite solid as they include a:-

The Honor 5X will reportedly allow users to unlock the phone in just 0.5 seconds via the fingerprint sensor. Not only that, it also supports Quick Charge 3.0 which can charge up to 50% of the battery in just half an hour. No Malaysia release dates or local pricing details yet but we expect the Honor 5X to come to Malaysia very soon.


Huawei Honor 6 Extreme Edition officially announced, has faster Kirin 928 processor

After releasing the Huawei Honor 6, Huawei has gone on to announce the Huawei Honor 6 Extreme Edition. While it offers nearly the same looks and tech specs as the earlier released Honor 6, the Honor 6 Extreme Edition includes a 2GHz octa-core Kirin 928 processor. The original Honor 6 uses an octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 920 processor. Most of the other tech specs such as 3GB of RAM, 5-inch display with 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution, 4G LTE Cat6, 13MP rear camera and 5MP front camera remain the same though. The other major difference is that it has 32GB of storage and perhaps some more "extreme" accessories like premium headphones, a 0.2mm tempered glass screen protector and a protective casing. No Malaysia release dates or pricing yet but it is set for pre-order on 21 October 2014 for $489 (RM1591).[Source]


Huawei Honor 6 IR blaster Smart Controller available for download

For those who have bought the Huawei Honor 6 recently and found that you can't use the IR blaster to remote control your TV, sound system or air conditioner, Huawei Malaysia have just released the Smart Controller app. Available for free download at the Huawei Club forum over on VMALL.my, ITES 2.0 turns your Huawei Honor 6 into a universal remote control. All you have to do is download and install two APK files from the site. The app Smart Controller will then appear. While you can download via your PC and copy it over to the Honor 6, you can just as easily make use of it's 4G LTE Cat6 connectivity and download it direct from the smartphone. The downloads are not that big so it should not take that long. Check out the screencaps below:


Huawei Honor 6 Plus coming on 16 December 2014 with Dual camera setup?

Huawei is expected to launch the next flagship in the honor lineup called the Huawei Honor 6 Plus on 16 December 2014. The device has already passed TENAA certification, which is the Chinese equipment certification agency. Recent rumors indicate that the Honor 6 Plus will come with two camera sensors at the back. This dual camera system may offer 3D capture or even a refocus feature like the setup found on the HTC One M8's Duo Camera. Expected tech specs include 1.8 Ghz Kirin SoC, 3GB RAM, 16/32GB internal storage options, MicroSD card slot which support cards up to 64GB, 5.5 inch 1080p display, 150.4 x 75.68 x 7.5mm dimensions, dual camera system and Android 4.4 Kitkat OS. There are two models listed in the TENAA database for the Honor 6 Plus, one with the model number PE-TL10 and the other with PE-UL00. However, the only difference between the two models according to the website is in the supported network bands, with the PE-TL10 getting an additional TD-SCDMA band. Unfortunately, there are no details on the Malaysia pricing or commercial availability of the phone just yet, but we don't think you'll have to wait too long to get this information.


Huawei Honor 6 Plus hands-on video

The Huawei Honor 6 Plus offers many features in a single midrange device which include dual SIM 4G LTE connectivity, a dual rear camera with dual LED flash, an IR blaste with universal remote capabilities and a massive 3600 mAh battery. We go hands-on with this midranger with flagship features and tech specs in our Honor 6 Plus hands-on video below. If you're interested in finding out more about the Honor 6 Plus do check out our full Honor 6 Plus review.


Huawei Honor 6 Plus officially announced with dual rear camera and 5.5-inch display

The rumoured Huawei Honor 6 Plus was officially announced recently and like it's name suggests, it is a larger phablet than the 5-inch display Huawei Honor 6. Overall design remains the same with rounded metal sides, a wave pattern on the back and rounded corners but with a slightly larger 5.5-inch display, the Honor 6 Plus is definitely the bigger brother of the two. The most notable feature remains the dual camera sensors in the back which can offer 13MP shots with depth of field effects (focus after the picture is taken), faster 0.1 second auto focus and reportedly better low-light performance. Other tech specs include a 1.8GHz octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 925 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage, 8MP front camera and 3600 mAh battery. The microSD slot not only supports up to 128GB of external storage, but it can also act as an extra SIM slot like in the premium version of the Huawei Ascend Mate 7. Like before, an IR blaster on the top lets you turn the smartphone into a universal remote control for your air conditioner or HDTV. The Honor 6 Plus also supports 4G LTE connectivity but the 3G version will be priced at 1999CNY (RM1130) while the 4G LTE version will go for 2499CNY (RM1412). No exact Malaysia release dates just yet but we expect Huawei Malaysia to come out with it's release soon.


ASUS PadFone S smartphone unboxing video

The ASUS PadFone S brings a number of high-end features to the Malaysian market for just RM899. These tech specs and features include 4G LTE Cat4, an upgraded 13MP PixelMaster rear camera with dedicated ISP (image signal processor) chip, a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and a lot more. If you've been wondering what stuff it gets bundled with then do check out our unboxing video below. While we can safely say that there isn't any Qi wireless charger bundled in, there are some good additions which should make it a better overall experience.


Huawei Honor 6 Plus unboxing video, some extra freebies included

The Huawei Honor 6 Plus was recently launched alongside the Honor 4C at the recent Honor Malaysia 1st Anniversary Celebrations and introduced a number of interesting features which included a Kirin 925 processor, dual parallel rear camera with dual LED flash and more. Priced at RM1399, Honor Malaysia were kind enough to drop off the Honor 6 Plus for review here at TechNave.com and we've done a quick unboxing. While the usual suspects of a pair of headphones, a charger and microUSB cable were revealed the unboxing also showed that Honor Malaysia have also packed along dual screen protectors for the front and back. Now if only all of us had the skills to put it on with no bubbles. We're certainly thankful for the extra value Honor Malaysia have added to the Honor 6 Plus package but we'll probably look up some more skilled help for the screen protector application. The hands-on and review are coming soon so stay tuned for those but for now you can check out our unboxing video below:


Huawei Honor 6 announced with 5-inch full HD 1080p screen and octa-core processor at RM1159

Huawei recently announced the Huawei Honor 6 smartphone, confirming rumours that they'd skip numbers 4 and 5 in their Huawei Honor series of smartphones. Previously codenamed the Huawei Mulan and otherwise known as the Huawei Glory 6 the smartphone offers a number of notable features including a new octa-core Kirin 920 processor from Huawei. This new octa-core chipset has scored better on AnTuTu benchmarks than the Snapdragon 805 so there is a good reason to be excited about this. Other notable tech specs and features include a 5-inch display with full HD 1080p resolution, 3GB RAM, 16GB / 32GB storage and microSD support.

It measures in at 139.8 x 68.8 x 6.5mm with some really thin bezels and what appears to be the same multi-layer backside as the Huawei Ascend P7. The new Kirin 920 chipset also offers support for LTE Cat. 6 for up to 300Mbps 4G LTE. It will also come with Android 4.4.2 along with their Emotion UI 2.3. According to Huawei, their Honor 6 is also very power-efficient, lasting longer than the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Apple iPhone 5s, while retaining a cool but tough aluminum alloy chassis.

Completing the tech specs is a 13MP rear camera with Sony IMX214 sensor, f/2.0 aperture and dual-LED flash while the 5MP front camera features a wide-angle lens and f/2.4 aperture. It is currently priced online at $359 (RM1159) but there is still no news yet on any Malaysia release dates or pricing. We expect it to come via Huawei Malaysia in the next few months so stay tuned for more developments.


Huawei Honor 6 coming to Malaysia on 27 September 2014

The recently announced Huawei Honor 6 is set to come to Malaysia as soon as 27 September 2014 with appearances at Huawei's VMALL.my site along with their Facebook Page. Tech specs for the smartphone are quite high-end including a 1.7GHz octa-core Hi-Silicon Kirin 920 processor, 3GB RAM, 16GB storage with 64GB microSD, 5-inch 1080p display, 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera and 3100 mAh battery. Other notable features includes an instant shot of 0.6 second (faster than the 1.4 seconds on the Huawei Ascend P7), hardware-based HDR, dual-LED flash and a wide angle 5MP front camera. While there is no specific Malaysia release date or pricing, the Honor 6 was priced at 1999 yuan (RM1056) so there is a high chance that it could cost somewhere around RM1099. This would make it a very attractive smartphone with top of the line tech specs. In addition, Huawei are also offering 6 Huawei Honor 6 smartphones up for grabs via their Facebook Page.


Huawei Honor 6 hands-on video

Coupled with some great tech specs and an awesome RM999 price tag, the Huawei Honor 6 looks to be one of the better midrange smartphones out there. If you've been wondering how it looks like up close, we managed to get some hands-on time with the Huawei Honor 6 smartphone which you can see in the hands-on video below. We cover all the major tech specs and features of this 4G LTE Cat6 smartphone asides from the 3GB of RAM, octa-core Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 920 processor and more.


Huawei Honor 6 now available in Malaysia for RM999, with 8-inch Honor Tablet for RM599

Right on time, Huawei Malaysia have launched their Huawei Honor 6 smartphone in Malaysia for RM999. Featuring Huawei's own octa-core Hi-Silicon Kirin 920 processor and other high-end tech specs like 3GB of RAM, a 5-inch full HD 1080p resolution display, 4G LTE Cat6, a 13MP rear camera with Sony IMX214 sensor and an aluminum metal casing, it should be available on 17 October 2014 at VMALL.my and Lelong.com. For now, you can still prebook it from 29 Spetember 2014 to 14 October 2014. We managed to get a little hands-on time with it and it certainly looks and feels a lot more premium than the price tag would suggest.

The Huawei Honor 6 and Honor Tablet on display

(from left to right) Allen An, Ecommerce Sales & Marketing, Huawei Malaysia Consumer BG, Nicolas Zhuhaifeng, Director of Huawei’s Southern Pacific Region Ecommerce Business, Adelina Ooi, Manager, Business Development & Interactive, Alt Media and Wei Kwok Seing, Director, Lelong.my celebrating the Honor 6, the world’s first smartphone to receive an octa-core LTE Cat6 chipset, first birthday here in Malaysia

The Huawei Honor 6 and Honor Tablet with models

Measuring in at 139.8 x 68.8 x 7.5mm the aluminum metal casing is backed by multi-layer glass backside much like the Huawei Ascend P7. However, unlike the Ascend P7 there is no unique looking bottom, instead the bottom half is rounded at the corners making it look a lot like an Apple iPhone 5S with no metal frame. It comes with a metal frame on the sides and top much like the Ascend P6 and Ascend P7. Stay tuned for an unboxing and hands-on video later along with a full review here at TechNave.com.

Revealed along with the Honor 6 smartphone, the Huawei Honor Tablet is an 8-inch tablet that looks like a Samsung Galaxy Tab from the front and a MediaPad X1 from the back. This means that the front features rounded corners with white bezels while the back is a metal chassis with plastic top and bottom. Designed with telephony features the tablet has built-in 3G connectivity and can be used as a smartphone as well as a tablet. Other tech specs for the Honor Tablet include a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 8-inch display with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, 4800 mAh battery and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. The Honor Tablet will be available for pre-order from 29 September 2014 with eventual stock coming in at the VMALL.my site.


Huawei Honor 6 now on offer at U Mobile from RM471

U Mobile is currently offering the Huawei Honor 6 from as low as RM471. Granted, the retail pricing of the Honor 6 is just at RM999 but the addition of various U Mobile postpaid packages complete with voice and data makes this a pretty good deal. You can also trade-in your older smartphones for a rebate of up to RM750. You will have to sign up for a 24 month contract under the U58 and U88 postpaid plans but U Mobile are throwing in their no upfront payment option as well. To qualify for the no upfront payment offer you will have to sign up using the U88 plan, pay using a credit card and auto-debit the monthly payments. For more details, check out the table below: