Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 is in town!

The much awaited Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 has finally hit the Malaysian streets.

Celcom Axiata Berhad partnered with Samsung Malaysia Electronics to launch the Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 this morning. In conjunction with the launch of the tablet, there are 3 attractive promotions for the public tomorrow 20th August 2011:

• The first 300 customers at The Piazza @ The Curve are entitled to buy the Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 at only RM999 (n/p RM1899). From that 300 customers, there will be 20 randomly selected lucky customers who will be able to buy it at only RM99 (Ringgit Malaysia Ninety Nine only)! Sales starts at 10am so you hurry over to line up NOW!

• First 50 customers at Queensbay Mall in Penang will be able to buy the Galaxy Tab 10.1 at RM999

• First 50 customers at Celcom Branch at Jalan Kempas in Johor Bahru will be able to buy the Galaxy Tab 10.1 at RM999.

All Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 purchases will be bundled with Celcom's broadband plans as listed in Celcom's website.

The Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 will be retailed at all Blue Cube outlets beginning 20th August from as low as RM1,468 instead of RM1,899 when consumers subscribe to Celcom's broadband packages as per their website.

Now I had the opportunity to play around with the Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 for a week. It was fun. Extra fun as hubby and I didn't have to fight over our iPad. And this came with a camera which I thought would be good since I loved taking pictures of what I eat. A larger screen of 10.1" WXGA 1280x800 was also good as I can surf in comfort versus the iPhone 3GS or even my Nokia E7.

Conclusion?

The TFT LCD screen was good. Good for surfing the net. Was superb for watching YouTube videos. Such clarity and the audio is really good too. And if you love e-books, this screen has you quite addictively reading on and on.

The 3 Mega Pixel camera is quite disheartening per se. But for the final results...OKlah. You can actually see it from the following videos that I shot during the day and night during our recent getaway with the furkids and pals to A Famosa.

Photos are not too bad too. The night ones were of course not happening...but I reckon for its convenience of all in 1...its not bad for RM1,899.

day pics

night pics

food pics in yellow light restaurant is quite acceptable:D

Surfing the net or blogging or running through your mails on the go is easy with screen and option of your keyboard. Of course accessories like the bluetooth keyboard will make it even easier:D

nice and wide for big fingers like hubby's

nice and small for petite people like me.

Battery life is something that I took some time to fiddle around. Do adjust the settings so that it carries you through a movie marathon. I am told I can watch a movie marathon for 9 hours. I of course have not tried that as I think it'll kill me to be glued to any screen:P

One bit I loved was being able to upload my pictures (yummy ones) on the go. Fun! Must remember I own the iPad rather than the iPad2.

My major quips?

• Transferring my pictures to my MacBook was quite a pain. I had to do picture by picture. No bulk transfer possible (Correctly me if I am wrong please). Sigh. But all is really not too bad as I could track the transfers as to which had failed. I only needed to resend the ones that were marked "The request cannot be handled correctly".

• No USB ports!

Is it worth buying?

• Good buy at RM1,499 with Celcom broadband packages only if you do not have a tablet. I have my iPad so I will just live with it:D---> BUY (only if you don't own a tablet)

• At 565grammes it is the weight of a cup of coffee or a small bottle of mineral water.---> BUY

• 10.1" WXGA TFT LCD screen is nice and clear.---> BUY

• 8.6mm thin, it fits into most handbags readily and is barely there (without casing).---> BUY

• Polaris Office allows you to edit and view Microsoft Office documents anywhere and anytime. ---> BUY

• Wifi and 3G enabled.---> BUY

• Surround sound stereo speakers is great for movies.---> BUY

• 7700mAh battery last longer than iPad2 6600mAh battery.---> BUY

So from a not too technical person here ...hurry over to the 3 places mentioned above NOW to queue for the offer of RM999 on Saturday 20th August 2011. For all you know you may well be the lucky 20 in Klang Valley to buy it for RM99 only. Good luck!

Freebies Time: 6 units of Samsung Galaxy Ace

I chanced on one of the following videos that a friend shared on Zlwin performing some magic tricks (I love watching magic tricks:D) Then discovered that I can also win myself a stylish Samsung Galaxy Ace just by watching Zlwin perform his magic tricks.



As they say, all good things must be shared. So folks, this all you need to do be in the running of 1 of the 6 units of the Samsung Galaxy Ace.

1) Watch the YouTube videos of Zlwin performing his magic tricks

2) Answer one simple question that accompanies each video.

Easy peasy right? So what are you waiting for?

Video 1:

• View the video

• Question: How did the phone come to life?

• Post your answer here

Video 2:

• Watch the video and listen carefully!

• Question: How many times did Zlwin mention the word "camera" and if you win, how will you use your Ace?

• Post your answer here and get as many friends to 'LIKE' your answer.

###The Samsung fan with the correct answer and the most 'LIKE' wins a Samsung Galaxy Ace!

Video 3:

• Watch the video and listen carefully!

• Tag 5 of your friends

• Question: How may times was the lighter flicked in the video?

• Complete this slogan "Galaxy Ace light up my life because…."

• Post your answer and slogan here and get as many friends to 'LIKE' your answer.

###The Samsung fan with the correct answer and the most creative slogan wins a Samsung Galaxy Ace!

Good news: You may participate in all the 3 videos above:D

Bad news: Contest closes on 30th April 2011. So hurry up!

More information can be found on Samsung U-nivez Facebook Page & http://www.samsung.com/my/galaxyace

Kitchen solutions from Samsung

I love eating as much as I love cooking. But have never been cooking as much as I like because:

• busy busy busy with work
• not having the most equipped kitchen
• cooking isn't as easy as eating:P

But really if one has a properly equipped kitchen and some basic know hows, cooking can be a breeze for any career woman. Samsung to the rescue. Aptly named Samsung Kitchen Solution "Designed for your extraordinary life" the line of hob, hood and oven as I saw in Harvey Norman at Ikano is simply a life saver.

Does it have to be expensive? Nope! For the offerings of a hood and ceramic / induction hob, the prices ranges from RM2999 (ceramic) (normal price RM3598) to RM5399 (induction) (normal price RM6498). The top up deals promo (when you purchase the above hood and hob packages) for the ovens are certainly too good to be resisted. Ovens range from RM2300 (normal price RM2799) to Rm3300 (normal price RM3999).
Now price sounds good, the features have to be good and also look good or else what's the point?
I've always hated cooking the conventional way mainly because of the fear that a lousy hood means the whole kitchen is going to be greasy and stinky. Samsung has launched 2 hoods which do not take up a lot of space (60cm and 90cm width that should fit easily into any kitchen). What is interesting is the aluminium filter which are easy to clean unlike the conventional carbon, paper and flease that cost more to change. And you can just imagine if you do not change it often enough, the hood certainly will not function at its optimum.

And the halogen light on the hood will ensure that you can see what you are cooking easily. Speaking from experience unless the hood has proper lighting, chances are your cooking are isn't going to be properly illuminated.

Induction and ceramic hobs are a God sent creation especially when you have kids lurking around in the house. With a fire stove, they either will set the house on fire or play with fire and burn themselves. Parents will be pleased and relieved that all Samsung hobs come with child safety locks to ensure kids don't get themselves burnt by the heat. And with the induction hobs, heat is only generated when the ceramic glass comes in contact with induction compatible cookware e.g. stainless steel, cast iron and enamel.

I've heard complains about ceramic or induction hobs. Amongst which are:
• water cannot boil
• uneven heating

Samsung has launched the induction hob that features heating via induction coils under the ceramic glass surface. With the ceramic hobs, it features four high tech zones with powerful radiant heater to ensure even and quick heating.

And the induction hob has me going in wows...I love using the grill pan and big pots (macamlah I cook for a big family:P). And my complain has always been ceramic hobs in the market doesn't cater to the grill pans simply because of the cooking area. With Samsung's induction hob, there is a huge square area that is huge enough for most grill pans. And Samsung ceramic hobs also feature a multipurpose cooking zone called the Anydish Zone to accomodate cookware of varying size. This unique feature is again to ensure even cooking!
And if you hate cleaning up gas stoves, ceramic hoods is the solution! Simply wipe of the grime with a soft cloth. No need to poke and squeeze the finger to try to clean up spills under the ring.

Ovens have been my favourite ever since I owned my very first convection microwave oven. I have thus progressed to ovens and they are a life saver because I can bake, roast and even grill in one little box:P And with modified dishes I no longer have to clean the whole kitchen after whipping out a meal.
I made up my mind that my next oven must come from Samsung. It features twin convection which means I can now cook 2 dishes at 2 different temperatures on 2 different levels. Amazing isn't it? Mind you this isn't Samsung saying it. I witnessed it with my own eye balls when Chef Ricky from Cilantro demonstrated when he whipped out a backed chicken teriyaki, mini pizza and chocolate walnut cookies to the amazement of the crowd at Harvey Noman recently.

And the Samsung ovens get extra brownie points from lazy people like me. Not because it has a scratch resistant ceramic interior that allows grease to be wiped off easily with a damp cloth. BUT beacuse it features pyrolytic cleaning. The pyrolytic cleaning means that lazy people like don't have to lift a finger to the oven. It is a self cleaning system that works by "superheating" the oven to 500C to burn off any deposits from our bake, roast or grill sessions. Brilliant isn't it?

They look good. And they work absolutely well as I witnessed. So for those who's looking to upgrade their kitchen or shop for a new kitchen, hurry up to Harvey Norman or selected Samsung outlets to grab the current promotion and of course the fabulous kitchen solutions.

Samsung Galaxy Tab

Rebecca mentioned Samsung Galaxy Tab and I went "hmmmm". Can't remember when was the last time I actually played with anything from Samsung. But it hit me that there is no harm going to check it out during the Samsung and Maxis launch at Sungai Wang Plaza recently as I am in the midst of gadget shopping (Christmas and birthday round the corner):P

Have a look at the following Samsung Galaxy Tab ad:

And the ad does give me the impressions that the Samsung Galaxy Tab is designed for people who want a premium mobile entertainment experience on the go, but don’t want to be weighed down by a bulky device.

Undeniably, I am enjoying the iPad for surfing, games and ebooks but the weight is quite a bummer in my handbag or working bag. And when playing games on it, after 30 minutes, the arm complains:-(

So when I heard 7"that the Samsung Galaxy Tab is 7", I reckon it should be quite a good idea afterall to check it out. It weighs 380g versus the iPad 680g. That is almost half! But the size isn't half which means its had not totally compromised weight for size. The iPad is 18.97cm x 24.28cm versus the Samsung Galaxy Tab 12.04cm x 19cm.

Being Samsung's first attempt in the tablet game, I was pleasantly surprised by the specifications. It was definitely a good consideration for those whose ooking for a table and smartphone

• OS - Android 2.2 (Froyo) (Services like Google Maps™ Navigation (Beta) and Google Goggles are available on Google’s Android platform)
• supports 2.5G and 3G network (thus the tie up with Maxis)
• 12.04cm x 19cm TFT LCD screen
• A 1GHz Hummingbird processor
• A 3MP rear camera with auto focus
• A 1.3MP front-facing camera for video conferencing (on Wifi only)
• Is wifi and bluetooth ready
• Supports the current Adobe Flash Player 10.1
• Features Readers Hub (a consolidation of e-reading apps eg eBooks, eMagazines and eNewspapers)
• Earphone jack for those who like to wire up their handsfree kit
• 16GB internal memory with upto 32GB external memory slot (microSD)
• 4,000mAh battery (which is equivalent to approximately 7 hour movie play)

Movie and series buffs, the Samsung Galaxy Tab also supports DivX, XviD, MPEG4 and more ( I can now watch my Korean and Taiwanese series on the go...) So technically with the hour movie play battery lifespan, I can pretty much be self entertained on my drives up and down Singapore or Penang:D

All the above retailing at RM2,699 doesn't sound too bad. But you can always pick it up much cheaper with any Maxis Value Plans (Plans at RM50, RM80, RM150, RM250 or RM500) plus a data bundle (500MB, 1.5GB or 3GB) for the following prices:

• 12 month contract @ RM1,849
• 24 month contract @ RM1,749

Ah... overheard someone say that its kinda in your face if you wanna make a call as this photo of shows:P
but it has bluetooth and also an earphone jack. So no worries about the whole wide world listening to your conversation:P

And if you don't want to look like a preacher (I've been told that when one holds the iPad with a leather casing, it does look like a preacher holding his Bible), then check out the following pics that at 7" the Samsung Galaxy Tab does look practically good:

And here's some videos of the Samsung Galaxy Tab in action.

So is it on my list of possible buys this year? I will have to say its gonna be a probable yes.