Over 2K YTL base stations are being deployed

WiMAX operator, YTL Communications Sdn Bhd said in a statement recently that it is currently deploying 1900 WiMAX 2.3GHz base stations nationwide with another 500 more base stations from Samsung that will soon be deployed as well.

Under the latest announcement, Samsung will also supply 2000 units of smaller base stations, or picocells, for In-building network coverage. The latest agreement with Samsung is made to increase the number of base stations for its nationwide network buildout.

Samsung serves as a supplier to 23 major WiMAX operators across 19 countries globally, such as Clearwire in the US, Yota in Russia and UQ Communications in Japan.

Samsung S8500, first phone with Bada OS

Details of the Bada Operating System from Samsung- click here

Samsung S8500 aka Wave will be the 1st smartphone powered by Bada OS. It will sport a 3.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera with 720p video recording as well as a 1GHz processor. As for connectivity, the phone will boast Quad-band GSM, HSDPA and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, making it one of the first smartphones to offer Wireless-N connectivity. It will have version 3.0 of Samsung's TouchWiz interface.

Check out several hands-on photos and leaked specifications on the Swedish site- dailymobile.se.

Samsung Omnia Video Review

Here's a review of Samsung Omnia (i900) by Mobile World TV.

I am quite surprise of the battery life(long lasting) and standby time after using this device for the last couple of days. Of course, at a minimum screen brightness and usage.

Watch the Samsung Omnia review here:

Cheaper Phones, Longer Contract soon

Here's another MNP impact, telcos won't be slashing tariff minutes only but also subsidize the phones aggressively.

During a conversation with one of the key person in Samsung, he told me that Samsung has tied up with DiGi to offer bundled packages where users could get a Samsung phone for free or pay for the selected phone for a maximum RM50.

All these comes with a few years contract, which means that if you are tied for a 2 years contract, you need the pay the access fee or the commitment fee for 2 years and it doesn't matter if you use the line or not. And NO, MNP can't help you to switch operator in this case.

It is believed that Samsung is also working with U Mobile and Celcom that will allow these operators to offer similar bundling packages.

At the moment, Celcom and DiGi offers cheaper Samsung phones but has complicated packages and terms.

Only time(within the next few weeks) will tell us if these rumors are true.

Samsung Innov8 Run

Note: This is a post from BlogMob

Join the Samsung Innov8 Run!

Samsung is organising a fun event this November 1st as part of the introduction of their latest mobile phone to Malaysia.

The Samsung Innov8 phone is the world’s first 8 megapixel phone and participants will be the first in Malaysia to experience the multi-featured phone.

Winners will walk away with an Samsung Innvo8 phone. There are also lots of other prizes. If you would like to participate, drop us an email. Do note that places are limited and Samsung Malaysia will select the successful participants.

The Samsung Innov8 Run

What
A small group of Malaysians will spend one day with the phone on a fun drive – around in the Klang valley. Their mission: decipher all the clues with the help of the Innov8 phone.

The Samsung Innov8 Run is a fun team event in which you and team members drive around solving clues with the help of the Samsung Innov8 phone. You will use features like its awesome camera, GPS maps and other cool features.

Date
1st November 2008

Time
9 am (start) until dinner. (Ends with Prizes and Dinner). Note lunch will also be arranged.

Where
Start Point is Samsung Service Centre, Petaling Jaya (Map and directions will be sent to participants)

Requirements
We’re looking for fun loving people eager to try out new things and challenges. Let us know if you have a car (petrol voucher will be given). Those without cars can still take part as teams will be allocated by Samsung.

To Apply
Send an email to kash@oneworld.com.my. Tell us something about yourself. If you blog, give us your blog address. Also tell us why you would like to participate.

Send your emails by 20th October 2008.

Samsung i-450 #5

Conclusion-Final Review

This a final post about the Samsung i-450. Although I am not going to win the phone(the contest is now closed), I am glad that I was given the opportunity to review the Samsung i-450.

In my opinion, this a good music phone for normal users. Being the first Symbian phone in the "i" series(the previous "i" was using Windows Mobile), I am surprise that Samsung did a good job on this phone.

Now here are some reasons why you should get the Samsung i-450:

• HSDPA speed u to 3.6Mbps
  

• Bang & Olufsen audio technology

• Cool music player interface

• Nokia S60 Symbian operating platform, easy to navigate
  

• Dual slide design that looks nice and works well
  

• Standard 3.5 mm Audio Jack

• Good audio quality via the supplied headset

• Nice Keypad

The down part:

• No WiFi

• Phone cover gets dirty easily

• Average, basic camera

• Average loudspeaker
  

• At RM1,599, it is an expensive music phone

Now let's hope that Samsung will reduce the price of this phone. Overall, this is an average music phone for average users.

Thank you Samsung for this opportunity. To the other 15 bloggers, see you guys tomorrow, one thing for sure, few of you will be walking home with a Samsung mobile phone.

Samsung i-450 #4

Connectivity, Functions, Camera

The Samsung i-450 has HSDPA(up to 3.6 Mbps) on it, so browsing the net has no issue. The only major drawback for connectivity is that although this phone is priced over RM1k, it does not have WiFi. Even the Samsung i-550 has WiFi and priced cheaper than the i-450.

WiFi should had be an advantage for the i-450 since I could save cost downloading music online, on the phone. Samsung should seriously consider standardizing WiFi for phones above RM1k since almost everyone uses Internet today and WiFi is cheap and most of the time it is free.

The i-450 is also capable of EDGE and GPRS, both Class 10. The Bluetooth version is 2.0 and it supports A2DP profile, allowing stereo wireless connection.

I find that signal reception was not that excellent during indoors, especially 3G, but it was not that bad as I could still make calls with 2-3 signal bars.

The phone supports PDF files and Quickoffice(read only, Word and Excel files). Other application includes a unit converter, calender, calculator, voice recorder and a Notes application.

The web browser was good enough as the web pages fits in perfectly. You can listen up to 50 preset FM radio, and yes, you must use the supplied headset.

It has an internal memory of 40MB and expandable via microSD (TransFlash).

Although having a 2MP camera, the Samsung i-450 did not produce good picture. The camera has a stability issue which Samsung could have fix it by adding Auto Focus on the camera. One good thing, the camera has an excellent flash. Overall, it was just another 2MP camera found on most of the phone in the market.

Here's a short video taken at the recent Peterpan concert. I purposely took the video during the night to see how good is the light sensor. As a phone camera, the result was acceptable.



There is also a VGA camera at the front of the phone for video calls.

Samsung i-450 #3

Design, Feel, and Interface

Now lets talk about design. To be honest, this is my first slider phone and the experience is great. I could easily slide up and down.

Sliding the i-450 upwards reveals a well spaced keypad. It changed my impression that not all sliding phones has small keypads. The keypad was responsive too.

The Samsung i-450 is constructed largely of glossy plastic, after using it for almost a month, I find the phone gets dirty easily especially with thumb prints. I believe most phones using the same material(like my Dopod D810) has the same issue.

The phone measures only 17.8 mm thick and weights only 114g, making it very light and a well designed device.

The Samsung i-450 is equipped with a 2.4" 256K color display with QVGA resolution. The back light is good enough that you can use the phone in dark areas.

Powered by Symbian 9.2 OS, S60 3rd edition(Feature Pack 1), this phone offers one of the latest S60 interface. Navigation is user friendly as I could easily locate a certain menu or setting. Telling you the truth, I tried many times to make this phone hang since in most cases, most of the latest Symbian OS suffers from stability issues, but this one is just too good.

I was getting bored with the S60 used on Nokia smartphones, but with the nice icons and interface on this phone, Samsung made the right choice.

Samsung i-450 #2

It was a busy month, that’s my only excuse for not writing much about the Samsung i-450. That's also my excuse for not posting much on this blog this month.

Music, Music and Music

Let's get to the point straight, the phone is priced high, at RM 1,599. In my opinion, you should not buy the phone just because it is a music phone (although Samsung promotes it as a music phone).

Sliding the i-450 down reveals a semi-touch wheel navigation that looks similar on an iPod, the phone will immediately switch to a proprietary music player. The only difference is that you can’t scroll on the wheel navigation(although the navigation looks like that) but you need to tap on it gently. I must say, it will take a while for you to get used to the play, pause, next, skip and pause button on the touch wheel navigation.

You can also navigate the audio player using the normal phone buttons.

According to the Samsung brochure, it has partnered with ICEpower® Technology by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower to develop mobile audio technology for the Samsung i-450.

Here is what the brochure says:

“Superior audio fidelity for a professional-sounding music experience”

“Speakers resemble professional stereos, utilizing many pin holes that pump out great sound, not just one speaker hole”

But no, I find the speaker normal, not loud, but it is better than most of the Nokia’s loudspeaker.

Overall, the music features did not meet my expectation. There is a 3.5mm audio jack on the top of the phone, thanks to Samsung, you can use the phone with the widely available earphones.

I recommend listening music through the supplied headset, nothing to shout about but it does produce a better audio quality. The only problem is that the supplied headset uses a proprietary jack, the same port used by the AC charger located on the right hand side of the phone. I am confuse. Why can't Samsung provide a headset using the 3.5mm audio jack since the audio jack is available on the i-450?

When I first got the phone, in my mind, I first though that the Samsung i-450 will be an excellent music phone but I was wrong. It is certainly a good music phone, but not the best.

Samsung i-450 #1

Part 1- Features

The Samsung i-450 features:

General

2G Network- GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network- HSDPA 2100
Announced- 2007, August
Status- Available. Released 2008, February

Size

Dimensions- 101 x 52 x 17.8 mm
Weight- 114 g

Display

Type- TFT, 256K colors
Size- 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches


Ringtones

Type- Polyphonic, MP3
Customization- Download, order now
Vibration- Yes

Memory

Phonebook- Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records- Detailed, max 30 days
Card slot- microSD (TransFlash), buy memory
Built in- 40 MB built-in memory

Data

GPRS- Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD- No
EDGE- Class 10, 236.8 kbps
3G- HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps
WLAN- No
Bluetooth- Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port- No
USB- Yes, v2.0

Features

OS Symbian- OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI
Messaging- SMS, EMS, MMS, Email
Browser- WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML
Games- Yes, order now
Colors- Dark Blue
Camera- 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video, flash; secondary VGA videocall camera

Other Features

- Java MIDP 2.0
- Flash player
- FM radio with RDS
- 3.5 mm audio jack
- WMV/3GP/H.263/MPEG4 player
- WMA/MP3/AAC/AAC+/OGG/ASF player
- Organiser
- Document viewer (MS Word, Excel, PPT, PDF)
- Built-in handsfree

Battery

Standard battery, Li-Ion
Stand-by Up to 500 h
Talk time Up to 5 h

More updates tomorrow!!

A chance for you to win a Samsung mobile phone

The Samsung BlogMob program offers 3 of the 16 bloggers to walk away with either a Samsung i450 or a Samsung i550 mobile phone.

Thanks to Mobile World and Samsung, I am one of the 16 bloggers and I am offering you the chance to win a Samsung mobile phone.

The main purpose of Samsung BlogMob is to know Samsung mobile phones better and use the phone in daily lives and blog about it. And that's is just what I am going to do.

There are 3 categories where BlogMob bloggers can win a phone each:

• Contest 1 – Best Blogger-Judged by content posted on the blog that is related to the phone

• Contest 2 – Introducing the phone-This fun contest requires you show the phone to as many people as possible

• Contest 3 - Highest site traffic for the period

The winning prize for each category is a Samsung i550 or a Samsung i450.

Now, I am opening Contest 2 and Contest 3 to all of you.

It is simple, for Contest 2, show the i450 to more than 50 people in one or more photo( I can loan you the phone), and send me the pictures. If I win for this category, I will give the winning prize(Samsung mobile phone) to the the person who contributed the highest number of people for this category on my blog.

For Contest 3, write anything about the Samsung i450 and link to my articles on the Samsung i450, if I win for this category, the winning prize goes to the blogger that contributed the highest traffic to this blog(from his/her blog).

Of course I wish to win the phone for myself and I can still do it via Contest 1, but the main objective of BlogMob is to make Malaysians know Samsung mobile phones better. I thank Samsung Malaysia for choosing blogs like mine and the other 15 rather than going for a high traffic personal blogs that has more pictures rather than informational contents( not all but most of it).

For that I am sacrificing my opportunities to win the phone and I am serious about it. My main objective right now is to make more people know more about the Samsung i450.

Even though if I don't win any of this category, I am still eligible to buy the Samsung i450 or the Samsung i550(if available) at half price which will be around RM700, and I will select the best contributor from either Contest 2 or Contest 3 to this blog to purchase the phone at this price.

I will still blog about the Samsung i450 and I hope you will also support me by doing the same.

Contest ends May 15, 2008.

Samsung BlogMob #1

I was at the Samsung BlogMob event last Saturday. OK!!! I know that I am late to blog about this, but again I am the first among 16 BlogMob bloggers to talk about BlogMob.

Let's get back on topic, I said that I will make one post a day about the Samsung phone I received, OK!! OK!!! I know I am the last to blog about this but I was busy testing out U Mobile's Surf With U, attending its new postpaid launch, Mobile World TV shooting and meeting a reader from France. Even now, I am blogging this in a half "mabuk" mode.

I was given a Samsung SGH-i450 and not the Samsung SGH- i550 as I wanted. Basically, the SGH-i450 is a music phone while the SGH-i550 is more like a business phone. Although I own an iPod Classic 160GB which I am satisfied, it leaves me no choice but to review the SGH-i450. Samsung Malaysia, are you reading this?

(SGH-i450 slide up)

Although I dislike slider phones, this SGH-i450 made me changed my mind, I could easily slide the phone up and down.

(SGH-i450 slide down)

I wish to test out its music features but Samsung did not provide us an microSD card that is required by the phone so that I could load some of my over 1,000 songs to the card and play it on the SGH-i450.

Below is the picture of the Mobile World Editor and what is he doing with those cards at a BlogMob event? OMG....

If you want to know why? Contact him via editor(at)mobileworld.com.my

As promised, I will try to make at least 5 post a week. If you are a blogger, do check out this blog tomorrow for something that can benefit you. I am sure you will not regret it.

STAY TUNED, Samsung lovers!!!

(Note: Pictures belongs to Mobile World magazine and may not be used, reproduced without written permission from Mobile World magazine)

Samsung BlogMob

I am invited to participate in a Samsung phone programme called BlogMob which is the first held in Malaysia. The event is partnered with Mobile World magazine.

I will be given a Samsung mobile phone on April 12 that I am required to review it on this blog. Everything about the phone will be expressed via this blog for a period of 1 month where I will share with you the features, the feel, the pro and cons, how I used the phone and many more.

There are 3 categories: Best post, Highest Traffic and Highest number of people that the phone was shown to.

I believe I will be given a Samsung i450 for review. Please visit Telco Talk Malaysia every weekdays starting April 12 2008 till May 12 2008. I will try to make a post about this phone everyday and also give you more updates in the telecoms industry.

Prizes? I get a chance to win the phone.....For readers, a BlogMob microsite will be set up where the commentators will stand a chance to win prizes through the Samsung lucky draw.

My first review on this blog was a Nokia N77 from Nokia UK. I hope that other mobile brands will also recognize this blog and get their phones reviewed on this blog.