[Upcoming Event]

 

World-renowned composer-pianist Yiruma will be back in Kuala Lumpur for a one-night show organised by Creon Asia & Kwave. The incredibly talented pianist has had sold out shows across Asia, Europe, and North America, and will be performing a live concert this September 10th, 2017 at Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Lee-Ru-Ma or better known as Yiruma which means “I shall achieve” in Korean began playing the piano at the age of five and moved to London when he was 10, to study at the Purcell School of Music which he then completed a Composition major from King’s College in London. While studying at King’s College, this promising pianist released his first ever album “Love Scene” in 2001 and participated in a musical tour in Europe. With over 10 albums released through-out his career as a solo composer-pianist, the categorization of his style as New Age is especially prevalent amongst classical musicians and listeners. His pieces are also heavy in simple melody and rhythm, making them immediately attractive to many modern ears.

Yiruma’s physical album sales in Malaysia has passed gold and reached the Platinum award. Among his most popular pieces are “River Flows in You”, “Love Hurts”, “Kiss the Rain”, and “May Be”. One of his album, “Blind Film” which contains 11 songs including the title track ‘Blind Film’, expresses his agony and maturity as a musician through this song. His music speaks to the heart and he has captivated audiences worldwide.

“I cannot wait to meet everyone there!” – Yiruma.

Yiruma – Live in Kuala Lumpur 2017 is organised by Creon Asia (http://creonasia.website/) and tickets are available for purchase here – http://www.ticketpro.com.my/concert/2166401-Yiruma-Live-In-Malaysia-2017.html

 

 

Samsung Unveils the Samsung Galaxy Note8

 

Attended the Samsung Galaxy Note8 preview party which was my first time ever in nine years in the media attending a Samsung event at 10.00pm at night. It was timed as such to coincide with the unveiling in New York which was live streamed to us here in KL. After the withdrawal of the Note7 last year due to the battery overheating issues, the Note8 had a lot to prove to win back consumers.

Thus Samsung billed the new Note as a next level Note for people who want to do bigger things, well in essence for consumers who make technology a very integral part of their lives. With the Galaxy Note8, consumers get a bigger Infinity Display that fits comfortably in one hand, S Pen to communicate in more personal ways, and what Samsung considers their best-ever smartphone camera. 

“We appreciate the relentless passion of the Note community. They’ve been a constant inspiration to us and we designed the new Note for them,” said DJ Koh, president of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. “From the Infinity Display to the enhanced S Pen and a powerful Dual Camera, the Galaxy Note8 lets people do things they never thought were possible.”

The Galaxy Note8 has the biggest screen ever on a Note device – a 6.3-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity Display allows users to see more and scroll less, as well as providing more room to watch, read and draw. Fortunately, its narrow body makes it comfortable to hold in one hand.

The Multi Window is not new to the Note, however with the Galaxy Note8, the new App Pair feature allows users to create a custom pair of apps on the Edge Panel and simultaneously launch two apps with ease.

Since its introduction, the S Pen has been one of the Note’s defining features, and the new enhanced S Pen delivers new ways to write, draw, and interact with the phone and communicate with friends, with its finer tip, improved pressure sensitivity, and most impressively – Live Message. Live Message allows users to share animated texts or drawings across platforms that support animated GIFs. It’s a new feature that I expect millennials and Generation Z will be using a lot as it really personalises your messages in IM platforms.

The Always On Display allows users to view their notifications without unlocking their phone. The Screen Off Memo function allows users to take up to one-hundred pages of notes as soon as you remove the S Pen, pin notes to the Always On Display and make edits directly from the Always On Display.

For overseas travels or when you come across a website in a foreign language, the improved S Pen Translate feature lets you hover over text to quickly translate not only individual words, but entire sentences in up to 71 languages, and instantly convert units and foreign currencies.

 

 

The Galaxy Note8 is the first smartphone with two 12MP rear cameras with Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) on both the wide-angle and telephoto lenses which helps you capture sharper images. For more advanced photo-taking, the Galaxy Note8’s Live Focus feature lets you control the depth of field both in preview mode and after you take the photo.

In Dual Capture mode, both rear cameras take two pictures simultaneously and allow you to save both images; one close-up shot from the telephoto lens and one wide-angle shot that shows the entire background. The wide-angle lens has a Dual Pixel sensor with rapid Auto Focus, very helpful when you’re trying to capture sharp and clear shots in low-light environments. For selfies and video chats, there’s the 8MP Smart Auto Focus front-facing camera.

The Galaxy Note8 is built on the Galaxy legacy—a collection of unique features and capabilities that pretty much defined the phablet experience:

·     Water and Dust Resistance: Today, you can write even when the display is wet.

·     Fast Wireless Charging

·     Security: The Galaxy Note8 offers a choice of biometric authentication options—including iris and fingerprint scanning. Samsung Knox provides defense-grade security at the hardware and software layers and with Secure Folder, keeps your personal and professional data separate.

·     Powerful Performance with 6GB RAM, a 10nm processor, and expandable memory (up to 256GB)

·     Innovative Mobile Experiences: Samsung DeX enables a desktop experience, with the phone basically acting as the CPU. You can keep your files on your device, conduct work on the go, and use Samsung DeX to dock to a big screen, keyboard and mouse. The Galaxy Note8 includes Bixby8, a smarter way to use your phone; it learns from you, improves over time, and helps you get more done.

The Galaxy Note8 though takes business innovation to the next level with a couple of new advanced features:

·     Enhanced S Pen for Business: The S Pen lets professionals take notes in Screen off memo or quickly annotating documents and photos.

·     Non-Contact Authentication: The Galaxy Note8 offers iris scanning for professionals in the health care, construction, or public safety sectors who may find themselves in a position where they need to unlock their phones without having to swipe or scan a fingerprint.

·     Enhanced DeX Capabilities: The Galaxy Note8 powers Samsung DeX removing the need to lug around a laptop

Samsung continues to uphold its commitment to lead the industry in battery safety especially after the unfortunate incidents with the Galaxy Note7, thus the Galaxy Note8’s battery has undergone Samsung’s 8-Point Battery Safety Check, as well as a check by an external third party – UL International.

“We have been closely working with Samsung to make meaningful advancements in the science of smartphone quality and safety evaluation. As a result, the Galaxy Note8 has successfully completed a rigorous series of device and battery safety compatibility test protocols. We look forward to maintaining our strategic relationship with Samsung and helping ensure device safety for all consumers.” said Sajeev Jesudas, President, UL International.

The Galaxy Note8 will be available starting in mid-September and will be offered in Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Maple Gold and Deepsea Blue.

 

 

Samsung Galaxy Note8 Product Specification

	Galaxy Note8
Display	6.3-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED, 2960×1440 (521ppi) *Screen measured diagonally as a full rectangle without accounting for the rounded corners *Default resolution is Full HD+ and can be changed to Quad HD+ (WQHD+) in Settings
Camera	Rear: Dual Camera with Dual OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) – Wide-angle: 12MP Dual Pixel AF, F1.7, OIS – Telephoto: 12MP AF, F2.4, OIS – 2X optical zoom, up to 10X digital zoom Front: 8MP AF, F1.7
Body	162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6mm, 195g, IP68 (S Pen: 5.8 x 4.2 x 108.3mm, 2.8g, IP68) *Carrying an IP68 dust and water resistance rating. Based on test conditions of submersion in up to 1.5 meters of fresh water for up to 30 minutes
AP	Octa core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad), 64bit, 10nm processor Octa core (2.35GHz Quad + 1.9GHz Quad), 64bit, 10nm processor *May differ by market and mobile operator
Memory	6GB RAM (LPDDR4), 64GB/128GB/256GB *May differ by market and mobile operator *User memory is less than the total memory due to storage of the operating system and software used to operate the device features. Actual user memory will vary depending on the operator and may change after software upgrades.
SIM Card	Single: one Nano SIM and one MicroSD slot (up to 256GB) Hybrid: one Nano SIM and one Nano SIM or one MicroSD slot (up to 256GB) *May differ by market and mobile operator
Battery	3,300mAh Wireless Charging compatible with WPC and PMA Fast Charging compatible with QC 2.0
OS	Android 7.1.1
Network	LTE Cat. 16 *May differ by market and mobile operator
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, 1024QAM, Bluetooth® v 5.0 (LE up to 2Mbps), ANT+, USB Type-C, NFC, Location (GPS, Galileo*, Glonass, BeiDou*) *Galileo and BeiDou coverage may be limited.
Payment	NFC, MST
Sensors	Accelerometer, Barometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor, Heart Rate Sensor, Proximity Sensor, RGB Light Sensor, Iris Sensor, Pressure Sensor
Authentication	Lock Type: Pattern, Pin, Password Biometric Lock Types: Iris Scanner, Fingerprint Scanner, Facial Recognition
Audio	MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, DSF, DFF, APE
Video	MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM

 

For more information about the Galaxy Note8, head over to http://news.samsung.com/my