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Lenovo today announced a new addition to its family of tablets – the IdeaPad Tablet A1. The 7-inch (LED with 1024×600 pixel resolution) IdeaPad A1 runs Android 2.3 and features a magnesium alloy “roll-cage” that is designed to protect critical internal components. The A1 is Lenovo’s third Android tablet to hit the market — the first two being the 10.1-inch IdeaPad K1 and the ThinkPad Tablet, also with a 10.1-inch screen.

Other vital specs include a single-core 1Ghz Nvidia Tegra Cortex A8 processor with 512MB RAM and 16GB of on board storage. You also get a 3MP rear camera (VGA front), a micro SD card reader and Mini USB connector

The A1 also features a “unique offline GPS navigation technology that allows direct satellite connection regardless of internet access”. We’re not sure how this is unique because virtually all devices can access GPS without the need for internet connectivity. You need connectivity to render the maps not to access GPS satellites but we’re not sure if that is what Lenovo means by this unique offline GPS navigation technology.

The A1 is available in black or white and will go on sale in Malaysia in January 2012 for RM799.

That RM799 price tag is very attractive for a 7-inch tablet but we’re not expecting that single-core 1GHz processor to deliver blazing performance either.

Celcom now offers the entry level Samsung Galaxy Y which is priced at RM499 outright.

For Celcom Exec consumer plans, the Galaxy Y is offered as low as RM208 on 18 months contract of Celcom Exec 50 + Celcom Broadband Advanced. The subscription should be RM108/month but the commitment was written as RM250/month on their website. For light users, there are lower options of Celcom Exec 50 + mLite data and Celcom Exec 50 + mBasic which should be priced at RM78 and RM88 respectively.

The major thing that we couldn’t understand is the upfront payment for the Galaxy Y. Celcom requires RM300-600 upfront for a phone that is priced below RM500. Also worth mentioning is that the upfront payment is rebated over 12 months. As the Galaxy Y is already an affordable device, it is ridiculous for Celcom to demand such a high upfront payment. Perhaps this is a typo by Celcom’s website team as they have been prone to mistakes recently like their “Droid RAZR” and “1.5GHz Galaxy Tab 8.9“. We suggest contacting Celcom for more details.

For Biz users, it is offered for free with 24 months contract of P148 + SMS Pack RM2 package.

For more information, head over to Celcom’s Smartphone page.

The Motorola Atrix 2 is finally here with the price tag of RM1,599 from IMCC. Despite having a “2? behind the Atrix name, it isn’t really a full fledged replacement.

First, the screen is increased from 4.0″ to 4.3″ which is an improvement with non-Pentile display. The screen resolution is still maintained at qHD which pushes a rather high 960×540 pixels. In terms of processor, instead of the 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 on the original Atrix, the Atrix 2 uses a 1GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4430. This puts it a notch lower than the RM1,999 Motorola RAZR that runs on 1.2GHz dual-core.

At the back, the camera is given an upgrade from 5MP to 8MP which now shoots 1080p HD videos. Unfortunately the battery capacity is reduced from 1,930mAh down to 1,785mAh. The Atrix 2 supports HSPA+ with download speeds up to 21Mbps which is similar to the Samsung Galaxy S II. It is also worth pointing out that the Atrix 2 doesn’t come with a bio-metric fingerprint scanner which was available on the original Atrix.

If you’re interested, head over to IMCC’s Motorola Atrix 2 page.

According to Samsung Malaysia Facebook page, the Galaxy Nexus will be officially here in early 2012 before Chinese New Year while Chinese New Year falls on 23rd January in 2012.

Read here for more detail on Galaxy Nexus.

The next missing detail would be the price. So far grey importers are selling it about RM2300-2500 range. We are expecting that Samsung would price this competitively at no more than RM2000, somewhere between the Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note.

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DiGi too has joined in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 bandwagon with its latest bundling from as low as RM1200. This is RM499 savings off the Tab 8.9 3G retail price of RM1,699. Currently there’s one bundling option that’s tied with a 6GB broadband plan at RM99/month on Easy Payment Scheme. There’s no mention of contract period but if it follows the Galaxy Tab 10.1 offer, the RM99/month payment of 24 months is likely to be inclusive of 12 months subscription + tablet price.

Currently this is only available at DiGi authorised stores. For more information, head over to DiGi’s tablet page.

DiGi is also doing some extra promotions where they are giving extra savings of RM480 (RM20 rebate x 24 months) on Smart Plan 68 phone bundling. DiGi- always the smarter choose.