My 10.1 inches Samsung Galaxy Tab A 6 with S Pen and LTE phone function (SM-P585Y)

I used to read subscribed electronic magazines with my Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet when I am on the move. In many occasions, I found its screen too small to display the text in the electronic magazines to be readable without having to enlarge the pages.

Recently, Samsung launched a new Samsung Galaxy Tab A tablet with 10.1" TFT LCD screen that comes with S Pen and supports both WiFi and LTE cellular network. It has full phone feature and can be used for phone calling and SMS function too!

I found its price of around RM1,500 to be reasonable, and therefore bought one to serve for my electronic magazines reading.

This Samsung Galaxy Tab A 6 with S Pen (model: SM-P585Y) is a mid-range Android tablet, powered by the Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 7870 14nm processor.

Specification wise, it is much better than the 9.7" Samsung Galaxy Tab A with S Pen and LTE support. The 9.7" version only has a screen resolution of 1024x768 while this 10.1" version one is 1920x1200. In addition, the 9.7" version has quad-core CPU and 2 GB RAM, while this 10.1" version has octa-core CPU and 3 GB RAM.

However, being a mid-range tablet, its specification is lower than the high spec Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 (9.7", LTE). The S2 has 2048x1536 super AMOLED screen and more sensors, but doesn't have S Pen.

What I like about this Samsung Galaxy Tab A 6 with S Pen (10.1", LTE)?

• Its 10.1" screen is large among the tablets in the market.
• It has a high capacity Li-ion battery of 7,300 mAh which can last for long hours of usage.
• It supports multi-user usage, whereby each user can login with separate account.
• It supports split window and also multiview for multitasking.
• Its S Pen is nice for drawing or writing quick notes. Comes with S Command function too.
• It has sufficient RAM to run smoothly.
• Its price is reasonable.

What I dislike about this Samsung Galaxy Tab A 6 with S Pen (10.1", LTE)?

• It does not have a "menu" navigation button, which need some software workaround to bring out the setting menu in some apps.
• It is quite heavy, probably due to its high capacity battery. It is even heavier when its book cover case (EF-BP580) is put on.
• It only has 16 GB internal storage, which is pretty small. Its official firmware does not support for Android 6 adoptable storage, so even if you add in a micro-SD card to expand its storage capacity, most of its storage usage is still residing within the small 16 GB internal storage.
• It does not have accelerometer, fingerprint sensor, gyroscope, geo-magnetic sensor, infra red blaster, NFC, etc.
• Although the Samsung Exynos 7870 supports LTE Cat.6, it only support LTE Cat.4.
• It does not support 2x2 MIMO Wireless-A WiFi. Its maximum connection speed at 5Ghz WiFi is 433Mbps only instead of 866Mbps.

Electronic password protected money saving box

To encourage my kid to save pocket money with fun, I have bought him an electronic password protected money saving box.

This money saving box is designed to store both coins and notes. It is quite large, about 7 x 4 x 4.5 cubic inches.

It operates with 3 AA size batteries, to be inserted into its bottom compartment.

Coins are dropped from its top aperture, just like most ordinary piggy bank. Bank notes are to be inserted from its front aperture. Interestingly, this saving box will roll the bank notes into it, with similar effect of automated parking machine.

It has a revolving vault door with password protection, working similarly to a real safe. The password can be changed too.

On top of it is a small LED light, when switched on in darkness, can provide good enough illumination for putting in the coins and slotting in the bank notes.

Christmas and new year is around the corner. At the price of around RM60, perhaps this is a good choice as present to the kids.

Clean and sanitize my washing machine with Xin Juke tub cleaning powder

Washing machine is commonly used in modern household to help us wash and clean our clothes without much hassle.

Over time, external surface of the inner tub of the washing machine will develop many of these contaminations, which might in turn contaminate the clothes in it:

• Residue of detergent
• Lint
• Dirt
• Mildew
• Fungal
• Allergens
• Bacteria (including staphylococcus aureus, escherichia coli, etc.)

Therefore, it is advisable to regularly clean and sanitize your washing machine.

You can DIY your own homemade washing machine tub cleaning formula by washing it with the following one-by-one:

• Baking soda powder (1 tea cup + full tank of water)
• White vinegar (2 tea cups + full tank of water)
• Bleach (1 tea cup + full tank of water) 

I use Xin Juke tub cleaning powder for this purpose, one 90 gram packet at a time. Each 90 gram packet cost RM3.90 only. This washing machine cleaning power is suitable for both the top loaded and front loaded types of washing machine.

Using Xin Juke or other similar washing machine cleaning solution can save some hassle, time, and water used. The Xin Juke doesn't cost much too, although some other brand of similar solution might cost a lot.

The steps for using Xin Juke in top loading washing machine are:

• Dissolve one to two packets of the powder into warm water of around 40~80 degree Celcius.
• Fill up the washing machine with near full tank water.
• Pour the Xin Juke solution into the tank. (Alternatively, you can combine the above 2 steps and skip this step, if you can fill the washing machine with warm water. The temperature is suitable to fully dissolve the Xin Juke powder)
• Put in one to two pieces of cleaning cloth so that the washing machine not running with empty tub.
• Operate the washing machine for about 10 minutes.
• Stop the washing machine and let the cleaning solution to work for 3 to 4 hours in still water (but not too long until more than half a day)
• There might be dirty substances floating on top of the water. Remove them.
• Continue the washing cycle until it complete. You can use the "tub cleaning" washing cycle if your washing machine support this mode.

The steps for using Xin Juke in front loading washing machine are:

• Pour one to two packets of the powder into the tub and close the door.
• Put in one to two pieces of cleaning cloth so that the washing machine not running with empty tub.
• Fill up half the tub with water, preferably warm water.
• Operate the washing machine for about 10 minutes.
• Stop the washing machine and let the cleaning solution to work for 3 to 4 hours in still water (but not too long until more than half a day)
• Continue the washing cycle until it complete.

The steps are different because once the front loading washing machine is filled up with water, you can't simply open its door!