Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus - Simple Review After One Month

Introduction

Before I begin, I would like to point out that I use an Apple Iphone as my daily driver for the last ten years, although I had the opportunity to use an Android OS mobile phone for a short period of time throughout the years. I like the simple and yet easy to use interface by the iOS platform. Lately, however, things have changed.

My Requirements in a modern smart phone

I have decided to switch to the dark side and use an Android OS mobile phone instead. My requirements are simple. With the Android OS platform, I just need a well all-rounder phone with at least 64GB of storage with the ability to use MicroSD cards to increase the storage of the mobile phone. The camera phone have optical image stabilisation (OIS), it must have a headphone jack and some sort of water resistant. Last but not least, the mobile phone must not be too expensive. 

Samsung Galaxy S9+

In the end, I have decided to try out the Samsung Galaxy S9 plus (S9+) with 128GB. It is a single SIM and it does not come with a hybrid SIM tray. The reason why I have not chosen the 256GB is that it is not available in the United Kingdom unless it has been done via a grey import which you could obtain it from the internet. I have reliable sources informing me that a brand new SIM free 256GB hybrid SIM S9+ will cost around £850 in Asian countries, particularly in Hong Kong. I don't think I would rely on a grey import because Samsung will not honour the warranty in UK, unless the device is sold in EU countries. Having said that, there are occasions where mobile phones being purchased through an official Samsung outlet within the EU countries have been refused repairs by Samsung UK. That is why it is best to buy the device in UK.

Specifications on the Samsung Galaxy S9+

CPU/GPU/Modem:
Since I have acquired the device in the UK, it comes with the Samsung Exynos 9810 (4x2.7Ghz Mongoose M3 & 4x1.8Ghz Cortex A55) and the GPU is powered by Mali G72MP18. Anandtech has done a very good job in producing a report, comparing the Exynos 9810 on the S9+ with its predecessor, the Exynos 8895. Honestly, I am a big fan of the Exynos, although the performance may yet beat the Snapdragon 845 chipset which it could be found inside S9+ devices being sold in the US and China. The radio modem inside the S9+ is a beast. It is compatible with 2G, 3G and over 22 4G bands! I am most impressed!

Body/Display/Camera/Memory
I like the shinning glass front and back body of the S9+. On paper, both front and back glass are protected by Gorilla Glass 5 with an aluminium chassis. I like the non-slip sides as it has some grip. It helps to prevent accidental drops of the phone. It is 189g in weight and I fancy the 6.2" display with 1440x2960ppi. The screen is gorgeous! However, I feel that sometimes the amber sensor on the S9+ may need software tweaking to allow better calibration of the screen brightness when automatic brightness has been selected.

Last year, I have tried out the S8 instead of the S8 plus, simply because both of these devices only came with a single camera lense. The S9+ now comes with a dual camera setup back camera with stunning results when taking pictures or videos, thanks to its new main dual aperature 12MP camera lense, capable of switching between f1.5 and f2.4. The secondary lense at the back is also 12MP with f2.4. Both of these lenses has Optical Image Stabilisers. It is a hardware stabiliser, unlike the new Sony XZ2, relying on Electronic Image Stabilisers which is software based. The S9+ could video up to 2k resolution at 60fps and it comes with a super slow motion mode. It allows users to take videos  up to 960fps at 720p resolution. Perhaps Samsung may want to improve on the super slow-mo and allow users to take slow-mo at 1080p in the near future. The secondary camera comes with a 8MP lense with f1.7 aperature and it supports autofocus and users can take videos up to 1440p at 30fps. Both primary and secondary lenses will support High Dynamic Range capture. The S9, on the other hand, will only have one 12MP primary camera with dual aperatures.

Samsung has decided to officially sell their S9+ in the UK that comes in 128GB of internal storage and 6GB of RAM. It is strange as they also sell 64GB and the 256GB version as well but they only sell the 128GB officially in the UK. That is pretty strange. I guess that it is their strategy of promoting the S9+ over the S9 as the S9 will only have 64GB of storage.

Navigation
One thing that I like Samsung phones so much is due to their willingness to support many GPS technologies. The S9+ is no different. The device support A-GPS, GLONASS(Russian GPS system), BeiDou (Chinese GPS system, and GALILEO (EU GPS system). Too bad as Samsung could have included QZSS (Japanese GPS system) but I dont' think that it is a problem as the system will soon be integrated into GALILEO. With four GPS systems located inside the S9+, it will give users a more accurate reading of their locations. This is great!

Good Points
For the past one month, I had the privilege to use the S9+ and I am finding it difficult to move back to the Apple Iphone anymore. This is because the device is jam-packed with features that is equipped with 2018 specifications. It comes with a rather curvy screen (Infinity Display) with good brightness. It allows users to see the screen under direct sunlight. Apart from that, the phone has improved Iris and facial scanner. I have tried it and I am happy with the improvements. However, I would not rely on it too much though. I am more comfortable with the finger print reader instead.

I also like the fact that the S9+ is water resistant (IP68) and it comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack! This is less getting popular as many modern devices have done away with a 3.5mm headphone jack (*cough* *cough* Apple). The 3500mAh battery can easily last me for one day with moderate usage. On the other hand, I do appreciate that Samsung has included a MicroSD slot to increase the internal storage. This is just nice as I have purchased a 128GB Samsung EVO Plus (Read Speed: Up to 100MB/s; Write Speed: Up to 90MB/s) to compliment the 128GB UFS 2.1 internal storage.

The S9+ runs on Samsung's own UI (Touchwiz) based on Android 8.0.0 Oreo. It is destined to receive Android 8.1 very soon. It supports Wifi calling and 4G calling (subjected to network settings). Apart from that, the bundled AKG tuned headphones is just marvellous! The sound quality on the supplied headphones is stunning, although the bass could have been more punchy but I am not going to complain. I am satisfied with the sound quality on the headphone provided. The stereo speakers on the S9+ is also an advantage to Samsung, simply because they failed to implement a pair of speakers on the S8/S8 plus devices. The S9/S9+ is a good buy with stereo speakers! I like the good sound range coming out from those two speakers on the S9+. I am impressed. Moreover, using navigation apps on the S9+ is a breeze. Locations will only take a brief moment to get locked on, much quicker than the S8 that I have used last year. I am also in favour of the fast charge and wireless charging! It will save me from the need to plug in the usb c cable to recharge the phone all the time. Potentially the usb c charging port will be preserved for longivity. Samsung has bundled a full usb A to usb C adaptor as well as a microUSB to usb c adaptor in the box itself. I like it!

Bad Points
There are several small issues that bugged me when I was using it as mt daily driver for the past one month. First of all, it is much better to use the phone with both hands as it is rather large. It is also slightly heavier at 189g. With my Ringke cover, it has increased the weight of the device to 195g. Certainly it is not light but it is acceptable, taking into account the screen size of the device and the heavier battery on the S9 plus. Secondly, it is not a cheap device. However, just give it 6 months and it will be more affordable. Thirdly, 4G calling is not possible if you have purchased a unit directly from Samsung. This is because 4G calling will only work if the firmware is network specific, i.e. if you are running on EE in the UK, you need to obtain an EE firmware. Otherwise 4G will not function. That is why there are many people who will sign up to a contract with network providers just to use 4G calling. The workaround is to flash the device with an official firmware from the network. However, you are running at a risk as Samsung would not accept any tempering with the device.

Overall
In summary, I have more love to the S9+ than doubts. I will certainly give it a thumbs up and I will use it as my daily driver. It is a marvellous piece of engineering. It shows that Samsung is listening to customer's feedback. I am quite happy because most of the mobile networks in the UK is optimised on an Android OS mobile phone and not on the iOS. I could be wrong but I have tried so many devices for the past few years and statistics would tell me that mobile networks in the UK is optimised for Android OS. I don't get signal problems when I am using the S9+ or any modern flagship mobile phones running on the Android OS but I do get signal issues when using an iphone device.       

3UK - Optimised for Android OS?

I have been using the mobile network 3 for more than ten years. During these ten years, I have been complaining a lot about their poor mobile network quality. I have always been using an Apple iphone as my daily driver. I seldom use an Android OS mobile phone for a long period.

For these ten years in the making, I have been frustrated with the poor quality signal that I have been receiving. I did not once suspect that the network is optimised for Android OS until recently.

For this test, I have used the iphone 6, 6s, 7, 8 (All designated for EU consumers) and compare it with Samsung Galaxy S7, S8 and S9 plus. All Samsung Galaxy phones are equipped with Samsung's own Exynos chipset and not chipsets from Qualcomm. I have only used one SIM card (with the appropriate adapters) from 3UK for all mobile phones that I have mentioned above. All tests were conducted from the same spot for ten minutes with me running Speedtest via Google Chrome browser on all mobile phones three times. I also made calls from one location to see whether the signal is stable or not.

From my observations, all iphones had the tendency to drop from 4G to 3G when trying to run Speedtest. Moreover, I can't make use of 4G Calling on the iphone 7 and iphone 8 despite the assurance by 3UK that it is available. I then realise that the reason for the inability of me to use the iphone 7 and iphone 8 to make 4G calls is due to the fact that the iphones are locked to LTE Band 3 (1800mhz) for most of the time. 4G calls are only available to 3UK consumers if the mobile device is locked to the LTE Band 20 (800mhz) frequency. 3UK customer services will tell you that your area is covered by HD Super Voice (It means that you can make 4G Calls) but they would not tell you that your mobile phone must be connected to LTE Band 20 to be able to enjoy HD Super Voice. In order for you to make use of HD Super Voice, you must also disable wifi. Please make sure that you have a valid SIM card. If you want to know more about which frequency your iphone is currently locked to, please follow the instruction by accessing the telephone dailer and type in the codes below:

*3001#12345#*

You will only be able to check the band frequency if you are running on 4G though. Once you have inserted the code above, you will have to follow the instruction below:

LTE > LTE Neighbor Cell Meas > freq_band_ind

Check on the number to the right of freq_band_ind. If you see 20, it means that you are locked to LTE Band 20 and HD Super Voice is available to you. If you see the number 3, it means that HD Super Voice will not be available to you.Please also make sure that Mobile Data is switched on and it involves data and voice. This can done via:

(a) Settings > Mobile Data > Mobile Data (switch it on); and

(b) Settings > Mobile Data > Mobile Data Options > Voice & Data

The trouble is that all iphones that I have tested were locked to LTE Band 3 for most part of the tests, although LTE Band 20 is "widely available" as what 3UK customer services have informed me about it.

Once I am satisfied with the tests that I have done, I turned over to test out Samsung mobile phones. I could have used other Android OS mobile phones but I have managed to acquire these few mobile phones to test. All Samsung mobile phones that I have mentioned above have been tested at the same location as the iphones with wifi switched off. 

Once you have done it, please go to the dailer and insert these codes:

*#0011#

Look under the second line within the SERVICEMODE and you will find a word called Band. Look at the number just beside the word Band. If it is 20, it means that HD Super Voice will be available but if it is 3, it means that HD Super Voice is not available on the 3UK network.

Often than not, HD Super Voice is always available on compatible Samsung devices but not iphone. Why would this be the case? I suspect that there are three possibilities:

(a) 3UK's software is not optimised to use on the iphone range;

(b) Iphones's software are not optimised to run on 3UK's masts; and

(c) Both (a) and (b).

In the end, I have to start using Android OS mobile phones to enjoy HD Super Voice offered by 3UK. I think that is the only solution.

Ofcom Mobile Report

I would like to refer readers to this link where Ofcom made a report about mobile networks in the UK. Among the mobile networks, apparently 3UK is the most reliable mobile network in the country.

I beg to differ. I do have my reasons.

I have been a 3UK customer since its inception. Back then, the network coverage was poor. What 3UK did was to form an alliance with O2 UK to provide 2G coverage to areas which they do not have any signal. When the partnership ended, they formed an alliance with Orange UK to provide such service. Later, in 2010, they have started to switched off 2G support, believing that they have sufficient 3G coverage to service the people in the country. The backlash from switching off 2G coverage received some bad press.

However, I am quite adamant that 3UK have not really switched off 2G coverage completely. This is because I have managed to connect a modern smart phone to EE. The problem with roaming onto EE's network is that you can't use its data but only voice service. Readers would have to take note that some smartphones do not allow 3UK users to change its network service to 2G. Otherwise there will be no service on the handset.

While I am happy that 3UK have been upgrading their network coverage in the UK, I am more concerned with the purchased of O2UK, both in Ireland as well as in the UK. Does it mean that 3UK is trying to amalgamate their resources, thus leaving on EE and Vodafone to fend for themselves?

Apart from that, I do feel that there are many times when I am able to see full bar on my mobile phone with H+ (HSDPA speed) but I can't log on to websites. Apart from that, I do experience drop calls despite the full bar showing on my mobile phone. Please bear in mind that I have used many mobile phones to test before making a call to 3UK's customer service.

Besides the above, 3UK has now beginning to increase their monthly tariff significantly. They have also killed off certain Pay As You Go add-ons.

What is the end for customers?

Samsung Galaxy S6/Edge - A Short Review

By now, the Samsung Galaxy S6/Edge is no longer news anymore. You could see that Samsung have sold many of their latest flagship in the world and yet, they are still lagging behind Apple in terms of profits.

What is the secret ingredient?

Most probably it is down to (a) Reliable product; (b) Excellent customer service; and (c) Innovative.

Samsung have tried their level best to capture as many markets as possible but Apple seems to be trying to make as much money as possible with a strict budget.

Around six months ago, Samsung released their latest Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge for the first time. Many people were amazed at the curve screen on the s6 Edge and the new technology which came with the devices. After using both devices for a few months, these are the personal opinions of both the Samsung Galaxy S6/Edge:

Samsung Galaxy S6:

I am pretty chuffed at the in-house cpu/gpu chipset (Exynos 7420) from Samsung. If you remember, Samsung developed most of the major components in the device itself to minimise in using out-sourced materials (including memory and storage). The device comes with a primary 16MP camera with OIS on the device is the star attraction and a 5MP selfie camera. Apparently Samsung could not fabricate enough supply of their ISOCELL sensors for the primary camera. They have to rely on Sony. Honestly, the primary camera produced pretty good pictures as well as 4K recording, although you would have to scarify video stability and taking pictures which video recording if you proceed to record 4k videos. You would also need to bear in mind that 4k videos will consume lots of storage. I have recorded a few 4k videos and the quality is mind-blowing. It should not have any problem with storing a few 4k videos when you have 128GB internal storage.

On the other hand, the 5MP selfie camera is no slouch though. I am pretty impressed with some of the pictures as well as videos taken by the front camera.

Speaking about internal storage, Samsung have optimised the SGS6 for internal storage only. Gone are the days of the Galaxy range which one could install microSD card on it. It appears that it is the trend now with the release of the latest Galaxy Note 5. I don't really mind using a mobile phone without the microSD support because I know that the transferring speed of the SGS6 is fast and consistent as compared to using a microSD card. Unless one is using the Samsung Pro+ microSD card which has a maximum capacity of 64GB, you might find that the write speed as well as the reading speed is significantly reduced. Samsung has released the standard microSD card, EVO, EVO+, Pro, and the Pro+ for your liking. If you are interested in faster accessing speed, I would recommend the Pro. If you want the ultimate microSD offering from Samsung, get the Pro+. However, you need to bear in mind that the SGS6 will not accept any microSD card.

Apart from that powerful Exynos 7420 cpu, coupled with the fast Mali T760MP8 gpu, as well as the fast storage (read the short review by Chris Smith), I am also impressed with the beautiful 5.1" QHD Screen. You may have come across the 577ppi screen density but what it matters is that it is bright and it works beautifully under strong sunlight. It is, sometimes, better than some of the ClearBlack Display from Nokia. Obviously, one may argue that the ClearBlack Display from Nokia is not the latest technology but nevertheless, it is still one of the best screen technologies around. Samsung clearly done well in this area.

I am also impressed with the overall dimensions and build quality of the device although some may argue that it is difficult to repair. It is somehow true, taking into account that it comes with a sealed battery which is difficult to replace. One would need to remove the back cover and the mid frame to get through to the 2,550mAh battery. More importantly, the device comes with both front and back, glass panels, protected by Gorilla Glass 4. Personally, I did not try out whether the front or back glass panel will break easily since I am pretty careful with my devices. You could be the judge for yourselves (link 1, link 2, and link 3). I always have a protector case for the phone by Ringke. They will include a screen protector for the purchase with the phone cover. If you require better protection, perhaps a Zagg Invisible Shield screen protector for the SGS6 will be adequate.

Besides the above, I am also pretty happy with the physical home button on the phone itself. This is a trend to forgo the need of a physical button but Samsung have retained it. I congratulate Samsung for such feast.

I am not going to discuss about the Lollipop 5.1.1 OS in the SGS6 because there are improvements being made at this point. I don't have much problem with the OS apart from the fact that I could not uninstall all the bloatware that I don't need. I feel that Samsung should make it a point that such apps should be made optional where customers could uninstall them if they wish to do so.

What I like about the SGS6:

(a) Both cameras will produce good quality pictures as well as good videos;
(b) Comes with GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS and Beidou;
(c) It is equipped with the latest Exynos 7420 which is arguably the fastest chipset around, although Samsung is working on a chipset based on the Snapdragon 820;
(d) It has an IR blaster! Newer mobile phones e.g. Samsung Note 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ have omitted such function (Shame on you, Samsung);
(e) Perfect for one hand operation;
(f) Good voice quality when talking on the phone;
(g) The menu and the running of apps suffer no significant delays; and
(h) It is equipped with NFC and it supports fast charging 2.0 and wireless charging.

What I wish Samsung could have improved on the SGS6:

(a) Deploy firmware updates faster;
(b) Where is Android Pay at this moment when Apple Pay have been deployed? and
(c) Larger battery is required!




Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge:

There are not many differences between the SGS6 and the SGS6 Edge apart from the larger 2,600mAH battery on the SGS6 Edge and the curved screen. It also makes the SGS6 Edge lighter than the SGS6. Honestly, I don't feel comfortable in using the SGS6 Edge due to the fact that I am always afraid that the curved screen might get damaged easily. That was why I stick to the SG6 instead. You will definitely feel the weight difference when you are using the SGS6 Edge.

iOS 8 - Short Rant

I was quite upbeat with the upcoming iOS 8 and the OS X Yosmite until I actually saw the enitre conference online. While I am not criticising the conference, I am just wondering what sort of "innovation" which Tim Cook is referring to before WWDC 2014.

No doubt that the iOS 8 and the OS X Yosmite UI include many new features, they are not really innovations taking into account other companies have managed to produce such apps. My point here is that there is no real "innovation" apart from the fact that it is the very first time Apple is incorporating such features such as third party keyboard apps. It looks as if Apple is willing to accept the risk of their operating systems being flooded with potential viruss or malware. This is a concern taking into account what Android has gone through recently.

I welcome new features on the new operating systems but felt let down nontheless. Luckily I did not pay to watch the event except for electricity and time to do so.

Avoid Buying on eBay!

Introduction
I am a frequent eBay buyer. In fact, I don't really understand why would I trust eBay so much despite other people trying to warn me of scams on eBay. I did not really take much notice of their warnings until recently where I was one of the victims of fraud. I was being conned for more than £400.

In a nutshell, I purchased an item for £400 but the seller said that his paypal account is not working so I would have to send money into his account directly. I should have not listened to the seller. After sending £400 to the account which he gave me, he refused to send me the goods which I have ordered and paid for it.

Immediately I called eBay but they said that they could not help me because I paid via bank transfer and they have no legal right to insist the seller in returning the money to me or send me the good. This is because I did not pay via paypal.

eBay's Failure (1)
I then questioned eBay as to how they are going to deal with my case. All I've been told that eBay has implemented some measures on the seller but I do not know what is it all about. I am not allowed to have the seller's address because it is a breach of data protection. I don't quite understand it because it is unfair taking into account that the seller has my address but I could not have the seller's address despite there are sufficient evidence to proof that the seller has received the money but did not send me any goods.

eBay's Failure (2)
Since I was told from the beginning by one of eBay's customer service advisors that I could not retrieve the money which I have spent even though the seller did not send me the good as promised, I pursue the matter with eBay. However, unfortunately I was told that there is nothing much eBay could help me in this case. I then insisted that they investigate the matter further. I did call them many times but they gave me the same answer as they are looking at the matter.

eBay's Failure (3)
I don't think that eBay is serious about protecting a buyer at all. I then made further calls to eBay and made some suggestions to eBay. I insisted that someone from eBay send me a reply into what is eBay going to do with this seller. One month has passed and I have not received any e-mails nor any calls from eBay even though I have specifically asked them to do. They did not bother to send me an e-mail stating as to the next course of action which they might be taking against the seller. Before I got aggitated with eBay, I did mention to them that they should take onboard Amazon's model where both buyer and seller will have better protection because sellers will have to sell via Amazon's credit system and monies will only be despensed to the seller if the goods have been shipped. If the seller has not sent the goods even though it is stated "shipped", the buyer will be able to get a refund from Amazon and Amazon will investigate further. I don't believe that the eBay customer service officer is keen in improving their security at all.

I am not surprised when eBay sent me an e-mail asking me to change my password due to some security breached. In the e-mail itself, eBay does not seem to be interested in ensuring eBay user's security at all. If that is the case, why would we want to use eBay to buy goods at all? I think we should just spend less time in buying on eBay and move over to Amazon instead.

Dell XPS 15 (9530) - A Simple Review after 48 Hours of Using It

Although the Dell XPS 15 (9530) has been selling since Q4 of 2013, I have not taken the plunge of getting one because I was really interested in the Macbook Air due to its superb portability. At that moment in time, I do not need the firepower of a quadcore cpu.

However, at this moment, I would need to have a good laptop with a quadcore cpu. Apart from that, I would also require the laptop to be around 15" and it must be a slim laptop. After doing some research, I have the finalist - Dell XPS 15 (9530) with 512GB mSATA and 16GB of memory; MSI GS60 Ghost Pro; Gigabyte P35K CF4 and the Macbook Pro 15 with 512GB PCI-e storage as well as 16GB of memory.

Initially, I have ruled out the Gigabyte P35K CF4 due to some quality control issues. It is quite well known if you have paid a visit to notebookreview.com. It seems that Gigabyte is still trying to improve on the P35K's chassis.

Perhaps I could get myself an MSI GS60 Ghost Pro since it comes with the latest Nvidia Gforce 870M graphics card. After doing some research, I have also ruled it out because I am not impressed with the cooling system of such device. I just could not work with constant light buzzing coming from the cooling fans.

Alternatively, I could get myself a Macbook Pro 15 with 512GB PCIe storage with 16GB of memory since it is a quiet machine and it has superb connectivity as well as thunderbolt 2 ports. I did not take the machine due to its high price tag.

This means that I would have to settle with the Dell XPS 15 (9530) with 512GB mSATA storage as well as 16GB of memory. Honestly the machine is not too shabby because it has a beautiful screen with a resolution of 3200x1800 and the machine is light at 2.02kg. It has 4 usb ports coupled with a mini display port as well as a HDMI port. It is simply beautiful. In addition to that, it is relatively cheaper than the Apple Macbook Pro 15 which I have mentioned above.

After paying for the Dell XPS 15 (9530), I was told that it will take around 12 working days to arrive. Oh dear... It is such a drag. I was told that the machine will be arriving from China so that is the reason. I then told myself that I am patient and I will wait for the machine to arrive.

I was asked to track my order online. In summary, it took 6 days for the machine to be build before it is being shipped from China to the UK. I wonder why it took so long to build the machine since I have not made any changes to the stock machine in the first place! Anyway, after it has been shipped, it took another 8 days before I have the machine delivered to me.

I was really happy when I have received the machine. It is sturdy and classy. The chassis itself looks premium and it is light. The mSATA is fast (I am not surprised because it is a Samsung 841 product) and the screen is magnificient. I have no question in relation to the dead pixels on the screen. The machine is also very quiet when I am merely surfing the internet and the system fan rarely run above 1100rpm.I am also very happy with the fact that the 91Whr battery lasted me 6 hours before I need to recharge the machine for the first time ( Bear in mind that I have only used it for word processing as well as light surfing on the internet).

I then had to recharge the XPS 15 when the battery is low. At this moment, I am counting by the time as to how long will it take for the machine to be fully recharged. Well, it took the machine 3 hours to fully recharge the battery. I am puzzled but not surprised because the machine comes with a 91Whr battery. Well, it would only take less than one hour for someone to fully recharge an Apple Macbook Pro 15 and it is equipped with a 95Whr battery! That is certainly very strange indeed.

While I was browsing on the internet with the wall charger plugged in, I can hear faint noises. I then decided to do some tests and it is certainly it is noise surfing the internet with the wall charger plugged in. It is worst when the battery is fully recharged. The noise will stop when the wall charge is removed. I am quite upset because it is a new machine and I would not expect a new machine to behave like that. I then did some research and it relates to a condition of coil whining.

Apparently Dell knows about the problem but they claimed that it is merely an isolated problem.

Well, the coil whining problem is not the only problem I had. The magnificient screen has caused many problems to me. While I can adjust the screen's resolution, it will only make toolbars extra large while the text on the toolbar too small to read. I then called Dell and they managed to scale the resolution down to 1920x1080 but I still have problems because the toolbar on the internet browser is too big while the text is readable. It goes the same to the toolbar when accessing Word documents.

Eventually, I called Dell customer service again and an engineer was called to fix my laptop the following day. He came over and he managed to replace the motherboard and the power cable before he left. Unfortunately, with the change of the motherboard, it has rendered Windows 8.1 unusable. This is because the laptop kept on rebooting by itself and gave me an error which states: Driver_Power_State_Failure. I was then given the option of asking the engineer to fix the problem or Dell will eventually place an order for a new unit. I am also given the option of a full refund since I have only had it for two days.

I did not think twice and told the kind Dell customer service officer that I would like to have a full refund because I am not happy with the product which I am using due to problems which I have encountered. There is no guarantee that a new unit will be free from any problem though. In that case, I would have to resort to laptop hunting again.

What a shame, Dell!!!

Update:

30 May 2014 - The return of the laptop took one week but I have yet to receive my refund. Maybe it will take another week to do so. 

04 June 2014 - Finally, after many calls being made, I have received an e-mail stating that my account is closed. However, I have yet to receive any news in regard to my refund.