Author: Rochelle Sy Chua

Crumpler & Philippine Airlines TravelTour Expo 2014 Promo

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On February 15, 2014

Crumpler & Philippine Airlines TravelTour Expo 2014 Promo

From yesterday until tomorrow (February 14-16, 2014), the Traveltour Expo 2014 is happening. The Traveltour Expo is a very popular annual event that is anticipated especially by Filipino travellers. It’s currently ongoing at the SMX Convention Center, MOA complex, Pasay City, Philippines.

Crumpler partnered with Philippine Airlines (PAL) to offer exclusive promos for PAL’s customers at the Traveltour Expo 2014. If you love Crumpler products, you will like this promo and if you’re going to the expo, do not miss availing it!

Crumpler & Philippine Airlines TravelTour Expo 2014 Promo Mechanics:

Any purchase of one (1) international ticket = 30% discount on selected Crumpler bags
Any purchase of one (1) domestic ticket = 20% discount on selected Crumpler bags
Show your Mabuhay Miles membership card or a copy of PAL’s promo email (printed or saved in your smartphone) = 20% discount on selected Crumpler bags
Present both purchased PAL international ticket and Mabuhay Miles membership card = 50% discount on selected Crumpler bag
Present both purchased PAL domestic ticket and Mabuhay Miles membership card = 40% discount on selected Crumpler bags

Terms & Conditions:

These offers are only valid from February 14-16, 2014 at the TravelTour Expo 2014.
Offers are valid for both cash and credit cash transactions.
Each ticket can extend the corresponding privilege to up to three (3) Crumpler items.
Credit card transactions must either be charged in full or as part of customer’s credit card paylite program.
These offers are not valid in conjunction with other discounts and promotions (including, but not limited to, senior citizen and student discounts).
All Crumpler product warranties shall be provided by Digits and not by PAL and complaints as well as any product returns or exchanges shall be coursed through digits and not through PAL. Any liability accruing from the use and purchase of the Crumpler products by the passenger shall be the full and sole responsibility of Digits only, and PAL shall in no way be held liable for such use and purchase.
PAL is given the right to use Crumplers’ marks on certain forms of media agreed upon by the parties without liability and at no cost to PAL (e.g., Facebook).
Crumpler should hold PAL free and harmless from any liability whatsoever arising from the purchase and use of its product by a third party.

It’s like hitting two birds in one stone. You get good promos on your plane ticket and you also get a discount on your new luggage. Isn’t that nice? 🙂

Roch Signature

Monocle by Native Union

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On January 26, 2014

Monocle by Native Union

There are so many speakers & headphones out there in the market. But have you seen a monocle in there? Your answer is as good as mine. Native Union definitely is thinking out of the box with its newest product, Native Union Monocle.

I honestly don’t know how to make out of it because I haven’t used one. Should I hold it up using my hand then putting the speaker on my ear? Should I just hang it around my neck (just like how it was shown in the box) and listen to whatever comes out of the speaker? What else can I do about it?

I was clueless on how to use the product but its uniqueness couldn’t get my attention out of it. So there, I got myself one.

What is inside the box of the Native Union Monocle?

Native Union Monocle Packaging

There are 6 colours available for the Monocle: (1) coral red (2) marine blue (3) mint (4) slate (5) brushed black diamond (6) brushed copper. However, I’m just a super fan of red colour, thus I have chosen to have the coral red monocle.

It looked nice, even by just glancing it through the box. The Native Union Monocle caught my attention because it’s unique! I never thought that I could ever see a monocle in stores at this generation. I mean monocle is an old-world accessory. That’s why I didn’t hesitate to get one for myself.

So what’s in the box?

Native Union Monocle Contents

The Monocle
Bag Loop
Nylon Micro-USB Cable
Quick Start Guide
Warranty Card
Native Union Lookbook

My favourite activity whenever I purchase a gadget or accessory is opening the box, and discovering the contents inside. Manufacturers are getting more and more crafty in packaging their products.

Monocle Specifications

Speaker – Mono speaker
Battery – Lithium-ion Polymer
Charge Time – ~70 minutes
Play Time – ~5 hours
Talk Time – ~5 hours
Power Supply – DC5V USB 2.0
Operating Temperature – 0 to 45 degrees celsius

Uses of the Native Union Monocle

The Monocle is basically a speaker-handset-speakerphone accessory.

Native Union Monocle Unit

Native Union Monocle Controls

Native Union Monocle Knob

Speaker – turn the speaker mode on by rotating the knob until the white LED light comes up. Use the button on the side to control music (click once to play or pause, double click to move to next track, triple click to go back to previous track).

The sound that came out was okay. However, if you want better sound then you have to daisy-chain the monocle up (you can do this up to 10 monocles). I wish I can test this but I guess it’s pretty obvious. Like what they, “two is always better than one.”

speakerphone – I’ll probably use this feature more for the monocle because it’s just too cute and so portable! It would definitely be a good rescue whenever I suddenly need to go on a conference call. The Native Union monocle has a microphone, and I tested it out, my voice came out clearly on the other line 🙂

handset – this is where monocle stands out. You will probably be blown away when you saw someone wearing the Native Union monocle when talking on the phone or listening to music. However, for the user, this might be uncomfortable to wear especially during long periods of time. That’s why I think this is more of a show-off type of accessory.

You can listen in each other’s music or private call by linking two or more monocles together.

How to Carry the Native Union Monocle?

According to Native Union, we should wear the monocle our way.

As for me, I carry it with me in three ways. One is putting the cord around my neck then just hold the monocle up to my ear if I need to answer a call. I have to put my phone on my pocket while I walk around.

Native Union Monocle Neck

Two is just I leave it on the table and use the monocle as a speakerphone or a music speaker. It works great that way actually.

Last, but definitely not the least, is using the bag loop included.

Native Union Monocle Bag Tag

Now, I don’t need to open up space in my bag for a speaker. All I need is just to use the bag loop and put the Native Union Monocle in it. There is no more need to forget to bring the speaker because it’s already connected to my bag. It was just too cute and so nice to bring around.

Native Union Monocle Bag

VERDICT

Overall, I see the Native Union Monocle as a fashion music accessory. You wanna look different? You wanna own a very unique device? You want a speaker to carry around everyday? Then this accessory by Native Union called Monocle is for you!

I think this speaker + handset + speakerphone has a decent sound output (may be better when daisy-chained, I only have one unit so wasn’t able to test). However, with its price and excellent design, the Monocle is a beautiful accessory to keep. You can get Monocle by Native Union at your favourite gadget accessory stores in the Philippines at Php 2,250.

Roch Signature

Recipe: Sugar Crusted Chocolate Chip Muffins

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On January 20, 2014

Sugar Crusted Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe

It took me a long time to finally seriously learn how to cook. However, it took me a much longer time to try out baking. Just this month, I finally gathered enough strength to bake. I spent a considerable amount of time preparing for the ingredients, reading & rereading the muffin recipe, and checking the recipe as I execute each step.

I failed at my first baking attempt. Apparently, when the recipe says buttermilk, that means it’s in liquid form. I bought buttermilk powder in a baking store, thinking that I just need to add it as is. Well, I learned in the hard way, buttermilk should be in liquid form. How about if you bought buttermilk powder like me? You might be wondering how much buttermilk powder to add to how much water. FYI, you just have to mix 1/4 cup buttermilk power to 1 cup of water, and you have a cup of buttermilk! Read More

Recipe: Pasta Raisins and Nuts

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On January 19, 2014

Pasta Raisins and Nuts Recipe

I’m trying to keep as little food in my house as much as possible. This is so I can plan what I have to cook better. This december, I got a whole bunch of groceries from the office as a holiday gift. One of those items was an Italian spaghetti sauce. In line with my goal, I have to start using it already. I made good success with the pinoy version so I thought that I might be successful in cooking this one too!

As usual, I got the recipe from the product manufacturer’s website. It took me an hour to cook everything (including the pasta). I’m sure it’ll be faster for you because I still took a lot of time taking pictures of every cooking procedure. Read More

Recipe: Pork Chop Steak

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On January 17, 2014

Pork Chop Steak Recipe

Breaded pork chops are everywhere especially in Manila. There’s katsu here, katsu there, katsu everywhere. The price isn’t even cheap. However, there’s one type of pork chop that I want, that is the Filipino pork chop!

In true Filipino style, I tried cooking Pork Chop Steak or Bistek Pork Chops. The difference is with the marinade and the ingredient used in it … which is the calamansi! Read More