Category: Technology

Globe Brings iPhone 4 to the Philippines

Last September 24, Globe Telecom announced that it will launch the iPhone 4 in the Philippines with a range of Globe plans designed for iPhone customers.  Wow!  I’m sure a lot of Filipinos out there have already registered online at the Globe website to get their own units at the exclusive launch today at Makati Shangri-La & New World Hotels.

My best friend Christina is actually one of them, she will be claiming her 1st iPhone (finally!) later at 3PM!  I’ll surely be able to play with it when we see each other next week hehehe 😛

Globe Telecom executives’ has this to say about the new iPhone 4:

  • Globe President & CEO Ernest Cu – “Customers will enjoy a superior mobile experience with iPhone 4 on Globe’s high-quality network and wide array of fully customizable plans.
  • Globe Consumer Business Head Peter Bithos – “We are very excited to deliver iPhone 4 to Globe customers. Our customers want the best in innovation and personalization and we are delivering that with the revolutionary iPhone 4.”

What’s with iPhone 4 that everyone has been so excited about?  Everyone seems to want to have one just like when the iPad came out last May 2010.

iphone 4

The iPhone 4 has amazing features that we just can’t pass up.  Facetime, which finally grants us our long request for Apple to include video calling on our phones.  Way cool, right?  Wait, there’s more!  iPhone 4 features a 5 megapixel camera w/ LED flash & HD video recording.  Now, for nonprofessional photographers, you only need your iPhone and you get a phone, camera & video camera, what else do you need? 😀

The newest version of iPhone also has a new design of glass & stainless steel and included in the new design is the fact that it is now the thinnest smartphone in the world.  For current iPhone users like me, we are well-aware that iPhone 4 comes with iOS4 which includes over a 100 features.  You can check my previous post about my top 5 things about iOS4, I’ve written there the things that I really love with the newest version of the world’s most advanced mobile platform 😉

For more information about the iPhone 4, you can go visit Apple’s product page.  Meanwhile, you can go to Globe’s website for full pricing & available plans for iPhone 4 in the Philippines.  Apple has truly been a trailblazer when it comes to product launches,  and with its new iPhone 4, they are continuing to provide the market what it wants.  What a great company and what a great phone!

The All New 2010 Intel Core Processor Family

I was lucky enough to be part of a workshop provided by Intel showcasing their new Intel core processor products.  It was not just a simple presentation of products because I learned so much more!!!  For the longest time, I’ve always thought of myself as a techie, but geez, I’m so not there yet.  I enjoyed the workshop as it helped me understand just a bit better the PC that we all use.

In this post, I’ll share with you what I’ve learned during the workshop, since I think it’s really crucial for all of us to know these things and make a more informed decision in our purchase of our laptops and PCs.  I’ve come to know that it is truly important to choose the right processor for our computers and how it can affect our productivity too.

First, the basics.  Let me try to present it in a way that will make the information easier to understand.  Honestly, it was information overload but every bit of it is very important.

Processor/CPU
– the most important part of any computer – the brain of your computer
– controls everything your computer does
* buy the best Intel processor you can afford. It’s difficult to upgrade later on (more expensive too!)

Gigahertz/Clock Speed
– rate at w/c a processor executes a task (in short, processor speed)

RAM/System Memory
– your computer’s short-term memory
– the computer uses RAM to process what you are doing as you do it
* 2GB of RAM is ideal for everyday use.

Hard Drive
– storage for your digital data
* a hard drive with 160GB is a good starting point for a user

Graphics
– a component to view images in your computer screen
* it is absolutely crucial to get the right balance between the computer’s processor, its graphics requirements & your own needs

Next, the most important part of the workshop was where they shared with us the new 2o10 Intel Core Processors.  With the way technology is advancing, we really need to keep up.  So if you’re stuck with your old PC, maybe it’s time to upgrade 🙂

The new family of 2010 Intel Core Processors has the ff. strengths:

  • Intel Turbo Boost Technology – automatically speeds up your processor when your PC needs extra performance.
  • Multi-Tasking Monster – enables 4-way multitask processing allows each core of your processor to work on two tasks at the same time.
  • Intel Core Processors w/ Intel HD Graphics – provides superb visual performance for sharper images, richer color, and life-like video and audio.

The speakers showed us the new Intel Core processors by explaining which one fits for each personality.

  • The Dabbler – Uses technology to support lifestyle. Intel Core i3 Processor lets them watch videos, listen to music & play games at highest possible quality.
  • The Gadgeteer – into gadgets, they got the gear and they’re not afraid to use it.  The Intel Core i5 Processor gives them the capacity to multi-task at top speed, by allowing them to run multiple application with no fear of freezing.
  • The Tech Whisperer – they know their stuff.  Their skills demand the power of Intel Core i7 Processor. It automatically speeds up when they need extra performance so that they’re free to be creative or solve problems with their PC.

Which one are you?  As for me, I’m a Gadgeteer.  With that, I’m glad that I’m using Macbook Pro 15″ as my laptop since it has Intel Core i5 as the processor, perfect for me!   Yay!

How about you?  Which one fits your personality and your needs?

Fast Forward with HP Value Equation

I live and breathe technology because I’m really a techie by heart.   I’ve always tried to be up-to-date with the latest technologies.  I’m just glad that Noemi tagged me along to the HP New Product Introduction Press Launch.

Traditional media were the main attendees, Noemi & I were actually the only bloggers who attended.  At the event, HP shared with us their new line-up of Laserjet printers & enterprise solutions that drives productivity and increase efficiency.  They highlighted the ff. features:

  • HP Smart Install – allows us to begin printing in 2 minutes by connecting to a computer w/ a USB cable.  No CD drivers required.
  • Auto-On/Auto-Off (AOAO) – uses up to 3 times less energy versus normal sleep mode

There were 9 units on display & the HP folks were able to demo some of them.  Let me give you a brief overview on each of the 9 new HP products:

  • HP LaserJet Pro M1212nf MFP (Php 17,140)

HP LaserJet Pro M1212nf MFP

HP’s most affordable 4in1 laser multifunction printer (MFP) designed to perfectly meet the diverse daily office needs of home & small offices business users.  Users can easily print, copy, scan & fax from one compact machine w/ ethernet connectivity & energy-saving features.

  • HP ScanJet Professional 1000 Mobile Scanner (Php 10,990)

HP Scanjet Professional 1000 Mobile Scanner

Scan documents on the spot wherever we are w/ HP’s compact, portable scanner.  It has the ability to organize contracts, forms, receipts & business cards on our computers.

  • HP Color LaserJet Pro CP5225dn Printer

HP color laserjet pro cp5225dn printer

Gain control of your printed documents & make an impact when communicating with HP’s most affordable, versatile A3 color printer that covers all our printing needs from general office to oversize documents.

  • HP LaserJet Pro P1102 Printer (Php 5,990)

HP LaserJet Pro P1102 Printer

A very energy-efficient laser printer that lets owners print professional documents w/ an efficient, affordable laser printer that’s easy to use & helps save energy & resources.

  • HP LaserJet Pro P1566 Printer (Php 13,200)

HP LaserJet Pro P1566 Printer

Print exceptional, black-and-white documents at up to 23 ppm letter/22 ppm A4 from our desktop.  Save money using less energy w/ instant-on technology.  Save even more energy with HP auto-on/auto-off technology.  Best suited for professionals who need a fast, desktop laser printer that’s easy to use & helps save energy & resources.

  • HP LaserJet Pro M1132 MFP (Php 7,990)

HP LaserJet Pro M1132 MFP

Smart, multifunctional, compact & easy to install w/c is HP’s most affordable 3-in-1 laser multifunction printer.  Designed to perfectly meet the diverse daily office needs of office & small business users.  Print, copy & scan with one machine & reduce environmental impact w/ energy-saving features.

  • HP LaserJet Pro P1102w Printer (Php 6,990)

HP LaserJet Pro P1102w Printer

most energy-efficient wireless laser printer which is HP’s smallest & most affordable wireless laser printer that lets owners quickly connect when on the go while benefiting from a highly energy-efficient product.

  • HP Officejet 4500 All-in-One (Php 7,690)

HP Officejet 4500

This affordable flatbed all-in-one prints professional-quality color at a low cost per page.  Productive & reliable, the printer helps us stay on task at work or at home.

  • HP LaserJet Pro P1606dn Printer (Php 20,900)

HP LaserJet Pro P1606dn Printer

Boost efficiency with ethernet networking, automatic 2-sided printing & easy to use features.  Save money & energy w/ instant-on technology.  Save more energy with auto-on/auto-off technology.  Best suited for small offices where a shared, fast laser printer helps reduce environmental impact with automatic 2-sided printing & energy saving features.

While most found the mobile scanner interesting, I had my eyes for the HP OfficeJet 4500 All-in-One.  They also raffled off one printer, I wished I won but anyhow, maybe this is a sign for me to go out and just purchase one.  Let’s see 🙂

HP really has done a great job of offering a variety of new printers that will suit any lifestyle and need, but most importantly their focus on efficiency and energy savings is what I think they did particularly well on — their auto-on/auto-off technology should also be commended.  I think HP printers have always been some of the top printers out there, especially when it comes to home use too.  The price range for these printers aren’t all that bad either, and with a variety to choose from, they have really thought of everyone with this new product lineup.

Like most events recently, there was a photo booth outside the venue.  I got a souvenir photo from there.  Rest of the photos are in my Flickr album.

Roch at HP Event

5 Things I’m Excited about iOS 4

Most of us gadget freaks who are based in Manila must have lacked some sleep yesterday.  This was because Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) was held  1-3AM Manila time early Tuesday morning.  So many people, including myself, just wanted to know exactly the new great things that Apple would show us.  There were a lot of things that were expected but then the event ended up being solely about our beloved iPhone.

I own 2 iPhone units, the 1st generation iPhone & iPhone 3GS.  Steve Jobs presented the new iPhone 4.  As much as I want to have one, I’ll stick with my 3GS.  What I’m really excited about is the iPhone software update called iOS 4.

Here are 5 reasons why I’m so excited to download the new iPhone OS when it comes out this month:

  1. Multi-tasking
    This just shows that Apple is listening to us.  We have been complaining for 2 years that we wanted to be able to switch between applications.  We thought it would never happen but then, finally here it is!  Apple is just making sure that when they do that, it would be perfect.  They assured us that with this capability, application & battery performance won’t be compromised.  I’ve been using Skype heavily on my iPhone.  It has always been a challenge whenever I receive a text message while in a Skype call.  I can’t read text messages & when I accidentally press read, my Skype call would automatically be cut off.  I’ve been wishing for this to be fixed.  Plus, I would like to be able to read text messages, read emails or even surf the net while using Skype.  iOS 4 fixes that personal need of mine.  I’m so happy!  Can’t wait to download the updated OS.  Please let time fly fast.  I need it now, please?
  2. Folders
    The page limit in the iPhone is such a pain for iPhone addicts like me.  With thousands of awesome applications available for the iPhone, we can’t access them all in our phone.  I have to either perform a jailbreak on my iPhone or just choose my favorite apps to keep on my phone and let the rest be in my iTunes application folder.
    Another reason why I so want this feature is because I’m a bit OCD (Obsessive Compulsive).  I want my iPhone screen to be clean.  I would really love to organize all games into one folder, all productivity applications in one folder, all social networking apps into another and so on..  This is a must-have for me!  Finally, I don’t need to go through the tedious task of jailbreaking my iPhone.
  3. iBooks
    Ever since the iPad came out, I have been wishing that iPhone would have iBooks as an application too.  Wow, Steve Jobs must have heard me (don’t know how though hehehe!).  I used to spend thousands of pesos buying books every year.  I stopped buying a few years ago and ended up just downloading eBooks instead then I ventured into audiobooks.  With iBooks though, being such an eyecandy, it seems Apple is really trying to bring the convenience of reading eBooks to all its loyal customers and fanbase.  With colored screen, you can just use your finger to flip through pages, awesome bookshelf design, I have found the solution that I have always wanted!  Instead of keeping all my books in the shelves or tirelessly trying to find better audiobooks or ebooks, we now have iBooks!  A one-stop shop to look for books & have the ability to bring all of them on your phone?  It’s just wow!
  4. Improved Mail
    I have several mail accounts although my official email is my yahoo. With the current iPhone software, we have to organize our emails separately by account. With the improved mail in iOS 4, we can now see all our emails in just one screen and have the ability and the option to organize them and treat as one! Apple is just pure genius!
  5. Home Screen Wallpaper
    Another wish came true for me.  Not being able to change the background image of our screen is just plain boring.  I would probably change it every chance I get, and would want it to match with my current mood.  Great that we can do that soon with our iPhones!  One more wish that I hope will come true are themes!  Be able to change the application icons and match it with the background image.  Will it come true?  Let’s see, maybe for iOS 5?

The 5 things I mentioned are not the only ones we should expect with Apple’s iOS 4.  There are more improvements & updates such as being able to create playlists on our own iPhone, 5x camera zoom (sweet!), video focus, faces & places in photo (it’s not exclusive to iPhoto anymore!), spellcheck, wireless keyboard support & the ability to give apps as gifts to friends/family.

I wish time would really move faster, I really want those features ASAP on my iPhone!  It’s sad that it won’t have an effect on my 1st generation iPhone but at least I still have iPhone 3GS! 😀  Better things ahead for us iPhone users!

Now let’s recite:  We LOVE Apple products! 😀

Apple iPad: Impressions of a Lay User

So much has been written and told about the iPad in the blogosphere that there is hardly anything new to add.  But sometimes, the perspective of an average lay user on the street who has actually used the product is helpful.  It is with this spirit that I venture to write this blog and I hope I have something useful to offer.

iPad has so many cool features that I will get to in a moment.  However the best thing I like about iPad is the personal and intimate feeling to it.  It is so sleekly designed that I take it anywhere and everywhere I go to.  To my couch, to my bed, to the park , it has literally become an extension of myself (much to the envy of my wife ) .

So, what do I use that iPad for that I could much rather do on my good old laptop.  Well, almost anything that I do outside of my work.  Like surfing the web, playing video games, watching movies, personal email and facebook, browsing newspapers, uploading and watching photos.  The experience of doing all these is much better than doing it on Laptop or PC.  Because, I would much rather be doing all this sitting on my couch while watching TV rather than sitting on a desk and a chair.  It is so much fun doing all this on iPad.

Besides being fun, it is much more faster and productive doing it on iPad.  We are living in an age when being online is so ubiquitous (other than biological function like eating, sleeping, we can now do everything else online , well almost).  This “always online” paradigm is brilliantly supported by iPad due to it’s great portability.  This combined with the touch screen interface, blazing spee, decent sized screen and make it an extremely productive tool.  For example, while I was having my breakfast at dining table this morning, I finished browsing my morning newspapers, reading my personal e-mail and FB posts.  I could effortlessly navigate my way around with my left finger.  Takes multiple-tasking to another level.   Its blazing speed makes all this even better.  It almost feels like a PC on steroids.  Not sure how Apple managed to pack so much punch in this little devil;  I suspect it may have something to do with iPad’s custom built processor A4 and the fact that iPad does not use any mechanical hard disk .

I love iPad’s endless battery life.  It easily goes well beyond 10 hours.  Which means, on a long flight I can easily watch 3 full length video movies, do all my email and still be left with some to spare.  Try doing it with a laptop.  Another cool use of the iPad is as an eBook reader.  iPad as an eBook reader has some advantages over other readers due to its color display and touch screen interface.  For the book lovers, the eBooks are a huge boon – saves shelf space at home, saves money (eBooks are much cheaper), easier to carry around and very environment friendly.

Now to the moles and warts.  When I was a small kid, I remember my mom saying that God in his infinite wisdom gave moles to every creature moles.  iPad has it’s share too.  iPad does not support Flash videos.  Steve job claims that allowing flash videos would reduce battery life by half (inefficiency of flash due to encoding at a software level rather than hardware; whatever that is supposed to mean) but I suspect it has also to do competitive reasons and not purely technical.   If applications were built on Flash platform, it could be easily ported to non-Apple devices.  Apple obviously does not want to give away it’s enormous advantage of it’s rich application store.   Other notable misses are an absence of USB drive & camera.  Often, Apple’s products are defined not just by the features it has, but those it doesn’t.  This is in keeping with Apple’s design philosophy.  Each of Apple’s product has a core set if objectives.  It does not try to be all things to all people.  So, if it needs to sacrifice some features to fulfill the core objectives, Apple does not shy away.  Some see Apple as being arrogant, others see it is pure and smart Design.  Take it your way.

It may be too early to declare victory yet.  But I think it is fair to say that with two million units already sold in the first 60 days, iPad truly has the potential to become a game changer. (iPhone took 74 days to sell the first 2 million units).  It is a totally new product category that nicely sits between a Smartphone and a laptop.  It offers the best of both worlds – nearly the portability of a Smartphone and power of a laptop.  Other companies are already in a mad rush to get their me-too’s out of the door.  Good for us consumers.  Better prices and more choices.

P.S. This blog was written on an iPad.

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The author works for a tech company by day and during his pastime, he is a photography enthusiast, a dilettante blogger, a gadget buff especially Apple toys. He is happy to receive feedback and questions on photography.

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