Category: Technology

Remember my post last year when I said that I would be waiting for #SmartiPhone5?  Well, the time has come!

Last Thursday, the Smart Christmas Midnight Rush was held at Resorts World Manila, 9:00PM.  Smart offered exclusive smartphone deals, awesome entertainment and most of all, the reveal of the most awaited smartphone in the Philippines!

I was working late and couldn’t join most of the fun, but my excitement was so strong that I went straight to the venue after my meetings.  I arrived around 1AM.  Everyone was already partying at Republiq with one of my favorite artists: LFMAO!!

Here are some of the deals Smart offered during the event:

• offers for HTC Desire C at All-in Plan 1200 and iPhone 4S at Data Plan 1500
• early reservations for Google Nexus 4 at Data Plan 1500 and Sony Xperia V at LTE Data Plan 1500.  Both smartphones will be available on December 18, 2012.
• MOST EXCITING one is the iPhone 5 plans where every single buying customer gets a chance to win either a Hongkong trip, iPad Mini, iPod Touch, iTunes Card or GCs from PowerMac/Sofitel Manila/Store Specialists.

As expected, iPhone 5 was revealed at 12:01AM!  I wish I was able to witness the reveal.  However, it was okay as my only goal that night was to get my order of iPhone 5!  I got myself a Smart UNLI Data Plan 2000 with it.  My SIM wasn’t activated yet so I had to wait for 24 hours.

Last night, I said hello to my Smart Nano SIM and iPhone 5…

Oh boy, it was surreal!  The iPhone 5 is a BEAUTIFUL smartphone!  This is already my third iPhone and I must say, the iPhone 5 is the best one!  The retina display made it more awesome and the additional size was a welcome feature.  I spent most of the day playing with the #SmartiPhone5, downloading applications and looking at it!  I’m in love with the iPhone 5 and I’m just glad I waited for it!

My Sun line will now be a secondary phone.  I’m excited to experience what it is to bite into the better network, Smart Communications!  I rarely hear complaints about their cellular service so I have high expectations.

Right now, in spite of having a DSL service at home, I opted to use Smart’s 3G.  Yes, my mobile data plan is much faster than my home DSL plan.  How ironic!

If you wanna get an iPhone 5 from Smart, here are the available plans:

You have three options on how to get a #SmartiPhone5!  You can either apply at the nearest Smart Center near you, get it delivered to your home or get it via Prepaid.  More information at Smart’s iPhone5 page 🙂

You might have heard of looloo.  It was just released at the iTunes App Store this week.  If you haven’t, fret not because I will be writing all about looloo in this blog post!  So hang in there and continue reading, okay? 🙂

I was one of the beta testers of this new iOS application.  With that, I got to meet the people behind looloo during the beta testers night.  The looloo team is a small one, but they are definitely enthusiastic, talented and sweet.  They even wrote a blog post just to thank us beta testers!  I got personal emails from some of the team members in addition to that.  The personal touch just made me want to use looloo more.

image taken from the looloo blog

I have been using looloo for a week now and I’m starting to get addicted to it.  I have a lot of social media applications on my iPhone.  However, it seems that I’ll be adding looloo to my favorite ones.

So what is looloo?

looloo is a simple yet powerful tool for discovering places.  Review places you visit and recommend the really good ones to your friends who would love them also.

In an area you’re not familiar with?  Whip out the app and see what’s nearby.  Even better, find out if any of your friends have been there and see how they liked it.

As a blogger, people tend to ask me for advice where to eat, where to go, what the newest gadgets are, what the latest trend is, etc.  I always have my blog to refer to for answers.  However, not everyone is a blogger.  Actually, I see a lot of friends who share their impression on certain places via their social media accounts.

I think looloo is a great tool to share our opinion about the different places in Metro Manila.  It’s like our personal local guide!  I do notice though that 80% of the reviews posted by my friends/beta-testers in looloo are related to restaurants!  What the heck, we love to eat!  No surprise there! 😛

People might think that I know a lot of places.  Trust me, I don’t!  Metro Manila is just too big!  looloo has been very helpful in providing me information as to what places to check out.  I get to read reviews from people I know too!  With looloo, it’s easier to discover places!

Now, how do we use looloo?

• first up, download looloo on your iOS device.  Go to the App Store, search for looloo and click the download button (it’s free!).
• Log in looloo using your Facebook account.
• Go to the Explore tab in order to find restaurants, entertainment places, spas, salons, nightlife & tourist spots. It has many filters so you can search easier.  Whether you want to see the highest-rated places (best), currently open for business (open now) or search for places around you (nearby), looloo has them sorted out for you.
• The Review tab is where you can share your experiences to people.  How did you feel about the place you visited?  Did you like it?  Did you love it enough to give it a perfect 5 star-rating or hated it so much to give it 1 star?  Of course, adding a photo would give your review so much more impact.  After you’re done with your review on the looloo app, you can share it via Twitter and/or Facebook.
• Lastly, there’s a thing called inflooence.  Admittedly, I haven’t tried recommending any places I reviewed to friends so my influence is zero.  I will do it next time because it would be so nice having a high score in your looloo profile.  You can find the recommend button when you review a place.  Go and choose the people who you think would want to check out the place.  When they do visit the place and review them on looloo, your inflooence score will go up.

I like the looloo app and I saw more and more people using the app each day.  If this is the first time you’ve heard of looloo, you can go to the iTunes app store and download it.

Let me tell you the story why I have Sun Cellular as my main line for several years now.

I first heard of Sun Cellular about 8 years ago.  Several friends were pitching for me to get a Sun Cellular line so that we can text and call each other without worrying about enormous mobile phone charges.

These were my options before (it’s still the same rate as of today!):

1. Prepaid – PHP 150 for unlimited text to any Sun number
2. Postpaid – PHP 350 for unlimited text AND calls to any Sun number

I thought the prices were cheap!  Come to think of it, one month Sun subscription will cost just as much as one single dinner or lunch!  It was definitely a steal!  I still hesitated for a moment as only a few friends had Sun.  Nevertheless, I still went to a Sun service center and applied for a PHP 350 postpaid line.

I’m never a fan of prepaid, I just hate the hassle of going to a loading center almost every week.  As for Sun, I wanted to get the perk of a free phone every 2 years.  Plus, all I need to do is pay online every month for the subscription fee.

In all my 6-8 years as a postpaid Sun subscriber, I think I only visited their service center 10 times.  The reasons varied from upgrading SIM card, getting the loyalty phone reward and subscribing for a new service.

When I first had my Sun postpaid line, I considered it as a second option.  I was using a competing cellular brand as my main line.  After so many years of hassle and headache with that company, I decided to forego my main line.  I then appreciated my Sun line more.  I said to myself. Wow, here’s a smaller mobile service provider but I got better services on this one.

Here is why I’m still with Sun after all these years:

• it’s cheap!
• it’s unlimited!
• their loyalty program rocks!

It was then that I started to use Sun as my main line.  It’s not perfect.  I have signal issues when I’m on top of an office building but most of the time, it works!  I’m getting a lot more with less money and that’s what I really appreciate.

You know what’s cool?  Sun offers unlimited mobile internet for only PHP 799 a month!  It was a no-brainer.  I immediately went to a service center and applied for a line.  After a few months of use, I realized that it was indeed very useful.  I get 3G signal everywhere I go.  I then bundled it with my PHP 350 line which gave me PHP 100 discount (unlimited mobile internet is PhP 699 if you have an existing PHP 350 postpaid line).

I try to minimize hassle because stress is not my best friend.  I’m glad that having an unlimited account is giving me that convenience.  I never have to worry about my bill in spite of constant use.  With everyone availing of mobile internet, I rarely get charged for texting non-Sun lines because I can either tweet them or iMessage them! 🙂

The best of it all, with just PHP 999 a month, I get all three: unlimited texts, unlimited calls and unlimited mobile internet!!

My only wish is that they offer high-end phones (i.e., iPhone) in the future.  Will it happen?  We’ll never know but right now, Sun is a good choice for me 🙂

——————–
Sun Cellular
http://www.suncellular.com.ph
Toll free from your Sun Cellular mobile phone : 200
Landline : +63-2-3958000

Are you a Crumpler fan like me?

You’re in luck as Crumpler will hold a Moving Out Sale at its Megamall Branch this whole month of October 2012!  Imagine 50-70% off on ALL items!  For those who have been wishing to buy Crumpler items, but had some concern regarding the price, here is your chance to get those beautiful items at low, low prices!

What: Crumpler Megamall Moving Out Sale
When: October 1 to 31, 2012
Where: Crumpler, SM Megamall Branch
Why: they are moving to a bigger and better location soon!

Follow CrumplerPH on Twitter for more announcements!

As time passes by and things are improving fast, I want to do more and more things.  Most of my goals can be achieved by going online.  Take blogging, for example.  I spend 80% of my free time writing articles, editing pictures and thinking of ways to improve my websites.  That’s why I cannot imagine living life without being connected online.

Now, if I can only do things faster then I can achieve more.  A lot of you might not know this, but I spend at least 5 hours on a single post here in HeaRty’s Haven.  Uploading photos online takes about 15-30 minutes considering the large size.  However, with a fast connection, I can lessen it to just 5 0r 10 minutes.  This is why it is important to choose the right provider for my internet needs.

When I got an invite to attend the Smart LTE launch, I immediately confirmed.  Smart Communications, Inc. is the first ever wireless service provider that offered 4G service in the Philippines.  I wanted to know about the Smart LTE plan, how much it’ll cost and what areas are covered by the service.

Smart LTE Launch Event

Celebrating a breakthrough in mobile internet, Smart definitely made a big bang with their launch.  It started with a sumptuous lunch prepared for media folks.  Smart executives entertained questions about Smart LTE.  I arrived a bit late so I didn’t catch the Q&A.  However, I did have a copy of the press release so I think I have enough information to share with you about the product! 🙂

We were then asked to go to Resorts World activity area for the event proper.  The place was full of personalities like celebrities, executives, shoppers, gamers, bloggers and media practitioners.

I got to meet the Social Media Specialists of Smart: Tob (@Smart_Tob), Myka (@Smart_Myka) & Kimberly (@Smart_Kimberly), they are getting popular!  For any questions about new Smart subscriptions, they are the go-to guys!  Follow them on Twitter!

Cosplayers were all around the place!  Total coolness for the geeks during the time.

Jinri Park was the most sought after celebrity during the Smart LTE launch.  I saw how my blogger friends looked at her when she passed by our area.  They were all admiring her beauty.  I, myself, find her so pretty as well.

It was also a nice surprise to know that she’s a gamer.  I guess that’s why she graced the event.  She knew how important it is to have blazing fast connection when you’re playing online games.  Smart LTE is the way to go especially with its ability to deliver speeds of up to 42Mbps.

To prove how fast Smart LTE’s abilities are, Smart partnered with E-Games to fly Korean gaming champion Kim Hong Jae to Manila.  Kim competed with Filipino gaming champion Pablo Poblador during the event in a round of Starcraft II.

It was a nice event!  I was glad I attended it.  It’s just sad that my future home isn’t covered by Smart’s LTE service.  But hey, Smart is increasing availability of the service in the country before the year ends, so it’s something to look forward to!

Smart 4G LTE Plan 3500

SMART-Long Term Evolution (LTE) – Surf the web at blazing speeds that can clock up to 42 Mbps. Download movies in minutes, full album in seconds, and real-time gaming with no lag.

With Smart LTE Plan 3500, you receive:

• A Smart LTE dongle (Huawei E392) that is capable of going at blistering speeds of up to 42Mbps
• 10GB of data
• Expanded coverage in key cities around the Metro
• P3,500 per month
• P450/GB charging in excess of the 10GB
• Compatibility with 2G/3G/HSPA/HSPA+ networks for areas where no LTE is available.
• 24 months lock in period

Metro Manila
• Taguig – The Fort • Makati City – Salcedo & Legaspi Village • Pasig City – Ortigas • Mandaluyong
• Pasay City – SM Mall of Asia • Manila – Binondo • Muntinlupa City – Alabang

Interested?  Go to Smart 4G LTE official site.

Unlimited LTE to First Subscribers

Good news!

For this new service,  Smart is offering LTE on unlimited until October 25, 2012!  Early subscribers must be in for a treat!  Imagine being able to use blazing fast internet speeds without having to worry about additional fees!  I’m sure disk space will be a challenge for early adopters during this time.

I’ve been hearing about LTE since last year.  Finally, it’s available for everyone here in the Philippines!  This is yet another first by Smart.  If you have the need for speed, this is definitely the service for you!

Online gaming, streaming videos and downloading files are now much faster than ever.  This definitely matches Smart’s vision for people to Live More.

Live Faster, Live More with Smart LTE.