Sunday, June 28, 2009

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen

Saw the movie last night, I was as excited as my son Sean when the movie started, when I saw Sideswipe transform, when I saw that Backhoe crane transform and when that Audi R8 started to move. But there were mixed feelings on the movie itself. 

Before the movie, I heard that someone was going to die, and was anticipating every scene in the movie, and when we got to that point, I was optimistic that it's just going to be temporary, heck even Megatron was brought back to life right? And if they would really kill him, then what's the point of doing another movie without him right? 

Anyways, ok the movie was exciting, may be because I am a really big fan of the Transformers but the plot was thin and confusing, perhaps that's how they made the movie, so that there will be lots of places where they can connect to for the next movie.

The disappointing and corny parts were, the Micro-Transformers, the kitchen appliances that turned into robots where reminiscent of the gremlins or goolies of the 80's. That Bumblebee started to shed loads of tears when Sam told him he's leaving him. Oh and the human never leaves the Autobot behind. And what the hell was the character of the twins and wheelie about? Why give them such a cartoonish character? Wheelie humping like a dog? Hmmmm not so appealing, take note that a lot of kids are going to see this movie. And parents will have a hard time explaining what the funny thing about the scene is all about. And robots are not suppose to leak out secretions, in all the fight scenes, the robots would spit out fluid like blood, oh come on! They were even spitting on Sam! Naman! And the alien concept thing, where's Sigourney Weaver? Now they turned organic? Having Jetfire in the movie and how he bares the Decepticon mark but has long been with the Autobots was another fun idea, but he was too cartoonish and outright incomprehensible. Devestator was a disappointment, what is he? Rotating neck? hmmmm ugly! one cannot even distinguish the different constructicons in him. 

Then there's Megan Fox's lips, my! They have grown! What gives? She's not too hot yet? Tsk tsk

Oh well, next stop, GI Joe the movie

Thursday, June 25, 2009

SMART offers “ultimate unlimited” calling to 38M subscribers

Smart Communications Inc. (SMART), the country's leading wireless services provider, launched today a new service that enables SMART Buddy and SMART Gold subscribers to make unlimited calls to over 38 million mobile phone users on the SMART network.

Called Smartalk, the new service will be available starting June 26, does not require any changes in SIM or cell phone number, and can be enjoyed by SMART Buddy and SMART Gold subscribers.
                                                                                     
SMART subscribers will be able to avail of the service by purchasing loads for unlimited calls which come in two denominations. The first is "Smartalk 100" which for P100 offers 5 days of unlimited calls to any subscriber on the SMART network anywhere in the country, at any time of the day.

Another variant, "Smartalk 500", offers 30 days of unlimited calls to any subscriber on the SMART network for only P500 – effectively reducing the cost to as low as P17 for a whole day of unlimited calling to any number within the country's largest mobile subscriber base.

"With this new service, SMART subscribers all over the country need only one phone, one SIM, and one number, to be able to make unlimited, crystal-clear calls to over 38 million SMART numbers anytime, anywhere," said Orlando B. Vea, Chief Wireless Advisor of SMART, and also one of its founders.

"This is our way of helping out our subscribers in these difficult times and is our response to the government's call for more affordable telecommunications services," added Vea.

"This is the ultimate unlimited. Smartalk re-writes the rules in the way 'unlimited' mobile services are made available to Filipinos -- no other service offering provides unlimited, nationwide calling to a subscriber base as large as SMART's, while assuring callers of crystal-clear signal quality anywhere in the country," said Danilo Mojica, head of SMART's wireless consumer division.

SMART Buddy prepaid subscribers may avail of Smartalk through registration. A subscriber just needs to send Talk100 to 6400 for a Smartalk 100 package, or Talk500 to 6400 for a Smartalk 500 load. The payment for the package bought will be automatically deducted from subscriber's prepaid load, and they just need to have a P1 maintaining balance.

They can also buy these Smartalk packages as a load from any of over a million SMART Load retailers all over the country.

When making a call using the Smartalk unlimited package, SMART Buddy subscribers just need to dial *6400 plus the 11-digit subscriber number being called, eg., *640009181234567.

Subscribers of SMART Gold, the telco's pioneering postpaid brand, may also stretch their monthly budget for mobile services by availing of Smartalk.

All SMART Gold subscribers from Plan 800 and up may avail of 30 days of unlimited calls to any number within the SMART network, with Smartalk 500. They just need to send Talk500 to 6400 to purchase the package, and the 500-peso charge will be billed on top of their monthly service fee (MSF).

SMART Gold subscribers can also purchase Smartalk 100 or Smartalk 500, from any of over a million SMART Load retailers all over the country. This is best for post-paid subscribers who prefer to stay within their MSF cap yet need to avail of unlimited calling service through the convenience of a prepaid package.

SMART is widely credited for having made mobile phone services much more affordable and accessible, when it introduced sachet-size packets of prepaid airtime through Smart Load. The electronic load platform has also enabled SMART to offer a wide variety of call and text packages that are specially designed to be affordable, and made available through a wide network of retailers present in every corner of the country.

"Over the years we have progressively lowered the costs of our services and designed our offers to truly meet the varying needs and purchasing power of our subscribers. By offering Smartalk -- a service that's easy to understand, ubiquitous, and affordable – SMART once again transforms the playing field and offers real value to mobile subscribers," Vea said.

Smartalk will be offered nationwide until September 30, 2009. For more information, visithttp://www.smart.com.ph/.

Monday, June 22, 2009

HTC Magic

Looks like there's something going on with the official launching of HTC Magic locally (Philippines). Globe made an earlier announcement in their website about releasing the smartphone locally, but only on a specific Business Center. 
Then Smart claims they have the exclusivity on the said handset. By the way things are, looks like Smart was surprised by Globe's move, since the local distributor of HTC was only in talks with Smart.

There are speculations that Globe got hold of the smartphone thru it's partner, SingTel.