The 4th Gen iPhone

I wonder how peeps at Apple are frantic at this time, GIZMODO got them with their pants down...1st Apple lost a prototype phone that was supposed to be the next iPhone version...then GIZMODO was able to get it's hands on the device...of course, GIZMODO didn't know what the device was...Apple remotely wiped the OS off from the phone before GIZMODO was able to tinker with it. Then, Apple called the tech site and was asking for the phone...cleverly, GIZMODO asked Apple to send a demand/request letter, asking for the phone...to which Apple gave...but unfortunately, confirmed the existence of the device and how it looks like....VERY GOOD GIZMODO

SE Xperia X10 Impressions

Yesterday I was able to play with Sony Ericsson's flagship Android Phone the Xperia X10. It's running Android 1.6 (Android has so many versions), and at first glance was that it was huge! It's bigger than the BlackBerry Storm2 though thinner. The screen was big! Well, this is the reason why the phone is big, because of the large screen real-estate. 

It has 3 hardware buttons in the front and the rest is the touch-sensitive screen. It's got one button on top, together with the USB charging port and the headphone jack. It's got the camera button on the right side and volume rocker keys (i guess) on the same side. At the back, it's got an 8MP camera that sits beside an LED light to which I found out that it doesn't function as a flash, but just....yeah....a light! They call it PhotoLight...well yeah, just a light.

Going straight to the OS part....well, I was not impressed. It was sluggish! The slide-to-unlock screen was so slow, and when I got into the home screen, well, I didn't find anything exciting in it! Yeah, it's got games and apps, but nothing that impressed me. Though I think setting it up to get settings automatically from the network was fairly easy. The TimeScape, SE's own version of integrated messaging, was fancy, but then again, not impressive. It's a customized UI, very similar to Motorola's MotoBlur, that integrates updates and messages from SMS, to email, to Social Networking Sites like Twitter and Facebook. 

Then there's moving around the menu, don't know if it's the touch-screen or what, but I hate how it's late in reacting to my gestures. Nonetheless, the Sony Ericsson Xperia 10 is one capable handset...maybe I'm just not into Android Phones as it offers nothing new and exciting that's worth getting one. But I can't say if you share the same sentiments....have fun!

Globe - Prepping for Android Phones

http://site.globe.com.ph/personal;jsessionid=bh77nhj0uxdi?sid=S7x8-MuxpRYAACfvUsEAAAAEe - judging this site...Globe is preparing itself for some rush of Android devices for the Philippine market. This Android Developer challenge will result a more variable availability of applications for our local setting. A wait and see attitude perhaps will do for the mean time.

Globe is prepping for a rush of Android Phones

http://site.globe.com.ph/personal;jsessionid=bh77nhj0uxdi?sid=S7x8-MuxpRYAACfvUsEAAAAEe - judging this site...Globe is preparing itself for some rush of Android devices for the Philippine market. This Android Developer challenge will result a more variable availability of applications for our local setting. A wait and see attitude perhaps will do for the mean time.

Globe's SIM Replacement

A month ago, all of a sudden, right in the middle of the day, on a weekend, my phone's display suddenly was displaying "Invalid SIM" instead of the Operator name. I'm not getting any signal. I called Globe Hotline and I was told I had to go to a Business center to have the SIM replaced. Without further arguments I conceded and waited for my duty to be over (that's around 24 hrs of me not having a phone).

So the afternoon of the next day, went to Globe Greenbelt Business Center, I told them about what happened and they agreed that the SIM really needs replacing...but I have to pay P300 as a SIM replacement fee. So I asked the girl in the counter the reason why a subscriber has to pay such fees when it's not his fault that the SIM broke and I also asked why will a SIM card break when it has no moving parts. She said it's because of wear and tear...hmmmm that sounds fishy, from what I know, a SIM can only be worn out if one keeps on removing and re-inserting the SIM, in my case i don't, I don't replace my handsets that often, the most frequent time I've changed handset (and thus touching the SIM) was 1 year. So I questioned the girls claims, I also said that there is no provision in the contract that subscribers have to pay for replacement SIMs. With this, I guess she felt I was becoming agitated and she called her direct supervisor (i think) for help. 

I was told by the supervisor of the same things (good thing I've read earlier about SIMs being mailed by Globe to subscribers to change their 64k SIMs to 128k SIMs), again, I've raised my point. And another thing came up, the wife's SIM was as old as mine though it hasn't conked out yet. So I told her that if she's going to replace my SIM, might as well replace her SIM as well, since we're already there to avoid us being more inconvenieced then the time comes that her SIM breaks down. At first she resisted replacing my SIM for free and replacing the wife's SIM at that moment...but I stool my ground and finally our SIM cards were replaced.

I was wondering why subscribers are asked to pay for replacement SIMs and at that price! Heck they're virtually giving SIMs away in the prepaid market and now Globe is asking us to pay for the SIM which broke down for unknown reason. Tsk tsk not a good way to show your subscribers how you take care of them Globe! Tsk tsk tsk 

Apple iPad

So this is the revolutionary new thingamajig from Apple? It's a glorified iPod! It's a huge iPod that can't even do multitasking. It's a nice design and concept, heck, but it's not a new concept. HP was able to upped them on this earlier, but since it's Apple that we're talking about, then people would buy it just because...

Anyways, this thing, though not so feature-packed will definitely change handheld computing. I was planning to get one to replace my ageing iBook G4 (I didn't get any of the newer MacBooks or MB Pros because they're all huge!), but this sorts of disappoints me. Nonetheless, if knowing Apple, they will use this device to test the waters and for sure, in a few months time, they will come up with a newer variation that will have the feature I want...a way for it to he hooked up to a projector so I could use it for presentations.

Also, it should have a solution for physical input other than the onscreen keyboard (or at least improve it), the keyboard accessory is not impressive as well.

End point, it's a nice concept, bigger screen, but it's really just an iPod. It needs more...multitasking, connects to peripherals, better input management.

Let's see on the next versions...

Colleine's Gift

Colleine made a big come back this 2nd and 3rd quarter, she said earlier that she will make sure she gets back either at 2nd honor or 1st to the very least hehehe, I can never say those things even up to now. 

I always wanted to show no bias between Sean and Colleine, but sometimes, Sean being the youngest, turns out to be a baby and other people loves him for that, and with it comes gifts, specifically, cool toys. 

With Colleine, they think she's all grown up and everything, but she will always be a baby, forced to act maturely because of trishia and sean. Now I think she needs a great gift for this achievement and I'm thinking of getting her a Nintendo DS which she has been wishing for already for sometime.

I don't like to give them game consoles because it might affect their study habits. But I've seen how Colleine works, when she got her mom's cellphone, she never brought it to school. So I guess, this will test her discipline once more. 

Initially, I was thinking of getting her a cellphone for Christmas, but the cheaper ones have crappy screens, and the one that she has right now has a lot better screen resolution albeit a hand-me-down from her mom. Then I thought, perhaps, now is a good time to get her a phone, but then again, I'm thinking of giving her mom a phone for her birthday...so perhaps, the phone will just come in on Colleine's birthday this coming March.

Now I've looked around and thought of a Nintendo DS, but the dilemma right now is, whether to get her a DS lite or a DSi. The DSi is of course more expensive than the DS lite (which is a lot more prettier), hmmmm thinking, but the DSi is the newest and has much more features.....  

My BlackBerry Curve 8520

Just two more weeks and it's already been a month since I got my very
first BlackBerry, and so far, I'm enjoying it. So much that I've
"influenced" a couple of my workmates to get one for themselves and by
the looks of it, more of them to follow suit.

Though I'm not too excited about the keypad, especially since I get to
discover my old SE M600i whom for that matter, for me, has must better
keypads than my Palm Centro and this BlackBerry.

The OS is wonderful, it's really more of a communication device thru
data and voice. Though proprietary and a bit expensive, the BIS is one
hell of a system. All messaging information are lumped into one
application, be it from an SMS, Email, Facebook, Yahoo! Messenger and
BB Messenger, I don't have to dig into all these applications, all I
have to do is to open one app on the desktop and it's already there
waiting for me. But I guess the downside is, there's so much data
traffice that if I don't get an unlimited plan for the BB, I would
perhaps be paying a lot for the data alone.

Another problem I have is the case, there's no store that I know of
that sells BlackBerry accessories locally for the Curve 8520. Although
Digital Walker has expressed suit that they will be bringing in more
accessories for the models that are locally distributed.

Oh and I've yet to get a new Bluetooth headset. Enjoy the pics

My New Blackberry Curve 8520

Finally took the dive and got myself a Blackberry, I got a Curve 8520, though Carrier-locked to Globe, but at that price who could resist. Got it for a little less than P15T, and this price was funny because I was told that they've increased the price of the prepaid kit to P15800.00 from P14995.00 but the new price includes a one month use of Super Surf, their version of unlimited data usage. But when I got the charge slip, I was only charged P14995, cool!

Anyways, I am clueless as how the Blackberry works, though I have friends that use Blackberrys I don't "interrogate" them as to how the thing works. Well, a Blackberry is just like any other phone, only, it's more focused to messaging of all sorts. Blackberry's before were intended for corporate clients, and it's just recently that the consumer market started adopting them. 

I was so excited to get the phone, it's because my aging Palm Centro is becoming boring everyday. I was planning to get this phone since I heard of the "affordable" price from Globe. Then I started to look around and snoop for information about the usage and all. Then finally, I decided to get into the BB bandwagon. Went to Globe SM Mall of Asia and was told that they have one unit left, thinking that it's the Christmas season and I may not be the only one that thinks that they're offering a very good deal, I took the unit.

The box was minimalistic black, and the phone is shiny hehehe. Couldn't resist it so I inserted the SIM that came with the kit, plugged it in the car charger and started playing with the phone. Good thing about the one month free data use, I was able to do the startup settings including email set ups and some apps download right at that moment. 

Questions that came to me were, how to use the BB messenger (well, my friends told me I have to get their PINs), it's not that different as any IM app, but it's proprietary to RIM. If the one month free data usage is up, and I have to insert my postpaid SIM, will I have to re-enroll the phone again? Then there's the automatic switching from EDGE to GPRS to WiFi. 

I was easily able to connect to my home wireless network, but the signal was choppy and the phone kept on switching from WiFi to GPRS/EDGE. Then I started to appreciate the integration of contacts and messaging on the phone. It integrated my SMS, email, Facebook, BB Messenger and Yahoo! messenger into one application and notifications come in as one. My next dilemma is whether to subscribe to a BB plan after a month and to which plan. 

The whole phone was beautiful, although I have some problem with the hard-to-press QWERTY keypad, though I'm hoping I'll get the hang of it in the future. The kit came with a 2GB microSD card, so when I installed the Blackberry Desktop Software, I was able to sync songs into the phone thru iTunes, hmm that's very convenient for me. Another thing that gave me more convenience was the synchronization of my contacts and calendar details from Google. 

Will be coming back in the next days to update on the use of this new toy of mine....

Reviving Old CPUs

During my 2 years in Residency, I was able to revive an old PC gathering dust in the female resident's quarters...I installed Ubuntu in it and from then on, we've been using it to surf the net and some occasional document creation. Just last week, I bought a new Keyboard and an optical mouse for this Ubuntu box, and with Karmic Koala installed, it feels snappier. I also replaced the monitor with a bigger one which came from another old CPU.

Speaking of this another old CPU, well, it so happen that it already go Windows XP installed...just tonight I bought another set of Keyboard and Mouse and will probably dress up that PC so it could be use for document creation and web surfing....

Prepaid Mobile Internet

I think the Filipinos are lucky when it comes to mobile broadband. It's cheap...compared to the US and the neighboring countries. I am very proud of it...well even the prepaid service gives one the best buck for the money. 

One good example is SUN Broadband Wireless...I'm an avid fan. Even if the coverage is Metro Manila-wide only, well, it gives the best result and speed compared with Globe's Tattoo and Smart Bro.

Now, in response to the more expensive plans of both Globe and Smart, SUN has given their subscribers better value for their money. Just by loading Sun's special mobile broadband prepaid card, the P50 worth prepaid card can now give one a day's full of unlimited internet...now don't you think that's a very good deal? Well I do!

Gizmo5 now owned by Google

Gizmo5 has been acquired by Google and will be integrated to Google Voice in the future. Gizmo5 engineers have now transferred to Google. Current users can still use the service but new sign-ups has been suspended.

Let's go wait and see...

Globe's SuperDuo and SuperSurf

Today, Globe launched a new service...the SuperSurf...for P2000 on
top of one's Monthly Service Fee...the subscriber gets unlimited
surfing power on their phones...though I don't know yet if it can
also be used when the phone is tethered to a laptop/notebook.

Globe's SuperDuo is a spin-off or a evolution of their Duo service
but this time is not limited to Landline alone, this time, the
SuperDuo subscriber can call with no time limit any Globe subscriber
where ever he/she is in the country. I have subscribed to this and so
far, it's not a 100% good service, but it's ok...perhaps I'm just an
understanding subscriber.... since I subscribed, I've experienced a
lot of difficult instances where I can't dial out of my phone or the
caller can't right away call me. But it has more advantages than
disadvantages.

With the SupeSurf...at P2000 I don't think I'll be getting one. I
already have both Globe's Tattoo prepaid mobile broadband (and so
far, has not used it for a while) and SUN's Wireless Broadband, also
prepaid (which I use most of the time if I don't have access to a
free wifi access point). But most of the time, with the places I
frequently go to, I get access to the internet, at home, the hospital
and coffee shops.

Most of the malls today offer free wifi access, so what's the point
(well, that's my opinion). But at least, now, telcos are making these
services available to the public.

The Trip Thru the Storm

Going home to bicol regularly has been deferred since I started
residency training, which means road trips are also postponed.

But this week came in as one of those days. We had the go to Daet for
the burial of the father of the wife. Though impromptu, it has to be
planned and thought of properly.

We scheduled it on a friday so that class schedules of the kids will
not be affected. Good thing I was able to convince a friend to come
with us, or else it would be just me and the two kids which is going
to be very very stressful. And on the day of the trip, good thing my
uncle decided to come with us too, so that's 5 of us in the car.

We left house at 645pm, it was a Friday, I took the wheel and expected
heavy traffic, sure enough we lost around 2hrs in traffic.

All the way, it was raining, but the rain wasn't too strong to hamper
our speed, but what slowed us down was the slippery road. About 45mins
from our destination, there was this bridge under construction, the
truck in front of us told us to back up, it gave me a bad feeling,
then we found out that cars, heck even trucks can't cross through
because of the strong current. Ok, now, there's a problem, it's either
we wait there 'till people in charge deccide to open the bridge or go
back and use the long way to the destination which will delay us for
around 6 hours. And to top it of, there was no cellphone signal and I
can't get anyone in the VHF radio. We decided to drive back perhaps
until we get a good cellphone signal. Good thing going back, we met
this car, and the driver asked us to go back to the bridge and hope
that we can pressure the person in charge to open the bridge. So we
went back, after about 45mins of convincing, we were able to cross the
river using the new, unfinished bridge.

The next day we were shocked to learn how devastating the storm was
here in the metropolis.

Sent from my iPod Touch

My New iPod Touch part 2

I love it, especially the internet device function, but I guess I can't have it all, Sean and Colleine are fighting over it for the games...hmmmm

My New iPod Touch

It's been 2 days and I'm still enjoying this new toy of mine. I use it
more as an MID (Mobile Internet Device) than a PMP (Portable Media
Player).

I've set-up all my Google accounts (Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google
contacts), and even added my Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail. Setting up all
these was very easy. All i had to do was to put in my email address
and the corresponding passwords.

Since the hospital is mostly wireless enabled, I didn't have any
problems keeping the connection and push notification is a wonder in
this device, even social networking sites such as facebook and Twitter
gives me push notification. That's why updating my status is a breeze.

Some of the qualms I have with it, well, the predictive text is
sometimes annoying, but one can get used to it. Also, it's very thin,
holding it the wrong way can give one some discomfort during prolonged
use. It's day 3 of this device and I still haven't bought it a case.
Also the scree and the stainless back is one big fingerprint magnet.

Watching Youtube is also a wonder (as long as you have a fast
connection). I like this device because in coffee shops, and in the
malls, I don't have to bring my laptop just to update my status in

Facebook hehehe.

There's still some quirks with editing and viewing Word and Excel documents, but what excited me was the syncing of notes from my Outlook.

Will post more information about my use of this wonderful device.

Sent from my iPod Touch

Mobile Prepaid Service in Malolos Bulacan

I'm here at Malolos Bulacan today, tested if SUN's mobile broadband
will have a good signal, unfortunately, NOT!!!! Didn't get any 3G
signal.

Then I tried Globe Visibility using the ZTE modem, hmmm, got a good
3G signal and the speed is ok. I'm actually posting this using
Globe's Visibility

Nothing New in the Telecom Industry

No new exciting news on the Telecom Front, even Globe’s WiMax announcement has become passé. Even Smart has not announced anything new on their side. Sun Cellular is still crappy (although I have an account with them). Bayantel, well, they have a new poster, but nothing really new.

Mobile Internet in the Philippines

Thanks to competition, the major Telecoms players, Globe, Smart,
Digitel and Bayantel are giving consumers the best choices to connect
to the internet.

Globe, Smart and Digitel all has their own versions of mobile
broadband with Bayantel rumored to be coming out with their own in
the coming months.

The major 3 all uses 3.5G with Globe and Sun now using mainly HUAWEI
USB Modem Sticks and Smart with their ZTE models.

These modems have become cheap over the years. They all started above
P2000 per stick with now priced a little less than P2000 and the per-
minute charging is very competitive too!

Most of those who will buy these mobile modems are laptop owners, who
will opt to buy a P100 load, at 3.5G speeds (comparable to entry-
level DSL speeds), than shell out P100 for an hour in Starbucks.

Although major malls now are offering free WiFi access (Mall of Asia,
Rockwell, Greenbelt 5, Robinsons, and Eastwood Malls), having one or
three (one for every major carrier) would offer much convenience for
the consumer.

These USB modem sticks can also be used by subscribers who doesn't
have DSL lines at home (perhaps they are not covered by the telcos
service areas). It's a good way to spread the power of the net to the
provinces. SMART will definitely lead this one because they have the
most number of cell sites all spread out in the country. The only
question there is, are these cell sites all at least 3G capable, or
else, the subscriber will crawl on 2G speeds (GPRS/EDGE).

It's very easy to get and use. One only has to purchase one of these
sticks (or two or three), and just plug it in one of any available
USB ports and, as long as it has load in it, it's off to the interweb.

Reloading is very easy too! One just have to go to their suking
tindahan (if available), just give manang the phone number of the
modem (the modem is actually a phone with a SIM card inside it
without a keypad and a screed) and it's ready.

The price is very affordable at P20 per hour, it definitely beats the
P100 per hour in a coffee shop. This separates us from our US
counterparts, although they have a very good subscriber penetration,
their broadband is very expensive compared to ours. What we're
lacking is mostly penetration. As this technology is dependent on
cell site towers.

I suggest students who are living in apartment and dorms, who cannot
get a wired broadband line (maybe because their stay is just
temporary), get one of these (depending on which has a better signal
in the area).

DTH TV in RP

I have cable TV at home, the problem I have with it is that, I don't
get clear channels on them, specifically Cartoon Network. And
watching Standard Def on an HDTV is something like the old times.

I thought of changing to DTH (direct-to-home) Satellite TV. They say
it's a lot clearer because of the digital nature of the channels.
Hmmm sounds promising. Dream Satellite TV was the mainstream pioneer
of consumer DTH Sat TV in the country. And by the looks of their
recent actions, they're getting ready for HD.

The problem I have with DTH or Dream was the expandability. Each TV
will need their separate set-top box to access content. Unlike
regular cable, one would only need a cable splitter and each TV will
be able to choose their own channel liking.

Now comes Cignal TV, it's from MediaQuest, a subsidiary of PLDT, and
has big potential of growing and offering affordable rates, just look
at SMART. Right now, rates are, well, competitive, but the problem,
aside from not being able to share the signal to other TV sets in the
house, is the lack of channels. Understandably, they're just
starting. But it's really tempting. Maybe I will just wait for a
while for their channel line up start to increase.