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    Microsoft’s newest ad for IE goes all-in with nostalgia for children of the 90’s

    Gadgets Team
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    Microsoft’s newest ad for IE goes all-in with nostalgia for children of the 90’s

    Microsoft has been trying really hard lately to convince you that Internet Explorer doesn’t suck anymore. While the venerable web browser’s history is checkered with problems and issues in the past, Microsoft has more or less fixed those problems and have one of the nicest, most stable browsers around. Problem is, no one wants to use it because of their previous experience with it. So to combat that, Microsoft has been making ads lately to try and convince you that IE no longer sucks.

    Their latest ad targets the children of generation Y – people who grew up in the 90’s – and tries to invoke a feeling of nostalgia by basically bringing back fond childhood memories. Who doesn’t remember feeding and later unintentionally killing their first Tamagotchi? Or the sound of a 56K modem as it tries to connect you to the world wide web? Oddly enough, the actual commercial doesn’t show you how IE is now faster or stronger, it simply states that it, along with you, has grown up. Check out the video below, and try not to reminisce too hard.

    Ever wonder if we’ve really landed on the moon? (Here’s a hint: WE HAVE.)

    Ren Alcantara
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    Ever wonder if we’ve really landed on the moon? (Here’s a hint: WE HAVE.)

    While it is common knowledge that we, as a species have made it to the moon. We did so in 1969. Really. Still, there are those among our race that don’t believe this. For them, there is just no proving that the feat has in fact been achieved. These people will also continue to believe that the flouride in drinking water is there so satellites can track us despite THIS video by S.G. Collins, which, while not going so far as to say we did land on the moon (we did though), says that NASA could not have faked it. Collins is a writer/filmmaker who presents his thesis in a comedic manner so as to hold the attention of even the most attention-deficient adult. If you want to have a little more to say in the next “fake moon landing” debate, give this video a watch. You might learn something.

     

    Splinter Cell Black List Collector’s Edition includes a model flying RC aircraft

    Gadgets Team
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    Splinter Cell Black List Collector’s Edition includes a model flying RC aircraft

    There’s cool collector’s edition box sets, then there’s awesome collector’s edition box sets. The newly announced collector’s edition for Splinter Cell Black List will give players several exclusive offers including a copy of the game (naturally), a copy of the 88-page Splinter Cell Echoes graphic novel, a poster, the “Billionaire’s Yacht” co-op map, the Upper Echelon Pack containing the “Dead Coast” co-op map as well as the Gold Sonar Goggles and Upper Echelon Suit in-game items. The most awesome part of this particular edition, however, is the inclusion of a real, radio controlled flying aircraft modeled after the Paladin Multi-Mission Aircraft. The aptly named  Paladin Multi-Mission Aircraft Edition for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 will be priced at $169.99 and be available on August 20, unfortunately this offer will only be for the folks in the US. If you have relatives in the great US of A, now would be a good time to ask them for a favor to get this awesome, limited edition box set for you. Just think of all the stuff you could do with that aircraft.

     

    Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 shot in the wild, here’s what to expect

    Gadgets Team
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    Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 shot in the wild, here’s what to expect

    If you thought Samsung was done experimenting with screen sizes in their Galaxy Note line, you’d be sadly mistaken. There has been numerous rumors about the latest member of the family, the Galaxy Note 8.0, and now there’s photographic proof that the device exists. The Galaxy Note 8.0 is – yes, you guessed it – a 8-inch tablet device that apparently has Samsung’s S Pen technology built into it. The shot of device provided by French site Fandroid has the Galaxy Note 8.0 shot beside a Galaxy Note II and gives you a very real perspective on just how gigantic this thing is.

    Aside from the sheer size, it’s also worth noting that the Galaxy Note 8.0 bears the same design hallmarks of the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II, and still uses physical keys on the bottom of the display to navigate through the device. From the images, it looks like that Galaxy Note 8.0 will be using Samsung’s TouchWiz UI (naturally) in top of whatever Android version it ships with, and will have all the same abilities as the Galaxy Note II and the larger Galaxy Note 10.1 as far as multitasking goes (dual-window navigation, for example).

    As far as specs are concerned, rumors are that the Galaxy Note 8.0 will sport a a 1.6GHz Exynos 4 Quad CPU, 2GB of RAM and 16 and 32GB storage options. Will know this for sure once Mobile World Congress rolls around in a few days.

    Source: Frandroid

    Samsung spills beans on rugged Galaxy Xcover 2

    Gadgets Team
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    Samsung spills beans on rugged Galaxy Xcover 2

    We’re still a few weeks away from the madness that is Mobile World Congress, but Samsung has decided to kick off the smartphone announcements early with their rugged Galaxy Xcover 2. This particular smartphone is the Korean firm’s answer to the needs of individuals who love the rugged lifestyle and promises that the new smartphone will be able to keep up with their shenanigans with nary a hitch. The Galaxy Xcover 2 is water (up to one meter) and dust resistant. For folks who constantly get lost out in the wilderness, the Xcover 2 has preloaded Google maps information and an enhanced GPS ＋ GLONASS which shortens the satellite signal detection by 20%. Specs-wise, you’re looking at 4-inch, WVGA(480 x 800) TFT display and a 1 GHz dual-core processor. Granted that’s not exactly what you’d call leading edge specs, but that’s not the point of the device, is it? The device will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean right out of the gate. Unfortunately Samsung has not set the Xcover 2’s price or availability as of yet.

     

    Dual-sim Cherry Mobile OMEGA official: 5.2-inch display, 1GHz dual-core processor, 512MB RAM, Php 6,699

    Gadgets Team
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    Dual-sim Cherry Mobile OMEGA official: 5.2-inch display, 1GHz dual-core processor, 512MB RAM, Php 6,699

    Cherry Mobile has outed their OMEGA Android smartphone. The OMEGA is the newest member in the company’s already large stable of budget devices, and sports a 5.2-inch display, dual-SIM and 3G capabilities, 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB 512MB of RAM and a generous 2300 mAh battery. The second best part of all of this is that the OMEGA will be running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean right off the bat, so you don’t need to mod the device to get the latest version of Android. It’s also one of the most affordable Android 4.1 handsets we’ve seen, sporting  just a Php 6,699 price tag which puts it in the reach of most regular Joes out there.

    EDIT: Eagle eyed reader Edgar pointed out that the OMEGA has 512MB of RAM as evidenced by this box art, not 1GB. We have edited the article to reflect this. Thanks Edgar!

    Source: Cherry Mobile Philippines

    Nokia: 808 PureView is the last Symbian device

    Gadgets Team
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    Nokia: 808 PureView is the last Symbian device

    That’s it pansit for Symbian. The company has confirmed through their earnings announcement that the 808 PureView was the last of its kind, and it will concentrate on the Windows Phone ecosystem moving forward (with a smattering of Series 40 for Asha devices). “During our transition to Windows Phone through 2012, we continued to ship devices based on Symbian,” the company wrote. “The Nokia 808 PureView, a device which showcases our imaging capabilities and which came to market in mid-2012, was the last Symbian device from Nokia.”

    It only makes sense, really. If you dive into Nokia’s earnings for Q4, Nokia only managed to sell 2.2 million Symbian smartphones in Smart Devices, compared to 4.4 million Lumia smartphones in Smart Devices sold. Unsurprisingly, Nokia’s biggest seller is their Asha full touch smartphones, with the company managing to move 9.3 million devices worldwide.

    As far as the local market is concerned, we’ve confirmed that Nokia Philippines will continue to sell and support Symbian devices for the time being. The company will probably finish off whatever stocks they have of Symbian devices here before ceasing to sell them.

    Symbian first came to the scene in 1998, as a collaboration of sorts between different technology firms, notably Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola and Psion. While the collaboration didn’t really pan out, the operating system borne from that managed to top sales charts until iOS and Android came to the scene.

    Source: Nokia

    Smart brings you the Windows Phone 8x by HTC at Unlidata Plan 2000

    Ren Alcantara
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    0
    Smart brings you the Windows Phone 8x by HTC at Unlidata Plan 2000

    HTC and Smart give users more choices in the smartphone market. The Windows Phone 8x by HTC, the one phone chosen by Windows to carry the Windows Phone 8 name is now available on Smart Unlimited Data plan 2000. The 8x was designed from the ground up exclusively for the Windows Phone 8 operating system. It offers seamless integration with Windows services such as Sky Drive, the Office suite, Microsoft Live user IDs and Xbox live. This phone is smart, even by smartphone standards. On top of the usual connectivity options and apps, the 8x has “Attentive Phone” settings. It knows when it’s in a pocket or purse and increases the volume appropriately. If you pick the phone up off the desk as it rings, it’ll lower the ringer volume, or if you flip the phone over, it’ll switch the ringer off altogether.

    Smart offers the 8x in California Blue or Graphite Black with their Unlimited Data plan for PHP 2000 a month (or off-contract for PHP 26,490). Along with unlimited data, subscribers get 200 free text messages and 150 minutes of free local calls. Head over to the nearest Smart  Store and get yours now!

    Temple Run 2 officially arrives on Android devices

    Gadgets Team
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    Temple Run 2 officially arrives on Android devices

    Android Temple Run fanatics, your wait is over. The Android version of Temple Run 2 has officially hit Google Play. We gave it a short test run to see if Imangi studios has managed to improve on the old formula, and we can happily report that although they’ve tweaked the gameplay a bit, the game still retains much of the elements that made the original a hit. Temple Run 2 now also sports some snazzier graphics, so some older devices may not perform quite as well as newer ones. You can point your Android device here to get it, and remember to download the official version of the game because there are plenty of impostors are out in the Android marketplace right now – you don’t want your device to be infected by baddies, now would you?

    Source: Google Play

    Apple releases 2013 Q1 financial results

    Gadgets Team
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    Apple releases 2013 Q1 financial results

    Apple released its earnings report for the first fiscal quarter of 2013. Although it isn’t as impressive as we thought it would be, there was an increase in sales of iPhones and iPads. Sales for Macs and iPods, however, went down compared to the quarter a year earlier.

    During this quarter, the company achieved a record quarterly revenue of USD $54.5 billion and a record quarterly net profit of USD $13.1 billion during this quarter. These figures are a considerable increase compared to the $46.3 billion revenue and $13.1 billion net profit a year earlier. Apple states that international sales accounted for 61% of the quarter’s revenue.

    According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, more than 75 million iOS devices were sold in fiscal Q1.The company saw more iPhone sales than the year-ago quarter, having sold 47.8 million units. Meanwhile, iPads were reported to hit record sales of 22.9 million units.

    “We established new all-time quarterly records for iPhone and iPad sales, significantly broadened our ecosystem, and generated Apple’s highest quarterly revenue ever,” said Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer.

    There was, however, a decrease in the purchase of Macs (from 5.2 million a year earlier to only 4.1 million units this quarter) and iPods (from 15.4 million during the year-earlier quarter to only 12.7 million iPods).

    Mashable reports that Apple also had a 60% increase in the sales of Apple TVs as the company was able to sell 2 million units. The same source reports that 4 trillion notifications and 450 billion iMessages were sent in the quarter.

    For Apple’s report, head over to THIS LINK.

    Image Source: TechCrunch

    Albedo offers cloud storage for as low as one cent per gigabyte per month

    Gadgets Team
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    Albedo offers cloud storage for as low as one cent per gigabyte per month

    Feel like throwing everything in your computer onto the cloud so that you can retrieve it later on? Albedo (pronounced al-bee-doe) is offering cloud storage for as low as one cent (41 centavos) per gigabyte per month, meaning everything—files, photos, music, HD videos, games, etc. can now be on the cloud and at your disposal wherever you go on the cheap. To put that into the perspective of the sizes of our external and internal hard drive offerings right now, which are in the terabytes, a terabyte (1,024 GB) will run you about US$10.24 (Php 415) a month. When you first sign up, you can get your first 30 GB of data free.

    Albedo offers on the cloud services that are already present in most external and internal hard drives—security, so that no one can you can access your files; backup, even creating multiple copies of your files to store in different facilities to prevent data loss; and you can store them until you delete them. Albedo uses Amazon Glacier’s servers to store your data.

    However, there are a few catches—Albedo will make you wait four hours before you can retrieve a file, which keeps the server costs low, but will inform you via email or text when it is available. You can avoid deleting a file within 90 days of uploading it to avoid extra costs as well—US$0.03 within 30 days, US$0.02 within 60 days, and US$0.01 within 90 days. Finally, you can retrieve up to 5% of your data stored in Glacier for free each month. You can retrieve more than 5% for an extra $0.01 per GB, and will be notified when you near the 5% limit.

    Google’s driverless cars worth US$2 trillion

    Gadgets Team
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    Google’s driverless cars worth US$2 trillion

    Two trillion dollars. That’s how much Google’s driverless cars can generate in revenue. We talked about the driverless cars previously, where they logged 300,000 miles without a single accident. There’s even more to be had in market cap, which could completely revolutionize the global automotive industry. According to Forbes, “It creates business opportunities that dwarf Google’s current search-based business and unleashes existential challenges to market leaders across numerous industries, including car makers, auto insurers, energy companies and others that share in car-related revenue.”

    It can also save millions from death and injury and eliminate billions of dollars in costs. According to Sebastian Thrun, a VP at Google and founder of Google X (the same division at Google that was also behind Google Glass), driverless cars can “reduce traffic accidents, wasted commute time and energy, and the number of cars by 90 percent.” According to Forbes, “A car is often a person’s second largest capital expenditure, after a home, yet a car sits unused some 95% of the time. With the Google car, people could avoid the outlay of many thousands of dollars, or tens of thousands, on an item that mostly sits and, instead, simply pay by the mile.” This also frees up people’s wallets to spend (or save) their money depending on their financial status.

    This article is the first part of a series on Forbes about the driverless car and how it is set to revolutionize the automotive industry and, perhaps, much more—the way cities are designed, the way people will commute, the status of the global economy—the possibilities are endless.

    Source: Forbes

    Google’s Manila office: what needs to happen before we see cheaper Nexus devices in the Philippines

    Gadgets Team
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    Google’s Manila office: what needs to happen before we see cheaper Nexus devices in the Philippines

     

    Yesterday’s opening of Google’s office in Manila sent optimistic ripples of rumors through the tech scene. Aside from the possibility to be able to work with one of the most important companies in the technology world today, the topic of conversation inevitably drifted off to possibly cheaper Nexus devices being sold here.

    Unfortunately, if you were envisioning an era of $300 Nexus 4 devices like in the US, we have bad news for you. Google’s prese
    nce in the Philippines doesn’t mean much in the device side of things until a few other, more important things happen first.

    First off, you need to understand why Google’s Nexus series of devices are sold cheaper in the states. We’ve managed to confirm that Google subsidizes the cost of the device heavily, to the point that the company almost makes no profit out of them. Google only makes $15 on the sale of the cheapest Nexus 7 variant, for example. $15 is peanuts compared to the profits that other manufacturers make on their devices – Apple for example, typically makes $354 on every iPad (32GB with LTE) sold. Something else is up here.

    What Google is absorbing in hardware profit sales, it’s gaining in install base. The reason why Google isn’t too worried about hardware profits is the Play Store. While the Play Store is just a portal for us Filipinos to get apps, it’s quite a different beast in territories where Google is subsidizing devices. You can buy movies, books, games, music and TV shows on the Play Store in those territories, and that’s where Google recoups their investment in the hardware side. If the company can get more Android devices out in the market at a cheaper price point than its partners, so much the better. A higher install base means that there’s more people using your ecosystem to enjoy the content they want, and to do that they will have to go through your store to get it.

    So, before we see cheaper, Google subsidized Nexus devices out here, we will need to see Google Play open up first. Unfortunately, you won’t be seeing that anytime soon – it took iTunes a long, long time for it to officially open to the Asian market, probably because of IP and piracy concerns. Licensing deals and agreements for movies, TV shows, music and books takes ages to finalize. Google will also need to open up Google Play to allow local content creators to charge for their wares – we heard during yesterday’s event that local Android developers are not able to charge users for their apps – almost all (if not all) locally made apps are free.

    By now you’re probably thinking what impact Google’s opening of their Manila office is. Well, from what we gather, Google’s looking to do an ad grab, and a lot of the local Google people we met yesterday were sales executives. Google’s looking to strengthening their Google Adwords program to get local ad agencies and brands to advertise with them. It’s their core competency after all, and once everything is said and done – Google is still a business, and this is how they earn money.

    Bamboo hailed as new Globe Tattoo@Home endorser

    Gadgets Team
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    Bamboo hailed as new Globe Tattoo@Home endorser

    Globe introduced Bamboo Mañalac as the ambassador of Tattoo@Home in a press conference yesterday at Seventh High, Bonifacio Global City.

    The former Rivermaya and Bamboo frontman was selected to represent Globe’s home broadband and landline services because, as Globe claims, Bamboo constantly aims for greatness and lives without limits. Aside from being a local rock icon, Bamboo is also a family man. Tattoo@Home’s latest addition to its services—that is, offering free unlimited calls from landline to Globe/TM subscribers under Tattoo@Home plans 1099, 1299, 2299, 2999—is targeted at the family, thereby making Bamboo a shoe-fit endorser of the brand.

    “I share the values that Tattoo@Home espouses, that greatness begins at home with the love and support of one’s family, that we should aspire to make a difference beyond ourselves, and in doing so help move worlds for the better,” says Bamboo. He adds, “Tattoo@Home fuels my passion to dream bigger and do bigger things, to become an inspiration to others, and to take on new adventures in my musical journey.”

    Bamboo entertained the media in a mini-concert, in which he performed the classic Rivermaya song “214” as well as the smash hit “Halleljuah” by his former band. He also performed tracks from his first solo album, No Water, No Moon, released under PolyEast Records in 2011.

    Tattoo@Home plans now come with free unli calls to Globe, TM mobile users

    Gadgets Team
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    Tattoo@Home plans now come with free unli calls to Globe, TM mobile users

    Remember that time when you wanted to call someone’s mobile, but didn’t have any load, so you resorted to using your landline instead? It was a good plan, but you were hesitant to push through since landline to mobile calls are so darn expensive. We’ve all had those days, but now these frustrating times are officially gone—for Globe Tattoo@Home users, that is.

    Globe has announced that their Tattoo@Home internet+landline plans now come with free unlimited calls to Globe and TM mobile phones, alongside free NDD calls to fellow Globe landline subscribers. Tattoo@Home Plan 1099, for instance, gives you up to 1 Mbps of internet with a free landline. Landline is also free with Plan 1299, Plan 2299, and Plan 2999, which give you speeds of up to 2 Mbps, 3, Mbps, and 5 Mbps, respectively.

    “Tattoo@Home is known for its reliability and its best value-for-money offers. And now with the free landline to mobile calls, it validates its position as the superior broadband in the market,” said Jurist Gamban, Head of Tattoo@Home Broadband. She stated as well in a press event that this new offering from Tattoo@Home is targeted at the Filipino family.

    Tattoo@Home is also available in internet-only plans (Plan 799 and Plan 999), but with the chance of having free landline and free calls to mobile subscribers, we don’t see why you shouldn’t make the upgrade.

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