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    Cebuana Lhuillier, Federal Phoenix make claims processing easier with CTPL

    Gadgets Team
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    Cebuana Lhuillier, Federal Phoenix make claims processing easier with CTPL

    Motorcar insurer Federal Phoenix Assurance Co. (FPAC) partners with the insurance arm of the Cebuana Lhuillier pawnshop chain, Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions (CLIS), with the objective of making insurance more available to Filipinos and hastening vehicle registration at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) through a joint effort called the Cebuana Compulsory Third Party Liability (CTPL) Insurance or Cebuana CTPL.

    Vehicle owners can now renew their CTPL policies conveniently just by bringing a copy of your LTO certificate of registration together with the official receipt at any Cebuana Lhuillier pawnshop. Insurance claimants with Cebuana CTPL can also file their claims at any Cebuana Lhuillier branch by simply submitting valid and complete claims documents for quick claims processing.

    Cebuana Lhuillier claims that CTPL insurance renewal only takes a few minutes, thanks to its network and management system paired with the web-based claims technology developed by Federal Phoenix. Using this electronic claims settlement system, Federal Phoenix is immediately notified upon receipt of the electronic copies of the claims documents in any Cebuana Lhuillier outlet, thus expediting the claims process.

    Cebuana Lhuillier added, “Cebuana CTPL fosters nation-building as the proliferation of fake CTPLs will be reduced, if not eliminated, thus ensuring the appropriation of right premium taxes to the government. Fake CTPLs issued by fly-by-night insurance companies has cost the government to lose millions of premium taxes to the detriment of the insuring public.”

    16-year-old from Sierra Leone builds his own devices out of scrap to help his community

    Gadgets Team
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    16-year-old from Sierra Leone builds his own devices out of scrap to help his community

    Move over, MacGyver—a 16-year-old teenager named Kelvin Doe from Sierra Leone is building devices out of scrap metal, including batteries, generators, and transmitters, the very same things that we find in smartphones, radios, and what powers our gadgets or makes them interactive. The remarkable thing is that he has taught himself to do this since the age of 13 finding only scraps in the trash for his creations, and has gained the attention of one of the most prestigious technical universities in the world, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is the youngest person in MIT’s history to be invited to their “Visiting Practitioner’s Program.”

    Doe is also a DJ, going by the name DJ Focus, and he manages his own fully-staffed community radio station in Sierra Leone where he broadcasts news and plays music. The radio station is powered by a generator created from a deteriorating voltage stabilizer, which he found in the trash, while a simple antenna lets his neighborhood listen in.

    “I believe if you focus, you can do an invention perfectly,” Doe said. Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world, and electricity, as a result, is sporadically available. “The lights will come on once in a week, and the rest of the month, dark,” he added. He created a battery to power the homes in his neighborhood to fix this, which was a combination of soda, acid and metal, wrapped together by tape.

    Soon he will be a resident practitioner with the International Development Initiative at MIT and a guest presenter at Harvard School of Engineering, where he’ll gain even more practical knowledge to help his community.

    “Whatever things I’ve learned here, I will share it with my friends, colleagues and loved ones,” Doe said.

    iPad and iPad 2 Case Perfect Priced

    Gadgets Team
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    iPad and iPad 2 Case Perfect Priced

    Are you planning on getting (or receiving) an iPad or iPad 2? Need a case that goes with it to protect your investment? In celebration of the season of gift-giving, there is a SPECIAL PROMO on selected high-quality NEW iPAD and iPAD 2 cases, specifically for the following brands: X-Doria, OPT, Moshi, Macally, Aprolink, and iPearl.

    The first wave of this promo has begun with the following retail outlets: iStudio Shangri-La, iStudio VMall, iStudio SM Manila, Gadgets In Style Shangri-La, Gamestop Theater Mall, Gamestop VMall, Gamestop Trinoma and Gamestop Park Square. More outlets will be announced as the sale expands.

    Nokia’s Design Lead Talks About the Lumia 920

    Ren Alcantara
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    Nokia’s Design Lead Talks About the Lumia 920

    Whether or not you’re a current Nokia user, there’s little doubt the Finnish company influenced mobile phone design. They’ve always given us devices that are beautiful, functional and practical, and their latest flagship is no exception. The Lumia 920 is a wonderful phone to look at, and a lot of thought has been put into its design. In this quick little video, Design Lead Marko Ahtisaari gives us a quick walk-through on the Lumia 920. It’s an interesting video to see, and gives us an idea as to what it is Nokia aims to put into their devices. Take a look at the video HERE.

    More pictures of HTC Deluxe come out, two color options available

    Gadgets Team
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    More pictures of HTC Deluxe come out, two color options available

    A lot of rumors have been circling about on HTC’s upcoming 5-inch, 1080p smartphone, the Deluxe. While there hasn’t been any more rumors about what’s going to power it inside, there’s been plenty of leaks on what it’ll look like on the outside. GSM Arena has managed to get their hands on purported press shots of the new device, which tells us that HTC will be offering the upcoming 5-inch smartphone in three different colors: black, brown and white. The device will sport a 5-inch Super LCD3 full HD display, and will be powered by an 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon Krait processor and 2GB of RAM. While there’s still no solid word when this particular device will ship, you can bet that it’ll be showing it’s gigantic, full-HD face sometime in January during CES or February during Mobile World Congress.

    Source: GSM Arena

    Sony unveils limited edition, 24 karat gold Xperia P

    Gadgets Team
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    Sony unveils limited edition, 24 karat gold Xperia P

    The concept of blinged-out gadgets aren’t new, and a cursory search with Google with the phrase, “gold gadgets” will give you a myriad of results of companies who specialize in adding useless decorative gold plating to whatever device that catches your fancy. Sony though decided that they’ll do the blinging themselves and cut out the middle-man so to speak with the announcement of a limited edition, 24K gold Xperia P. Why an Xperia P, you ask, a product that’s not exactly new instead of more recent smartphones? We have no idea. What we do know is that Sony will be outing only 15 of these gold phones, and if your pockets are deep enough (and don’t mind the somewhat dated specs on the Xperia P) you can keep your browsers locked in to Sony’s global Facebook page to find out how to get one of these babies.

    Source: Sony

    Samsung unveils SCH-W2013, a quad-core flip-phone for Jackie Chan

    Gadgets Team
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    Samsung unveils SCH-W2013, a quad-core flip-phone for Jackie Chan

    Samsung has a thing for outing unique devices for the Chinese market, and it seems that the company is at it yet again. The newly unveiled SCH-W2013 is a smartphone made for China’s growing hi-end population, and is unique in the world of smartphones because of its somewhat quirky dual-screened, flip-phone design. This particular quirky device has a 1.4GHz quad-core processor inside it, along with two 3.7-inch 800 x 480 Super AMOLED touchscreens. There’s 2GB of RAM inside, alongside 16GB of internal storage that can be expanded via a microSD card. Powering everything is a 1,850mAh battery and pictures are had courtesy of a 8-megapixel camera with a smaller, 1.9-megapixel camera on the front. Price for this thing is around ¥18,000 (around Php 118630) to ¥20,000 (around Php 131811, ouch!), which pretty much puts it out of reach for mere mortals (but not Jacky Chan, apparently).

    Source: Samsung Via Engadget

    Google slashes prices for apps during Thanksgiving weekend

    Gadgets Team
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    Google slashes prices for apps during Thanksgiving weekend

    Google has slashed the prices of the apps present in the Google Play Marketplace, possibly to try and stuff the myriad of Android devices that went on sale during Black Friday. Folks in the US and other territories are going to enjoy slashed prices on a number of digital content, which includes music, books, movies and shows. Unfortunately, those stuck on this side of the world will only be able to enjoy reduced prices for apps but we think there’s more than enough content available to satisfy everyone. Head on over to the Google Play Store now, preferably with credit card in tow.

    Source: Google Play

    Samsung updates Galaxy Note 10.1 with 4.1 Jelly Bean, adds Premium Suite

    Gadgets Team
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    Samsung updates Galaxy Note 10.1 with 4.1 Jelly Bean, adds Premium Suite

    Samsung has begun the rollout of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to Galaxy Note 10.1s scattered around the world, and is now including brand spanking new software on top of the update that increases the functionality of the device. The Samsung Premium Suite software gives users multi-window capability which allows them to open up to 16 apps at the same time, all of which are capable of being resized, moved around and pinned to the top. There’s also a lot of new apps included with the update, which proves more or less that Samsung wants its customers to get the best experience out of their devices. You can check out the entire video below:

    Microsoft Philippines, Sony Philippines and Christian Bautista invites you to try your luck at winning a Sony VAIO Duos 11

    Gadgets Team
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    Microsoft Philippines, Sony Philippines and Christian Bautista invites you to try your luck at winning a Sony VAIO Duos 11

    Want to get your own, shiny Sony VAIO Duos 11 but are sorely strapped for cash? Well, here’s a chance for you to own one and meet Asia’s Pop Idol Christian Bautista. Microsoft Philippines in cooperation with Sony Philippines is inviting everyone to participate in the Windows 8 Sony VAIO challenge this coming Saturday, November 24, 2012 at SM Megamall.

    Want to get in? It’s easy : you just have to visit the Windows booth located at the upper ground level of SM Megamall – B on November 24 to register there via Facebook from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM only. The mechanics of the challenge will be revealed at the booth before it begins at 3:00 PM. While it’s still a big mystery as far as mechanics goes, it it’s still a good chance to meet and greet all the Windows 8 devices on display from all the other manufactures, not just Sony. Multiple devices ranging from all-in-ones, convertibles, tablets and notebooks from top hardware manufacturers Asus, Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Toshiba and Sony will be on display during the event.

    Need a printer and want free stuff? Read on.

    Ren Alcantara
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    Need a printer and want free stuff? Read on.

    Everyone likes free stuff, and everyone usually needs a hard copy of a document once in a while. Now, you can have both!

    From the 15th of October until the 31st of January 2013, customers who purchase PIXMA iP2770 and two ink cartridges will entitle the buyer to a 3-year warranty,  an Axis Studio watch and a Franklin Covey pen. They can also purchase any combination of 4 of the following ink cartridges to get the gift: PG810, CL811, PG40, CL41, PG830, CL831, PG740, CL741, PG88, and CL98. Finally, buyers of any of the following printers: E500, E510, MP497, MG3170, MG5370, MG6270, MG8170, MG8270, MX366, MX377, MX437, MX416, MX426, E600, MX517, MX886, MX897, iX6560, Pro9000 Mark II, Pro9500 Mark II, iP3680, iP4970, iP100, MP287, Pro1, Pro100, and Pro10 and one ink are also eligible for the gift.  For a printer-and-ink combination, the ink must correspond to the printer purchased.

    To avail of the promo, users must provide a photocopy of the receipt or sales invoice of the printer or ink purchase dated within the promo period, the ink box with the Canon Marketing Philippines clear-to-cyan sticker, the serial number box cutout of the printer with the CMP clear-to-cyan sticker, and the user’s details—name, contact number, and address.  Inks and printers do not need to be purchased on the same day or from the same store as long as both purchases are within the promo period.  Redemption period is from November 1, 2012 to March 30, 2013.

    Dual-SIM Galaxy Note II lands in China, uses full size and micro-sized SIM cards

    Gadgets Team
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    Dual-SIM Galaxy Note II lands in China, uses full size and micro-sized SIM cards

    Folks in China are in for a treat – Samsung is releasing a dual-SIM variant of their Galaxy Note II in the orient. The new Galaxy Note II variant allows folks in China to use both full-size SIM cards and microSIM cards in their devices. As a result, the Galaxy Note II variant in China sports a wide array of radio bands (GSM 850/900/1, 800/1,900, WCDMA 850/900/1,900/2100 MHz), along with the 1.6GHz quad-core processor and gigantic 5.5-inch AMOLED HD screen. If you’re in China by December 3rd, you can pick one of these bad boys up for ¥5699 or Php 37578.

    Source: Engadget

    Police raid 9-year-old girl’s home for downloading from The Pirate Bay

    Gadgets Team
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    Police raid 9-year-old girl’s home for downloading from The Pirate Bay

    Some of you might remember when Napster was huge and hard drives were being filled up with large amounts of music. Thanks to copyright laws, people ranging from small children to elderly grandmothers were being hit with lawsuits from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). They were demanding large sums of money for each file that was downloaded. Napster, in turn, shut down, and the rest is history. Or so we thought.

    Later on, Napster clones rose up, and peer-to-peer networking became the “underground” way to acquire things for free that you would otherwise have to pay a price to own. Other types of files were joining mp3s in their hard drives. People were now toting around pirated copies of operating systems, various programs (especially anti-virus programs), both console and PC games, and regular and HD movies. Hard drives were filling up to the brim again. Couple that with more hard drive storage than ever, and from that arose two highly unpopular bills—the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), which were designed to stop online piracy, but concerns about invasion of privacy and massive protests as a result of that halted both efforts.

    However, the war on online piracy rages on. MegaUpload, a file hosting service, was shut down earlier this year as a result of online piracy. The Pirate Bay is a frequent target of those attempting to stop online piracy and has been blocked in several countries at one point, including the People’s Republic of China, the United States, and several countries in Europe, but a nine-year old girl in Finland ended up being the victim of a police raid on her home for downloading an album from a local pop artist, Chisu, from The Pirate Bay. The police took away her laptop and told her father, “It would have been easier for all concerned if you had paid the compensation.”

    “I got the feeling that there had been people from the Mafia demanding money at the door,” the girl’s father explained. “At that point my jaw hit the floor and I wasn’t sure if I was awake or dreaming. So the investigator suggested, between the lines, that I empty my wallet and keep my family in hunger for the next two weeks so that they could get rid of the case? What the (expletive)…is this how it goes? I could evade justice murder by skipping Christmas this year?”

    “We have not done anything wrong with my daughter. If adults do not always know how to use a computer and the web, how can you assume that children or the elderly—or a 9-year-old girl—knows what they are doing at any given time online?” the girl’s father added. This is a reference to the Napster raids in the United States around a decade ago, where small children and elderly grandmothers were often the targets of the RIAA’s lawsuits.

    “This is the pinnacle of absurdity. I can see artists are in a position, but this requires education and information, not resource-consuming lawsuits,” he concluded.

    The artist in question, Chisu, said that she didn’t want to sue anybody and that no artist needs this kind of media attention. “I hope that the matter will be resolved soon and sorry to my 9-year-old girls,” Chisu wrote, pointing them to this free link to her music on Spotify.

    Teenage gamers better at virtual surgery than medical residents

    Gadgets Team
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    Teenage gamers better at virtual surgery than medical residents

    Have you ever been told by your mom to put down the video games or that playing video games would rot your brain? Gamers may have heard those lines in their childhood, and probably still hear it to this very day, except that their significant other or spouse now say them. This video featured a study that concluded that teenage gamers did better than medical residents in virtual surgery.

    “We wanted to see their results compared to our physicians and they did slightly better than our physicians in training,” said Dr. Sami Kilic, Director of Texas Robotic Gynecology for the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston. “And some of those physicians in training have already participated in actual cases. It tells me that [the] knowledge and skills gained from computer games [is easily] implemented into the robotic surgeries.” Each group was asked to perform a series of tasks with the device that replicated surgeries. All totaled, 32 skill sets were tested, ranging from hand-eye coordination to pressure on the controls.

    The study used a machine that replicated surgeries—suture this, pass off that needle, etc. It then measured the users’ competency based on how well they did the tasks, including the tension they put on their instruments and their overall hand-eye coordination. The high school students did best, followed by the college group, followed by the UTMB residents.

    However, that doesn’t mean that teenage gamers are really better than medical residents in their field—researchers also had the groups perform simulations without the gaming-type robotic aid used in the first test, and the teenage gamers were handily beaten by the medical residents.

    Next time your mom, significant other or spouse tells you to turn off the video games, show them this study—they’ll probably think otherwise, and possibly get you that game you’ve been wanting this holiday season.

    SMART to offer Nexus 7 in FlexiSurf plans, will cost Php 600 for 24 months with FlexiSurf 599

    Gadgets Team
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    SMART to offer Nexus 7 in FlexiSurf plans, will cost Php 600 for 24 months with FlexiSurf 599

    Want to get your hands on the latest Android tablet in town with a great mobile plan? Well, local telco SMART has your back. The company will be offering the Google Nexus 7 in their Smart Bro FlexiSurf Pocket WiFi plan 599, with 0% interest for just P600 a month for 24 months. That means you’ll only be shelling out a mere Php 1199 every month for 24 months for the tablet and the internet plan, which sounds pretty fair to us. If you’re not a fan of the tablet (and we absolutely don’t know why you’re not, it’s pretty awesome) you can grab Smart’s other FlexiSurf which are available in SIM-only packages starting at just P299/month with 30 hours of surfing and at P399/month with 50 hours of surfing. It is also available at P499/month with a free Power Plug-It USB dongle and 50 hours of surfing. Interested? Head on over to flexisurf.smart.com.ph to know more.

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