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    Coffee, Tea, and Mobile Photography with CBTL and Xander Angeles

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    Coffee, Tea, and Mobile Photography with CBTL and Xander Angeles

    This summer, passion and technology collide in one modish event, as The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf walks everyone through the ins and outs of the latest photographic technique that’s taken the world by storm—iPhoneography.

    Celebrate creativity and learn how you can immortalize inspiration or preserve life’s most beautiful moments—when you need it, where you need it—fashion photographer Xander Angeles teaches you how to take professional-looking images using your mobile phone or tablet.

    “This is an effort to put us at par with other countries,” shares Walden Chu, President of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. “Filipinos are one of the most creative races out there. And we at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf believe that the best way to let that creativity shine is to give everyone the skills they need to cultivate them—using methods and technologies that are very familiar and readily available to them.”

    And because a simple talk just isn’t enough for them, they decided to take Xander’s photography lesson up a couple of notches by turning it into a summer party that highlights some of life’s finest pleasures, including the brand’s latest summer offerings—Pineapple Vanilla Ice Blended and Pineapple Fru-Tea.

    “Our new summer drinks were created in such a way that it’s meant not just to complement the season, but improve everyone’s summer experience,” adds Chu. “We’re bringing summer to everyone with these two new drinks; even to those who can’t afford to leave their work for a vacation.”

    Lenovo’s Graduation Gift Guide 2012

    Gadgets Team
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    Lenovo’s Graduation Gift Guide 2012

    It’s that time of the year again in the Philippines where summer vacation has just begun and a whole batch of students have already marched for their graduation from high school or college. If you’re a parent looking for a graduation gift or a student looking to reward yourself with technology that will prepare you for the “real world”, Lenovo’s graduation gift guide for 2012 might be a good place to look.

    Lenovo B320 All-in-One (AIO) Desktop

    The IdeaCentre B320 AIO desktop allows you to enjoy TV and PC at the same time due to its OneKeyTV feature that provides a high-definition TV experience  from a single click without having to turn on the PC. It’s sure to deliver an incredible gaming and entertainment experience.

    Php 29,900 starting price

    IdeaPad Tablet K1

    The IdeaPad Tablet K1 is a great tool for college entrants and graduates alike, as it will help them manage their time and activities with over 30 pre-loaded apps. It’s also equipped with the exclusive SocialTouch app that allows you to access an entire network of contacts and social sites all in one place.

    Php 20,900

    IdeaPad Z series

    The Sandy Bridge based IdeaPad Z series of multimedia notebooks such as the Z470 and Z570 are thin, light, and very portable. More and more students have laptops nowadays as they simply provides a more efficient way of getting work done. It might also be the perfect laptop to keep you entertained while on-the-go.

     Php 27,800 starting price

    IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook

    The IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook is ideal for style-conscious students and graduates. It’s crafted in a one-piece aluminum shell with a minimalist design, and it’s available in graphite gray or Clementine orange. It’s 14.9mm in thickness and 2.9 lbs in weight and sports a 13.3-inch display. It also boasts a bunch of smart technologies, easy connectivity features, and a long battery life.

    Php 56,900

     

    For your more info on the specifications of these products, you can visit www.lenovo.com/ph

    Samsung officially launches WiFi enabled DV300F and WB150F

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    Samsung officially launches WiFi enabled DV300F and WB150F

    Samsung has officially outed their WiFi camera line yesterday evening  at the Rockwell Tent. The DV300F and WB150F are both powerful imaging tools that allow users to instantaneously share their photos to the social network of their choice. The WB150F (which we reviewed in our April issue, out now) boasts a Schneider-Kreuznach 18x zoom lens with a focal equivalent of 24-432mm, along with a 14.1-megapixel sensor. The DV300F meanwhile, has a small, 1.5-inch front-facing LCD screen that allows users to take the perfect self-portrait shot.

    The DV300F has is rated at 16.1-megapixels, two megapixels higher than the WB150F. Another unique feature of these WiFi enabled cameras is the ability to use your phone as a remote viewfinder through the use of a free, downloadable app (on select smartphone models). Aside from being able to share your photos instantaneously to your social networks, these cameras also allow sharing on a multitude of other devices such as smartphones, tablets and even Smart TVs. The DV300F retails for Php 9,990 while the WB150F will go for Php 11,990.

     

    Opinion: Should schools have a say over what a student uploads to their social network accounts?

    Gadgets Team
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    Opinion: Should schools have a say over what a student uploads to their social network accounts?

    Yesterday I came across a disturbing piece of news – a 16 year-old kid is being barred from participating from her graduation ceremonies because her school, St. Theresa’s College, found pictures of her posing in a bikini and drinking alcohol. Naturally my reaction was one of bewilderment and anger – as the kid was apparently on a family outing with her folks when the pictures were uploaded to her account. While her school (a Catholic school) had a morality clause appended to their student handbook that was given out at the start of the school year that forbade, and I quote (from the report of the Inquirer)”1. possession of alcoholic drinks outside the school campus 2. engaging in immoral, indecent, obscene or lewd acts 3. smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages in public places 4. apparel that exposes underwear and 5. posing and uploading pictures on the Internet that entail ample body exposure”, does that mean that the school has the authority to monitor student’s Facebook accounts and dole out punishments according to what they upload to their personal accounts?

    In my opinion, this kid’s right to self expression is being trampled on by her school. I mean, I didn’t have Facebook when we were growing up, but if I did, I would have uploaded a lot of crazy stupid things that most of us do when we’re young. Like the girl above (who was not named as she was a minor) I also came from a Catholic school, and one of the ironclad rules that we had back then was that if students were ever caught doing something illegal or immoral while wearing school uniforms (which constituted misrepresenting the school) then they’d be facing some very serious consequences. What’s different in this case was that the girl wasn’t misrepresenting her school – she was on a family outing, which, the last time I checked, was not under the purview of her school.  Here’s the kicker – according to her lawyer, her account was set to private and limited to only her friends, which meant to obtain the evidence against her, the school did a lot of snooping around as clearly her pictures were not for public consumption and in doing so, engaged in a gross violation of her privacy.

    Should schools have a say over what students upload to their personal Facebook accounts? Hell no. Her case is akin to your employer snooping around your house, finding porn and then suddenly sacking you for having smut around your house. I’m a firm believer that whatever you do on your own, personal time is no one else’s business as long as it’s not illegal. This school is overreaching their bounds, and should immediately apologize allow the girl to march at her own graduation and should stop shoving its nose into the personal, private lives of its students outside of school.

    Source: Inquirer

    MMDA’s traffic navigator app is now available from the Ovi store

    Gadgets Team
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    MMDA’s traffic navigator app is now available from the Ovi store

    Own a Nokia featurephone and are jealous of Android, BlackBerry and iOS phones’ ability to find out how hellish traffic is in EDSA before going out? Fear not, as the utterly useful MMDA traffic app has now made an appearance at Nokia’s Ovi store. Nokia featurephone owners running Symbian S40 can now direct their mobile browsers here to download the free traffic app, which shouldn’t be much of a burden data-wise at it’s only 0.37 MB. Now you won’t have an excuse to not know that EDSA’s a virtual parking lot the next time you set off for your next meeting.

    Source: Ovi

    Intel’s Ivy Bridge gets April 29 launch date

    Gadgets Team
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    Intel’s Ivy Bridge gets April 29 launch date

    Intel’s next generation of silicon, Ivy Bridge, has oft been postponed and delayed. No longer – CPU-World has reported that that sweet slice of next generation processors from the chip manufacturer now has a released date – April 29. The tech outfit also says that both the mobile and desktop versions of Intel’s third generation of Core processors will be available in the same time frame, with the Core i5 and Core i7 family SKUs coming out first, followed in Q3 by the more mainstream Core i3 SKUs.

    Source: CPU-World

    Review: Nokia C6-01

    Gadgets Team
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    Review: Nokia C6-01

    By JC Ansis

    The last time I owned a Nokia phone was in 2004. It was a white 3110 and was conveniently small, had animated screensavers and polyphonic ringtones. And it glowed in the dark. Back then, Nokia phones were hot like freshly baked butter cookies. It came out with new handsets almost every month, and people were purchasing them like crazy. So when I was handed the Nokia C6-01, I actually felt oblivious. I didn’t know what to expect because I was never really into the Symbian OS and I was clueless of Nokia’s recent developments as far as touchscreen phones were concerned.

    Let’s talk about aesthetics first. The Nokia C6-01 measures 103.8mm (tall) x 52.5mm (wide) x 13.9mm (thick) and weighs about 131 grams. It’s a chunky gizmo—a bit on the heavy side. The housing consists of a chrome trim bordering the touchscreen and a metal rear casing. The metal cover gives the phone an “indestructible” feel to it, but also provides an ergonomic sense of comfort in the palm of your hand.

    A 0.3-megapixel camera for video calling can be seen on top of the screen. Underneath the display are three backlit buttons for Call and End, flanked by a Menu button in the middle. Lined on the right side of the phone are the volume buttons, lock switch and the camera shortcut button. Revealed at the bottom are a microUSB port for PC connectivity, the charging connector port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

    The Nokia C6-01 is powered by a 680Mhz ARM 11 processor and comes preloaded with Nokia’s Symbian^3 OS. The device runs on 256MB of RAM and has approximately 340MB of internal memory. For the display, the C6-01 features a ClearBlack AMOLED capacitive touchscreen. There was a high level of responsiveness when I played around with it, having minimal instances of sluggishness. The screen does a great job of showing off its colors even in bright light.

    On the homescreen are three panes that can be populated with a bunch of widgets, shortcuts, apps and other stuff. It’s got a block-like layout, and tapping or holding on any item allows you to change or remove them with ease. Though I must warn you that anyone with remotely big fingers should steer clear of this phone for fear of frustration when typing a text message using the QWERTY keypad. The keys are small and sometimes what the screen captures isn’t accurate, causing me to use “backspace” a lot. I ended up using the phone entirely in portrait mode with its numeric pad.

    If you’re worrying about connectivity, you shouldn’t be. The smartphone has all the essential tools one might need on the go. The C6-01 has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB on-the-go support, HSDPA and GPS. There’s a built-in software for all your office documents and there’s one app that lumps your Facebook and Twitter updates together. Additional apps can be downloaded from Nokia’s Ovi Store which is growing slowly but obviously still very far behind its Apple and Android rivals. Setting up mail accounts for Yahoo! and Gmail was a piece of cake with its improved mail client support.

    I did, however, have some issues with Nokia’s browser. It was very slow and stuttered when swiping around, especially on large pages. The browser struggled when trying to pan, zoom, and input text. And loading rich websites can lead to somewhat jerky navigation.

    To compensate for its flaws, the C6-01 is equipped with an 8-megapixel camera. It’s easy to use and very clear-cut in snapping shots. The snapper has fixed focus, dual LED flash, face detection, geo-tagging, and 2x digital zoom capabilities. I experienced a minor issue with macro shots, which often looked blurry and murky. The editing software that comes with it is very useful and one of the most comprehensive editing tools I’ve seen built in a smartphone. Video recording was slightly above average, capturing videos of up to 1280 x 720 resolutions at 25fps.

    The music player can play MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, AMR, and MIDI formats, while the video player supports MPEG4, H.263, H.264, RealVideo 10, and Flash Video. Voice calls were clear and crisp. When I received or made a call in a busy environment, the Nokia C6-01 still maintained good volume and audibility. The phone’s battery life lasted for about two days on a full battery charge, despite my heavy use of the camera, web browsing, GPS and media playback.

    Overall, the Nokia C6-01 is a solid gadget. Nokia handsets have been known to be trusty gadgets that gets the job done but with little flair, and the C6-01 is one of them. Though it may lack some of the glitz of rival devices based on Android or iOS, the Nokia C6-01 performs to be a dependable everyday smartphone.

    Specifications:
    FORM FACTOR: Candy bar
    DIMENSION: 103.8 x 52.5 x 13.9 mm
    SCREEN: 3.2” AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 360 x 640 pixels
    PROCESSOR: 680Mhz ARM 11 processor
    CAMERA: 8 MP (back), 0.3 MP (front)
    CONNECTIVITY: GPRS, EDGE, 3G HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
    OS: Symbian 3

    What’s Hot:
     • Great build and classy look
    • Excellent audio quality
    • USB on-the-go support
    • 8MP camera

    What’s Not:
     • Browser’s poor response
    • Camera’s fixed-focus could do better

    Bottomline:
    If you’re looking for a reliable, good-looking smartphone that combines “pocketability” and performance, the Nokia C6-01 is an impressive option.

    Buy Meter: 8.4

    [This review originally appeared in the June 2011 issue of Gadgets Magazine]

    Samsung opens first digital imaging brand store in the world in Davao city

    Gadgets Team
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    Samsung opens first digital imaging brand store in the world in Davao city

    You don’t see a lot of Samsung digital imaging stores. In fact, until today you couldn’t – as there simply weren’t any. That all changed when Samsung opened the doors of their first digital imaging brand store in SM Davao. Jiho Ha, (business unit adviser for audio-visual group) along with Nelson Perez (sales head for digital imaging) and Jeffrey Ong (owner of iClick Digishop Business Corporation) led the ceremonial ribbon cutting to officially open the store.

    Visitors to the store will be able to see and touch Samsung’s newest imaging offerings which include the WB150F, a high zoom performer, and the DV300F. Samsung’s NX series of interchangeable lens cameras will also be present at the store. The store is located at the 2nd floor of SM Davao’s new wing.

    HTC One X with Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 gets benchmarked, beats down NVIDIA Tegra 3 in test

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    HTC One X with Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 gets benchmarked, beats down NVIDIA Tegra 3 in test

    HTC’s latest superphone, the One X, will be coming in two flavors – a quad-core Tegra 3 version for the regular market, and a dual-core Snapdragon S4 for the LTE folk. On paper, most people would assume that the quad-core Tegra 3 version would smoke the dual-core Snapdragon S4 version in the benchmarks, but surprisingly that isn’t the case at all.

    An AT&T employee has posted on the Android Central forums preliminary results from two benchmarks – Quadrant and Vellamo – which show the Snapdragon S4 version of the One X trouncing almost every other mobile device currently out, including the Tegra 3 equipped Asus Transformer Prime.

    While synthetic benchmark tests on their own are in no way representative of actual, everyday performance, it’s gives users a rough idea of what they can expect out of a device.

    Nokia Lumia 800 is a Globe exclusive at plan Php 1,499

    Gadgets Team
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    Nokia Lumia 800 is a Globe exclusive at plan Php 1,499

    It took its sweet time getting here, but better late than never, right? Nokia’s Windows Phone 7 powered Lumia 800 is finally, officially in our country, and will can be had for just Php 1,499 a month. The phone will be under Globe’s My Super Plan Unli Surf Combo data plan, and the phone will be also be offered at minimum cash-out for lower plans. In case you’ve forgetten what the specs of the Lumia 800 are, let us refresh you: 3.7 AMOLED clear black display, Qualcomm 1.4 GHz Scorpion processor, 16GB memory + 5GB in SkyDrive and 8MP auto-focus camera with HD video recording.

     

    Limitless mobile surfing with Globe My Super Plan Unli Surf Combo

    Gadgets Team
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    Limitless mobile surfing with Globe My Super Plan Unli Surf Combo

    If you’re looking for a postpaid plan that will let you surf all you want on the smartphone of your dreams, search no more. Globe gives you exactly what you need to be connected to the Web minus the horror of high data charges.

    With Globe My Super Plan Unli Surf Combo, the country’s only customizable unlimited data plan, Globe provides users with uninterrupted mobile surfing, their gadget of choice, monthly load and freebies all in one subscription.

    Creating your own My Super Plan Unli Surf Combo is easy. You first select your gadget from the world’s top brands for free or with a discount. Gadgets include the latest Apple and BlackBerry smartphones, the hottest Android smartphones, and the fastest tablets, all geared up for some serious mobile browsing.

    You then select your choice of plan, all of which come with unlimited data. My Super Plan Unli Surf Combo is available in the following monthly subscriptions: Php 999, Php 1799, Php 2499 and Php 3799. For as low as Php 999 a month, subscribers can browse, chat, stream videos, e-mail, and post updates on their favorite social networking sites without paying additional fees or the fear of billshock.

    All plans are bundled with free services that you choose and can change as often as monthly, from calls and texts to Globe/TM or other networks and international calls and texts, to unlimited calls and texts to one Globe/TM number.

    Plan 1799, 2499 and 3799 subscribers are also entitled to monthly load worth Php 800, Php 1500 and Php 2800 respectively, which can be uses for both local and international calls and texts. All plans can be further boosted with additional unlimited call and text services such as unlimited call and text to 1 Globe/TM, unlimited text to Globe/TM, unlimited call landline, unlimited call mobile and landline, unlimited text to all networks, and unlimited call and text to Globe/TM.

    “My Super Plan Unli Surf Combo is designed for tech-savvy subscribers who want to make the most out of their smartphone devices. Through our portfolio of unlimited data plans, they can enjoy mobile surfing all they want, wherever they are and whatever time of the day,” explains Martha Sazon, Head of Globe Postpaid.

    Globe Postpaid subscribers are also guaranteed of a worry-free experience with the 7-day phone warranty and exclusive access to expanded Globe customer service channels which now include a real-time chat feature via the Globe website and Yahoo Messenger, as well as a text hotline with faster response time and conversation tracking feature. Add the Talk2Globe account (Talk2GLOBECHAT) on YM! or text HELP to 1234 for free to access the Globe Text Hotline.

    Visit any Globe Store, log on to www.globe.com.ph/postpaid or call 730-1010 to know more about My Super Plan Unli Surf Combo.

    Car of the Year Philippines 2011-2012 to be awarded this week

    Gadgets Team
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    Car of the Year Philippines 2011-2012 to be awarded this week

    It’s that time of the year again where another vehicle will be crowned as Car of the Year Philippines by The Car Awards Group Inc. (CAGI). This time it’s for 2011-2012, and a total of 36 cars in different categories ranging from basic mini cars to full-sized luxury SUVs introduced between November 1, 2010 and October 31, 2011 are competing.

    Every ride has gone through a qualitative test that’s based on “look” and “feel”, and a technical test that analyzes acceleration, braking, and handling performance. Carried out by some of the country’s best motoring journalists, the results have been tallied and audited in order to determine the car with the best value for money.

    Among the previous winners of this award are the Honda Accord (2004), Honda Civic (2005), Mazda 6 (2006), Volvo C30 (2007), Subaru Impreza STI (2008), Subaru Legacy 2.5 Liter GT (2009), and the Chevrolet Cruze (2010-2011).

    The award will be given on the opening day of the 8th Manila international Auto Show the day after tomorrow, March 29, 2012 at the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) in Pasay City.

    James Cameron reaches the deepest part of the ocean, sends Tweet to tell you about it

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    James Cameron reaches the deepest part of the ocean, sends Tweet to tell you about it

    It’s a little known fact that while we’ve sent a bunch of people to space and the moon, you can count the number of people that’s been to the bottom of the deepest point on earth with one hand. That glorious fraternity is now joined by award winning director/diving connoisseur James Cameron, who today has reached the deepest point in the ocean in his custom built, one man submersible that’s able to withstand the enormous 15,969 PSI of pressure around him. As a sign of the ages, James sent a tweet from the bottom of the 36,07 feet Marianas Trench’s Challenger Deep, saying that “Just arrived at the ocean’s deepest pt. Hitting bottom never felt so good”. To put the depth in perspective, the 36,070 feet trench is quite lower than the typical cruising altitudes (29,000 feet) of aircraft is high. Cameron’s submersible is armed with a variety of recording devices which include 3D-cameras, so it’s a safe bet that you’ll see the exploits of the Titanic director in an IMAX near you in the near future.

    Source: Twitter

    Asus is looking for the ultimate power user, will send him to COMPUTEX 2012

    Gadgets Team
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    Asus is looking for the ultimate power user, will send him to COMPUTEX 2012

    Asus is on the hunt for the ultimate power user, and is looking to send the lucky bloke to the mecca of all things related to PCs – the crazy/wonderful trade show that is COMPUTEX. Dubbed “Race to COMPUTEX”, the competition will run as a series of online weekly challenges that will test their knowledge in PC Components, gaming and overclocking. If selected, Asus will send said awesome individual on an all expense paid trip to Taiwan for COMPUTEX 2012, where he/she will be witnessing brand new Asus tech and innovations first hand. Interested? Of course you are. You can head over to their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ASUSph) to find out more.

    Teaser: Gadgets Magazine sizzles this summer with Jennylyn Mercado

    Gadgets Team
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    Teaser: Gadgets Magazine sizzles this summer with Jennylyn Mercado

    Summer, sand, sun, sea, and the hottest gadgets this side of the planet. Gadgets Magazine takes you on a trip and gives you all of the travel essentials you’ll need to have an awesome summer. And with our very sexy cover girl sporting the latest Speedo swimsuits, you are in for a stylish and scenic treat. From mobile phones to travel apps, this April issue will surely keep you cool all summer long.

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