If you’ve ever wanted to buy Photoshop, Acrobat Pro or any other of Adobe’s product offerings but are just unable to get your behind to a store that sells them, you’ll be happy to know that Adobe has launched their SEA online store. The store will sell Adobe software via electronic download in a simple, online transactional sale using local currency. Vicky Skipp, Regional Director in Adobe Systems for Southeast Asia, said the launch brought significant benefits to customers in the region. “This is a convenient and fast way to access the latest Adobe software range, including our flagship solution Adobe Creative Suite 5.5. Immediate electronic download to your device saves the cost and delay of waiting for your software to arrive through traditional shipping methods. Buying through Adobe.com Southeast Asia store also ensures customers are guaranteed ease of mind that they are purchasing genuine Adobe software. We offer a wide choice of secure payment methods, including credit card payments.” You can visit the online store here.
Man beats up car with bare hands, looks to beat up Guile
Here’s a video clip that’ll brighten up your boring Monday: an Asian man beating the hell out of a defenseless sedan ala Street Figther. One of the best things about playing that game as a kid was beating up that defenseless sedan in the bonus stage. Even if we weren’t able to reach Bison (or Vega if you were playing the Asian version), we left the arcade happy with the knowledge that we managed to wreck a sensible 4-door sedan. Well, apparently someone has been playing waaaay to much Street Fighter and have taken it upon himself to beat up a car with his bare hands, albeit with less flair and panache as Ryu did. Check out the video below, and compare it to the original Street Fighter bonus stage.
(Thanks Elijah!)
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime spotted in the wild, side by side pictures with iPhone 4
A scant few days after being officially launched and specc’d, ASUS’ Transformer Prime has surfaced yet again – this time the quadcore tablet is given a hands-on of sorts by website ZTOP. The guys from ZTOP give the Transformer Prime a good once over, and took a number of comparison pictures of the tablet along with an iPhone 4 and the new DROID RAZR. They’ve also been kind enough to post a short video of the device running Shadowrun, which only affirms NVIDIA’s claims that the Transformer Prime is a tablet that’s not going to back down when it comes to gaming. We’ve embedded the video below, and you can go to ZTOP’s website here to catch more pretty pictures of the Transformer Prime.
Via: Slashgear
Source: ZTOP
HTC Sensation XE and XL launched, priced
We’re fresh from HTC’s launch event from the internet-less club Republiq yesterday where two of HTC’s latest Beats-toting superphones, the Sensation XE and XL were launched and priced locally, here in the Philippines.
We’re no stranger to the Sensation XE, and if you’re a regular reader of the site, you’ll remember that we managed to get some hands-on time with it earlier this week. Aside from the red LED highlights and Beats branding, the XE looks and feels exactly like the original Sensation. Internally, it’s been given a slight speed bump, going from 1.3 GHz to 1.5 GHz and now carries a slightly bigger 1730 mAh battery to help with the battery life. It will also carry Beats audio optimization as well as a Beats branded headphone. The Sensation XE will retail for Php 31,500 and it’ll be carried by Smart and will be made available to its subscribers at Plan 2000.
What we’re really interested in was the Sensation XL. This 4.7-inch stunner dwarfs most other smartphones currently in the market and is only eclipsed in size by the soon to be released Samsung Galaxy Note. Unfortunately the Sensation XL only uses a single core 1.5 GHz Scorpion processor (Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8255 chipset) as opposed to the XE’s 1.5 GHz dual-core processor (Adreno 220 GPU, Qualcomm MSM 8260 Snapdragon). The XL will have the same Beats enhancements as it’s little brother, as well as a bigger headphone to compliment it as an option. The Sensation XL will retail for Php 32,500.
That’s it for now. We’ll be getting our review units in shortly, so stay tuned for the review of these two babies. We’ll leave you with more product shots for now.
[album: https://gadgetsmagazine.com.ph/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/[email protected]/HTC_Sensation XE and XL/]
Cars, motorcycles at stake in Petron Doble Panalo promo UPDATED WITH WINNERS
Petron, the country’s leading oil company, recently announced its biggest marketing promotion for the year with the Petron Doble-Panalo promo. Starting 01 November 2011 to 31 January 2012, Petron customers have two chances to win prizes from Petron stations nationwide.
First, with every P1,000 single or accumulated purchase of Petron fuels — Petron Xtra, Petron XCS, Petron Blaze, Petron DieselMax and Petron Turbo Diesel — a customer is entitled to “Pick a Raffle Coupon” with an instant prize from the bunot box. Instant giveaways include: free 1-liter fuel, Petron t-shirt, Petron sticker, San Mig 3-in-1 coffee, and Petron 2012 calendar.
The same Raffle Coupon can then be used to participate in the Doble Grand Draws, which will have separate draws and separate winners of same set of prizes for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The First Grand Draw to be held on 20 December 2011, will have the following prizes at stake: Toyota Hi-Lux (3), Honda Civic (3), Yamaha Mio Soul motorcycle (3), 47-inch LG LED TV (6); Samsung Galaxy Tab (6), Apple IPad 2 – 32GB (9), and Petron E-Fuel Card worth P10,000 each (48).
The Second Grand Draw, for entries submitted by 31 January 2011, will be held on 14 February 2012. Grand prizes include: Mitsubishi Montero Sport (3), Yamaha Mio Soul motorcycle (3), 47-inch LG LED TV (6), Samsung Galaxy Tab (6), Apple IPad 2 – 32GB (9), and Petron E-Fuel Card worth P10,000 each (48).
EDIT: We’ve managed to wrangle the winners of the draw guys, sorry for the delay. It took quite a bit of effort. Here they are, in their entirety:
PETRON DOBLE PANALO PROMO WINNERS
3 WINNERS OF TOYOTA HI-LUX
Marilyn Pena (Binan, Laguna) – LUZON
Linda Pondavilla (Ubay, Bohol) – VISAYAS
Demetrio Berza Jr. (Matina, Davao City) – MINDANAO
3 WINNERS OF YAMAHA MIO SOUL MOTORCYCLE
Victoriano Palma (Novaliches, QC) – LUZON
Armando Itang (Bo. San Vicente, Ormoc) – VISAYAS
Carmelo Cocon (Tugbok, Davao City) – MINDANAO
3 WINNERS OF HONDA CIVIC
Concordia Sosa (San Luis, Pampanga) – LUZON
RetchelioPolenio (Bo. Can-Untog, Ormoc) – VISAYAS
MochelleBurdeos (Bo. Ampayon, Butuan City) MINDANAO
6 WINNERS OF 47” LG LED TV
luzon
Luis Pacamara (Novaliches, QC)
Catheine Esteban (Tatalon, QC)
visayas
JulitoPepito (Consolacion, Cebu)
AngieloGalabay (Siation, Negros Oriental)
mindanao
Elmer Alastra (Tubod, Lanaodel Norte)
Pedro Anlayo (Pob. Bayog, Zamboangadel Sur)
6 WINNERS OF SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB
luzon
Cecelio At-at (Angono, Rizal)
Robert Lim (Caloocan City)
visayas
AngeliRosal (Simangan, Ormoc)
Cathy Ycong (Bo. Cogon, Ormoc)
mindanao
MaricelIlagan (Bo. Matiao, Mati City)
Princess Czarina Reyo (Putik, Zamboanga City)
9 WINNERS OF Ipad 2 (32 GB)
luzon
Lorna Sioco (Baranga, Marikina)
AnacleteMagdaong (Binondo, Manila)
RenerLadisla (Santiago City, Isabela)
visayas
Bryann Mendoza (Labangan, Mandaue)
Delfin Garcia (Bien Unido, Bohol)
LenieAmradArribado (P. del Rosario Ext., Cebu)
mindanao
Roderick Aranas (Pob. Ipil, ZamboangaSibugay)
Prescilla Navarra (Agusan, CDO)
Mayflower Dureza (Matina, Davao City)
48 WINNERS OF PETRON E-FUEL CARD worth P10,000 each
LUZON
Rea Eusebio (Sta. Maria, Bulacan)
Mary Anne Alico (San Mateo, Rizal)
Fernando Lopceda (Tanay, Rizal)
Reynaldo Santos (Tondo, Manila)
Simeon Abad (Guimba, Nueva Ecija)
Michael Leoncio (Taurus St., Paranaque City)
Gerladine Fe Trillane (Malolos, Bulacan)
Jayson Agno (Lake View Park, Paranaque City)
Renato Manalag (Putatan, Muntinlupa)
MaritesMabilangan (BF Resort, Las Pinas)
JovenIrawa (Cabuyao, Laguna)
Rickson Jay de Guzman (Caricad, Cavite)
Veronica Quitalig-Icmat (Angeles, Pampanga)
Eusebia Chua (Sta. Maria, Bulacan)
Jorge Melad (Tagga, Tuguegarao)
Ronaldo Trinidad (San Roque, Navotas)
VISAYAS
EmilianaQuiban (Tomas Oppus, Southern Leyte)
Russell Soberano (Jaro, Iloilo)
Mary Roselyn Suganob (Baybay, Leyte)
Armando Udaw (San Remegio, Antique)
FilomeroBriaOballoJr (Leyte, Leyte)
Leandro Macalalag (Carigara, Leyte)
Tommy Bontuya (Sirao, Cebu)
Mark Robin Tirazona (Numencia, Aklan)
DendyAvenido (Bagak, Cebu)
ErastoCrispo (Looc, Dumaguete)
Francisco HomoresJr (Bagacay, Tacloban)
Nino Roble (Bo.BagongBuhay, Ormoc)
Lyndon John Miraflor (Sta. Catalina, Negroas Oriental)
James ConelCarreon (Talisay, Cebu)
Julio Carmel AlfareroJr (Junob, Dumaguete)
JulitoVillarin (Pinamungajan, Cebu)
MINDANAO
AnnalouSerrandez (Matina, Davao City)
Rommel Villaver (Bangkal, Davao City)
JunelynValcorza (Kinogutan, Misamis Oriental)
DonnabellaEchaviaMicabalo (Opol, Misamis Oriental)
Eden Laserna (Pob.Alubuid, Misamis Oriental)
JurelioAballe (MarandingLala, Lanaodel Norte)
BerlindaPonting (Buhangin, Davao City)
Romeo Rebullo (Quirino, Davao City)
MarileneWaga (La Filipino, Tagum City)
Dexter Lagadon (Panabo, Davao del Norte)
NicanorEstelloso (Bucana, Davao City)
Gernie Valencia (Mankilam, Tagum City)
ReynadloAlburo (Lapasan, CDO)
Gloria Orquina (Bajada, Davao City)
LorgenAntiola (Manticao, Misamis Oriental)
TeofiloPanit (CatalunanPequeno, Davao City)
Samsung Galaxy note goes on pre-order, Php 2,000 off on sticker price plus freebies
Samsung’s Galaxy Note is going to be big. It hasn’t officially launched yet, but if you’re the type of person who likes being first in everything, well, here’s your chance to pre-order Samsung’s latest 5.3-inch monster. You want in? Of course you do. Before you grab your wallet and/or beg, steal or borrow, you’ll also have to abide by a few pre-order rules that Samsung is setting. You’ll need to go to this website http://www.samsung.com/ph/reserveanote/ (not now though, link isn’t live yet) to preorder on November 15, 2011. Once you get your details in (and receive a confirmation email) you are good to go. Customers with a reservation number beyond 300 are automatically waitlisted. Samsung says that once you’ve successfully reserved your note, you are eligible for either of these (not both):
- P2,000 off of its suggested retail price of P35,990 with a free flip cover valued at P1,450 and a free 45-day subscription of Philippine Daily Inquirer Digital Edition valued at P1,120; or
- Free with a Smart Postpaid Plan 2000 plus one month FREE service fee (P2,000) and a free flip cover valued at P1,450
That’s it really. Get to preorderin!
Why Microsoft believes “It’s a great time to be a family” this season.
Microsoft Philippines announces the beginning of its holiday campaign, showcasing an entire range of retail products that work seamlessly together, including Windows 7, Microsoft Office and Windows Phone 7. With the theme, “It’s a great time to be a family,” Microsoft is demonstrating how technology bridges the technological divide and brings families even closer together.
As the holidays draw closer, Microsoft Philippines is treating Filipinos to an early Christmas present with a consumer promotion that gives them the chance to bring their family of four (4) to Singapore or win a brand new Mitsubishi Montero sport. To join, participants must purchase a device pre-installed with Windows 7 or a Windows 7 Full Packaged Product (FPP) from any Star Partner retailer (ASUS, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and HTC) and successfully accomplish the electronic raffle coupon by visiting www.windows.com.ph (Per DTI-NCR Permit No. 8081, Series of 2011).
As part of the campaign, Microsoft conducted a survey on MSN titled, “Families and Technology 2011”, which polled more than 3,700 people in seven countries across Asia. Polling families from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, the survey aimed to capture the many ways in which families incorporate technology into their day-to-day cyber relationships. The distinct trend was that families love their personal gadgets and are enjoying communicating in new ways using technology.
“The results of poll show that the popular notion of technology being a purely negative influence on family relationships is a misconception. The increasingly globalized nature of the world economy has no doubt greatly dispersed families far and wide around the region, but Microsoft focus is on delivering technology that makes it easier for families to stay together. Tools like Windows Live Messenger, SkyDrive and Photo Gallery already make it a snap to share updates with your dear ones regularly. And with the growing improvements to video chat capabilities on Windows PCs and Windows Phone 7s, the time when we speak face-to-face on a daily basis is not far away,” said Mae Moreno, Windows Client Product Manager, Microsoft Philippines.
NVIDIA posts BF3 tweaking guide, makes it easier to dominate your opponents
PC gamers, we all know you’re already knee deep in Battlefield 3 right about now, but it wouldn’t hurt to take a look at NVIDIA’s latest tweaking guide for BF3. The guide explains all the graphical settings that are in EA’s latest blockbuster shooter, as well as detailing a few tweaks and fixes that’ll hopefully make playing the game a better, smoother experience. The guide is posted at this link, but before you dive in, make sure your PC meets the minimum requirements:
- Processor: 2 GHz dual core CPU (Quad Core CPU)
- Memory: 2GB (4GB) RAM
- Hard Drive: At least 20GB of free space
- Video Card: DirectX 10 compatible (NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT minimum, GTX 560 or above recommended)
- Sound Card: DirectX compatible
- OS: Windows Vista or Windows 7
Adobe discontinues Flash for mobile
Adobe has officially discontinued developing Flash for mobile, and has announced that it will redirect its focus on “aggressively contributing” to HTML 5.
After years of struggling to produce a viable plugin for the mobile web, and despite the publicized standoffs with Apple, Adobe now has to bid farewell to developing Flash for mobile devices, despite its significance impact in the PC experience. But apparently, that’s as far as they can go and it looks like Steve Jobs was right all along.
Why did Flash have trouble transitioning to the mobile sphere? Some analysts say that part of the problem lies in its origins of having been a CPU-based design, requiring power from processors that mobile devices cannot allocate and accommodate. Since the Flash Player relies on the CPU and not GPU, mobile devices that have less power-hungry processors (in order to conserve battery life) results in Flash’s slower graphic performance.
So that essentially leads us to HTML 5, which is more stable and flexible, and will most likely be the standard for developers today and in the future. Adobe has confirmed however, that they will still provide bug fixes for current versions, and they will keep developing Flash for OS X and Windows (except for the upcoming Windows 8).
Apple releases iOS 5.0.1 to end your battery woes
Last week, we reported that Apple acknowledged how iOS 5 was draining the battery life on iPhones at an alarming rate. If you’ve been affected by that problem, simply download the newest update which promises to fix all that.
Not much is addressed in iOS 5.0.1, since it appears that their main concern was the battery bugs. However, Apple states that the update “adds multitasking gestures for the iPad, resolves bugs related to Documents in the Cloud” and also improves “voice recognition for Australian users using dictation”. Several security fixes are also packed into the update, which is another great reason to grab iOS 5.0.1 right away.
Dell Venue makes a discreet appearance, yours for less than twenty thousand clams
Look who decided to make an appearance at Dell’s local unveil earlier today: the Dell Venue. This 4.1-inch smartphone had to be coaxed out from the hands of Dell’s local distributor (lest it overpower the real star of today’s event) but we still managed to get pictures of it nonetheless. The device isn’t new, in fact it’s been out for almost a year now, but you know what they say – better late than never. Hardware-wise, you’re looking at a 1 GHz Scorpion processor (Adreno 200 GPU, Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon chipset), a 4.1-inch capacitive AMOLED display, Android 2.2 (Froyo) and 1 GB of Flash ROM and 512 MB of RAM. It’s not packing the most impressive set of specs, we admit, but hey, it’s still a 4.1-inch AMOLED smartphone priced at a reasonable Php 19,150.
[album: https://gadgetsmagazine.com.ph/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/[email protected]/DELL Venue/]
Dell launches XPS-15z locally, no compromise computing starting at Php 62,000
Dell has just launched the XPS-15z, their newest and possibly one of their most powerful notebooks to date at an event earlier today in Makati. The XPS-15z combines power, mobility and style in a package that even the most jaded PC user can’t ignore. Built with a gorgeous aluminum chassis and equipped with Intel’s Core i series of processors, the XPS-15z is one of the prettiest notebooks we’ve seen. The notebook will apparently come in two flavors – a Core i5-2430 (running at 2.4 GHz), 4GB, NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M 1GB variant that’ll retail for Php 62,000 and a Core i7-2640M (running at 2.8 GHz), 8GB, NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M 2GB variant that’ll retail for Php 89,900.
Externally, the XPS-15z is extremely pretty, and it’s definitely thinner than most notebooks in it’s particular class. The overall look and feel of the device screams premium to us, from the unconventional position of the hinge right down to the slot loading optical disk drive. The internals are impressive as well, and we reckon that the XPS-15z will be able to handle whatever you want to throw at it with ease. The only issue we have with it is it’s price tag – the Core i5 variant will cost an impressive Php 62,000 according to Dell’s brochure, which definitely means that it’s not a gadget purchase you’ll be taking lightly. Question is, is it worth it? We’ll have a definitive answer for you once we get our demo unit in.
[album: https://gadgetsmagazine.com.ph/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/[email protected]/DELL XPS-15Z/]
Rewards via recommendations with Wikets
Everybody LOVES rewards and good deeds should never go unnoticed. And if you’re the type who’s just innately generous and loves to share, why not be rewarded for your recommendations and great taste?
iPhone social app Wikets now allows users to earn points by sharing and recommending products and places to friends and family. These points can later be redeemed as vouchers from participating online stores. All you need to do is ‘rec’ something – the more you ‘rec’, the more points you ear, ergo, the more freebies you can get. A variety of featured stores are included like iTunes, eBay, Amazon, Best Buy and Etsy. You can even get real-time recommendations from people whose taste you trust.
Available free on iTunes app store.
Google drops support for BlackBerry Gmail app, won’t be available for download after Nov. 22
Bad news for Gmail loving BlackBerry users – the search giant has announced that it’s dropping support for its native Gmail app for the device and has stated that it won’t be available for download once Nov. 22 rolls around. While BlackBerry toting users of the app may get upset over the news, don’t fret – you’ll still be able to access your Gmail account through the web client with Google stating that “over this past year, we’ve focused efforts on building a great Gmail experience in the mobile browser and will continue investing in this area.”
If you’re still adamant about accessing your mail through the Gmail app, there’s still time for you to download the app. Even when Google drops support for it you’ll still be able to use it, albeit if you run into any kind of problem, you’re pretty much on your own.
UPDATE: RIM’s local PR arm has contacted us about this story and has given us an official statement about the matter:
“RIM is known for providing an industry leading mobile communications experience. Since 2009, RIM has incorporated native support for Gmail in BlackBerry OS 5.0 and above, which means that a separate Gmail app is not required. The large majority of users who access Gmail on their BlackBerry smartphone already rely on the native support (provided through BlackBerry Internet Service) rather than the separate Gmail app. RIM’s native support for Gmail includes support for multiple Gmail accounts, calendar and contact syncing, and Gmail specific functions such as archive, star, label, conversation view and remote search. RIM will of course continue to work on enhancing this experience further over time. In addition to utilizing this native support, BlackBerry users can also access Gmail through our industry leading webkit browser with full support for HTML5”.
Via: All Things D
Source: Google










