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only here at www.gadgetsmagazine.com.ph
Payday is coming up and our Online/Digital Editor, Francis Tan and our Editorial Assistant, Danee Torres are both thinking of getting new smartphones! We did our research – we read blogs, watched YouTube videos, tried out different devices, but it’s still a tough decision for a big purchase (well, for us it is!) Before we make our final decision, we want you guys to help us! Please vote in our poll and post your thoughts in our comments below.
[poll id=”2″]
It will be greatly appreciated. In fact, we’re giving away a pair of Philips SPA 1250 USB Speakers to those who give us quality comments, also to say thanks to all of you guys for making us hit the 5,500 mark in Facebook fans. We’ll collate your answers after so if you or your friends are having the same dilemma, you’ll know where to go!. :)
Fuji Xerox recently held its media conference last Oct-18-21 in Yokohama, Japan to introduce two of their latest technologies that will revolutionize printers and printing in general: the Self-scanning LED (SLED) and the EA-Eco Toners as Fuji Xerox continues to make sure that they provide better quality products, that are not only good for your business but mother earth’s as well. Catch Gadgets Magazine’s November issue to find out more about what Fuji Xerox has coming up for the Philippine market.
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Globe officially launches the GCASH Card, a customizable ATM card that is linked to your GCASH. This service gives more accessibility to GCASH by enabling users to have 24/7 access to their GCASH wallets via any of the 9,000 Bancnet, Megalink, ExpressNet or Encash Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) nationwide. It is customizable in the sense that subscribers can use any photo on their ATM card either by uploading their own or choosing among preset templates.
Be wary that there is a P20 charge per transaction that will be automatically deducted from their GCASH wallet.
You can get yours today by going to www.globe.com.ph/gcashcard
It’s a weekday and I’ve sneaked out of the office to pamper myself with a much-needed make-over at my favorite beauty salon. I’m enjoying the undivided attention of my beauty attendants in a peaceful and quiet environment — so different from the weekend crush of matrons and their teenage daughters getting their hair and nails done.
And I don’t feel the least bit guilty about taking a beauty time-out as I can keep working on my iPad while enjoying a foot spa. Powered by Smart Bro’s micro-Sim, I am able to stay connected and can receive and send email, check office reports on my DropBox folder, and even chat with my staff for important concerns.
And what’s really great is that the salon’s Makati location means I get excellent 3G speeds — check this out: a whopping 3.07Mbps on Smart 3G!
Thats pretty much the gist of Sony Ericsson General Manager Dennis Manzano’s message during the launch of their newest Xperia device today, the X8. With a retail price pegged at Php 11,600, its certainly the most affordable Xperia out there.
Aside from the usual smartphone specs (3-inch touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel camera, 600MHz Qualcomm processor), the X8 will also come with their own UI layer called Timescape and a 3 month trial version of McAfee Wave Secure, a complete mobile security solution that lets users back up their data including SMS, call logs, contacts and media such as photos and videos to their secure server where it can be accessed and viewed, and this can be restored on any smart phone of their choice. It lets users remotely lock the phone and wipe data from a lost phone, and tracks the missing phone through map locations and through a patented track SIM feature. It works even if the SIM card in the phone has been replaced. The application functions fully protect the user’s information when the phone goes missing, and can work to help get a lost phone back.
It has to be said though, that the X8 was a bit of a letdown not because of the hardware, but because of the software. It’s still going to be running Android Cupcake 1.6 when it hits the stores, which Sony Ericsson says can be upgraded to Eclair 2.1 come November. That still is a version short of what their competitors are flaunting, and there will definitely be stiff competition come the holidays and any edge will come in handy.
Here’s a few more pictures of the X8. It’ll be available for Php 11,600 once it hits stores.
Hi guys! Sorry for the delay but here’s the winner of our Philips SHE775 Contest, and a couple of announcements from our Editorial Assistant-slash-Future YouTube Celebrity, Danee Torres. The winner of the contest has a chance to double up his/her prize! Watch the video to find out how.
Also, we are giving away another Ocean Adventure GC for 4, worth P2,000! Simply click share on this post and tag us. For those who don’t know how, just add the “@” then type Gadgets Magazine. Make sure it’s set to public so it’ll appear on our wall. Winners will be announced on Friday. What are you waiting for? Share now!
This video was shot with Sony HDR-CX110. Thanks Sony! :)
We’re on the second -Ber month of the year, have you done your holiday lists yet? What do you mean you haven’t?! It’s less than 80 days before Christmas! *sigh* To be honest, I haven’t either. But at least I can get help from the October issue, and you can too! We’ve got the newest things in tech in lifestyle that you can choose to add to your wish and shopping lists. Better yet, we’ve got reviews to help you decide what gadgets to cop this season and a styling tutorial to assist you in dressing up for occasions (it’s that time of the year). We’ve got a whole section on cars, a feature on gaming equipment and a little behind the scenes peek into our photo shoot. So check out our October issue that features classic and timeless concepts and a whole lot more!
Palit is giving away a whole bunch of video cards this month, including GTX 460, GTS 450, and the brand new GT 430. Starting today, October 11th, you can enter to win on Facebook and/or by submitting a photo via email. To clarify, you can enter both the Facebook giveaway and the photo contest and double your chances to win (you could even win both)! Winners will be announced on December 3rd.
This is what you can win (identical set of prizes for each contest):
Here’s how to enter:
Facebook (US/Canada only, all ages)
3 winners will be randomly chosen from those who followed the above instructions before November 26th. Newly-opened or fake Facebook accounts will be ineligible.
Palit pictures (World-wide, all ages)
E-mail a Palit-themed picture to [email protected]. It must be no larger than 800×600 resolution and 2MB in file size. Allowed extensions are .jpg, .gif, .tif, and .png.
The last day to send pictures is November 11th. Ten (10) images will be selected from the entries and posted on the Palit USA Facebook fan page. It will be narrowed down to three (3) winners, perhaps influenced some by public opinion.
See the official contest page for more details and pictures of the prizes.
So right after the unveiling of Acer’s new netbooks, Dio Vasquez, Product Manager for Acer Philippines proudly showed me his latest toy: the Liquid Ferrari Android powered smartphone. Now this might be a retail unit or an engineering one, as Acer hasn’t officially launched it yet locally, but let me tell you, seeing it in the flesh instantly made me want to go out and buy one. The whole Ferrari motif wasn’t overdone, and the unit feels solid. It features a 3.5” high-definition (WVGA) capacitive screen and a somewhat modified UI on top of Android 2.1, Eclair. It’ll also come with a matching leather case/protector. Check out the pics below.
The homescreen.
It comes with its own Ferrari carrying pouch, apparently.
Android 2.1 folks.
Aside from the touch sensitive controls on the front, there’s a camera shortcut on the right side with the volume rocker.
3.5mm jack allows you to plug in your own cans.
5-megapixel camera.
Probably custom widgets that Acer put in. The widget act like cards in a Rolodex, you flick them up and down to access your favorite social media sites and whatnot. There’s also a similar widget on the other end of the home screen for pictures and media.
That’s it. You’ll probably be seeing this pretty little thing on store shelves by the end of this month.
Acer’s serving up their newest netbooks for the holiday season in the form of the Aspire One Happy and Aspire One D255. The two new netbooks are served up with Intel’s newest Atom processor, the N550.
Jermyn Wong, Market Development Manager of Intel Philippines walked us through the new features of the N550. The new Atom processor is markedly faster than its predecessor by up t0 60%, and that’s a conservative estimate said Wowie. The new processor is also equipped with Intel’s Hyperthreading technology, which allows the processor to have four threads running simultaneously, which speeds up processing time and applications.
The Aspire One D255 and Aspire One Happy are aimed at the younger demographic said Dio S. Vasquez, Product Manager for Acer Philippines. The Aspire One happy comes in a variety of colors, including lime green, lavender purple, candy pink and Hawaii blue. Aside from the normal netbook fittings like a 10-inch screen and 250MB of memory, and Windows 7, the Aspire One Happy is also equipped with Google’s Android OS for dual boot duties. The Android OS boots in mere seconds, and is useful if you want to just surf the net instantly.
The Acer Aspire D255 meanwhile, is for the more serious worker. It comes in a range of corporate friendly colors like sandstone brown, diamond black, ruby red, seashell white and aquamarine. Like its sibling, it is also equipped with an Intel Atom dual-core N550 processor, and has a 250GB SATA HDD.
Also on hand for the event was Ricky Banaag, Intel Microelectronics Philippines Country Manager and Manuel Wong, AcerPhilipines General Manager.
We managed to wrangle a lime green Acer Aspire Happy during the event, and as you can see from our photos, it’s a pretty little netbook.
That little green dude on the corner should clue you in immediately that the Aspire One Happy is able to boot in both Windows and Android.
Here’s a photo of how Android looks like on a netbook.
The keys are standard island style ones that you see on bigger notebooks. It’s pretty comfortable to use, but like any netbook, the reduced sized keyboard will still take some getting used to.
The Windows Experience Index clocks the Acer in at 2.9, decent enough score we suppose.
Combining the best of technology and content, Sony is THE only company capable of delivering 3D entertainment from production into the comfort of one’s home
Sony has truly been superior in terms of their capabilities to make 3d; and they proved it by creating a 3D world for us to see – nay, to be immersed in. The Sony 3D world is a showcase of all of Sony’s device working together to create a revolutionary 3D world – ranging an array of devices including TVs, digital cameras, gaming consoles, and media players.
“As the leader in 3D innovation, Sony delivers unrivalled 3D entertainment by bringing consumers’ favorite movies and games directly into their living rooms in breathtaking quality,” says Mr. Takao Kuroda, President and Managing Director, Sony Philippines. “With 3D BRAVIA TVs as the centrepiece in the 3D ecosystem, Sony offers consumers unparalleled clarity and picture quality for 3D cinematic and gaming experiences at home.”
Check out the short video below as our Lifestyle editor, Mich Callanta and myself take you to a quick tour to this 3D experience.
Sony’s new range of 3D entertainment solutions will be available at all Sony authorized retailers. More information on Sony’s 3D World can be found at www.sony.com.ph .
We usually do unboxings of retail grade products, i.e. products that usually ship with their retail boxes, but we just had to make an exception for the Sammy’s latest: the Galaxy Tab. Opening the box you’ll see the white back of the Galaxy Tab, which houses the camera and LED flash. The name of the unit is there for everyone to see.
Turning it over, you’ll be treated to a large, 7-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen. There are touch sensitive controls right below the screen similar to what you’d typicaly find on an Android mobile phone. There’s a front facing camera located on the top right of the screen.
On the right side sits the power/lock button, volume rocker, microSD slot and the SIM card slot. And yes, the Galaxy Tab will accept regular sized SIMs, so you can put those scissors down.
On the bottom sits the speakers and data port.
There’s a 3.5mm jack on the top of the unit, so you’ll be able to plug in your own cans, or the hands-free kit that comes with the unit.
The Galaxy Tab runs Google’s latest iteration of Android – 2.2 Froyo. So all the trimmings you’ve come to expect from the latest Android build can be found on the Galaxy Tab, including Wi-Fi tethering and all that jazz.
The rest of the accessories.
And of course, this isn’t a proper hands on without a comparison shot with the Apple iPad.
You might be wondering why the Galaxy Tab shipped with a handsfree kit. Well, that’s because the Galaxy Tab can make and receive calls. No really. It even has a dialer and everything. The screen is pretty sensitive to touch input, and you’ll also be able to enjoy the current library of Android applications for it.
That’s it for this unboxing. You can read the whole review of the Galaxy Tab on the November issue of Gadgets magazine when it comes out.
That’s if MediaQuest President and Chief Executive Officer Ray Espinosa gets his way. According to him, “Analog cable providers are going to be out of business very soon.” The forward thinking CEO was present for the Cignal TV press conference held for the press today, and looking at what his company is offering, it seems that way to us too. Cignal aims to provide 100% digital content to anywhere in the country, including HD content. The company’s lineup also includes HD channels that include HBO and National Geographic.
Cignal’s hook here is their all digital transmission and technologies. Even if the signal isn’t a digital one, ie free channels like TV5 and the like, they automatically convert it to a digital one from their end which coincidentally, also improves picture quality.
Their set-top boxes are compatible with both legacy CRT systems and newer LCD flatscreens, but of course you’ll only get to enjoy HD on HD ready devices. Their HD signal transmits up to 1080i depending on the source, and channels like HBO also have digital 5.1 surround embedded in the signal.
As you see in the photos here, the set-top box isn’t substantial and can easily integrate into whatever home theater set-up you currently have at home.
Here you can see that Cignal’s tech is able to run on CRT TVs as well.
A closer look at the set-top box.
Cignal will be offering both postpaid and prepaid plans for their service. You can start enjoying digital broadcasts for as low as Php 250 per month before additional fees (like the Cignal kit) but expect to shell out Php 590 before additional fees to enjoy HD channels.
