RIM and Globe Telecom held a party last night at the Prive Luxury Club in Bonifacio Global City to launch two of their latest socially-inclined smartphones, namely, the BlackBerry Curve 9320 and BlackBerry Curve 9220.
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Cherry Mobile recently introduced yet another affordable Android smartphone they called the Dragon Phone. After more than a week’s time with it, we’re pretty sure what Cherry Mobile is gunning for with this new handset. Check out our full review of the Cherry Mobile W900 after the break.
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Last year, the NTC has sent out a memorandum to all carriers (Globe, Smart & Sun) asking everyone to lower their regular SMS rates down to Php0.80 from Php1.00. It should have been in effect since November 30, 2011.
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So the Sony and Ericsson affair has finally ended and the mobile tech world is waiting for Sony to reveal its pure blood offspring the way they would for the next pope. What Sony has released from its labs is far from anything that resembles a PlayStation-loving teenager. Carrying a 4.3” HD screen under a piano black glass that is mounted on a poly-carbonate black-matte body, they have sent out a man in an Armani suit. Check out our full review of the Sony Xperia S after the jump.
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This year, the new flavor of Google’s mobile OS will be Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0 ICS) and majority, if not all, of the flagship handsets that will be launched this year will have it pre-installed so we thought it’s best to give you a comprehensive walkthrough on what to expect from ICS.
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The HTC Evo 3D separates itself from the rest of the smartphone pack by including two 5MP rear cameras to produce stereoscopic 3D images and videos. Like the high-end LED TVs we’ve seen lately, the 3D rendering is either regarded as a gimmick or the next big thing in entertainment. Check out our full review of the HTC Evo 3D after the jump.
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Just learned today (thru one of my staff in Manila and verified by @arnoldgamboa) that Smart Bro Rocket has finally cut off subscription to Smart Unlisurf plans.
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We’ve got a short week with the upcoming Galaxy Tab 10.1 and so far it’s been an interesting one. This is also our first time to do a full review of an Android Honeycomb tablet. See the full review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab P7500 after the jump.
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We had a late lunch at the Circles in Shangri-la with representatives of Research in Motion (RIM) from Singapore yesterday and they briefly discussed with us their current standing in the Philippine smartphone market.
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PLDT now has an overwhelming majority of the telco business in the Philippines — it owns Smart, Talk ‘N Text, Red Mobile and now Sun Cellular representing more than 70% of the subscriber base combined {see earlier story here}.
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HTC seems to be the only handset manufacturer that’s got a WP7 in the local market and the HTC 7 Mozart is the second Windows Phone 7 we’ve reviewed here (see HD7). Check out our verdict after the jump.
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I’ve been using smartphones for more than half a decade now having tried almost all types of smartphones except for one, the BlackBerry. Five years ago, BlackBerry would be synonymous to enterprise phones. An ordinary consumer wouldn’t even dare to get one. But now, it’s totally different. You’d see normal people carrying a BlackBerry even if they don’t have an Outlook email. “CrackBerries” are so addicted with their phones. Check out our full review of the BlackBerry Curve 3G after the jump, my first for a BlackBerry smartphone.
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Been getting a lot emails from people wanting to buy a tablet this Christmas, mostly as a gift to themselves. The top two contenders are the Apple iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Here’s a quick guide to all those who asked just to help you make that final decision.
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There was a time when mobile Internet was considered a luxury service. It was only limited to corporate executives who needs mobile Internet to access Outlook emails and SharePoint files. Globe’s Visibility and Smart WeRoam were still uber expensive and you’re locked with a contract. Prepaid 3G or even EDGE connection is non-existent.
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There’s been a lot of debate surrounding the recent deal between Google and Verizon regarding net neutrality. Some even say that Google has sold out just to get a the ball rolling. But what does this deal got to do with us here in the Philippines?
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Just realized that since all the telecom players (Sun, Smart and Globe) are now offering unlimited 3G internet and subsequently lowering the prices down, 3G is officially cheaper than DSL.
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If you survey various telcos around the globe, you will notice that all of them offer packet-based charging for 3G or Ev-DO. Only in the Philippines you’d get time-based charging. And the reason why?
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The other day, we had a meeting with a Globe executive to finalize details of an upcoming project (that’s for another story though). During our meeting, I stirred our discussion to some juicy stories and they were candid enough to share some information (which I believe is bloggable since I wasn’t asked to sign an NDA *hehehe*).
I was told that new Globe Visibility users will be capped at 5GB of usage per month. The current monthly service fee for their mobile broadband solution (3G/HSDPA) is still at Php2,000 plus some activation fee. The cap is now included in the fine print but the existing subscribers will retain the eat-all-you can feature (unlimited).
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Not sure about the timing but it seems that PLDT slashed a few hundred pesos off their WeRoam prepaid and post-paid subscription fees around the time Globe Innove commercially launched its competing product, Globe Visibility.
Just take a look at PLDT WeRoam’s current pricing scheme:
WeRoam Internet
Unlimited WiFi Internet(via AirborneAccess up to 2Mbps)
Unlimited GPRS/EDGE Internet (up to 140kbps)
Application Fee: Php 2,500
Monthly Recurring Fee: Php 1,200
Free Use of Mobile Data Card
WeRoam PLUS Internet
Unlimited WiFi Internet(via AirborneAccess up to 2Mbps)
Unlimited 3G/HSDPA Internet (up to 1.8Mbps)
Unlimited GPRS/EDGE Internet (up to 140Kbps)
Application Fee: Php 2,500
Monthly Recurring Fee: Php 1,700
Free Use of Mobile Data Card
Prepaid Subscriptions
Php 10,860 : Mobile Data Card + 3 months subscription
Php 14,220 : Mobile Data Card + 6 months subscription
Php 20,940 : Mobile Data Card + 12 months subscription
Once your subscription expires, you can buy prepaid e-loads via your Smart Mobile Phones:
Using a SMART phone with an active SMART Money account, text : , and send to 270.
* Example:<1day><0918918xxxx>
Reload rates ran from Php75 per day, Php405 per week or Php1,120 for 30 days.
Let’s see how Globe will respond to these price cuts. First, I gotta talk to them and get me a trial account. 
