Finally received the PS Vita I earlier ordered via the Multiply Marketplace and managed to unbox and play with it before my flight to Europe earlier this week. It has been a while since I used one like this (got a PSP a couple of years ago but rarely used it) so I was a little unfamiliar how the Vita fared in terms of usability. Check out our unboxing and first impressions after the jump.
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We’re seen so many portable battery packs these days and they keep coming in different size, shape and power capacity. There’s another one that’s supposed to be released locally and comes from Choiix (part of the Cooler Master group).
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Those excited about the release of the PSP Vita should check out the pre-order page over at Amazon.com. The next-gen portable gaming device gets a $249.99 price tag.
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Just moments ago, Apple unveiled the 4th generation iPod Touch which features a retina display and 2 cameras (one for FaceTime and one for HD video recording).
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Globe hosted a lunch for the media this afternoon to introduce their very first Flagship Store in the country which is located at the Greenbelt 4. On display are live units of all high-end smartphones, an iPad 3G and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S.
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Sony Philippines has finally celebrated the official entry of the PlayStation to the Philippines. Sony is bringing the PlayStation 3 and the PSP as well as several games for the console starting today.
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Caught on video, Sony’s upcoming PSP Go is half the weight but twice as fun. The clip is from the June 2009 episode of Qore.
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In April 2008, the Philippines was just at #7 for mobile ad traffic as measured by AdMob. Went on to become #5 by August last year. This March, it’s already at #4.
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It’s been a while since I’ve made a dedicated thank you post to our advertisers and sponsors here at YugaTech. Please do check them out below and see what promos they’re offering to readers here.
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A lot has been said about Sony’s own version of the ultraportable, the Vaio P. In the last week that I’ve been carrying it around, I’ve now realized why Sony wanted to shift the attention away from the usual netbook craze. Check out my review of the Sony Vaio P after the jump.
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It’s the month of December and for most people, the only month of the year when you feel you really deserve that much awaited gadget you’ve always longed for.
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Gaming is a multi-billion dollar industry. Just look at Grand Theft Auto IV and how they sold 4 million units on launch day (est. $390 million). It won’t be a surprise if Apple will revisit the idea of entering the gaming market. They could do so in 3 fronts.
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Valentines Day is tomorrow and people are busy looking for that perfect gift to their significant other/s. Here are my top 10 suggestions as Valentines gifts for your geeky boyfriend/girlfriend.
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This little package came in early this week and I was curious where it came from. After unwrapping, the red spherical-shaped gadget around the size of an egg is actually a portable speaker.
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It’s heaven for the gadget freak. The Challenger retail store at Funan Digitallife Mall in Singapore is the place to be when shopping for the latest tech toys and gadgets. All six floors are dedicated to top of the line stuff at rock bottom prices. I must have wiped out my entire credit line at HSBC in less than an hour.
On our first night at Singapore, I saw this feature of a gadget shop on cable TV. The unique this about this Challenger is that it has two pricing schemes — a regular price for the one-time shopper and a discounted price for members (I spared no time in subscribing as a member. Just SG$30 for 2 years.). To give you an idea of how much some of the stuff there, here’s an estimated list I got from memory:
Compaq Presario V3000 (Code Duo 1.73GHz, 14.1″ WXGA, 120GB HDD, 512DDR2 RAM) – Php31k
Dell 22″ Widescreen Flat LCD Monitor – Php15k
Nokia N95 – Php33k
That Presario laptop is about Php49k here in Manila, a 22″ Samsung LCD is Php25k last time I checked and the Nokia N95 is around Php44k. Yay, I almost bought that N95. On top of that, you get a rebate from GST of around 8% if I’m not mistaken. You just show it in the customs at the airport and they’ll give you back some cash for all your receipts. Some gadgets like the iPod Nano, the Nintendo DS Lite and the Sony PSP are somewhat the same price as we have here. Will do a rundown of gadget reviews in the next posts.
I rarely miss a day blogging but yesterday was an exception. We had to rush to Recto to find a really good trophy/plaque-maker for the blog awards. Gail and her hubby were debating on the doability of the designs we’ve been conceptualizing that morning. Reality sunk in and with the limited time and resources, we settled with an ambitious yet unique look (imagine our surprise when we found out the PWA trophies came from stock designs). Tips on those who want to give away awards — always go for huge and really heavy trophies. Awardees will go nuts and say “pare, hanep, ambigat ng award mo!“.
Late in the evening, my brother and I were debating if I should get him a PSP or an XBox 360 for the hard work he’s been doing overseeing the renovations of our house in the province. He chose the former. Though the XBox 360 was way heavier than the PSP, I guess the “huge & heavy” rule-of-thumb doesn’t work with gadgets.
The rest of the evening and most of the early morning were spent at Markku’s huge, huge mansion drinking and singing the night away. Jayvee pulled some strings and got a guitar, Aileen was busy mixing some drinks (calamansi juice + sprite + GSM Blue) while Marc was itching to go upstairs and grab the Magic Sing from the other guests to do a rendition of I-Axe.
Several pitchers of the aileen apolo concoction were shared, countless numbers of high notes were missed, flawless pictures were shot, a new out-of-town destination was planned, and one super-secret was unveiled. Good thing nobody had their laptops with them or we could have spilt more juicy secrets. So hear this, never mix blogging and alcohol.
P.S.
Belated Happy Birthday to Markku!
This was inspired by Ben Yoskovitz of StartupSpark. Here are my top 10 checklist to see if you’re a netrepreneur.
- You own a blog and a domain (not on BlogSpot or WordPress.com). Though free is good, nothing beats a good impression that you are willing to invest in your own virtual/online image.
- Your first online credit card purchase was your own domain and you now have close to half a dozen other domains. You also have a backup credit card, just in case the other one exceeds its limit.
- You have at least two of these accounts — Paypal, Xoom, StormPay, Ikobo and eGold.
- You’re not concerned to publish your complete name, address, phone number and email on your website as you know transparency is everything online.
- You consult Google and read forums first before shooting an email to a friend asking for help. Yes, Google is your best friend.
- You have more than one blog/websites, and they’re more or less niche blogs/sites. And you don’t go crazy with Blogger (see #1).
- You know that there is more to online business other than the advertising model.
- You have more connections in LinkedIn than in Friendster.
- You’ve maxed out your Yahoo Messenger’s 300 contact list limit.
- You’re not ashamed to tell your first client that your laptop IS your office.
If you scored at least 7 out of 10, you *might* be on your way to become a netrepreneur.
P.S.
Don’t take this too seriously. Just for fun. 
Was a bit late last week for a round-up so I’m doing it a little earlier today. Topping the list would be the news on Inq7.net that Epixtar deciding not to pursue the “legal approach” against me. Besides, there wasn’t really anything to pursue.
- Marc Javellana releases his very first WordPress theme, Davao Bounty. Pretty neat. I would have suggested he named it Durian Ecstasy.
- There’s a new WordPress Theme Competition here. Grand prize winner takes an iPod Video 60GB and a Sony PSP for the runner up. I better finish that theme I’ve been working on for months.
- WordPress 2.0.1 is out with 114 bug fixes. This would be a good time to upgrade my blog.
- Firefox 1.5.0.1 is also out so if you’re on 1.5 already, just hit the update button (Help -> Apply Downloaded Update). They did not reveal what security holes this update fixes though.
- If you haven’t read this week’s Blog-O-Rama, check out Marc Macalua’s interview on Manila Bulletin for SEO Philippines and learn what’s the different between a good blogger and a successful one.
- Check out InDigital’s CES Special 2006 (a vidcast from Revision 3). Cool gadgets galore!
Anobody else know any 2-character .PH ccTLD? There’s mb.com.ph but that’s all I’m familiar with.
Insteresting items here from Google Zeitgeist.
Google.com – Top Gainers of 2005
1. Myspace
2. Ares
3. Baidu
4. wikipedia
5. orkut
6. iTunes
7. Sky News
8. World of Warcraft
9. Green Day
10. Leonardo da Vinci
Google News – Top Searches in 2005
1. Janet Jackson
2. Hurricane Katrina
3. tsunami
4. xbox 360
5. Brad Pitt
6. Michael Jackson
7. American Idol
8. Britney Spears
9. Angelina Jolie
10. Harry Potter
Froogle – Top Searches in 2005
1. ipod
2. digital camera
3. mp3 player
4. ipod mini
5. psp
6. laptop
7. xbox
8. ipod shuffle
9. computer desk
10. ipod nano
When I first heard of the news that one of WeblogInc’s high-traffic blogs, JoyStiq, was giving birth to two other blogs PSP Fanboy & Xbox 360 Fanboy, I checked it out to see how it looks. What caught my attention was the top blog posts by the respective bloggers and found one Rafael Espiritu. Very Filipino name, huh? I searched Google to figure out more about him but found none so I shrugged it off.
But when Pau mentioned that his co-blogger over at Cheap&Tiny is also blogging at PSP Fanboy, only then did I recognize that it was Raffy. His blog post here confirms it all.
Anyway, good news for a fellow pinoy problogger and props to Raffy. I’m sure he’s very happy getting that much-coveted $500/month (125 posts) contract over at WeblogsInc. I hope it’s even higher, but $500 will do just fine. 
