Yesterday, PLDT and Intel held a joint event to present a partnership for the PLDT WiFi Zone and the Intel-powered ultrabooks. They didn’t really share anything concrete plans bewteen the two brands but it was an opporunity for me to ask a lingering question — can paid public WiFi still survive in this time of cheap mobile internet and free public WiFi?
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Smart’s flagship Netphone unit, the Netphone 701, is now on fire sale at just Php4,999, almost half the original price of Php9,990.
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In a bold move to retain old subscribers, Globe Telecom has announced a trade-in offer for all iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 owners who got their handset from Globe before (whether prepaid or postpaid).
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When Samsung first unveiled the Galaxy Note, I had mixed feelings with the device. It’s got the genes of an impressive smartphone but a form factor that’s inching towards the tablet category. After having over a week’s time with the Samsung Galaxy Note and I’d like to share my verdict. Check out the full review after the break.
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Here’s an update for those who were waiting for the official release of the of Samsung Galaxy Note in the Philippines. According to official sources, the Galaxy Note will have a sale on November 19, 2011 for the initial 300 units that were shipped to the Philippines.
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So I bought the Smart Bro Rocket at Smart’s Wireless Center in Rockwell this morning. They made me sign a waiver that outlines some of the limitations of the dongle and the service. So, here are 10 things you need to know before buying the Smart Bro Rocket.
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Been asked about this several times before but could not give a more definitive answer since I have not tried all of the postpaid plans. So I thought why not get everyone’s opinion, especially from those who have been on postpaid for many years.
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This is the first time I was able to read Smart’s Fair Use Policy on Mobile Internet Use and was surprised to see that their cap on unlimited mobile internet is just 1.5GB per month.
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Smart now has their own version of a portable 3G+WiFi router they called SmartBro Pocket WiFi. This new product competes head-on with Globe MyFi launched back in July.
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This afternoon, Samsung Philippines partnered with Globe Telecom to launch their newest Android-powered smartphone — the Samsung Galaxy S i9000.
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Last Saturday, I signed up for the unlimited Plan 999 of SmartBro Share It. It was locked for 24 months but they have a promo where you can buy a computer set (Intel Core Dual Core E2200 2.2GHz) for just Php4,000.
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Yesterday, Smart announced a new promo offering mobile internet users an extra hour for every hour of usage during off-peak times. That’s Php20 for 2 hours (Php10 per hour) between 2am to 6am.
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Yesterday, rumors about Nokia looking into running Google Android OS on an upcoming smartphone drew a lot of attention (via Guardian). Nokia has flatly denied any plans to go Android and refreshes its commitment for the Symbian platform.
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So we could better see which 3g internet provider is giving us the best deals, I made this simple chart to compare postpaid and prepaid mobile 3G plans of Globe, Smart and Sun Cellular.
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The latest AdMob report for August shows strong growth in mobile web traffic for the Philippines. This is partly pushed by the iPhone 3G. Our next poll asks how much people spend on mobile 3G every month.
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I’d like to dedicate this post to our sponsors who have been supporting this blog. For this month of September, two more advertisers came on board as well as another one which will start in the middle of the month.
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Just got my latest PLDT DSL Billing today and found several brochures for a couple of promos on myDSL. One of them is labeled “Exclusive Rewards for myDSL Subscribers” which gives free unlimited internet access in over 500 wifi hotspots nationwide (of course, via Airborne Access).
If you are on any of the myDSL Biz package of the residential myDSL Xcel plan, you automatically get the free WiFi. If you are in one of the lower residential packages (Xcite, Xperience, Xtra Value Plan), there’s a monthly additional fee of Php199 per month. However, between now and April 25, 2007, you can get that for a promo price of Php99 and it will be effective for 6 months after activation after which the price goes back to Php199.
Still, if it’s an additional Php199 to my monthly subscription and I always go out with my laptop a lot, this is really good promo. Looks like their previous Smart WiFly promo for Smart Bro subscribers had good results so they’re offering the same to PLDT DSL subscribers.
Here’s how you activate your WiFi access:
Step 1: Go to www.mypad.net and click on WiFi Registration link
Step 2: Register. You will need to provide the ff: PLDT account number, telephone number, name, and email where they’ll send you your access codes.
Step 3: That’s it! Use the access codes to log on to any of the Airborne Access hotspots nationwide.
My friend just handed out this pamphlet from Smart Bro announcing a new promo called WiFly. Basically, this is an add-on service to existing SmartBro (formerly Smart Wifi) customers to avail of unlimited AiborneAccess account for an additional Php99 a month.
Here are some details of the WiFly Promo:
- The WiFly Promo will un from October 16, 2006 to January 15, 2007 with a 6-month coverage at an additional fee of Php99/month (VAT-inclusive) on top of their SmartBro subscription fee.
- Only active SmartBro 999 subscribers can automatically apply for the promo. Existing Smart Wifi 988 and Smart Bro 788 can upgrade to Smart Bro Plan 999 to be eligible for the WiFly Promo.
- Upgrades to Smart Bro Plan 999 will get a free one month WiFly to be effected on 6th month.
- Lock-in period for the WiFly subscription is 6 months. You will still be billed if you pre-teminate. You also need to inform Smart Broadband Inc., if you want to terminate after the 6-month lock-in period.
- Only one Smart Bro subscription per one WiFly account. No multiple logins will be allowed for the Airborne Access account.
A complete list fo the Terms and Conditions can be found at www.smartbro.com.ph/smartbro.
Now, that’s a really cool deal there. For just Php99, you also get an unlimited Airborne Access account. Cool huh? At least if your Smart Bro account doesn’t wok, you could go out and hook up with one of them AA hotspots. *hehehe*
With so many Smart Wifi/Bro plans, I think this promo was done partly to standardize the subscription plans to Php999 and earn a few more bucks off of the subscribers.
Still, IMHO, the promo alone is a great deal (IF you have a laptop). How about Smart Bro subscribers sell these promo account to friends and colleagues for say Php1,000 for 6 months? Good deal and the customer also profits Php406 from it. *hehe*
Looks like PLDT is aggressively selling its DSL service, now with a residential package of Php999 per month (PLDT Plan 999) at speeds of 384Kbps. This is the former bandwidth allocation for their Plan 1995 which is now at 512Kbps.
On top that, their Php788 per month for Smart WiFi is being heavily promoted in the provinces.
The Plan 999 was also an old promo for students only but has now been expanded to cover regular residential subscribers. With the introduction of DSL Plan 999, I think PLDT will soon be upgrading existing subscribers to higher bandwidths. Much more that Globe Telecoms is pushing to 2Mbps for Php2,995 (Explore Gold Plan).
The problem here though is that PLDT is so aggressive in selling broadband connections to potential new customers that it has already forgotten about the existing ones. Just read the comments over at the Smart WiFi entry.
I am sure they know that it’s cheaper to retain new customers than to get new ones. Oh, I forgot they have that 1-year lock-up clause.
