Posts Tagged ‘iPad’

Where to Buy iPad Mini in the Philippines?

Apple unveiled the long-rumored iPad Mini tablet device last night, confirming almost all the rumors that came out prior to its announcement. It features 7.9 inches IPS touchscreen, lightning connector, A5 dual core processor, and all other features present in the new iPad (third gen). The best thing though about this device is its price. The 16GB, WiFi version is just 329 USD (around 14 000 Pesos). Here’s the photo of the freshly released iPad Mini:

The all new iPad Mini from Apple.

iPad Mini Availability in the Philippines

The new iPad Mini is not yet available in the country. The pre-order will begin October 26, 2012 (this Friday) on these countries only: US, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

Although, those are the only countries in the current list, we can expect iPad Mini to start appearing on gray markets like eBay Philippines, Sulit, Ayos Dito, Lazada and other online retailers. But for the mean time, while the iPad Mini is not yet official in the country, expect it to be a bit more expensive.

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iPad Mini Almost Confirmed – Apple Sends Out Invites

Invitations for October 23 Apple event was sent out to media groups Tuesday, October 16.

The iPad Mini based on rumors

Smart Office 2 – Free Office App for iPad and iPhone

Looking for a free office app for your iOS device? You can always find one in the Apps Store. Some examples include Documents and Documents 2 apps. But the common problem among the free versions is the limited capabilities. For example, Documents app has the basic capabilities  like creating and editing text and excel files. But recent updates on the app does nothing good but pull back some of the capabilities in the free version which appears to be a push for current users to upgrade to a paid version.

Smart Office 2 – Complete and Free Office App

As I explore the app store last week, I noticed that one of the top application in the chart was Smart Office. It was free and offers almost all the needed capabilities of an office app. It can view, create and edit Microsoft Office documents such as Word 2003, Word 2007, Excel 2003, Excel 2007, PowerPoint 2003, and PowerPoint 2007 files. You can even store them in your Google Drive or Drop Box accounts. Yes, all of those capabilities are for Free.

Free office app Smart Office 2 for iOS is free to download in the App Store

Smart Office 2, a free office app for iOS supports Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007 files.

One of the few things though I don’t like about the App is its navigation. It doesn’t match the iOS conventional navigation and it can be really confusing to first time users.  Also, it will take some time for an average users to learn to create the presentations and excel files.  But I guess the latter was primarily die to the touch environment, not about the app itself. But again, the fact that it is powerful yet it was offered for free readily overshadows the flaws I just mentioned.

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iPhone 5: Has Apple Lost Its Innovation?

The iPhone 5 is the biggest update to the iPhone since its release in 2007. For the first time, Apple changed the screen size probably because of pressure from Android phones which sports gigantic screens of up to 5.5 inches (Galaxy Note 2). And again, it seems like Apple is just catching up with Samsung, HTC, Motorola and LG in their latest move to support the increasingly becoming popular LTE wireless broadband.

Appled unveiled today the iPhone 5 – the biggest and the best iPhone to date.

Is Apple Still A Leader in Innovation?
Let’s face it, the iPhone 5 is amazing but many feel that it doesn’t have the “wow” factor. The “wow” first came when Apple introduced the iPod in October 2001. The device proved to be revolutionary, disrupting the way we listen to music. The “wow” factor came again just six years after that when Steve Jobs stood before a small crowd in January 2007 Macworld conference and introduced the first iPhone. The crowd went crazy as they saw how Jobs effortlessly swiped through the large multi-touch screen of the iPhone, the first of its kind.Not long after the iPhone revolutionized the phone, in April 2010, Apple made history again by introducing the iPad, the first tablet of its kind. Well, initial reception for the iPad proved to be a little skewed toward the negative but later reviews and user experiences reveals a carefully thought and innovative product. The “wow” didn’t came immediately after the announcement but the sales records echoed it. Year 2010 became the year of the iPad. The next years saw the blossom of the new market of computing devices – the tablets. Other companies followed with their own versions, Samsung Galaxy Tab, HTC Flyer, Motorola Xoom, Amazon Kindle Fire and many more.

Not A Phone
Apple has been a technology leader since the beginning, way back to the days of Apple computers and the Macintosh. Innovation has been the lifeblood of Apple. Well, I agree that the iPhone 5 is far from revolutionary, but I don’t think we can judge Apple’s innovation just by one product. Who knows what product they are working at behind the boundary of the highly secured Cupertino campus? Is it the TV, the radio, or something we haven’t thought of. Remember, when Steve Jobs was asked what market research was done with the iPad, he simply answered, “None. It’s not the consumers’ job to know what they want.” Probably, the next big thing from Apple is not a phone.

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Nexus 7 Philippines: Available via Yugadeals

Can’t wait to have the recently released Google Nexus 7 tablet? Well, aside from those sold in gray markets such as that in ebay.ph, you can now buy it via Yugadeals. They are offering the tablet at 15999 pesos for the 16GB model, cheaper compared to the one we featured before (from ebay).  But still this is way higher compared to its price in the US, which is just $249 (10400 Pesos).

I thought Yugadeals is dead, but now it’s back to life with an interesting offer. Here’s the screenshot of  the offer.

Yugadeals Offers 16GB Nexus 7 for 15999 Pesos

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Free Amazing Alex Download for Android but not for iPhone (iOS)

Today, the maker behind the extremely popular mobile/web/desktop game Angry Birds, Rovio released Amazing Alex, their newest game offering. Amazing Alex, just like Angry Birds, is a puzzle game and it would be physics-based using real objects we see in our daily activities.

Amazing Alex has 100 levels and on each problem, you can have your own solution. One feature though that can revolutionize puzzle games is the ability to create your own custom game level and share it. With that, even after you finished completing the 100 levels, you still have more levels to play.

Here’s the teaser video of the Amazing Alex game.

Free version Available for Android not for iOS (iPhone, iTouch, and iPad)

Well, I think many will become a little bit disappointed because Amazing Alex game has no free (or ad supported) version in the Apple App Store. You have to buy it for 0.99 USD. Meanwhile, Google Play offers both free and paid versions of the game. For free version though, expect that you won’t get all the levels and see ads being posted during the game.

Amazing Alex in Google Play Store

iPad 3 To Be Sold in China on July 20, 2012

Finally, after settling its trademark lawsuit with a Chinese company Proview, Apple finally releases the newest version of its celebrated tablet device, the new iPad (or commonly referred to as iPad 3). Apple will begin selling on Friday, July 20, 2012 on the Apple Stores in the most populous country.

Apple have announced iPad 3 last March 7 but its release in China was temporarily delayed due to the lawsuit mentioned above. The new iPad features Retina display, new and more powerful A5X chip with quad-core graphics. Apple also improved the camera of iPad, now 5MP and is able to capture 1080p HD videos. iPad 3 prices starts at 499 USD for the 16GB, Wifi model.

The new iPad with Retina Display

China has been Apple’s apple-of-the-eye because of the huge growth of Apple sales on it. It is currently the Apple’s second largest market and there’s a huge possibility that it will topple United States in being the largest market of Apple products in the near future.

Google+ for iPad Now Available in the App Store

After a little bit of wait, Google Plus App is now compatible in the bigger screen of the iPad tablet. Google has just released Google Plus for iPad bringing us unique features intended for tablet users.

The new user interface brings the fluid news stream from your circles into a bigger display. You do not have to zoom your old Google+ App just to fit your iPad. And of course, with bigger screen, the scrolling of the user would also be minimized as you can see more content now compared to previous app version. And lastly, new multi-touch gestures were also introduced like:

• Pinch and expand posts right in your stream to add your comments
• Use two fingers to drag a post from your stream to easily re-share it
• Start a Hangout from your iPad and stream it to your TV using AirPlay

Some other features were still available like Hangouts and  Notifications are still there.

We’ll I may fail to describe accurately everything in this new app. So, if you have an iPad, it would be great if you could download it and see for yourself, the huge improvement in user experience. Here are some screenshots:

The new Google+ for iPad

If you currently have the old Google+ for iPhone, then you just have to update it on your iPad to have the new iPad version.

Cebu Pacific to Offer On-board Wifi

In a press release early this morning, low-cost airline Cebu Pacific announced that they have teamed up with OnAir to provide in-flight WiFi internet access on its long-haul flights which are expected to start  next year, 2013. If this materializes, Cebu Pacific will become the first long-haul low-cost airline in South East Asia to have an in-flight internet access.

With OnAir on-board, Cebu Pacific will be able to provide internet access to their passengers using their devices such as computer laptops, tablets and mobile phones. It is unclear though if this will be a free access or is subject to payment options.

Cebu Pacific have announced early this year that they are planning to take long-haul flights to popular Filipino destinations such as the United States, Europe, Middle East and Australia.

Will You Buy Music via iTunes Store Philippines?

ITunes Store (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Or probably, a better question would be: Would you buy music, now that iTunes Store is already available in the Philippines? Well, we cannot deny the fact that music and movie piracy are rampant in the country. Just go to the nearest market and you will see at least one store selling pirated music CDs and movie DVDs.

Even in some malls, piracy sometimes slips the watch of the mall administrators. There are several instances where malls were raided by the police as directed by the Optical Media Board, the regulators responsible for fighting the rampant piracy in the country.

Will iTunes Store Alleviate Piracy?

I think iTunes will help reduce piracy. The convenience of buying music via iTunes can encourage some who are willing to spend a dollar or less. The convenience lies on the fact that you can actually buy from the device itself. iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad owners are usually those in the middle to upper class where their financials can afford them to buy music from legal sources.

The problem before iTunes Store came into the country is that there are just few legal sources of music. And usually, the choices are limited. The nearest music store offers albums in discs, not individual music. If you want one of the songs of a particular artist, then, you have no choice but to buy the entire album which includes songs you don’t like or even hate. And how much is the album? 200 to 500 pesos? Few people enjoys that way of getting music. Because of those reasons, some resorts to downloading it from file sharing sites and torrent clients.

iTunes Match Will Make Money From Piracy

Apple introduced iTunes Match at the same time they introduced the iCloud one year ago. The service allows the user to download from iTunes Store up to 25, 000 tracks in high quality(256Kbit/s) AAC file (DRM free) format that matches those songs that are present in users iTunes Library whether those songs are copied from CDs, downloaded from file sharing sites, or copied from other computers. iTunes Match comes as an annual subscription. The price is 24.99 USD, so it is around 1100 Pesos.

With that, Apple can actually make money from the pirated songs that the user might have. And I think, this feature of the iTunes Store Philippines will click among the Philippine users. I guess many, if not most of us wants original music and getting up 25000 original songs for a year;y payment of 1100 pesos is more than a fair deal.

Will You Buy From iTunes Store? Please do

One of the key ingredients of successful economies is respect for intellectual property. The music and movie industry in the country is not growing, if not shrinking. The rampant piracy in the country is one of the major roadblocks for it to grow and reach its full potential. Would you not be proud if someday, you hear a song or watch a movie that is made by Filipinos and are internationally recognized? Well, that is happening now but rarely.

When we buy original songs and movies, we contribute to up-building the quality of life in our country- whether it be from iTunes Store or from any other legal source.

Related articles

• iTunes Store Opens in the Philippines and Other Asian Countries

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