Posts Tagged ‘Technology’

Galaxy Note 8 – Specs, Price and Availablity in the Philippines

Just before the 2013 Mobile World Congress (MWC) starts, Samsung Mobile unveils Galaxy Note 8 tablet.  The tablet appears to compete against the iPad Mini and Nexus 7, the two leading low-mid-end tablet products in the market today. Samsung also reveals some of the basic specification of Galaxy Note 8.

Samsung Mobile announces the Galaxy Note 8 tablet

Galaxy Note 8 Tablet Specs and Features

- Intelligent S Pen
-  1.6GHz processor
- 8-in WXGA screen
- Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
- HSPA+ connectivity (optional)’
- 2GB of RAM
- 16 or 32GB of internal storage
-  microSD slot for added storage
- 1.3-megapixel front camera and 5-megapixel rear camera

 Price and Availability in the Philippines

No pricing was announced but since it appears to be Samsung’s answer to Google’s Nexus 7 and Apple’s iPad Mini, we can expect Galaxy Note 8 to be priced around 15000 Pesos. For comparison, the 16GB iPad Mini WiFi version is priced at 15990 Pesos while the 32 GB Nexus 7 can be purchased at 14000 Pesos.

[Read: iPad Mini Philippines Now Available!]

[Read:Nexus 7 – Where to Buy in Cebu?]

About the specific date, Samsung didn’t mention bus said the device would be available wordwide on 2Q 2013. I was hoping that the Philippines is included. If so, you can buy it at any Samsung Mobile outlet  in the malls or possibly in other consumer electronics retailer nearest you.

Galaxy Note 8 provides another option for consumers. And this is a good option in addition to Samsung’s galaxy of tablets, phones and phablets. It appears that the smartphone and the tablet has finally comes to its maturity.

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Cloudfone Review- Good Buy or Goodbye?

The Cloudfone is on a hype nowadays, especially the Cloudfone Thrill 430X! And why not? Its key selling point, battery life is terrific. Imagine, it promises to deliver two days of uptime battery life. Current tech reviews shows that the smartphone does so. That’s way more than what iPhone 5 has to offer. On top of that, this smartphone has decent specifications such as:

- Android 4.0 (ICS)
-huge touchscreen (4.3 to 5 inches depending on the model)
- 5-8 MP Rear Camera (depending on model)
- Dual SIM
- 1 -1.2 GHz Dual Core Snapdragon S4 Processor

The screenshot of Cloudfone Thrill 430x

All of these were packaged in a box that cost only around 8000 Pesos. It seems that it’s at the right value at the right price. But does it? Well, the answer is I don’t know. And talking about things I (and maybe you) don’t know, here are some of them.

1. Durability. I don’t know how long will Cloudfone last. Since this is a relatively new product, announced around 4Q last year, I can’t expect a user review when it comes to its life. Users can differ in opinion about this. Some may not need to have the unit alive for years, but others do.

2. Reliability. Will it always work fantastic at all times? Will the battery degrade over months or years to follow?

3. Safety. Is it safe to use? Since this product has been released already, it has likely undergone evaluation at the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) but I’m not sure how rigorous those tests where.

Cloudfone – Not All Made in China are the Same

I’ve had a five year experience in product design and development. And although I only worked at the mechanical side, I have learned several other factors that affect the final quality of a product. One important thing that I’ve learned is that, not all made in China are the same. They differ greatly in the following aspects:

1. Quality Management. Apple are known to manufacture iPhones in China. But why is iPhone better than the fake ones that come from China or other smartphones? It could be that they used the same material or parts, but Apple’s quality management is superior, a product of thinking of a team or teams focused in maintaining or improving the quality of the finished product.

2.Tests. Before a product could be sold in a certain geography, especially in Europe, it has to pass certifications such as with regards to safety and energy efficiency. Are all China-made products undergone these tests and certifications? No.

The two factors above and others not mentioned all add up to the price of a product. That’s why not all made in China have the same quality and price. I always remember these buying principle: At rare best times, you buy things at a discount. At a rare worst cases, you buy things for a loss. But most of the time, you get what you paid for. Apply that principle at 7777 Pesos price point of Cloudfone Thrill 430x. So your biggest chance in Cloudfone Thrill 430X is you get what you paid for.

Disclamer: Some contents of this article are just based on personal experience.

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Twitter Now Have In-app Photo Filters

Instagram recently ditched Twitter by not allowing sharing Instagram edited photos in to the popular social network. Well, it took just a few days and viola! Twitter now offers an instagram-like capability of phot editing such as cropping and filters.

The feature is now available for both Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android. Just update them to the latest release.

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Yugatech Website Hacked and Infected by Malware!

Popular website Yugatech.com was reportedly hacked and infected with malware. Both Firefox and Google Chrome showed independent warnings upon trying to open the website Wednesday morning. Here’s some screenshots.

Firefox Warns on Yugatech.com

Google Chrome warns on Malware from Yugatech

Yugatech website is owned and operated by Abe Olandres, a well-known technology blogger. The website is one of the most visited blog in the country and is a top destination for Pinoys looking for reviews of gadgets and technology news updates.

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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

Apple Maps Woes Prompts Tim Cook to Apologize to the Public

Releasing Apple Maps in iOS 6 is one of the few bad moves Apple has done in its history. Unlike Google whose mapping service was honed for years by beta testings and user interaction, Apple Maps is just too young to deserve a place in the default apps on iOS devices. Well, I don’t know why did it happened and who decided to launch it. But it’s a sorry mistake.

Apple Maps is flawed with missing or misplaced landmarks. In this image, however, the entire island of Leyte is missing.

Well, Apple has released a public apology over the incident and at the same time promises to work hard for a fix. But I guess, there are two big the reasons why there’s such a huge customer backlash on Apple Maps.

(1) Apple is EXPECTED to deliver the BEST
Well, it’s not easy to build a company with such reputation as Apple. The company is known for smart, user-friendly and amazing consumer products. Apple’s history is a complete testimony of that. So when the company updates a product that many of its customers has already been using, they would expect it to be better. But in the case of an app, well, I guess the minimum requirement is that it should do at par with the earlier version. In the case of Apple Maps however, it is far from being at par with Google Maps, the engine running behind the earlier iOS mapping app.

(2) Google Maps is Great
Well, I guess if consumers has tremendous concerns with the earlier version, they wouldn’t mind if another poor version come out after the update. In my opinion though, when it comes mapping service, Google Maps it is actually one of the best, if not the best period. Well, Mapping service is obviously very important for Google which invested a lot of money to make it better with Street Views, Live Traffic, Bus schedule, and other features.

Cook Says Sorry over Apple Maps

I think Apple is well aware of the trouble they are into. In response to the flood of customer complaints, Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook issued a letter of apology. Here’s the copy:

To our customers,

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.

There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.

While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.

Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.

Tim Cook
Apple’s CEO

It’s been two weeks since the above apology was released and still we haven’t heard anything about an update on Apple Maps. In the meantime, as suggested by Apple itself, you can create a shortcut icon of a web-based mapping service in the home screen of your iOS device. Here’s the step-by-step instruction.

Step-by-step procedure to install map icon in the home screen of iOS device.

Here’s the specific procedure for Google Maps.

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DepEd Goes Google, Leaps into the Cloud!

The Department of Education (DepEd) proudly announced today that they have teamed up with Google to provide IT infrastructure that will enable quick and easy collaboration among the 600,000 teachers, staffs and administrators nationwide. DepEd will be using Google Apps, Google’s cloud-based collaborative IT solution which is basically composed of email (Google Mail), chat (Google Chat), calendar (Google Calendar) and document storage, sharing, and editing (Google Docs and Google Drive).

Department of Education (Philippines) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With this move, the Department of Education is expected to save significant amount from their IT expenses. Also, DepEd will join over 16 Million students and and teachers around the world who uses Google Apps for Education.

Cloud Computing is a technology that allows the user to use software solutions without actually installing the software in their devices. The cloud-based software is typically used via internet browser. And because the software doesn’t need to be installed in many devices, cloud computing offers advantages in cost and ease of management because the data is centralized. One concern though with cloud computing is security.

Among the leading providers of cloud computing applications were Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple.

see press release here.

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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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Interesting Detail on the New Microsoft Logo – Indication of an Upcoming Product?

Heard the big tech news of the day? Microsoft has unveiled its new logo, a change that took place after 25 years since the company introduces its former logo. And for the first time, a symbol (four colored squares) are now present in the design.

The new Microsoft logo

Well, according to the company, the change is not simply just to change the logo. The change represents a milestone in the company. In their official blog, Jeff Hansen, General Manager of Brand Strategy at Microsoft said that this is the perfect time to change since the company made significant changes to almost all their products including Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Office and Xbox. The introduction of the symbol, four squares matching those of the former logo Windows represents Microsoft diverse portfolio of products. See the video below for more information.

The Yellow Square Represents What? A New Product?

If you notice in the video above, each colored square represents major Microsoft products. The blue represents Windows, the orange represents Office, and the green represents Xbox, Microsoft’s gaming console. Well how about the yellow? What product does it represent? Does it represent Microsoft venture to hardware by introducing the Surface Tablets or it is something that is still coming? Well, we can only speculate. For one thing, Microsoft is a great company, a great technology company that has a rich history of innovation and excellence. It wouldn’t be surprising if they launch a new product in the future.

SMART To Launch Its 4G LTE on August 25

After more than nine months since SMART Communications begins public testing of its upcoming 4G wireless technology known as Long Term Evolution (LTE), the company announced today that the official launch will be on August 25, 2012.

This launch is expected to further boost SMART‘s lead in wireless internet connectivity.Currently, SMART is offering variety of wireless technologies, from GSM, GPRS, EDGE, 3G, 4G HSPA+, and WiMAX. With the addition of LTE on the line up, it will take SMART to another level of wireless communication, both in terms of speed and efficiency.

SMART LTE Launch on August 25, 2012

What is LTE?

LTE or Long Term Evolution is the most advanced commercially available wireless communication standard capable of achieving speeds as fast as 100Mbps, depending on variety. In the case of SMART, testing shows that it is capable of clock download speed of up to 42mbps. To give you an idea, a 700mb movie can be downloaded in  less than 30 seconds (depending on signal consistency). And based on public beta tests, LTE is lightning fast!

On August 25, the Philippines will be the third country in the region to have a commercial LTE available to the public. The other two were Singapore and Hong Kong.

Still Lagging in Internet Speed

Although the country is one of the biggest internet users in the world, based on study, we are still lagging in terms of internet speed. For instance, data from Internet World Stats and SpeedTest.net says that the Philippines is lagging behind almost two-thirds of the world. We are not only surpassed by wealthier nations but that of relatively of the same income range as ours. For more details, see the article published by GMA News Online here.

With the launch of SMART LTE, I hope that better internet will be here in the Philippines.