This is an announcement I’ve been dying to make (and help break) today but yes folks, NBA 2010-2011 scoring champion Kevin Durant is SMART’s newest endorser for mobile broadband. It seems like a lot more was happening behind the scenes during the recent NBA-PBA exhibition game sponsored by SMART. The move to get Kevin Durant as SMART’s new endorser enforces SMART”s commitment to further push its mobile networks to HSPA+ and in the near future, LTE.
If you wish to know more, you can check out the newspapers today for the ad and full press release =)
Disclosure: I’m a consultant for SMART Communications.
It really seemed like the contest was rigged for Old Spice Guy to pull a fast one over Fabio. Be that as it may, I congratulate Fabio for his amazing sportsmanship in the ‘Mano a Mano en El Bano’ contest. This post is a tribute to Fabio and in fact I was able to pull out an old video which I recorded together with Kate Alvarez back in 2007. The old video host was junked and I do realize that 3 years is a long time for digital and now we have everything on YouTube and Vimeo (funny too since I did mention Megavideo’s claim to fame to be “better than YouTube” — where are they now? HA!). So I have re-uploaded the video for all to see.
In this video Kate and I dissect the Italian male model as a template to romance novel covers. Enjoy me from 2007!
EDIT: To check balance for ALWAYS ON Promo, send GOLD BAL for SMART Gold and BAL for Prepaid. Send to 2200.
SMART has been releasing new Internet surfing packages. If you own a smartphone that hooks up to data, there’s a brand new package that’s been made more affordable for mobile phone browsing. I used to pay an additional PHP 1200 a month for mobile Internet — that’s unlimited Internet use for 30 days on my Samsung Galaxy S II. That obviously burns a hole in my wallet — it’s not just me echoing this sentiment, but many other mobile warriors who need to be always online yet want to only be charged based on the volume of data then use.
Instead of time-based usage, SMART has launched new volume based usage plans that are extraordinarily affordable.
If all you’re doing is Twitter, Facebook, checking in to Foursquare and chatting with friends via Yahoo Messenger and Kik Messenger via your phone, you only need 250 MB – 500 MB of bandwidth per month. It gets higher if you start tethering (remember, running app versions of your favorite services on a smartphone decreases bandwidth usage). What’s even cooler is that the system sends out a warning if you’re at 80% capacity of bandwidth allocation, allowing you to re-subscribe. To check your balance, send BAL to 2200 for prepaid and GOLD BAL to 2200 for postpaid.
Again, this is SO MUCH CHEAPER than subscribing to PHP 15 / 30 minutes and PHP 50 / day of Internet.
What if I want to use a USB dongle for my computer?
Before, we were tied down to fixed monthly fees and a LOCK IN PERIOD which everybody hated. So what SMART did was to remove the fixed monthly fees and lock in period allowing you to use the dongle to whatever plan you desired — whether you go for the time-based usage, PHP 15/30 minutes usage or yes .. this new volume-based consumable usage (Unlisurf, Per Minute, Volume, Prepaid Lifestyle). You can leave the country, come back, and not worry about wasting a month’s worth of data fees. It’s really customizable. Remember, the USB stick is only half the magic. It’s the fact that you can customize your usage and bills.
The Starter Dongle costs only PHP 995.00 with free one hour of surfing. But again, I do have to stress that there are no strings attached to the USB dongle. You can subscribe to different plans via the Web Connect application.
My unlimited data plan expires on the 29th. I’m looking forward to cutting my bill with these new plans (and also really get to see how much data I’m consuming from Tweets, Facebook and the occasional app download.)
Disclosure: I’m a consultant for SMART Communications.
I’ve been up since last night helping install the biggest underwater photo exhibit in the country thus far. Tomorrow, we’re flying in some of the best underwater photographers in the world — the likes of Michael Aw and Lynn Funkhouser who have both shot for the BBC and National Geographic — to judge the first country-wide underwater photo contest. Hundreds of photos from amateurs and enthusiasts are tremendously mind blowing!
