Topshop uses Microsoft Kinect as virtual fitting room
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 13th, 2011No it isn’t Topshop Philippines. This is in Russia. But the concept of an augmented reality fitting room should not be too hard to implement because one half of the concept is already there — the Kinect hardware! All you need to do is find someone to write the software. Because of the long lines in fitting rooms (mostly in stores for women — the men get the comfortable couches though!), shoppers can pass the time by fitting the latest collection in all it’s augmented glory. ANd it works for everything. Not just clothes. But bags, shoes, food …
Looking to spice up your next in-store campaign? This is worth exploring.
Angry Birds runs on Chrome — Ultimate Office Time Waster!
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 12th, 2011
Simply put, it’s great marketing for Google Chrome. But on a completely different level it is also showing you what HTML5 can do. In case you’ve been under a rock for the past few months, HTML5 is the really the “new way” of doing things on your browser without the need to code in Flash. So the lesson here is quite simple. The next time your client tells you that he wants his site in flash, (1) give him a firm no because (a) flash is so 90′s, (b) a lot of people use flash blockers on their browsers, (c) it takes too long to load, (d) flash is not SEO-friendly (e) and finally flash won’t run on an iPad. You can then (2) suggest the site be coded in HTML5 instead because it’s the “cool new way” things are done without requiring a plugin.
As long as you have a browser that supports HTML5, you can run this. But of course, it’s still all about the branding!
Get Chrome now. And play Angry Birds while you’re at work. Oh and if you’re head of IT, please don’t block this site, k?
Difference between HSPA+ and LTE
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at April 29th, 2011So over on Plurk I was trying to explain the difference between HSPA+ and LTE. There is a lot of confusion. Without naming who carries what, here’s a simple way of looking at it:
HSPA+ is built on existing 3G technology. LTE is built on an entirely new network. Your iPhone 4 will work on an HSPA+ network because it is 3G compatible. It won’t be able to access the higher speed LTE network. You will need LTE compatible devices to run on the LTE network. These are phones like the Motorola Atrix and the HTC Thunderbolt.
Here’s an example. The BlackBerry 8520, one of the more recent devices being sold today cannot access 3G because it is limited to the 2G EDGE network. A lot of people don’t know this. Did they notice? Actually, no. This is because you don’t need really fast speeds to access email on a BlackBerry — which is what it is for.
Short chart:
2G
GSM –> GPRS –> EDGE
3G
3G –> 3.5G (that’s HSPA which is a combination of HSDPA and HSUPA. “D” and “U” stand for “Upload” and “Download”) –> HSPA+
The HSPA technology is a combination of HSDPA and HSUPA which. D and U stand for Downlink and Uplink which you can just translate to mean “download” and “upload.” SO HSUPA = uploading photos faster and sending email with bigger attachments faster.
When telcos here and abroad say that they have “4G” they are not referring to speeds. They are referring to “next gen” hardware. Based on the ITU standards, the real 4G is considered to be a technology called LTE Advanced, a small step above LTE (it’s like how 3G moves to 3.5G). LTE Advanced isn’t available yet anywhere around the world but rumors say by 2012.
LTE is the closest thing to what we call “4G speeds.” The truth is, the nomenclature doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t.
“I changed my number. Please update your phonebooks.”
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at April 29th, 2011
It happens with some regularity where we have a friend who changes his or her mobile phone number and sends a big text blast to everyone on the list informing them to change this bit of information. More often than not, I forget to update and the past two days I’ve SMS-ed two friends who have apparently changed their numbers. So it was rather embarrassing (and annoying) to get a “HUS DIS” and a “sn0 p0h i2″ jeje-reply.
There is a way to avoid this though. If you (1) own a smartphone, and (2) make use of mobile Internet on your handset and (3) store your contacts using a sync with GMail, Yahoo! or Facebook you can easily inform your other friends who are also on smart phones that you changed your contact information. In fact, you don’t even need to inform anyone. Whenever you change the information on your Gmail vCard (or Facebook) the next time your contacts sync (which happens often when they’re doing over-the-air Internet), the update takes place. If you enter a new address book contact or make changes to your address book, the change reflects online as well.
So yeah you could say that owning an iPhone, Android or Windows Phone 7 device helps you really stay in touch with your friends not just with reading status updates, but with their contact information as well. Switch to a smartphone now and grab that data plan!
Unpacking iPod Compatible JBL Radial speakers
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at February 4th, 2010
Hello again. Part of my work salary is given in gift checks so what I end up doing is collect one year’s worth of GC’s every end of the year. So this is what I got from the list of things available. It’s way better than the ColorTunes speaker set I bought for PHP 2,000, obviously. The Radial is a monster, packing a great balance for low, mid and high frequencies. In fact the only bad thing I can say about it is that it’s expensive at about PHP 11,xxx.00. Yay for GC’s!
The Radial comes with 3 sets of input for 3.5mm, USB and the default iPod dock. It also comes with a remote.
How to set up Nokia Messaging on the E72 with SMART
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at January 2nd, 2010
I procured a Nokia E72 from SMART over the holidays. They’re offering it on retention so if you’re a SMART subscriber and due for a new phone from them, Santa SMART might be able to help you with their brand new selection. Simultaneously, I activated Nokia Messaging, the Finnish quasi-equivalent to push email for BlackBerry users.
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Samsung’s CorbyPRO is next year’s must have phone
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at December 14th, 2009I think it was LG that started these “messaging phones.” A couple of months ago, they claimed that they were the first to release QWERTY phones for the masses. This was, of course the LG KS360 which debut at a price of P8,xxx.xx. Truth is, it wasn’t a true messaging device, not for the lack of usability mind you, despite their claims to having “threaded messaging” as it didn’t consider that the Philippine market was highly dependent on WiFi.
Months later, today, Samsung announces the CorbyPRO, a definitive sure win come January 2010 when this phone is released. Among the three Corby phones released, Samsung is putting its ace in a cheap pocket with an affordable QWERTY device sporting WiFi. Add HSDPA connectivity and a 3.5mm ear jack and you get ALL the casual features you need to become truly mobile. As a messaging phone, the device allows connections to multiple instant messaging platforms such as Google Talk, AIM and ICQ (who still uses ICQ?). Price: Php 11,990.
• 2.8”QVGA Full touch-screen
• Slide-out QWERTY keypad
• Wi-fi capable
• 3.5mm earphone jack
• 3.2MP camera with 2x zoom
• Bluetooth
• Expandable memory through microSD (up to 16GB)
• HSDPA 7.2mbps technology
• PRICE 
hp 11,990
• Available January 2010
If you don’t need WiFi, you can opt for the CorbyPRO’s (B5310) younger sibling, the B3410 for PHP 7,590. It looks the same, but foregoes HSDPA for EDGE and has a smaller 2MP camera.
Rico of Technogra.PH has his own take on the Corby series.
Hands on with the Nokia N97 mini (PHP 28,900.00)
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at November 21st, 2009
UPDATE: On third day use, I kept the charger plugged in for most of the day. Odd, but battery life improved. It’s been 9 hours and I’m still on full bar. It is apparent therefore that the drain really comes in when you start doing wireless Internet and other such functions apart from calls and text. I checked other websites and they confirm the same thing as well — battery life is significantly less, but if all you do is SMS and call, you’ll get by on a single charge.
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I was able to borrow a Nokia N97 mini for the weekend. I’ve been using it for two and a half days. Despite being a new release, the phone suffers from two things which I think is integral to day to day use — weak battery life and a noticeably weaker signal similar to the E71.
Read on for the full hands on.
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Nokia DiscOVIries: The Final Contest
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at November 17th, 2009It’s been a great run dear readers. As I end the Nokia DiscOVIries promotion with this week’s contest I’d like to thank everyone for biding the time to sign up for your OVI accounts. The winner of the previous contest will be announced very soon, as I made a special request from a friend to act as the guest judge. 
Stay tuned!
As with all promos, I know that not everyone will be diligently using OVI in their day to day lives — but if you do, then that’s great. A tip: I especially find the service for videos useful if you want a sure-fire way to keep your background music inside your home made videos. YouTube and Facebook have been clamping down on copyrighted music lately, and thus far OVI seems to be more friendly with this.
Also, if you own a S60 based phone (all Nokia phones and some LG and Samsung units) you should definitely try syncing your address book online with the OVI contact list tool (click on the Address Book icon on the nav bar) so that if you misplace your phone, your contacts can easily be rebuilt by a simple sync.
On to the contest. We’re playing for a PHP 2,000.00 Ayala eGift Certificate and a chance to win a Nokia phone.
When I started tech blogging, I covered mostly “technology that you could bring with you” because of a conditioning with a magazine I wrote for back in the day. There’s a sample cover below. Since then, portable technology has been my first love as we would cover more than just the gadgets, but the lifestyle behind portability. So we also did restaurant reviews — especially those with WiFi hotspots, which in 2005 was still quite rare.
On the cover were the two Coca Cola girls who garnered instant fame because of their TV ad.
For this week’s contest, I’d like you to upload a photo(s) of the restaurants, bars and other hang out places you frequent when you need to work. It can be idle time in your favorite coffee shop while surfing the web, or a quick plugin to the Internet to email that one important document. It matters not really. I just want to know where my readers hang out. Remember to include a short description of the place(s) you frequent, why you enjoy hanging out there, and also please do not forget to include your OVI email.
Again, I’m going to have a special guest judge for this contest, and you can submit entries till 11:59PM of November 22, 2009. The mechanics for the DiscOVIries promotion can be read here.
Windows 7 Photo Stitching gets two thumbs up
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at October 31st, 2009
Spent the better part of Thursday at the Windows 7 boot camp at the Manila Ocean Park. Although I’ve been using Windows 7 since its beta (thanks to Johnny Benitez of Microsoft) and have bootcamp-ed it on my MacBook, it was still great to hear the “promise of a great OS” from Microsoft. So Windows 7 is finally here and will retail for P7,777.00 for the Home Basic Edition on November 7 for the consumer launch at the SM North EDSA.
One of the winning features of Windows 7 is the built in photo stitching application with the Live Gallery (sign up for a Live account already if you still don’t have one). The application recognizes and stitches together shots that may seem to be a part of a panorama. All we needed to do was highlight all the photos you want in on the panorama and allow the app to do the work for you. Photos that were added but don’t go with the stitch are automatically recognized and discarded. Very nice.
Nokia DiscOVIries Week 4: FILM
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at October 20th, 2009EDIT: I was half-hearted for the winner of this week’s contest because there were so many great entries like this and several others — my top 5 choices were really amazing shots, but they didn’t qualify because they missed out entering their OVI email address or they posted photos after the cut off time. 
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Many months ago, dad showed me something he inherited from the war days. This is a circa 1940 Ciro-Flex TLR (Twin Lens Reflex) that still works. Honestly, I haven’t used it much, as the comforts of digital photography outweigh the relative impediment of buying and developing film. But no one can deny that shooting in film has its charm — especially today with the craze of 35mm film and lomography coming back.
So this week’s theme focuses on a niche — film photography. If you shoot on film, all you need to do is upload your shots to the folder below. Also, please include the camera model, film and if possible, settings when you upload your shots. Don’t forget the description! The winner will be determined by a secret panel of guest judges, so the more you upload, the better chances there are of winning.
Above are some of the current entries for this week’s contest.
This contest will start today, October 19, 2009 and will end before midnight on Sunday, October 24 ’09. The rules can be found here. The prize this week is still a P2,000.00 eGC from Ayala which is really just as good as cash!
Sign up now for an Ovi account and make sure you include your OVI email address in the photo description.
