SMART Rewards for Father’s Day Specials
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at June 16th, 2012
What? You still don’t have a gift for Father’s Day? OK here’s what you can do: if you’re a SMART subscriber there are a number of things you can do with your current subscription plan, which includes availing of discounts. If you use data, SMS, calls — anything (!!!) you gain points which you can readily convert to promos and discounts. Now these aren’t your typical baduy promos -they’re atually pretty cool. You can see a complete list at www.smart.com.ph/rewards.
Alternately, you can also check out a ready made list of things you can grab with SMART Rewards in the release below.
Pro Tip: Lest I forget, if you have extra points to consume you can always avail of the readily available P50.00 rebate in your monthly bill by sending REDEEM 50 to 9800.
Make Your Dads Feel Special With Gifts Galore From SMART Rewards
Travelon’s new bags are super anti-theft even against virtual thieves!
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at June 15th, 2012
Gun not included. But that’s still kinda anti-theft.
So Denise has been bugging me to take a look at these new bags from Travelon and I must say, they’re totally geek-worthy. If you’re paranoid with losing your gear (bag getting slashed, pocket getting picked, or SERIOUSLY — data stolen through near field communication devices) these bags are for you! Really, look no further.
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Dual SIM Starmobile Jupiter B305 has removable Bluetooth headset built into phone; only PHP 2,990
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at June 14th, 2012
With all the hubbub on the smartphone space, let’s take a short break and look into the recent happenings in the feature phone market. Out of nowhere, we have a local phone company called Starmobile launching a stable of new non-smartphones that have a rather interesting twist to the typical offerings.
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PSA: MacBook Pro w/ Retina Display CANNOT BE UPGRADED. Max it out when you buy.
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at June 14th, 2012
Here’s a quick PSA on the new retina display Macbooks. Got this from iFixit — the new MacBook Pro, apart from being the hardest portable to service will also be not upgradable in the future. If you’re planning to save money by getting a smaller SSD or RAM and wait a year to upgrade the internals, you can’t. That’s because these parts are soldered into the MacBook: the battery, the SSD (hard disk) and the RAM. Also, it appears that the display is so well integrated into the system and there’s no glass: if it breaks, you need to replace the entire MacBook.
Be sure to get some Apple Care once you acquire this amazing beauty. Just a precaution.
A funny thing happened while diving in Secret Bay
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at June 12th, 2012
In my 3 years of SCUBA, this was definitely the most fascinating (and morbidly awkward-funny) thing I’ve seen for marine behavior.
While diving Secret Bay I noticed a tiny ball that was bobbing furiously up and down from the sand. Its shape was too perfect a sphere to be a piece of coral so I swam nearer. Upon closer inspection, I discovered it to be an inflated puffer fish that was half buried in the sand. This behavior definitely isn’t normal for puffer fish as they only inflate and swim away when they’re threatened. Frankly it looked like it was taking a crap!
I then noticed it trying to push itself out of the substrate, with extreme difficulty! Something was holding it down. Then it dawned on me: it was fighting for its life! Something was dragging it down into the sand for dinner!
Can you guess what we did?
What we learn from the leaked “iPhone 5″ part
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at June 10th, 2012
Word is out that the Apple iPhone supply chains have been invaded and parts are surfacing on the web. Here’s one video that brings further proof of a 4-inch iPhone 5 that may be out by September 2012.
Breaking it down:
The new iPhone will use a nano-SIM because of the smaller tray (it’s even smaller than the current microSIM). This adds proof to Apple’s bid for making their new SIM concept a global standard, announced several days ago. The iPhone 5 may be the first device to tout the new SIM card configuration.
The phone isn’t that much bigger given the tray size. It’s probably a half inch longer in length. In retrospect, having an iPhone that’s bigger than 4″ might pose problems with the UI as most of the apps have the virtual buttons on the upper left and right hand side of the screen while the home button is still right down below.
The new iPhone 5 won’t be using the standard Apple charger and may in fact be adopting micro USB because of its popularity as a standard for most charging solutions.
The 3.5mm jack was moved to the bottom of the device.
The iPhone 5 will be just slightly thinner than the iPhone 4/4s. Also, two tone design!
Of course, these are only speculations as the community is not 100% sure that these designs are completely accurate. Nonetheless, the iPhone 5 is coming in a few months. But for now, everyone is raving for the new 2012 MacBook refresh this month!
Windows 8 Blue Screen of Death (doesn’t look too serious)
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at June 10th, 2012
This is the less menacing BSOD from the new Windows 8, where copies are set to retail next month.
The Great Microwarehouse Sale (2012 Edition) will carry more than just gadgets!
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at June 6th, 2012
Details:
June 16-17 2012 at the Decagon Silver City.
Doors to the public open at 12 noon on the 16th.
The Great Microwarehouse Sale Facebook Page
Talked to the head honchos of Microwarehouse and they’ve really excited for this year’s sale. Let me tell you what they aren’t showing in the poster:
1. Doors to the public open at 12 noon. However, the doors will be open at 10AM exclusively for those who bear the “Elite Geek” mark (which is essentially a QR code). This status is given to customers of the previous sales who spend more than PHP 100,000.00 during these events. This means that they will have first dibs to the glorious pieces of technology that Microwarehouse will be displaying. If you by chance decide to spend over a hundred grand this weekend, you will be entitled first dibs for the Christmas sale which will happen in December. In addition to this, the guys from Microwarehouse are hell bent on giving “Elite Geeks” (yes that’s really what you call them) bigger discounts on top of the sale prices.
2. Exciting stuff: GoPro will be participating in the sale. These are the best adventure cameras in the market. For cycling. For SCUBA diving. For snorkeling and surfing.
3. Microwarehouse will also be bringing in the big TV brands (clues in the poster!). They will be selling 55″-80″ LED and Plasma flat screens and living room hi-fi sets. Deferred payments accepted! Credit cards accepted! Say goodbye to savings!
4. One huge difference this year is that there will be a huge selection of home appliances with the price tags given the Microwarehouse sale thumbs up! Buy a refrigerator for you … and an iMac for your wife. LOL.
So that’s it! That’s Father’s Day weekend in case you forgot so if you’re still planning what to do for Father’s Day for the entire family, spend it at Silver City or somewhere nearby then “accidentally” head on over to the Great Microwarehouse Sale and get your loved one a new 80″ Plasma TV!
Break muna! I was shot for Metro Magazine so let’s talk about that first!
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at June 5th, 2012
“Are they sure they got the right Jayvee?” was all I could think of when Ria asked me if I was available for be shot for Metro. I remember at one point the conversation (via SMS) went something like:
“Wait lang, this is for a fashion thing? Isn’t Metro for fashion?”
“Well yes but you have a blog and it’s a feature on bloggers and cult followings.”
“Well, OK… Who am I going to be with?”
“Lissa Kahayon and Saab Magalona.”
“Are you sure ba? Parang weird lang!” (JAYVEE –> PRESSURE)
I’ve never been shot for a fashion magazine so I was all the more pressured when they asked me to bring clothes that I thought would fit the occasion when in fact most of my apparel stretched between my geek getup (T-Rex with bunny slippers) and the very limited “club wear” I have when I need to be at events.
So I walk into the prepping room and lo and behold I’m the only boy (apart from the stylist). And i see hangers upon hangers of clothes from the previous shoots. Then I look into my **cute** bag and sheepishly pull out a bunch of clothes surrendering them to the stylist saying “I’m sorry but this is all I have! Please don’t kill me (with your fashion).”
So Mr. Stylist rummages through the first two pieces and his eyes open wide when he sees a green jacket (see photo!) I got for 15 Euros from a Zara sale in my last trip to Barcelona for MWC ’12. Saved by the sale! I actually bought two but this one was something I could bear wearing in the festering heat as they shot this in the middle of a summer afternoon. Outdoors.
Metro Magazine feature: Jayvee Fernandez, Saab Magalona, Lissa Kahayon
As it turned out the feature was more in-depth, looking at the different “social media cults” active in the local scene. It was great to see my ocean warrior / mermaid friend Anna Oposa and Ana Santos (who interviewed me about blogs way back and look at her now — she’s epic with her Sex and Sensibilities site). They were both featured for their respective causes — Anna for the oceans and Ana for RH. Well, with me, it was refreshing to not do the geek talk for a whole hour during the interview. Instead, Nante Santamaria and I talked about the blogging industry in general (been here since 2005!) and how its changed and how my blog has evolved since then. It’s been a long ride!
In any case, if you can, do grab a copy of the June 2012 issue of Metro Magazine with Mikee Cojuanco on the cover to see me in a green jacket.
Alcatel One Touch Glory runs Android 2.3, Dual SIM for Php 5,699.00
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at June 3rd, 2012
Dual SIM Android phones are starting to reveal themselves to the market for mind boggling price points. Take Alcatel’s One Touch Glory (918N) for instance. Really, if you’re in the market for an Android smartphone (so you can play Angry Birds, Where’s My Water and Cut the Rope) that can strike a balance between usability and the frugal limitations of your wallet the Glory 918N seems to be the perfect choice especially if you intend to put in two SIM cards (i.e. Smart and SUN).
The only downside of this phone (and it’s a small one) is that the dual SIM feature is limited to dual standby only as compared to being both dual standby and dual active. This means that if you’re on a call on SIM 1, the other SIM gets disabled and will not be able to have call waiting on (SMS will work). But really, in an age of data connectivity, this isn’t such a big deal.
Price: 5,699.00
Pros
- Dual SIM
- Great price point
- 320×480 resolution (beats the crap out of the Samsung Galaxy Y)
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Cons
- Dual SIM functionality is limited to Dual standby only
Bottomline
It’s an affordable Android phone I’d gladly recommend.
Dual SIM Nokia Asha 202 sells for P3,550.00
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 31st, 2012
Update: The Nokia Asha 305 touts a full touch screen at a similar price point. Also, dual SIM enabled!
It’s back to school mode with the Nokia Asha 202. If you’re looking for an affordable feature phone to wear and tear on a daily basis, the Asha 202 is packed with a number of features that are of late, quite impressive. Due to Nokia’s partnership with EA Games, the 202 comes bundled with 40 titles you can dabble with, from Tetris to Bejeweled to Need for Speed. I personally have a bit of a vendetta with EA Games but those are with the bigger titles that tend to spark controversy about DLC’s and pricing. This one’s free.
In any case, because it is a feature phone, Nokia’s Asha 202 comes with easy ways to access your Facebook and Twitter feed hacked into the tried-and-tested S40 operating system. Oh and lest we forget, this phone has a touch screen. Price: P3,550.00
