New iPad 3 Price Guide for Philippines

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 30th, 2012

Big green light for the new iPad. This is the price list from the fine folks over at Technoodling. Do note that all cellular iPads being sold are not SIM-locked so you can readily add a local microSIM from any network for data.

On another note, Microwarehouse is set to open their annual MICROWAREHOUSE SALE next month. We are not completely sure if the new iPad will be offered, but it might be worth the wait as well, right?

PRICE:
iPad 16 GB WiFi = Php 23,990 (iPad 2 was priced at Php 23,990 at launch roughly a year ago)
iPad 32 GB WiFi = Php 28,990 (iPad 2 was priced at Php 28,990at launch roughly a year ago)
iPad 64 GB WiFi = Php 33,990 (iPad 2 was priced at Php 33,990 at launch roughly a year ago)
iPad 16 GB WiFi with Cellular = Php 29,990 (iPad 2 was priced atPhp 30,990 at launch roughly a year ago)
iPad 32 GB WiFi with Cellular = Php 34,990 (iPad 2 was priced atPhp 35,990 at launch roughly a year ago)
iPad 64 GB WiFi with Cellular = Php 39,990 (iPad 2 was priced atPhp 40,990 at launch roughly a year ago)

AVAILABILITY:
Metro Manila Apple Authorized Premium Resellers:
Beyond the Box One Rockwell
Beyond the Box Lucky China Town
Beyond the Box Resorts World
Digital Hub Robinsons Galleria
Digital Hub Robinsons Place Manila
Digital Hub Market Market
Digital Hub Virra Mall Greenhills
Power Mac Center Greenbelt 3
Power Mac Center Trinoma
Power Mac Center Megamall
Power Mac Center SM North Edsa
Power Mac Center Mall of Asia
A Shop Podium
A Shop Eastwood Mall
iStudio Shangrila Mall
iStudio Bonifacio High Street
iStudio ADMU Campus Store
Switch Alabang Town Center
Switch Marquee Mall
Switch Ayala TechnoHub

Epic! Photo made it to the cover of a Mary Higgins Clark novel

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 29th, 2012

I’m really excited! I sold my very first photo for the cover of a paperback fiction publication. It’s for a Mary Higgins Clark novel published by Random House Germany. As it seems, there is an obsession with cats and Mary Higgins Clark.

I’ve sold a handful of photos before but this is the first time I’ve sold something through Flickr. Yep, believe it or not Flickr is still very much alive (looks like my pro account is good for something). This was for a photo I shot of my house cat + back lighting way back in 2006 (that was around the time when this blog was at its infancy). I had set the global options of my Flickr account’s Creative Commons license to full credit w/o commercial use and it is in such a case that I was contacted by the Random House Germany to purchase the photo for their paperback / eBook cover and collateral.

I guess the biggest tip I can give to people who are planning to sell their photos would be to be very aware of the CC licenses that you have set on your photos. You never know when an opportunity may just be lurking around the corner.

Presenting Underwater Instagram!

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 29th, 2012

I don’t usually launch new sites. Scratch that.. I don’t launch new sites. But lo and behold, ever since my UW photos were discovered on Instagram, I decided to launch a new site dedicated totally to my UW photos post-processed with Instagram filters. Marine life can really surprise you with hidden colors that can only be seen with specific types of filters on your lens and Instagram helps make these colors pop out. Without further ado, my photo blog, Underwater Instagram.

The First Official Foursquare Badge in the Philippines

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 21st, 2012

EDIT: Jim Ayson from SMART noted that the USD $25k cost for a badge is not accurate. Post edited to reflect this. Quoting Jim from G+ “Well let’s just say that Foursquare is a very close partner, we worked it out! We also worked with them very collaboratively on this project and the mechanics of the Smart badge and the campaign. Foursquare peeps were great, they were very creative, they rock!”

In a country where #trending on Twitter has turned into a questionable measurable goal of success, SMART Communications has launched the country’s first official Foursquare swarm badge which unlocks during the two-day Lady Gaga concert at the Mall of Asia Arena. This is, in my opinion, a fresh and more than welcome spectacle vs. trending.

The badge will unlock after a swarm of 250 check ins are recorded between 6PM to 2AM on the 21st and 22nd of May 2012. The badge is not geo-tagged which means that you can check in and claim it even if you are nowhere near the Mall of Asia. Those who check in and receive the badges are automatically enrolled in a smartphone giveaway – two Samsung Galaxy Nexus units will be given away each night.

On a personal note, after this stunt, several brands will definitely want to have their own Foursquare badges but the enrollment and maintenance comes at a heavy price tag: USD $25,000 per month for three months minimum. If you have that kind money, submit your proposal here.

Samsung SMART TV Buying Guide: Difference between the 1st and 2nd Generation

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 21st, 2012

I own two first generation Samsung SMART TV’s. They’re exactly alike. I’m describing the mid-range 40″ LED model that comes with built-in Internet capability (there’s a more affordable version that doesn’t come with Internet). It has all the bells and whistles of a modern day flat screen LED TV including 4 HDMI ports and one USB port, being 3D-ready, with Ethernet port (for wired Internet), 1080p + up-scaling and all that. I own two because one was a wedding present.

In the past 2 months, Samsung had given me a very in-depth look at the new line of SMART TV’s for 2012. And deep inside I felt really bad about the current one I have in the living room for a number of reasons. The following is a comparison between the 2011 SMART TV and the 2012 SMART TV line for those who are interested to invest in a unit. But before that, some notes:
(more…)

The Underwater Photographer

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 18th, 2012

An inside look how serious enthusiasts and pros endure the most arduous of conditions just to take that perfect underwater shot. Poisonous marine life, sweeping currents, unpredictable water visibility, limited bottom time juxtaposed high risk to expensive photo gear & self are just some of the variables which make underwater photography one of the most difficult yet highly rewarding branches of photography.

Photos and Video by Jun Lao.

I joined my first underwater photo competition last week. There were a total of 82 participants from the Philippines and beyond and it was a literal breath-taking experience. I did a total of 5 dives over the weeek end, two spent in San Agapito Reef with some of the strongest currents experienced by man. It was so strong, we had to abort one dive because we got swept away into the blue.

Silent LED Mutewatch sells for PHP 12,950

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 17th, 2012

It’s called the Mutewatch because it’s silent. No moving parts, everything digital. The Mutewatch reminds me of the Nike+ bands that got all-too popular because of the running craze back in 2008. I finally got my hands on one, thanks to the fine folks of Digits Trading and I’ve never been so excited to wear a watch. Because, well, I hate watches. This one is geeky, so it’s a different story.
(more…)

Diablo 3 Day I Pitstop: How’s your Internet Connection?

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 16th, 2012

If it’s one thing gamers will never compromise, it’s their Internet connection. The launch of Diablo III has prompted gamers around the country to scrutinize the quality of their Internet connectivity. As a fan myself, I really take these things seriously and no amount of marketing BS will convince me otherwise. The proof is in the pudding and it seems that not everyone is a chef.

This feedback is based on a number of qualitative feedback from friends and personal experience as well.

So far, it seems that Diablo 3 works fine with the following ISP’s

Wireless:
Smart (tethered) – I tether my MacBook with my iPhone 4s and get to play just fine
Globe (tethered) – I get to play with Rico of Technogra.ph (he tethers using a Samsung Galaxy S II)

Wired
PLDT – Generally good. I hopped into a number of games of friends and we’re rolling seamlessly.

On another note, one ISP stands out to be the provider to avoid for Diablo III:

Sky Broadband – Woes to Sky Broadband. They really dropped the ball on this one. I used to swear by Sky publicly as the best wired connection money can buy in the country. Service has dropped to a really poor rating in the past 2 months.

Brendan outlined it all here in a comment:

Hi there,

Many many emails to Skybroadband support center regarding Blizzard downloader P2P issues and unplayable in game experience with Diablo 3 (may be DNS, but may be that they have restricted Port 1119, which Diablo 3 uses) – to no avail.

Sky simply does not respond to queries and when you call them they tell you to send an email through to support center. Its a vicious circle.

Playing it on my friends PLDT connection works perfectly.

After 2 years with Sky, seems like PLDT really is the way to go.

- Brendan

As my cousin said, ” Pre-term fee for Sky is PHP 2,000.00, Diablo 3 is priceless. If it doesn’t work at 3Mbps, I’m dropping them for (insert ISP here).” Sorry Sky Broadband. I swore by your services. I really did. But sad gamer can’t compromise.

You know what’s most interesting? My wireless tethering is faster than my ethernet connection. Why, Sky, why? Note that I write this not to smear Sky’s reputation but 2 months of your IT support not knowing what the problem is makes for really bad service. Fans have waited for Diablo III for about a decade and we absolutely need to be online to play this (there is no offline mode). So you definitely should understand why gamers feel really bad about this and need to switch. We waited 9 years for Diablo III. We absolutely can’t wait for you.

To the others: how’s your gaming experience? Add me up: LOLMOWER#1648

Charge your smartphone wirelessly with the Powermat Wireless Charging Platform

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 16th, 2012

One commentary I always make about the smartphone industry is that there’s always a huge focus on making devices more and more responsive as time goes by. Every year, every smartphone is always “faster” or “lighter” or “thinner.” Screen technology is improving very fast from LCD to LED to AMOLED to Super AMOLED to Super AMOLED Plus. BUT — and that’s a big but: what about battery technology? Lithium ion and lithium polymer have been around since the 80′s and although there are improvements to how devices save battery life, there isn’t much on the forefront of next-generation battery technology. The near future is bright however, with graphene (wrote about that here as a thought piece on the iPad rumor) being looked at as the new wonder-element for semiconductors and battery technology.
(more…)

Stay a while and listen: The Diablo III Launch

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 14th, 2012

EDIT: In the finishing stretch of the installer, the devs change the color of the progress bar and go into minute details of how much longer it’s going to take. Brilliant. The anticipation!!!

—————–

At 8:01AM PDT servers around the world opened for the launch of Diablo III. But Blizzard really knows how to tease and the servers only unlock the installer, in time for the actual launch of the game which is sometime on the 15th of May PDT.

You know what’s better than trending on Twitter? Crashing a server. After the game unlocked, everyone got this error:

“ERROR: Unable to initialize streaming. Please check
your Internet connection. If this problem persists,
please contact Blizzard Techinical Support.
(CreateStreamingManifest::GetStreamingManifestContents)”

Looks like the seed hasn’t been uploaded yet. Or something. Or really there are just too many people.

This is the most in(tense) product launch ever. A launch I’ve been waiting for over a decade. Exciting!

So Kris Aquino endorses Nokia Lumia

Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at May 14th, 2012

When smartphones were not yet that “smart” Kris Aquino had already been using a Nokia (circa N95 days), which she would place on the coffee table during her talk shows. Back then, she wasn’t a real endorser but Nokia did take notice of this and voila, she’s now the new Nokia Lumia endorser!

The story above comes from Nikka Abes of Nokia Philippines.

Although the ad only shows the Lumia 610, 710 and 800, she is also the endorser of the flagship Lumia 900 which will be officially launched next week.

So my question to you is .. how do you feel about Kris Aquino being their new endorser?

To a number of IT folks, the idea may be unsettling as she’s obviously not tech-oriented but given Nokia and Microsoft’s strategy to push Windows Phone and the Lumia as devices for the highly untapped feature-phone oriented consumers, then the endorsement is spot on. If you’re already a heavy iOS user, you definitely won’t make the switch. Windows Phone is aimed towards non-smartphone users, so the advertorial is apt.