i-DiveSite Waterproof Case for iPhone 4/4s only PHP 5,999
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at February 18th, 2013
Back up to a year ago and I reviewed the Patima iPhone 4/4s housing which set a diver back by around PHP 15,000.00. Today, LMK Commercial has brought in iDiveSite’s own SCUBA case for the iPhone and it is only a third of the cost and highly justifiable.
What’s comforting is that iDiveSite has provided a downloadable app that bypasses the ever-changing lock screen of the housing. Underwater, you can’t swipe to unlock.
Depth Rating: 50 meters
Controls: 3 Buttons and home button
Software: Dedicated App for housing
Functions: Switch between video and stills, activate sleep mode, activate any button
Lens Mount: M32 – ready for wide angle and macro wet lenses
Colors: White, black, green, orange, magenta and blue
In terms of build quality I really am not sure how the material holds up with all the pressure but since the iPhone case itself is small, it should be leak proof. I hope!
Address: Unit 11 2nd Floor Maga Centre, Paseo de Magallanes, San Antonio St., Brgy. Magallanes, 1232 Makati
From MRT EDSA Taft Station, take any jeepney and get off at Paseo de Magallanes. LMK is the white building with Dayrits and Union Bank on the ground floor. It is near Koi Village.
Google releases Google Maps App for iOS
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at December 13th, 2012
It’s no secret that ever since Apple removed the native Maps app powered by Google with the previous version of iOS, users went clamoring back for it. Apple’s Maps replacement for iOS 6 wasn’t so great — in fact it even led to people getting lost in the wilderness in Australia by providing bad directions.
Well, that nightmare is over now as Google has released an official Google Maps app for iOS 6. Thing is, it is only available in the US store as of late so if you have a PH account, the app won’t show up in the store.
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PowerMat for iPhone 4s sells for PHP 3,490.00
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at July 4th, 2012
I want to make something clear: the PowerMat is not a portable charging solution like the BoostCase or any other portable battery packs you find in the market. Many people seem to misconstrue its function, most likely due to the wording of the product — it has the word “Power” in it.
So what is it? The PowerMat ecosystem allows you to charge your devices (almost) without the need of a cable. I keep a PowerMat charging system for my iPhone at home and a wider PowerMat system for Android / iPhone in the office. Buying into this ecosystem implies a mindset that you will need to dock your phone in places you frequent to keep your gadgets fully charged. Since the docks don’t require cables, dropping your gadgets into these “outlets” are second nature.
Now assume everyone in the office or in your household had an Android device, a BlackBerry or an iPhone. Everyone could simply share one or two PowerMats to keep their devices charged.
Pricing:
PowerMat with Powercube PHP 3,990.00
PowerMat for iPhone 4/4s PHP 3,490.00
Buy now: Piso Sale for iPhone 4 and iPhone 3Gs from SMART Communications
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at June 20th, 2012
The iPhone 4 and iPhone 3Gs are going on sale for only P1.00 for every new postpaid subscriber / contract renewal. This promo is available from June 18 to 25 2012.
If you’re not really a big fan of Siri or an ultra-fab camera, this new promo from SMART is tough to resist.
With every postpaid application or contract renewal from June 18 to 25, 2012, both new and existing Smart All-In Plan 1800 subscribers can purchase the premium Apple iPhone 4, the business-centric Nokia E7, or the entertainment-savvy Samsung Galaxy Tab P7500 for the price of a piece of candy.
Similarly, Smart All-In Plan 1200 subscribers can take home the stylish Apple iPhone 3GS and the robust Nokia E5 for the same price while All-In Plan 800 subscribers can have their pick between the elegant Nokia N9 (16/64GB) or a functional Netbook PC.
For more details head on to your nearest SMART store to inquire.
#$ I am a consultant of SMART Communications
Smart expands ‘Piso Sale’ lineup
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!
Boostcase doubles iPhone 4 / 4s battery life in a most elegant fashion
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at February 23rd, 2012
OK guys, if you’re reading this post it means that you most probably own a sexy iPhone 4 or 4s. You’ve made love to it, cradled it in your pocket for days, and have sworn everything to it. You tell everyone how beautiful a phone you have and yes you can even take it underwater. But, deep down, there is this one dark secret that you feel embarrassed about and it becomes a frustration which you try to justify every day: that your iPhone 4s has really crappy battery life. Take it out at 9AM and you’re down to 50% battery after lunch. Sucks doesn’t it?
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Ticket to Ride (Pocket) is FREE today. Get it, quick!
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at February 9th, 2012
If you’re a big fan of board games and own an iOS device, I highly suggest you download Ticket to Ride Pocket (that’s the iPhone version) because it’s free. Ticket to Ride is one of the best selling board games in recent history and the port to the iOS is just plain amazing. You know it’s a good game when you consistently see 5-star ratings in the comments section.
If you’re not into board games, I still suggest you pick it up because it’s not at all pretentious and rather easy to pick up for the family.
Ticket to Ride [FREE DOWNLOAD]
SMART Communications to offer iPhone 4S by end 2011
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at November 9th, 2011
The Inquirer reported this evening that SMART Communications would be offering the new Apple iPhone 4S come end of 2011.
Quote:
MANILA, Philippines—Wireless telecommunications giant Smart Communications is set to heat up competition in the offering of telco services bundled with Apple products with the rollout of Apple’s game-changing smartphone iPhone to premium subscribers within this year.
Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of Smart’s parent firm Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., confirmed that Smart was in talks with Apple to launch the latest version of the iPhone—iPhone4S—before yearend.
Similar to what happened to bigger markets like the United States, Germany and Canada, consumer electronics giant Apple has abandoned the regime of exclusive iPhone distribution.
With the lapse of the exclusivity deal with Globe Telecom, the original iPhone official carrier in the Philippines, Smart is now getting ready to launch iPhone4S as well.
[source]
The article also mentions the possibility to bring in Apple iPad tablets with data plans.
It seems that a Twitter hashtag campaign has started called #smartiphone. You can try to follow this for more developments. This development is rather interesting as SMART has already cornered exclusivity deals with HTC for their Android phones. WIth the iPhone 4S deal, has SMART locked in the smartphone business for both Android and iOS?
Aside: During the launch of the Netphone 701 and SmartNet platform at the Jump store, one of the execs did hint of being in talks with Apple for something related to smartphones. It seems like the cat is out of the bag. Are we going to see a SmartNet app pretty soon on the iTunes Store?
[N.B. There is a general disclosure on my blog's about page on who I work / consult for.]
What a GENIUS this iTunes 8!
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at September 10th, 2008
So along with the hot iPods, iTunes released the new Genius feature for iTunes 8.0 that does two things. First, the new version allows you to make on-the-fly playlists based on one song that you choose. The choice is heavily dependent on the genre, artist and I even think it has something to do with the cadence of the song. iTunes chooses similar beat counts for that playlist.
The second part of Genius is the iTunes recommendations sidebar, which is their monetization model. When you’re playing songs, iTunes can recommend songs from their library which you can click to purchase. It isn’t available in the Philippines, sadly (see first image).
The Genius concept is not new. Online services such as Last.FM and Pandora have implemented this related playlist scheme for quite some time. Of course, sometimes you get really off recommendations.
I tried a few playlist creations based on KENNY LOGGINS, JAMIROQUAI and RICK ASTLEY and got pretty good results (hmm there are one or two out of place songs, but hey, sometimes Geniuses make mistakes too!). The first song in the 25 song countdown is where all the songs are based from.
Share your Genius Playlist Mix? 
P.S. And yes, I listen to BARRY MANILOW, OK? Mandy, FTW.
One of those realities …
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at June 10th, 2008So hit me in the head. Here’s the listing of countries for the iPhone launch. The top screen actually says June 11 2008. This is the list for “coming soon.” See anything we like?
iPhone 3G: $199.00 for 8GB
Posted by Jayvee Fernandez at June 10th, 2008
The second coming of the Jesus Phone is nigh. Just moments ago, Steve unveiled the iPhone 3G at the WWDC 2008 conference. I managed to do a Live Plurk of the event. You can click the link to see my comments and some responses. I also have an initial post up at Cellphone9 for the coverage. Nothing fancy. More of a first impressions look. As a follow up I also wrote a piece on what a $199.00 iPhone does to the cellphone industry.
With Windows Mobile devices costing in the close $600.00 and above, what happens when the world’s most talked about phone get a huge price cut by half? What happens when the world’s most talked about phone acquires Microsoft ActiveSync and Exchange and push email? What happens when it acquires GPS and maps as well? All for the price of an entry-level phone from Nokia or Samsung.
Regarding the latter, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Overall, a lot of the new services announced won’t make huge waves in the Philippines. But the price point of the new and improved iPhone will. At less than P10,000.00 the 8GB iPhone will probably kill most of the competition. That is, if people don’t start charging more for unlocking it
