Whoa! Windows Phone 8 for less that P10,000? Nice! Last week, Microsoft Philippines together with HUAWEI unveiled a sub-10k smartphone running on the latest Windows Phone 8 operating system. Historically, there have been other Windows Phone devices that have been released for less than P10,000 yet cannot be upgraded to the latest OS.
Here are the specs:
480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches
5 MP, 2592Ñ…1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Qualcomm MSM8230 Snapdragon
Dual-core 1.2 GHz Krait with Adreno 305 GPU
microSD expansion up to 32 GB
Internal 4GB storage with 512MB RAM
I laud Jollibee for being the first retailer pushing for fast adoption of NFC technology in the Philippines.
Geeky Explanation: (warning, nosebleed)
NFC stands for “Near Field Communication” and is a prevalent piece of technology similar to Bluetooth or QR codes and is based on the current RFID technology. The difference is that the “near field” in NFC means that as soon as you point your device (in this case a card) to the kiosk sensor within 4 centimeters, the “tag” is recorded. The not-so-recent Android 2.3 Gingerbread upgrade enables NFC for several of their models like the Samsung Galaxy S II.
Non-Geeky Explanation:
Your mobile phone (or any device with NFC) is now a debit card.
The HappyPlus Card seems to be Jollibee’s way to condition the minds of Filipinos to adopt NFC as a part of their daily lives. This is a bridge. It is no secret that the final product will be to use NFC-enabled smartphones (many Android devices already have it built in but aren’t being used by Pinoys) but the cards are a good way of pushing the market to familiarize with this tech. Essentially, it’s something Filipinos have been doing for a while, claiming rewards points with their load, using Passa Load services, etc. Jollibee’s move makes sense as they already have staked their claim in a mobile app for smartphones (aka Netphone).
The service will be available starting January 23 2012. The card itself will cost PHP 100.00 and will enable rewards points to accumulate. You can use the points to purchase from Jollibee, Chowking, Red Ribbon, Greenwich and soon, Mang Inasal. In essence, NFC eventually replaces the CBTL Swirl Cards and SM Advantage cards we have come to love.
Current Phones that support NFC:
Android
Nexus S
Google Nexus S 4G
Samsung Galaxy S II (not all versions)
Samsung Galaxy Note (not all versions)
Galaxy Nexus
The iPhone does not officially support NFC technology.
2012 is the year NFC will be introduced and will grow. Smart has started pushing it as well for bazaar entrances. You can use your smartphone (w/ NFC) to enter bazaars. Who knows what’s next? Concert tickets? MRT tickets? Endless!
N.B. You can pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S II by following these instructions. Retail price is PHP 29,990. Discounted price is PHP 26,990.
For the past three weeks I’ve been playing with both the prototype and the actual unit of Samsung’s lastest Android gem, the Galaxy S II. I first got to hold the device back in Mobile World Congress ’11 in Barcelona and it is, without doubt, the most highly anticipated smartphone in the Android universe because it’s simply mind blowing.
This phone deserves to be reviewed from two perspectives: (1) as the successor to the first Samsung Galaxy S which was also highly popular and (2) from the perspective of an Android device and how it compares to the competition.
