So I recently got myself a SUN prepaid kit. I had to. Let’s just say that a number of factors led to me finally spending P70.00 for a new SIM by recommendation of Kenna — figures she works for SUN — I had to get one for my blog to make it easier for people to contact me, whom I didn’t know personally.

The two three motivators were a series of seminars to be conducted for a non-profit group this coming Friday, a small social experiment with Jonas Diego, Fritz, Marcelle, Jeff and a few more bloggers for Axe (yes! the deodorant!). It’s a viral campaign they’re doing and I’m pretty hyped about it – the schedule is fit for a rockstar: invading three bars from 9 PM to 4 AM on Friday. I hope I can keep up with THE Fritz. And yeah, I opted to get a second SIM for this purpose, more for security reasons. Hyuk! My number is here.

Oh and yeah, the last motivator is really to find a SIM for my spare review phones. For the past couple of months I’ve been using my uMobile SIM for spare units. I mean why not, right? It’s the proper way to review telecommunications products without the hassle of swapping my SMART SIM (I’m on a BlackBerry consumer plan but the BlackBerry Pearl is still somewhere in Canada for repairs).

Confession time: I lost my uMobile SIM. Yep. Misplaced. Got blown away by the wind. Got sucked by the vacuum cleaner. Oh well. So I’m on SUN again (used to have a SUN SIM back in 2006 and boy the service was bad). I think everyone deserves second chances, albeit first impressions were not that happy – there’s no signal in my room. Between Globe, SMART and SUN, the latter has the weakest signal – no signal at all! On the upside it allowed me to do something really geeky and connect my phone via Bluetooth to the desktop and use the desktop SMS function that wirelessly transmits the message to the phone outside the room. Really unnecessary. But geeky though.

I’m reposting the Verzio Envii review I wrote a couple of months ago for MANUAL. Credit goes to MANUAL Magazine, July 2008 Issue. And might I add, it’s silly that I’m running my secondary line on a more advanced phone! Review after the break.

VERZIO ENVII REVIEW

Be the Envii of Societii
by Jayvee Fernandez

Ah Verzio, the new kid on the block for geek hardware. You might have seen the stores at the Bonifacio High Street and the Filinvest Festival Mall. If you managed to take a peek, you’d find their windows displaying a handy little Windows Mobile device – the Verzio Envii.

Without its logo, the Envii can easily be mistaken for an HTC or ETEN Windows Mobile device. But props to Verzio for coming up with a Windows Mobile 6 device that grips well. The problem with the design of most of these devices is the apparent lack of grip. But not only did Verzio address this, they were careful to design the device so it tucks well in our little Asian hands like a dry bar of soap.

The Envii is definitely top notch in the connectivity arena – not only does it have USB and Bluetooth options, but IrDA as well. Yes folks, infra-red is still a welcome addition in the Asian market despite its being phased out in the west. Wireless 802.11g LAN (WiFi) and HSDPA connectivity is also supported.

In terms of multimedia features, the Envii presents two additions to the table to complement Windows Mobile 6’s current offerings. These would be a dedicated FM Tuner application built into the device and the SRS WOW hardware package that allows for really loud and crisp audio. This is apparent with the huge stereo speakers located alongside the front hardware buttons.

The Envii comes bundled with a Verzio software package. One of the more notable software hacks they bundled is the Flick Dynamic Menu that installs to your System Preferences. This basically gives the Envii a Today screen similar to the HTC Touch, allowing you to scroll through active applications, screen rotation, an iPhone-like menu view of all your apps, and phone lock feature with the flick of your thumb. Overall, the Flick Dynamic Menu isn’t something to write home about as it has some problems recognizing finger gestures coupled with some UI lag issues.

If you’re a Mac user, the Envii, though new, syncs fine with The Missing Sync which was a pleasant surprise.

Bottomline
The Verzio Envii is overall a decent device that’s priced pretty well. It’s got most of the features consumers want sans GPS which really, isn’t that useful for our local city traffic rules. Just make sure you pack an extra charge of battery somewhere or keep it docked in your USB charger when idle.