The Samsung Note 8 retails at PHP 23,990.00 for the 3G version. The LTE version is not available in the Philippines. If you are looking for a deal, the Note 8 is available for free on PLAN 1699 on SUN Cellular and it comes with a FREESamsung Galaxy S3 mini smartphone!
I got to sit down at a quaint dinner as the reps from Samsung ran me through their new baby, the Samsung Note 8. It’s quite obvious where Samsung gets their inspiration (having been an Apple OEM) and as a market leader and Android poster boy in the smartphone and tablet segment, competition with Apple is stiff. The Samsung Note 8 borrows much from two predecessors — the love child between the Tab 10.1 and the Galaxy Note producing an offspring that’s wee-in between the size of both devices and retaining the S-pen. In a nutshell, the Note 8 is an enlarged Note II (or a smaller Tab 10.1).
BRAVEN. I love this word. This is because it sounds like one of my favorite descriptors in the English language — the adjective ‘brazen’ which meant ‘without fear or shame.’ And perhaps this descriptor is apt as a brand name for hands down, the most impressive rugged portable speaker system I have encountered.
Many brands take portability to the next level by displaying a line of speakers that’s centered more on portability than function and with this norm dominating the ‘casual’ speaker scene, this is something completely different. The BRAVEN’s BRV-1 is king of the hill of portable speakers: rugged, light, wireless, splash-proof and wow, the sound (WOW!). I was completely blown away when I first turned it on in my living room: 6 watts of booming audio filled the space. None of that rickety audio that seems like it’s coming out of a tin can: Full bass, full mids and great highs. The BRV-1 is about the size of a DSLR (body only) giving it enough oomph for the bass to tremble.
Trading jokes and getting into never-ending kulitan. Quoting songs and exchanging pick-up lines. Sharing comments about the weather or passing around traffic updates. Asking obvious questions or giving practical answers. There are millions of stories we share everyday plus the countless ‘good mornings’ and ‘goodnights.’ That’s what’s unique about us, Filipinos; we always have something to say and we always find the right words to utter –to a friend you hangout with almost everyday, to your family whom you only see in reunions, to someone special you can’t get enough of, or even to the stranger you met on the street. We always have reasons for small talk. And for more than 12 years, we are happy that Chikka has been part of the lives of millions; bringing Filipinos from different parts of the world together. Small talk, after all, is the nature of the messages that Chikka sends every day. So here’s to many more small talks and to those special moments when small talk says it all.
OK but seriously know, before the trendy word “startup” a small company known as Chikka was one of the more visible tech startups of the past decade. They’re more known for the Chikka app that everyone used when the lifeblood of SMS was too expensive. Today, Chikka has realized the startup dream, having been bought out by SMART Communications several years ago.
Check the multiplatform Chikka app on Android, iOS, Facebook, Windows and Google Chrome extension.
Watching this ad brings strong feelings of nostalgia and a bucketful of sadness. I’m stunned by the powerful emotions that a computer rendition of her can bring to the table. Wow.
I’m so pumped for this. Last year, while helping out some of the PLDT Telpad guys for a project, they mentioned that they would be bringing in some sort of “Netflix-like” service. For those unfamiliar, Netflix is an on-demand online video streaming service in the US. It used to be that videos were delivered via physical discs to your home address but since the Internet has been blowing our minds with better speeds as the years pass, bandwidth became the main delivery method.
I was excited!
Fast forward to 2013 and I get invited to lunch with Sherwin dela Cruz, a fellow geek I had met during the Samsung-Tradeport partnership for the Blupass movie delivery service. Finally, we have our very own on-demand movie streaming service in the Philippines and for PHP 60.00 per movie, this is very competitive vs piracy.
Here are the details:
The streaming service is at ClickPlay.PH. They charge PHP 60.00 for movies. Some titles will be pegged at a higher cost.
Right now they have about 70++ titles which will be bumped up to 200++ in the following months. Regarding movies and series availability, this has to do more with the big TV networks abroad making the content available locally. I give my hats off to the folks at ClickPlay for being able to continuously negotiate for more and more titles, making them available at even cheaper rates compared to iTunes. This is no easy feat.
As of now, payment options include Paypal and credit card. More easy-access options available soon. They just launched.
For now you will be able to access the HTML5 site and stream. You will need Microsoft Silverlight (this is a DRM issue with the networks). The apps for mobile are coming. Once you rent a title, you will need to watch it within 30 days. From the moment you start watching, you can play it an unlimited number of times for 48 hours.
There is a subscription model coming soon. In the meantime, if you are a PLDT Fibr subscriber, you can avail of the packages for free! Here they are:
8mbps -3 movies per month
20mbps -4 movies per month
50mbps -10 movies per month
100mbps -20 movies per month
All existing customers come pre-registered (using their account# and telephone # as the username and password). This is valid till March 31, 2013.
