So I was browsing Ebay Philippines today and saw this.
Wow, PHP 2,000 pesos starting bid. All items will be donated to the environmental efforts of WWF Philippines.
Hope you got your Christmas bonuses early because the sale is already this December 11 and 12 2011!
As always, Microwarehouse has learned from all of the previous sales. Make sure you bring friends as usually, a lot of the items are buy 1 take 1 and it would be great to split the cost among others. The Macs go by really fast. If you’re looking for speakers, this is the best place to buy.
EDIT: Here’s a visual map of the LTE sites as of Dec 29 2011:
EDIT: Updated list of LTE sites from Smart Communications as of December 13 2011. Please click on the image for full size.
SMART is in the process of rolling out their LTE sites across the nation. I am one of the beta testers involved in this rollout alongside over 120 other civilians. The HUAWEI USB dongle that was provided gets speeds up to 46Mbps which is around half the speed of the proposed LTE Network of SMART Communications. LTE is hardware dependent so even if the network allows for above 70Mbps, the mobile phone or dongle you have will limit the speed. 46Mbps = 5.76MB / second.
This is a list of LTE sites for future reference. I will add to this based on the feedback of the beta test group and personal experiences. Note that this is only an initial list and does not reflect the commercial release of LTE in the Philippines.
List of confirmed LTE Sites in the Philippines
Boracay
Jump Store, Megamall (Cyberzone) — LTE connection is shared via WiFi
Greenbelt 3 (CBTL area)
Greenbelt 2 (Mary Grace area)
Greenbelt 1 (Bon Chon, Starbucks / AIM area)
Promenade, Greenhills (Figaro area)
Festival Mall, Filinvest
List of LTE sites being turned online
** does not reflect the final list of LTE coverage
Quezon City
Cubao
15th Ave Parc
Ateneo
magnolia
UP Diliman
Xavierville
Manila
Singalong
Manila P. Noval
UST
San Juan
Annapolis
PLDT Greenhills
Pasig
Ugong
Meralco Ortigas
Pasay City
SM Mall of Asia
Makati
Greenbelt
PLDT Wise Tower
RC Bldg Pico
VAR
Mandaluyong
Wack Wack
SM Megamall
Muntinlupa
Filinvest City
The telco industry is always exciting. And when the competitions exchange blows, there’s always the aftermath of awesomeness that, in the end, gives more choices to consumers. In the end, they win.
This is a photo of SmartNet running on iOS (Yes, the iPhone 4s now has Netphone capabilities). Way back in February, I talked about my trip to Barcelona and divulged the whole deal with SmartNet and the Netphone which is essentially Smart’s plans to turn itself into one big social network and make mobile Internet more affordable via smartphones. You, like me, might be thinking “Hey I already use mobile Internet on my phone!” but the truth of the matter is, the Twitter and Facebook we see everyday is one big bubble of the same social circles we have in real life. There are still millions of Filipinos who do not have Internet access but amazingly have found the first entry into cyberspace not from a computer, but from a phone. This credit is actually due to Nokia who sold many GPRS/EDGE-enabled phones in the last 5 years. And that’s the hole SmartNet tries to fill.
SmartNet is rather ubiquitous on Android right now — the 5.3″ version for the Samsung galaxy Note just came out. Another juicy development is that Smartnet is also coming to iOS5 via the iTunes store so that’s a lot of added value if you’re a Smart Subscriber. So the “grand plan” is showing signs barely a year into the Netphone project with Smart releasing the SmartNet platform for both Android and iOS, the top two smartphone platforms in the world. Other platforms coming.
Oh and this company I work with is pretty damn agressive. Just take a look at Social Mention:
Pre-order the iPhone 4s now with SMART. There’s a lot more added value with this telco. Plus the data network is much better.
Over 54 million views. These are the video statistics of the very first “Rickroll” video done in 2007 by YouTube user “Cotter548.” He recently did an “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit and the story, like most videos that went viral on the Internet were really just lucky accidents compounded with the right timing. In his case, it was a combination of the GTA IV release together with Family Guy picking up the steam. Have a read.