December 2007 Archives

If you’re not yet fully aware of it, the Asus Eee PC is already available locally and to add to the festivities, a bundle of more vibrant and colorful options are now also available for your picking. Unfortunately, the more lively-colored models are a bit less featured with the removal of the webcam and inclusion of a less powerful battery then the standard package. It’s priced a tad lower than the original white and black models, but I’m not sure if the savings you’re getting is actually worth it. If you want to check out the Eee PC models for yourself, head on over to Portable1 in Bonifacio High Street in the Fort in Taguig City where they have a bundle of units displayed for your tempting pleasure. If you're already sold on the idea of getting one, PC Corner offers free delivery within the Philippines .

You’ve probably seen it on TV and in the newspaper, but what’s the real lowdown on the Smart Bro portable internet kit? It’s actually a USB modem which allows Smart Bro subscribers to easily connect to the internet wherever, whenever. Great, but the downside to it is that speeds will only range from 384 to 768 Kbps which is pretty decent, but I doubt you’ll be getting the top speed most of the time as the standard fixed routers even fail at doing so even up to now. Another thing to note about this latest offering from Smart is that it is only available under Smart Bro Plan 799 which allows for 40 hours of usage per month. A P 10 charge will be incurred for every 30 minute block in excess of the 40 hours is used. Users will also be billed a one-time charge of P 1,999 for the modem. While all these maybe in its initial stages with further modifications (availability to other plan users, speed range limitation) being done later on, it now begs the question, with free Wifi slowly gaining popularity all over the metro, how successful can this alternative be? Well, quite honestly, its success will largely depend on the consistency of the signal strength and availability of the service in all parts of the nation as this will be the ace up its sleeve against Wifi. But then again, what’s a fixed monthly plan compared to free internet? I’ll let you be the judge of this showdown.

Here’s a little heads up for you guys who want to make the most of your new Nokia 5310.   The JBL On Call is a portable sound solution that’s made specifically for your 5310 XpressMusic phone with a dock that snuggly fits your mobile device. Carrying JBL’s signature sleek design, the On Call has two Odyssey neodymium drivers with a maximum of 3 Watts per channel. This is obviously no Bose Soundock or an Altec Lansing iM7, but its 4.5- x 2.5- x 7-inch size makes it a very portable add-on to your mini music machine. It is also compatible with other media players via its built-in input ports. It’s estimated to cost around P 5000+ which makes it a very decent buy for its reasonable price tag. So if you're one of the fortunate ones not experiencing problems with their Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone and is on the hunt for the latest peripherals to enhance your music experience, then this baby is one of the things to look out for in 2008.

  It looks like the Open Handset Alliance’s pilot project has hit a snag on the road to its final conception. Ars Technica reports that many programmers are experiencing problems with bugs in the Android and is further hampered with the lack of a public issue-tracking system which allows for easy monitoring of reported bugs and resolutions that have be done to address it. A comprehensive documentation of the OS is also sorely missing which leaves room for a lot of guess work and wasted time.  However, the Android does have its strong points and the author still believes that it is a viable and effective platform for application development. So don't go thinking that it's a complete waste because it's not. Remember, it's still a developing OS. Unfortunately, despite this welcome optimism, one can't deny the fact that these problems are surely making a mess out of the over-all timetable of the Android’s final release. I guess the Alliance, more specifically the Android Team, has got their work cut out for them. Don't worry, you can do it!

  This could have possibly been the cover of Time magazine for this year, but unfortunately the iPhone is not a person so its automatically disqualified. Nevertheless, Apple’s first mobile communications device didn’t fail to impress the people at Time reaping awards such as Invention of the Year and Gadget of the Year in their year-ender issue. Who could blame them? 2007 seems to be the year of the iPhone whether we like it or not. The first half of the year before it was released, everyone was abuzz guessing how it would look like and what features it will have. After it became available to the public, people couldn’t stop talking about its capabilities (both pros and cons) and how it can be unlocked for more flexibility in usage, both network- and application-wise. We also saw the onslaught of the iPhone clones which, nevertheless, diverted the discussion back to the original device. So I guess it safe to say that 2007 has been a merry and joyous year for Steve and Apple, and hopefully (keep our fingers crossed) that next year, we can share it the merry-making as well. Merry Christmas everyone and have a very techie holiday season.

Rumor or fact?

 

Well, anything’s possible at this time as this is just a teaser/spy shot of what could possibly be the next line of phones from Motorola. From what we gather, it might carry the MotoZINE name that will represent its new multimedia phone series. Accoring to unwiredview, the Z12, a 5-megapizel shooter in collaboration with Kodak, is expected to be released in the 1^st quarter of 2008. There's still some confusion as to its form factor, but that’s the least of our worries. What we’re really looking forward to is its performance in the imaging category since Nokia, Samsung and LG have all released their own 5-megapixel camphones already. I’d say it’s about time Motorola joined in the mega-megapixel shoot out, but we still have to wait for a few more months before we get the final low down on this phone.

Bummer.

Giving us a glimpse in to the future, Electronicsweekly reported that Intel has developed a single chip that can handle Wifi, WiMax and DVB-H signals. Measuring a mere 24mm2 overall size and consumes 79mW of power in receive mode at 52Mbit/s and 72mW in transmit mode, this is one small but terrible chip. Aided by software, this single chip can switch from Wifi to WiMax instantly and is capable of accessing DVB-H singals for entertainment on the go. With the development of such hardware, manufacturers can lessen the number of devices to handle each protocol individually with a do-it-all chip such as this which will pave the way for more compact and portable devices that can keep you connected wherever, whenever. This is still in the development stages and it might take a few more years (or months) before it goes into production as WiMax and DVB-H hasn’t become standard yet all over the world, but I wouldn’t mind if it comes out next year as 2008 is looking to be the birth year of WiMax and the battleground of DVB-H in our country .

According to CNET News, the next iteration of Windows may include touch features which will make it compete on even ground with Apple’s iPhone. A no-brainer actually, but with brave predictions coming from Hilton Locke, test engineer on the Table PC team, proudly saying that “if you are impressed by the ‘touch features’ in the iPhone, you’ll be blown away by what’s coming in Windows 7,” one will begin to expect great things. Wait, isn’t that what they said about Vista? Anyway, no exact details as to when and how this will pan out in the near future, and the only sure thing (for now) is that it will fall under the OS named Windows 7. So far now, take this news with a grain of salt until the guys at Microsoft are able to produce at the very least a working demo such as the Surface PC to generate at least an ounce of wow from the public.

We’re all familiar with card readers as they have become a necessity of the ever-changing times. From 3-in-1 to 5-in-1, there are a variety of card readers that are available now that are either built-in to laptops or external add-on devices, but with the latest release by Kingston, it seems that you’ll just need one card reader to solve all your flash card dilemmas. The Kingston 23-in-1 Media Reader supports almost every media card format known to man. From microSD to MMCmicro to Compact Flash and Memory Stick Micro, this nifty peripheral is a do-it-all wonder. So say goodbye to those adaptors that only add junk to your amassing pile of gadgetry and say hello to your new best friend, the Kingston Media Reader. Gizmodo has a quick review on it and for the price and functionality it offers, it's seems like a pretty decent buy. It might not yet be available locally so just consider this as a heads up for you to watch out for this baby then next time you head out to your local tech shop.

As the year comes to a close, we can’t help but look back and come up with our own summation of how the year faired so far. In a similar move, PC World has come out with their 15 Biggest Tech Disappointments for 2007 where landing at no. 1 isn't necessarily prestigious. So, out of the small but terrible list of 15, who grabbed the top spot? Microsft’s Windows Vista is number one. Rounding out the top 5 is the iPhone (5), Yahoo (4), Facebook Beacon (3) and at second place is the Blu-ray vs. HD War. So more or less you get the feel that the countdown wasn’t completely biased considering that while many feel that the iPhone was a huge success, it still managed to make it to the no. 5 spot. Why was Vista chosen to be no. 1 out of all the other hopefuls? Probably because of the very same reason why many users still prefer XP over the latest OS with some current Vista users even switching back to its predecessor. Well, at least in this tally, Microsoft finally edged out Apple for the top spot.

For those who missed out on all the great bargains and festivities at the one-day only sale of Microwarehouse, we’re happy to announce that Ynzal, a premiere retailer and service center for Apple products, will also be having their annual inventory sale starting today up until Wednesday. So if you’ve always wanted to own a Mac but was turned off by its steep price, now is the best time to get one. Ynzal is located at 25 Scout Rallos Street, Quezon City. To view a map of the location, click here.  If you’re a current Mac owner and don’t know what to do with your outdated system, they also offer trade-in discounts and sell 2^nd hand items at very reasonable prices as well. So, head on over to Ynzal and see what great items your money can buy for you or your loved one this holiday season.

Here’s a another bit of news for PSP owners. The buzz around the net is that Sony Japan will be releasing firmware 3.80  on December 18 which will bring enhancements such as streaming Internet Radio player, Video scene search and RSS support for OPML and pictures.   It will also allow digital video recording for those using the 1-Seg tuner which, unfortunately, doesn’t work outside Japan. While many of these features don’t really translate to improved game play, it does, however, provide the premiere portable game console of Sony some added features which might lure the novice gamer into choosing it over its Nintendo counterpart. For current PSP fanboys who don’t mind giving up the liberty of playing home-brew applications, check out this latest firmware to keep your console up-to-date with the latest features.

The much awaited Asus Eee PC is finally available at a very tempting price of (roughly) P17000, depending of course where you buy it. At such a low price, one would wonder, is it the best laptop out there?    Well, let’s just say the Eee is not for everyone. Its storage capacity is limited to only 4 GB, which is further reduced by the Linux OS to a little more than 1 GB. It doesn’t come with an optical drive, but comes with Wi-Fi for connectivity. So, aside from the price, what’s good about the Eee PC? It’s fast and comes bundled with the basic applications one will more or less need. It’s a great for those who want the form factor of a laptop with great connectivity at a very portable size. It’s great for word processing and surfing the net, but don’t think of using it as a gaming machine. It's a great secondary mobile computer that won't break your budget or your shoulder after a whole day of lugging it around. For more views and insights on the Eee PC, check out NoypEee, a blog dedicated to this uber affordable laptop made by Mobile’s very own Bernie Janda.

Trying to add more value to their portable gaming console, Sony is apparently drumming up the idea of providing direct-to-PSP downloads. As every PSP gamer knows, the built-in Wi-Fi feature of the console has been there from the very beginning, but it is only recently that users can now access the Playstation store directly without a PS3. Themes, videos and music are pretty nice, but what will really put a nice grin on every gamer’s face would be the ability to download games direct to the console. Apparently, they are already testing a working model for the system, but some security issues are still being ironed out before it goes it to full swing. With the PSP being totally man-handled by the DS Lite, it would be nice to see how consumers take new service into account when purchasing their next portable gaming device.

Looks like Nokia’s pretty serious about going into the music biz as they have recently announced that they will be giving away free music to go along with their multimedia handsets. Initially, this service was thought to be one and the same as the one being offered by Universal Music which gives users one year free subscription, but official word from the Finnish company denied such rumors. Based on what Universal is offering, an individual gets a year of free music downloads, but is DRM protected which limits the usage to the particular Nokia device. It also states that if a user does not cancel the subscription after one year, he/she will be charged from then on. Nokia refutes early linkage between their free music and Universal, but they, however, do not give further details as to what they free music service is all about. Well, I guess will just have to wait and see come mid 2008 when it’s set to go full steam ahead.

In the US, they have the well known Black Friday/Thanksgiving Sale for the best bargains on gadgets. Here in the Philippines, we have the Microwarehouse Sale.  Microwarehouse is a leading distributor of well known gadget brands such as Palm, Apple, HP and many more. They will be holding their year-end sale on December 15, 2007 from 12 noon until 12 midnight. With amazing discounts that makes braving the metro traffic worth it, this sale has become a regular event gadget-junkies and techies look forward to. So head on over to the 2^nd level of the Silver City Automall Frontera Verde Drive, Julia Vargas cor. E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave, Pasig City and get the best deals money can buy. Just be sure to be there early as most of the best bargains are usually sold out instantly.

  Mark Wilson of Gizmodo recently gave his two cents on why Sony’s PSP will never beat Nintendo’s mighty DS. He points out that while the PSP Slim enjoys its latest achievement of selling 2 million units in its first two months, the DS Lite has been a consistent top seller since 2005 with shops selling it like pancakes internationally. Total head-to-head sales of both mobile consoles clearly show the dominance of the DS over the PSP with Nintendo’s 40 million as opposed to Sony’s 25 million. But what most consumers fail to realize (or maybe not) is the fact that these two companies have different approaches to the gaming industry. Aside from the price difference between the consoles from the two opposing camps and games, they also approach console development in different ways. Sony tries to enhance the gaming experience with  astounding graphics. Nintendo, on the other hand, tries to provide consumers with a whole new way of playing games with such innovations as the Wii and the dual-screened DS. This, to me, is the biggest distinction between the PSP and DS Lite which translates into the discrepancy in their sales. How about you guys, which one do you think is really the king of mobile gaming?

Look like Windows Mobile is joining the update bandwagon as The Boy Genius points out that the latest smartphone from Motorola, the Q9, comes loaded with version 6.1. Tons of screenshots are available at Boy Genius Reports for a sneak peak before it reaches our shores, but aside from the eye candy, it does include some functional updates as well. Copy/paste is finally available and a Domain Enroll settings for easy connection to company resources is included. These are only some of the more notable new features in this latest iteration of Windows Mobile, but I guess what will really stands out the most is the new transparency effect which is reminiscent of Vista. So far, the Moto Q9 is the only device known to be pre-loaded with Windows Mobile 6.1, but let’s keep a close eye on other brands such as HTC/Dopod and O2 as it seems that this latest Mobile OS is flying under the radar for a very discrete entry into the market.

With fashion stalwarts such as Prada and Dolce & Gabana already having their own mobile phone models available in the market, another icon is set to enter the fray. Tag Heuer has made an announcement that they are already designing a luxury cellphone that will mark their entry into the mobile phone industry. We’re not sure if it will indeed look like the mock-up model illustrated above, but we know this much, it's going to be designed by ModeLabs and is expected to be launched hopefully in the 1^st quarter of 2008. It will be a completely new design and not some re-fashioned model such as those that were released by Motorola and LG. The trademark stainless steel of Tag Heuer is expected to be an integral part of the design so that at first glance, you’ll know already know that it’s a Tag. Whether the design presented above is anywhere near the final product or not, we’re pretty psyched about this one as we have been long-standing fans of Tag Heuer’s classic and elegant design. Their latest eandevor, hopefully, won't dissapoint loyal patrons.

P assionate R esourceful I nnovative D ynamic E thical It takes a lot of good and reliable personalities to make all HIP titles a very strong brand with a good following. It's about talking to our readers in a clear voice and making them feel that we have indeed met their needs and wants. It's about being proud of what we've got: talent, skills, experience, drive, the works.Yes, it takes a lot of PRIDE, and we've got tons of that. Are you interested in charting a career with a talented and dynamic group of young individuals? Bookmark this page for updates in job openings. You can also send your resume and portfolio to info at hip dot ph. CURRENT OPENINGS as of November 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE HIRING Interested applicants may email their resumes to hrd_at_hip.ph or bring their resumé, two (2) 2x2 photos, Transcript of Records, and any valid I.D. to our office at Unit 330, Mile Long Building, Amorsolo corner Javier Streets, Makati City, from Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Tel. Nos.: 759-2284, 759-2024, 840-0196, 813-6848 Interactive Manager Qualifications: - A graduate of a 4-year communications course (or related degree) from UP, UST, Ateneo, La Salle or UA&P. - Between 23 to 32 years old. - Equipped with exceptional communication skills in both written and spoken English and Filipino. - Organized, resourceful and creative. - Willing to work overtime - Preferably with experience in digital content production and distribution. Web Administrator Assistant/Encoder Qualifications: - Knowledgeable in HTML - Knowledgeable in PHP (programming language) - Knowledgeable in Linux-based systems (server-side programming) - Must be able to install and update online PHP programs such as Wordpress (blog software) and PHPBB (forum software) - First-hand experience in creating websites is a plus (personal page or otherwise) - Basic Adobe Photoshop skills Graphic Artists Qualifications: - College graduate of a computer and/or designing course. Preferably with publication layout background. - Exceptional designing skils - Organized, resourceful, creative - Willing to work overtime and thrives under pressure. Marketing Assistant Qualifications: - College Graduate, Major in Marketing, Advertising, or Mass Communication. - Knowledge on marketing concepts. - Proficiency in basic computer operations (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) - Knowledge of basic design software applications an advantage. (Photoshop, InDesign) - Excellent communication, presentation, writing, interpersonal, analytical, planning, and organization skills. Account Executives Qualifications: - At least College Level, preferably with background in Marketing, Sales or any Business course. - Highly motivated, a team player, with good communication, negotiation and presentation skills, thrives under pressure and can work with minimal supervision. - Applicants must be willing to work in Makati City and do field work. - Preferably has at least 1 year experience in Corporate Sales/Advertising/Publication. Circulation Manager Qualifications: - College Graduate, Major in Management, Economics or Marketing. - Preferably with at least five (5) years experience in Circulation with three (3) years managerial experience. - Knowledge in product, price, distribution and promotion strategies. - Proficiency in basic computer operations (Word, Excel, Powerpoint). - Excellent communication, presentation, writing, interpersonal, analytical, planning, and organization skills.

Aside from Intel compatibility, Office 2008 for Mac is shaping up to be quite an office suite to look out for next year. It will feature the ability to export PowerPoint presentation to an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPod video/classic via iPhoto so you can bring it with you in your ultra sleek, compact devices.  You can view the contents instantly on the iPhone/iPods screen or hook it up to a TV and make use of its TV-out for a full blown presentation anywhere, anytime. Of course, there are limitations to it.  The presentation will only be exported as a series of pictures and not video so don't expect it to be as good as your original animated file. Controlling the presentation won’t be as easy as using your Macbook Pro, but hey, it doesn't get more portable than iPhone or an iPod video. Office 208 is expected to be unveiled in January at MacWorld. Read the full story at PC World.

In the middle of this year, we reported the status of Apple in terms of their dedication to making the planet a greener place to live in. Now, as the year closes, Greenpeace has released their latest ranking of companies in the green race.

 

Apple has improved and is now above the half way mark, and it’s apparent that while Nokia maybe leading insales department, Sony Ericsson and Samsung are the one leading in the green category. Microsoft, on the other hand, is third to last with lowly Nintendo being at solo last place.

So does this mean Nintendo hates the Earth?  Not entirely so. They got a zero rating for not disclosing their plans on going green so the environmental group had no choice but to flunk them. Greenpeace based their rankings on the companies decision to use non-toxic materials in their products, and coming up with take-back plans and recycling progrma to rid of existing units that contain hazardous materials.

 Stay tuned in 2008 (hopefully) to see who gets to reach the green finish line first in this amazing race!