August 2007 Archives

NOPE, this isn't sci-fi -- this is the latest version of the Honda ASIMO (Advan ced Step in Innovative Mobility) humanoid robot. This cool robot can run at speeds of nearly four miles per hour. The all-new A SIMO became part of Disneyland's Innoventions attraction starting August 29. Photo courtesy of Associated Press.

By Lawrence Casiraya INQUIRER.net IT wasn't too long ago when Globe Telecom was hyping HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Pac ket Access) on laptops, which meant Internet anywhere you go -- as long as ther e's 3G coverage, of course. The same technology Globe is now selling for home u se. Instead of a little USB modem or PCMCIA card, this one uses a wireless HSDPA ac cess terminal that looks like an ordinary wifi access point, which is connected to Globe's cellular network. Data access alone (at 512 kbps "promised" speed) costs P995 a month; an optional landline makes it P1, 295. Though Globe officials I talked to won't admit it, this wireless broadband bund le clearly competes with Smart Bro by rival operator Smart (P995 monthly at 384 kbps according to Smart's webpage). The obvious difference is you don't need t o hoist a receiver up your roof because unlike Smart Bro, HSDPA access does not require line of sight. Eventually, every new technology available like HSDPA can promise broadband acc ess, whether wired or wireless. What the consumer can hope for -- short of exce llent service -- is network coverage.

CHECK out this video taken by INQUIRER.net reporter Erwin Oliva. You could also check out Erwin's INQUIRER.net Infotech articles, "iPhone made to work on local RP network" and "NTC: AT&T complaint needed vs iPhone SIM 'hacking'."

By Alex Villafania INQUIRER.net WHILE it used to sell its old electronic products to junk shops, the Philippine office of Japanese printing and imaging firm Canon is now looking toward a mor e environment-friendly method for electronics disposal. In an interview with INQUIRER.net, Canon Philippines president Ramon Arteficio said the company wants to improve its electronic waste disposal system in the P hilippines as part of their parent company's global environmental management pr ogram. Arteficio said that while Canon Philippines does have an electronic disposal sy stem for most of its products in China, its printers are mostly sent out to jun k shop dealers in the Philippines, with some of the plastics and metal parts be ing sold and reused to make other items. So far, the company does have a take-back service wherein old Canon products ar e traded in for newer models of the same type of device. âWe need to have a better way to dispose these materials because of environment al concerns. What we're doing now is finding a third party to do the disposal f or us,â Arteficio said. While not giving other specifics regarding their new disposal plans, he said Ca non Philippines might find a third-party disposal firm within the year. The Canon Sustainability Report outlines the company's entire environmental man agement program, from the operation side to the disposal. However, only the maj or manufacturing plants in the US, China, Europe and Australia are utilizing en vironmental standards.

By Alex Villafania INQUIRER.net WHILE the Philippines is still a market of predominantly AGP (accelerated graphics port) users, video card maker PowerColor is expecting a major market shift from the outdated graphics port t o the new and faster PCI Express (PCIE) standard, particularly as it introduces a new range of graphics cards. The company recently introduced in the Philippines the PowerColor ATI Radeon HD 2000 series, all of which are now on the PCIE port. The new graphics cards emph asizes the high-definition market for graphics, particularly the high-end video gaming sector. PowerColor Asia Pacific marketing manager Kevin Ho said in an interview that th ere is now a replacement market for PCIE graphics cards as prices of both graph ics cards and motherboards go down and as demand for intensive graphics becomes apparent. "We're now at a period where users who owned legacy AGP motherboards are replac ing their PCs with boards that have PCI Express slots. This allows users to buy newer cards that are also competitively priced as their old AGP cards," Ho sai d. Ho said that PowerColor intends to aim for the low-end and mid-range graphics c ard market in the Philippines where most buyers are on a budget. Most graphics card purchases range between P3,000 to P15,000 while high-end units are from P1 6,000 to P30,000. Stil, Ho said the market is still good for the high-end graphics market in the Philippines, even though it is only a fraction of the total sector. "Most buyers in the Philippines would still be in the entry-level and mid-level markets and that's where PowerColor hopes to dominate," Ho said. PowerColor will be the first Philippine OEM (original equipment manufacturer) p rovider of cards made by ATI. The Radeon HD2000 series is composed of the entry -level HD2400, the mid-level HD2600 and the high-end HD2900. All of the cards have been tested on the new DirectX 10 graphics framework, Mic rosoft Vista, and are compatible with either Blu-Ray and HD-DVD optical drives.

REMEMBER the days when mobile phones were still exotic gadgets? Here's a blast from the past I stumbled upon on YouTube, courtesy of ADman1909's channel.

YUP, the lovely Aubrey Miles is on the cover of the latest issue of Mobile Philippines, the mobile technology magazine of our sister com pany Hinge Inquirer Publications. Get your copy today and find out what Aubrey has to say about her passion for g adgets, bling and -- um, did I read that right? -- guns, heh :) Of course, Mobile Philippines isn't just about the babes (but hey, keep 'em com ing). In this issue, editor in chief Adel Gabot gives a hands-on review of the iPhone. Whiz kid Shaira Luna shares her love for photography. Mobile Philippine s provides a special eight-page accessory rundown for your gadget needs. Plus h ands-on reviews of the Sony Cybershot DSC-G1, BlackBerry 8800 and a truckload o f other gadgets. Oh, and did we mention that Mobile Philippines is also giving away two Creative Zen Stone MP3 players to two lucky survey senders? All this and more for just P100.

CHECK out this video clip that INQUIRER.net Erwin Oliva took for iVDO. Terence Pua, co-founder and CEO of Filipino software startup Xackup, demonstrat es a homegrown, Web-based backup service for iTunes users called Bandwagon that his company developed. You could also check out Erwin's INQUIRER.net I nfotech article.