UPDATE: Editor’s note: Corrected typo in battery life of Asus Eee PC 900, and error in screen resolution of Asus Eee PC 701. Thanks to our readers for the heads up.

THEIR product may sound like a cross between a shriek and a car screech but Taiwanese firm Asustek shook up the ultra mobile PC (UMPC) business last year by launching the Asus Eee PC 701. While it is technically not a UMPC, the Eee PC proved to be a most convenient and marketable device in this market segment.

Barely a year after the launch, Asus wants to take on the UMPC market again by launching the Eee PC 900, which only has a few differences from the previous model except for bigger RAM (1 gigabyte on the 900 series compared to 512 megabytes for the Eee PC 700 series) and a higher-capacity solid-state drive (SSD), a feature that makes the device even more appealing as it lengthens battery life compared to regular hard disks with moving parts. Both the 900 and 700 series still use 900-megahertz Intel Celeron-M processors. The first Eee PC models have 2GB and 4 GB SSDs while the new Eee PC 900 has 12GB and 20GB models.

Here’s a video of Vivian Hung, Eee PC product manager for Asustek Asia Pacific, showing the new Asus Eee PC 900.

Incidentally, it is also the first time that Asus has pre-installed the Windows XP operating system on the Eee PC 900 12GB version. The previous models used Xandros Linux, which has carefully laid out all the functions for new computer users as well as those unfamiliar with operating systems other than Windows. The Eee PC 20GB model, however, still uses the same Xandros Linux OS.

The Eee PC prides itself for its compact design, which appeals to a lot of students, women and those who just want to have a small, robust notebook that could do basic document editing, Internet browsing and spreadsheets. The original Eee PC is indeed small and weighed less than a kilogram. In comparison, the Eee PC 900 is slightly bigger, at 225 millimeters x 165 mm x 35 mm, almost the size of a regular paper notebook. If put in a backpack, the Eee PC could fit well among a student’s notebooks and textbooks.

The larger design is due to a bigger 8.9-inch LCD screen, versus the 7 inches for the Eee PC 701. The screen looks particularly better, with brighter backlight and higher resolution at 1024×600 pixels versus the 800x600 480 pixels on the Eee PC 701 model. It is somewhat unimportant for most people, but the higher-resolution LCD display could play videos better, which could be good for people who regularly browse through video websites or even watch graphics-heavy AVI, MPEG-4 and WMV files. It also sports a 1.3 megapixel webcam, compared to the 0.3 megapixel one on the Eee PC 700 series.

Wireless connectivity is also a breeze on the Eee PC 900 model. In both the Windows XP and Linux versions, the unit can detect wifi signals and easily connect to available hotspots. It uses 802.11 b/g standards. The other wireless connectivity available is Bluetooth 2.0. The 10/100 megabit Ethernet port for wired connection is also available. The device also has three USB connections conveniently placed along its sides; two are on the right side and another on the left. It also has a multi-card reader that could accommodate SD cards and multimedia cards. Too bad it doesn’t support Sony memory sticks.

Asus claims the new 900 model can also run approximately 3 hours before running out of batteries, as with the 700 series. Results could vary depending on the use of the Eee PC’s other functions (wifi, Bluetooth and USB).

The Eee PC 700 was a viable solution partly because of its lower price (P17,000) but the bigger storage capacity and larger memory Eee PC 900 costs P25,000 (both the 12GB Windows and 20GB Linux versions). For some, it may be too expensive already since many full-size laptops are already priced at the same range.

Still, Asus is confident the new model will still be a niche market device for women, students and those looking for a secondary laptop they could conveniently carry around.

SONY ERICSSON recently launched three new Walkman phones which incorporate the Walkman On Top concept: the Sony Ericsson W350i, W380i, and W890i

“It’s having the Walkman interface easily accessible to the user with it being on top of the phone,” explained Vincent De la Cruz, product group marketing manager of Sony Ericsson Philippines.

“We believe there is a market that wants to put music first and foremost over the phone. Particularly a phone with the basic features, but allows people who want to enjoy their music access it easily. Always putting their music experience first,” he added.

“With these latest phones, we address the needs of a broader audience who want a stylish yet compact phone with the W350i; the young, fashion-conscious music lovers with the W380i, as well as music connoisseurs who demand the latest Walkman features and fast downloads offered by the W890i,” said Patrick Larraga, marketing manager of Sony Ericsson Philippines.

The Sony Ericsson W350i Walkman, is a 10-mm slim, flip phone with the music player controls on the keys cover.

The Sony Ericsson W380i is a clamshell with Gesture Control, with the music player controls on the top side of the clam. Here’s a demo of Gesture Control, which allows you to mute incoming calls or snooze the alarm by waving your hand over the phone. The external display comes to life only to show the name of a music track or identify a caller.

The Sony Ericsson W890i, is a super slim phone with SensMe and the latest Walkman Player 3.0. Here’s a demo of the phone’s SensMe function, which is a new way of selecting music that fits your mood, based on the song’s tempo and style.

All three phones are featured in the Sony Ericsson Music Tripping summer promo.

Here’s a video of Callalily performing “Eto Na Ang Summer” at Club Paraw in front of a packed crowd to kick off the Sony Ericsson Music Tripping concert series in Boracay. Video used with permission from Sony Ericsson.

Editor’s note: Videos taken by INQUIRER.net reporter Relly Carpio.

MEDIA agency MindShare Philippines has recently launched new digital advertising and marketing services, in a bid to promote wider use of the Internet and mobile technology as advertising and marketing tools in the Philippines. Its new services will cover online media planning, buying and optimization expertise; digital strategies; community management; and search and mobile advertising.

In an interview with INQUIRER.net, MindShare director for Digital Practice Crisela Magpayo said the use of digital media has not been successful in the Philippines despite huge gains being enjoyed by advertisers and marketing companies in other countries.

In fact, even online advertising is still small in the Philippines whereas companies abroad are investing heavily on online campaigns.

“There is still a huge potential in the Philippines when using the Internet for marketing and advertising campaigns. All that is needed is that they are informed with the methods and tools that can be used by local advertisers and marketers,” Magpayo said.

Among the new digital services that MindShare is promoting is its MindTrack tracking software, which is installed in Internet cafes to tracks the sites visited by users per computer.

The company also gave a preview of its mobile phone service called MobiTMS.

CANON has recently introduced a new line of camcorders aimed at spurring video enthusiasts to go high-definition. T

Canon’s new HD camcorders are the mid-level HF100 and the higher model HF10. Both feature AVCHD (advanced video codec high definition) recording at 1920×1080 pixels (2 megapixels) and record sound in 2-channel Dolby Digital. The two also have a solid-state drive of up to 16 gigabytes, one of the first camcorders to use internal flash-based memory storage. Likewise, the to also have separate SD card or MMC card slots that could accommodate high-capacity flash cards.

Here’s a video interview I conducted with Canon Southeast Asia assistant systems manager for Consumer Imaging Mohamad Yazid Bin Ali, who gave a demo of the HF10.

Apart from the HF10 and HF100, Canon also introduced standard definition camcorders, the FS10 and FS11, which can record videos at up to 1120×630 pixels. These also have internal solid-state drives of up to 16GB and can also accommodate SD and MMC cards.

In an interview, Canon Marketing Philippines president Ramon Arteficio said HD is already on its way to becoming a video standard for both professional and amateur videos, largely due to the availability of widescreen HD TVs.

He said their main selling point is the camcorder’s dual flash memory technology, allowing the camcorder to record either to its internal memory or to an external storage device.

Arteficio also noted a decline in the use of the still-popular mini-DV drive, even more so with the mini-DVD recording media.

“SD cards are actually getting cheaper and they’re easier to use. Video stored in a flash drive can be directly edited to a computer without the need for lengthy conversions,” he said.

Arteficio, however, said the mini-DV recording media will remain a big player in the Philippines due to its lower cost, estimated to be half of HD camcorders.

WHILE COVERING the Microsoft Imagine Cup annual software design competition, I got to meet several teams of college students from different top local universities. Their objective: design a software application that would help promote a sustainable environment.

One idea from Team Prairie Watch of the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde involved tagging endangered animals with a little webcam and streaming the
video that this little gadget captures on the web. They had a working prototype that looked promising. Another idea developed by Team Tala was a computer game that would teach kids about the environment. Team Tala was a mixed team of students from the University of the Philippines, Polytechnic University of the Philippines and the Philippine Christian University.

Here’s my video interview with Team Prairie Watch.

And here’s the video interview with Team Tala.

What caught my attention (but unfortunately it didn’t win) was a software application developed by Team IMI 2.0 from Colegio de San Juan de Letran. They developed a software application that applied the “crowd sourcing” idea to calamity and disaster reporting.

As explained to me by the students and their teacher, the software application uses Microsoft Virtual Earth as the user interface to allow people to report calamities and disasters. They could either submit written reports via text or chat, or upload video clips. Designed with the government in mind, the application uses a virtual map to pinpoint areas of disaster and calamaties. If you click on an icon, you will be able to get more information.

This application can best serve agencies like the National Disaster Coordinating Council. This will allow citizens to submit pertinent information (which should go through verification) and contribute to information gathered by the government. In calamity and disaster reporting, verified information is crucial. As their teacher explained, it is like the “911 for calamities and disaster on the Web.” The application hopes to bridge the gap of information from those who want to help and from those needing help during a disaster.

Another interesting software application, which I found intriguing, was called “Gigo,” as in “garbage in, garbage out.” It was developed by the youngest finalists from Team Tibecom of Ateneo. They were freshmen and they won second place. First place went to another team from Ateneo, dubbed Team Pi/4, who developed a system that hopes to help consumers make environmentally-friendly decisions when buying products. Gigo works like “Google for trash.” A widget or gadget is downloaded to a person’s desktop, so that they can conduct searches on common products and find out how these could be recycled. It also empowers people by teaching them how to deal with trash and non-biodegradable products, such as styrofoam.

Here’s the video interview with Team Tibecom.

And here’s the video interview with Team Pi/4.

One thing that I observed after the winners were declared was that students who were able to explain their projects clearly came out on top. So it is also important that ideas are presented clearly. This was the lesson I learned earlier in a bootcamphosted
by Morph Labs.

DESPITE the almost non-existence of high-definition signals in the Philippines, Samsung is expecting that the growing demand for audio-visual equipment would push their latest product lines that are geared toward the HD market.

Samsung is already introducing its first Blu-ray standalone player to complement its widescreen displays. HD refers to high resolution digital image processing, usually by LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs, plasma panels and some projectors. Current broadcast signals are still in analog standard resolution, normally at 480p (progressive) and an aspect ratio of 4:3. However, HD can produce better images of up to 1080p with 16:9 aspect ratio.

Samsung Philippines president Spencer Shim said he is confident the company will be among the key drivers in the HD space, citing its performance in the Asian region where it said it had sold about 600,000 widescreen displays in 2007.

“This year, we aim to cross the one million mark, as we seek to further reinforce our regional audio-visual leadership,” Shim said.

Shim said that part of their campaign to promote their products is to promote the concept of HDTV. It has a partnership with the cable channels National Geographic and the Discovery Networks Asia, which are already transmitting their shows in HD format. “These initiatives will help convert consumers to HD advocates.”

The company recently launched a new series of equipment from LCD and plasma TVs, Blu-ray players, to digital cameras, camcorders, and some MP3 players.

One of their main highlighted products is the Series 6 LCD TV, which uses a glass-infused bezel instead of the standard plastic bezel, giving the Series 7 a crystal-like appearance.

I interviewed Samsung Display product manager Roma Ramirez, who talked about the company’s latest flat panel displays. Check out the video.

Samsung also brought to the Philippines the first commercially available 3D-ready plasma TV, the 42-inch PS42A450. It is based on the same technology as the IMAX theater, wherein users have to wear specialized eye glasses to view images in 3D. The product is to be introduced in the Philippines in May but the price has yet to be set.

Here’s a video of me getting up close and personal with the 3D TV.

Editor’s note: Videos taken by INQUIRER.net online videographer Janie Christine Octia.

Video taken by INQUIRER.net online videographer Janie Christine Octia.

Video taken by INQUIRER.net technology reporter Lawrence Casiraya.

Video taken by INQUIRER.net technology reporter Erwin Oliva.

SEAGATE and Creative are the only two Singaporean IT brands that have name recall in the Philippines. However, an upstart firm wants to join its Singaporean brethren.

Axioo International is the latest OEM (original equipment manufacturer) notebook to enter the somewhat saturated laptop market. Nevertheless, the company is confident that there is a market for their product in Asia, including the Philippines.

Here’s a video interview I conducted with Axioo International managing director Stephen Lim, who talks about the Singapore-based company’s decision to launch its laptops in the Philippines.

In the Philippines, the company recently introduced their Zetta series; the mid-level Zetta TEN and the high-performance Zetta TEC. The former uses Pentium a Dual Core processor, an Intel GMA X3100 graphics card, 1 Gigabyte of memory, 120 Gb of hard disk space, integrated Wifi antenna and an optional Bluetooth receiver.

Meanwhile, the Zetta TEC is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2Gb of memory, GMA X3100 integrated graphics, 160Gb of hard disk space, integrated wifi and Bluetooth.

Although the two models have different specifications, they are also the same size with 13.3-inch LCD screen. They also come in at least four colors (red, black, pink and green) though there were also some models that came in white, blue and yellow.

Apart from the Zetta Ten and Tec models, the company will also be introducing its own version of the Classmate PC, which sports very basic parts, a 7-inch monitor and uses Linux with a graphical user interface.

In the interview, Lim said the company’s products are aimed at students, small-office-home office and small business markets that are looking for alternative laptop brands.

“We don’t want to claim that we’re targeting the same market as the more established brands but since we’ve only started we’re aiming for brand recall,” Lim said.

Axioo only started manufacturing notebooks this year and has a plant in Singapore. The company also only recently started showcasing their products in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines.

Lim has not provided pricing for their products in the Philippines yet but said that these will be competitively priced with current local brands.

Axioo will be distributed in the Philippines by Millennium Computers Technology.