2010 v11n5 - DIY by Gadgets Magazine

* available in white

EDITOR’SNOTE PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF TECHNOLOGY EDITOR LIFESTYLE EDITOR EDITOR-AT-LARGE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT CONTRIBUTORS SENIOR ART DIRECTOR ART DIRECTOR

Maribelle Alba Armin Amio John Nieves Michelle Callanta Presy Alba Danee Torres Benjamin Arnold, Francis Tan, JC Ansis JC Pulido III, Paolo Toledo, Steven Vea Chad Villarmino Benjamin Arnold

Another good year comes to an end. This year was especially distinctive as it marked the return of activity in the market. Consumers have resumed their buying pursuits and manufacturers have been churning a pretty good array of new gadgets. This will certainly be a MERRY Christmas for most of us. It’s time to pop the streamers and douse ourselves in yearend holidays! This December, we have brought to you ways of improving yourself and even marketing yourself. We’ve also come up with features on DIYing practically everything from jailbreaking your favorite “fruity” gadget, building your own recording studio, to making your own home beauty treatment. This month, we also give you our annual Gadgets Magazine Wish List, to guide everybody for their holiday shopping on the newest and most popular gizmos and accessories this side of the world. And yes, GMA 7 talent, Rhian Ramos reveals her secret “desire” with HTC’s newest smartphone offering. As we ready ourselves for the holidays, already underway for some faiths, I wish all a warm and peaceful season, filled with family and good friends.

Happy holidays!

Armin A. Amio EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER SALES & ADVERTISING MANAGER ACCOUNT MANAGERS DIGITAL/ONLINE EDITOR ADVERTISING AGENTS CIRCULATION ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE LEGAL COUNSEL

Maribelle Alba

Marisa Consuelo MJ Gonzales-Esteban, Carol Agabin Francis Tan Bess Zamora, Val Villamar Lorie Bernardo, Salvador Da, Jr.

Tess Pascua, Amy Christine Giray Alba Law Office

GADGETS Magazine is published monthly by Great Minds Media Incorporated. Address all correspondence to

9-B Evening News Street, West Triangle, Quezon City. Our telephone numbers are 332-4004, 376-7356 and 514-8321. Our website is: www.gadgetsmagazine.com.ph Our email addresses are:

editors@gadgetsmagazine.com.ph gadgetsmagazine@gmail.com All unsolicited manuscripts, illustrations and photos submitted must be accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope if they are to be returned. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. Every care is taken to ensure that the content of Gadgets is fully accurate; however, the publisher and printer assume no responsibility for the effects arising therefrom. Gadgets Magazine is a registered trademark of Great Minds Media Incorporated.

DECEMBER2010-JANUARY201 VOLUME 11 NUMBER 5

CONTENTS

COVER STORY

10 PARADE

Be up-to-date with what gizmos hit the shelves by peeping inside our Parade section. While you’re at it, go ahead and make your wish list a little longer.

33 GADGETSLAB

We put the newest devices through the rigorous Gadgets test and give you our two-cents on it— so you won’t have to dilly-dally on that purchase.

57 FEATURES

Globe Telecom explores fourth-gen mobile communications for the Philippines in the form of Long Term Evolution. Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Chrome. You thought these were the only choices you had, until RockMelt. Blekko is in the biz to upgrade search results. It works better that its name sounds. We venture into the taboo word that Apple dare not speak—jailbreaking. And here’s a treat, we’ve also tossed in how to root your Android device. The customer is king for Fuji Xerox and their new consumer relations R&D square in Yokohama, Japan. Asus gives Gadgets a peek at their next gen motherboards made for Intel’s latest processor, “Sandybridge.” Focus Global Inc., distributor of 12 of the most trusted home furnishings and needlecraft brands, opens their new showroom on the ground floor of Greenbelt Residences.

100 LIFESTYLE FEATURE

The next Manila hot spot, Robot, opens its doors to Gadgets for the December/January cover.

WISH LIST

Here it is, gadgeteers! The list we’ve all been waiting for, your shopping guide for the rest of the season for everyone. Turn the page and let the gift-giving begin! Schwarzkopf Osis FlexWax

LIFE&STYLEPARADE

Unhappy with how your games were programmed? Turn that frown upside-down because there are now Modding (modified) games. Tech Editor John Nieves has the scoop.

THE CHECKLIST

It’s that time of the year again where everyone’s in a rush—going home, making deadlines, heading to a party, shopping—but some things never change like the basics in preparing for things to do, places to be and people to see. This holiday season we give you a step-by-step map to get you in order before you get things in order.

DOWNLOAD Find ways to easily share contacts and content with these downloadables.

COVERSTORY

World Traveller cabin luggage

Sanyo Xacti VPC-CS1 Asus ENGTX460 TOP

Brother Sister Samsung N150

Andy Warhol NY Rock Collection

LG Cookie Fresh GS290

Collezione C2 Holiday collection

Eastpak Floyd backpack Western Digital My Passport Studio

Samsung Champ C3303

ou’ve fought over the remote, told on each other, and borrowed each other’s belongings. Let’s face it, at the end of the day, brothers and sisters are great people to count on. Let them know how much you love them by giving them something from the lists below. Who knows, they might even lend it to you sometime.

Genius MousePen M508

Appetime Fruits

Mophie Juice Air rechargable battery case

Vita Fede Attura ring and leather bracelets

GRIXX GMS-1010 Mini Speakers

Kiehl's Ultra Light sunblock

WELLNESS

Drink healthy water with Joymain Energy Cup, which converts drinking water to healthy water.

Nike Zoom Kobe 5

Audio-Technica ATH-PRO700

Notebook with printed cover from SM Stationery

TOMS Glitters in gold

The internet is a very powerful thing, and we’ve heard of individuals becoming celebrities just from videos and of businesses taking off from online shopping. Lifestyle Editor Michelle Callanta has the low-down on D-I-Y promotion. Drink healthy water with Joymain Energy Cup, which converts drinking water to healthy water.

MiLi PocketPal USB charger

studded USB from SM Stationery

GAMING

sleeveless beige dress with waist detail from RAF Plains and Prints

LIFESTYLE PARADE

You’re bound to be in a flurry of events this season, so to help you out, we’ve broken down your prep into six simples steps.

101 LISTEN FEATURE Make music in the comforts of your own home. 104 CD REVIEW Maroon 5 wows fans with their third studio album, “Hands All Over Me.” Local talent Miguel Escueta shows off his songwriting skills in “Now It Starts,” along with a couple of surprises. Miley Cyrus steps into her own with “Can’t Be Tamed.” K-Pop continues to invade the Philippines as the latest girl band, 4Minute releases their album “Hit Your Heart.”

BEAUTY LAB

Ditch that expensive treatment that promises the fountain of youth. Opt for allnatural beautifiers, able and readily available in your cupboard.

PHOTO FEATURE

Pretty lady Rhian Ramos shares with us her love for HTC .

Mr. Pure Energy, Gary V. excites listeners with his 17-track compilation album of classics to make your heart swoon. Christian Bautista sings your favorite Christmas songs in “A Wonderful Christmas.” 106 EVENTS Crocs and Collezione C2 join forces to give Filipinos their very own My Pilipinas crocs. Long lines, be gone! Mall giant SM extends into cyberspace by launching SM Cinema online reservation and ticket purchasing. Eastpak anoints five inspirational revolutionaries to be their spokespersons for Resistance Movement. 109 NEWS You wouldn’t want to miss out on year-end happenings right? Catch the latest tech and lifestyle news before 2010 bids goodbye.

PARADE

HTC DESIRE Z

HTC DESIRE HD

For people constantly on the go, HTC Desire Z makes it quick and easy to stay connected with friends on Facebook and Twitter or with colleagues and customers at work. HTC Desire Z features a unique “pop hinge” that opens to reveal a QWERTY keyboard. HTC Desire Z’s keyboard also includes a variety of shortcuts and two customizable keys for providing instant access to common functions. The HTC Desire Z also includes 720p HD video recording and a 5-megapixel camera with flash. It is the first phone to utilize the new 800MHz Qualcomm 7230 processor for improved performance and battery life.

HTC Desire HD showcases outstanding multimedia content with its bright 4.3-inch Super LCD display and Dolby Mobile and SRS surround sound and is the first to be powered by the new 1GHz Qualcomm 8255 Snapdragon processor. The HTC Desire HD enables 720p HD video recording and includes an 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash. Building on the unibody heritage of the HTC Legend, the HTC Desire HD is sculpted from a block of solid aluminum and exudes the air of quality and strength.

SMARTPHONE

Php 35,000

Php 32,000

ZOTAC ZBOX DVD SERIES MINI PERSONAL COMPUTERS

Zotac reinvigorates the DVD-format with the new ZBOX DVD series mini-PCs powered by next-gen Nvidia ION technology. The new Zotac ZBOX DVD series packs energy-efficiency, hardware high-definition streaming acceleration and advanced video processing capabilities into a slim chassis to create the perfect home-theater PC for DVD aficionados. It comes equipped with dual-core Intel Atom D525 processor and ION graphics processor. An integrated DVD drive provides this mini-PC with read and write capabilities at speeds up to 8x with DVD, DVD±R and DVD±RW media. Standard CD-ROM, CD-R and CD-RW media are read and written to at speeds up to 24x.

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

SAMSUNG WAVE 525 SMARTPHONE

Samsung’s newest Bada smartphone, the Wave 525, offers breakthrough connectivity across popular social networking sites with its social hub technology. With a touch, users can post, tweet or send a message on Facebook, Twitter and so much more. The device also offers constant connection with lightning-fast WiFi support. Geotagging lets you tag photos by location so that you can easily sort images based on whether they are from your summer vacation or a business trip. This 2.5G GPRS/EDGE quadband phone has a 3.2-inch display with a 3.0-megapixel camera that is also capable of video and recording.

Php 8,990

SAMSUNG C9000 FULL HD LED TV

Samsung’s new C9000 3D LED TV is really as good as it looks. This sleek-looking TV shows all the signs of being a class leader. The C9000 is only 8mm thick but is packed with a wide array of features. This “smart” TV set comes with WiFi, USB, Ethernet, HDMI connectivity and is already HD-3D ready. It can even convert 2D content to 3D! But the features don’t stop with the set itself—the C9000 comes with a cool WiFi remote control. The remote allows you to view content on the inbuilt touchscreen without requiring you to interrupt your current show. Very clever, although make sure your don’t end up watching the latest F1 race on the remote instead of your TV.

Php 549,990

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

OPT MESSENGER BAG FOR IPAD Apple’s iPad is a unique snowflake, so it’ll come as no surprise that most carrying solutions don’t work well with it. The OPT Messenger Bag is made of soft genuine calf leather that is rich in color and luxurious to the touch and more importantly, fits your iPad perfectly for easy transport and storage. Each bag comes with an armor case backing to hold your device more securely. It is also lined with thick microfiber to prevent scratches and act as a minor buffer against accidental impact.

Php 3,900

MILI POWER PACK 4 If your shiny new iPod 4 seems to be a little down, or you want to just squeeze a bit more hands on time with Apple’s latest and greatest, then you might want to consider the MiLi Power Pack 4. Providing an additional 3,000mAh of mobile power and designed to add nearly 2 to 3 more cycles to the life of your iPhone 4, the MiLi Power Pack 4 is able to keep you online, longer. With that much power, viewing videos, playing games, and chatting on Facetime will no longer be a problem.

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

SYNOLOGY DS411J NAS

The burgeoning amount of data we create, download and store is straining our storage, believe it or not. You might be just making a gigabyte or two at a time, but you’ll suddenly find out that you’ve suddenly ran out of space to put your latest vacation pictures. The Synology DS411j acts like a repository for everything digital—photos, videos and music or practically anything you create, download or share. It also functions as a 24x7 BitTorrent, FTP, HTTP, eMule and NZB download center without a PC. The eMule download engine allows search-n-download capability with a web-browser without installing additional desktop applications. It’s DLNA/UPnP Compliant, allowing you to stream multimedia files with an UPnP Digital Media Adapter to a stereo system or a TV set. Sony PS3 and Microsoft Xbox360 are also supported.

CREATIVE D100 & D200

D100

WIRELESS SPEAKERS

Let your music run wild without the annoying wires with the Creative D100 and D200. These two speakers are able to stream music from your mobile device, notebook or any similarly equipped Bluetooth-enabled device wirelessly, eliminating the need for cumbersome wires. The D100 comes in a variety of colors—black, pink, green and blue. If colors aren’t your thing, then you’d want to check out the D200—it’s sleek design and elegant curves makes it perfect for the modern home.

D200

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

LG OPTIMUS ONE SMARTPHONE

Thinking of grabbing an Android-powered smartphone but intimidated by the price? Then you might want to take a look at the Optimus One, LG’s latest Android creation that has all the right features with a price that won’t make your wallet sad. Armed with the latest version of Google’s mobile OS, the Optimus One is able to give users all the features of more expensive phones at a reasonable price. Mobile hotspot capability, Google Maps navigation—all of these can be yours in a smartphone at a very smart price too.

Php 12,900

MICROSOFT 5000 BLUETOOTH NOTEBOOK MOUSE

The good thing about Bluetooth devices, like the Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000, is that you don't need to plug-in a transceiver. You can enjoy a reliable connection to your Bluetooth PC without the messy wires. It also has a Battery Status LED Indicator which glows red when its energy is running low. The Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 features a “Back” button so you can easily navigate between folders and Web pages; click the wheel for auto-scroll.

Php 2,700

TRANSCEND CFAST CARDS MEMORY CARD

The revolutionary new CFast cards integrate the rapid, more robust SATA interface into the existing CF card form factor, offering improved performance and convenience for a variety of industrial applications. As with the SD card and its enhanced versions, SDHC and SDXC, CFast is the latest specification for CF cards, developed by CompactFlash Association as a removable high-speed storage solution for industrial use. Compared with current CF cards based on the slower ATA/IDE interface, Transcend’s CFast cards use the more modern SATA interface, delivering transfer rates of up to 108MB/s. The cards have the same physical dimensions as traditional CF cards. The CFast cards are designed to perform like solid state drives, and as such are extremely capable when used as bootable drives. Now offered in 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities.

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

REDFOX WIZPAD TABLET

To further drive the point that tablets are here to stay, RedFox has recently released their own interpretation of the tablet with the Wizpad. This 10-inch tablet is powered by an Intel Atom processor (similar to netbooks) and uses Windows 7 as its OS. There’s an internal sensor that reads the orientation of the device and changes the display accordingly. Currently, the Wizpad is WiFi-enabled only, although RedFox promises to release a 3G model soon— along with a Bluetooth-capable model.

Starts at Php 31,999

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

OPTOMA

PICO POCKET PROJECTORS Forget about lugging around heavy projectors when you go to meetings. The smart and easy way to project images is through pocket projectors. OPTOMA’s Pico pocket projectors are projectors that provide your projection needs, anywhere, anytime and allows easy connection to your favorite analog and digital devices such as laptops, iPods, digital cameras, mobile phones, PDAs, gaming devices, video cameras, DVD players, USB flash drives and microSD cards. It produces 60” to 120” (diagonal) images in bright, detailed widescreen WVGA resolution, and could project up to 1.5 hours using its internal battery.

PK-201

PK-301

PK-102

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

ASUS O!PLAY HD MEDIA STREAMER

Not all media streamers are made the same. Some are advertised as your all-in-one media solution while in reality fail at reading even the most basic of files. The O!Play HD media streamer by Asus is your true all-in-one streaming solution, able to play even the most obscure of media files. It can read almost all media files under the sun, including HD-encoded MKV files, with full HD support. It also features an eSATA interface provides up to 6 times faster transfer speeds as compared to USB 2.0, virtually eliminating any delays in delivering high definition entertainment. The O!Player HDP-R1 also features LAN support so you can easily access all the media files over your home network.

DECEMBER 2010 â&#x20AC;˘JANUARY 2011

PARADE

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

LENOVO IDEAPAD Z460 LAPTOP

To Z is to believe. The Lenovo IdeaPad Z460 is built with a little bit of everything you’re looking for in a laptop. The IdeaPad Z460 has a classy metallic finish and weighs only 2.1 kg. With 500GB of storage space, the Z460 has more than enough memory for all your files. It also comes with Intel Core i5 460M processor with a 3MB cache. You can also enjoy your multimedia in a gorgeous 14-inch LED 16:9 display and premium HD Nvidia graphics complete with superior sound thanks to its Dolby stereo surround sound and two 2-inch quality speakers. Its OneKey Theater feature allows you to switch from movie to web cruise mode. It even has a OneKey Rescue 7.0 for data recovery and antivirus. The laptop has advanced WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G connectivity as well as DirectShare function which enables fast access and file transfer even without an internet connection.

Php 39,900

IOMEGA SCREENPLAY DIRECTOR HD MEDIA PLAYER

Enjoy a complete media experience with the new Iomega ScreenPlay Director HD media player. With full 1080p high-definition (24 fps) playback and up to 2 terrabytes of space to save your files, the ScreenPlay Director adds exceptional features like direct access to online media and network connections. This high-definition multimedia player connects easily to your home network to store and access your videos, music and photo collections. Easily browse your network to select stored videos and view on your home theatre or access online content with the convenient remote. It is compatible with the latest media formats such as H.264, WMV, MKV, MP3, AC3 (Dolby Digital Encoding), WAV, WMA, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 (AVI/VOB), MPEG-4 (AVI/XViD), DivX and JPEG. It supports the Iomega USB WiFi adapter for wireless access (sold separately). The ScreenPlay Director is powered by an Energy Starqualified adapter for a better environment.

SAMSON EXPEDITION 40IW PORTABLE PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEM

Samson makes public address simple with an all-in-one portable sound system that offers everything you need to deliver a professional and memorable presentation: The Expedition 40iw employs a 6-inch woofer and a 1-inch high-frequency driver. The unit features a 40-watt Class D amplifier that is perfectly matched to the driver for high efficiency and low current draw. It provides a built-in VHF wireless microphone system that’s ideal for any number of vocal applications. An internal iPod dock with level control also gives you the option of incorporating songs or other MP3s into your performance. This, plus bass and treble control that you can tweak your sound to appropriately match your specific setting and audience. A rechargeable battery provides the XP40iw for absolute mobility. Great for tour groups, classrooms, conference/meeting rooms, health clubs, outdoor events and even small auditoriums.

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

GARMIN NÜVI 1410 & 1200

1410

GPS NAVIGATION DEVICES

It’s becoming increasingly difficult nowadays to get lost, thanks to the abundance of GPS navigation solutions available to consumers. Garmin’s nüvi 1410 and 1200 are the latest entries to the world of local navigation. The large screen nüvi 1410 offers multiple-point routing and lane assist with junction view to guide you through busy highway interchanges. It also has hands-free calling, pedestrian routing options and ecoRoute. The nüvi 1410 includes advanced navigation features to take the worry out of traveling. With route planning you can save 10 routes, specify via points and preview simulated turns on the 1410's large screen. In addition, nüvi 1410 automatically sorts multiple destinations to provide an efficient route for errands, deliveries or sales calls. A trip log provides an electronic bread crumb trail of up to 10,000 points, so you can see where you've been on the map. The nüvi 1200 easily fits in a pocket and won’t stretch your wallet either—thanks to regional mapping and its slim design.

1200

E130

E400

ACER BETOUCH E130 & E400 SMARTPHONES

The Acer beTouch E130 is designed for fast and fluid access to the internet and super-fast messaging and social networking. This smartphone offers a unique combination of crystal-clear 2.6-inch QVGA touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard, backed up by an Android 1.6 (Donut) operating system. You can update calendars, retrieve email, read Word, Excel, PowerPoint and pdf files with Documents to Go. At just 11.5 millimeters thick, the beTouch E130 puts your entire office comfortably in your pocket. Acer’s beTouch E400is designed for fun and style by simplicity. Possibilities with the phone’s real mobile internet capability are endless. Browse the web, update your status in your social networks and make time for some work. You can do all these with the super-slim E400 which runs on Android 2.1 (Éclair) and is powered by Qualcomm MSM 7227, 600 MHz processor. An added bonus are the three interchangeable battery covers—in touch black, ceramic white and pearl red—for added style statement. 26

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

SAMSUNG NX100 MIRRORLESS CAMERA

It only gets better. Samsung’s NX100 mirrorless camera now comes equipped with the world’s first i-Function lens which allows users to control their camera through the lens. The unique i-Function Lens is a proactive lens that communicates with the camera body. It delivers total image control with fast manual settings to ensure quick and easy image capturing, and also provides customized settings optimized for the lens being used. The lens incorporates a conveniently located i-Function button which allows users to scroll through manual settings, and a focus ring which is used to easily change parameters for each setting. The NX100 also boasts one of the fastest AF on the market today, which ensures that users never miss a moment, and an ISO that is raised to a maximum of 6400 for action shots. The lightweight, compact and modern design makes the camera extremely portable. Available in sleek black and stylish white.

Php 35,990 with 20-50mm standard zoom lens and external flash bundle

ST100

SAMSUNG 2VIEW ST600 & ST100 DIGITAL CAMERAS

Samsung adds to its 2View camera portfolio the 14.2-megapixel ST600 and ST100. Compared with its predecessors the ST600 and ST100 now have larger front LCD screens, activated by a simple tap, which now measures 1.8 inches. Additional features offered by the cameras’ front LCD screens include a self-portrait mode, a couple shot mode, a children’s setting which will play a cartoon animation with sound to encourage young ones to smile for the camera, a self-timer and a jump shot mode. The Samsung 2View ST600 and ST100 come equipped with high-quality Schneider KREUZNACH lenses which are supported by Optical and Digital Image stabilization to help consumers produce blur-free images. The cameras feature Samsung’s Smart Auto (Still & Movie) scene recognition technology that takes the guess work out of taking a great photo or video. Available in four mood-inspired colors—hot pink, gold, black and purple

Both models priced at Php 19,990

ST600

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE

BROTHER PRINTERS Brother’s new series printers are packed with a variety of software and network features to maximize your productivity while minimizing costs. The new Inkjet multi-function centers come with either a 1.9-inch color LCD screen or 3.3-inch color LCD screen and an improved user interface. This larger LCD screen combined with the new user interface makes navigation easier and creates an overall better user experience. With the free iPrint&Scan application, you can now print directly from your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Plus, you can scan documents from your MFCs straight to your Apple gadgets.

DCP-J125

DCP-J315W

• Print, Scan, Copy, Direct Photo Print • Fast print speeds up to 33/27ppm

• Print, Scan, Copy, Direct Photo Print, Wireless Networking • Fast print speeds up to 35/28ppm • Up to 1,200 x 6,000 dpi

Affordable 3-in-1 color inkjet mfc with direct photo print

Php 4,250

Compact 3-in-1 color inkjet mfc with direct photo print & wireless connectivity

Php 5,450

DCP-J715W

Easy-To-Use 3-in-1 Inkjet MFC with Wireless Connectivity & Automatic Document FeederPrint, Scan, Copy, Direct Photo & Movie Print, Wireless Network • Fast print speeds up to 35/28ppm • Up to 1,200 x 6,000 dpi • Wireless Networking, built in networking • Up to 15-sheets 2010 Inkjet

Php 6,950

MFC-J265W

Compact 5-in-1 Home Office MFC with Fax/PC Fax & Wireless Connectivity • Print, scan, copy, fax, PC Fax, Direct Photo Print, Wireless Network • Fast print speeds up to 33/27ppm • Up to 1,200 x 6,000 dpi • Wireless Networking

Php 5,950

MFC-795CW

9-in-1 Wireless Network-Ready Color Inkjet Multi-Function Center • Print, Fax, Copy, Scan, PC Fax, PhotoCapture Center, Speaker phone, Answering machine • Up to 35ppm (Mono)/28ppm (Color) • Up to 1,200 x 6,000dpi • Wired & Wireless Network Connectivity

Php 14,950

MFC-J415W

MFC-J615W

• Print, Scan, Copy, Fax, PC Fax, Direct Photo Print, Wireless Network • Fast print speeds up to 35/28ppm • Up to 1,200 x 6,000 dpi • Wireless Networking • Up to 15 sheets

Php 9,950

Php 12,950

Wireless 5-in-1 Home Office MFC with Fax & Auto Document Feeder

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

Wireless 5-in-1 Home Office MFC with Fax/PC Fax, Auto Document Feeder & Wide Color LCD

MFC-J220

Affordable 5-in-1 Inkjet MFC with Fax Features • Print, Scan, Copy, Fax, PC Fax, Direct Photo Print • Fast print speeds up to 33/27ppm • Up to 1,200 x 6,000 dpi

Php 4,950

PARADE

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

PARADE Cube

NUVOS CUBE & ORB COMPACT POWERED SPEAKERS

Make full use of your laptop, iPod and MP3 players’ entertainment features with the Nuvos Cube and Orb. These compact speakers feature a 2x2-inch magnetic driver that can give out 4 ohms at 5-watts. Connect it with a 3.5mm headphone jack and you’re ready to party!

Cube - Php 695 Orb - Php 450

Orb

NUVOS ZINI BLUETOOTH HEADSET

Look Ma, no hands! Calling and driving don’t mix so you’d better get a Nuvos Zini so you can still chat while traversing the city streets. This ultra-slim headset weighs only 9 grams and yet has a wireless working range of up to 10 meters. Talk time is up to three hours while charging time is 2 hours. Available in black, silver and champagne.

Php 695 32

DECEMBER 2010 •JANUARY 2011

MOSHI IGLAZE 4 XT Most iPhone 4 owners are forced to choose between aesthetics or durability when picking a case for their beloved devices. Why not have both? Unlike most snap-on cases, the Moshi iGlaze 4 XT employs a very minimalistic design and is completely unobtrusive, you might even forget it’s there. It's made of a 0.8mm-thick scratch-resistant plastic with specialized coating which is a lot more durable than your regular skin shield. All the ports and buttons are easily accessible so there’s no sacrifice in functionality. As a buffer, it comes with a protective film for both the front and back panels. If you want quality protection that accentuates the natural beauty of the iPhone 4, Moshi iGlaze 4 XT might just be thing you’re looking for.

GADGETSLAB 36 PAGE|

CANON POWERSHOT G12 DIGITAL CAMERA

THE BEST POWERSHOT YOU CAN OWN

40 PAGE|

47 PAGE|

38 PAGE|

LG OPTIMUS ONE P500

NEO ELAN L4300-3D

ASUS EEE PC LAMBORGHINI VX6

BUDGET ANDROID EXTRAORDINAIRE

3D ON THE GO

ITALIAN INSPIRED COMPUTING

SMARTPHONE

LAPTOP

NETBOOK

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

GADGETSLAB

NOKIA N8 SMARTPHONE

By Danee Torres

My first phone was a Nokia 3310. It was small compared with other cellphones at that time, and it did everything I needed it to plus it had a game called Space Impact. Over the years, Nokia has continued to release devices that have evolved from having access to FM radio to the World Wide Web. Its user interface has also made a drastic change in the newest releases, combining both a keypad and a touchscreen in some devices. One thing’s for sure, things have changed so much that this current Nokia phone, the N8, could very well be the 3310’s great-great-great-great grandson. I was given the dark gray N8 to test, and well, it looks pretty… evil—menacing, really—in the sense that it looks like it can do anything (and it does). Allow me to explain. You know how the best villains are always slick, sleek, powerful? Well that’s the N8 for you. Its anodized aluminum casing is very impressive. Don’t get me wrong, it looks intimidating but it’s actually a good little guy. On the right side are volume controls, a screen lock button that you can slide to lock/unlock the 34

touchscreen, and a camera button. The bottom houses the charging port while the left side contains slots for a microSD, your SIM card, and a micro-USB port. The top is where the awesome begins. In addition to having a headphone port and a power button, this area is also home to an HDMI port. HD video geeks will appreciate this for sure. I reckon this goes handin-hand with their 12-megapixel Carl Zeiss camera, but we’ll get to that later. I know I mentioned that Nokia has ventured into combining touchscreens with physical keypads. This isn’t one of those devices. The N8, however, has a myriad of options for the user. If there’s a physical lock button on the right side, there’s also one on the screen—just in case you can’t reach that far. The front part of the device is simplified enough, with only one backlit physical key on the lower left part set to access the menu and the rest allotted for the touchscreen. The touchscreen is responsive as expected and has a maximum of three home screens, providing maximum ease for widget-lovers.

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

Although the screen is somewhat of a fingerprint-magnet, it’s something a screen protector can fix. At the home screen you can access Options for customization or Call to direct you to the dialer. If you select Options > Edit Home screen it’ll group the widgets on the screen into six rows, allowing you to move the rows around or change what widgets appear on your home screen. This is in stark contrast to other devices that do not have a “grid” on the home screen, rendering it cluttered with widgets. Upon pressing the Menu button, you’ll find that Nokia continues to keep organization high on its list as the menu only has 12 items on it—with their individual uses. What confuses me, however, is why Photos and Videos weren’t grouped in the same folder such as let’s say…Gallery. But that’s a minor detail. The menu gives you access to the aforementioned Photos and Videos, Settings, the Ovi Store, the Web, Web TV, Applications, the Music Player, Contacts and the Calendar. These are clearly the essentials every user needs, but Nokia gives options in case a particular user is a tad

advanced and has more demands. The Applications icon on the lower rightmost part of the menu takes you to more specialized apps like Office, Tools, Social Networking, YouTube, and Photo and Video Editor, just to name a few. Speaking of photos and videos, the camera takes fantastic stills and videos even in modest lighting. The audio is incredible as well as the clips I took were able to pick up voices despite being in an open area that pumped loud music. The 12-megapixel Carl Zeiss camera with Tessar 2.8/29 lenses could be the cherry on top of this already great device. Colors were crisp and vibrant, but for really dark environments I would suggest using a flash. Here is where it gets interesting—when viewing photos, the interface allows you to pinch and zoom, and the photo automatically adjusts to give you high-quality browsing of your stills. The N8 also has a secondary, frontfacing camera which can also take photos but they may not turn out as pristine as the ones shot using the Carl Zeiss lens. I had the N8 for a few days, and the first thing I noticed

GADGETSLAB

PHILIPS SHB1400 was that it was heavier than the usual smartphones I’m used to. I wouldn’t take it against Nokia though, because this little machine is also a heavyweight when it comes to features. Now for the part that everyone’s been waiting for—messaging. The user can opt to view messages according to the date/time they were sent or grouped by recipient/sender. I prefer choosing Conversations on the messaging menu because it’s easier to keep track of messages if they’re seen in thread form. I don’t know about other users though. What’s great about it is that texting is keypad form, but it switches to QWERTY orientation when it’s tilted to the left. I think this is especially great because clearly using a QWERTY keyboard in portrait is not as easy as using it in landscape so, kudos to Nokia for adding this in the N8. We’ve barely begun to scratch the surface, but don’t take my word for it. Go get the N8 now and explore it for yourself.

...this little machine is a heavyweight when it comes to features. SPECIFICATIONS TYPE: Candy bar NETWORK: HSDPA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 DIMENSIONS: 113.5 x 59.1 x 12.9 mm WEIGHT: 135g DISPLAY: 3.5-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen

BLUETOOTH HEADSET

By John Nieves

I’m almost always shuffling from my office to an event or a meeting, and as a result I spend a large amount of time on the road. Since I’m forced to call and text while driving, I’ve accumulated my fair share of citations from the MMDA. I finally got tired of retrieving my license from our not-so-friendly law enforcement agencies and decided to give the Philips SHB1400 Bluetooth headset a try to avoid being flagged down again.

MEMORY: 16GB expandable to 32GB via microSD CONNECTIVITY: HSDPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n

WHAT’S HOT Multiple options Excellent camera Wi-Fi

Great organization of icons

WHAT’S NOT Quite heavy

Limit of only three home screens

8.5

BOTTOMLINE If you’ve been a Nokia user all your life but are apprehensive to switch to their smartphones, give the N8 a go.

The design of the Philips SHB1400 is simple yet it exudes that certain geek chic feel to it. One of the main draws of the product is its ability to turn any USB port into a charging dock, forgoing the usual cables that come with units like these. The USB part of the Philips SHB1400 is cleverly hidden by a soft gel cover. The call button is nice and large and is easy to press when the headset is in your ear. The volume rocker key is within easy reach, and there’s a single LED light that notifies you if your battery is going and helps you during pairing. The unit is ergonomic enough; the only problem is that it seems that the unit won’t stay still without the optional ear hook. Of course, the fit

of the device will vary depending on the user. Pairing the headset is easy and doesn’t take more than two minutes. Battery life is pretty good, although I couldn’t gauge it properly since it’s usually in a USB port as soon as I get access to a computer. Call quality is good, and I haven’t had an issue with calls made and received with the headset. Call issues that are usually associated with Bluetooth headsets like echoes are non-existent. All in all, it’s a nicely built piece, that, if you’re anything like me will save you a lot of grief.

WHAT’S HOT Simple and functional Charges via USB port

WHAT’S NOT Fit issues without the optional hook

8.2

BOTTOMLINE The Philips SHB1400 is a practical, solid and dependable Bluetooth headset that won’t break the bank.

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

GADGETSLAB

CANON POWERSHOT G12

SPECIFICATIONS

DIGITAL CAMERA

By Paolo Toledo

The instances where one can have his own cake and eat it too, are relatively rare and special. Having the best of both (or all) worlds is a luxury often chased, especially in the realm of handheld gadgets. In the compact digital camera landscape, this “middle nirvana” can be seen as an overall balance between the needs of a professional and that of an average enthusiast. This exact balance is what the Canon Powershot G12 ultimately commands, and definitely conquers. The Powershot G12 is Canon’s latest baby in its famous G-series family of digital cameras. A slightly improved version of the acclaimed G11 model, the G12 is basically an advanced point-and-shoot that could well easily be a “pocket” version of a professional’s DSLR camera. A cutting edge-fixed lens with a hefty set of manual controls and imaging sensors, this camera is truly a compact weapon to behold. Playing around and with the various preset options and manual controls will surely keep you happily shooting for hours, not to mention that one of the G12’s notable upgrades is that it can record 720p HD video with stereo sound. 36

Other upgrades on this piece include its High-Sensitivity System, which dresses up its CCD with a DIGIC4 image processor. This ensures that the G12 will deliver better image quality, particularly in situations with poor lighting. Another helpful add-on is the use of a hybrid optical image stabilizer that effectively reduces both shift and angular blur. Those who love fiddling manual controls to get their perfect shot will also appreciate the new control dial in the front of the camera, conveniently located for quick and easy tweaks while you shoot. Other new and nifty features on this model is an ISO dial on top of the camera that adjusts sensitivity down to 1/3-stop increments for better image control, HDR (high dynamic range) feature with additional special effect scene modes, SDXC memory card support and even an optional Lens Filter Adapter. Aside from the new dial to adjust manual exposure on the front, the unit remains to be very well built, and it has that classic professionalfeel to its metal and plastic body. The entire camera feels very sturdy in hand, and even it’s buttons, hinges, and appendages are all solid while

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still staying very comfortable for shooting. Being a compact camera, the size of the G12 can allow for one-hand operation but given the new front dial, combined with the scroll wheel at the back of the camera, it also operates much like a standard digital SLR. It’s heavy in weight, which is actually a good thing since it adds to the entire professional feel of the camera and its performance.

TYPE: Compact digital still camera w built-in flash, 10 Megapixel CCD DIMENSIONS: 4.41 x 3.00 x 1.90 in. / 112.1 x 76.2 x 48.3mm WEIGHT: Approx 12.4 oz. (camera body) ZOOM: 5x optical / 4x digital / 20x combined zoom w Optical Image Stabilizer System FOCAL LENGTH: 28(w)-140(t) mm VIEW: Real-image optical viewfinder DISPLAY: 2.8-inch TFT color LCD STORAGE: SD/SDHC Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, MultiMediaCard, MMC Plus Card, HC MMC Plus Card

WHAT’S HOT Good photo quality

5x optical zoom, 28-140mm range New hybrid optical image stabilization

The G12 has an F2.8-4.5 5x optical zoom lens, which carries a focal range of 28-140mm. The lens itself is not threaded for substituting lenses, however you can still attach conversion lenses and filters by using the required adapters. What really performs well for the G12 though is the new hybrid optical image stabilization system that uses both an angular sensor and an accelerometer, which enables it to reduce the blur caused by both the angle of the camera and any parallel movement or shake. With almost no huge and notable gripes against the G12, it stands as a rare piece of photography technology that indeed captures a balance between professional and prosumer.

Well built and comfortable to handle Complete manual controls, with RAW image support HDR, noise and shadow correction Records 720p HD video

WHAT’S NOT Intimidating to use

Small, cluttered buttons No optical zoom in video mode No memory card included

8.9

BOTTOMLINE The Canon Powershot G12 is a compact DSLR. It caters to both professionals who need a portable “second” camera, and also to enthusiasts who love to control their shots manually. It is a beast packed with performance features and delivers excellent image quality for its size.

GADGETSLAB

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

GADGETSLAB

ASUS EEE PC LAMBORGHINI VX6 NETBOOK

By John Nieves There’s no easy way to say it, so I’ll just say it: I don’t particularly like netbooks. Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely a utility to a small, light notebook, but it’s not for me. The only exception to that particular personal rule is if the netbook is equipped with its own discreet GPU—which dramatically improves the performance when it comes to mildly intense tasks. The Asus Lamborghini VX6, while considerably more expensive than your typical netbook, combines style cues from the previous collaboration with the Italian supercar manufacturer and Nvidia’s ION technology to produce a product that’s definitely not your typical netbook. Externally, the VX6 is gorgeous. As previously mentioned, it has all the styling cues from its predecessor, and is deserving of the Lamborghini badge that adorns the lid. The design incorporates just enough Lamborghini references and as a result doesn’t feel tacky. The 12.1inch, 16:9 HD LED-backlit display is 38

fantastic to work on. Build quality is tops as the whole netbook is solidly built, right down to the keys. The keyboard is an island-style affair, and is generally easy to type on. The trackpad is easy to use, but to my infinite annoyance the VX6 uses a single plastic bar to represent the left and right mouse buttons, making selection fiddly and annoying. The VX6 also has USB 3.0, which enables fast data transfers with USB 3.0 devices and drives. Inside the VX6 is powered by dual-core Intel Atom processors (D525) running at 1.8GHz which is complemented by 2GB of DDR3 memory. There’s 250GB of storage on tap, and another 500GB is available through the Asus web storage. As mentioned before, the VX6 is armed with Nvidia’s ION technology, so it’s capable of viewing HD content both in YouTube and downloaded videos without much issue. One nice thing about it is that it’s equipped with Bang and Olufsen’s ICEpower audio technology, which resulted in crisp

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

and clear audio, surprising for such a small machine. The sheer size of the VX6 doesn’t make it feel like a netbook at all, which is a good thing. The keyboard is well laid out and is easy to press, and the keys themselves have enough travel. The whole thing is only around 1.5kg, so it’s not too heavy—it was actually the notebook I brought to Singapore to cover the Asus tech seminar, and in between the sessions and the traveling it was my link to the outside world. Battery life was good as the VX6 lasted about 6 hours with regular use. Just a few niggles though, chief of which is the mislabeled keyboard. There are some keys on the keyboard that are mislabeled, so it’ll take a while to start typing without looking down. I would have liked it if there was an option to disable the revving sound the VX6 made when starting up, because as charming as it is, it gets grating after a while.

...it has all the styling cues of its predecessor, and is deserving of the Lamborghini badge that adorns the lid. WHAT’S HOT Excellent styling and design Dual core Atom processors NVIDIA ION enabled

WHAT’S NOT Annoying engine revving sound when unit is turned on Mislabeled keyboard

8.9

BOTTOMLINE While it’s certainly not the cheapest Atom powered device around, the Asus Eee PC Lamborghini VX6 is well worth the price of admission.

GADGETSLAB

ASUS ENGTX460 TOP VIDEOCARD

By John Nieves With everyone and their grandma making derivatives of Nvidia’s Fermi-based videocards, it’s hard to segregate the wheat from the chaff, especially when you’re looking to upgrade your rig for the avalanche of pretty and demanding games this holiday season. Asus has always had a solid reputation of creating hard wearing, quality components for the PC, and has released its ENGTX460 TOP, its take on Nvidia’s mainstream Fermi card. The Asus ENGTX460 TOP comes in a nice-looking box with a couple of goodies thrown in like multiple video adapters, power connectors and the software installation disc. Like your typical mainstream card, the ENGTX460 TOP occupies 2 PCI-E slots, and requires two 6-pin PCI-E power adapters to run. One of the main differences in the ENGTX460 TOP as opposed to other brands is the quality of the attached cooler. While the reference GTX 460 runs noticeably cooler than Nvidia’s 470 and 465 series, Asus’s has seen fit to use its DirectCU thermal solution composed of three heat pipes that go from the base of the cooler to the massive fin array for optimal cooling

performance to cool the card. As is the norm for Fermi cards nowadays, the ENGTX460 TOP is factory overclocked from the stock 675 MHz graphics clock to 775 MHz, a 15% increase in performance from the reference model. Of course, there’s still plenty of headroom when it comes to overclocking, and the card is equipped with Asus’ Voltage Tweak technology and comes with their SmartDoctor application software to help in that regard. For benchmarks, I’ll be using the ever trusty Haven benchmarking software from Unigine. I'll also be using BitSquid’s DX11 benchmark software Stone Giant. Lastly, we’ll be running the ENGTX460 TOP through two of my favorite games, the multiplayer bonanza Battlefield Bad Company 2 (41FPS) and Capcom’s zombie murder simulator Dead Rising 2 (47FPS). Settings for both games will be max on everything at 1920 x 1080 resolution. All of the benchmarks will be run with the card running on factory settings. I ran the Haven benchmark with everything on high and the resolution set to 1920 x 1080, and

the ENGTX460 TOP handled it well, with the average FPS (frames per second, higher is better) nary dipping below 20. When all is said and done, the ENGTX460 TOP managed to score an 814 with an average FPS of 32.3. Next up was BitSquid’s Stone Giant benchmark application. Like the previous test, I ran it with all the settings set on high, and although the FPS counter sank to a low of 20 FPS, the action on the screen was still nice and smooth. Stone Giant gave the ENGTX460 TOP a solid 26 FPS through four runs. It was pretty much the same story for both of the test games. Battlefield Bad Company 2 was a blast to play through with the ENGTX460 TOP, and it never slowed down, even when massive explosions and smoke grenades filled the screen, the card managed a nice and fluid 41 FPS average. Carving your way through the throngs of undead in Dead Rising 2 is a pleasure, and as with BBC2, even with hundreds of zombies on screen, the ENGTX460 TOP just kept on chugging, and posted a zippy 47 FPS average.

The Asus ENGTX460 TOP comes in a nicelooking box with a couple of goodies thrown in...

WHAT’S HOT Factory overclocked right out of the box Plenty of headroom for overclockers and tweakers Lots of software extras to help overclock Excellent performance

WHAT’S NOT A bit pricier than the competition

9.0

BOTTOMLINE If PC gaming is in your blood and you’re looking to make short work of this holiday’s long list of games, you’ll definitely need the Asus ENGTX460 TOP.

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

GADGETSLAB

LG OPTIMUS ONE P500 SMARTPHONE

By Danee Torres

For the longest time it seems that the problem with the perfect smartphone is its size. Some users might prefer a smartphone that is as powerful as it is inconspicuously sleek, but this seems like somewhat of a rarity. This is one of the reasons why I’ve held off buying a smartphone even though I’ve wanted one for the longest time. I’m very picky when it comes to something I’ll have to spend on, so if I were to drop a whole lot of money, it should be able to meet my criteria. First of all, size and physical characteristics. It shouldn’t be obnoxiously long, or thick, and it should be able to fit in my pocket or on the palm of my hand with ease. You don’t want that smartphone accidentally slipping and shattering, so grip is very important. At 113.5 x 59 x 13.3 millimeters, the P500 is an ace. It’s not so long that you’ll have to use two hands in navigating through it, but it’s not too small or short that you’ll be straining your eyes just to view the display. There are four 40

physical buttons on the front which I particularly like as they are controls that the user is going to need the most: Search, Home, Menu and Return/ Back. The display is a brightcolored, 3-inch ultra-responsive touchscreen that gives the user a quality experience. I switched the wallpapers a few times during the test, and my eyes never got bored. The display is absolutely crisp and fantastic. Secondly, navigation and customization. It’s crucial that a smartphone allows maximum personalization, and I have no complaints in that department when it comes to the P500. Widgets can be spread out over five home screens, and if you love widgets so much that those five screens aren’t enough, you’ll be happy to know that the home screen can be expanded up to seven so you can have one page for music, another for keeping track of the weather, and another for checking email and work-related functions. It all depends on user preferences, which is pretty great to me.

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Navigation is a breeze, all you have to do is slide a finger from left to right to unlock the screen. On the bottom of the home screen is the Application Tab where you can get apps and add them to the home screen. To add to the home screen, simply press and hold the icon of the app and drag to the home screen. To add widgets to the home screen, press the Menu key and choose from the various widgets on the list. The P500 has a weather and clock widget and bookmarks, among others. If viewing the applications look daunting, it’s probably because they’re just grouped into one big category: Applications. But in keeping with the customization according to user demands, the P500 allows you to group the applications so you don’t have to look through them one by one just to select, say, Google Goggles. I love organization myself, so during the test I grouped the apps in three categories; Google products, Multimedia and Games, and Social Networking. It made me

browse through applications faster because I knew where everything was, and the best part was I could name the categories myself. Speaking of Google products, did I mention that the P500 runs on Android 2.2. Froyo? Well it does, and that’s another reason why it’s so easy to suit it to your needs. Android is great when it comes to personalization, and this lets me add a third check on my list: ‘powered by a formidable OS.’ Android 2.2 provides the new and improved tethering which makes it easier to work as it allows you to share a 3G connection with your laptop. Froyo also has an impressive Exchange support and email application, so you won’t have to be anxious about getting work done. My only problem is you can’t get much done on the unit without first setting up your Google Account. All I wanted to see was if the month of November had a 31st, and it wouldn’t open the Calendar until I registered

GADGETSLAB

SOCIAL MEDIA KIOSKS:

THE PUBLIC TWITTER BOOTH LETS THE SMARTPHONE-FREE TWEET ON THE GO

my Gmail account, so I suggest doing that the minute you turn on your phone. I reckon the registration was so it could sync my Gmail calendar with the one on the P500. Unlike some smartphone marketplaces, the Android Market has a ton of apps that can contribute to or even enhance productivity. Google Talk, for example, makes it easy to communicate with other people on Gmail through chat. Google Maps is always necessary these days, where getting lost and wasting time looking for the right way is not an option. There are also other apps like Google Voice Search that are built for convenience and ease. The LG Optimus One P500 is not only powerful and reliable, but it is also affordable. It has passed all the conditions in my book, and for me it’s an excellent buy especially this holiday season.

The LG Optimus One P500 is not only powerful and reliable, but it is also affordable. SPECIFICATIONS

A curious concept, this public Twitter Booth in Skolkova, Russia lets social media addicts tweet away from their computers. Whether you’ve misplaced your smartphone or you’re loyal to your landline, this convenient kiosk will serve to update your followers on your whereabouts and more.

FORM FACTOR: Candy Bar DIMENSIONS: 113.5 x 59 x 13.3mm WEIGHT: 129g DISPLAY: 3.2-inch HVGA (320 x 420) MEMORY: 170MB Expandable to 32GB CONNECTIVITY: WiFi 802.11b/g

WHAT’S HOT Tethering Customization Android 2.2 Good price Nice size

WHAT’S NOT Nothing that’s too serious

9.5

The abandoned phone booth prototype is an interesting inspiration for a virtual intermediary—many people caught up in the realm of social media keep smartphones on them at all times. http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/public-twitter-booth

BOTTOMLINE If you’re looking for a reasonably-priced smartphone that looks harmless but is actually powerful, the LG Optimus One is, well, the one. DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

GADGETSLAB

SAMSUNG N150 PLUS NETBOOK

By JC Pulido III What makes the Samsung N150 Plus different from the other netbooks out in the market? Well, to be honest not a whole lot when it comes to specs. You get an Intel Atom 1.66GHz processor, the same amount of RAM at 1GB and 250GBs of storage as well as a webcam for video chats. The N150 Plus is using Intel’s latest iteration of the Atom processor, the N450 processor, codenamed Pineview. Although still running at the same speed as the previous Atoms, the Pineview processor has been tweaked to give it better performance with minimal cost to battery drain.

On the other hand, it is in the details that sets this netbook from the rest. The netbook we got is white with red accents as well as a glossy red lid. On the looks department, the Samsung N150 Plus has that certain chic-look which won’t make you embarrassed to pull out of the bag at a coffee shop. The keyboard is about the average size for a netbook but the chiclet design makes for a comfortable platform to type on. The Function button is in-between the right control and Windows buttons which is perfect so that people won’t accidentally press it.

Speaking of performance, the Atom processor is generally regarded as less than adequate for gaming. This is true for hardcore gamers but for those who crave interactive entertainment in-between sips of coffee, the Atom might just be enough. To test this, I installed a few “casual” games. Games such as Plants vs. Zombies and Worms Reloaded were playable at the native resolution although there were noticeable slowdowns, especially in PvZ when there are a lot of plants and zombies on screen. On the other hand, with Torchlight, a Diablo-style game, it was pretty much unplayable at the N150 Plus’ native resolution even with the games Netbook mode turned on.

Another great feature of the Samsung netbook is the matte display and the bright backlight. Although some might argue that the matte display dulls the color when watching videos, the upside of this is that you are able to use the N150 Plus without the glare of the sun on the screen.

The N150 Plus comes with a slew of software straight out of the box. Some are worth noting such as the Microsoft Office Starter edition which give you a stripped-down, free version of Microsoft’s Office Suite, while others are forgettable, never to be used on a daily basis. On the Start menu, Samsung has replaced the Shut Down button

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

with Sleep. So instead of completely powering down the netbook, Sleep would only put the N150 Plus to a low power state. This concerned me at the beginning as I would consciously look for Shut Down but as I used this netbook more, and because of the long battery life I would just put it to sleep and move on. By the end of the day, I would just plug in to charge and promptly shut down the N150 Plus. As it happens, I have a spare 2GB RAM on hand and decided to replace the 1GB (the N150 Plus only has 1 memory slot) stick while I had the N150 Plus for review. I have to say, you will notice the difference with the extra gigabyte of memory. Applications load faster and I had more room to multitask such as having multiple tabs on a browser while having Word, my IM client, and Windows Media Player open. For a power user such as myself, this makes the Samsung netbook, much more usable. Good keyboard, bright screen, ample hard drive space and excellent battery life make the Samsung N150 Plus is a great investment for a netbook. On the other hand, the 1GB RAM does hold the netbook back. For the average users who do not

multitask, they would not notice the performance hit. For power users, just make sure that you pay extra and get at least 2GBs of RAM. The additional memory will definitely help speed up the Samsung N150 Plus.

SPECIFICATIONS OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 7 Starter Edition PROCESSOR: Intel Atom N450 (Pineview) (1.66GHz) MEMORY: 1GB DDR2 DISPLAY: 10.1” LCD WSVGA (1024x600), Non-Gloss, LED Backlight GRAPHICS: Intel GMA3150 integrated graphics

WHAT’S HOT Bright Display Excellent Battery Life Good Keyboard

WHAT’S NOT 1GB RAM

8.0

BOTTOMLINE The Samsung N150 Plus is a great netbook to tote around the Metro all day. Just be ready to spend a little more for additional RAM.

GADGETSLAB

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

GADGETSLAB

WD MY PASSPORT STUDIO 500GB PORTABLE HARD DRIVE

By Francis Tan

Portable hard drives are something most users are not particularly brand conscious about. What really matters is that it’s functional, and it has a reasonable price tag—they all function the same way anyway. Most of them, at least. Western Digital, however, came out with a premium line of portable hard drives to add value to the standard hard drives we use every day and it’s called the My Passport Studio. Is it worth it? Let’s find out. The latest My Passport Studio is one gorgeous looking portable hard drive. This model is the successor to Western Digital's Studio line, which is specifically designed for Mac users. There are three variants for the My Passport Studio: 320Gb, 500GB, and 640GB. The one I have for review right now is the 500GB model. Unlike the My Passport Essential, the My Passport Studio only comes in one color. It couldn't be more perfect as the metallic silver finish of this hard drive closely resembles the Aluminum Unibody of Apple MacBooks. On the bottom, there are 2 connection ports available: micro-USB 2.0 and FireWire 800. Included inside the box is an adapter which converts FireWire 800 to FireWire 400 for a wider range of compatibility. I was hoping there 44

would be support for the much faster USB 3.0 but unfortunately, it’s not yet present in this device. Underneath the sleek exterior rests a 5400-rpm 2.5-inch hard drive with 8MB cache.

folders from the different categories. There's also no option for automatic scheduled backup. Mac users, however, can use this device for Time Machine right out of the box.

Probably the biggest upgrade from the previous generation of My Passport Studio is the e-Label panel located in front of the device. It displays a personalized label of up to 12 characters long, a bar which represents the remaining capacity, and a lock icon which indicates if the drive is password protected. The color of the display can be inverted from black-on-gray to gray-on-black. The e-label uses the e-ink technology so it stays on even when the device is unplugged.

If you're like me and you don’t want any of the extra clutter from the bundled SmartWare VCD, there is also an option to switch it off. You can only do this if your My Passport Studio is not password protected. When switched off, you won’t be able to use the features of SmartWare, which includes editing the elabel.This may be reverted back on anytime using the Virtual CD Manager that comes along with the device.

All of these features can be accessed and modified using WD's proprietary software: the WD SmartWare. It comes pre-loaded into the device as an auto-loading Virtual CD. It's an all-in-one software which lets you update the label, add a security password, or even diagnose your hard drive. There's also a nifty backup software included that neatly categorizes the contents of your computer. These files could be synced to your hard drive by category. The backup software is limited such that you can't exclude individual files/

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

For benchmarking, I used the AJA System Test, one of the very few benchmarking apps available for Mac. With USB 2.0, I got a very unimpressive write speed of 27.4 MB/s and a read speed of 35.8 MB/s. However, with FireWire 800, the performance got boosted up to twice as fast with a write speed of 62.1 MB/s and a read speed of 73.6 MB/s. I also tried copying a bunch of actual files just to verify the benchmarking results. With small files, the difference is hardly noticeable but when transferring large amounts of data, that’s when you’ll notice the edge of

Firewire 800—it was indeed almost twice as fast. Too bad not a lot of non-Apple devices have a built in FireWire 800 interface. The My Passport Studio has a suggested retail price of Php 5,600. That’s almost 30% more expensive in terms of peso per gigabyte as compared to standard portable hard drives. If you fancy the eLabel, and can utilize the improved transfer speeds of FireWire, the My Passport Studio might just be the hard drive for you.

WHAT’S HOT eLabel panel shows relevant info Quick firewire transfers Beautiful silver finish

WHAT’S NOT Expensive peso per gigabyte No USB 3.0 support

8.4

BOTTOMLINE The My Passport Studio is a bit pricey but if you have a device that supports FireWire and you dig the eLabel that comes with it, the premium price might be worth it.

GADGETSLAB

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

GADGETSLAB

BRITE-VIEW CINEMATUBE MEDIA PLAYER

By Francis Tan

Ever since video downloads and streaming took over the internet, people have been spending less time with their television sets. Probably the occasional random program that’s on air while having dinner, or local shows that aren’t available online are few exceptions but that’s about it. Video downloads via torrent has become increasingly popular—with high-definition quality, uninterrupted playback, and the ability to watch it on your own time—the possibilities far outweigh having to wait for a TV show’s timeslot. For media buffs, however, who would rather sit comfortably on their living room couch with a complete home theater system to boot, it is still the king. Nevertheless, it is only as good as the media it can play, and in this day and age, anyone could definitely use a powerful multimedia player such as the Brite-View CinemaTube. The CinemaTube is yet another networkable media player. What sets it aside from the rest is that it offers a lot of added features aside from video playback. The CinemaTube has an extremely elaborate list of compatible video formats, it virtually plays anything—MP4, H.264, RM, even high-definition containers 46

like MKV to play videos of up to 1080p. The quality of video playback depends on the resolution of your TV and the quality of your file. Watching MKV videos on my LCD TV at home was superb—I couldn’t tell the difference from watching Blu-ray on my PlayStation 3. Subtitles and languages can be adjusted if your file supports it. In addition to that, it also plays MP3 as well as other audio formats, and can open images as well. The CinemaTube itself is a small, simple-looking device that will fit right in just about any home cinema setup. The back interface has all the ports you need—Composite AV, Y/ Pb/Pr, Audio Digital-out, HDMI—so it should work with any television set and home theater system. There are also two USB ports where you could hook up a portable hard drive, MP3 player, or a digital camera to view content. The CinemaTube, however, doesn’t have an internal storage of its own so it’s not something you can readily use straight out of the box. The in-screen menus look elegant and it is fairly simple to navigate. I particularly like the small preview panel that shows folder contents or a

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

preview of the file that is highlighted. You can also access the settings tab to adjust audio, video, and network settings. It’s nothing too complicated, and most users don’t really have to adjust anything. Briteview cares about your investment so the firmware of the CinemaTube is upgradable to keep your device in sync with the latest technical developments. The latest firmware update has an improved in-screen menu and flicker support—an overall better user-experience compared to the default firmware preinstalled. One of the most unique features of the CinemaTube, however, is network connectivity. For starters, there’s flicker support, as well as torrent (peer-to-peer) downloads. There’s also streaming support via UPnP so you can play music and videos straight from your computer. You can only access these features by using an Ethernet cable with an active internet connection but if you want to connect wirelessly, you would have to purchase a compatible WiFi USB dongle separately. The CinemaTube is a nice complement to just about any home theater setup. It plays a wide array of

files and it comes with cool network features. It has a very attractive suggested retail price of Php 6,000 but that’s only for the most basic functions. If you want to fully utilize its features, prepare to shell out more for file storage (portable hard drive recommended especially when downloading torrents) and a WiFi USB dongle for wireless connectivity.

WHAT’S HOT Wide range of video format compatibility HDMI and digital audio ready Torrent downloads

WHAT’S NOT Wireless connectivity is sold separately No internal hard drive

8.0

BOTTOMLINE The Brite-view CinemaTube is a reliable device that could play a lot of video formats, with a lot of bonus extensive features but the lack of internal storage and built-in wireless connectivity might set you back from using most of its features out of the box.

GADGETSLAB

NEO ELAN L4300-3D LAPTOP

By JC Ansis “Fo’ Real?!” That was my initial reaction when they told me I would be reviewing the NEO Elan L4300-3D laptop. The 3D craze is everywhere and has broken free of its shackles, and manufacturers are stepping up their assault on the tech-savvy public. From new TVs to Hollywood blockbusters to gaming consoles, the technology is now poised to give consumers a more immersive, in-your-face form of entertainment. And laptops are no exception. In fact, it’s a natural fit. The Neo Elan L4300-3D is the firstever 3D gaming laptop offered by a local brand. This hardy device runs Nvidia 3D Vision technology. It comes equipped with the Nvidia 3D Vision Kit, which includes software, a pair of wireless active shutter glasses and an emitter. The kind of stuff you’ll need for a mind-blowing stereoscopic 3D experience. The first thing you’d notice about the L4300-3D is its size. Looking like a laptop on steroids, it’s nearly an inch thick and is heavier than Black Sabbath, weighing in at 3.3 kg. The chassis design isn’t elegant, but it’s decent—clad in a black plastic body with a matte surface. But what it lacks in appearance can be justified by the quality of hardware underneath. Embedded inside is an Intel Core i7740QM processor, coupled with an Nvidia GeForce GTX285M discrete graphics card and 4GB of RAM. Oh,

and it has a 15.6-inch 3D capable display. If you’re a hardcore gamer, you probably just wet yourself. For storage, it employs a generous 500GB hard drive and a Blu-ray/DVD Multi optical. The ports along the sides contain standards like USB, headset, mic, and memory card reader. But it also has HDMI, eSATA and a USB3.0 port. The NEO Elan L4300-3D runs the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium. In case you’re wondering, this bad boy doesn’t come cheap, priced at close to a Php 100,000. Before diving into any videos or games, you’d have to set some configurations first. The quick-start guide isn’t difficult to set up: a few clicks and a demo animation allow you to dial the stereoscopic effect to a comfortable level. I downloaded a couple of 3D videos from the Nvidia site, but I barely got through all of them. I don’t know if it had something to do with the 3D glasses, or just me not used to viewing 3D videos, but I kind of got dizzy and strained my eyes from watching. This could become a problem if you’re planning to watch movies on this device. What’s depressing is that the Nvidia 3D Vision Video player will be the only means of watching in 3D and it does NOT support conversion of non-3D videos to 3D. Unlike 3D TVs, you'd have to acquire actual 3D multimedia

content to make full use of its powers. A downer, indeed. Playing a demo of Mafia II was an interesting experience, and the 3D effect was fantastic. It felt far more immersive, and it works well enough that the viewing angle changes with every head movement. But it’s the big action set pieces that left my jaw glued to the floor. In one scene, an explosion sends the car's wheel and door flying towards you, followed by metal debris and sparks. Watching plumes of smoke and flames spill out toward your camera angle helps put you right into the thick of action. Nvidia 3D-Vision and 3D-Vision Surround are superb and together with Mafia II reproduce lifelike scenery and destruction, definitely adding a sense of spatial awareness that really enhanced the gameplay. And yes, I tried to dodge bullets by moving my head. Given its 3.3 kg weight and a lightusage battery life of only 1 hour (even after adjusting display settings) it isn’t exactly portable, but it’s certainly a comfortable laptop to use. There’s space for a full keyboard and a number pad, with no unnecessarily miniaturized keys or quirky layouts. Typing this review using the L4300-3D was a breeze. I was, however, fairly disappointed with the poor sound quality from the speakers. As a local brand, Neo has done well

by coming out with a 3D notebook of its own to compete with the bigger brand names. It’s arguably one of the most potent gadgets on the block. The heavy price tag is well justified, given its 3D prowess. There were a few nitpicks, especially the battery life, but all quibbles are dwarfed by the L4300-3D’s overall performance.

SPECIFICATIONS SCREENSIZE: 15.6-inch 3D Display MEMORY: 4GB DDR 3 CPU & CHIPSET: 1.73 GHz Intel Core i7 72OQm WIRELESS USED: 802.11 g/n PHYSICAL DIMENTIONS: 374 x 263.5 x 42 inches

WHAT’S HOT 3D! Vivid screen display Gaming performance Incredible specs

WHAT’S NOT 3.3 kg Weak battery life Hefty price tag

8.3

BOTTOMLINE If you’re looking for a bad-ass 3D gaming laptop and don’t mind burning a hole in your pocket, the new NEO Elan L4300-3D is a solid choice.

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

GADGETSLAB

ACER ASPIRE ETHOS 8943G LAPTOP

By Steven Vea There are few laptops today that evoke a sense of awe once it is taken out of its box and revealed in all its glory, but the Acer 8943G is one of these elite few. Sporting a classy silver metal casing with black trim, the Ethos aesthetically matches both its retail price and its specifications. One of the very first things that will leave you stunned in amazement is the size of the 8943G, measuring at approximately 48 x 440 x 295 mm (HxWxD) and weighing in at roughly 4.6 kg. While it doesn't sound like an ideal laptop to lug around, the 8943G (in both specs and size) is a great replacement for a desktop computer while still retaining the portability of a mobile device. Upon opening the lid, we are greeted with a magnificent workspace fitted with a silver island keyboard that is both ergonomic and perfectly fitted for touch-typing. The keys are adequately sized and spaced, and a full number pad is situated to its right, which is a great addition. Below the keyboard is the Ethos's glossy touchpad, which is perhaps its most unique feature because it doubles as a media console. By pressing the circular button in the center of the 48

touchpad, an LED display lights up the shortcut transport controls for your stored media. By pressing on the "Movie" or "Music" icon, Acer's Arcade Deluxe Manger launches, and provides quick access to your library. However, it would've been intuitive for Acer to allow for customization, enabling users to assign the media software of their choice to launch, but it is nevertheless a very cool feature. The touchpad itself functions well as a tracking device, although its glossy finish did smudge quite a bit and was prone to slight friction. Located on the front lid just below the touchpad is an old school thumbwheel for volume control, which comes in very handy to quickly adjust the levels coming from the 8943G's 5.1 Cinematic Surround speakers. Enhanced with Tuba (a bass booster), the speakers definitely pack quite a punch and can handle a very high decibel range, although some slight distortion does occur in the lower mid frequencies. All in all however, users will probably have no need to rush out to the stores to buy a pair of external speakers, as the Acer 8943G's do the job very well. The Ethos has a generous number of ports located on both sides of the unit, featuring 5 USB, 1 eSATA, 1 VGA

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

and 1 HDMI. Additionally on the left hand side is a line in, microphone jack and stereo output. Finally, a multicard reader is also situated on the front lid. So in short, this laptop provides more than enough ports for any consumer's computing needs. What is this machine packing underneath its luxurious casing? Running on Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, the 8943G comes equipped with a 1.6-GHz Intel Core i7-720QM processor, 8 GB of DDR3 RAM and a 1TB hard disk. These specifications not only justifies the Ethos's retail price, but it definitely makes you want to go out and get one. To top it all off, this laptop also features an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850, which will definitely lure in gamers and video enthusiasts alike. This brings us to what makes the Acer Aspire 8943G a great laptop: it boasts an 18.4 inch full HD 1080p display with an astounding resolution of 1980x1080, which will satisfy the lust of any user. This laptop had no problems whatsoever handling HD movies or recent game titles (i.e. Call of Duty Black Ops) at full screen—it functioned as well as a television, if not better. Furthermore, the 8943G also features a DVD/Blu-Ray optical drive with its

own dedicated physical remote control, which adds the necessary icing to what makes this laptop already irresistibly sweet. In short, the Acer Aspire Ethos 8943G is an excellent laptop, and should be on your wish list if you want to spoil yourself after the holiday season.

SPECIFICATIONS SCREENSIZE: 18.4-inch Full HD MEMORY: 8GB DDR3

CPU & CHIPSET: 1.6 GHZ INTEL CORE I7 72OQM WIRELESS USED: 802.11 a/b/g/n PHYSICAL DIMENTIONS: 48 x 440 x 295

WHAT’S HOT Full HD display

Excellent graphics card Touchpad that doubles as a media console

WHAT’S NOT Heats up during gaming Bulky power adapter

8.8

BOTTOMLINE Whether you're a media enthusiast, gamer or are simply looking for a laptop to replace your desktop computer, the Acer Aspire Ethos 8943G is an excellent choice.

GADGETSLAB

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

GADGETSLAB

AOC LUVIA E2237FWH LED MONITOR

By John Nieves

While having a model name that’s almost unpronounceable, the AOC e2237Fwh is certainly one of the most stylish monitors I’ve reviewed to date. AOC’s take on the LED concept is intriguing and unique to say the least—as the way the e2237Fwh is constructed is sure to elicit “oohs” and “aahs” the next time your friends come over. The e2237Fwh definitely has some unique aesthetics. This 21.5-inch LED monitor has touch-sensitive controls, multiple inputs with options for HD and built-in speakers, all of which are embedded in a clear plastic frame that makes the monitor seemingly “float” an inch off the table while a blue LED stripe illuminates the bottom of the bezel, softly bathing your keyboard in blue light. The whole thing is easily adjustable, and it tilts back easily with minimum pressure applied. Setup is simple and easy, and you’ll have it up and running in less than five minutes. 50

As mentioned before, there are multiple connection options for the e2237Fwh, including regular d-sub, DVI and HDMI. Monitor calibration and setup is done, strangely enough, through the power button that doubles as OSD menu button. Press it once, lightly and four dots appear for menu selection. The touch-sensitive controls do its job, but I found the OSD menu fiddly and unresponsive, which made it a bit difficult to correctly calibrate the monitor to my needs. The OSD menu includes controls for contrast, brightness, gamma, and an Eco Mode that lowers the brightness automatically. There are also seven presets available if you don’t want to go through manually calibrating your monitor yourself. True to form, I tested the e2237Fwh with movies, games and a few hours of internet browsing. The monitor has a native resolution of 1920×1080 so it’s capable of running full HD

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

content. While watching Avatar and Alice in Wonderland in full HD I did notice a slight green tint. Other than that slight niggle, the colors were accurate overall. Game performance is excellent, as the fast response time of the e2237Fwh worked to its credit, with no ghosting even in fast, pitched battles in Battlefield Bad Company 2. Being an LED model, the e2237Fwh is extremely power efficient. It probably consumes around 17 to 18 watts of juice per hour, so you won’t have to worry about it dominating your power bill. The only issue I had with the e2237Fwh is the tilting design— most monitors work best when it’s in a 90-degree angle, which gives you the best viewing angle available. The e2237Fwh seems constantly tilted back, so it does take away a bit when you consider the optimum viewing angle. The monitor also does not swivel or pivot, something to keep in mind if you have your own viewing preferences.

Being an LED model, the e2237Fwh is extremely power efficient. WHAT’S HOT Stylish bevel design Thin Good game and movie performance

WHAT’S NOT A bit fiddly to configure and calibrate

8.7

Constantly tilted, does not have pivot or swivel adjustment

BOTTOMLINE The AOC Luvia e2237Fwh is a great monitor for the aesthetically inclined. There are some compromises made for the sake of aesthetics yes, but don’t let that stop you from buying this pretty little thing.

GADGETSLAB

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

GAMING

MODDING GAMES COMPILED BY JOHN NIEVES

There’s a certain number of gamers that look at a recently released game and say to themselves, “I could do better.” These guys either a) grow up and join the professional gaming industry or b) create awesome mods, or modifications of games that the designers never dreamed possible for their creations. If you’re the type that doesn’t leave enough alone, has boundless creativity and the bizarre talent of being able to read code all day without physically harming someone, then you might want to start modding games. Of course, you might want to start small. Super Mario World for the SNES has seen a lot of work from the modding community which mostly creates new, fiendish and holy crap difficult levels to frustrate and challenge gamers around the world. If you think you’re up to the challenge, here’s what you need: • Download the easy to use and totally free Lunar Magic level editor. It’s available through the author’s website http://fusoya.eludevisibility.org/lm/. • An SNES emulator. ZSNES is one of the easiest and most stable SNES emulators out there. • A ROM image of Super Mario World for the SNES. As with most ROM images, these are not free and are illegal to download if you don’t own the original ROM. 52

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After that, you can use the level editor to create your own Super Mario World level, right down to the impossible levels that people like to curse and post in YouTube. If you want something a bit more advanced, why not try creating your own 2D fighting game with M.U.G.E.N. Arcade classics like the Street Fighter series and Paws of Fury was developed using this engine, and now you can create your own with it. Essentially a DOS based graphics design engine, you will have to be fluent in DOS programming to make any kind of headway with it. It’s not the easiest program to use, but once you master it you’ll be able to make such masterpieces like the YouTube clip of Peter Griffin fighting Homer Simpson.

DOWNLOAD

Compiled by John Nieves In this month’s Download, we’ve found a way to make sharing contacts and content infinitely easier, make tethering possible on non-Froyo Android mobiles without rooting or hacking and make collaboration over the net easier with Mikogo.

Bump There’s now a dead simple way of sharing contacts between Android and iPhones, and it’s as simple as bumping them together. Bump, a freely downloadable app from the Apple AppStore and Android Market, allows users to share contacts, social network information and media by bumping the two phones together. The information transfered is encrypted in both ends, and since you’re the one doing the actual bumping, there is little to no threat to over the air interception, unlike Bluetooth sharing. The system works with iOS4 and Android devices.

AVAILABLE FOR: iOS4, Android

Tether

Mikogo

One of the best features of Froyo (aka Android 2.2) is the ability to share your smartphone’s internet connection to your notebook or other WiFi-capable device. The only problems are that Froyo-powered smartphones aren’t that plentiful, and for people who already have Android aren’t guaranteed to receive OTA updates to Froyo. Well, if you’re willing to part with $49.95 for internet anywhere, you can opt to buy Tether. The app allows you to use your Android mobile to connect to the internet, without the need for the upgrade to Froyo.

Mikogo allows users to collaborate and share over the net, which is a great way to work especially since the holidays usually brings hours long traffic jams in EDSA and other thoroughfares. Mikogo is, in a nutshell, a desktop sharing tool, which allows other people to view, and manipulate your PC over the internet. The thing that makes Mikogo stand out is its emphasis as a teaching tool. Aside from other people being able to see what you’re working on in your PC, you can reverse the roles and manipulate their machine, useful when trying to teach them a technique or program. The best part is that it’s free to download and use.

AVAILABLE FOR: Android, BlackBerry

AVAILABLE FOR: Windows, Mac OS X

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

COVER STORY

Sold

: A DIY GUIDE TO SELLING YOURSELF By Michelle Callanta

“It’s not what you know, but who you know.”―and in this Age of Information, this has become a particularly accurate adage. With the World Wide Web in full effect and the internet quickly taking its position as the top means to send as well as receive information, your main obstacle is no longer acquiring or getting data, but who you want to share this data with. I suppose I could even take the adage further by saying, “It’s not only who you know, but who knows you.” So if you want to be successful, doing it yourself no longer poses that big of a challenge when all you need is some tech know-how and a lot of “friends.” And quite paradoxically, you need not have to “put yourself out there”—your cyber-persona can do all of that for you.

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

COVER STORY

BLOGGING What began as a newsgroups discussion forum has now become every Tom, Dick, and Harry’s personal means to air out even the dirtiest of laundry. Of course, for the more conservative blogger, it is a way to simply chronicle their personal experiences or to share their love for the mundane or not-somundane, with hopes that perhaps likeminded individuals can relate. One such blogger is Jane Chua, the author of Between Bites (http://www.janedchua. com/). For her, what started out as a leisure pursuit has become a more lucrative hobby of sorts. “The Between Bites website is heavy on food and travel but it’s so hard to pinpoint an exact moment that triggered me to create the site. I get bits and pieces of inspiration from everywhere and things just pop out in front of me and I suddenly see a beauty or slice of happiness that I want to capture in writing,” Jane shares. For most people, a blog is simply an online journal. You don’t need a degree in journalism or literature to come up with one nor do you need either of the aforementioned degrees for people to consider you interesting or

better yet, worth reading. But if you are lucky enough, it’s these people who can very well dictate your success (whether you like it or not). Jane explains, “The Between Bites blog started as a hobby―a leisure pursuit to create an online databank where I can visit and revisit my experiences whenever and wherever I am (as long as there’s internet). It moved from only a personal space to a place where my friends get updated on the latest happenings in my life (not like it is juicy or anything) or in the metro―a dimension for sharing. I don’t have to keep retelling the story―just a quick point to www.janedchua. com does the trick. Friends told other friends where to go on a date or just the pleasure of eating and blamed my site for it. That’s where I probably started getting hits and soon, I’m

being read by strangers chasing info off the World Wide Web. Some of the strangers actually became friends and some, turned out to be my source of inspiration.” If you’re still not convinced at how easy blogging can get you jumpstarted on your way to fame and fortune, Jane also advises, “Getting your own domain name is a good start. It must be followed closely with informative and well-written content since content is king. Write from the heart. Personality, taste and integrity earn you the following. When you get the following/readership, advertisers want your eyeball numbers and will latch on that―you becoming part of new media. Other than stats, it’s the quality of content or writing that makes advertisers or brands want your endorsement of their products. Keep things simple and don’t lose the enthusiasm where the passion began.”

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

COVER STORY

VLOGGING Now if you’re not all that confident about your skills as a writer and feel you’re more of the type who likes the sound of their own voice, then video blogging is another venue to get yourself out there. Like blogging, vlogging also requires a personality that the audience will find interesting enough to follow. You’ll probably also need a nice video camera but once you have those two things down pat, you can begin your claim to fame. And the most popular venue thus far is no less than YouTube, which has now become the source for many talent agents who want to save time and money on casting calls and searches for the next big thing. One act that has proven the power of YouTube are the Villongco sisters, Krissy and Ericka. Seventeen year-old Krissy and 16-year old Ericka may be young but were definitely smart enough to utilize the internet to their advantage, having already signed with MCA Music Inc. Philippines and have gained massive popularity in Indonesia as well as Thailand―all because of YouTube. “When I was 12, I started my YouTube channel, krissysings, and I would post videos of myself singing to minus ones. One day, Ericka and I started singing together and it got a lot more

hits than when I was singing by myself. When we got a lot of hits, our manager saw our videos so we got a label, MCA. We were 15 or so,” recalls Krissy. Of course, for either blogging or vlogging you have to prepare yourself for the worst as everyone tends to be a critic and you subject yourself to a very wide and sometimes unforgiving audience. So if you’re sure you have what it takes to be popular, then start a web log or video log today.

ONLINE SELLING Now if you don’t think your personality is much of a product and you feel you would rather sell or market inanimate objects, then online selling is the way to go. A lot of young entrepreneurs realized that you don’t need to put up capital for a store or pay rent for a spot at the mall. All you need now is an intuitive website and an efficient delivery and payment scheme. (And maybe a nice camera for all those product shots you’ll need to be taking.) One site that has become very popular and successful for budding entrepreneurs is the social network Multiply. A successor of sorts to Friendster, its short-lived success as an online social network for friends did not hinder its possibilities. As its format was more suited for those who highlighted their albums upon albums of photos more than other textheavy applications some other social networks offer, Multiply became a tool for those who wanted to showcase their goods without all the fuss of clicking this link or that tab. Many other stores now use a Multiply site to further promote their products, like what Team Manila has done. While there are others who began with just a Multiply site but have become successful enough to put up their own store, like Duerr Manila who has a store at The Collective in Makati. 56

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Technology has come a long way in helping people communicate ideas, stories, news, and even products to almost everyone in the world―faster and more effectively. But the fact still remains that at the end of all that technology and know-how, people are still at the main helm of this means. So maybe what you know IS important. Now all you have to do is let the others know what that is… and let them do all the dirty work. You’ll be a success in no time.

FEATURE

GLOBE TESTS LTE TECHNOLOGY FOR MOBILE BROADBAND

Globe Telecom is trying out the next-generation mobile technology—touted as Long Term Evolution (LTE)—as it continues to explore fourth-generation mobile communications for the Philippine market. This comes after the company successfully conducted lab and field testing of LTE technology.

Globe began the trial of LTE technology early this year in partnership with NEC Corp. Following the lab tests in May at the Globe 3G LTE test bed at the Valero Technopark in Makati, Globe and NEC conducted field trials in Quezon City as part of Phase 1 of this project. The Phase 1 field trial verified a variety of LTE functions such as quality of service; latency and hand-over within urban areas were tested as these are required for commercial use of the technology. The trial achieved up to 60Mbps downlink data throughput rate at 10MHz bandwidth. “As part of our thrust to provide

superior customer experience, Globe sustains its network build up and continues to look out for latest mobile technologies that will benefit the Philippine market. We continuously monitor technology developments and innovations around the world that will help improve the quality of experience and introduce new services of value for our customers,” said Emmanuel R. Estrada, network technologies strategy head. “As we see mobile broadband growing and more subscribers clamoring for faster and higher bandwidths, LTE will help us meet the customers’ demand and further improve our broadband service offering in the near future.”

LTE is a high-performance air interface for cellular mobile technology. After 2G and 3G, LTE is the next frontier in radio technologies designed to increase the capacity and speed of mobile telephone networks. It addresses the demand for higher data rates and increased quality of service and enables users to experience the fastest mobile broadband service up to 100 megabytes per second. LTE will not only make existing mobile phone applications run faster, but will pave the way for new functions that were previously available only on a wired internet connection.

upgrade its broadband network to bring better internet services to customers. As of the end of September 2010, the broadband subscriber base of Globe grew by 95% to reach 1,006,460, nearly double the 517,355 broadband subscribers reported in the same period last year. The LTE trial of Globe is in conjunction with the Singapore Telecommunications Group, one of the company’s principals, who has spearheaded efforts for regional and coordinated LTE trials across affiliates in Singapore, Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Globe continues to expand and

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

FEATURE

ROCKMELT

MY WORLD

Social networking is the center of Internet activity, especially for a lot of Filipinos. Every Pinoy practically enjoys being connected with friends and family whether by reading their latest status updates or tweets, chatting, or seeing tagged photos. RockMelt created a solution that seamlessly integrates everything we love doing online into one nifty browser.

By Francis Tan

RockMelt is a proprietary social media web browser developed by Tim Howes and Eric Vishria and backed by Netscape founder Marc Andreessen. An early access version of the browser was published on November 8, 2010. Unlike any other browser, RockMelt veered away from the central focus of fastest page load times to a whole new social network experience. Not to say the browser itself is slow, actually you’ll be surprised it’s one of the fastest out there. The browser has three main components—the Friend Edge, the App Edge and the Search Bar. A very familiar look Their tagline “Your browser. Re-imagined.” encapsulates the very essence of RockMelt. It runs on the Chromium platform so users of Google Chrome will find it very familiar not only in the interface but in browser performance as well. At the same time, it re-imagines the web experience evolving from merely being more than a tool for web browsing to a platform for social interaction. The extensibility of RockMelt is uncanny as it is compatible with the thousands of readily available Google Chrome extensions. The very essence of RockMelt lies in Facebook. You are actually required 58

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to login to Facebook before gaining access to all of the browser’s features. As it is, RockMelt is just another Google Chrome spinoff but when logged in, it automatically loads your bookmarks and preferences, your Facebook friends list, and news feeds from your sites. This lets you have a consistent RockMelt experience wherever you use a computer. The development team revealed that the architecture of the site would let them easily add other social network services in the future. Stay connected with friends One of the major components of RockMelt is the Friend Edge. It’s a thin sidebar to the left that shows a list of either your favorite friends or those who are available online for Facebook chat. Clicking on their portraits opens a popup that displays updates from their Facebook and Twitter, as well as a chat pane. Your own profile can be viewed by clicking on your own portrait on the top of the Friend Edge. This is where you can update your Facebook status message or Twitter timeline. On the right side is another major component of RockMelt called the App Edge. It’s a list of all your favorite sites that alerts you; push notification style whenever there’s an unviewed update. This is mostly determined by RSS feeds so it’s compatible with most websites. As a matter of fact, whenever you visit a site that supports RSS, it

FEATURE

BLEKKO: INTUITIVE SEARCHING By Francis Tan

Blekko is one of the newest search engines which a lot of tech sites refer to as "the Google killer."Clearly, it’s not. But that doesn't make them any less credible. As CEO Rich Skrenta said in his blog, and I quote: "I don’t believe to be successful in this business you need to be a Googlekiller. In fact, trying to be a Googlekiller is probably the one sure way not to succeed." Blekko is concerned about one thing: best quality search results. To achieve this, it implemented an intuitive way to search called the “slashtag.” Trusted sites are linked to a slashtag so whenever you perform a search query, it prioritizes search results within the linked sites. There are spam icons on each search result which hides unwanted sites when clicked. This will also give a heads up to Blekko which sites are reliable and which are spam.

automatically creates an App for it, which you could either add to your list of favorites or ignore. Apps for social networks are available as well. You can see your Facebook news feed and notifications with the Facebook App as well as Twitter timeline updates with support for lists with the Twitter App. Search made easy RockMelt has a feature-packed Chrome Omnibox, but it also has a unique search bar, which is also the third major component of the browser. Whenever a search is performed, a drop down list of search results from your specified search engine is displayed. RockMelt then pre-renders these pages so that whenever a link is clicked, it loads on your background almost instantly. This search feature is designed to make searching faster, without having to open multiple tabs just to be sure that it’s a site with relevant content. Beside the search bar is a Share button that lets you, well, share that particular website to Facebook/Twitter as a wall post, timeline update or even a direct message. RockMelt has certainly taken an interesting turn in browser innovation by incorporating something actually relevant―Social Networking. The features of the browser make it so convenient to stay connected with friends and the extensibility and openness of its architecture makes is very promising.

Being in the beta phase, there are still a few bugs and glitches here and there but I can say that it is solid enough for me to make it my default browser without any real headaches or frustrations. Right now, RockMelt is only available to the public via invite, which you could apply for by visiting their website – www. rockmelt.com. We’re hoping for a public release before the year ends. Hooray for innovation.

For example, searching "smartphone/review/ date" will show you smartphone reviews by date. Users can narrow down the "/review" slashtag to certain tech review sites such as Engadget, Gizmodo or even our very own Gadgets Magazine to keep results relevant. Sites that sell smartphones can be tagged as spam so they are filtered out of the "/ review" tag. There are also some third party slashtags such as "/youtube" or "/amazon "which lets you search within those sites. The power of Blekko lies on its crowdsourced model which keeps search results up to date and relevant. There are already some predefined slashtags, but users are free to create more themselves. You can share your slashtags to other Blekko users, or even invite them as editors to make your slashtags even better. Blekko also has a readily available SEO component that shows up in each search result. Clicking this will show you the host rank, inbound links, site pages, and other handy information about the site. To view Blekko's site ranking for keywords, you can use the slashtag "/rank." Sounds good right? Well true enough it garnered positive response as Wired reports that on their first week, Blekko had an average of 1 million queries a day, making it Rank 3 after Google and Bing.

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

FEATURE

ANDROID ROOTING FOR DUMMIES

No guts, no glory

There have always been two segments of consumers when it comes to gadgets—the regular people, those content to leave their stuff alone, enjoying the device as the manufacturer intended for it, and the hardcore users who tweak and customize their newly bought gadget until it conforms to their taste. Android isn’t exempt from this, and while it is an open system, there are times when manufacturers and carriers put limits on the device and software. Subsequently there have been a strong community of modders and tweakers that have been customizing and improving the OS, and if you’re brave enough you can enjoy the fruits of their labor by rooting your Android device.

There is a potentially massive downside to rooting—the possibility of bricking your phone, making it a useless paper weight. With today’s easy to use rooting tools and hundreds of guides on the net, this is a very minor possibility, but a very real one. Rooting might also void the warranty of the device, so that’s something to keep in mind there.

One size does not fit all

One very important thing about rooting devices is that the process varies from one device to the other. So if you’re still not dissuaded by the possibility of bricking your device and being unable to run to the manufacturer for help, then there’s a good chance you have enough skills to search for the specific instructions relating to rooting your device of choice. For this example, we’re rooting the HTC Wildfire, and giving myself admin rights so I can stuff whatever I want in it.

Rooting and you

Rooting essentially means getting administrator privileges on your device, similar to the admin privilege you get on your computer. Standard, un-rooted devices typically gives you “guest” privileges, which allows installation of standard, run-of-the-mill market apps and not much else. Rooting an Android device gives you Administrator privileges, which basically allows you to go hog wild on whatever you want to do on your phone, including

overclocking, installing new home screens and adding functionality. A rooted phone also runs faster than a stock one. That’s because by rooting your Android device you can potentially take out whatever unwanted programs you have running on it, which includes unnecessary apps and update it with faster, better firmware. Take the case of the HTC Hero, which shipped with 1.5 and 1.6. Users have already been able to slap Android 2.1 on it, which wouldn’t be possible on stock device.

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

By John Nieves

For this particular project, we’ll be going with the excellent, 1-click rooting tool found at unrevoked. com. Since I’ll be working with a Windows machine, I’ll need to download and install HBOOT drivers from the same site. Just

type in HBOOT in the search bar and you’ll be able to find it complete with instructions. You’ll also need to download the program itself and install it. Before anything else, you'll need to modify your Wildfire to accept USB debugging. To do that, go to settings, then applications, then development. There you’ll see the option for USB debugging. Also, be sure to select USB charging only when you connect your Wildfire to the PC, and uninstall HTC Sync or any application that talks to your mobile phone via the USB connection as it’ll interfere with the rooting process. Start the reflash application, and follow the prompts. Congratulations! You now have a rooted Android phone.

JAILBREAKING 101: FEATURE

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AND HOW TO DO IT

By Francis Tan

“There’s an app for that!” I love saying that whenever people ask me “Can your iPhone do this or that?” The iPhone is an amazing device by itself but what makes it exceptionally great are the apps that can run on it. A huge number of apps are free while paid apps range from $0.99 to a little more than $10.

absolutely have to make sure that your device is compatible with the jailbreak software you are using. It works for the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, iPad, iPhone 4, iPod touch 4G-version 4.0 and beyond (3.2.2 on iPad). First, go to www.limera1n.com and download the jailbreak tool for Windows or Mac. If your iTunes opens up, just close it. 1. Hook up your iPhone to your computer and open the Limera1n app. Hit the button “Make it ra1n” to start the process.

For those who are stingy and don’t want to spend on Apps, well there’s an app for that! It’s called Cydia and essentially it’s a database that acts like an AppStore for custom-made apps. Getting Cydia on your device requires a hacking method called “Jailbreak,” which is fairly simple and rather safe to do yourself. With a Jailbroken iPhone, you are not limited to downloading via AppStore or Cydia, but free download sites such as apptrakr. org as well.

2. It will require you to go to go to DFU mode. Just follow the instructions on the screen: Hold the power button and the home button at the same time. 3. Release the power button but continue holding the home button when Limera1n tells you to. 4. Wait a minute and you’ll see the Limera1n logo on your phone and it will shut down.

There’s more to jailbreaking than piracy

Most people think the benefit of jailbreaking is limited to getting apps for free. You’ll be in for a surprise as Jailbreak also allows you to bring out the true potential of the iPhone by fully customizing it. Apple’s AppStore has a very tight regulation and screening process that some apps that intend to unleash the capabilities of your iPhone are not approved. With a jailbroken device, you can change themes, sync wirelessly to iTunes, modify the homescreen and/or the notifications, or even turn your phone into a WiFi hotspot—the possibilities are endless. You could also have access to apps that never really made it to the AppStore such as YouTube downloader, music streaming, and emulators just to name a few. Just keep in mind that jailbreaking isn’t the same as unlocking, there’s a different tool for that but it requires having your phone jailbroken as well.

5. Switch on your phone, open the Limera1n app and install Cydia.

What’s the catch?

If you’re wondering what the downside to jailbreaking is, there is essentially none. You might experience a little slowdown if you have a lot of customizations and apps installed but that’s about it. Also, Cydia and other third-party apps are not backed up in iTunes so whenever you have to update or restore your phone, you will have to download them again. There’s a backup tool for thirdparty apps called PkgBackup but it costs $4.99 on the Cydia store. Jailbreaking is legal but it will void your warranty. It is, however, so easily reversible that you could simply restore your iPhone using iTunes before bringing it to the Apple Center, so you’re good to go.

One hack for all

For iOS 4.1 there are two known methods of jailbreaking— greenpois0n and limera1n. There is really not much difference between the two as both use the same easy method and they are both compatible with the same devices. Greenpois0n has a little bit of an edge because it has Linux support. For this tutorial, I will be using Limera1n just because it’s the more popular one among the two.

You don’t need to pay

It’s fairly simple to perform and you already have all the tools you need—a Mac/PC, and the Apple USB connector, and the whole process takes less than 10 minutes. Before you start though, you

Congratulations, you have successfully jailbroken your iPhone. It’s that simple! You don’t have to worry about timing or anything—the limera1n app will tell you exactly what to do at any given time. If it doesn’t work, you can just try again or, alternatively, try greenpois0n. No need to worry about messing up your phone.

Future support

At the time of writing, we only have iOS 4.1 due to the delay in releasing iOS 4.2 but this jailbreak method should be compatible with the newly released firmware as well. When in doubt the safest thing to do is to consult YouTube – they have tons of video tutorials and demonstrations on how to jailbreak your phone. Happy jailbreaking!

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

FEATURE

FUJI XEROX R&D SQUARE This is why Fuji Xerox firmly believes that providing new values in document services and communication will lead to solutions to overcome the increasingly difficult business challenges that their customers face today. By being in closer contact with their customers, identifying the numerous challenges they face, and responding with a comprehensive range of technologies and knowledge, Fuji Xerox is inspiring greater breakthrough innovations. Fuji Xerox R&D Square is a unique platform that hopes to move them into the future.

As the transition from an industrial society to a knowledge-based society accelerates, the importance of solid communication is also growing. At the same time, Fuji Xerox’s customers’ activities continue to expand globally. These changes have greatly increased

the complexity of today’s business challenges, and they are also faced with time constraints to cope with the situation. “Come and Encounter for Innovation” is the key concept that Fuji Xerox proposes to resolve this dilemma. This is also the concept behind the new urban R&D site, which captures the dynamism of a metropolis that is bustling with people, information, and goods. The new site promotes a new, more evidence-based style of R&D functions with its research and business partners. The goal is to create new solutions for the next generation, drawing on the energy generated from the gathering and interchange of ideas. Fuji Xerox has centralized its R&D sites within two centers: one focusing on value creation and the other on manufacturing. Fuji Xerox R&D Square takes on

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

Fuji Xerox R&D Square

Ebina Center

“Our goal in business is to achieve a better understanding among people through better communications,” Joseph C. Wilson, the first chairman of Xerox, once said. With the introduction of the first plain paper copier based on xerography technology in 1962, Fuji Xerox brought about a true revolution in communication by taking it to a higher level than ever before. Communication and documents, which are an indispensable medium in business, have always played, and will continue to play a vital role throughout all business activities. value creation as an R&D center for wide-ranging technologies including advanced image processing, SaaS/Cloud networks, communication, systems, ecotechnologies, and solution services whereas Ebina Center is positioned as the R&D center for manufacturing technologies including device elements, component parts, materials, and production. These two centers will work closely as an integrated whole to promote Fuji Xerox’s value creation for the next generation. Through its unique presence as an R&D center that is open both internally and externally to customers and partners, Fuji Xerox R&D Square will contribute to resolving its customers’ challenges through the creativity of individuals, contribution to a sustainable society centering on eco-consciousness, the

Tadahito Yamamoto, President and Representative Director of Fuji Xerox.

accumulation of experience and know-how, as well as selfrealization and self-development of the center’s employees. It also pursues continuous optimization of innovation processes by transforming the work style of the employees to create values and quality appropriate for the nextgeneration who will be expanding their activities on a global scale. “Fuji Xerox R&D Square is committed to pursuing “Urban R&D”―a new style of R&D that brings together a richer and more diverse line-up of technologies to inspire innovation in resolving our customers’ communication and document-related challenges. At the same time, we are also working to transform our own work styles so that what we learn and gain can directly contribute to our customers’ solutions,” shares Tadahito Yamamoto, President and Representative Director of Fuji Xerox.

FEATURE

ASUS

UNVEILS NEXT-GENERATION MOTHERBOARDS By John Nieves

SINGAPORE—As the holiday season come closer, Asus has seen fit to give members of the Asean media a sneak peek at the features of their next gen motherboards that’s destined for Intel’s latest processor, codenamed Sandybridge. The newest offerings from Asus promises to combine reliability, ease of use and the introduction of features that were previously only present in their high end models into mainstream and entry level models.

The next generation of Asus motherboards has dual, intelligent processors, dubbed DIGI+ VRM: TPU and EPU that enhance the performance and power consumption of your setup. The TPU allows you to automatically tune your rig to get more performance out of it. EPU, on the other hand, is a real-time energy saving processor, which will allow you to potentially lower the overall power used by your rig. Advanced users now have greater control over their motherboard, and can dramatically tweak the settings depending on their intended use. Of course, no Asus event will be

complete without an appearance from their ROG (Republic of Gamers) line. The Maximus IV Extreme is billed as its nextgeneration motherboard, and comes with all the goodies that Asus is known for: quality materials, gorgeous lines, design and overclocking features that make it easier to tweak its performance. ROG iDirect, for example, allows you to tweak the settings on your board via your iPhone or iPad. Users will also have greater control of their overclocking, as you can now intelligently adjust the VRM frequency with Spread Spectrum, which significantly increases

system stability—a fantastic feature for hardcore overclockers. Another motherboard design that needs to be given kudos is the TUF Sabertooth P67. It’s equipped with what Asus calls a “TUF Tactical Vest” that, aside from protecting the surface of the board, redirects heat away from critical components. Speaking of components, the Sabertooth uses quality, military grade components like TUF alloy chokes, solid capacitors and MOSFETs, ensuring the durability of the board. Not content on releasing hot hardware, Asus has also seen fit

to revise the BIOS screen of its motherboards into something easier to use. The EFI BIOS gives users a graphical interface and OS like operation for easier configuration. There’s even an EZMode that allows you to choose whether to prioritize performance, power efficiency, or noise reduction. All Asus motherboards made from here on out will have this BIOS. Finally, all of Asus motherboards save select entry level models will have a Bluetooth module, which allows any Bluetooth-capable device to connect with their boards. How’s that for value?

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

FOCUS GLOBAL FEATURE

FOCUSES ON MAKATI Everyone wants a perfect home that is not only welcoming, but also fully functioning. Home ideas that fuse both criteria are hard to come by unless you were born with the super-creative gene. For us regular folk who still want a dreamy house though, there’s Focus Global Inc. Established in Manila in October 1991, Focus Global Inc. exclusively distributes 12 of the most trusted consumer, home furnishings and needlecraft brands and in celebration of its 19th year as a progressive marketing company, it opened its second design center at Greenbelt, Makati. This 330-square meter display area showcases the latest Ethan Allen modern contemporary pieces in 12 distinct set-ups, cutting-edge kitchen designs from SieMatic, and state-of-the-art appliances from Sub-Zero and Wolf. If you’re ever in the neighborhood and in a never-ending pursuit of the well-designed home, you’d be happy to know that Ethan Allen does it all: furniture, lighting, rugs, mirrors, bed coverings, mattresses, window treatments, shelves, artwork, frames, wall coverings, wall-towall carpeting, and all the other finishing touches. Their in-house design team has created a kind of signature, three-dimensional interior design manifesto ready to make home calls and the brand has come up with seven distinct and eclectic vibes that reflect the way people live and want to live: the Metro, Glamour, Estate, Country House, Global, Villa and Loft Lifestyles. Each embodies the brand’s fundamental design philosophy: Classic design, modern perspective. But know that it isn’t just a showroom, it’s a design center where clients are able to 64

experience the design and feel the pieces—thereby making an informed decision as to what fits their lifestyle. When it comes to kitchens, SieMatic is the expert. The concept of “quality in its finest form” pervades every aspect of a SieMatic kitchen. It was the first to make use of a built-in multimedia system into the kitchen where you can watch cable TV, browse the internet, connect your iPod to a dock and listen to music with the sound system. Sub-Zero and Wolf are specialists focusing solely on making the best refrigeration and cooking appliances possible. Everything is built to the highest standards and their workmanship is uncompromised. Combining design flexibility, superior food

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

preservation, and outstanding quality, Sub-Zero and Wolf creates kitchen perfection. Like its flagship design center in Pioneer, Mandaluyong, the showroom also has a working kitchen designed to hold events such as product launches and cooking demonstrations by acclaimed chefs. Manned by highly trained design consultants who provide complimentary design assistance, this new Makati design center epitomizes style, heritage, excellent craftsmanship and great value. Focus Global Inc.’s latest showroom sits on the ground floor of The Residences at Greenbelt, San Lorenzo Tower on Esperanza Street in Makati City.

LIFE&STYLEPARADE THE CHECKLIST

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

LIFE&STYLEPARADE

STEP 1:

PRIMERS

It’s common sense that you’ve got to be squeaky clean and smelling good when you leave the house, and these wash sets are sure specialists in that field. For men who spend a lot of time on the road, a travel kit complete with after shave, shower gel and eau de toilette is your best bet. Ladies, exfoliation is key as it reveals fresher, younger skin just in time for party season. And since you’re going to be wearing a lot of dresses, better check that there are no unsightly hairs anywhere. Godiva Inhibition Deo Roll On

Godiva Inhibition Lotion

Fruits and Passion foaming bath collection in festive holiday lights.

Fruits and Passion wash sets for women in Mulberry & Musk and Viva. Travel set for men in brown and turquoise two-zippered kit.

Isukoshi massage chair

STEP 2:

BODY CONTOURS Undergarments play a big part in making you look your best. After all, the right undergarments may make or break that look. Men are sure to be comfortable in two fabrications of Calvin Klein underwear: cotton modal and microfiber that are made to provide softness and luster, breathability and stretch for ease of movement. Ladies will have no problems with VPLs thanks to the newest collection of La Vanita available in basic colors.

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

LIFE&STYLEPARADE

STEP 3:

DRESS IT UP You’ll need to be ready wherever you’re going for vacation, so make sure you’re dressed appropriately for the elements—whether it’s the sun, wind, or a daunting dinner party. Check out Raoul’s holiday collection in celebration of iconic men and women referenced in classic cinematic moments from the 70’s and 80’s. With the notion that the shirt is an essential item in a wardrobe, every look is designed to evoke the elegance in those moments. The shirt is not only reinterpreted as category in itself, but also transformed and evolved into items, such as the jumpsuit, or onepiece dress. For a more unconventional look, peep the holiday collection of Topshop and Topman.

Raoul rust sleeveless shirt and charcoal skirt

Raoul gray blazer, black trousers, sweater

Topshop floor-length sheer dress

Topman double-breasted military hoodie

Topshop distressed jeans and jacket

Topshop striped long sleeves paired with gray blazer

Comfy loafers for women from Rockport

STEP 4:

KICKS Converse Chuck Taylors Ramones collection

Like Dorothy, you won’t be ready to continue on your journey until you put on those fancy shoes. See what suits you from this diverse collection that consists of laid-back Chucks, festive Rusty Lopez’s, and a whole lot more!

Rusty Lopez dress shoes with detail

Kenneth Cole Reaction Night Cap in Black 68

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

Kenneth Cole Reaction Memorise

LIFE&STYLEPARADE

Hugo Boss lady watches Rini & Faith knit headband with rosette

Andy Warhol NY Rock Collection in slate black for men

STEP 5:

FINISHERS

No outfit is complete without accessories, so spray that scent on, pick out a timepiece, and get weather-appropriate head gear. Accessories supplement and complement your look, so don’t pile too much on and make sure that, more than anything, they function well and don’t inconvenience you.

A cologne with top notes of red vanilla-orchid, magnolia, neroli and peach. A passionate heart offers honeysuckle, almond and musky cream, while a base finishes with sequoia wood, tonka and amber.

Furry Sunglasses

Estrellas Manila mixed material chain necklaces

Kenneth Cole Reaction belts and wallets

STEP 6:

REINFORCEMENTS

Scouts got it right when they coined the motto, “Be prepared,” and that still rings true even when you’re no longer included in the movement. Lucky for us, Coleman has got a battalion of outdoor gear for that reason, while in urban emergencies, count on Eastpak’s Built To Last collection and Kenneth Cole Reaction’s carry-ons.

Coleman Outdoors Collection: torch, chair, cooler and party stacker

Eastpak Resistance bags

Kenneth Cole Reaction shoes and bags 70

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

Isukoshi neck pillow

LIFESTYLEFEATURE

In a country that has more than 7,000 islands it seems that running out of places to visit is close to impossible. Believe it or not, the Philippines has more than incredible beaches and breathtaking mountaintops, if you just knew where to look. In our search for the perfect location for our Foreverism issue, we stumbled upon Bataan’s best kept secret. Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is a refreshing treasure in the town of Bagac. Managed by Genesis Hotels and Resorts and owned by Jose L. Acuzar, it takes visitors back to a simpler but grander time—where majestic staircases and magnificent fountains were the norm in every home and town plaza, respectively. According to Acuzar, the choice of the site was accidental as it was not intended to become an outdoor museum of ancestral homes but a vacation house for his family to spend their holidays at. Originally a hobby, his love for the collection and restoration of old Philippine architecture has given birth to a resort village of 22 ancestral homes and counting that is placed beautifully, “where the sea meets the river and the mountains meet the sea.” Inspired by his travels through Europe, Acuzar took it upon himself to preserve centuries-old structures because he says the ancestral homes are things of beauty, treasures to behold and a place to be where one can reminisce and be mindful of the richness of Filipino cultural heritage. Some of the words that best describe how his vision came about are, “may dating at puso kapag pinagsama-sama, gumaganda kapag nabibihisan ngunit pumapangit kapag pinababayaan. May damdamin at karakter, may pera sa bulok—pagkalinga sa kalikasan at kapaligiran.” Thus began the gruelling 12 years that Acuzar spent rebuilding the different structures from the ground up. Reconstruction began with documentation, and then the subsequent marking of every part of the house prior to dismantling it and transporting it to the new site. The house is then rebuilt piece by piece in its original form. The dedication and attention to detail by Acuzar is admirable, as any guest 72

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

LAS CASAS FILIPINAS

DE ACUZAR who is lucky enough to visit can see and appreciate the reconstructed houses in their original splendor that has hardly any trace of dilapidation or abandonment.

Each house in the village has its own story to tell along with its own architectural character, and at first, the owner only wanted to learn about how they constructed houses in the past. As the project got bigger, however, the owners of ancestral houses started to offer their houses and Acuzar chose the ones with cultural, architectural and historical significance. In keeping with the theme, the streets of Las Casas Filipinas are cobblestone, and although the various structures are from different places, there is a sense of harmony in the village. Even the small bronze sculptures of children playing on the street are the perfect companion of the immense houses fitted with capiz-shelled windows. You’re left with a questioning feeling as to whether the children come alive to continue their rambunctiousness when the world is fast asleep.

One thing is for sure, Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is an enduring concept. A time machine of sorts that instantly take you back the second you set foot past the gates of the village. A Philippine Brigadoon, only it doesn’t disappear once you leave. But surely, a model for the young and frivolous to marvel at and be inspired that there is something beautiful to be made out of old structures. A village that was not only built by a passion for architecture, but also for the love of history. For reservations and inquiries, visit their Manila Sales office at the mezzanine floor of Victoria Towers at Timog Avenue, Quezon City, call 332-5338, 335-3032 or e-mail them at reserve@lascasasfilipinas.com.

FEATURE

PHILIPPINE FASHION WEEK 2010: TECH AND STYLE UNITE Fashionistas were in for a treat at the recently concluded Philippine Fashion Week where Sony presented its newest line of notebooks, the fun and easy-to-use VAIO E Series. Apropos of the event, the E Series is a stylish 14-inch notebook that is perfect for everyday browsing, blogging or viewing multimedia. Uniquely designed to stand out, the E series comes in glossy vivid colors of blue, pink and white with dot gradation all around that’s sure to grab attention when you’re out and about. In classy form, a silvered VAIO logo is set on the notebook’s top panel. Showcased during the Design Fusion / Vision & Trends show, the E Series made its way down the runway with original creations of young Filipino designers— Bo Parcon, Dimple Lim, Don Protacio, Jot Losa, Russell Villafuerte, Anthony Cezar Ramirez, Don Delantar, Enrico Carado, Herbert Custodio, Kermit Tesoro , Oz Go and Xernan Orticio. Designed with everyday ease of use firmly in mind, the E series has a quick launch Web button that allows the user to instantly start surfing without needing to boot up Windows. Equipped with 16:9 real wide VAIO display with up to 1600 x 900 resolutions) WXGA: 1366x768 TFT color display and with LED backlight. In another part of the venue, Rusty Lopez also held its own “coming out” show, as it launched its new footwear and apparel collection. Highlighted were fashionable and funky designs as well as the brand’s classic styles in its Holiday 2010 and Summer 2011 collections. Some of the newer styles from Philippines’ very own footwear specialist were beaded booties, studded stilettos, high-cut

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

embellished sandals, platform shoes made of suede, snake-skin shooties and multi-strap sandals made with pewter metallic beads specifically designed for the strong and powerful woman. Equally eye-catching were male models who heeded the call of the wild and wore belted ankle boots made of full-grain leather and formal loafers with animal prints. Rusty Lopez’s men’s collection focused on working leather shoes in patent styles, formal monkstrap and lace-up dress shoes. As an homage to Fifties’ icon John F. Kennedy and all men who are sophisticated and refined, out came comfortable casual leather thongs, lace-up topsiders, boat shoes, sandals and sporty summer pairs.

“We are proud to be a part of the Philippine Fashion Week,” said Nicole Lopez, Merchandising Officer of the Rusty Lopez Group of Companies . “Now that we have enhanced our line with styles and designs that are chic, classy and current, we can say that Rusty Lopez is in step with the times and is walking a new, exciting direction.” Romping the runway to unveil these new product lines confirms that while Rusty Lopez continues to embrace the basic, classic styles that Filipinos have come to love for the past 33 years, the brand is now primed to take on another challenge—to be ready to provide shoes for the young and more fashion-forward generation, one step at a time.

DO-IT-YOURSELF BEAUTY TREATMENTS BEAUTYLAB

By Michelle Callanta

Despite all of its over-sensationalized mystery, the secret to younger-looking skin and a healthy body was never really a secret. Although each year, some pharmaceutical company or beauty product claims to have found a way to capture the very fountain of youth and put it in a bottle or capsule, such a “miracle” could be found no further than your neighborhood grocery store, if not in your own cupboard, and for a fraction of these companies' suggested retail price. You just need to do a bit of homework and prepare to play chef.

For your hair: I once saw an episode of Next Door with Katie Brown (it was a home and gardening television show) where she used mayonnaise to put the sheen and shine back onto the leaves of indoor plants. She simply wiped each of the leaves with mayo and voila! The plants’ colors immediately became more vibrant and alive. Then I remembered when I was a little girl, I would watch my mom take our jar of mayo from the refrigerator and just slop it right onto her hair. She smelled like a sandwich but apparently, as it does with leaves, it also does with hair. All you have to do is rub 2-6 tablespoonfuls of mayonnaise onto your hair, leave under a shower cap for 15minutes, then rinse and shampoo as usual and your hair is instantly revitalized.

For your face: try plain yogurt (about half a container). After you shampoo, massage a generous amount of yogurt into your hair. Leave it in while you shower then rinse with warm water. Yogurt is not only the creamy base of your conditioner, but is a gentle cleanser, working to clear the pores of your scalp and promote hair growth. It is also naturally high in lactic acid, an element that helps to shine and smooth in tangled hair, making it easier to comb, leaving your hair soft and beautiful.

If you want a natural conditioner,

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

Those with oily, dry, or combination skin need but two things: an egg and some oatmeal (perhaps the neglected pack of Quaker oats lying around your kitchen cabinet. Beat one egg white until frothy and mix in about 3 teaspoons of uncooked oatmeal. Apply the oatmeal paste onto your skin and leave for 15 minutes then rinse with cold water. Oatmeal can be used to treat oily skin, as well as dry skin. This is due to the fact that rolled oats can absorb excess amounts of oil from your body. By applying a simple oatmeal mask onto your face, you can successfully balance the amount of oil in your skin, and reduce acne and other types of blemishes as well. There are also things you can ingest that can create “beauty from within.” Of course, logically enough, a healthy “inside” will radiate outwardly. One such concoction to achieve a healthier inner you is that of apple cider vinegar, honey, and organic virgin coconut oil. Mix a teaspoon each into a glass (adding water is optional) and drink twice a day. Each ingredient has its own health benefit: apple cider vinegar (with honey for that sweet taste) is known to aid conditions such as premature aging while virgin coconut oil helps improve

the digestive system and is even effective for weight loss. I bought an all-natural apple cider vinegar and honey mixture and local virgin coconut oil at a local supermarket and began the habit. Immediately I could feel that I was less hungry and craving less for sugar. Trips to the bathroom were also more “frequently normal” in a matter of speaking. Now for all of these natural remedies and recipes, the one ingredient most people tend to take for granted these days is also the one ingredient we all should have an ample amount of… Drink a tall glass of water the moment you wake up, another glass 15minutes before a meal (so you feel more full and less likely to get that extra serving of rice), and another one two hours after every meal and one last just before going to bed (preferrably an hour before so you don’t wake up in the middle of the night needing to go to the bathroom). This will keep your skin hydrated and your digestive system working effectively. And just like any effective system, it is sure to give better results. So this year, if your resolution is to find that fountain of youth, I suggest you start with your refrigerator.

WELLNESS

JOYMAIN ENERGY CUP

By Armin A. Amio

I’ve recently taken the habit of drinking alkaline water. My brother’s two dayap (Philippine native lime) trees have been incessantly bearing fruit all year and we have practically used up all the recipes for making use of them. This, until somebody told me that by squeezing lime juice into water you immediately give it a healthful kick. Lemon water is said to be very alkaline and is great in helping to detoxify the liver and kidneys. This would put to much better use my brother’s dayap fruits than just for dessert or souring ingredient, I thought. No thanks to our lifestyle, acid wastes from food, drink, stress and other pollutants are dumped into the bloodstream and lymph, and then are transported to the liver and kidneys for the detoxification processing and elimination. The pH level of internal fluids affects every living cell in the bodies and the effect that over-acidification can have upon the health of the bodies is immense, with a chronically over-acidic pH creating an extremely negative environment which affects all cellular functions from the beatings of the heart to the neural workings of the brain. Ideally, water should have a pH level between 8 and 9. In order to hydrate your body optimally, you need to drink water that is alkaline and mineral rich.

Alkaline water helps to neutralize acids and remove toxins from the body. It also acts as a conductor of electrochemical activity from cell to cell. I’ve learned to like drinking sourish water—often thinking out loud that this would do my body well. But since I’ve been very busy of late, the process of lugging around fresh dayap, then slicing and squeezing them before I can get to drink has become quite very wearisome. Now thanks to Joy Life’s Joymain Energy Cup, I can get alkaline water practically every time I visit the water station. Offered by multilevel marketing company Joy Life International Philippines Inc., the Joymain Energy Cup converts

drinking water to healthy water. Water from this bullet-like looking thermos is said to help hydrate the body, prevent diseases and aging, and allow the discharge of harmful metabolites to improve metabolism and immunity. Now who wouldn’t want that? After unscrewing the top portion of the container, you fill up the bottom part with warm water and then shake it or allow it to stand for about one minute. You can then drink the water within two hours to get the optimum effectiveness. It didn’t affect the water—nor did it become turbid or unclear. It was my just like drinking, well, tap water. Just like when I first drank lemon (well, lime) water, my visits to the restroom became more frequent. I did experience several “reactions” that came with drinking energized water. Diarrhea, dry throat and lethargy, said the Joymain brochure, are all normal reactions and are said to be the body’s way of expelling toxins and reacting to immune adjustments. After two days, I was back to my normal self—but strangely with less urge to eat. Joylife says the Energy Cup is recommended for people suffering from insomnia, hypertension, hyperglycemia, stomach discomfort, dizziness, intolerance to cold, numbness of limbs, weak knees and even skin surface pigmentation. It’s been only a week since I started using the energy cup.

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

WISHLIST

ALL I

WANT

FOR CHRISTMAS It's the most wonderful time of the year again and, albeit the shopping rush and the horrible traffic, it's all worth it in the end. We love helping people out, even just a tiny bit, in this stressful gift-giving season, so to make it easier for you, we've put together a wish list for everyone special in your life.

DECEMBER 2010 â&#x20AC;˘ JANUARY 2011

WISHLIST The GAP jeans and blazer

Dad S

Acer Aspire Timeline X

how your Dad how much you’re grateful for his keeping you safe and secure by giving him some helpful things from the list. It’s your turn to take care of him after all the years he’s driven you to school, screened your dates and proudly told his friends what you did for a living.

Kenneth Cole Spazzolatto belt OPT iPad sleeve

Hugo Boss watch for men

LG Infinia 9500

Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7b noise-cancelling headphones 52" Delsey cabin trolley

Sony Xperia X10 80

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

Toyota Camry 2010

Balenciaga Paris

Replay Time for women My|Phone S Phone

Prada Nappa Gaufre in Blanco

Panasonic Vegetator Elba stove and oven

Mom U

nsure as to what to give to the person who’s already given you so much? Don’t worry, we’ve got the skinny on Mom gifts. Whether she’s a domestic diva or a power suit kind of gal, she’s sure to love the list we put together for her.

Ricoh CX3 digital camera

Isukoshi BeautyLeg2

Samsung Galaxy Tab

Salvatore Ferragamo Vara flats

Avon Anew 360° White Intensive Correcting Serum

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

WISHLIST

Schwarzkopf Osis FlexWax

World Traveller cabin luggage

Sanyo Xacti VPC-CS1 Asus ENGTX460 TOP

Brother Sister Samsung N150

Andy Warhol NY Rock Collection

LG Cookie Fresh GS290

Collezione C2 Holiday collection

Eastpak Floyd backpack Western Digital My Passport Studio

Samsung Champ C3303

Genius MousePen M508

Appetime Fruits

MiLi PocketPal USB charger

studded USB from SM Stationery

Mophie Juice Air rechargable battery case

Vita Fede Attura ring and leather bracelets

GRIXX GMS-1010 Mini Speakers

Kiehl's Ultra Light sunblock

Nike Zoom Kobe 5

Audio-Technica ATH-PRO700

Notebook with printed cover from SM Stationery

TOMS Glitters in gold 84

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

sleeveless beige dress with waist detail from RAF Plains and Prints

WISHLIST

MiLi Power Pico Projector

Energizer XPAL XP8000 Genius GHP-i200

Transcend USB 3.0 Express Card Adapter

MiLi Universal Adapter Mobile Wonders Curve

Colleague E

The North Face zip-up jacket

60ml SJP NYC by Sarah Jessica Parker

arn some thoughtful brownie points with these clever gifts that are useful as they are memorable and are sure to keep professional relationships smooth. Pick out some presents that your colleagues can regularly use, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re sure to appreciate it.

Logitech Anywhere Mouse North Face M905 zip-up jacket

Silver business card holder

Avon Ultra Color Rich Lipstick Acid-free notebook from Moleskine

Cross ballpoint pen

Ozaki iFinger M stylus pen

Bini Bluetooth Earpiece

Design Go Sim Card Saver

Kiehl's Essence Oil in roller application Targus TSB165 AP Revolution Burberry Sport for Men

Crocs Almost Barefoot in Turquoise

DECEMBER 2010 â&#x20AC;˘ JANUARY 2011

Reebok Zigtech

Yourself I Samsung microwave oven

Burberry Mini Gingham check button-down shirt Marc Jacobs Bang cologne

Canon Vixia HF M300

tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not bad to reward yourself once in a while, and now is the perfect time. Have yourself a happy holiday by finally copping that dream gadget, elusive jacket, or fancy arm candy.

Apple Mac Mini

HP Pavilion MS200

Storm London Aphrodite watch

LG Optimus Chic

HP G42 laptop Sinequanone lace cocktail dress with front ruching

MacBook Air

TCL LED TV

Genius MetalStrike Pro joystick

Guerlain Four Seasons Compact

Mazda 2

Vibram Five Fingers shoes

Salvatore Ferragamo Vara Peep-Toe heels DECEMBER 2010 â&#x20AC;˘ JANUARY 2011

WISHLIST

Genius earphones CK X boxer briefs Vacheron Constantin watch

Panasonic Lumix GF1

CK One Magnets Nike Hyperfuse

Targus TSS112AP laptop bag

Acer Aspire One d255

Salvatore Ferragamo green croc-skin loafers and textured belt

HTC Wildfire

Significant Other

Buffalo DriveStation Axis External Drive

ew or old, it’s important that you know what your significant other prefers. In case you don’t, we’ve got a variety of gifts to choose from. And in case you do, here are a few more he/she will love.

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

Prada Saffiano Print in Cuoio

Philips SBD8100 Speaker Dock

Prada Vernice Soft 5 in Cipria

LG Optimus GT540

Wize & Ope digital watch

Toshiba Libretto W100 dual-screen laptop PC Genius GShot 501 Digicam

Case-mate iPhone cases

Vita Fede Black Pearl cocktail ring

Kingmax KE71 external hardrive

Avon Ideal Shade Collection

Giada N20 Nettop

Via Uno Gladiator Sandals DECEMBER 2010 â&#x20AC;˘ JANUARY 2011

WISHLIST

Vroom Big Builder toys

Disney DVDs

Kids I

Genius Tablet for kids

Crocs Shark and Starfish

t’s always great to give presents to children and see the excitement in their eyes as they tear the wrapping open. Play Santa Claus to the little ones and give them some adorable apparel from Mothercare or DVDs that they can sing along too. Here’s a tip: they love toys.

Mothercare long-sleeved shirts for boys and gray drawstring cargo pants Crocband Jaunt in fuchsia

Peppa Pig umbrella and three-piece winter set from Mothercare

Pink cardigan 90

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

PHOTOFEATURE

Revealed HTC’s newest endorser graces the pages of Gadgets Magazine with her dazzling radiance and sophisticated charm. Her youthful air makes Rhian absolutely ravishing to behold.

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

Text by Michelle Callanta Photographed by Xander Angeles of Edge of Light Art direction by Chad Villarmino Styling by Franko Barrio Makeup by Precious Medina Hair by Frankie Chavez Cover dress by Franko Barrio Clothes by PROMOD and June Samson Pugat Accessories by Marge Abas of Estrellas Manila Shot on Location ROBOT Restaurant Special thanks to Luis Bersamin of ROBOT

PHOTOFEATURE

HTC Desire HD

Flared gown with bateau neckline in off-white silk mikado, handpainted in black acrylic & gold enamel. Sculptured 4-panel train lined in dyed & hand painted jusi (back). by June Samson Pugat DECEMBER 2010 â&#x20AC;˘ JANUARY 2011

PHOTOFEATURE

HTC Desire HD

The HTC Desire HD lives up to its moniker, as this gorgeous and feature-packed smartphone will make you lust after it. Its 4.3-inch touchscreen display with WVGA resolution is bright and pretty plus the 2.2 Froyo with HTC Sense gives you all the features you’ll ever need. Made from a simple block of aluminum, the HTC Desire HD is possibly the best Android smartphone ever made. 94

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PHOTOFEATURE

Assymetric mustard silk gazar dress with bow and cutting details. by Franko Barrio

DECEMBER 2010 â&#x20AC;˘ JANUARY 2011

PHOTOFEATURE

HTC Desire Z

While we won’t rag on touchscreens, it’s still nice to have actual keys to type on. The HTC Desire Z gives users the best of both worlds―a 3.7 inch touchscreen with WVGA resolution and Z-slider QWERTY keyboard, mated with the latest version of Android.

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PHOTOFEATURE

Soft baize blazer, white print top, suede leather gloves, and lace shorts all from PROMOD Estrellas Manila mixed material chain necklace Opt Mac Book Pro 13-inch Sleeve Opt iPhone4 Protective Armor Case

DECEMBER 2010 â&#x20AC;˘ JANUARY 2011

PHOTOFEATURE

Rhian Reveals...

What are your favorite gadgets? I prefer the iPod classic (not the touchscreen one), the 13-inch Mac Book Pro, the HTC Smart, HTC Legend, HTC Desire HD, iPad (I wish I had the 3G one though), and my alarm clock. What do you think is the most revolutionary gadget of all time and why? It's either the fridge or the microwave for obvious reasons, but if those aren't gadgets, I'm going for the Swiss Army knife. That’s a gadget, I don't care what you say. You’re a young, talented, successful actress and is also HTC's newest endorser. Kindly describe how all of this makes you feel? Very happy. I'm at a point in my life that I think a lot of people can relate to. It’s a point of variety, change and adaptation. I need a phone that adapts to various situations too and that's why I love the HTC Smart and Legend and now, the Desire HD since it also enables me to stream photos and video wirelessly from my phone to a DLNA enabled TV. It gives me whatever I need from a phone, when I need my work phone; it becomes a work phone; when I need a fun phone, that's what it is. It is complete with an application where I can check my email, Twitter, Facebook and messages, all in one. How has HTC complemented your lifestyle? How has it changed it? It makes it easy for me to get in contact with people and find out what’s going on. Personally, I like to tweet and it makes that easier for me with FriendStream. It helps me keep organized because it puts together everything my friends send me like DMs, tweets, emails and SMS. What's one feature you would personally like invented/included in any of your gadgets? When you can’t find your phone/gadget, clap twice and it makes a sound back and lights up.

Double breasted coat from PROMOD Estrellas Manila mixed material chain necklace

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

As this is a “Do-It-Yourself” issue, is there anything you can "do all by yourself"? I like making my own clothes. I draw designs of what I want made and I like to custom-make anything—accessories, jeans, dresses and even shoes.

LIFESTYLEFEATURE

ROBOT: THE FUTURE OF FINE DINING By Michelle Callanta

When the semi-hazy idea of putting up a new bar/ restaurant/club was being thrown around among friends after a long night of clubbing, it almost seemed like a drunken afterthought. Nay, a joke. But after much hype, anticipation, and equally intense characterdefining trial and tribulation, Robot Restaurant (owned by Luis Bersamin, Kenn Flores, and Tom Yeung) finally became an idea-turnedrealization. The name “Robot” is actually short for Robotayaki―a snack bar or grill in Japan serving light meals and snacks, especially of the grilled variety and is cooked behind the bar/counter, so it is easy to see what is on offer and point out what you would like so the chef may cook it for you. Of course, like any worthwhile endeavor, a more charming story behind the name ensued. Luis Bersamin recalls, “The concept of Robot was brought about by Mark Reyes and I. I always spent money going out so we decided that we should open our own spot. We, at first, thought a club/ bar was what we wanted. We did 100

some homework and saw that the shelf life of a club is only three years. So we said a sexy restaurant would be much better. I wanted a place similar to those we frequent in LA and Vegas for example Katsuya, Lavo Lounge in Vegas, Nobu and Geisha house which are all upscale Japanese restaurants. They also cater to the younger, hip crowd. The name Robot was conceptualized by Nick Santiago. He just came back from Japan and he posted on our Facebook that we should name it ‘Robot.’ We at first didn’t agree but then the name grew on us. Cas [Tanseco], Euric [Lumanog] and Jason [Malajacan] all joined in on the post, hence the name Robot was used. We also built Robot because we wanted a place where we could call home.” It was decided―Robot would be a fine dining restaurant that serves contemporary Japanese cuisine to be headed by Chef Niño Laus (of Ninyo Fusion Cuisine on Katipunan, Quezon City). Located at what was formerly Wasabi Bistro on Makati Avenue, Robot exudes a type of elegance and sophistication that rivals even the most high-end restaurants, with white ostrich-leather seats, glass floors, and chrome trimmings around the entire venue. Not to mention, mirrored tiles that make up the ENTIRE bathroom for that

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

utterly glamorous effect, reminiscent of a shiny, disco ball (as the song goes). The LED ambient lighting that can change the color (and mood) of the place at the flip of a switch makes ROBOT contemporary as well as classy. Yet for all of the place’s lovely details, the most decorated (and the heart of Robot) is situated at the very center of its spacious, gleaming white interior―the show kitchen made entirely of see-through glass so that everyone, diners and employees alike, may see the chefs in action. Now if you’ve seen Iron Chef, you may liken the kitchen to a smaller version of the program’s Kitchen Stadium. And that should prove to be an additional entertaining factor to the entire dining experience.

LISTEN

"A SIMPLE STUDIO" D.I.Y. DIGITAL RECORDING HOME STUDIO By Steven Vea

Setting up a digital recording environment in your home is not as difficult as you might initially perceive. If you're a solo musician wanting to record vocals and some live instrumentation, a simple bedroom studio does not require a lot of gadgets or money. Things do tend to get a bit more complex and expensive once you add other players into the mix, but nevertheless, the ability to record your own music is now simple and attainable all thanks to the digital era. If you already own a desktop computer or a laptop—you’re halfway there. The only hiccup in using computers as your digital audio workstation or DAW, is that it ultimately relies on your computer's specifications, since recording audio can be a CPU-intensive task. Rest assured, however, that most computers are highly capable of recording even without replacing any of the built-in specs. Before you start becoming a gear slut, you need to think about what you plan on recording, because the gadgets you purchase will rely heavily on your needs both in the present and in the future. Are you a solo musician or are you in a band? Will you be recording more than one sound source simultaneously? Will you be recording mostly vocals or live instrumentation? With that

said, let's take a look at the basic things that you will need. Your first task will be to purchase a new soundcard, which is more commonly referred to as an audio interface. Although most computers already come equipped with a builtin soundcard, they are incapable of handling intense audio recording and are aimed towards basic media tasks. Furthermore, built-in soundcards only provide a 1/8" line/mic input, which simply won't do. Purchasing a new soundcard specifically for home recording provides an interface of dedicated line and/or mic inputs to ensure a better quality recording. Fortunately, most audio interfaces today are external devices that connect via USB or Firewire and are essentially plug-and-play. While there might be a vast

array of products to choose from, audio interfaces basically differ only in the types and number of inputs and outputs they provide. At the minimum, two line/mic inputs is enough, especially for the solo musician, for this will enable you to record two sound sources simultaneously, such as a vocal track and a guitar. A great start would be to look at M-Audio's products, as they provide a great balance of functionality and price. The Fast Track (as the name implies) is an excellent and popular solution for you to instantly start recording. It connects to your laptop via USB and features two Line/Mic inputs and outputs. On a side note, another reason to acquire an alternate audio interface would be to utilize an audio driver

called ASIO (Audio Stream Input/ Output). This driver basically helps your computer handle audio more efficiently and effectively reduces any latency or delay in the recording application of your choice. Speaking of recording applications, it is now time to hunt for software. If you've just purchased your audio interface, it will mostly likely come bundled with several demo CD's. M-Audio products usually include either Ableton Live or Pro-Tools M-Powered, which are both excellent programs to get started with. If you feel that these aren't for you, other great applications to try are Cakewalk's Sonar and Steinberg's Cubase. A lot of recording enthusiasts have also found a home in GarageBand. Most recording programs function

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101

LISTEN

MIGUEL ESCUETA FEATURED ARTIST

Interviewed By Paolo Toledo

essentially the same way, and basically only differ in their workflow and graphic interface. You simply have to try them out and find one that best suits your needs. Now that you've got your audio interface and your recording software, you're going to need a microphone at some point. A great budget-friendly way to start is by picking up the classic Shure SM58, since it is an excellent balance of price and quality, and would be a great first purchase. While it might not possess the transient clarity of condenser microphones, it definitely has a rugged quality and unique tone that will do the job well. If, however, you decide to first acquire a condenser microphone, the Rode NT1 is a popular choice, and would serve your needs while still weighing light on your pocket. Down the road of your expedition into audio recording, the last piece of gear you will need to get are studio monitors. These help immensely during the mixing process, as they produce a flat sound that can help you pick out problems in your mix Some great budget monitors would be M-Audio's BX5a, KRK Rokit and Behringer's Truth series, which have generally received positive feedback from users. Monitors cost quite a bit, and might probably be one of the last elements to add to your studio—although it doesn't diminish

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DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

its importance in any way. You might also be wondering about soundproofing or acoustically treating your room, but this is guaranteed to run you quite a bit of money. A great alternative to room treatment would be to hang thick comforters in specific areas, which can reduce any latent feedback or unwanted reverb. Also a great way to soundproof would be to put up thick mattresses against the walls, because their thick mass can effectively prevent sound from escaping your project studio. While these suggestions might not be aesthetically pleasing, they are effective and relatively cheap in comparison. As you can see, setting up a simple home studio is not that difficult at all. You can upgrade your gadgets later on, but always remember that in the end, it doesn't really matter what equipment you use, but how you use it.

With two full-length albums, one EP, a slew of gigs & videos all over the airwaves, and a budding career all at his fingertips, Miguel Escueta is poised to make his own mark in the local pop-rock scene of this generation. Anyone who would see him perform, or even those that get to meet him personally, can attest to this artist’s joy and undeniable passion for what he does. But as we reveal in this piece, there is a lot more to the music and to the man. Time to get real with M.E., his new album, and his gadgets. You described your latest full album as “Organic, real and fresh.” How has your music grown in this direction coming from I AM M.E.? The music in “I AM M.E.” and the music in the new album are at both ends of the spectrum. “I AM M.E.” was really a raw album—a compilation of songs I had already written and recorded in an acoustic manner before official album recording and then transformed into full band versions. It was pretty much straightforward. The new originals that we’ve come up with have had the time to grow through time and in the studio. Some of them we even played LIVE in gigs before recording, so the material was already enhanced and we already knew what to do once we went into the studio. The band and I spend

a lot of time in the rehearsal studio arranging music before going into the official album recording phase. The songs on “I AM M.E.” were songs written and arranged in a span of three to four months while most songs on the new album had almost over a year being produced. I feel that I’ve grown so much as an artist since then and really can’t wait to share this new album with everyone. And more than anything, I feel the band and I have found our sound. “Organic, real and fresh” because I believe this is the most honest songwriting I’ve done. I feel I said in the way it had to be said.

Why is the album titled ‘Now It Starts’? Now It Starts is actually one of the original tracks on the album and I’m very proud of it. It portrays the alterative rock enthusiast that I am while still being mainstream—

LISTEN

Now It Starts is actually one of the original tracks on the album and I’m very proud of it. It portrays the alterative rock enthusiast that I am while still being mainstream – which is exactly what we’re trying to do with this record. which is exactly what we’re trying to do with this record. Making it the album title is part of a ploy to direct as much attention to the song possible. We even made a special online music video for it featuring the GMA Party Pilipinas stars singing a few lines each! (If you haven’t seen it yet, you can check it out on miguelescueta.com) Hopefully it’ll be one of our official singles eventually. Aside from this, I believe the phrase “Now It Starts” has a nice ring to it, definitely good enough to be an album title.

Are the cover songs on ‘Now It Starts’ your personal picks and favorites? Was there any special reason why you chose to cover these singles? Choosing the 3 new covers to put in were a collaborative effort between me and the record label. We ended up with 3 female hits of recent years (We Belong Together by Mariah Carey, Rush by Paula Abdul and Love Fool by The Cardigans). The Mariah song we had already performed at a Mariah Carey event a couple of years ago, so it seemed like an obvious choice to build on that because it came out pretty well then. Rush I had always wanted to do, but actually envisioned it to be a lot heavier than how it is on the album. Listening to it now though, I feel that we definitely did it the right way. Acoustic and

international sensation Sabrina is a guest on this track. I’m grateful that she was willing to help out. Love Fool was the last track we recorded because for a long time we didn’t know what song to put in. I did an acoustic study of it and it sounded pretty ok, then we thought it would sound cool if arranged in a more punk/aggressive way. I’m excited about this track and it’s a lot of fun performing live.

WISHLIST: On my wish list: DigiDesign ElevenRack, the new iMAC, Black Gibson Acoustic Guitar, Black Fender Telecaster.

Black Fender Telecaster

Now that “it has started,” where is “it” headed and when will “it” end? “It” is in a place that I’m proud of and grateful for. I’ve really been blessed over the past 3 years. But it doesn’t stop there. Honing your craft is a continuous thing and I want to get better and better. My heart and soul is really into this and it’s my dream to have my music released in other countries as well. We are actually exploring some opportunities that may actually make that a reality. I just have to continue working hard and praying!

Let’s end with something more personal—your gadgets. What gadgets do you often use and what’s on your wish list? How do these help a songwriter/ performer like you? Well, my MacBook is really the

Black Gibson Acoustic Guitar

DigiDesign ElevenRack, Apple iMac

hub for all my music and song writing. It’s what I use to record new material and store them. I use a AKG Condenser Mic, a USB Mic Cable with phantom power, and a USB guitar cable. This makes it possible for me to write / record whenever and wherever. I always have these things with me, even when I go out of town or on vacation.

obsessed with. My current rig is as follows: Pitch Black Korg Pedal Tuner, Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer, Fulltone OCD (Overdrive/Distortion), BOSS Chorus Ensemble, MXR EQ, MXR Carbon Copy (Analog Delay) and a BBE Sonic Stomp Maximizer. I use a Les Paul and a PRS. This is my LIVE sound.

I’m also addicted to guitar pedals. Guitar tone is one thing I’m

I also own a Blackberry Bold 9700. It has made my life a lot more convenient as well. DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

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CDREVIEW

itself. Instead, the unseen excitement comes from the album’s production with legendary pop-rock magician, Robert “Mutt” Lange (Def Leppard, AC/DC, The Corrs, Shania Twain), taking over the studio boards. With his infamous touch, no one can deny that Maroon 5’s Hands All Over is one pop powerhouse album that completely refines the band’s already tried-and-tested formula for mainstream success.

MAROON 5

HANDS ALL OVER MCA MUSIC INC. The hype behind Maroon 5’s third studio album is neither in concept nor anything in the band

The first track, Misery, immediately gives us a jolt of Maroon 5 at their best: funky guitar riffs, Adam Levine’s tenor, and an overall pop-rock arrangement that bounces between infectious hooks. It even devilishly reminds us of their 2002 breakout hit—This Love (Songs About Jane)—and how Levine and co. have the equation to their mainstream

album where tracks begin to lose distinction, even despite having those surprises in between. But overall, Hands All Over is another roaring There are also a few surprises tucked hit from Maroon 5 that will have fans away that offer something different enjoying their glossy brand of pop from their signature of salacious pop injected with an edgier dose of rock. ―Paolo Toledo tracks, one of which is the countrycrooning, Out Of Goodbyes, that features another chart-topping US band, Lady Antebellum. Classic glam rock also shows up on Stutter, where we can find Lange’s rocklaced influence coming through in the sound. While How extends Levine’s vocals over a power ballad arrangement that boasts how Maroon 5 has indeed formed into a musically honed machine. sound, down to a science. And yes, they keep this efficient polish going through most of the album.

However like a machine, it also does seem rather too formulaic and overproduced at certain moments in the

to women, Miley sings about standing up and breaking free from the expectations set by everyone and having the freedom to choose what you want. Following that track is the second single from the album, Who Owns My Heart. The song sings of a feeling people who go to dance clubs can relate too—getting caught up in the beat of the music while confusing your emotions.

vocals and arrangement such as The Cardigan’s Lovefool and The Killers’ Mr Brightside, Escueta’s passion for making original versions makes the listening experience sound real and far from boring. Two of my favorites are his takes on Paula Abdul’s soothing Rush, Rush and an acoustic version of The Cure’s Just Like Heaven that perfectly fits his raw crooning over steady guitar riffs.

MIGUEL ESCUETA NOW IT STARTS MCA MUSIC INC.

A lot can be and has been said about Miguel Escueta. The local pop-rock singer/songwriter and Party Pilipinas mainstay is having a young but very colorful career so far, and with it, a fair share of experiences and growth in his art—all of which can and will be expected in his latest full-length studio release, “Now It Starts.” As a whole, the album sounds tightly put together. Each song seems handpicked not just to push for pop airplay, but also to fit M.E. and his creativity. As far as the covers go, it was a pleasant surprise to see him taking on a number of female vocalists from Mariah Carey to Mandy Moore, which made his artistry fly through how he managed to put his stamp on their songs. Although some may seem rather expected, and even quite of a miss in

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But all throughout the album, he shines brightest on his own compositions. From the Britprogressive rock-sounding title track, Now It Starts, to the dynamic arrangement and provoking words of Sleeping While The Words Awake, this young songwriter has so much more potential in the music the lies ahead for him. Give it a few years and maybe a couple of albums, and his words and arrangements can, definitely, only get better. But for now, it starts here. And here is always a good place to start. ―Paolo Toledo

MILEY CYRUS

In Can’t Be Tamed, where the album got its title, the technoCAN’T BE TAMED heavy pop-dance track is MCA MUSIC INC. about not conforming to what others dictate. Other popFrom starring as Disney's Hannah Montana dance highlights of the album are Permanent December, to having stared as Ronnie Miller in the Scars and Robot which are Last Song, Miley Cyrus has grown out of well rounded out with the being a child superstar. And as with most fast paced beats and ballads Disney child stars, Miley broke out of her Every Rose Has Its Thorns, child-like image by coming out with an album that is a little less conservative and Two More Lonely People, a little more rebellious than what her fans Forgiveness and Love, Stay, Take Me Along and My Heart are used to. Beats For Love. With a title that tells it all, “Can't Be Tamed” To sum it up, Miley Cyrus, is a 12-track album about growing into along with her music, is a more mature mindset and gaining the growing up and broadening confidence to think for oneself. Between her horizon. Miley will capture the deeper set beats, the creative autoher fans hearts, both old and tuning and the more established story behind the lyrics, you can tell that Miley is new, and show them that taking control over her musical career and even with the new image and developing her own opinion with regards sound, there is still a hint of the old Miley in her music. to her musical style. ―Benjamin Arnold The opening dance track, Liberty Walk, sets the theme of the album from the offset. With a message mainly directed

CDREVIEW

to show that K-pop songs are both difficult to understand yet universal and free-for-all. With that said, the new additions to my last-songsyndrome library of k-pop songs are those that belong to the second mini-album of 4minute, “Hit Your Heart”. This 7-track album is filled with dance party beats, feel good rap lyrics and energetic tones that set the mood.

4MINUTE

HIT YOUR HEART MCA MUSIC INC.

Korean Pop or K-pop, as it is widely known, is a true phenomenon that swept the world with its catchy beats and high energy singers. I personally can’t understand the lyrics of the songs they sing, and yet the songs get stuck in my head almost instantly after hearing them. Countless times I would tell my friends that I got this k-pop song stuck in my head, but when asked which one, I wouldn’t know the name of the song or what the exact lyrics were. All I could do was recite random tones that somewhat resembled the lyrics of the song, which they would instantly identify with the song I was talking about. This goes

The opening track, Who’s Next featuring Beast is a drum and trumpet filled song with a very attractive bridge. Following that track is the song HUH, which has a very addictive dance beat that I find entertaining to listen to. I My Me Mine however, though it has its high points, is quite repetitive and not in a good way. But parts of the song do stick with me. To lighten up this high energy k-pop album are the songs Bababa and Tae Yeon Ha Ge Dang Yeon Ha Ge. Bababa has a slower dance tone to it while Tae Yeon Ha Ge Dang Yeon Ha Ge reminds me greatly of the closing love songs that they play at the end of an anime. Other songs on the mini album are Invitation and Highlight, both with dance beats. Also included in the album is a DVD of the music video and making of HUH as well as footage from their Asia promotional tour. Though not one of the best K-pop albums out there, it does leave an impression, and I think the unpronounceable and unknown lyrics of HUH will be stuck in my head for a while after this review. ―Benjamin Arnold his original compositions, Gary V was able to place his vocal imprint on each song proving that classics never really go out of style.

GARY VALENCIANO REPLAY

UNIVERSAL RECORDS When I was a kid fresh from the States, I remember hearing Gray Valenciano’s voice on the radio. I never actually knew the songs he would sing, but I would be able to identify him from his distinctive balladeer voice. Fast forwarding to the present, I am now tasked to review his current compilation album “Replay,” and even now, he is still as distinct as he was way back then. This 17-track compilation album is filled with beautiful classics that he felt deserved to be replayed now in the current day and age. Though not all the tracks on the album are

Starting off the album is the song One Hello, which has been revived many times before, yet Gary V gives justice to the song with his distinguishing vocals. His soothing voice jumps from each note perfectly rounding out this classic song. Instantly following that track is the song He Won’t Let Go, which was taken from his previous album “Rebirth.” This song is simple and the meaning is divine, which I believe brings joy to those who hear it. Some other highlights of the album are More And More as well as Ohhh. More And More has always been a feel good song that just brightens up my mood and Gary V laid down the lyrics superbly. Ohhh on the other hand is a faster passed song that has quite a few fun word-play moments to the song that really make it fun to listen to. Other songs included in the album are Home, Tell Me, Only Friend, Did It Ever, Sana Bukas, Ikaw Lamang, Kailan Pa, Alam Ko Na, For You, Shake It Off, Face to Face and two bonus tracks, And I Love You So and Kung Tayo’y Magkakalayo, all of which truly are classics at heart. With the appropriately titled album, “Replay” is indeed a replay of some of times best songs which both old and new audiences will play again and again for years to come.―Benjamin Arnold

A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS

CHRISTIAN BAUTISTA UNIVERSAL RECORDS

‘Tis the merry season once again, and with it comes bright lights, gift giving and Christmas caroling. With that idea in mind, I got a CD full of joy entitled “A Wonderful Christmas” by Christian Bautista. This 15-track album has Christian Bautista singing classic Christmas tunes that would make anyone’s heart grow with the Christmas spirit—even the Grinch himself. It is almost as if Christian’s smooth soft voice was specifically designed to sing these beautiful holiday songs. Opening the album is The Christmas Song which I think is sung very simply with little accents of a guitar and chimes. A perfect opening to the album because it’s an all-time favorite. Following that song is Angels We Have Heard On High which showcases Christians vocal talents with his silky smooth flow of notes. It starts simple with an acoustic guitar but then speeds up with accents of an electric guitar and cymbals. One of the highlights of the album would have to be All I Want for Christmas because it’s a simple upbeat song filled with bells and beats that just play with your ears. Christian put his own twist on it by keeping the beat at a fairly medium pace that works well with his style of singing. Though the album is a perfect holiday compilation, it does lack in some areas: Little Drummer Boy lacks the drums, which I believe is the essence of the song. It only has soft drum beats and lacks some energy at the beginning of the song. Also on the track of Christmas Alphabet the collaboration of Christian with the children’s vocals doesn’t merge to well and the extra commentary throws off the flow. Other songs in the album are Silver Bells, Christmas Shoes, The Gift of Christmas with Liza ChanParpan, Christmas Time, What A Wonderful World, Amazing Grace, Last Christmas, Oh Come Ye Faithful, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear and Nakaraang Pasko. Over all, Christian Bautista’s “A Wonderful Christmas” is the perfect holiday album to brighten up the Christmas Spirit inside any home this holiday season. It will surely be on loop this Christmas Eve in my Jewish house.―Benjamin Arnold

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EVENTS

EASTPAK: THE RESISTANCE MOVEMENT Eastpak supports this movement to dated convention and negativity by presenting five movers and shakers who resist convention and carry on unconventional yet lucrative lifestyles. The five Resistance Leaders embody qualities Eastpak backpacks became known for—hip, edgy designs that are built to resist harsh elements and daily use. Over the years, the brand has included multifunctional laptop sleeves and accessories into its product line. The new product line is built to resist complexity, limits, discomfort, inadequacy, and the ordinary—evolving along with the increasing needs of the new generation. They—Ornusa Cadness, Jowee Alviar, Jukka Holopainen, Katrina Lugartos, 106

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There is a revolution taking this generation by storm. The deeply-embedded rules of convention are soon to be uprooted because of this movement.

and Ronald Pasion—are the definitive icons of defiance.

music from tough, trend-resistant acts such as Urbandub, December Avenue, and Salamin.

“Eastpak is built to resist. The youth today has the same stand when it comes to swimming against the current of everyday norms. Who knew that promoting your own advocacy can be so awesome? If you throw in some live music that speaks strongly of how we make a stand in this world, it might just make things a lot more interesting and fun. This is exactly what Eastpak is going to do,” says Gee Escay, brand manager at Eastpak.

The Primer Group of Companies is behind Eastpak, the authentic brand for hip and edgy packs, bags, and accessories. Primer is a top retail and distribution conglomerate in lifestyle and industrial products with presence all over the country and Asia.

To answer the call to resist, a Resistance Party, led by the five Resistance Leaders, was held on November 11 at B-Side Collective with

Eastpak is available in the following Bratpack branches in Ayala Greenbelt 5, Ayala Marquee Mall, Ayala Cebu, Robinsons Galleria, Robinsons Place Malate, SM Southmall, SM The Block, SM Pampanga, SM Davao and SM Cagayan de Oro.

TEAM UP EVENTS

CROCS & COLLEZIONE C2 Two of the biggest footwear and apparel names in the country, Crocs and Collezione C2, have teamed up to offer an unparalleled and unique design both distinctly Pinoy, and distinctly Crocs. My Pilipinas Crocband was launched as part of the Holiday 2010 Collection, a pair sure to make Filipinos loud and proud of their nation. Designed by acclaimed fashion designer, Rhett Eala, the limited-edition My Pilipinas Crocband is designed to intensify national pride, with a dash of fun and loaded with functionality. “It’s an important collaboration in terms of carrying the ‘fashionalism’ movement forward,” said Rhett Eala, Collezione-C2 creative director and the man behind the ‘Map’ shirts that influenced the resurgence of Pinoy pride. “We are happy that a global brand like Crocs saw it fit to team up with our label to create an innovative product that speaks so distinctively of our country.” Inspired by Pinoys’ strong patriotism, community spirit, and fun-loving nature, the My Pilipinas Crocband best exemplifies these traits in a uniquely Filipino pair. According to Collezione-C2 managing director Joey Qua, the My Pilipinas Crocband is the result of a strategic partnership between like-minded brands. “The shoe is in line with Collezione-C2’s objective of creating globally relevant products that merge art, fashion, and nationalism. This collaboration with Crocs hits that mark and provides another opportunity to show what we Filipinos have to offer.” Franco Limjuco, VP at All Condition Gear Philippines Inc., explains the birth of this model, “What the Filipino market needs, in terms of footwear, is an essential aspect of our job. Feeling good starts in practicality, simplicity, and more importantly comfort, and this is what Crocs provides. This year, we offer a new design which is uniquely Filipino, as we give more reasons to parade our national pride to the world.”

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EVENTS

SM MAKES IT EASIER TO WATCH YOUR FAVORITE MOVIES Watching the latest Hollywood hit need not be stressful. Why line up and wait when you can buy tickets to your favorite flicks right from your PC at home? SM Cinema has proudly unveiled their new website at an event held at the IMAX Theater in SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. The event heralded a new way to watch movies. The website allows people not only to buy tickets online, but to choose their seats as well. The process is easy and intuitive, and takes only a few minutes from start to finish. Customers will then receive a simple text message that contain a code called a bCODE, which will then be used to redeem the tickets at bCODE readers at the cinema of their choice. The readers are able to read these messages from virtually all mobile phones, may it be an entrylevel phone or a top of the line smartphone. Now you can buy tickets for all of the SM Cinemas throughout the country. Leading IT-services provider e-Commerce Asia Ltd. will integrate, implement, and support this redemption network, which will provide SM Cinemas with advanced mobile commerce services such as payment, ticketing and loyalty marketing. Payment options include Globe GCash, Visa and Mastercard. You can try it yourself at www. smcinema.com

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NEWSBITS&BYTES

BROTHERS BURGER PARTNER WITH COTY-PHILS BROTHERS Burger is supporting this year’s Car of the Year-Philippines (CoTY-P), organized by Car Awards Group Inc.

Brothers Burger has been in the burger business for 10 years now. It started opening a quick-service first-class restaurant offering burgers, which is customized to each diner’s taste buds. “The Car Awards Group Inc is pleased that Brothers Burger partner with us in this year’s search for 2010 Car-ofthe-Year. We are glad with this partnership, and we look forward to

a more fruitful business relationship with them,” said CAGI president Ferman Lao. Present during the official meeting were (from left to right) Bam Olivares, DJ Jose, Quito Jose, Ferman Lao, Martin Jose, Bess Zamora and Andy Sevilla. True to its vision in providing total satisfaction to its customers in terms of taste and value for money, Brothers Burger will continue to expand becoming the popular hang-out choice of those who search for great tasting of burgers.

HONDA CR-Z WINS CAR ‘ATLAS TV OF THE YEAR JAPAN GUIDE’ TURNS 11

HONDA Motor Co. Ltd. announced that the CR-Z, a hybrid vehicle, has been awarded the Car of the Year Japan 2010–2011 by the Japan Car of the Year executive committee. The sporty CR-Z hybrid brings together a 1.5-liter i-VTEC engine and Honda’s original Integrated Motor Assist system into a progressive and dynamic design that fuses agile, exhilarating driving with outstanding fuel efficiency of 25.0 kilometer. Takanobu Ito, president and CEO at Honda Motor Co. Ltd., said: “We are very proud that the CR-Z has been selected from the strong contenders

of new models as the Car of the Year Japan 2010–2011. This award shows that the public has accepted Honda’s aspiration to supply exceptional environmental performance in a funto-drive hybrid car at an affordable price, as well as Honda’s desire to spread the joy of owning and driving a car. We also believe that this award for the CR-Z reflects the true value of the combined efforts of our business partners and the many others who supported CR-Z development and production. Going forward, Honda intends to bring more joy to an even larger number of customers.”

Atlas TV Guide celebrates its 11th year in December by coming up with a Year 11 Special Issue. The magazine will feature top television shows and hot celebrities, best TV shows to watch for, great movies, sports action, 24/7 programming guide and more. Atlas TV Guide also offers a variety of topics including a section that features a review of classic movies, exclusive interviews of celebrities, hot scoops, upcoming shows plus a motoring section where one can be updated with the latest in the car industry.

LOWEST PRICES AT COMMDAP EXPO MANILA 2010 “I.T.’s a SALE!” marks the 24th edition of the country’s longest-running information technology exhibit with top brands, products and services offered at their lowest prices or auctioned off exclusively for visitors of COMDDAP Expo Manila 2010 set December 2-5 at Hall 1 of SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Organized by the Computer Manufacturers, Distributors and Dealers Association of the Philippines (COMDDAP), a non-stock, non-profit trade association promoting sustainability in the IT industry, the Expo offers savings by as much as 40 percent or even higher for some products. Bargain items can also be found at the designated baratillo lane.

The budget-conscious can participate in the hourly voice auction everyday during the Expo on IT items from exhibitors with starting bids at 50 percent off their regular prices. Raffle prizes during the daily draws are also at stake for the lucky visitors. “We also timed it close to Christmas so consumers can buy the best IT gifts at good prices they can’t resist,” COMDDAP director and event chairman Juan G. Chua said.

The top draws are personal computers, notebooks, accessories, security software and gadgets, among others, which essentially comprise the association’s key products in line with COMDDAP’s mission and advocacy “to spread the gospel of IT” in

Atlas TV Guide is the only magazine that features round-the-clock programming of more than 50 cable/free TV channels in the country. It is published by Atlas Publishing Co., Inc. publisher of MOD, Moviestar, People’s Balita, Buhay OFW, Quick n Easy Recipe Booklets, and other others that are available in all National Bookstores and other leading outlets nationwide. Call 912-9652 to 62 or email atlastvguide@ gmail.com or atlastvguide@ yahoo.com. COMDDAP 3DPi project launching with Sen. Chiz Escudero

the country. Geared to offer the lowest prices and huge discounts on their products and services are initially confirmed exhibitors Advance Solutions, Inc., Aeon Computer Service Center, Astech Pengson Distributors, Inc., BC Net, Inc., Canon Marketing (Philippines), Inc., Chase

Technologies Corp., Colent Marketing, Inc., Edupro, Inc., Epson Philippines Corp., Fujitsu Philippines, Inc. Grand Force Marketing, Heritage Multi-Office Products, Inc., Infoworx, Innovista Technologies, Inc., iSecure Networks, Inc., Jen-1ne Distributor, Inc., Jupiter Systems, Inc., Maxtec Solutions, Inc., Metropreneur Connections

Enterprises, MSI-ECS Philippines, Inc., Mustard Seeds Systems Corp., to name a few. The expo also features a digital art competition called “Imagen.I.T.Pinoy” (visit www.imagen.it), which encourages artists of all ages to let loose their digital creativity and imagination.

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NEWSBITS&BYTES

GET HOOKED ON FISH & CO.’S ‘MEATIER’ MENU If you’re fishin’ for a little more meat, it’s time to come ashore to Fish & Co.—where it’s going to be fish and more (than) fish— as it beefed up its menu for you to get hooked on! “With the launch of ‘There’s MEAT To Our Name,” the ‘Co.’ in ‘Fish & Co.,’ now refers to meat. Our new meat options will keep our fish and seafood dishes ‘company’ in our menu,” said Lilet Martinez, director for operations. “Overall, they are expected to attract and please a broader market, meatloving diners included."

Lamb Chops, Breaded Chicken Piggyback and Shrimps and Chicken Breast Al Pesto.

The four new dishes were added to the existing meat selection which are also some of the top favorites in the menu. These include the Grilled Chicken Peri-peri (tender

half chicken grilled to juicy perfection, served with peri-peri sauce), Grilled Porkchop Basilico (twopiece chops seasoned and grilled to perfection and topped with tomato caper relish) and Grilled Mediterranean Tenderloin (a perfect choice for beef lovers, seasoned tenderloin topped with garlic mushroom)—great-tasting grub good enough for you and the whole crew.

Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp. is demonstrating its goal of strengthening its position in the air conditioning market by expanding its latest product offerings. Besides establishing a complete lineup that’s also energy-efficient, the unit’s efforts are focused on presenting to the Philippine market with breakthrough advancements in a category that is technologically-stagnant.

Samsung’s latest S-Inverter air conditioner, the Crystal series, features the SPi (Super Plasma ion) technology that can eliminate more than 99

percent of harmful micro organisms including SARS and H1N1 to guarantee contamination-free indoor air. SPi technology has been proven as the most effective purification technology, generating a far higher number of ions and covering a larger area compared to other technologies. The Crystal series also contains the world’s first silver-coated technology that leverages silver’s natural antibacterial properties, and a high density anti-virus filter 1.6 times more effective in removing dust. These two properties form part of a unique 6-Step Filter System that filters the air of contaminates a total of six times.

General Electric recently named John G. Rice to lead the company’s global operations. Rice, a GE vice chairman since 2005, will be in charge of GE’s growth outside the United States. He will relocate to Hong Kong and his appointment is effective January 1, 2011. “John Rice has served customers, built partnerships and done deals around the world for more than 20 years,” said GE chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt. “He is well known and respected by global business and government leaders and our employees. We are

Included in Fish & Co.’s new must-try meat choices are the Garlic Steak and Shrimps Combo, Grilled

SAMSUNG INTRODUCES DIGITAL AIR SOLUTIONS

GE NEW VICE CHAIRMAN FOR GLOBAL GROWTH & OPERATIONS

For the commercial market, Samsung introduced the DVM Plus 4 system air conditioner line-up, incorporating some of the newest technology in installation air conditioning. The DVM Plus IV range is the next generation of Samsung’s DVM range. With up to16 heads working with one system, the DVM can heat or cool a larger area and at larger capacity than previous models. The DVM Plus IV range can also now be controlled from the main computer of a building, making air conditioning management far more versatile. The DVM Plus IV also offers the world’s largest capacity in a single outdoor module providing 20 HP and up to a total combined capacity of 80 HP.

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

Rice will oversee 12 integrated local organizations that will include business development, commercial teams, finance, controllership and legal. This will include China, India, Southeast Asia, Latin/South America, Russia, Canada, Australia, the Middle East, Africa, Germany, Europe and Japan/Korea.

PIER ROXAS TO KNOW HIS IDENTITY SOON Eight imaginative storytellers, but only one holds the key to Pier Roxas’s true identity. Nokia Philippines unveils the eight finalists who have weaved the most interesting plots to conclude the baffling tale of Pier Roxas. The Top 8 Finalists heeded Nokia N8 Project geNer8 and Smart Gold’s call to provide the best concluding story to help Pier Roxas remember who he is and piece together what happened to him in the last 8 days. The Nokia N8 Project geNer8 Pier Roxas campaign received an impressive number of entries from people whose curiosities were piqued by the mystery that surrounds Pier Roxas. The campaign, which was highlighted as a short-film making competition, was launched in line with the unveiling of Nokia’s latest handset, the Nokia N8, dubbed the world’s best entertainment smartphone. The Top 8 finalists are: Darren Codera, a 22-yearold multimedia arts student from Parañaque City; Andrei

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entering a period of great opportunity in global markets and, as a result, our teams must be more decentralized, faster and more local.”

Guarin, a 26-year-old IT professional from Quezon City; Dr. Cyrus Pasamba, 32, from Quezon City and Glynis Lee, a 23-year-old nurse from Binondo, Manila; Paul Pineda, a 29-year-old scientific journal editor from Makati City; Ray de Leon, a 20-year-old TV crew from Quezon City; Albert Torralba, a 26-yearold English teacher from Sta. Ana, Manila; Juanita Bantay, a 25-year-old nurse from Bataan; and Mia Buenaventura, a 30-something short-film director. The Top 8 finalists will each receive a Nokia N8 and a chance to bring back Pier Roxas’s memory in HD. From these finalists, only one will emerge the grand winner, who will bag the Php 50,000 cash prize. The grand winner will be announced on December 15.

NEWSBITS&BYTES

HONDA FORMS BLUE SKIES ALLIANCE IN ENVIRONMENT FORUM Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) forms Blue Skies Alliance in marking its 20 years of local operations. In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Honda upholds its longtime pledge way back in 1966 to leave blue skies for our children as initiated by Honda’s founder, Soichiro Honda. As a testament to its commitment to preserve the environment, HCPI partners with both private and government sectors to embark on an environment forum that covers various approaches in attaining sustainable mobility. The forum aims to provide awareness on the country’s environmental state as well as the government’s and various non-government organization’s efficiency programs to encourage wider participation from both private and public sectors. With an escalating volume of motor vehicles on the road, collaborative measures from the different members of society are essential to realize sustainable mobility. Present at the forum is Honda Motor Co. Ltd.’s Environment and Safety Planning General Manager, Mr. Michio Shinohara to share Honda’s environmentally sound technological advancements, global efforts and challenges.

Apart from developing clean and fuel efficient engine technologies, Honda’s commitment to the environment is also reflected in its manufacturing and dealership operations. Mr. Hiroshi Shimizu, President and General Manager of Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. imparts details of its green operations in the local setting. Presenting the inconvenient truth about the actual state of the Philippines’ natural environment is Haribon Foundation’s Chief Operating Officer Mr. Blas Tabaranza, Jr. In addressing climate change, Assistant Secretary Mario Marasigan of the Department of Energy covers the country’s direction and efforts to achieve energy efficiency and conservation. Meanwhile, the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI), the Philippine Business for the Environment (PBE) and the Partnership for Clean Air (PCA) are promoting the United Nations Environment Programme and the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles toolkit for clean fleet management. Ms. Glynda Bathan, Policy and Partnership Manager of

CAI shares some insights on how to measure and reduce carbon footprints of fleet vehicles. PBE and CAI initially collaborated with Honda when these organizations joined its fuel efficiency driving competition program called the Honda Challenge Cup. The Honda Challenge Cup, established in 1996, promotes fuel economy under normal, day-to-day driving conditions.

Mr. Jose Noda, Senior Technical Consultant of Green Philippines Islands of Sustainability (GPIoS) is also at the forum to advocate environmentfriendly operations that can translate into profit. GPIoS is an initiative funded by the European Union's SWITCH-Asia Programme to help improve green and sustainable industrial development in Metro Manila and in CALABARZON region. Apart from environment preservation, Honda is also at the forefront of promoting safety as part of its social responsibility. Honda has invited Assistant Secretary Dante M. Lantin of the Department of Transportation and Communication to discuss the status of road safety in the Philippines as well as the agency’s intended direction and programs.

Complementing this subject is Honda Safety Driving Center’s (HSDC) exhibit at the forum. HSDC is a world-class driving facility that offers both automobile and motorcycle riding courses within a safe and controlled environment. Honda also takes the opportunity to launch its upcoming eco-alliance with government agencies and Haribon Foundation. “The Honda group of companies, consisting of Honda Cars Philippines, Inc., Honda Philippines, Inc., Honda Parts Manufacturing Corporation and Honda Trading Philippines, through the Honda Foundation, signs a Memorandum of Agreement to share with government fleet our technical expertise and facilities for fuel efficient and safe driving training. Also, we are signifying our full support to Haribon Foundation’s Road to 2020 project. Road to 2020 aims to restore one million hectares of Philippine rainforests using native tree species by year 2020 in order to recover biodiversity. The Honda Foundation has pledged to support 20 hectares.” said Mr. Hiroshi Shimizu, president and general manager of Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. The forum’s panel of reactors is composed of Mr. Vicente Mills Jr., president of Philippine Automotive

T.G.I.FRIDAY’S NOW AT THE MARQUEE MALL T.G.I.Friday’s brings its popular American-style fare and fun dining experience to Pampanga as it opens its 11th store in Angeles City. This is the restaurant chain’s second branch outside the metropolis. Located at the ground floor of The Marquee Mall, the 150-seater restaurant with al fresco dining is ready to serve local residents, students, families and a large expat community hankering for T.G.I. Friday’s brand of good food and fun ambiance.

The new branch adapted a sleeker, more modern design at the same time, maintaining a touch of the classic style. Wooden dining tables provide comfortable seating while funky red and white swirled pendants and star-shaped lighting gives just the right amount of illumination to the interiors. The menu features flavorful and delicious fare such signature appetizers Fried Mozzarella and Potato Skins. There is a wide selection of hearty choices

Federation, Inc., Governor Oliver Butalid of the Board of Investments, Ms. Grace Favila, NGO Adviser of Philippine Business for the Environment, Professor Benjamin Bagadion of the Asian Institute of Management and Dr. Jose Regin Regidor, director of U.P. National Center for Transportation Studies. Other sectors also present to show support are members of the largest student-run organization AIESEC, Honda Challenge Cup Fleet Partners and Honda’s dealership and supplier network. “The welfare of the environment is everybody’s concern. The only way of achieving sustainable mobility is by working together as one. Through the Blue Skies Alliance, Honda hopes to give the environment due care and attention for the benefit of generations to come. To take part of this cause, the forum can also be viewed by visiting www. hondaphil.com through live web streaming for the benefit of almost 18,000 Honda Facebook fans supporting the ‘Blue Skies for our Children’ movement since we launched the campaign online less than three months ago.” said Voltaire Gonzales, Vehicle Sales and Corporate Communications head of HCPI.

ranging from salads, burgers, fajitas, pastas, sandwiches, steaks and seafood dishes. Friday’s Chicken Fingers remains the topseller while the most popular dessert is the over-sized Oreo Madness. You wouldn’t go wrong too if you decide to order from the Jack Daniel’s Grill, mouth-watering meat and seafood dishes smothered with Friday’s exclusive sweet and savory Jack Daniel’s sauce. These are served by a team of efficient and friendly wait staff known to be some of the best in the local casual dining industry.

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NEWSBITS&BYTES

GLOBE LAUNCHES NEW LOOK OF CORPORATE WEBSITE True to its thrust to provide superior customer experience, Globe relaunches its corporate website with a new look that allow users to have a more personalized online experience.

ITALIANNI’S GREENBELT REOPENS Classic elegance—these are words that best describe the newly renovated Italianni’s branch in Greenbelt 2.

The restaurant takes on a modish ambiance while preserving its charming character, a fusion of the romantic air of New York’s Little Italy and the highly urbane Chicago feel. The new interior of the restaurant evokes a modern yet country Italian feel. A lighter color palette using a combination of industrial grays, off-white, taupe, two tones of cream and hints of green meld with the natural warmth

of walnut wood. Booth seats of clean-lined frames, tufted upholstery and decorative chandelier, as well as service stations with a ducco finish add to the overall ambiance. Italianni’s full–service bar is now located at the foreground, becoming a part of the over-all design and a showcase in itself. The tall wine bottle display shelf behind the bar serves both as an accent and a functional piece. A private dining room was constructed at the mezzanine. Ideal for functions and meetings, it can accommodate up to 25 persons. Aside from the in-store dining, an outdoor bar and a cabana were added to the old furniture setting for big groups as well

ISUZU CROSSWIND BAGS "AUV OF THE YEAR" AWARD THE Isuzu Crosswind onceagain bagged the Best AUV title in the BDO 201011 Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards. The annual motoring survey is designed to show the most popular vehicles among consumers in the Philippine automotive market. The public voted through the survey’s website or printed ballots. Already in its sixth year, the contest aims to find out which among locally 112

available motor vehicles are the most preferred by the buying public. "The voting was intense and very close in many of the categories, except for a few, which really had hands-down winners," said Gamboa, the chairman and CEO of Sunshine Television. The Crosswind won for the fifth time as Best AUV since the awards’ launch in 2005, also winning the prestigious overall Automobile of

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

as for those who love al fresco dining amidst a tropical scenery. Italianni’s menu remains to be a showcase if Italy’s diversely rich flavors blended with the goodness of American bounty and adapted to the modern palate. The result? A hearty delicious gastronomic feast for guests.

The new website layout uses the sentence interface “I Want” which allows users to choose from the various Globe products and services via the dropdown menu located on the homepage. From choosing a postpaid plan or a mobile phone, being updated with the latest prepaid and broadband offers, getting information on rewards programs, to viewing bills and availing of roaming services, online users are exposed to offers that are relevant to them. “The old layout contained too much information. Users had a hard time

figuring out where to go or what to click next to find what exactly what they need,” shared Bunny Aguilar, head of convergent communication channels. “With this new look, we are empowering our online customers to find a Globe product or service that they need at a faster pace, enabled by a platform that is more userfriendly and convenient.” The available options on the dropdown menu are based on the most viewed or searched for content in the website. The website redesign is also part of the ongoing efforts of Globe to personalize the consumer experience, where customers are given the freedom to enjoy products and services that fit their needs and lifestyle.

“Italianni’s Greenbelt’s new décor and ambiance are perfectly interwoven with our goal to offer our guests their well-loved Italian-American dishes in a classic elegant vibe—our way of giving them what they truly deserve…a memorable dining experience with each visit,“ said Paul Manuud, Italianni’s vice president.

the Year in 2006. Isuzu vehicles are popular with image-conscious and price-conscious Filipino car buyers because of their affordability, powerful and fuel-efficient diesel engines, value-for-money features, reliability and professional after-sales service. "We are not surprised that the Crosswind was favored by many Filipino consumers," said IPC president Ryoji Yamazaki. "Filipinos do relate to the Crosswind's toughness and dependability, and they can see in it their hardworking selves. It is truly the vehicle of the masses."

The Isuzu Crosswind won the 2010 "AUV of the Year" in the recent Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards.

IPC president Ryoji Yamazaki (2nd from left) received the trophy from the awards committee headed by the chairman and CEO of Sunshine Television Ray Butch Gamboa (extreme left).

NEWSBITS&BYTES

EMERSON NETWORK JUNIPER NETWORKS OPENS GLOBAL POWER UNVEILS DATA THREAT & RESEARCH CENTER CENTER STRATEGY EMERSON Network Power recently introduced Trellis, the first integrated, single-information-source data center infrastructure management platform to bridge the critical gap between a data center’s IT equipment and facilities infrastructure.

The Trellis dynamic infrastructure optimization platform is a family of hardware, software and services designed to manage the dynamic nature and requirements of the infrastructure holistically from a central “source of truth,” enabling data center managers to make smarter decisions on the interplay between efficiency, availability and capacity utilization. Steve Hassell, president of the Avocent business of Emerson Network Power, said: “Virtualization has brought greater flexibility and efficiency to data

center management, but has introduced new complexities and pressures to the static physical infrastructure.”

Hassell was CIO at Emerson when the company built its new 35,000 square-foot, LEED Gold data center, an initiative that gave him first-hand experience with the challenges facing even a state-of-the-art data center. Currently, data center managers typically reserve 20 percent or more of their power system capacity as a buffer against overload. This has become a standard practice because they lack a single, realtime view of operating conditions within the IT equipment and the power and cooling systems that support them, instead relying on the face-plate specifications rather than real-time performance indicators.

LG NAMES NEW EXEC FOR CORPORATE MARKETING In a move by LG Electronics Asia to further strengthen its position in the global mobile industry, experienced industry veteran Sandeep Khanna succeeds Arthur Huang as vice president of corporate marketing. Huang was appointed chief operating officer of LG Electronics Singapore in January. Sandeep brings with him more than 21 years cross-cultural and crossfunctional advertising and marketing experience across Asia. He has held senior management positions working for world-class brands such ICI Paints and Nokia, where he was instrumental in improving consumer brand preference and market share. In addition, he also played a vital role in winning global awards for innovation in Nokia’s quality forums. He has also been involved in strategic planning for accounts

such as Nestlé, FedEx and Adidas as a strategy planner in India and Singapore. As the newly appointed Corporate Marketing Head of LG Electronics Asia, Sandeep Khanna will be at the forefront of LG’s strategy building, brand development and policy implementation. His first order of business is to secure number one product quality for all LG products. To achieve this, Sandeep believes that LG Electronics should deliver competitive contents and services and achieve hardware advantage in order to lead the premium smartphone market. “Performance is the ultimate representation of our business. For our effort to be seen and valued properly by the market, we must make it our business to focus on driving “high-quality” growth that

Juniper Networks has inaugurated the Juniper Global Threat Center to provide around-the-clock, global monitoring of mobile security threats to consumers and enterprises. The facility— based in Columbus, Ohio—is the first and only center dedicated to tracking, responding and researching threats to mobile devices, including viruses, spyware and other security vulnerabilities that can expose a user’s personal, professional and sensitive information.

Mobile devices have become an effortless way of connecting into corporate networks regardless of location. Yet, just as easily, they expose corporations to malware, exploits and loss and theft, which pose significant dangers to today’s global mobile workforce. In fact, research conducted by Juniper Networks found that 81 supports an optimal profit and cost structure. Our organization has overcome many challenges in this uncertain time by working together. I firmly believe that we can transform the challenges that lie ahead into opportunities as long as we possess strong confidence in our capability as a team and stand firm in our resolve to overcome any challenge,” said Sandeep.

percent of users access their employer’s network without their employer’s knowledge or permission and 59 percent do so every day. Consumers are no better off—they use smartphones for mobile banking and storing personal information such as bank account numbers and passwords, placing sensitive data at risk of falling into the wrong hands. In the first half of 2011, the Juniper Global Threat Center will release the “State of Mobile Security 2010 Report,” a report that analyzes the state of mobile security.

Preliminary findings to date include an analysis of Android Market applications capable of malicious activity that showed that 1 out of every 20 applications requested permissions that could allow the application to place a call without the

user’s knowledge; 61 percent of all reported smartphone infections were spyware, capable of monitoring communication from the device; and 17 percent of all reported infections were text message Trojans, which charge fees to a device’s account holder. “People are using smartphones to access work files, store personal information, conduct banking and download applications,” said Eu Ween Kang, director of enterprise marketing for Asia Pacific. “Yet, while most PCs come with security baked-in, virtually all smartphones remain vulnerable to even basic exploits and attacks. The Juniper Global Threat Center identifies, monitors and responds to evolving threats to mobile devices, ensuring that Juniper customers have the highest possible level of mobile device protection.”

SHARP AQUOS QUATTRON REVOLUTIONIZES TV VIEWING EXPERIENCE For over half a century, we saw the world through the 3-color TV system. Sharp, the pioneer in LCD technology and innovative audio-visual entertainment, elevates your viewing experience to a whole new level with the Sharp Aquos Quattron. This revolutionary innovation adds yellow to the picture,

making viewing pleasure complete and the 3-color system obsolete.

Now with yellow, the colors on screen are crisp and brilliant, more vibrant than ever. Visit a Sharp showroom today and discover the innovation that is Sharp Aquos Quattron.

LGE Asia Corp Mktg Director Sandeep Khanna DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

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NEWSBITS&BYTES

SUN CELLULAR FIRST TO HIT 1M POSTPAID SUBSCRIBERS Sun Cellular makes Philippine telecommunications history by being the first service provider to achieve 1 Million postpaid subscribers. Rheumatologist Dr. Juan Javier T. Lichauco is Sun Cellular’s one millionth subscriber. Dr. Javier said reliability and affordability

made him choose Sun Cellular. To show the company’s appreciation, JG Summit chairman and CEO James L. Go awarded Dr. Lichauco a bevy of prizes which includes among others a BlackBerry handset and an HP Netbook plus two years worth of free Sun Cellular services such as Sun Call & Text Unlimited, Sun

Broadband Wireless and SunTel wireless landline. witnessing the event were on are Charles A. Lim, Sun Cellular Business Unit CEO and other Sun Cellular executives Neph Denosta, AVP for Postpaid Acquisition; Faraday Go, VP for Retail Management; Ricky Peña, VP for Postpaid/ New Business; and Reuben Pangan, VP for CRM.

ERICSSON INVITES DEVELOPERS TO TURN CODES INTO CASH The hunt is on for the best young global developers and innovators to make their mark in the Ericsson Applications Awards – Code for Cash 2011. Filipino students and software developers are invited to submit their best application ideas in this international competition and transform their code into cash.

Eligible to participate are those with a great developer idea and are studying at university, or work in a company with less than 100 employees. Please note that individual entries are not accepted. Entries should be from a team of two to four people. Participants need to create an Android-based application (web or native) which uses at least one Ericsson Labs API and is related to the theme "Connected Things."

AFTERMARKET TRENDS AT MANILA AUTO SALON The latest in car customizing and performance enhancements was showcased at the 2010 Manila Auto Salon at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. Over 150 “project vehicles” were presented by leading custom car/ sport truck builders and tuners with mild to wild modifications on exterior, interior, engine and suspension all participating in four major competitions— 15th Custom Car Competition, 15th Sport Truck Competition, 4th SUV Competition and the 4th Extreme Tuner Competition.

Some of the entries much awaited by Manila Auto Salon enthusiasts are the custom conversions of A-Toy Bodykits that always sets a trend in automotive restyling in the Philippines. They had 14 “project vehicles” 114

“The connected society is already a reality and we will become even more connected in coming years – helping us in our daily lives. Ericsson predicts a world of more than 50 billion connections by 2020. Smart applications will play a huge role in that, so your application idea really could make a difference to society,” says Ericsson Philippines and Pacific Islands president and country manager, Rajendra Pangrekar. The competition is subdivided into two sections – one for students and one for companies. The winning team in each category will receive a check for €15,000 and Sony Ericsson mobile phones. Sony Ericsson will also be represented on the judging panel as part of its partnership in the competition.

launched in the show. The "DC/ROCKSTAR Drift Car" is one of the several highlights of his pavilion. A Cefiro converted to an R34 Skyline body with a mean 1JZGTE Twin turbo Supra engine (380+ whp). Another first for Manila Auto Salon is a very special display of the 1928 Graham-Paige of the courageous Herman and Cande Zapp who traveled (and are still traveling) around the world with this vintage car with their children for 10 years now. From ARGENTINA, ALASKA, on a raft on the Amazon River, ruins in Mexico all in a 1928 automobile. The Zapp family shared their dream to see the world. In cooperation with EMMA Philippines (European Mobile Media Associaton), over 30 of the best vehicles with mobile set-ups competed

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

in the 3rd Leg EMMA Regional Competitors Challenge for 2010. This event was a feature of the 4th Mobile Electronics and Technology Show. The 2010 Manila Auto Salon was sponsored in part by Solar Auto Club,

Allied Bank, Premiere Condoms, BusinessMirror, BusinessWorld, Manila Bulletin, Daily Tribune, Manila Times, Philippine Star, Crossover 105.1, Dream 106.7, DZRH, Home Radio 97.9, RJ 100.3, UR 105.9, C! Magazine, Top Gear,

Power Wheels, Ride and Drive, Auto Extreme, Jack TV, Viva Prime, Stoplight, Auto Review, Motorola, Quali Plus, Coltrans, Autoindustriya.com, Bigbigcar.com. Kotse.com, Manila I-Lounge.com, Tsikot.com, Car-Part.com and SEV-Japan.

NEWSBITS&BYTES

OFFICE 2011 FOR MAC HITS SHELVES THIS HOLIDAY MSI-ECS has officially announced the local distribution of Microsoft Office for Mac 2011, the newest version of the leading productivity suite for the Mac. Office for Mac 2011 lets you create professional-quality documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with ease and simplicity. It enables users across platforms to collaborate anywhere, anytime. Office 2011 includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Messenger and now for the first time in the suite, Outlook for Mac.

e-mail threads into one quick view. See all your inboxes in a single view. And manage your workload from virtually anywhere.

Aside from the nifty change of icons, new features of the Microsoft Office 2011 include:

Coauthoring. Coauthor documents in real time or add audio and video to chats—Office for Mac 2011 gives you better ways to work together. And it’s compatible with Office for Windows, so you can share with almost anyone.

Outlook integration. Microsoft Outlook for Mac is the all-in-one application for e-mail, calendars, contacts, and tasks. Collapse multiple

ASUS CONDUCTS TECH SEMINAR

Asus recently concluded a tech seminar aimed at educating members of the press and select enthusiasts, dubbed the Xtreme Power club in the EDSA ShangriLa. The briefing, conducted by Ellis Chua, Technical Marketing Specialist for Asus Philippines, gave further insight to the exclusive technologies that go into its boards, as well as unveil the newest videocard, the EAH6850, and digital media player, the O!Play HD2. Asus has long been the top choice for computer enthusiasts for the innovative technologies that are present in their motherboards, and the current crop of products

Office Web Apps. Windows Live SkyDrive lets you store and edit your documents and presentations online, for free. Then use Office Web Apps to access your documents from almost any computer. Just use your Web browser to sign in to skydrive.com, and go to work. Now you can be productive wherever life takes you.

Ribbon Interface. The Office for Mac ribbon and toolbar put commonly used commands at your fingertips. Discover advanced options that automatically change to match the application and function you’re in. Office for Mac even has the same menu interface of most Mac applications, so you can find what you need easily.

Template Gallery. With the new Template Gallery in Office for Mac, it’s easy to produce great-looking, consistent documents. Templates appear in a large format that allows you to see layouts, graphics, and fonts at a glance. You can even edit right in the Gallery to quickly create families of customized documents. Photo Editing. Office for Mac 2011 gives you a full suite

of media editing options, including in-document photo finishing, color-corrections, background removal, and more. Broadcast Slideshow. PowerPoint for Mac 2011 gives you the ability to present to multiple people remotely, improving communication and reducing travel costs. Broadcast your presentation to anyone on the Web from anywhere, with minimal startup time and no special software required. Visual Basic. Increase efficiency and save time by automating repetitive tasks in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. New features include IntelliSense, which uses autocompletion for the symbol names the programmer is typing. Get your documents coded and out the door faster.

Dynamic Reorder. Reorder layers of text, photos, and graphics quickly. Create richer documents than ever, and rearrange them without cumbersome copying and pasting. Easily manipulate the layering of all shapes on any page. The suite will come in two editions to purchase at retail—Office for Mac Home and Student 2011 and Office for Mac Home and Business 2011. For more information, visit: www.microsoft.com/ mac/.

is no exception. Technologies like the Dual Intelligent processor that gives faster PC performance and energy savings up to 80% make Asus boards highly sought after by the enthusiast crowd. Also unveiled during the seminar was the EAH6850, the newest videocard from AMD. Like its motherboards, the newest card from Asus includes performance boosting features for overclockers like the Voltage Tweak technology that makes it the best choice for discerning gamers. Finally, the Asus O!Play HD 2 promises to deliver to the big screen regardless of the file format, as it supports a wide array of files including high definition MKV. It’s also the world’s first media device with USB 3.0 support, so it’s able to transfer gigantic files faster than a USB 2.0.

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LINKS

TECH REDFOX

Asian Technologies Computer Corp. 1465 Golden Building E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue Quezon City Tel. 722 0000

ASUSWORLD

Showroom & ASUS Notebook Service Center 4/L Cyberzone SM Megamall Bldg. B Mandaluyong City Tel. 638 2955

CREATIVE, WESTERN DIGITAL

www.wdthepowerofchoice.com

BROTHER INTERNATIONAL PHILIPPINES

Ground Floor Marajo Tower, 312 26th Street cor. 4th Ave. Bonifacio Global City Tel. 1800-10-BROTHER

CANON MARKETING (PHILIPPINES), INC. 3/F Southpark Plaza Phase 1 Santiago Street, Paseo De Magallanes Commercial Center Makati City 884 8000

FLIP VIDEO

Ansons Appliance Center Makati Ave corner North Drive, Ayala Center Makati City

Tel. 856 1681 to 85

AOC, NEO

Glee Electronics, Inc. Unit 203 2/F Taipan Place Bldg., F. Ortigas Jr. Avenue Ortigas Center, Pasig City Tel. 633 4533

LG ELECTRONICS PHILIPPINES INC. No. 15 F. Legaspi St., Maybunga, Pasig City Tel. 641 4181

NOKIA (PHILIPPINES), INC.

BLACKBERRY

CALVIN KLEIN

MICROSOFT OFFICE FOR MAC, GENIUS, IOMEGA

MARC JACOBS BANG, CK ONE MAGNETS, DAISY MARC JACOBS

Microwarehouse 4 United St., Kapitolyo Pasig City Tel. 637 0474 to 85

MSI-ECS Topy II Building 3 Economia Street, Libis Quezon City Tel. 688 3999

OPT, MILI

Powermac Center 2nd Level, Greenbelt 3 Ayala Center Makati City

PHILIPS

Philippe Gadgets 40 West Avenue Quezon City Tel. 926-7334

HTC

SiSPH Technologies, Inc. Suite 3003, Atlanta Center 31 Annapolis St Greenhills, San Juan Tel. 7283388

SAMSON AUDIO

Audiophile Components, Inc. 1142 President Quirino Avenue Ext. Manila Tel. 561 5561

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS, PHILS. CORPORATION

7/F Hanjinphil Bldg., 1128 University Parkway North Bonifacio Global City Taguig Tel. 1-800-SAMSUNG

LIFESTYLE ANDY WARHOL, APPETIME, HUGO BOSS, STORM LONDON, TOMMY HILFIGER No Curfew Watch Store 5/L Shangri-La Plaza EDSA Corner Shaw Blvd Mandaluyong City Tel. 634 2160

40/F Philamlife Tower, 8767 Paseo de Roxas, Makati Tel. 886 1234 116

DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011

2/L Shangri-La Plaza Mall EDSA corner Shaw Blvd. Mandaluyong City Tel. 637 3795

LuxAsia 7/F, Net Cube Center 3rd Avenue corner 35th St. E. Square Crescent Park West Fort Bonifacio Global City Taguig City

COLEMAN

5/F Building B SM Megamall Julia Vargas Avenue corner EDSA Mandaluyong City Tel. 634 0648

COLLEZIONE C2

2/F Greenbelt 5 Legaspi St, Legaspi Village Makati City Tel. 728 3071

CROCS

B7, Bonifacio High Street 11th Avenue Fort Bonifacio Global City Taguig Tel. 856 1358

EASTPAK

Bratpak 2/F Greenbelt 5 Legaspi Street, Legaspi Village Makati City

ELBA COOKERS FROM ITALY

Treviso Corporation 3435 Bataan St., V. Mapa Sta. Mesa, Manila Tel. 714 7510 / 715 9232 Fax. 726 8525 Service Center Tel. 714 6002 to 03 www.elbaphilippines.com

ESTRELLAS MANILA

www.esterellasmanila.com

FRUITS & PASSION G/F Greenbelt 3 Esperanza Street Ayala Center, Makati City Tel. 729 2978

FURY

Ottica Corporation 96B Doña Soledad, Better Living Subd., Brgy. Don Bosco Parañaque City Tel. 824 5456

GAP

B7, Bonifacio High Street 11th Avenue Fort Bonifacio Global City Taguig Tel. 856 6153

HEAT BY BEYONCE Prestige Brands Phils Inc 1779 Nicanor Garcia St. San Miguel Village, Makati City Tel. 899 7727, 899 9331 www.beyonceparfums.com

ISUKOSHI PHILIPPINES, INC.

Unit 1603 - 1606 16th Floor Tycoon Center Peark Drive, Ortigas Center Pasig City Tel. 634 2775

KENNETH COLE REACTION

R1/L Lifestyle Power Plant Mall Rockwell Drive Corner Estrella Street Rockwell Center, Makati City Tel. 898 1465

LAS CASAS FILIPINAS DE ACUZAR

Manila Sales Office Mezzanine floor Victoria Towers Timog Avenue, Quezon City Tel. 332 5338

PRADA

G/F Greenbelt 4 Paseo De Roxas Ayala Center, Makati City Tel. 757 6298

RAOUL

G/F Greenbelt 5 Ayala Center Makati City

RINI & FAITH

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ riniandfaith

ROBOT RESTAURANT

7912 Makati Avenue, Makati City Tel. 812 8800

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO

G/F Rustan's Ayala Avenue, Ayala Center Makati City Tel. 840 0629

SINEQUANONE

G/F Greenbelt 5 Legaspi Street, Legaspi Village Makati City

SM STATIONERY SM Department Store Mall of Asia

MOBILITY HYUNDAI ASIA RESOURCES INC. 10th to 12th Floor, KPMG Center, 6787 Ayala Avenue, Makati City Tel. 813 6788 to 89

LINKS

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LINKS

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