Globe levels up its postpaid plans by introducing its best-ever MySuperPlan

You'd think a Globe MySuperPlan could not get any better. It just did...

The operative word, I think, in this newly launched best-ever MySuperPlan of Globe's is... CUSTOMIZATION. Now, subscribers can choose plans with plan values that are almost twice what they pay for. Each plan now comes with a corresponding 'peso value' (PV) based on the value of prepaid load. This PV can then be converted into a combination of call, text and/or surf services, free or discounted gadgets, and a monthly consumable amount for even more calls, texts and surfing.

I went to www.globe.com.ph/postpaid to try it out. Here's a sample plan I designed for myself:

Step #1: I clicked on the link "Create My Plan" to begin.

The Samsung NX300 Camera Makes You Shoot Fast, Share Faster

Much as I love the digicam I have, my beef with it can be summarized in 2 ways: one, it lacks the ability to immediately share my shots on my social network sites and two, the lens will always have a distance disadvantage which makes me unable to zoom in without compromising clarity.

Recently, Samsung introduced the Samsung NX300 smart camera - a great solution to just such a dilemma for social media people like me. This is a DSLR camera in a digital camera body. With its WIFI connectivity as well as an NFC (near field communication) feature, sharing on social networking sites is as easy as Point-Shoot-Share. And like a DSLR, it has interchangeable lenses!

Front view

Side view

Top view

Interchangeable lenses

Smart launches its Flexibundles for Postpaid Plans

Smart postpaid subscribers have now been given even greater flexibility by the introduction of Flexibundles - a newly launched offer that allows subscribers to customize monthly plans and manage their usage and budget.

All active postpaid plans of Smart can use Flexibundles (Smart All-in Plans, Unlimited Data Plans, iPhone Plans, Unli Postpaid, Plan 349, Freedom Plan, and the Family Circle Plans). The different promos, referred to as buckets can be subscribed to via an SMS syntax.

There are buckets for unlimited call and SMS combos, tri-net or all-net buckets, and volume-based data plans. All in all there are over 20 bundles to choose from. Mind you, these are not  fixed at all. Every month, you can pick and choose, mix and match the buckets you need for the month. All you need to do to subscribe is to text the code of your Flexibundle bucket. If you're All-in, the buckets you choose are part of and charged within your consumable amount; for other plans, the buckets are charged on top of the monthly service fee (MSF).

Flickr now gives you one terabyte of storage and more

Have you ever used Flickr to store photos before? I have. I began with the free version but when I maxed out the 200 photos it could show at any one time, I decided to buy Flickr Pro ($24.95) for 2 years. Flickr had a great photostream widget for blogs and I loved it.

But somewhere along the way, I stopped using it. There was Facebook.

But now, there is a huge reason to reactivate my Flickr account. You now get FREE one terabyte of storage!

If you still have your old Flickr account, it works. I just logged on to my old one and immediately got a notice that I had 1 terabyte worth of storage. Wow! Of course, new sign-ups get the same storage too.

And what is new?

User interface - Flickr has an entirely new interface. The homepage shows you pictures recently uploaded by your contacts. For every contact, you see one photo enlarged with 4 other thumbnail photos on the lower left corner in case you want to browse more photos of that contact. You can now put a cover photo and a high-resolution profile pic as well.

Full resolution photos - Flickr saves everything in its original file size. No shrinking of photos. No cramped formats. How many photos can fit into a terabyte? A WHOLE LOT!!! And...Flickr now comes with FILTERS!

Better sharing and sync-ing features - Just upload a photo once and it syncs to all your devices. Send to any friend or follower too. Fickr is an app on both iOS and Android platforms. For iOS, download the app HERE. For Android phones, download the app HERE.

Social features added - Friends and followers can now like and comment on your photos, making it even more fun to share.

This summer, snap photos and upload to your heart's desire. It will be a long, long time before you run out of space on Flickr. 

To begin a new and exciting Flickr experience, click HERE.

Smart Announces its iPad 4 and iPad Mini LTE Plans

If you have held off this long from buying an iPad 4 or an iPad Mini, with wifi and 4G, you may no longer do so once you check out Smart's new LTE plans for both devices.

At a press briefing at Smart's Jump Center inside SM Megamall's Cyberzone, the LTE postpaid plans were unveiled.

The best thing about all these plans? Smart is slicing off a whopping P8,000 discount on all postpaid plans on Plan 999. The 16GB iPad Mini, for example, is only P13,990 (after discount). The 64GB retina iPad 4 is only P31,990.

On the other hand, Plan 499 carries an anti bill shock feature. After the free first 65 hours of internet connection, it defaults to the P10/30minutes charging. But when your bill reaches P999, you will be shifted to unlimited surfing. So no matter how long you surf, you only pay a maximum of P999 a month.

Here is a synopsis of the plans (taken from Smart's website):

iPad Mini

* Plan 999 subscriptions on a 24-month lock-in period come with unlimited 3G/4G/SmartLTE usage monthly and a charge of P999 a month (until service is terminated) on top of a one-time payment for the device made in cash or using a credit card with option for a 12-mo interest-free installment with participating credit cards.

*Plan 499 subscriptions on a 24-month lock-in period come with 65hrs of 3G/4G/SmartLTE usage monthly and a charge of P499 a month (until service is terminated) on top of one-time payment or option to pay in 24 months amortization for the device. 

Anti Bill Shock Feature: Beyond the 65 hours, default charging is P10/30 minutes until you reach a maximum amount of P999 a month. Upon reaching P999, you will already be able to do unlimited surfing.

Nokia launches its Lumia 520 and Lumia 720

Before inheriting my first Android phone from my husband, I had always been a Nokia user. From my first Nokia 2110 in the early 1990s to the last Nokia E71 which I still carry around with me because I just love its QWERTY keyboard, I have always had a Nokia mobile phone. The menu drilldown was very user friendly and easy to learn.

Then somewhere along those years, Nokia changed business strategy and it turned out to be a grave misreading of the mobile market. Nokia's market share began to nosedive and it was a big question whether they would survive for much longer.

But their current Lumia line of smartphones seem to finally get it. And that makes me happy. Finally, I think the Lumia series is how Nokia is going to be truly back in the ballgame. I have had the chance to use hubby's Lumia 720 a few times and was really impressed with how improved in terms of usability, richness of features, and feel-and-look Nokia has become.

They have 5 variants of the Lumia now. At the lower end of the spectrum is the affordable 520; in between are the 620, 720 and 820; and for the professional there is the 920. At the most recent launch, the Lumia 520 and the Lumia 720 for the chic and social were launched.

Globe's Postpaid Plans for the Samsung Galaxy S4

Globe officially launched its Samsung Galaxy S4 today.

At a press briefing, Peter Bithos, Globe's Senior Adviser for Consumer Business, and Debbie Obias, Head of Postpaid Acquisitions, bared the postpaid plans for the much-awaited smartphone.

To know more about the smartphone's cool features, read my post "My firsthand experience with the new Samsung Galaxy S4"

Globe said that My Super Plan got even better because this time, they are allowing the subscribers to customize their contract period (from 6-30 months) instead of fixed contract periods. The plans are bundled with peso value amounts that are almost double the value of the plans. Because of its flexibility feature, the My Super Plan lets that peso value amount be allocated among combinations of call, text and surfing services, consumable amount and gadgets.