Apps and Gadgets

The holidays are a good time as any to indulge yourself after months of hard work. Or give the gift of love to someone who works just as hard. Smart, through its subsidiary Smart Broadband (SmartBro) is now offering the iPad Air and iPad Mini Retina in different affordable data plans that allow subscribers to connect to Smart's LTE network with speeds up to 42 MBPS. iPad Air Holding the iPad Air, I was really impressed with how much lighter it was. But of course, I was still the owner of the original iPad 1 (haha). But really, my hubby has the iPad 4 and the iPad Air was definitely lighter. Featuring a 9.7-inch retina display, it is 20% thinner than the iPad 4 and at just one pound, it is 28% lighter as well. Its borders also feature a narrower bezel.

Smart will be offering exclusively the first Android phone running KitKat (Android 4.4) - the LG Nexus 5 .

Okay, everyone. Just a few more weeks and it will be 2014. While most of you may be into the Christmas rush, it might be good to set aside a few hours to check all your passwords and maybe change them, at the same time ensuring they are fairly strong this time. Why? Because I just recently came across a Spiderlabs blog article that said that as many as two million accounts were compromised . Yikes! Of all the stats about credentials stolen, the ones that would affect you and I more are the following: 1,580,000 website login credentials 320,000 email account credentials The article also said that on website login credentials, the more common ones were Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo!, LinkedIn, etc. So as you can see, many social media networks are in this list. The article also stated that there were over 90 countries affected, making this a global scheme. Actually, whether this article came out or not, it is always prudent practice to regularly change one's passwords

It's no longer a novelty to be able to carry music around with you. We see it everywhere. All smartphones have music players that let us carry our entire music collection around with us. But the quality of sound leaves so much to be desired, especially if you want to share your music with others. Enter Samsung's DA-F61 bluetooth speaker which was introduced recently.   Weighing in at 1.1kg, this bluetooth speaker is a powerhouse. It's only 225 x 131 x 46.5mm in dimension. It's a bit bulky for a bag or laptop bag but it will fit well as a boom box in your car or atop a cabinet at home. 

Around this time last year, Smart Communications, Inc. launched Smart Music which allowed subscribers to purchase music tracks from MCA at very reasonable prices and download full, licensed versions into one's device. However, the tastes and habits of music lovers always evolve as technology and access to the internet changes and expands. A Smart executive I was talking to said that they saw more Pinoys spending greater amounts of time on their mobile phones. While there were some who liked to own music tracks, others wanted to listen to music other than what they had in their playlists. The trend towards music streaming is what SPINNR is all about -- an application powered by Smart Music which is accessible via web and mobile browser as well as through an Android app.

As my friend Noemi and I were approaching the Globe Tattoo LTE event, we were met by this really fancy orange car. Of course, being a woman who has no idea what models these cars are, I simply ooohed and aaahed at how fancy, sporty and expensive it looked. It was covered all over with Globe's decals announcing the arrival of their Tattoo LTE devices and clearly, on it's door was a brave announcement that LTE speeds go up to 42 MBPS. It was only when I sat down inside it for a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity to actually sit inside these thingamajigs that run into cool millions that I saw the model. Yes -- a Lamborghini! I beat my car-loving son to the punch!

Most postpaid plans now can get too complicated for us. There is the Monthly Service Fee (MSF) but when you buy the plans with gadgets, there is a separate layer on top of the MSF that represents the amortized cost of the gadget also charged to you. To many subscribers, this can get confusing. At the same time, the habits of telco subscribers are morphing already such that more and more are connecting to the web in different ways. So now, Smart is packaging a group of postpaid plans where you won't need to get separate devices and a data plan. Smart just launched its postpaid Gadget Plus Plans that combine a laptop or tablet with Internet connectivity (the Pocket WiFi can be shared to up to 10 people) in just one affordable package with an all-in price. You don't even need a credit card to get these plans. Here are their different plans and the gadgets that you get with them. Take note: Each of these plans comes with a gadget, a wifi device, and an Anti-Bill Shock feature

Just recently, I opened a Bubbly account after I heard great things about it from blogger friends Noemi and Jim Paredes. At first I thought it was just another nice medium for social networking that had an audio component. But today, I learned it had the potential for doing more. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you first what Bubbly is. Bubbly is a voice app. It's sort of a hybrid between Twitter and Instagram. Like Twitter which has a limit of 140 characters, it's got a 90 second limit to audio recording. And while its picture quality is nowhere near Instagram's with all its filter options, Bubbly is handy as a talk-and-publish-on-the-fly app, just like Instagram which lets you snap a picture and post immediately. It's so simple to record anything. Just pull down on the bottom icon with the microphone and there is a 3-2-1 countdown before the recording starts. At any time, if you make a mistake, you can start over. For iOS devices, cl

At a recent lunch at Guevara's with the  SoMoms , we were introduced to a new, Philippine-made Android tablet made for kids aged 3-8 years old which was just recently introduced into the market - the  Enlight KiddieTab. Ergonomically designed, the Enlight KiddieTab is an 8-inch, HD-capable multi-touch Android tablet. The first thing I noticed was that it was covered in a yellow silicone non-toxic, ruggedized cover that gave a good grip to the tablet all over - perfect for small hands.

The successor to the popular, high-end Nokia Lumia 920 is now here - the Nokia Lumia 925. At a previous Nokia launch of Lumia models, I got to hold the 920 and was quite impressed with some of its advanced features -- motion stabilizer, wireless charging, and low light shooting capability. The Lumia 925 takes all the great features of the 920 and takes it a level up. My friend Noemi owns a Lumia 920 (which she loves) and I had the chance to do a quick check of both phones. One difference is that the Lumia 925 is lighter and thinner than the 920. It's only 8.55mm thin and weighs a mere 139 grams. That's because the Nokia's signature polycarbonate body is now encased in aluminium, allowing it to be lighter and more sleek looking. Here are some features of the Nokia Lumia 925 that I like. Low Light Capability. I love my smartphone but every time I need to take a photo in low light, I spend more time fiddling with the exposure settings. I also noticed that

Last night, we stayed up till the wee hours of the morning watching the Berlin Samsung Unpacked 2013, Episode 2. The launch of 3 devices was witnessed by a throng of people at Times Square in New York who gathered to watch the livestream together with the rest of the world. I was with a bunch of tech bloggers and avid Samsung users at a Makati hotel gathered around a wide screen Samsung TV. Over coffee (to keep us awake) and some midnight snacks, we talked about different Samsung mobile phones and their features while all the while trying to guess what new features would come out. The launch began just past 1AM Manila time. Mr. JK Shin, President and CEO and Head of IT and Mobile Communication Division of Samsung, announced the 3 devices that would be introduced: the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the Samsung Galaxy Gear, and the Samsung Note 10.1, 2014 edition. Initial Features of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Compared to Note 2 Physical dimensions of the Note 3

TV will never be the same again after Cignal introduced recently its TV-to-Go , an over-the-top (OTT) service. Cignal subscribers can now watch real-time broadcast feeds from select Cignal channels on their broadband-connected smartphones or tablets - anywhere, any time. Breaking news come to you as it happens. You need not miss your favorite telenovela. Watch a favorite show while caught in traffic. These are just some of the things you can do with real-time TV! On-demand movies at home were the fashion some time back with Pay Per View. But with OTT technology nowadays, one can watch movies and TV shows on the go via the internet rather than through a dedicated network. So significant is OTT service that Cignal reports that at the recently concluded BroadcastAsia 2013 Conference in Singapore last June 2013, several experts in the field of communications are foreseeing OTT as a worldwide trend in multimedia viewing. On hand at the launch were top executives of PLDT, Smart

Convergence is the new digital sexy. And I got a taste of sexy when Samsung sat some of us down to a demo of SideSync , an application that bridges the gap between your Samsung Android smartphone and the Samsung ATIV PC. Basically it allows you to connect both devices to allow you to see on the PC the exact same screen you have on your smartphone, drag and drop files between both devices, and back up important items on your phone to the PC. This is a summary of SideSync's features. Phone Screen Sharing The exact same image of your smartphone is replicated on one part of your PC screen (in fact, it is intelligent enough to even detect the model of your smartphone; the phone image on the PC mirrors the look of your smartphone). You can resize the phone screen on the PC and drag it either to the left or right side of your PC screen to suit your working style. Flip your phone to landscape orientation and its mirror image on the PC does the same. Keybo

Can you imagine a future home where you can control just about any home appliance remotely, wirelessly or from another gadget/appliance? That is not far off. In fact, it is already HERE! I was able to see for myself the real possibilities of a truly wired and connected home when I visited the SM Appliance Center at SM Makati where the S-Path , the epitome of a Samsung Convergent ecosystem, was unveiled. Samsung has really been leading the pack in the convergence arena and it will not be long before this will become de facto. Most gadgets and appliances will be "talking" to each other and data/photos will be flying to your family and friends even before they get to see you in person. You can monitor your home remotely, turn appliances on and off before you get home, print documents wirelessly and more. It has already began as we saw with some of Samsung's appliances and devices. A mock-up of a real home was presented to us at S-Path. We walked through the home office

Viber and other VOIP (voice over internet protocol) apps are slowly gaining ground and eroding revenues of telcos from calls and texts. In the case of Viber, one can send free text messages, photos, videos, share locations and make free, HD-quality calls on iPhone, Android Windows Phone, Blackberry, Windows, Mac and other devices over 3G/4G or Wifi. I use Viber a lot. If I am on wifi, why should I even send a text or make a call when I can contact people via Viber? I've also sent pictures using Viber while inside the messaging feature. It is so convenient instead of sending an MMS or emailing a photo. This is besides all the emoticons and stickers available to Viber that make chatting even more fun. And the best thing about Viber? I am not constrained by networks. For as long as the one I wish to contact is on Viber, we can communicate! But...when I am NOT on wifi, how can I still use Viber if I need to contact people all day? I could subscribe to an unlimited data plan. But th