| The MSI Wind Top AE1900 that I spotted a couple months back looks like it’s already in the market. There are 3 variants with prices varying between Php25,000 to Php35,000. The MSI Wind Top uses both an Intel Atom 230 1.6GHz or an Atom 330 Dual Core.
Standard specs: 18.5″ display screen 1GB RAM Intel GMA 950 Graphics 160GB HDD DVD+RW Drive 1.3MP webcam 4 USB 2.0 ports Card Reader WiFi 802.11 b/g/n Intel Atom 230 1.6GHz Non-touchscreen display Price: Php25,999 Intel Atom 230 1.6GHz Touchscreen display Price: Php30,999 Intel Atom 330 1.6GHz Dual Core Touchscreen display Price: Php35,999 Comes in acrylic white and acrylic black. |
Asus sent in one of their newest netbook accessories for review. They also included the Eee PC T91 tablet netbook to go along with it. See live shots after the break.
The Asus Eee PC T91 is a tablet netbook with an 8.9″ (1024×768 pxiels) touchscreen display. It’s slim (1-inch) and light (2lbs) too.
The netbook is powered by an Intel Atom Z520 1.33GHz with 1 GB of RAM. It runs Windows XP and performs quite faster than what I’d normally expected for the specs.
More on this tablet netbook later; I’ll finish reviewing the accessory first.
Sony doesn’t make the smallest laptops; Fujitsu does with their LifeBook U series. The latest one is this Fujitsu LifeBook U2010 Ultra Portable that runs on an Atom Z530 1.6GHz CPU.
5.6-inch display screen @ 1280×800 pixels with touch screen 1GB DDR2 533MHz 60GB HDD or 64GB SSD Bluetooth 2.1 SD card reader CF card slot WiFi 802.11n 1.3MP camera
Battery Options: 2-cell Li-Ion 2900mAh: 3.5 hours on HDD, 4 hours on SSD 4-cell Li-Ion 5800mAh: 7.5 hours on HDD, 8.5 hours on SSD
Weighs just 0.61kg (1.34 lbs) with the standard 2-cell battery. The swivel base, touchscreen and stylus combo makes this the smallest ultraportable tablet we’ve seen. And the price — Php69,995 (in the same neighborhood as the Sony Vaio P).
Samsung Philippines sent this LED TV over just this morning. I was actually drooling over it when I first saw the TV last April but it’s just beyond my budget at the moment so I’ll settle for a loaner at the meantime. See unboxed photos after the jump.
This 40″ Full HD LED TV is prolly the thinnest I’ve ever seen in the market at just 29.9mm or 1.18 inches (about the same thickness as a regular netbook).
The Full HD 1080p has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. I’m not sure but from memory, this LED has a dynamic contrast ratio of 1 million to 1.
At the back panel — 4 x HDMI, 2 x USB, Optical Out, VGA, PC Audio Input, DVI Audio Input, Component, Composite, LAN, RF Input.
This egg-shaped remote controls the channel and volume. It’s just an add-on to the usual full remote by Samsung (apparently, that remote isn’t in the box when it was delivered).
I was shopping around for a Macbook Pro on the Apple Store yesterday when I tried configuring some custom upgrades of an entry-level 13″ MacPro. When I started bumping the DDR3 RAM from 2GB to 8GB, I could not believe what I saw. The upgrade is almost as expensive as a new MacPro — at Php59,300.
I guess DDR3 RAMs aren’t that cheap as I thought they would be. |
Two new smartphones from Samsung are coming to town soon — online reservations for the Samsung Omnia Pro B7320 qwerty phone and the Samsung Omnia 2 i8000 are up.
 The Samsung B7320 is a full qwerty phone with HSDPA, WiFi, GPS, FM Radio, Bluetooth and 3MP camera. It’s powered by Windows Mobile 6.1. The Samsung Omina II i8000 is a full touchscreen with 3.7″ AMOLED display. Has HSUPA 5.76Mbps, HSDPA 7.2Mbps and WiFi 802.11 b/g capabilities with storage of up to 48GB. The Omnia 2 also boasts of 800MHz CPU. Reservations from August 17 to September 13 and get a free 8GB microSD for the i8000 and 512MB microSD for Omnia Pro B7320. Samsung Philippines has not indicated any retail price yet. Check out the online reservation here. |
Not sure if I’ve seen this before but Ozaki is shipping a ton of these iPills to the Philippines this August. The iPill is a microphone accessory for the iPod Nano (4th Gen) and the iPod Touch (2nd Gen). It has a capsule-like shape, with one half is the protective cover and the other half is the 3.5mm jack.
Ozaki promises better audio recording quality but that remains to be seen. They don’t have SRP yet (will update when these arrives in August). |
| In my years of reviewing phones, I’ve only tried two HTC phones. One is the Windows Mobile powered HTC Touch Dual and the Android-powered HTC Dream. Before that, HTC was way down my list of phone brands. Until Android came. Today, the HTC Magic is probably one of the most sought-after smartphones locally (although the price kinda ruined all that excitement). The phone was also the subject of focus between telco-rivals Smart and Globe.
Yet, I can’t shake the
The HTC Magic isn’t the most powerful phone from HTC. I reckon that the forgotten HTC Touch HD was better specs-wise but I have yet to see someone owning that model ever since it was launched. My the coolness factor that comes with Google Android, I would bet HTC will be going all-out Android in most of its upcoming handsets. |
| Looks like Gateway is just cloning what Acer is pushing out the door these days. First, it was the Aspire One series being re-style into Gateway LT series and now the Acer Timeline series has a counter-part in the Gateway EC series. The Gateway EC3801i is a 13.3″ laptop which has a similar specs and price point as the Acer Timeline. It also boasts of the same 8-hour battery life.
Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 1.4GHz 13.3″ display screen @ 1366×768 pixels Mobile Intel GS45 Express 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 RAM (up to 8GB DDR3) 320GB 5400rpm SATA HDD Intel GMA 4500MHD with up to 1759MB shared memory WiFi 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth 2.0 1 HDMI, 3 USB ports 5600mAh 6-cell lithium-ion battery
This model is slightly heavier at 1.8kg compared to Timeline’s 1.6kg. The retail price of the Gateway EC3801i is Php49,896 (as listed in VillMan). |
Nokia launched the Surge in the US and has also unveiled the Nokia 6760 Slide for the UK. I wonder what corresponding messaging device will arrive in Asia. The Nokia 6760 Slide is somewhat similar to the form factor of the E75 and the N97 with the full qwerty keyboard that slides out from the back.
Nokia 6760 Slide 2.4 inches @ 320×240 pixels 128 MB internal storage with 2GB via microSD (max 8GB) HSDPA 3.6Mbps Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP 3.15 MP camera @ 2048×1536 pixels Stereo FM GPS with AGPS support Symbian OS S60 rel. 3.2 Missing in the specs sheet is the usual WiFi 802.11 b/g capability. Battery is rated at 1500mAh (similar to E71/E72 & N97). Has an SRP of Php13k to Php14k. Not sure if this model will ever reach the Philippines. |
Been wanting to have my dSLR cleaned in the Canon Service Center for months but was concerned it will take over a month before I can get it back so when I found this CCD cleaning kit, I grabbed one immediately and hoped for the best.
 Over the years, I’ve noticed some specks of dust and fiber inside my camera’s sensor. It affected most of my shots as they become apparent in every photo I take but some careful cleaning with an air-blower helped.
The one I got is the SensorKlear Loupe and SensorKlear II Combo by Lenspen. I’ve seen this one used by professionals in the Canon booth during the last PhotoWorld Expo.
I thought I’d give it a try and finally get those nagging dust completely out of the sensor.
Must have spent over two grand for this set but it’s well worth it. |
| Yahoo! finally showed us their new portal re-design and this time, it’s allowing users to somewhat customize the sections of the homepage. Parts of the homepage are now widgetized and users can add 3rd party apps. What I liked the most is the Favorites bar which shows a preview of what’s inside the service (Twitter, Yahoo! Mail, Facebook, etc) just by hovering your mouse on the links. And oh, GMail is in there too! You can even add your own blog to the list.
The reboot is only available for the global version at the moment. The Yahoo! Philippines homepage still uses the old layout. So what do you think of the new Yahoo! Portal? |
| One of my more nagging problems with a lot of locally available netbooks is the low resolution screen. While 1024 x 600 pixels is fine for regular web browsing, there are important softwares out there that require higher resolution and just wouldn’t work with most netbooks. A reader sent in an email question asking for netbooks that support at least 1024×768 pixel resolution. Imaging softwares like Canon Digital Photo Professional (I use this one to process raw images), Adobe Camera Raw and ULead PhotoImpact needs at least 1024×768 pixels (preferably 1024×800) in order to work. Here is a very short list of netbooks that are capable of such resolution or better: Acer Aspire One AO751h : 11.6″ @ 1366×768 pixels Gateway LT 3102i : 11.6″ @ 1366×768 pixels Sony Vaio P : 8″ @ 1600×768 pixels Sony Vaio W: 10.1″ @ 1366×768 pixels (available by 1st week of August) Gigabyte M912 : 8.9″ at 1280×768 pixels HP Mini 2133 : 8.9″ at 1280×800 pixels Here are some netbooks that also support that resolution but are still not available in the Philippines: HP Mini 2140 HD : 10.1″ @ 1366×768 pixels Dell Mini 10 : 10″ @ 1366×768 pixels Dell Mini 12: 12.1″ @ 1200×800 pixels Samsung NC20: 12.1″ @ 1280×800 pixels There are also netbooks, like the MSI Wind U100, that have a native resolution of 1024×600 but is capable of displaying 1024×768 on extended display mode. Only problem is that you get a scrolling desktop. |
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Barely a year after the new CyberZone at Mall of Asia opened its doors, it’s now apparently closing down by the end of the month. Got curious after seeing some of the stores were packing up last Sunday so I asked several of the attendants about it and they said they only have until July 28, 2009 to pack up and move out.
They revealed that a lot of the stores in CyberZone aren’t making enough sales to maintain rent so the mall management decided to close it down. Been hanging around that area for some time now and have noticed very few people visit the place:
The vacant space left will then be converted to office spaces or possibly an extension of the existing call center in that building. |
| When I first saw this phone earlier, I really thought it was the real thing. The Nokia E71i is a knock-off Nokia phone that sports dual SIM and a TV tuner. The Nokia E71i is much smaller than the E71 and instead of the qwerty keypad, it only has the usual alpha-numeric layout.
The design and construction of the phone is pretty solid and it will really fool most people into thinking it’s made by Nokia. Even the menu and UI are very similar to that of the Nokia E-Series phones.
Under the hood, the Nokia E71i has dual SIM capability and a built-in TV tuner. I tried running the auto-scan for the TV but could not get any clear reception.
At the back, there’s a camera with a label that says it’s 8-megapixel and AF.
These China-made knock-offs are slowly getting better and better at copying the real thing. This one is by far the closest to the real thing I’ve ever seen. |
The only closest touchscreen handset that could probably match the iPhone 3G is the HTC Magic with Google’s Android OS. And now that its exclusively available only for Smart Gold subscribers, you can grab one for just Php3,000 under Plan 3500.
The full price matrix, as published on their site, is here:
Plan 500 - Php27,000 Plan 800 - Php24,000 Plan 1200 - Php20,000 Plan 1800 - Php15,000 Plan 2500 - Php9,500 Plan 3500 - Php3,000
Plan comes with a 24-month lock-in period with Smart.
The HTC Magic is a pretty nice phone that nearly matches the iPhone 3G’s features and capabilities (including its own app store):
Qualcomm MSM 7201A 528 MHz processor 3.2 inches, 320×480 pixels accelerometer sensor handwriting recognition 192 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM (expandable via microSD card) HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA 2 Mbps Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g 3.15 MP autofocus camera built-in GPS digital compass
The HTC Magic was available on a Globe Plan for a couple of weeks until Smart snag the exclusive deal with HTC by end of June 2009.
And while it is said that Apple gets a cut of the monthly subscription fee from iPhone subscribers (Globe pays a percentage of the MSF to Apple), I’m not sure if Smart also has a similar deal with HTC due to the exclusivity.
Now I thought this one is a good deal. You get the iPhone 3G 8GB model for free when you subscribe to a new Globe Postpaid Plan 2100. Learned about this from a friend who got her own Globe Postpaid plan last week and was given a free iPhone 3G. Apparently, Globe is clearing out all stocks of the old model before they finally release the iPhone 3G S by end of this month.
The catch? Nothing really, except for the 36-month lock-in period. The offer stands until they still got stocks available. Not a bad deal, really. |
| Acer is positioning the Gateway brand as its stylish counter-part so whenever we see an Aspire One out the door, expect a corresponding Gateway LT netbooks to follow suit. Spotted at an Asianic store yesterday are the 10.1″ Gateway LT2003i and the 11.6″ Gateway LT3102i. These two are basically cousins of the Acer Aspire One D250 and the AO571 with some minor design differences and a CPU coming from AMD with the 11.6″ LT3102i. 
Gateway LT2003i Mini Note Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz 10.1″ display screen @ 1024×600 pixels 1GB DDR2 RAM 160GB SATA HDD WiFi 802.11 b/g Bluetooth Webcam Windows XP Home 1.33 kg weight 6-cell battery Price: Php21,995 
Gateway LT3102i Ultra Slim Laptop AMD Athlon 64 L110 CPU 1.2 GHz Mobile AMD Athlon M690E Express Chipset ATI Radeon X1270 (384MB dedicated, up to 640MB shared system memory) 2GB DDR2 RAM 11.6″ display screen, 1366×768 WXGA 250GB SATA HDD Windows Vista Home Basic WiFi 802.11 b/g Bluetooth Card Reader Webcam 6-cells battery @ 5200 mAh (about 5.5 hours) 1.43 kg weight Price: Php26,995 It would be very interesting to know how that Athlon 64 L110 CPU would fare compared to say an Atom Z520 1.33GHz CPU. At least the Gateway LT3102i has a graphics chip with a fairly-sized dedicated memory. |
Not sure how Google moderates contributed entries (or POIs) on Google Maps but it looks like the strip of pirated DVD stores in Quiapo got thru.
This was shown to me earlier by Art Samaniego of MB on his HTC Magic.
I did the same search on my iPhone 3G and it’s also there.
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I’ve mentioned Toshiba’s own netbook here on a couple of occasion and have been spotted in store shelves since last month. We got a better look at the netbook this afternoon along with a couple of other Toshiba multimedia laptops. The NB200 will come in very bright pink and blue but I prefer the brown or the white one. The specs are still the same standard list I pointed earlier.
The suggested retail price of Php29,990 still stands — a little steep on the price spectrum, IMO.
Of course, there’s option to upgrade to 2GB RAM and get a 6-cell battery but that’s extra cost already. Like Sony, Toshiba puts a premium on their brand so that should explain the price discrepancy from other netbooks currently available in the market.
One pretty nifty utility this model has is the WiFi Radar that shows all access points in a radar-like screen. |
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