It’s the last stretch of my Nokia DiscOVIries contest. I’ll be collating and choosing a winner of the best workstation photo come midnight GMT +8. If you still wish to join, all you need to do is follow the simple instructions and upload a photo of your workstation at home or in your work place. You don’t need to have a Nokia phone to do this, but you do need to be based in Manila, Philippines to join.

Post from: Cellphone9

How i wish the Philippines could properly implement the Comes with Music program of Nokia. In Singapore, buying a Nokia phone allows you to enjoy one full year of free music downloads. In the Philippines, w cannot implement such a scheme because of (1) the record labels and (2) there’s a rule that value added services should go through a company that is owned by a Filipino. Which means Nokia may have to go through a third party service provider or through a telco, which completely defeats the purpose of having the Ovi store and the Comes with Music freebies. Why can’t it be simpler? Oh the prohibitions of such things make everything so complicated.

Le sigh.

Post from: Cellphone9

OK so this is a rare moment. I am currently a recruit for the Ovi by Nokia campaign here in the Philippines. This is a purely local effort that taps bloggers from different niches in the Philippines to help spread the word about Nokia’s shift to a software and services company. I’m classified under “tech” obviously.

So yeah, this was the second time I’ve been asked to participate (the last time was as an ambassador for the Xenon flash enabled N82) and the overall objective is to get more sign ups and create active users for the plethora of Ovi services.

Post from: Cellphone9

Here’s a size comparison between the Modu and the Nokai E71. I was able to acquire the not-so-new Modu unit from Globe telecommunications as they intend to launch this in the Philippines for only P7,999.00. The Modu is a “modular phone” which means that the other features come to life when you attach the small device to several modules such as casings, desk MP3 players, etc. By itself, the Modu is already a full functioning phone, allowing you to make calls and load up music.

I still need to do actual real world tests for the practicality of having a phone like this, but thus far it does not hurt to have a second phone that can turn into a fantastic conversation piece.

Post from: Cellphone9

From afar, I had thought the Jet to be a S60 based phone because of the way the user interface looks, hailing from the previous OMNIA HD prototype I previewed many weeks ago.

Damn, I think I’m losing my touch — I don’t check the specs sheet in the same way that I don’t read the instructions. Could have fooled me, and Samsung did. The Samsung Jet runs on Windows Mobile heavily skinned, like their predecessors to resemble something more friendly (yeah, Windows Mobile does look too geeky, even in version 6.5).

In terms of real estate appeal the Jet eyes a beautiful little menu button that’s carved into an elegant three sided pyramid. The Jet also features standard connections — USB charging and 3.5mm jack for audio (whopee!).

Summarizing the experience, I’d say that the Samsung Jet is a Windows Mobile device that feels like a Nokia S60 based unit. It does have that reminiscent lag from WinMo but at the same time, the simplicity (or familiarity?) of the S60 platform is ever present, alongside Samsung’s widget interface.

The 8GB version retails for about PHP 29,000 which is roughly equivalent to 600USD (still expensive because of the Windows Mobile platform!). There is also a 16GB version that goes for about PHP 34,000.

[photos c/o author and Raine Javalera from Samsung Mobile PH]

Post from: Cellphone9

1. First, a total free sync solution to the HTC Magic with my iCal and Address Book. If there existed one, the telco where I got it from didn’t really elaborate on the apps. Apparently, not all Androids are created equal and the version for the Philippines packed into the HTC Magic doesn’t even have the online marketplace or Google sign in. Sad!

2. Second, although my USB port recognizes the HTC Magic as a device and charges it, I can’t use it as a target drive to store data. I can’t even detect the microSD card inside it. Transferring photos and vids can be such a pain.

I’ve Google’d. I’ve even Yahoo’ed. Has anyone found a solution to these?

Post from: Cellphone9

Similar to how Nokia launched their Ovi Music store in Singapore, it seems like the new Android OS for the HTC Magic isn’t fully implemented in other parts of the world. In the Philippines for instance, the Android store isn’t even a built in on device application which you can launch.

There isn’t even talk about integration with your Google Applications. Nonetheless, the HTC Magic is a good piece of hardware that seems very promising in what it can deliver. Not sure about when HTC will deploy the rest of the features, or if this is something the telcos should be pushing rather than the phone manufacturers. *shrug*

[image c/o myself]

Post from: Cellphone9

Sad that the current product doesn’t use “open technology” to share with the outside world. It doesn’t have RSS feeds and you really can’t permalink much. Not much Javascript either for photo uploading. What it does fulfill though is having all of SMART Telecommunication’s services all in one place — music downloads, games from Gameloft which cost really cheap when consigned with them, movies, MyTV (a service that allows mobile TV to occur in HSPA enabled handsets via streaming technology) and network chat.

You be the judge. Check out the service at www.mysandbox.com. It isn’t meant to be a Facebook or MySpace. What it looks like is what it is — a portal for housing all their properties.

[photos c/o author]

Post from: Cellphone9

Slide into a whole new dimension of mobile fun! Be one of the first in the Philippines to own the amazing multimedia computer, the Nokia N97. Imagine having a full touch-screen home screen to view movies and photos, a keyboard that makes you send messages faster; and immense memory to store anything and everything – all on the palm of your hand.

What’s there not to love? Enjoy easy and fast connections to Internet services, customize your home screen with widgets for real time updates from your favorite websites (Facebook, anyone?), 32 GB memory expandable to 48 GB for songs, picture, and videos, a full QWERTY keyboard, support for multiple music formats, FM radio, Nokia Maps with voice guided turn-by-turn instructions, a 5MP camera with autofocus, Carl Zeiss Tessar Optics, dual LED flash, DVD-grade quality video recording, 3G, WLAN, GPS, and PC and TV Connectivity!

[image and block text from the preorder site]

Post from: Cellphone9

Above is actually a size comparison of the iPod touch with the ACER F1 alongside the M900. The F1 is the device with a blank screen. Some YouTube vids below discussing the phone.

Post from: Cellphone9