Posts Tagged Smart
Verizon Android Release Date Postponed
Posted by Bendz in Tech Stuff on October 27, 2009
Motorola Droid
Verizon Android release postponed!
The market was recently stirred by talks of the impending Verizon Android release. Originally set on the 28th October, Verizon’s first Android phone, the Motorola Droid has been post postponed for some reason. The new Verizon Android release date is now set to the 6th of November.
If you’ve seen Verizon Android’s commercials spoofing the iPhone you too would get excited about the news of Verizon Android release.
No price info yet but I guess it will be pegged at around $ 200 just like the iPhone and comes with a 2 year contract. Verizon is hush hush about the price as off press time.
Motorola Droid will be the first phone to sport the latest Android 2.0 engine making your web experience even better. It also comes with an impressive display in widescreen resolution in 3.75 inch screen making it the biggest in it’s class.
The Droid’s camera can take 5 MP shots with DVD quality videos. It comes with a 16 GB micro SD card to host all those pics and vids and you can upgrade it to 36 GB if you want to.
I wonder if Verizon takes pre-orders of the Motorola Droid but I believe it’s better join the bandwagon only after a week after the Verizon Android release.
I hope Smart will get the chance to distribute the Motorola Droid here in the Philippines.
Smart Unlimited Calling from Cebu to Anywhere in the Philippines
Posted by Bendz in Tech Stuff on June 13, 2009
I don’t have any info as to when it started but I know the promo ends on August 31, 2009. It’s only limited to callers within Cebu as well so if you registered to the service when you are in Cebu and travels to, say, Leyte, you will not be able to avail it even if you use the start code a zillion times.I’m talking about Smart Talk unlimited calls promo available to both Smart and Talk ‘n Text subscribers in Cebu.
Smart Talk unlimited can be availed for five days or thirty, it costs 100 pesos and 500 pesos respectively. The 500 -peso denomination makes it cheaper at around 17 pesos a day compared to the 20 peso a day rate for the 100-peso denomination. To avail of either one, you just need to text TALK100 or TALK500 to 6400. Once you get the confirmation then you’re good to go.
The promo is only for Smart and Talk ‘n Text subscribers so make sure you’re calling the right number. There is no info yet if they will charge you if you dial an incorrect number as the customer service representative from Smart I spoke with the other day sounds like they are not yet briefed about this new promo. You have to use a star code which is *6400 in making a call. The exact format is *6400 + the 11 digit cell phone number. If you wanna call 09184729271, then you have to dial *640009184729271. When the network is experiencing high volume of calls, you may hear a busy signal even though the person you are calling is available. I confirmed this by calling someone using their 11 digit number.
I want to assume this is Smart’s answer to the growing wireless land line services offered by Bayantel, PLDT as well as Globe. I’, hoping this would be a permanent rate and wish that this promo is also available in the provinces so my friends would switch back to Smart and ditch their Sun (impossible as it may seem).
for updates on the latest Globe, Smart, Red and Sun promos, fill out your email bellow
Smart Bro Prepaid Cuts Price
Posted by Bendz in Tech Stuff on May 20, 2009
Smart Bro Prepaid’s campaign to push their USB HSDP Internet modems outsmarted Globe Tattoo once again (smart move). Smart Bro Prepaid now offers promo Internet rate making their 3.5 G Internet service more available.
Smart Bro Prepaid promo offers, “Budget Surf” enabling Smart Bro USB modem users to surf for five hours just for fifty pesos (P50) cutting the cost in half. Imagine surfing for Hayden Kho and Katrina Halili scandal at the comfort of your own home at an internet cafe price. If you spend more time on the net, you could go for their “Daily Surf” package which offers 12 hours of Internet service for one hundred pesos (P100).
Excess usage would still cost ten pesos (P10) per thirty minutes tops just like regular rate.
I hope Globe Tattoo will also have this kind of offer cause my 500 load gets used up in just three days.
Installing Smart Bro ZTE MF627 USB Modem on an eee PC running Xandros and other Linux OS
Posted by Bendz in Tech Stuff on April 18, 2009
The latest Smart Bro USB modem available in the Philippines comes with the ZTE MF627 USB modem which comes with an ISO file for automated installation for Windows and Mac which makes it a bit tricky to install in a Linux environment like the on the eee PC 701 2gig that I have. The eee PC just won’t detect it as an HSDPA modem at all unlike Globe Tattoo’s Huawei E160 series USB modems.
To make it work for a Xandros Linux PC, all you have to do is to download mode switch and once it’s saved on your system all you have to do is to hit Ctrl+Alt+T to open the terminal wondow and type in “sudo bash” to be root (root is like being on admin mode for Windows). Once done, you should unpack modeswitch by typing in “dpkg -i (add file location here)/usb-modeswitch_0.9.6-1_i1386.deb” then press enter.
After modeswitch has been loaded, all you need to do is to edit the which will be found on /etc. You may have to input “cd ..” several times so you would be on the main folder then type in “cd etc” to be in it. Once you’re on etc, all you need to do is type in “nano usb_modeswitch.conf” to open the editor.
You would then notice that it contains driver information of several USB modem drivers and only the first one has no comment (;) on it. You need to comment that out by adding ; before every line and uncomment the ZTE MF628+ which has the same info as the ZTE MF627. Press “X” to get out of Nano and then Press “Y” to save the file.
You can now open the Network menu again and run the installation wizard. It will then detect your Smart Bro USB modem.
P.S. If you happen to visit Smart Bro’s download page, you will see an installer for Linux. Please note though that it’s not compatible for the latest wave of Smart Bro modems specifically the ZTE MF627.
Smart Bro, Globe Tattoo, Sun Wireless Broadband: The Ultimate Winner
Posted by Bendz in Tech Stuff on April 9, 2009
As prices of USB modems tank and quality of the 3G/HSDPA infrastructure in the Philippines is aggressively perfected by competing communication giants, Smart and Globe as well as the new player, Sun Cellular, more attention has been drawn towards portable Internet as compared to traditional aDSL broadband trough phone lines. Even Sky Cable Internet is having trouble catching the public’s interest on it’s high speed data plan.
USB UMTS (3G)/HSDPA (faster 3G ^_^) modems costs less than two thousand pesos these days –P1,995 for Smart Bro and P1,895 for Globe Tattoo (formerly Globe Visibility). Both SmartBro and Globe Tattoo offers prepaid service at 20 pesos per hour. Globe has a more advantageous payment scheme, in a consumer’s point of view, charging 5 pesos for every 15 minutes while SmartBro charges 10 pesos for every 30 minutes.
On the post paid (plan) arena, Sun Broadband Wireless is undoubtedly the winner. Offering the only existing unlimited wireless 3G and 3.5G Internet plan at only P799 per month which also comes with waived USB modem fee, for plans with 24-month lock-in contract. You can even slash P150 from that if you also have a postpaid mobile phone subscription.
Globe Tattoo (Visibility) and SmartBro once launched it’s unlimited access plan costing around P1500 only to cancel it after upgrading their broadband infrastructure and expanding HSDPA coverage. Their 799 plan is still in effect giving subscribers 60 hours of internet access per month and 20 pesos per succeeding hour (per minute charging). It’s also worth noting that SmartBro offers portable wireless broadband access through it’s “Share-it” routers which is only available through plan subscribers and offers 90 hours monthly usage quota and P999 monthly rate. It does come with the industry standard 24-month lock-in period though which is not so practical yet considering the upcoming reintroduction of the unlimited plans.
Mobile Internet providers enjoy a greater coverage than their wired counterparts which can’t provide service to far flung barangays specially in the provinces like Southern Leyte. Among the three providers, Smart leads when it comes to service coverage. Of course when you’re a subsidiary of a telecommunications monopoly, you will definitely get the leading edge. Globe gives better service, in my opinion, in urban areas though. Sun Broadband Wireless is only limited to Metro Manila and the signal is not even that good.
Unlike wired Internet, the battle of supremacy between wireless broadband service providers is not easily won. It varies from location to location and of course the user’s specific needs. On some areas, specially those farther from trancieving towers, may experience intermittent connectivity. Highly saturated areas of service may also experience slow connection speeds and some may not even be covered by HSDPA or 3.5G which provides the optimum 2Mbps speed and rely only on paltry GPRS or Edge.
Until such time the major networks offer unlimited HSDPA access plan, I think it’s would still be better to stick to unlimited plans like SmartBro 999 and Globe Broadband, PLDT myDSL as well as BayanTel Broadband specially for the Facebook addicts, torrent pirates, bloggers and the online gaming gods. And oh, unlimited dial-up Internet not included.
