New Smart LTE Plans

Smart's LTE plan was originally Php3,500 a month for 10 GB of data with a speed of 42 Mbps. 

Globe Telecom launched it LTE services a month later with the following packages:

• Tattoo Black Plan 1799 - Plan 1799 comes with free USB dongle and runs at speeds of up to 28 Mbps with a 12 GB cap.
• Tattoo Black Elite 2499 - Plan 2499 comes with free USB dongle and runs at speeds of up to 42 Mbps with a 15 GB cap.

In response Smart has revised its LTE offerings as follows:

• Smart LTE Plan 1749 - Plan 1749 gives you 42 Mbps with a 10 GB cap. 
• Smart LTE Plan 3500 - Plan 3500 comes with free USB dongle and runs at speeds of up to 42 Mbps with a 21 GB cap.

Smart Galaxy Note II now available on pre-order from Smart Communications

Samsung's new phablet, the Android powered Samsung Galaxy Note is now available for pre-order from Smart Communications at this page.

The Samsung Galaxy Note II has a 5.5-inch HD (720 x 1280) display. The Galaxy Note is designed which is designed to be used with a stylus and comes with software optimized for that purpose. With a 1.6 GHz quad core processor and  2 GB of RAM it is also Samsung's most powerful hand held device. A 3100 mAh battery is used to power the large screen and powerful processor and does a good job of that. GSMArena's battery life tests gives it almost 17 hours of talk time, almost 9 hours of web browsing and over 11 hours of video playback.

Apple iPhone 4S free at Plan 1500 from Smart

I do not have many details on Smart's Switch Madness promo, to be held at EDSA Shangri-la Mall on September 28-29, 2012. One thing that caught my eye in the teaser was that the Apple iPhone 4S would be offered free at Plan 1500, presumably to switchers from other networks.

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If you have been wanting an iPhone, this might be a good time to get one.

Android 4.1.1, Jelly Bean Update Now Out Smart Communications Issued Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phones

The Android 4.1.1, Jelly Bean update is now rolling out over for Smart Communications issued Samsung Galaxy Nexus phones. The 160 MB update quietly came in over-the-air over the phones 3G connection.

What's new in Jelly Bean (Scource: Android.com)

Android Beam

• With Android Beam, you can now easily share your photos and videos.
• Instantly pair your phone or tablet to Bluetooth® devices like headsets or speakers that support the Simple Secure Pairing standard by just tapping them together.

Audio Accessories

• Support for USB audio docks, shipping later this year.

 Browser and WebView

• Browser has improved performance, CPU and memory efficiency. With better performance for animations and HTML5 canvases and an updated JavaScript Engine (V8), pages load faster and feel smoother.
• Browser now has better HTML5 video support, and has a new user experience. Just touch the video to play and pause, and smoothly transition into and out of fullscreen mode.
• Browser now supports the updated HTML5 Media Capture specification on input elements.
• WebView now supports vertical text, including Ruby Text and other vertical text glyphs.

 Calendar

• Calendar is more buttery. Content fades in, animations are sprinkled throughout, and swiping/paging between days is smoother.
• Calendar will now display event colors if you've given your event a color on your PC.
• The 'Today' button on the action bar now shows the current day. When viewing an event's details, you can now email all the guests with a single tap.
• Notifications for upcoming events now display more of the event description to let you quickly see relevant details without having to open the app.
• Notifications for upcoming events now let you email all the guests without opening the app, and you can choose a quick response such as "Be there in 10 minutes" or type your own.
• A new option in Calendar settings lets you create your own default quick responses for emailing guests.
• You can now snooze an upcoming event reminder right from the notification.
• Calendar has a new 7" tablet layout that is optimized for the form factor.
• When viewing Calendar in portrait orientation on tablets, you can hide or expand controls to give you complete control over how you view your Calendar space.
• Calendar will now remember whether you've chosen to hide or expand controls so you have a consistent experience viewing Calendar whenever you open it.

 Camera and Gallery

• You can now swipe from the camera viewfinder to quickly review photos you've taken without having to leave the camera app. You can swipe back to the camera viewfinder to start snapping photos again.
• When viewing photos in Gallery, you can pinch to zoom out to enter "filmstrip mode" and rapidly review photos. When viewing photos in filmstrip mode, you can swipe up or down to delete an individual photo. You can also undo the delete with a single tap.
• When taking a photo, a new animation sweeps your photo off the screen. There is now a new paging animation when swiping between photos.
• Camera features a new animation for switching between the front-facing and back cameras.
• When focusing on an object in Camera, a new animation gives you visual feedback on your focus state.
• Gallery features a new animation when selecting a photo from within the album view and back.

Data Usage

• You can now dismiss a data usage warning without changing the data threshold set for warning notifications.
• Disable background data usage on certain Wi-Fi SSIDs by designating them as mobile hotspots.
• Android now automatically detects when one Jelly Bean device is tethered to another's Wi-Fi hotspot, and intelligently enables or disables background data usage on the SSID.

Face Unlock

• Face Unlock is now faster and more accurate, and startup is smoother with a new animation.
• You can improve face matching accuracy by calibrating your face in different conditions and with different accessories (e.g. hat, glasses).
• Face Unlock can now optionally require a 'blink' to verify that a live person is unlocking the device rather than a photo.

Internationalization

• Jelly Bean adds support for bidirectional text and more input languages to make the platform accessible to more people around the world.
• There is improved support for Arabic and Hebrew, including a new Arabic font, in the platform.
• You can now enter text in one of 18 new input languages, including Persian, Hindi and Thai. Additional Indic languages Kannada, Telugu, and Malayalam are now supported by the platform.
• Emoji from Unicode 6.0 will now render when received or viewed.
• If the system language is set to Japanese, Japanese specific versions of glyphs will now be properly rendered.

Keyboard

• The platform's dictionaries are now more accurate and more relevant.
• The language model in Jelly Bean adapts over time, and the keyboard features bigram prediction and correction.
• You can now switch languages quickly with the dedicated language selector key on keyboard.
• You can use custom keyboard input styles for more than 20 languages, with keymaps for QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY, Dvorak, Colemak, and PC styles.
• You can choose the input styles that you want to use for each keyboard, and use a hotkey to switch between them while typing.

 Messaging and Talk

• New notifications display the full text of incoming SMS messages. When receiving an MMS, you can view the full photo in a notification.
• When entering recipients for an SMS or MMS, a new UI collects recipients as chips, making it easier to compose messages.
• Talk features a new notification style.

Notifications

• You can now take action on notifications directly from the redesigned notifications shade.
• Notifications from the same application are grouped together, and the first item is automatically expanded. You can also pinch notifications to expand or collapse them.
• You now get an image preview in notifications after taking a screenshot. You can quickly share the screenshot directly from the notification.
• You can lock automatic display rotation from the notifications shade on 7" tablets.
• For Wi-Fi only devices, quickly see the SSID of the access point you're connected to from the notifications shade.
• You can now touch-hold a notification to identify the application that created it and turn off notifications from that application if needed, as well as uninstall the application.

Networking

• Wi-Fi protected setup is now supported with WPS push button and PIN support.
• A new setting lets you stay on mobile data and avoid nearby Wi-Fi networks with poor connections.

 News and Weather

• News and Weather is updated to improve freshness and power consumption.

 People

• The People app is more buttery with smoother animations and improved search performance.
• The People app now retrieves high res photos automatically for Google contacts with public Google+ profiles and displays higher res photos (720x720) on certain devices.
• High res photos set on Google accounts will be backed up and synced across devices.
• The People app has a new 7" tablet layout that is optimized for the form factor.
• You can now quickly add your favorite contacts to a home screen, directly from the contact's details page.
• The People app helps you organize your contacts and reduces duplicates with an Improved auto-joining algorithm.
• You can now clear the frequently contacted list from the favorites tab in the People app.

 Phone

• When you miss a call, a new notification lets you return the call or reply by SMS with a single touch.
• Incoming visual voicemails are displayed in a new notification that lets you play the message with a single touch.
• When a call is ongoing, a new notification lets you hang up the call with one touch.
• As part of Project Butter, the dial pad is more responsive. Call log scrolling is buttery smooth, and swiping between tabs in Phone is quick and fluid.
• You can now clear your frequently contacted list in the favorite tab of Phone.
• You can now add phone numbers from the call log to existing, read-only contacts.

 Settings

• Accounts are now displayed in the primary Settings view so you can easily see all the accounts you're signed into on your device.
• You can now easily access all Google Privacy Settings in one place by selecting your Google account from Settings.

 System

• Device encryption is now more reliable, and periodically reminds you to decrypt your device. Now, SMS messages and calls are declined when waiting for decryption.
• You can long press the 'Power Off' option in the power menu to boot your device to safe mode.
• A new 'Reset app preferences' button lets you quickly reset default applications for specific activities, background data restrictions, notifications suppressions, and more.
• A redesigned dialog with larger icons lets you intuitively choose your preferred application for specific activities.
• Google Apps Device Policy on your device may now override the 'keep screen awake' option from developer settings.

Text-to-speech

• Jelly Bean introduces a new conversational text-to-speech voice in US English, available as both a network engine and an embedded engine via the TTS API.

Voice Typing

• A new embedded speech recognizer lets you use Voice Typing even when you don't have an Internet connection.

 Widgets

• Jelly Bean makes it easier to personalize your home screen. As you place widgets on the screen, everything else automatically moves to make room.
• When they're too big, widgets resize on their own. If you choose to resize a widget, apps and widgets will now also move out of the way.
• You can now quickly remove apps or widgets from any home screen by picking them up and flinging them to the edge of the screen.
• Launching apps and returning back home are now faster and smoother.

 Accessibility

• With Jelly Bean, blind users can use 'Gesture Mode' to reliably navigate the UI using touch and swipe gestures in combination with speech output.
• With the new accessibility focus feature, you can move a cursor between controls to maintain a target for the next action or a source for the next navigation event. You can double tap anywhere to launch the current item with accessibility focus.
• Text traversal in accessibility now gives you more control – choose to move between pages, paragraphs, lines, words or characters.
• TalkBack, a screenreader for Android, now supports gestures to trigger actions, to navigate applications, and traverse text.
• Get full support for braille accessibility services (download BrailleBack on Google Play).

Globe Tattoo Black LTE

Globe is launching its Tattoo Black, Globe LTE mobile broadband service. Globe is offering two plans:

• Tattoo Black Plan 1799 - Plan 1799 comes with free USB dongle and runs at speeds of up to 28 Mbps with a 12 GB cap.

• Tattoo Black Elite 2499 - Plan 2499 comes with free USB dongle and runs at speeds of up to 42 Mbps with a 15 GB cap. 

Yugatech has confirmed both Plans are unlimited.

You have the option to upgrade the device to a SuperStick for a minimum additional charge of only P150 a month. The SuperStick is a WiFi capable USB modem which will allow you to share the connection with up to 5 users.

Coverage for now is limited to Makati City.

Smart Communications launched its own LTE Service last month, which is priced at Php3,500 a month for 10 GB of 42 Mbps connectivity. Smart does over wider coverage areas for now covering Makati City and several other locations in Metro Manila. Still, it looks like Smart may have to rework its offering.  

Updated on September 30, 2012.

Globe Tattoo MediaPad

Globe is offering the Huawei MediaPad under its Tatoo brand. The Huawei MediaPad is a 7-inch Android tablet which has HSDPA connectivity. The MediaPad is a pretty current device with a HD display (720 x 1280) display and powered by a 1.2 GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 1 GB of RAM. The operating system installed out of the box is Android 3.2, Honeycomb, but it is upgradeable to Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich.

The MediaPad has 8 GB of internal storage, 5.8 GB of which is user available. While 5.8 GB is not much for a tablet, storage is expandable via a MicroSD card.  The MediaPad also come with a 5 MP primary camera and a 1.3 MP secondary camera. Connectivity options are good, with the MediaPad being equipped with Bluetooth, a HDMI port (to plug it into your LCD TV) and USB-on-the-Go (so you can plug USB Flash Drives into the tablet via an adapter). 

In order to get the MediaPad from Globe, you have to subscribe to a unlimited data plan. With a Php999 per month data plan you can get the Huawei MediaPad for Php10,990. This is not a bad deal since you can expect to pay at least 17K for a HSDPA enabled tablet. Globe Telecom will also allow you to pay the Php10,990 over a period of 12-months at zero interest, making the package more affordable. You will be locked into Globe for 24-months on Plan 999. 

Globe Telecom to Offer Rebates to Subscribers Affect by Last Weekends Network Disruption

Globe Telecom will be offering rebates to subscribers affected by network problems from September 1 to September 2, 2012. Globe's official statement on the matter is a follows:

Last Saturday, September 1, 2012, we monitored subscribers having difficulty in making and receiving calls while they are in identified areas in Southern Manila, particularly Las Pinas, Paranaque, Muntinlupa, and Taguig. The temporary disruption was caused by a connectivity issue within our network systems. 

By Sunday evening, September 2, 2012, we were able to restore call services partially, as certain affected areas have already reported service improvements. We wish to assure our subscribers that Globe is continuously working 24-7 to make sure call services in the remaining affected areas are fully restored as soon as possible. 

As of today (September 3, 2012), this issue has been corrected and services are back to normal. 

Globe is prepared to offer rebates to affected postpaid and prepaid customers. We will notify affected customers with details on the customer rebate through SMS. 

We deeply apologize to our affected subscribers for the inconvenience. Thank you.

Smart LTE Official Launched! Pricing and Coverage.

Smart Communications officially launched its LTE service that it has been testing since last year. The plan is for a high speed broadband only accessible via a Huawei E392 USB modem which comes free as part of the plan.

How fast? Up to 42 Mbps. How much? Well, the price for the plan it a fairly high Php3,500 per month for a total of 10 GB of bandwidth, but that is actual reasonable if you compare it to similar services abroad. Please note, the 10 GB limit covers both upload and download. Over and above the 10GB, you will be charged Php450 per month. It is not clear to me yet how you measure you use.

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The biggest disappointment is coverage. Right now only 49 locations are covered by LTE. Where there is no LTE you can still connect to HSPA+, HSPA, 3G, EDGE, GPRS towers, which is still chargeable against your 10 GB bandwidth cap.

Buying Music Online from MyMusicStore Philippines

There are several sources from which you can buy music online. I would recommend you try buying from a local outfit, MyMusicStore Philippines. 

When you visit MyMusicStore's website you will find a nice and cleanly laid out site. You can use the search bar to look for a title, album, or find music by the name of the artist or band. There is also a a top chart list and a list of new singles. When you search for singles you can listen to a short preview just to make sure you are buying is the correct one.

   

What is really interesting is your payment options. You can use a credit card or PayPal, but you can also pay through a load on a Smart or SmartBro SIM. You can also pay through MyMusicStore Gift Cards.

Okay. So, we decided to buy "The Last Song I Will Write for You" by David Cook for Php35. Loaded up Php60 on my Smart Bro SIM and proceeded to make the purchase. After registering on the site and confirming purchase, a SMS was sent to my tablet with a PIN code. You have 48 hours from receipt of the PIN code to download the song. The song we bought came in a nice 44.1kHz/256kpbs MP3 format. The download was really fast. 

Unlike some other online Music Stores which keep track of your purchases and allow you to re-download songs you bought at any time, so make sure to keep a back-up of what you bought.  

Smart Apple iPhone 4 Free at All-In Plan 1800

With a new Apple iPhone release being imminent, it looks like Smart Communications is eager to to get the Apple iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 in your hands now. A few days ago, Smart dropped the phone to free at Plan 2000, from free at Plan 2499. Now, they have offered even a nice deal on the older iPhone 4 8 GB available at All-In Plan 1800. The All-In Plan allows you to bundle unlimited data, text and calls in one plan, and can be reconfigured from month to month.

Recommended Plan Set-up:

• Unlimited Data - Php1,000
• 2,500 SMS to Smart, Globe and Sun - Php350
• 80 minutes calls to Smart, Globe and Sun - Php250 
• Consumable - Php200

Smart LTE - High speed 10GB of data for Php3,500. Will you bite?

Smart Communications with be launching its new LTE Broadband service on August 25, 2012. The deal is 10 GB's of data at a blistering 42 Mbps for Php3,500 a month.

Talking about this with a few friends last night, it seemed that no one is happy with the 10 GB data cap. I think this is in part because people do not know how much data they download per day. On my typical day, I consume 100 MB of data or less. Given the occasional download of a Android ROM (90-450 MB), a Linux Distribution (500-700MB) and software updates for my Mac, I could probably hit 5 GB on some months. Still, that is a whole lost less than 10 GB. Unless you spend most of your internet time, streaming HD video or downloading movies, it is pretty hard to consume 10 GB a month.Of couse with a 42 Mbps connection, I am likely to use more, since things which I are not too much fun to do on my 1 Mbps connection, might become more enjoyable at 42 Mbps. 

Still, I have no issue with a 10 GB cap. It will be like the 1.5 GB cap on our smartphones on Smart Data Plan 2000, where Smart can reduce our speeds if we exceed the. In 18 months, as far as I can tell I never exceeded the cap. With the three the Smartphones on Data Plan 2000, none of them went past 1 GB last month, one phone nearly used 1 GB, with the other two using 704 MB and 416 MB, respectively. 

I do have some issue with the cost. One of the three Data Plan 2000 phones is for my personal use. I pay Php1,200 a month for the data aspect of the plan. I also maintain a 1 Mbps Globe DSL connection at home, shared among four personal computers at the cost of Php999 a month. Lastly, when I need to use a laptop on the road, I use a SmartBro USB modem, and spend Php400 to 800 on that a month. Basically, a unlimited smartphone data plan, a residential DSL connection and a prepaid mobile internet connection all comes out to Php2,519 to Php2,919 a month.

The Php3,500 monthly fee for a mobile broadband connection is more than I am willing to pay. The new LTE plan  wont replace my smarthphone data plan and our residential DSL. 

Still, I will wait till the 25th and hope there are other options there are. I am not sure if Smart will offer a prepaid LTE plan. I could replace my four year old USB modem with a new faster unit.

Update: Was talking to Abe Olandres on Twitter. Looks like Smart LTE offer will be postpaid only. Here is Yugatech's articles on the Smart's offering 

Smart is Bringing Us Something Fast

I hope this has more to with smartphones, and less to do with dongles and MiFi devices.

Find out more on Smart's website here.

Smart iPhone 4S 16 GB now free on a lower plan

With a new Apple iPhone expected to be announced in less than a month, Smart Communications is offering the Apple iPhone 4S 16 GB free at a lower plan. Previously, the Apple iPhone 4S 16 GB was being offered free at Smart iPhone Plan 2499 on a two year contract. You could also get the iPhone on Data Plan 2000 with one time, Php2,500, payment, also on a two year contract.

Smart is waiving the Php2,500 cash out so you can now get the 16 GB version of the Apple iPhone 4S free at Data Plan 2000. What I am not certain about is whether the phone is being offered free on a 24 month of 30 month contract.

August 2012 Smartphone Buyers Guide

In recommending a phone we are looking for phone that will remain current for two years. Good hardware without decent operating support will satisfy the buyer today, only to disappoint later. August 2012 puts a buyer in a period of transition. We expect to see the new Apple iPhone by September, the new Windows Phone 8 devices (Windows Phone 7 devices are not upgradeable to Windows Phone 8) coming out in September to October, one or more new Google Nexus Phones before the end of the year and a new set of BlackBerry 10 devices, early next year. 

The phone which you can buy right now without being  Right now it is made up of Android phones. Only Android phones which are running Android 4.x or have commitments updates to Android 4.x are included. While most apps are compatible with Android 2.2 or later, we are looking for phones which will serve you well for two years, and over time more and more apps will require Android 4.x.

If you are looking for the most advanced handsets in the market, they are three good  options right now. The Samsung Galaxy S III, the HTC One X and the Samsung Galaxy Note.

1. Samsung Galaxy S III (Php30,500 to Php32,900)

Pros. The Samsung Galaxy S III is the best smartphone in the world right now, bar none. With a large 4.8-inch HD display (720 x 1280), quad-core processor, 16 GB of storage of user expandable storage and a excellent 8 MP camera, it has the new and advance written all over. While official SD card support is limited to 32 GB, I tested a 64 GB SanDisk Class 10 MicroSD card on a Samsung Galaxy S III, and it works.

Cons. It is expensive, with a street prices ranging from Php30,500 to Php32,900, with an official warranty. 

Postpaid options. This phone is available postpaid from both Globe Telecom and Smart Communications.

2. HTC One X (Php26,500 to Php29,900).

Pros. The specifications of HTC One X closely match the Galaxy S III and has more internal storage out of the box (32 GB), while being significantly cheaper than the Galaxy S III.  The biggest draw of the HTC One X is the 12-core Nvidia graphics processor can display amazing console like effects on Nvidia optimized games. While it is outclassed by the Samsung Galaxy S III, HTC is making some optimization tweaks in its Sense 4.1 ROM designed to take the performance crown back from Samsung.

Cons. Specifications are a close match the Samsung Galaxy S III but it falls a bit behind in almost every category. The 32 GB of storage is not user expandable. 

Postpaid options. This phone is available from Smart Communications.

Related Article: Clash of the Titans: HTC One X versus the Samsung Galaxy S III.

3. Samsung Galaxy Note - (Php26,000 to Php29,900)

Pros. This massive 5.3-inch HD (800 x 1280) phone tablet has been a success, and Samsung is expected to announce its replacement before the end of the month. Still with the price up to 10K lower than its original price, and software updates, this 2011 model still looks like a great option today.

The large display bundled stylus, is the main reason for selecting this phone. 

Cons. It is big but that is the main reason people buy it.

Postpaid options. This phone is available postpaid from both Globe Telecom and Smart Communications.

There are a lot 2011 flagship phones available at the 18K-24K price range, but given the Android 18-month support policy newer models have a better chances of long term support and our recommendations take this into account.

4. Samsung Galaxy Nexus - The only phone on our list which we recommend going to the grey market for (Php17,500 to Php30,000).

Pros. This is the Google phone, and is the first to get the latest software. It runs pure Google Android, not weighed down by additional OEM installed software. The device has a 4.65-inch HD (729 x 1280) display with on screen keys. This phone is a Smart Communications exclusive, and it still cost a heft Php30,000 from Smart, but in the grey market you can get it for Php17,500. Buying from the grey market means you get a service warranty, which means you get free repair services during the warranty period but you pay for any parts used. This normally saves you about 10% of the price of a phone with an official warranty. For a 10% price difference we recommend a unit with a official parts and service warranty.  In the case of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus you save a 40% of the price, and the price gap makes it worth getting this phone on the grey market.

Cons. Expensive with an official warranty.

Postpaid options. This phone is available from Smart Communications.

5. Sony Xperia P - (Php17,990 to Php22,990)

Pros. We have seen the price of this phone drop every month from its suggested retail price of Php22,990, to now as low as Php17,990. If you can get it at that price, it really is a sweet deal.

This phone sports a nice 4-inch qHD (540 x 960) display, 16 GB of internal storage and a good 8 MP camera. Its dual core NovaThor based chipset cannot match the higher price phones on this list in terms of speed, but it is fast enough so most users wont notice. The 4-inch display is looking small these days, but is decent enough for the asking price. If you are okay with the 4-inch display, it is a good value for money option. Sony has done the best job in supporting their 2011 units with upgrades to Android 4.0, so we do expect they will do the same for 2012 handsets next year.

Cons. It has a small 1305 mAh battery, which is smaller than the 1500 mAh batteries found in mid-level phones. The other top 4 phones on this list have 1650 mAh to 2500 mAh batteries. The phone still runs on Android 2.3, but a update to Android 4.x is on the way. 

Related Article: The Sony Xperis P is now available in the Philippines

6. Sony Xperia Sola - (Php13,500 to Php16,990)

Pros. This phone sports a smaller, lower resolution, 3.7-inch WVGA (480 x 854) display a compared to rhe the Xperia P. It also has less RAM than the Xperia P and video capture is limited to 720p (the first five phones on this list can do 720p video capture) and has no front camera. But it has the same dual core processor and graphics as the Xperia P. Its 8 GB of internal storage is expandable to 40 GB via a Micro SD card which can give the Xperia Sola more storage than the Xperia P. Overall this makes it a great value for money option.

Cons. It has a small 1320 mAh battery. Still runs on Android 2.3, but a update to Android 4.x is on the way.

Related Article: Sony Xperia Sola - Best mid-level Android in the Philippine market?

7. Sony Xperia U - (Php11,600 to Php13,990)

Pros. Gives dual core power at a low price. The Sony Xperia U has similar specification to the Xperia Sola with a smaller 3.5-inch display.

Cons. It has the Same small battery as the Xperia U. For many the major deal breaker is the 8 GB of internal storage (6 GB user available), which is not expandable. Still, 6 GB is not bad. Two gigabytes is available for apps and 4 GB for your music, pictures, documents and other files. It is not user expandable. One gigabyte is good for 200 or more MP3's. Some games can eat up a whole gigabyte. Gamers have to select between having more games installed and having less processing and graphics power at this price range.

For those who need a phone at this price range wanting more storage and longer battery life the Sony Xperia Neo L or HTC One V would be better options. 

Related Article: Sony Xperia U now available in the Philippines.

8. Lenovo P700  (Php10,999)

Pros. Most dual SIM phones are only good choices for those who want a dual SIM device. The Lenovo P700 is a good choice whether or not you want a dual SIM phone. This phone comes with a large 4-inch WVGA (480 x 800) display,  dual SIM capability and 4 GB of internal storage expandable via MicroSD card. It comes with a even larger 2500 mAh battery, one of the biggest you will find in any smartphone today. Unlike the HTC Desire V, this phone does have a front camera.

Cons. The single core 1GHz and ARM Cortex A-5 processor 512MB of  just enough to run Android 4.0. It is makes has enough power for the average user, but a gamer or power user should look elsewhere. The primary camera has no flash.

Related Article: Dual SIM Droid Fight - HTC Desire V versus Lenovo P700


With the Sony Mini and Sony Live being all but gone from the market, finding a budget priced phone with a current operating system is pretty much impossible. But I do have to recommend something.

9. LG E400 Optimus L3

Pros. Inexpensive and fast. The 1 GB of internal storage, expandable via MicroSD card will cure the low internal storage problem experienced by budget phone buyers.

Cons. The small 3.2-inch with its low 240 x 320 display resolution wont make anyone really happy.  Comes with Android 2.3, Gingerbread, out of the box, and wont be getting updated.  

BlackBerry Curve 9220 Plans: Globe versus Smart

G Globe Telecom and Smart Communications are offerings RIM's entry level BlackBerry Cure 9220 on low cost plans. The BlackBerry Cure 9220 is the entry level gateway to BlackBerry services.

Globe's offering gives you the phone for free, at Plan 499 plus at least one BlackBerry add-on. If you select the cheapest add-on which is unlimited BlackBerry Messaging (BBM), that is a Php99 add-on, for a total monthly bill of Php598. The phone is free, subject to a 24 month lock-in.

If you are thinking of adding on BlackBerry Social or the full set of BlackBerry Services, that will comes out to Php799 or Php1,098. If this is what you prefer, it would be best to apply for a BlackBerry at Plan 999 instead. You get the higher end BlackBerry Cure 9320, 

At first glance, Smart Communications All-In Plan 500 is not as inviting. The phone is not free. You pay Php950 for the phone. Also you are locked-in for a longer period of 30 months.

However, the Smart All-in-Plan allows you to consume the Php500 monthly allocation for BlackBerry Services. If you sign up for a BBM only package, you get unlimited BBM plus Php401 consumable for Php500 per month. For BlackBerry Social (unlimited Facebook, Twitter and BBM) you pay just Php500 a month, with Php200 consumable. If you sign up for the full BlackBerry service (unlimited Internet, email, Facebook, Twitter and BBM) you pay Php599 a month.

Basically, if you are looking for a low cost BBM package, Globe's offering is a good choice. If you want to use a BlackBerry primarily or exclusively for data, the Smart offering may entice you more. 

Smart Postpaid Freedom Plan

Smart Communications has introduced a postpaid plan called the Freedom Plan. The Freedom Plan has no fixed monthly fees, you only pay for what you use at the following rates:

• Calls On-net   -   Php6.50
• Calls Off-net   -   Php7.5
• IDD   -   US$0.40
• Local SMS or MMS   -   Php1.00
• International SMS   -   Php10.00
• Web Browsing   -   Php10/30 minutes 

The plan has no lock-in or contract, so you can terminate it on a monthly basis. 

You can also add-on several different packages:

Basically, it is a postpaid plan, which should appeal to pre-paid users, which basically removes the chore of having to buy load.

Nokia Lumia 710 now free from Smart at regular Data Plan 1000

Smart Communications is now again offering the Nokia Lumia 710 at Data Plan 1000. This is different from the Limited Edition Data Plan 1000 they offered this phone a few months ago. 

The Nokia Lumia 710 is a Windows Phone 7.5 device with a 3.7-inch WVGA (480 x 800 display), 8GB of storage, a 5 MP auto focus camera with a flash and a front camera.  Software wise, its biggest draw is probably NDrive, Nokia's voice guided turn by turn Navigation app. Something you will spend a few thousand for on an Android phone or iPhone.

It won't be updated to Windows Phone 8, coming in October 2012, but it will be getting one last update to Windows Phone 7.8.

For the Php1,000 a month plan, you get the phone free, 40 minutes of calls to all networks, 100 SMS to all networks and 100 MB of mobile data. 

Unfortunately it is not a great plan, the calls have a value of Php280, the SMS another Php100 and 100 MB of mobile data is worth Php198. This totals to Php578 a month so services. So basically, you are paying Php422 a month for 24 months for the phone, which is just a bit over 10K. So, it is not really a free phone. 

For the same money, I am more inclined to recommend a Php999 BlackBerry Plan, which gives you unlimited data, Php400 consumable and a free BlackBerry phone.

Smart Samsung Galaxy SIII featuring Direct Call

Smart Communications has a commercial featuring the direct call feature of the Samsung Galaxy S III.

Globe Telecom offering the Nokia Lumia 610 Plan 999

The Nokia Lumia 610 is the lowest priced Windows Phone device available. It retails for Php10,990 and offers a decent kit for the price, with a 3.7-inch WVGA (480 x 800) display and 8 GB of internal storage. It also has Nokia Drive. Nokia's voice guided turn by turn navigation system. It has a decent 5 MP camera, though video recording is limited to VGA quality. On the downside, it wont be upgraded to the next version of the Windows Phone operating system, Windows Phone 8. Still, that is always a tradeoff when buying entry level smartphones.

Globe Telecom is offering the Nokia Lumia 610 at Plan 999. You can get it under a consumable plan with three freebies, although a Data Add-On is required. The cheapest Data Add-On is 50 MB of data at Php99.

So for Php1,098 you can get the Nokia Lumia 610 free with:

• Php999 consumable
• 10 minutes free calls within the Globe network*
• 200 free SMS within the Globe network*
• 10 minutes free calls to other networks*
• 50 free SMS to other networks*

*You can pick a different combination of freebies.

The other option is to get it under a data plan. For Php999 you can the Nokia Lumia 610 free, with  one freebie:

• Unlimited data access
• 10 minutes free calls within the Globe network
• 200 free SMS within the Globe network*

*You can pick a different freebie.

Two year lock-in period applies in either case.

Android has an 82.2% Share of the Philippine Market

Smart Communication reports that "an April 2012 study by research and analytics firm GfK, which states that the Google-owned mobile operating software (OS) now powers most smartphones in the country with a commanding 82.2% market share."

The "GfK’s study further reveals that despite average smartphone prices being pegged below Php7,500, close to 95% of these are equipped with High Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+) technology similar to more expensive handsets. x x x The GfK report shows that regular feature phones still have a 70.6% stronghold of the market while smartphones, though improving quickly, are relegated to a 29.4% slice of the pie."

Smart also gave details on their HSPA+ network. HSPA+ allows for speeds of up to 21Mbps. This gives Android an advantage on Smart network since even the latest iPhone 4S still only uses an HSPA 14.4Mbps radio. Phones like the Samsung phones like the Galaxy S II, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Nexus, and the Galaxy S III support HSPA+. HTC's One X and One S also support HSPA+.

Smart has more than 1,500 HSPA+ sites nationwide covering all major Philippine cities and municipalities and is the only telecommunications provider that offers this HSPA dual band making it more reliable and stable.