Tom Rodriguez + Dennis Trillo in Note 3 launch

A few nights ago, I attended the Manila launch of Samsung Galaxy Note 3 + Galaxy Gear which I’ve already written about in this post. The affair at SM Aura wasn’t really that star-studded but it WAS, in a way, because of two hot guys playing gays in local TV’s most talked-about show, “My Husband’s Lover.”

Presenting “Vincent”, “Eric” plus “Lally” 20 years later. hehehe.

Tom & Dennis

In my personal opinion, Tom Rodriguez had star factor. I wouldn’t be surprised if this guy will go places. And to think he just recovered from dengue fever in this pic.

Tom Rodriguez

Imaginary conversation -

Tom & Dennis

Vincent: Look beh, we should be able to communicate easily with this Note 3. Just scroll around with the S Pen and it will take you from one app & icon to another. Just don’t get jealous if I keep photos of Lally and the kids. After all, they’re still a part of me.

Eric: ummm…. yeah…amazing!

Other stars seen:

Erwann Heusaff with Samsung Corporate Marketing Head, a slimmed-down, gorgeouser Chiqui Torres with Samsung Business Advisor Mike Cheon -

(L-R) Corporate Marketing Head for Samsung Mobile Chiqui Torres with Brand Ambassador Erwan Heussaff and Samsung Business Advisor Mike Cheon in the SM Aura Samsung store during the Note3 launch last Sept 26

Campus basketball biggies, the brothers Jeric and Jeron Teng

Jeric & Jeron Teng

Len Rivera and Coco Domingo of Samsung Product Marketing show off the Note 3 and Galaxy Gear smart watch

(L-R) Product Manager for Samsung Mobile smartphones Ien Rivera with Product marketing Head for Samsung Mobile Coco Domingo showing their new Note 3 phones and Galaxy Gear watches

We didn’t know that there were these gorgeous male models in Manila, but I guess you can spot them in the right places :)

Models

Welcome Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom & S4 Active!

And so it seems, the days of the point-and-shoot camera will soon be over. Unless you’re really serious with photography, then you can always lug around a DLSR. But the more practical users will want the latest breed of smartphones which boast not just of text & call but offer fun apps and professional camera capability.

So let’s say hello to the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom which is your S4 but transforms into a digicam when you flip it over. With a suggested retail price of P23,990, this beauty has 10x Optical Zoom, 16 Mega Pixel CMOS Sensor, OIS and Xenon Flash. Its In-Call Photo Share Feature lets you share an MMS instantly while talking to somebody (see specs at end of post).

GALAXY S4 zoom (3)

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S4 Active is ideal for sports enthusiasts, scuba divers and others who pursue an active lifestyle. Among its features are a LED flashlight, Aqua Mode for enhanced underwater images, 8 megapixel camera and “Glove Touch” for operating the phone with gloves even during winter weather conditions. Suggested retail price is P27, 990.

S4 ACTIVE GRAY (4)

Galaxy S4 Zoom specifications:

Dimensions: 125.5 x 63.5 x 15.4mm; weighs 208 g with standard battery
4.3 inch sAMOLED screen
LTE ready
1.5 GHz Dual Core Processor
1.5 GB RAM
8GB internal memory plys microSD slot up to 64GB
2330mAh battery
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

Galaxy S4 Active specifications:

139.7 x 71.3 x 9.1 mm; weighs 153 g
LTE capable
1.9 GHz Quad Core Processor
IP67 certified – dust and water resistant (IP stands for International Protection against ingress of solid foreign objects and harmful ingress of water. The highest level is IP68)
2600 aMh battery capacity
5-inch Full HD LCD screen
1.9GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor
8 mp rear camera with LED flashlight
Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Colors: Urban Grey, Dive Blue, Orange Flare

Samsung Galaxy S4: faster and more powerful!

So you’ve heard the news: the Samsung Galaxy S4 has landed and is now being offered in the postpaid plans of the leading telcos, Globe & Smart. It makes me wonder whether an S5 or S6 is in the works. And for those like me who wonder about the difference between the S4 and the S3, read more towards the end of this post.

Anyhow, here’s a photo collage of the Samsung Galaxy S4 launched we attended in Bonifacio Global City a couple of weeks ago. The S4 is an eye candy and the must-have smartphone of the summer season so naturally, Manila’s beautiful people were there during the event.

Samsung Galaxy S4 launch

Here’s the phone’s close-up.It comes in the two basic colors now: Black Mist & White Frost. But there should be additional color options during the latter part of the year.

Samsung Galaxy S4

What’s easily noticed is the larger screen size which makes texts and images really come to life on the Full HD Super AMOLED display. In fact, some people are now saying that with the 5-inch screen size of the S4 (just a tad smaller than the Galaxy Note 2 at 5.5″), the S4 can be very well called a phablet (phone + tablet), thereby making it a real multi-tasking device for people who lead busy lifestyles.

So what will make you upgrade and switch to this phone? It is simply faster and more powerful. If you’re already an S3 user, for instance, processor speed is at a whopping 1.9 GHz quad core, the Android version is higher at Jelly Bean 4.2.2(from 4.1), battery capacity is stronger at 2,600 aMH, and there is an increase in rear camera quality from 8 mp to a stunning 13 megapixels! I would love to have this phone if only because I don’t need to bring my point and shoot anymore :)

Despite being power-packed, the S4 is also lighter than the S3 (130 grams as against the 133 g of old).

Suggested retail price of the phone as of its release date in the Philippines is P30,990

BlackBerry Z10: P29,990

Blackberry Z10 launch

Had my first glance of the new BlackBerry Z10 the other day which BB fans can now reserve at www.buybb10.com before its availability on March 19.Announced retail price is at a high-end P29,990 although this is expected to be bundled up with plans by Smart, Globe & Sun. What can I say … ’twas my first time to see a Blackberry without the physical QWERTY keyboard that the brand is known for. This one is all multi-touch!

Features to watch out for in this smartphone:

Lotsa power under the hood with Qualcomm S4 Plus dual core processor

2 GB of Random Access Memory (RAM) and 16GB of internal storage

LTE-ready

8 MP rear camera with a TimeShift feature that lets you choose the best out of the many frames taken in a single shot

4.2 inches screen display with 355 pixels per inch for extra vivid colors

Weight: 137.5 grams

Dimensions: 66 mm (width), 130 mm (height), 9mm (thinness)

The Z10 is powered by Blackberry 10, the “re-designed and re-engineered” BB platform that is supposed to be faster, smoother and more responsive.New features include the all-new browser, a cool predictive keyboard, the Blackberry Balance technology separating work applications from personal content, and the BB Safeguard technology for enhanced security, among others.

Of course, there’s also BlackBerry World with 70,000 apps but we think this is way, way behind Google and Apple with more than half a million apps in the market, thus providing a vast ocean of selection for its users.

We wish BlackBerry good luck for this product. Seen at the launch (from left): BB endorser Borgy Manotoc, BB Country Director for the Philippines Cameron Vernest, and Kristian Salvo, BlackBerry Philippines Business Manager.

Blackberry Z10 launch