Day: July 30, 2014

DBP wins at Sustainable Business Awards 2014

PRNEWS Leave a comment

DBP president and chief executive officer Gil A. Buenaventura and DBP chairman Jose A. Nunez , Jr. (2nd and 3rd from left, respectively) receive the Energy Management award during the Sustainable Business Awards Philippines held last July 14 at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City. Also in photo are Philippine Business for the Environment executive director Bonar Laureto (leftmost) and Philippine Stock Exchange president and CEO Hans Sicat

As Energy Management winner, DBP was cited for financing energy and energy management projects. Aside from being the first Philippine bank to receive ISO 14001 for its Environment Management System, DBP has also adopted various initiatives on energy management such as energy efficient lighting system, green office practices and cleaner transport fuel. Through its investment and lending activities, the bank also encourages its clients to include environmental considerations in their businesses and thrusts.

DBP also received a special award on land use, biodiversity, and environment. DBP developed and implements the DBP Forest Program, a non-credit program that aims to stop denudation and restore the country’s forest cover through organized collaboration with government and non-government organizations, state universities and colleges, people’s organizations and other qualified forest partners.

The Sustainable Business Awards aims to increase awareness on sustainable business best-practices and demonstrate how sustainable business benefits companies, the environment and their stakeholders. The final shortlist of winners prepared by Price Waterhouse Cooper were judged by Senator Loren Legarda, Ateneo School of Government Dean Antonio La Vina, Philippine Stock Exchange president and CEO Hans Sicat, BusinessWorld editor-in-chief Roby Alampay, Climate Change Commission chairperson Mary Anne Lucille Sering, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry secretary general Crisanto Frianeza, Philippine Business for the Environment executive director Bonar Laureto, and Isla Lipana & Co. chairman Alex Cabrera.

Organized by Global Initiatives, the SBA also recognizes sustainable business best-practices in Singapore and Indonesia.

Xiaomi Redmi Note first impressions

Louie Diangson Leave a comment

The Redmi Note is Xiaomi’s 5.5-inch smartphone that is slated to arrive soon in the Philippines. It sports a MediaTek octa-core CPU, 13 megapixel camera, dual-SIM capabilities, and a large 3,100mAh battery. We just got our hands on one so read our first impressions to find out what it has in store for us.

redmi note_2

At 5.5 inches, the Xiaomi Redmi Note easily falls under what we call the phablet territory. It’s a fairly large device that would most of the time require two hands for easier navigation. At 154mm tall, 3.11mm wide, and 9.45mm thick, it’s larger and chunkier than the 5.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3 mm).

redmi note_1

At the front of the Redmi Note is the 5.5-inch HD IPS display with a pixel density of 267ppi. Right above it is the 5 megapixel front-facing camera, notifications light, and earpiece, while down below are three red illuminated capacitive buttons.

redmi note_5

One the right-hand side are the volume rocker and power/lock button, right on top are the headphone jack and microphone, and down at the bottom is another microphone and the microUSB port. Flip it on its back and you’ll find the 13 megapixel rear camera, LED flash, the MI logo and the speaker.

redmi note_6

Unlike its metallic flagship brother, the Mi 3, the Redmi Note features a plastic body with a glossy finish. It’s a bit hefty though at 199g but feels solid and well-made.

redmi note_3

On the software side, the Redmi Note comes with Android 4.2.2 Jellybean right out of the box. We bought this unit in HongKong so the software is customized for the Chinese market. This means that you have the Mi Market as your default app store, Baidu as your default search engine, and comes with pre-installed apps like Weibo and QQ.

redmi note_4

The good news is we were able to install Google Services Framework and the Google Play Store through a Google Installer found in the Mi Market so we got that part sorted out.

redmi note_antutu_1

Xiaomi Redmi Note specs:
5.5-inch HD IPS display, 267ppi
1.7GHz MTK MT6592 octa-core CPU
2GB RAM
Mali-450 MP GPU
8GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
13 megapixel rear camera w/ LED flash
5 megapixel front camera
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
HSPA+, 3G
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0 LE
GPS, A-GPS
MIUI V5.0 (Android 4.2.2 Jellybean)
3,100mAh battery
154 x 78.7 x 9.5mm
199g

The Xiaomi Redmi Note currently retails in Singapore for S$199 or approximately Php7,000. We expect the price tag to be at that range when it launches here in the Philippines. Check back on us in a week or two for the full review.

The post Xiaomi Redmi Note first impressions appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Cherry Mobile Omega Icon and Ruby get new affordable prices

Louie Diangson Leave a comment

Cherry Mobile‘s budget friendly offerings, the Omega Icon and Ruby, received new price tags this afternoon, making the two smartphones available for under Php5k and Php2.5k, respectively.

cm omega icon_ruby_1

Cherry Mobile Omega Icon specs:
5-inch HD IPS display, 294ppi
Asahi Dragontrail Glass
1.2GHz MSM8212 quad-core CPU
1GB RAM
4GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
13 megapixel rear camera w/ flash
5 megapixel front camera w/ flash
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
HSPA+
WiFi b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS
Android 4.3 Jellybean
Php4,999 (from Php6,499)

Check out our review of the Omega Icon here.

Cherry Mobile Ruby specs:
4-inch display
1GHz dual-core CPU
Mali 400 GPU
4GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
5 megapixel rear camera
0.3 megapixel front camera
HSPA+
WiFi b/g/n
Bluetooth
Dual-SIM
Android 4.2 Jellybean
Php2,499 (from Php2,899)

The post Cherry Mobile Omega Icon and Ruby get new affordable prices appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

LANDBANK bags 2nd consecutive Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance Award

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LANDBANK Senior Vice President for Corporate Banking Edward John T. Reyes and First Vice President for the Southern Luzon Lending Group Daisy M. Macalino received the award on behalf of the Bank.

The Bank was conferred with the “Outstanding Business Sustainability Achievement” award during the Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance Award ceremony held in Germany. The award recognizes financial institutions that have been successful in “incorporating economic, social and environmental aspects in the corporate strategy and business processes” and have embedded sustainability within their institutions.

LANDBANK became an official member of the Global Sustainable Finance Network in 2013, during which time the Bank was also conferred with a Certificate of Merit under the Outstanding Sustainable Project Financing Category. It was recognized for a loan facility extended to the Municipal Government of Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi, which involved integrated projects for the construction and rehabilitation of wooden foot bridges and rock causeway, construction of the municipal stage, concreting of farm-to-market roads, and repair and rehabilitation of the town’s multi-purpose gym.

The GSFN was launched in 2011 by the European Organisation for Sustainable Development and the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia & the Pacific, in cooperation with the City of Karlsruhe, under the auspices of the World Federation of Development Finance Institutions. It has 328 member institutions in 154 countries.

Cherry Mobile Flare 3 launched, priced at Php3,999

Kevin Bruce Francisco Leave a comment

Cherry Mobile officially launches the new “phablet ng bayan” which is a 5-inch device that carries 1.3GHz quad-core processor and a price tag that is just under Php4K – the Flare 3.

cm flare 3_2

Cherry Mobile Flare 3 specs:
5-inch qHD IPS OGS display, 220ppi
Scratch-Resistant screen
1.3GHz MTK 6582 quad-core CPU
Mali-400MP GPU
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD
8 megapixel BSI rear camera w/ LED flash
3 megapixel front camera
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
HSPA+, 3G
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 3.0
GPS, A-GPS
Android 4.4 KitKat
1,980mAh battery
Php3,999 SRP

The Cherry Mobile Flare 3 will hit stores on August 2, 2014.

The post Cherry Mobile Flare 3 launched, priced at Php3,999 appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.