Google appoints new Country Manager for PH

Google Philippines has announced today that a new Country Manager has been appointed by the internet search giant to run its local offices here in the country.

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In an announcement sent to YugaTech, the internet search giant tapped veteran marketing manager Kenneth Lingan to spearhead Google Philippines. He joins from Unilever where he served as the Vice President for Deodorants in Southeast Asia and ANZ. He was also the marketing director for Unilever Home and Personal Care in the Gulf Region.

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“The Philippines is fast digitizing, and I am very much inspired by the possibilities that Google can bring our users, advertisers, and publishers here. I’m delighted to be part of Google’s journey in the Philippines, helping to bring tools and products that make a meaningful impact in people’s lives and enabling businesses to make the most of the Internet to grow their enterprise,” Lingan remarked.

Julian Persaud, Google’s managing director for Southeast Asia, believes in Ken as they regard his expertise and skill set can help the company grow its Manila offices. “Ken’s 16 years of experience in marketing and brand development will be a real asset as we continue to grow our business from the Manila office,” said Persaud.

Ken graduated from Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in Management Engineering.

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CloudFone Thrill 600FHD arrives, priced at Php14k

CloudFone has announced the arrival of their new Android smartphone that packs a large 6-inch display with Full HD resolution and powered by an octa-core CPU – the Thrill 600FHD.

The CloudFone Thrill 600FHD was first announced back in June but it was only recently that it became available.

CloudFone Thrill 600FHD specs:
6-inch Full HD IPS OGS display, 367ppi
Dragontrail Glass
1.7GHz MediaTek octa-core CPU
2GB RAM
13 megapixel rear camera w/ LED flash
8 megapixel front camera
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
3G HSPA+
WiFi
Bluetooth
GPS, A-GPS
USB OTG
3,000mAh battery
Android 4.4 KitKat

The CloudFone Thrill 600FHD has a price tag of Php13,999.

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November Gadget Reviews Roundup 2014

It’s finally December! Christmas is just around the corner and that also means the much awaited 13th month pay, Christmas bonus, and holiday shopping. If gadgets are part of your shopping list then first take a look at our Gadget Reviews Roundup for November. This includes the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Huawei Ascend Mate7, Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro, and the Nokia Lumia 830.

Full Review:

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro

With Lenovo’s Vibe Z2 Pro, you get the bells and whistles of a flagship device – you have a large display with QHD resolution, 3GB RAM, 4K video, LTE connectivity, and a big 4000mAh Li-Po battery. So with an asking price of Php30K, is it worth looking into considering other flagships are in the same price range? We would say yes if you’re more of a multimedia buff who loves shooting, playing games, and watching videos on your device since these are the characteristics the Vibe Z2 Pro is really good at.

NEO Basic B11W Notebook

The Neo Basic B11W is an affordable yet very capable notebook that doesn’t look cheap. It features a slim build, a nice metallic finish, complete set of ports, and very decent performance that is also enough for light gaming. On the downside, there are times that it is sluggish, has weak speakers, and a short battery life. But for Php12,999 we still consider it a good deal.

Huawei Ascend Mate7

The Huawei Ascend Mate7 has so many things to brag about. Among them is the premium build, dual-LTE capability, huge battery, powerful hardware — all in an affordable price. It’s by far the phone that has the longest battery life we’ve ever tested.

Acer Iconia Tab 8

The Acer Iconia Tab 8 was able to achieve the balance between performance and affordable price. It has a slim metallic body, great display, expandable storage, decent battery life, good camera, and it performs well. There are trade-offs, of course, like the small usable internal storage, lots of uninstallable apps, and below average speakers. The good news is, it is priced at just under Php11k which won’t break the bank.

Nokia Lumia 830

To conclude, the Nokia Lumia 830 is a solid mid-range smartphone that feels looks and feels like a flagship. It’s well crafted, has a beautiful design, packs a great PureView camera, brilliant display, fantastic speakers, long battery life, and good performance.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

The Note series has always been regarded as Samsung’s secret monster — a humongous, beastly and powerful handset that lacked the finesse and elegance that many people look forward to in a flagship handset. It’s not only intimidating and gargantuan but it also showed radiance and flamboyant posture, much like the characters of “Beauty and the Beast” but this time the Note 4 is both the pretty lady and the monstrous beast rolled into one.

Quick Review:

KingCom S!gma Stone

The S!gma Stone is a pretty decent device. For a suggested retail price of Php6,888, KingCom offers a nice handset with fairly capable hardware specifications. The price point can be very competitive for the local market but the S!gma Stone is worth a second look. If KingCom can provide a better after sales than other local brands, then that might help them differentiate themselves from the dozen or so local players in the market.

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10 Gadget Gift Ideas for Last Minute Christmas Shopping

It’s already December this week and everyone is feeling the Christmas rush already. If you have not yet started shopping for gifts this Christmas, it could get really busy and confusing especially if you have dozens of gifts in mind and have very little time to go around and prepare them.

If you’re short on time you could probably just shop online and wrap all the gifts yourself. That’s if you already have all the gift ideas in mind and you can all source them online.

However, if you only have one week-end to spare, you might consider just head to the nearest mall and get everything in one go. Here are the top 10 gift ideas you might want to take note when heading for the mad rush.

Power Mac. Perhaps a new iPhone 6 is in order this Christmas. If you are looking to get an open-line unit, then official Apple Resellers like PowerMac is one of the places to get them. If you fancy something bigger and bolder, then a Macbook Air would be a good fit.

Digital Walker. If you don’t have enough wiggle room for a gadget as a gift, why not get a really good case for one (Incase, Spigen, Otterbox). Just make sure you know what the device and model you are buying the item for and that the one you’re getting looks much better. There are quite a number of selection to pick from if you check out Digital Walker.

Portable Hard Drive. One can never have enough storage so a new portable HDD from WD can be a good option. Western Digital’s MyPassport comes in 1TB or 2TB.

Asus Zenfone 5. There are so many Android phones to choose from but if you’re looking to give out one of the best bang for the buck handset, the Zenfone 5 is among our top choice. It’s really affordable and the perceived value is way more than what you actually paid for. Just be a bit patient as storea immediately ran out of stocks.

GoPro Hero 4. Getting a GoPro instead of a regular digital camera might not make sense for first time users but it’s the one you’ll probably don’t want to skip of the person you are giving it to is the outdoor kind. If the Hero 4 is quite expensive for your budget, the cheaper Hero would do just fine.

Android or iOS Tablet.. While you can never go wrong with an iPad Mini, perhaps it’s also good to expand the selection to Android devices as well. Huawei’s MediaPad X1 is a good alternative if you need LTE but the Galaxy Tab S 8.4 could be the best candidate to look out. If you’re on a budget, the Acer Iconia Tab 8 or the 2013 Nexus 7 are still your best bet.

Smartband/Fitness Tracker. Your choices will either be a Garmin Vivofit, a Jawbone UP24 or a Misfit Shine. All three are very capable and comes with a nice app Android or iOS app.

Headphones. Sony has recently released quite a number of really good headphones. Harman Kardon has a good selection as well. Check out this HK SoHo we reviewed earlier.

Speakers. There are quite a number of portable speakers you can choose from ranging from X-Mini if you’re on a budget or the much bigger ones like the Bose Soundlink Mini or Harman Kardon Soundstick. We recommend the JBL Pulse as a fancy yet powerful addition to your Christmas list. We’ve had it for some time and love the psychedelic colors that functions like a visualizer and the sound quality is more than good enough for small gatherings or taking it on a trip out of town.

Powerbanks. One can never go wrong with a powerbank as a Christmas gift. It works on just about anything you plug it in. And don’t worry if the one you are giving already has one; they can always replace it with the better one you’re about to give.

If you are unsure which brands of powerbanks to look into and have really, really tight budget we have a list of 12 Powerbanks for under Php3,000 here.

During this time, most stores would offer free Christmas gift wrapping for free so don’t forget to avail of them. If you also have a credit card, ask for a deferred payment if that’s available at 0% interest.

Lastly, take note of the warranty and keep the receipt. You’ll never know you will need them in case the gift you bought suddenly conked out a week or two after you gave it.

However, if you still have a lot of time to spare for this month, then watch out for our more comprehensive list per category. We’ll be posting one each day this week starting off with YugaTech Christmas Gadget Guide 2014: Smartphones.

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