Come Experience The "Smart Life" At New Smart Stores

Ending 2014 with a bang is Smart Communications Inc. With the goal of an even better experience in their stores, Smart gives you the "Smart Life" bringing in a third generation concept of their wireless stores nationwide. They have also made changes in their mission statement, made to fit today's digital lifestyle - as they see the need for more personal approach, to know more about their subscribers and tailor fit their gadgets, plans and their needs to what Smart can offer them. It was high time somebody did this for the Filipino consumer.   

Mr. David Rioferio of Smart Public Affairs started asking us first if we were okay with regards to the recent typhoon Ruby. Then he introduced the video for Smart Life entitled "This is our story". A fitting name. Their vision is a world where everyone is empowered. Smart would want to fulfill this.

Mr. Charles Lim EVP of Wireless Consumer Business says "There's no better time to do it but now. We are transforming our stores and completing it all by next year. We are going to give you experience with our cozy cafe setup and help you make an informed decision to choose your gadgets that fit your lifestyle. It is in our DNA to innovate. This is what we are launching today."

Smart Life in all Smart Stores Soon!

VP and Head for Retail Support for Smart Ms. Maloo Agoncillo adds "We are very excited to share with you our new Smart stores. Smart's new mission is to create new moments in life, living more, taking the most out of every opportunity to connect. The more moments we share, the more you know how it feels to be with Smart, and live the Smart life. We hope to change our subscribers mindset to a place what it means to live more with us. We already have this in stores and will completely finish this by next year. A more up close and personal approach, enjanced queues, a digital profiler, you get in line while you shop around. You can do your errands and have time to come back to the store. We aim to help enhance our subscribers digital lifestyle. We want to bring the full experience inside the store. We have shopping corners, a music hub, people can learn packages, have magazines and books, pay conveniently for game subscriptions, shop online, even without using a credit card. All these and other surprises will be in all of our stores and wil be unveiled in the next few months. People can discover how to live more, be productive, innovation never stops with Smart. We will continue to revolutionize our products so you can continue to live more with us at Smart."

It looks like a coffee shop more than a telecommunications center or store.

VP and Head of Product Innovation and Development Group Mells Limcaoco adds "This Christmas, a lot of people will get their first or new smart phone. It's the best time because there's great content out there. Now, you don't have to use credit cards to get it. We have Spinnr, Buqo, Blink, TV5, Wattpad, PBA, Dailymotion, Gamex and more in store. All you have to do is enjoy."

And we did enjoy. They also have a new queuing service so you can just conveniently shop around when your number isn't called yet inside the store. They are even eyeing an online service or app to go with it. Smart Life even gave us an even better treat by having a few people inside the store to surprise us. Singing their sweetest tune and looking lovely in all angles. Yes, they had Myk Perez (of MCA) Jasmine Curtis, James Reid and Nadine Lustre. Oh and if you haven't heard this song yet, I haven't too, so this is pretty much an exclusive - I think.

Now that ends our coverage for the day. Worth it? Of course it is! Now all you've got to do now is visit 18 new stores and the rest soon so you could experience how it is to live the Smart Life. By the way, Smart already opened their site for the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 in the Philippines, if you are interested to get these latest gadgets to be available next year, please visit them here and learn about the devices that works greater with the LTE service of the biggest network in the country. That's Smart!

For more information about their promos:

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http://www1.smart.com.ph/corporate

Yeng Constantino: All About Love

Yeng Constantino just released her newest album "All About Love", and we recently talked to her during a small blog conference in Don Henricos, a restaurant located in Tomas Morato, Quezon City. She says "I used to only listen to Rock music as a preference but now I'm more open to any kind of music. I wanted to have several people to be part of the album. In a long drive to Tagaytay, we listened to a couple of his compositions and what I heard there made me know him more. I wanted to include several of his songs in this album on the spot. I want something to symbolize this album and it's a good thing we got BJ Pascual to shoot. All the concept, the shots, it was all great. I want people to remember this album as the one who has the rose on it because it is after all "All About Love". I want to do everything to be worked on perfectly before releasing it because I don't want to shortchange my fans. I am happy for the support of my Cornerstone family, Star Records who worked with me all the way. 

We'll also be working on a music video to be shot entirely in Japan. I want it to be done during "Sakura" aka Cherry Blossom season because I love the scenes at that time. I want to wear paper umbrellas, kimonos, under a tree, I'm seeing so many things that I can do there. I also wish to have time to bring the ICON concerts all over the Philippines because I know a lot of people are requesting for it. When we also made this album I had initial fears because it might be done haphazardly because I wasn't in love when this started but when I got him, I never doubted. It was something I want to do in order to reach more people. The musicality, everyone would relate with it. I want it to be something inspiring for the people who would want to listen. 

I have a blog and I want to write  my thoughts about life and love, it might be seasonal but it's true. I will not retaliate with hatred because that doesn't really matter to me. I am happy with my family, happy with my supporters and I can only think that these trolls who work behind the keyboard, I am so sad they are wasting so much time with someone who doesn't even care. That's what I learned from my Dad, when I enjoy something, I go ahead and do it. Good vibes."

She also hopes you can get her album released in stores and record bars. Please also support the video of "Ikaw" which is her pre-nup anthem. All About Love, is all about love and it's personal. She thanks her sponsors, Yengsters who have been with her all the way. Her soon to be husband too, she can't wait to be with him this February, for real.

For more information about her album:

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http://www.starrecords.ph

My "Chicago" the Musical Moments with Smart Infinity

We went all the way to Solaire a few days ago to attend the first few days of one of the worlds greatest musicals "CHICAGO" hosted by equally great premium mobile services of Smart Communications called Smart Infinity. Members didn't just get discounts but perks to actually get tickets way before the public could get one. They do this to most of the musicals they've brought here from around the world. It was a dream for me though because I fell in love with the story when the movie came out. 

I super duper love the way they do it with Smart Infinity because their approach is very personal. I felt the sincerity, and they were there (literally on the venue and in character) to always make you feel special. Mind you, this is the only one I've experienced but they've got a lot of other things in the pipeline. There were a bunch of shows I think that they will be doing on 2015 which was awesome to know they'll be sternly supporting as part of their services.

The production here was awesome. Although there were not that much set design or art direction happening in this version of Chicago, you still get to see why musicals like these differ from the local ones we have in Manila. It was a performance, lead stars Terra MacLeod (Velma Kelly) and Bianca Marroquin (Roxie Hart) brought their A game and didn't short change the people who wanted to watch the show as much as I do. Aside from the lead cast, the guy who played Roxie Hart's husband and the one who did Matron "Mama" Morton. Don't be fooled by the weak character he played because he's a mean singer, whilst Mama had us stare and marvel at how big her character was during the screening. Aside from that, the ladies made a great job with the Cellblock tango who had explained their roles and lives individually, a feat that was tantamount to the success of pointing where the story will be heading. It was like 20's, mobs, tommy guns, cash, prostitution, gangsters and jazz all in one package.  

Much to everyone's surprise, there were several Filipino musicians in the orchestra. I even think there were only a few of them who were not, like the pianist and conductor. Robert Billig, Chicago's Musical Director Robert Billig says he had around 14 Pinoys do the show aside from those flying in from the US and just got them materials to rehearse with. They got a 4 hour rehearsal last December 2 and voila! That was the start of their Chicago run in Manila.

Robert knew we had really good musicians here because he worked pretty much with Lea Salonga during the Miss Saigon run in New York. Lester Dematillo (banjo, mandolin) and Jayson Rivera (ukulele, woodwind) were part of it and they knew it wasn't going to be easy. They rushed into rehearsals and had to do the show on the next day, unlike their previous staging of Phantom of the Opera and Wicked, they had very small time in order to do this. Yet they sound exactly like Chicago, even when they had their eyes were closed. It's so great to know that getting the chance to watch this is just one of the perks being a Smart Infinity member. In “Chicago” alone, some were able to get complimentary VIP tickets, discounts and privileges received through Smart Infinity, alongside Visa who are major sponsors.

Ms. Julie Carceller, Department Head of the Smart Infinity Business Group at Smart says “Just like the successful local runs of other world-class stage spectacles like ‘Cats,’ ‘Mamma Mia,’ ‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ and ‘Wicked,’ bringing ‘Chicago’ to the Philippines is again a very special treat for our subscribers” whilst Smart's Marketing Manager at Smart Infinity Mr. James Chi adds “The ongoing run of ‘Chicago’ is part of the realization of the premium mobile lifestyle that complements the experience our members get from Smart Infinity. The experience of seeing the longest-running Broadway musical in Manila is really a big takeaway for our members”. I personally didn't get to attend the iPhone 6 launch but Smart Infinity got first dibs in the iPhone6 plus last November 14. Today, they still have on going promos for new Smart Infinity subscribers to have the option to get the iPhone 6 (64GB) or the iPhone 6 Plus (16GB) with an additional P5,000 worth of GCs or bill rebates compliments of Smart Infinity starting on the consumable Prestige Plan 5000. You can also opt for SMART's fully consumable Premium Plan 8000 where new subscribers can get two 16GB units of the iPhone 6, or an iPhone 6 16GB plus a MacBook Air. If you opt for the Plan P3500 per month, or have the Aspire Plan, it can come with a 16GB iPhone 6. Amazing!

You can check Smart Infinity's offers here!

For more information about their promos:

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http://www1.smart.com.ph/corporate

Power and Trusted Protection with Otterbox Resurgence

Still trying to find that perfect Christmas gift for your man? Well if he's an iPhone 5 and 5S owner like me, this might be your lucky day. This is the Otterbox Resurgence, one of the most spectacular social media life saving cases that I have ever seen. You see, if you've got an iPhone 5, the battery life problems will always haunt you, more so if you are using the LTE connection. Having an extra battery of course isn't a choice because iPhones do not have that option. I always lug around 3 power banks and it's a little heavy + bulky but I don't have a choice because my phones would only last a few hours if I don't turn off data every now and then.  

Otterbox Resurgence is everything you want in a phone case. Aside from the world class full proof protection you get from each Otterbox product that you get from their stores, you'll also have more than twice the battery power you need to juice up your iPhone 5 again. So if you think you're missing those important moments because your battery drained early, this might be the best thing that ever happened to you.

As the box indicates, resurgence takes its cue from being able to revive your device when you really need it. Aside from the obvious drop protection from having an Otterbox case, this has a 2000 mAh battery inside and also has smart charging capabilities which automatically stops to save batteries for later. It doesn't also take much time to charge phones because it is high speed, a feat that I couldn't do before on third party lightning cables that I purchase in phone accessory shops every few months. Some of them get broken right after the warranty period and it's a pain to get one that costs thousands of pesos too.

Unboxing, it contains the quick start guide/manual, the almost 2 ft. micro USB cable which you can use for data or charging and the adapter for the 3.5 mm jack. Then of course there's the case itself. 

One thing that I'm so amused about is the charging cable. Now you don't have to have a lightning cable in order to charge this device and can borrow your friends chargers just as long as you have USB ports on it. 

The adapter for the 3.5 mm jack made sense because once that you use the case, the thing becomes longer and you won't have a convenient way of using your headphones or earplugs since it'll make your device longer.

The adapter also doubles as a cable organizer so you can keep your earphones nice and tidy without having to move around your bag and tangle with other wires you have in it.

The small button on front is pretty special. The ON and OFF function only needs a 3 second long press and the thing is specialized because it'll show you how much power it has left on the case. The LED marking has 4 levels, it'll be less lights if you've got it used up eventually.

As for aesthetics, they still kept it thin and fit in your pocket just like when your phone didn't have it. It also fits perfectly and doesn't  bother pressing on buttons because it is designed for the phones you are using. It's also available in 4 colors, black, glacier (which I'm using), satin rose and teal shimmer. Remember, this has military grade drop protection as with other Otterbox cases too.

I also love the small opening for the camera because as you can see there's nothing in the way. 

Putting in my phone was also easy. Just open the lid on the top to separate the front and back portion of the case.

This is made of tough plastic material and completely protects the body of your iPhone5 or iPhone5S. 

The Otterbox Resurgence works by having the small lightning cable connected to your phone as seen here.

Connect the lightning adapter on the phone and it'll snap right on with a snug fit. Snap back the front cover and it'll look like a new phone.

It doesn't add weight that much and you won't be uncomfortable carrying it around because remember, it's like having an additional power bank on the case itself without you lugging around an extra power bank any longer. Again, once that your phone reaches 100%, it automatically stops charging and saves that to future use. I haven't seen anything like this yet in the market. The ones in the side streets probably also use recycled laptop batteries from waste in China so it doesn't last as much. Otterbox is on a class of it's own and you can't deny that.

If you haven't bought anything yet for your man or woman, I highly suggest you check out Tenkiebox and their kiosks + stores nationwide. All original Otterbox products are available here and more. From Cases, iPhone and iPad accessories, they've got it all! Please check out their social media channels below for promos and other devices that might interest you and your loved ones. 

For more information about their stores:

Tenkiebox

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http://www.tenkiebox.ph