Meralco Launches 1st MTECH 2015

We're in the Meralco Technology and Innovation Summit today at the Meralco grounds in Ortigas. This is a 3 day summit designed to push Meralco's goal for innovative solutions and customer service advancement in the power industry. They call it Visioneering, a combination of forming a vision and engineering innovative solutions that would in turn increase customer interaction, empower them, integrate environmentally apt and distributed resources, plus sustainable and reliable energy. This is the first MTECH forum and they were led by Meralco Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, President and CEO Oscar Reyes, Meralco SVP Alfred Panlilio and their Chief Technology Adviser Gavin Barfield in simple ceremonies. 

Meralco's VP and CIO Marthyn Cuan says "Tech is a powerful tool to differentiate Meralco Business from the others as we continue to engage and empower our customers. It will shape a brighter future for the company and our customers."

Confirmed to speak in the conference is IBM Scaleable Solutions Architect and master inventor Kerrie Holley who will talk about his topic "Rethink Disruption". Also, they had IBM Analytics Chief Data Scientist Dr. Olav Laudy talking about big data and analytics and how to use it in utility companies. Siemens Asean Chief Technology Officer and Engineering Head Anand Gopal Menon and Sajin Rejan the Managing Director from Opower APAC on the other hand discussed smart technologies and customer based applications. All of these of which is to make Meralco 2021 a reality today.

MTECH2015 has also partnered with Cisco (hello! I know you're reading this LOL), Cotrix, Cloudera, Dell, Indra, Landis + Gyr, Microsoft, GMS, Hitatchi, Huawei, IBM, Pay Maya, Safezone, Salesforce (oh hello there too!), Samsung Business, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Toshiba and a lot more so they could showcase their products, software and services at the venue.

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Minions Take Over McDonalds Stores Today!

Ooohhh.. It looks like the Minions are taking over Mc Donald's stores in the Philippines for real. I was one of the few who got minionized when they launched Minions Banana Festival. Not only have they released 10 new Minions Collectibles for Happy Meal toys, they're also releasing on June 26th new Minion themed desserts in all McDonalds stores nationwide! 

Check out their newest offerings!

After the Minions drum roll, you've just seen the new Minions Honey Banana Mc Float, you can get it for Php 65 in the Minions Medium Fries 'N McFlpat Combo. Aside from that, they've got the Minions Medium Fries and McFlurry Combo where you can choose the Banana McFlurry with Oreo or the Banana Crumble McFlurry flavors too! Of you're not done yet, you should try the Minions Banana McDip which only costs Php 15 for every serving. If you're bringing the whole barkada, you should get the Minions BFF Fries and McFloat Combo for Php165 or the Minions BFF Fries and McFlurry Combo which costs Php225 only! I tasted everything last week and I must say, it's not just cute, it's super good especially the float! :) 

If you're not doing anything today, head on to McDonalds stores and get your Minions drink and dessert fix today!

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Cherry Mobile Comes Back with CM Flare X and New Brand Cubix

It's been a while since we've seen Cherry Mobile, and the darn secret is out! They just released what seems to be a worthy competitor to those high capacity, low price "supposedly" powered and high end phones. They're calling it the Cherry Mobile Flare X. It's an Octa-core powered 3 GB RAM capacity smartphone that only costs Php 6.999. Unbelievable, but it costs less than its foreign counterparts.

The Cherry Mobile Flare X runs on Android Kitkat 4.4 OS, has got 1.7 GHz Octacore Processor, 13 MP Rear Camera using the SONY IMX214 which also autofocuses on subjects and a 5MP front so you can take decent selfies. The phone also boasts 16GB ROM, a 5.5 inch Full HD IPS Screen and a 3000 mAh battery which makes it last longer than your average android phone. This particular handset you're seeing is actually mine and I'm using 2 sim cards for it. I used Sun Prepaid as primary and a Smart Prepaid for the secondary line, both have run flawlessly since then. I use high frame rate games like Clash of Clans and Hello Hero on it, but still it runs well. For daily tasks, the pre installed apps would be sufficient but as with any android phone, you can always get what you need from the Google Play Store.

During the launch, they let us try a couple of gadgets from their brand Pyxis. They're extensively making it visible with the Bluetooth Speakers, Digital Clocks (with USB ports so you could plug your devices in) and more Power Bank units.

Another interesting device I saw on the table was this one. This is the Pyxis Clicker, and it's an anti theft device that needs a corresponding application so you could pair it. After pairing, you can hear beeps as it tracks how far your smartphone or tablet is. It also could capture photos remotely, notify you of unread messages and missed calls. I was really liking this one! They were selling it for Php 750, although they require you Android 4.3 and Bluetooth 4.0.

I also tried to play some games they got on the phone and tablets which they also put into full TV screens. You can barely tell there's lag and the graphics was nice. Everything was just eye candy. Speaking of which...

This lady is holding the first ever unit called CUBE made by Cherry Mobile's newest brand called CUBIX. It runs on Android 4.4 Kitkat but can be upgradeable to Lollipop. They put in 1.4 GHz Octa Core processor and 2 GB RAM. Internal memory is 16GB and you can get a 64GB micro SD. They got it equipped with 13MP for the Rear Camera, a 5MP front and a 2000 mAh removable battery. Well yes we're a little worried about the batteries but that's way sufficient already for a smaller form factored phone. It's got a 5.0 IPS display so you can just imagine how big it is. It looks a lot like an iPhone but it's smaller, and it's not. That's the easy part, but really for a first phone release, they're probably thinking of you. They're selling this at Php 4,490 and ONLY SELLING IT EXCLUSIVELY IN LAZADA. This will come out at 12 Noon today! Head on to www.lazada.com.ph/cherry-mobile-cubix/. They also preinstalled the Lazada App so you don't have to go through the whole enchilada of installing it. 

Now how's that for a comeback from Cherry Mobile?

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Huawei Holds Philippine ICT Roadshow 2015

We got invited to cover Huawei's ICT Roadshow which happened in Dusit Thani in Makati, Philippines. It's an opportunity to learn, and how Filipino information technology decision makers would be able to take advantage of the many hardware advancements that Huawei can actually provide for servers, mobile devices and make internal network efficiency and security a reality. Huawei Philippines has been one of the leaders in this industry and they've been working hand in hand with government agencies, private corporations and institutions to help in nation building. Tall order, but its achievable. It's a give and take thing, and I think that if they want to grow as a company, they had to make changes and show what they could offer the Philippines. 

As Jackie Gao CEO of Huawei says "We are trying to make things possible. We believe technology and communication will enrich lives. Let's build a connected Philippines."

To open the event, they also invited Mr. Monchito Ibrahim of DOST and he says "June is the ICT month in the Philippines and we've seen how the internet has revolutionized the way Filipinos live their lives. Internet fuels the economy too, jobs have been created there. 18.6 US dollars has been generated in the ICT alone, being connected is sharing ingenuity and innovation. The real test is how to make challenges be resolved locally and start digitally empowering our countrymen even in the countryside. We are optimistic that the free internet program to be launched in major cities soon will make no Juan be left behind. As we aim to be the global leader in this sector, innovations through commerce has been done together with ICT corporations like Huawei like  the startup challenges we held last month and I wish everyone would help make this country a global leader in this segment." He also mentioned he used to compete with Huawei in the past, he was glad to be invited this time to speak in front of tons of IT professionals that afternoon.

The projected 6.4 GDP growth this year, low inflation rate and additional employment will make business models in connectivity a success in the Philippines because it is innate in Filipino homes to stay connected. We have millions of cellphone subscribers and are still expected to grow. The NTC is working with also with Huawei in making sure stakeholders are taken cared of. The new normal in the Philippine climate will make disaster response and security solutions to be put in place, Huawei can help the country in this sector. ICT will thrive in the years to come, increase in broadband connectivity increases a country's GDP to result in a more robust economy.

Jubert Alberto of IDC Philippines says "No company can survive without the heavy use of social media as we continue to change marketing strategies and becoming omni channeled so they can thrive on platforms. Telcos should provide stable and reliable connectivity so we all can gain access to cloud and big data services. BPO's will push more emerging business models as services. There is a rise in millenials and they want it now, they want it fast, there is a large room for growth and I hope Huawei would be able to help the Philippines".

They also launched the OceanStor V3 which are enterprise level storage systems that can still adapt older devices and new ones so they can work together (hardware and systems) without totally phasing them out. That would save corporations a lot of money in the long run and the premise is, big data plus reliable storage units can adapt to new technology with their devices running it. There will be more network and mobile devices that Huawei will be dishing out in the next few years. Information officers should take a look at what's possible to salvage so they can still efficiently use rather than changing whole systems abruptly which will need more resources like manpower, hardware, plus training costs. Congratulations Huawei for a very successful ICT Roadshow, I really learned a lot!

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