07 December, 2011

TechPinas

TechPinas


TechPinas Interviews Mr. Ray Gillenwater, RIM Country Manager for the Philippines, On The Future of BlackBerry in Our Country!

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 09:41 AM PST

Mr. Ray Gillenwater is Research in Motion's Country Manager specifically for the Philippine market.


As the Country Manager, he heads all marketing and sales strategies of BlackBerry in our country.

TechPinas was lucky enough to score an interview with him yesterday morning before the start of DevCon Asia. And really, I'd like to thank Mr. Gillenwater for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about what Filipinos can expect from BlackBerry in the next 2-3 years. Also, he was kind enough to leave a short yet heart-warming message to all Pinoy BlackBerry fans and TP friends. So if you will, watch the video:



Based on the interview, here are some of the things we can expect from BlackBerry in the next few years:

1. More affordable social plans - Ray even mentioned a Php 150 per month bundle. Of course, RIM will have to work with carriers in the Philippines to make this possible.

2. Wider variety of handsets in terms of price point - BlackBerry Curve 8520 remains to be the best-selling BB handset in the Philippines. If anything, this tells RIM that affordable BB models tend to do very well in our country. So I guess if the company is looking at growing even bigger here, affordable handsets are really the way to go.

3. Additional support on the service side - From having only 9 service centers in the Philippines, RIM now has 23 and I believe the company will open even more centers in the future providing enhanced after-sales support to loyal BB fans.

So there you go. I hope you find this informative. Kindly share the post with your fellow BB fans.

Thanks again, Ray!

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Miss Earth USA Nicole Lynn Denies Anti-Philippines Facebook Rant on Youtube, Becomes Twitter Trending Topic!

Posted: 07 Dec 2011 06:10 AM PST

Just when I thought there can't possibly be anything worse than that horrible Angie Ligot Scandal.

Miss Earth USA, Nicole Lynn, is currently trending on Twitter and like most other trending topics in the past few months, it's again - sadly enough - all for the wrong reasons.

You see, there's this screengrab that's just gone viral on Facebook and Twitter showing supposedly a Facebook status update by Nicole Lynn from a few weeks back (Some are saying that it was posted after the candidates' guesting at TV5's Willing Willie), slamming the Philippines, calling the country "noisy" and "dirty", and filled with people who "want to touch you and be with you all the time."

Here's a section of the screengrab:


Naturally, this supposed and unverified FB rant by Miss Lynn caught the sheer belligerence of the millions-strong Filipino community online. Here are some comments by Pinoys on Twitter and Facebook:

"NEVER COME BACK IN OUR COUNTRY AGAIN Ms. Nicole Lynn "Miss Earth USA" Candidate of the 2011 Miss Earth pageant. we don't need you here anyway! You even look like a sl*t! Maybe you should swallow your make up so you can be prettier in the inside! *totally pissed off*" - @sunshineandkiss

"Miss Earth USA is giving her country a bad name. She doesn't deserve to be called a 'Beauty Queen'. Just Sayin." - @greatkirby

"I'm a proud Filipino and there's a lot to say about our country- good or bad..with what she said? it's bad as it is, damage done and all but at the end of the day we should bear in mind that if there's nothing good to say just keep mum." - Winlove Saquilayan

In the face of what appears to be cyber-bullying by an angry Filipino mob, Nicole Lynn uploaded a video on Youtube denying that she was the one who posted the status update and claiming - in effect - that her account was hacked. Watch it here:


Only Miss Lynn knows the truth. If she's denying it, then let's take her word for it. I think she deserves the benefit of the doubt.


Utterly horrible as it is, this recent social media fiasco nonetheless brought out the best in some Pinoys online. While there's a lot of hate, there's also a lot open-mindedness and perhaps even acceptance -- showing that Filipinos are totally 'better than that.'

"What we should be working on is the flaws that had been pointed out. Kung ayaw natin mapintasan na madumi, eh di maglinis tayo. It's a simple solution but sadly, most Filipinos would rather post disparaging comments to let the Internet know that they're really butt hurt." - John Faberg

"Miss Earth USA is trending. Sana lang talaga di sya un nagpost nun sa FB." - @vivireiid

"Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. Ms. USA was being honest and that's okay. What's not is posting it on her Facebook account for the whole world to see. Yes she apologized but it looks like she's just reading something on this video. If she's sincerely apologizing, she doesn't have to read something off a script or an idiot board. I'm a Filipino and most of what she said are true. It can't be helped that Filipinos will react violently because that's normal reaction when a person gets insulted." - Concerned Filipino

As someone who's been following the development of social media in the Philippines, I find it heartening to know that we are now slowly learning how to better handle the immense power that social media gives us. Compared to a few months back, there are now hints of understanding even in highly emotional moments as seen in this recent brouhaha.

Perhaps some of us have already learned from what we did to Christoper Lao and even to the concept that is 'Angie Ligot' or maybe - as it stands - it's but natural to go to this direction.

Source: AllOverTheNews

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