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| Nokia Lumia Windows Phones Philippines : To Enter the Country via Smart and Globe Plans! Posted: 26 Mar 2012 01:53 PM PDT TechPinas Exclusive! Ever since Nokia unveiled these smartphones October last year in London, I've been receiving inquiries in the TP Mailbox about the handsets' availability in the Philippines almost every week. Any why not? After all, according to a recent survey, 6 out of 10 Filipinos still choose Nokia. (I guess Nokia haters can say whatever they want to say but at the end of day, the Philippines still remains to be a Nokia Nation - whether they like it or not.) And come on, these are the initial products of Nokia's landmark alliance with Microsoft; Needless to say, these smartphones are big for hardcore Pinoy Nokia fans. "No word from Nokia yet," I would usually say to answer the questions. "But don't worry, I have a feeling they'll arrive by early Q2." And they did. Friends, a couple of days ago, Smart Communications made a rather soft announcement that it will be the exclusive carrier of Nokia Lumia 710, the ultra-cute midrange Windows Phone from the Finnish company. The handset, which comes with colorful swappable back covers, has the following key specifications; a 3.7-inch WVGA display, 1.4 GHz processor running Windows Phone Mango OS, 512 MB of RAM, 8 GB of internal storage, a 5 MegaPixel autofocus camera with LED flash, and an HD video recorder. As of writing, Smart hasn't disclosed its official Nokia Lumia 710 pricing details and plan bundles but has marked March 28, 2012 as a sort of special date for the handset -- maybe, the company will make the big announcement on that day. Meanwhile, a few hours ago, Globe Telecom officially unveiled a Nokia Lumia 800 pre-order page on its corporate website where the company also made a claim that it will be the "exclusive" carrier of Nokia's flagship Windows Phone in the Philippines. If it's your first time to see an image of Nokia Lumia 800, yes, it does look a lot like TechPinas-Favorite Nokia N9 in the flesh. Nonetheless, the two phones are totally different in a lot of ways. Last January, Miss Nikka Abes of Nokia Philippines gave me and Mon an exclusive demo of Nokia's Windows Phone flagship. Let me share it with you -- Windows Phone Mango powered Nokia Lumia 800 features a 3.7-inch WVGA ClearBlack display, a scratch-resistant curved Gorilla Glass touchscreen, a 1.4 GHz CPU, 512 MB of RAM, an 8 MegaPixel autofocus camera with LED flash and Carl Zeiss optics, and an HD video recorder. Connectivity options include Wifi, Bluetooth, and 3G. Mark of TP: "Nokia Lumia 800's specs are cool and all but what I love about this handset, really, is its polycarbonate monoblock design and the Windows Phone user interface. The software and hardware perfectly complement each other; Both are smooth and elegant. Oh and Nokia Lumia 800's camera has Carl Zeiss optics -- gotta love that as well." For those who are interested to get this phone, Globe has already published its official price schedule for Nokia Lumia 800 online. The phone comes as a free bundled handset with Globe Unli Surf Combo Plan 2499 and My Super Plan 2499. Pre-ordered units will be delivered starting April 16, 2012.  Interesting. Smart got the more affordable, pocket-friendly variant while Globe opted to go with the more powerful but ultimately more expensive flagship model. But there's still the powerhouse Nokia Lumia 900, lest we forget; I wonder which of two will grab that one. 
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| Smart Data Plan 1000 Special Edition Gives You Flagship Smartphones at Discounted, Amortized Prices! Posted: 26 Mar 2012 04:00 AM PDT I can quote at least two good reasons why I think the Special Edition Smart Data Plan 1000 - available only until May 8, 2012 - is cool. One, you get 500 SMS to all networks, 500 voice minutes to any number within the Smart network (Smart, Sun and Talk N' Text), and 1GB of mobile data – all for just Php 1,000 per month, with a 24-month contract. I mean, don't you think that's sulit enough? And two, subscribers can get a chance to pick from a line-up of powerhouse smartphones at discounted and amortized prices with 0% interest. Almost all of my favorite phones this year are covered; There's the popular Samsung Galaxy Note (available at only Php 900 per month for 24 months), and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Php 900 per month for 24 months).  See, you get more than Php 10,000 off on Samsung Galaxy Note if you get the phone bundled with Smart Data Plan 1000 Special Edition. Other smartphones in the lineup include the handset-tablet hybrid Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 for just Php 800 per month for 24 months, TP-Favorite HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio (Php 900 per month for 24 months), HTC Evo 3D (Php 900 per month for 24 months), Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray (only Php 500 per month for 24 months), and the MeeGo-powered Nokia N9 (only Php 900 per month for 24 months).   Oh, I love my Nokia N9. Putting the Lumias in another category, this has got to be the best smartphone Nokia has released so far. For BlackBerry fans, there's BlackBerry Curve 9360 (Php 800 per month for 24 months), BlackBerry Bold 9790 (Php 900 per month for 24 months), and flagship-level BlackBerry Bold 9900 (Php 1,300 per month for 24 months). Subscribers who will opt to get any of the bundled BlackBerry handsets just need to pay an additional Php 350 to enjoy the full range of BB Services, which include BBM.  To learn more about this plan or to register your postpaid subscription, just visit a Smart Wireless Center near you. 
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