Under the service, which was formally unveiled in Cebu yesterday, Smart subscribers can make unlimited calls to other users in its network using two subscription plans: Smartalk 100 and Smartalk 500.

SMARTALK LAUNCH. (From left) Atty. Maria Jane Paredes, Smart public affairs manager for Visayas and Mindanao, Danilo Mojica, head of Smart’s wireless consumer division, and Annie Naval, marketing group head, answer questions of reporters from Cebu and Mindanao during the launch of Smartalk in Cebu City.

Smartalk 100 offers 5 days of unlimited calls within the network for P100. Smartalk 500 offers 30 days of unlimited calling for P500. Subscribers can enroll into the plan either through conversion of their current load or by buying Smartalk loads from Smart retailers.

The service is also available to Smart post-paid users both as a P500 add-on to their monthly fee or through purchasing Smartalk 100 and 500 loads from retailers. Company officials said this is the first time that post-paid users can purchase packages from load retailers.

“This is best for post-paid subscribers who prefer to stay within their monthly service fee cap yet need to avail themselves of unlimited calling,” the company said in a statement.

To use the unlimited calling service, prepaid users have to dial *6400 plus the 11-digit number of the Smart subscriber. Smart post-paid users, however, do not need to add *6400 and can just directly dial the number. Annie Naval, head of Smart marketing, said they were working to simplify dialing for prepaid users.

Danilo Mojica, head of Smart’s Wireless Consumer Division, said the company ‘s network is efficient enough to take the increase in volume of calls expected with the promotion.

Mojica said the product was extensively tested in Cebu “against all parameters” and results “were very positive.” He said that in the three weeks of testing, they only had three complaints and these had nothing to do with network congestion.

Mojica also said their unlimited calls offer does not put a time limit on the calls.

“With this new service, Smart subscribers all over the country need only one phone, one SIM and one number to be able to make unlimited, crystal-clear calls to over 38 million Smart numbers anytime, anywhere,” Smart chief wireless advisor Orlando Vea said in a statement.

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1. Globe offers unlimited calling to landlines with Globe DUO
2. Smart launches mobile TV service
3. Smart demonstrates 3G network capabilities in Cebu

DevCon Visayas offers free admissions to its technical sessions on such topics as cloud computing, social networking and content management systems through sponsors Oracle and G2iX. Organizers are asking those interested to join the conference to register online at http://www.devcon.ph/.

The conference will also host birds of a feather (BoF) sessions, informal sessions to discuss topics like favorite operating system for development or use of Java, Ruby on Rails or .Net for building web applications.

The conference will also host talks on social networking trends, cloud computing and open source tools to speed up development.

DevCon Visayas will also host a Hackathon where participants code together on projects like deploying a content management system-powered website in 30 minutes, building online applications and automating testing.

The conference is organized by the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA). It is being held as a side event to the Cebu ICT 2009, a key event of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s celebration of business month.

The conference will be held at the G2iX TechBar, Unit A, i1 Bldg. in Asiatown IT Park.

The conference will start at 1:40 p.m. with a talk by technology entrepreneur Winston Damarillo, G2iX CEO and PSIA Director. BoF sessions will start at 3:30 p.m. while the Hackathon will start at 7 p.m.

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The campaign is done in partnership with nine SM Malls that will also be holding a contest among themselves on who could gather the most smiles. SM Prime Holdings vice president Marissa Fernan, who is a bit of a gadget nerd herself, is confident of Cebu’s chances to win the contest among SM Malls. You have until the end of this month to go to the Spread the Smiles booth in SM Cebu and have yourself photographed there.

If you give a P20 donation, you will be given a Digiprint photo printout, a spot on the Smile Wall and a raffle ticket to win a Sony Ericsson C510 Cyber-shot phone.

SMILE SHUTTER. Vince dela Cruz, Sony Ericsson product marketing manager, demonstrates how smiling can trigger the shutter of Sony Ericsson’s Cyber-shot phones during the launch of its Spread the Smiles campaign in Cebu.

The campaign is a good showcase for Sony Ericsson’s Cyber-shot product line. You can fault Sony Ericsson for several things—from its lackluster smartphone offerings to its infuriating connectors for its accessories—but when it comes to imaging, Sony Ericsson is among the mobile phone leaders.

The Spread the Smiles campaign quickly takes photos of smiles of mallgoers through the Smile Shutter function of Sony Ericsson’s Cybershot phones C510 and C905. The Smile Shutter is a nifty piece of technology that detects smiles of people in camera range and then takes photos.

By using a cameraphone with Smile Shutter, taking a photo of yourself just became easier. You no longer have to master that awkward twisting of the unit to put yourself into frame and then clicking on the camera button to take the photo. With Smile Shutter, you just have to smile to trigger the camera.

Of the units being showcased in the campaign, the C905 is the more formidable device. It is a whopping 8.1-megapixel phone with Xenon flash, auto focus with face detection, and image stabilizer.

Apart from its imaging capabilities, the C905 comes with what are now standard features of high-end mobile phones—Wi-Fi and HSPA connectivity, a built-in email client and global positioning system (GPS).

With GPS, you can geo-tag photos and use Wayfinder Navigator (the unit comes with a trial version) or Google Maps.

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Microsoft Philippines Geo-Expansion Lead Boy Bawal said the product will help small companies grow their businesses and boost their competitiveness.

Windows Server 2008 Foundation is a server solution that allows a company with less than 15 computer users to set up a network with file and print sharing, remote access, security and other general server capabilities. It comes bundled with server hardware that can cost as low as P57,000. Bawal said this is the first time that a server software is offered at this price point.

The product, Microsoft officials say, is targeted at first time server users.

For the first time, Bawal said companies no longer have to pay client access license for each user of the system.

SERVER FOR SMALL COMPANIES. Boy Bawal of Microsoft Philippines says that Windows Server 2008 Foundation is the first time that a server software is offered as a hardware bundle for as low as P57,000. He said the product will help small companies grow their businesses and boost their competitiveness.

Bill Hilf, general manager of Microsoft Corp. server and tools, said anyone with rudimentary computer skills can deploy the basic server function of the package. He said Windows Server 2008 Foundation offers onscreen software wizards that guide users in setting the system as a file server or any other network configuration.

Hilf said that in making the product, they had two key principles in mind: lower the price to make it affordable to smaller companies and make it simple to deploy.

Nicky Eala, server business group head of Microsoft Philippines, said the system is something small businesses can just buy, turn on and have a working office network.

Hilf said more advance functions of the server can be set up with the help of solutions providers. He said deployment of the system can help spur local information technology (IT) solutions providers. Hilf also said they system also offers an upgrade path to other more advance Microsoft server products.

Hilf said the Philippines is an unusual market because 99.7 percent of establishments are micro, small and medium enterprises. He said 92 percent are micro-enterprises that employ one to nine employees. He said these businesses employ 70 percent of the labor market.

Hilf said his team stayed with small companies throughout the world to figure out their IT needs and how Microsoft can help provide them with solutions. He said they would typically see workers of small companies line up at the end of the day to log out from a single PC terminal with their attendance being printed out by an attached printer.

He said they also saw company workers burn data generated throughout the working day on a compact disc (CD) or DVD to serve as backup.

He said many of these companies typically use multiple desktops and just share files using CDs and other devices.

Hilf said these types of companies will greatly benefit from a networked solution.

He also said that unlike regular desktops, servers are designed to be always on and fault-tolerant.

By packaging the system with the hardware of partners like HP and IBM, Hilf said users can just go to the vendor for both hardware and software support.

Hilf also said that for every purchase of the system, Microsoft will donate a portion to Techsoup.org and Telecentre.org, which are groups working to build the capabilities of nongovernment organizations worldwide.

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Sony Philippines president and managing director Toshiya Kagita told reporters in Cebu on Friday that sales of the company’s products were good. He also said the company had no plans of laying off workers amid widespread reports of industry job losses.

VAIO. The VAIO booth in the Sony Expo 2008 in SM City Cebu. Click to view larger image.

The company’s personal computer product line, VAIO, reported a sales increase that was higher than the general product market’s growth, he said.

Kagita was in Cebu on Friday to open Sony Expo 2008 at the Cebu Trade Hall in SM City Cebu. The Cebu leg of the Sony Expo 2008 is the start of a series of 21 exhibits that will run all over the country until Jan. 18, 2009.

Kagita says the event, which will run in Cebu until Nov. 16, will showcase the company’s products with cutting edge technology like noise canceling in headphones, portable music players and even in notebook computers. The noise canceling technology eliminates up to 99 percent of ambient noise.

Takasi Kozu, Sony Philippines vice president for marketing, said tackling new things that nobody else can do is Sony’s “spirit” and “DNA.”

Kozu said Sony revolutionized music and made it portable with its introduction of the first Walkman decades ago. He said the company was also the first to release a compact disc player.

Kozu said that in the digital era, it is harder to differentiate your products. Sony is able to differentiate, he said, throught its “world breakthroughs” in technology.

Kozu said that among the cutting edge technologies on exhibit in the Sony Expo 2008 is the “world’s smallest, lightest and slimmest” 1920 x 10801 full HD camcorder, the HDR-TG1.

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Winston organized the gathering by posting an invitation in his site for a meet-up. Winston and Blogie Robillo then shared with Cebu bloggers how they were able to organize the Davao blogging community.

DAVAO, CEBU BLOGGERS. Wilson Ng talks about plans for the coming Mandaue Business Month during the meet-up of Cebu-based bloggers. The business activity in August will have several tech-related events. Click on photo to view larger image.

I came into the meet-up from a meeting with Wilson Ng and Rio Calle on a web development project related to the Mandaue Business Month in August. During the meet-up, Wilson presented his plans for the Mandaue activity, which will include several technology-related events.

During the meeting, the bloggers agreed to meet regularly for coffee on certain weekends. Winston gathered contact details of those present and will be setting up a mailing list to centralize discussions related to Cebu blogging meetings and events.

Among those who attended were Aldrin Ponce, Rodelio Lagahit, Aileen Estoquia, Wilhelmina Sarawi, Kevin Ray Chua, Xerxes Bernadez, and Mark Abitona.

BLOGGING MEET. Blogie Robillo (2nd from right) talks about his experience organizing events for Davao and Mindanao bloggers. With him are (from left) Kevin Ray Chua, Xerxes Bernadez, and Wilson Ng. Click on photo to enlarge.

It was great to meet Cebu-based bloggers and talk shop. I hope meetings can finally be held regularly. I still want to organize a local WordPress users group—maybe next time. In yesterday’s meet-up, I was able to hand out my last three Ubuntu CDs (the others have all been claimed by Sun.Star Cebu readers).

Since I came into the meeting with Wilson and Rio, it’s quite understandable that I’d be mistaken for a Ng Khai employee. Sorry, but I’m not. I work full-time for Sun.Star Cebu but I run my own consultancy for new media projects. Right now, however, I’m considering spending more time on new media projects that I have long wanted to start. Interesting times.

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Quite a few Cebu-based bloggers have already confirmed their attendance. I’m also attending the event and, if I can remember to bring them, hand out the remaining Ubuntu CDs still not claimed by Sun.Star Cebu readers.

Many of those attending use WordPress to run their blogs. The meet, organized by Winston so that he can meet Cebuano bloggers, might be a great time to start a local WordPress users group, what with Blogie Robillo attending.

If you’re a Cebuano or a Cebu-based blogger, let’s meet tomorrow
at 2 p.m. Manny Pacquiao’s gonna win anyway. If not, we can drown our collective sorrow on espresso.

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Chua, in his speech during the opening of the Philippine Open Source Summit at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) early today, said that despite the existence of FOSS products, many Filipinos still use pirated software.

OPEN SOURCE SUMMIT. The Philippine Open Source Summit at the Cebu International Convention Center. Click on photo to enlarge image.

“Regrettably, however, the more common option for many users is the purchase of pirated copies of proprietary software. There is, therefore, a need to bring open source to the awareness of users as a legitimate option and to provide the required support for its implementation,” Chua said.

Open source software are those released under a license that legalizes sharing of the application and building up on it. It got its name from the requirement of making the source code available with the software.

Unlike some countries that require its government agencies to use open source software, Chua said the policy of the CICT “has always been freedom of choice.”

“We believe that the marketplace should decide the use of proprietary software versus open source software. We just need to make sure that there exists a fair marketplace and that the consumer is fully informed of the available choices,” he said.

Chua said the CICT uses FOSS in several of its projects. He said the eGovernance Center of Excellence in Quezon City “is a showcase of open systems technology and solutions.” The CICT, he said, is also introducing FOSS through education-related projects such as the iSchools and eSkwela. The projects provide students with Internet-enabled personal computers (PCs).

Chua said they decided to use open source software for the projects because of its “cost effectiveness relative to proprietary solutions.”

UBUNTU HEAVEN. This booth at the ground floor of the Cebu International Convention Center gives away free Ubuntu CDs. The Ubuntu shirt at the back, however, isn’t for sale or giving away. Bummer. Click to view larger image.

“Put simply, cheaper computer labs means more computer labs that we can roll out,” he said.

Chua also said that the Nettop ng Bayan, a project that aims to provide low-cost PCs to the public, was able to meet its target of less than P10,000 for an Internet-centric PC because of the use of open source software.

CICT urged members of the open source community to work together to “make Filipinos aware of the many benefits that (open source software) has to offer and that they have a cost-effective alternative to proprietary solutions that does not involve software piracy,” he said.

Ready for prime time

Global Gateway Venture Capital (G2VC) chairman and founder Winston Damarillo, meanwhile, said key indicators show “open source is ready for prime time.” Damarillo is the founder and chairman of Exist Global, Inc. He is also the executive chairman of Morph Labs, a company that offers software as a service.

MORPH, EXIST. The booth of Morph, G2VC, and Exist. Open source in Cebu got a huge boost with the opening of these companies here.

Damarillo said that among these indicators are open source products that have become market leaders, notably Apache, the dominant web server in the market.

Open source products, he said, have also become models for collaboration and drivers of software entrepreneurship. They also boost the compensation of developers by as much as 30% to 40%.

Open source has also been recognized as “de facto point of innovation,” Damarillo said.

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The Philippine Open Source Summit is now open at the Cebu International Convention Center in Mandaue City. The two-day summit is

Vice Mayor Michael Rama, speaking for Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena, told the delegates that information and communications technology (ICT) should always be guided by the fact that technology is a human creation and should be usd for the betterment of humanity.

He said technology should be used as a tool for nation-building. He urged those in the ICT industry to use technology to be the answer “to what we call global misery.”

In giving an overview of the summit, Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (Cedfit) executive director Bonifacio Belen talked about how open source has taken the world by storm.

He said they decided to hold the summit as a way for companies and organizations to understand the “business value of open source.” The summit, he said, is preparatory to the Asian Open Source Conference that will be held in Cebu in October.

After the overview on the summit, heads of local universities and colleges signed a memorandum of agreement with Kwangwoon University.

10:50 a.m. Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua said Cebu “has again broken ground” in hosting the summit.

Chua said there is still a lack of awareness and support for open source software in the country. He said the prevailing option of most consumers is to install pirated software. He said this shows the need for ICT players to spread the word on open source.

Chua also talked about how his department uses open source software for projects ranging from e-government centers to school computer laboratories. He said, however, that government agencies have the option of going either with an open source or proprietary solution.

Chua said the policy of CICT “has always been freedom of choice.” He said their task is to make sure that there exists a fair market place for open source and proprietary software. He said the CICT’s choice of open source software is driven by costs: cheaper computer labs means more computer labs in schools in the country.

—Free wi-fi in the CICC plenary hall gets cut off.

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The launching was held in Club Vudu and by the time it ended, I knew more about what “Vudulicious” was than the details of ümobile that I had wanted to find out during the launch.

CHANGING YOUR MOBILE NUMBER. Ümobile allows its subscribers to change their mobile numbers by themselves in the company’s website. The first change of numbers is free, succeeding ones will be charged P50. Click on photo to view larger image.

The time indicated in the invitation—9 p.m.—and the venue told me it was going to be a launch party, with emphasis on the “party.” I was there at 9 p.m. and found Club Vudu still deserted but for ümobile staff doing last minute preparations. I asked one of them whether they would be holding a press briefing and was told none was scheduled. She did say one ümobile official would look for me later and answer my questions.

Fast forward one hour and a half.

UMOBILE PARTY. Vudulicious in Club Vudu. The umobile launch was the loudest telecoms-related launch I’ve ever attended. Click on photo to view an even larger image.

Club Vudu was filled to the last square foot. Cigarette smoke fogged the bar and all around me people were drinking—the waiters barely able to meet the orders of free beer, vodka, tequila, scotch…and iced tea for me.

I have always been curious about this “Vudulicious” marketing pitch. I looked around at the people partying happily and asked myself, who’s “Vudulicious?” There was this sexy former newsroom intern (she had to remind me when we were introduced that she had once been assigned to my section) who danced in a sinuous manner and all over the dance floor, several guys ogled her. If you’re reading this, do e-mail me the photo you took of both of us.

And then there was this stunner undulating on the corner, her body saying: “come, dance with me.” Is this Vudulicious? If it is, then I ♥ Vudulicious.

And just as I was about to finish my fifth glass of iced tea, I spotted the ümobile staff member who promised to answer a couple of questions on their product.

This was how the interview went:

SHE GOT THE FIRE IN HER EYES!!!
me: How’s the quality of Fring calls in your network???!!!!
Ümobile guy: What??? !!!

FIRE ON HER WAIST!!!!
me: How’s the quality of Fring VOIP calls in your network????!!!!!
Ümobile guy: Yes, we have a partnership with Fring for VOIP calls!!!!!

FIRE IN HER THIGHS (YEAAHHH)!!!!
Club Vudu marketing director Jaja Rama passes by and tells me: You’re still drinking iced tea????!!!!!
A group at our right started screaming in celebration. Apparently one of them won a cell phone in the raffle.

BUT I LOVE THE SCANDAAALLLL!!!
Ümobile guy: Let’s just talk about your questions over e-mail!!!!

It’s a good thing the ümobile website provides a lot of information. I didn’t have to e-mail questions for this post (a tamer version of which is printed as a column in Sun.Star Cebu).

Ümobile—treat the starting u as a smiley and not as the letter u with an umlaut—is a telecoms service provider that gives its users cellphone load credits every time they receive a mobile advertisement.

“That will be like earning money or credit by watching commercials on television or viewing print ads in newspapers and magazines, except that they do it through their ümobile phones,” chief marketing officer Ardie Balderrama said in a press statement.

It is a picky telecoms service provider, and for a good reason. It’s targeting the niche market of 15 to 35 year-olds—a demographic slice it describes as “early adapters and movers.”

The ümobile Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) isn’t something you can just buy from your neighborhood sari-sari store-cum-e-load center (although you can probably buy ümobile credits there).

You have to be invited to the service and the company is limiting new subscribers to just 10,000 a month. (If you want an invitation, leave a comment below. For those who left invitation requests in other posts and pages in this blog, please re-enter the request below.)

Before you get into the service, you have to answer on the ümobile website a detailed questionnaire on your lifestyle, from such things as the gadgets you own to whether you regularly go to the gym or the brand of cigarettes that you smoke.

Your answers to the question will guide the company on which ads to send you.

Ümobile uses what is the coolest cellphone prefix in the country—0999. But what sets it apart is that its users can change their phone numbers by themselves, by going to the website at www.umobile.com.ph.

The first time you change you number is free. You’ll be charged P50 for each succeeding change in phone numbers.

I tried changing mine to all 9s and, as expected, found it to have been taken already. All 7s is also gone. By the time I was ready to try other combinations, the website took down the number-changing facility with a notice that they are still updating it and that it will be back up soon.

Ümobile rides on the extensive nationwide network of Smart so you are assured of getting a signal—not only for messaging and calling but also for mobile Internet— throughout the country.

I’ve tested the mobile Internet connection on the LG phone that I won in the event (one of the more than a hundred units they raffled off during the launch) and found it relatively fast and dependable. And like Smart, ümobile charges just P10 for every 30-minute mobile Internet connection block.
The company also has a partnership with Fring, a great piece of software that allows users to do instant messaging, post Twitter updates, and call via VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) on their phone.

Fring is really a good software, one that I use almost everyday for IM and Twitter. I tried VOIP calling, via a wi-fi connection, to my sole Fring contact and found the quality of call good. I was able to use Fring with Smart mobile Internet but not the latest version for the Sony Ericsson P1i. The previous version worked flawlessly with the Smart network, somehow the current version in my phone only runs on wi-fi connections.

Ümobile is still building up its array of services, which would include a “virtual phone” in August, and I still haven’t received a mobile ad. I also haven’t tried loading credits to my account albeit the website said you can buy credits online.

More photos of the party (click on thumbnails to enlarge):

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