PLDT myDSL’s Wi-Fi Modem

The buzzing sound of the dial tone and the dialer were commonplace in households about a decade ago. It signaled that the household is getting connected to the worldwide web. Then, there was DSL that kept households connected to the web. Now, PLDT myDSL is giving you a faster, more convenient way to connect to the wbe, the Wi-Fi Modem.

Up-to-date news, information, and entertainment is within your reach inside your own home. And not just for one person or unit at a time. Multiple units can access the internet all at the same time, without the hassle of having a separate WiFi router.

This October, PLDT myDSL is launching its own Wi-Fi Modem. PLDT myDSL subscribers can enjoy high speed connections without the cable. One sleek gadget, the WiFi-Modem is all it takes to connect your entire household to the worldwide web. The PLDT myDSL Wi-Fi Modem is a plug and play device with a range of up to 25 meters. It has a 4 port hub and comes in an ultra sleek black design.

The Wi-Fi Modem is available with PLDT myDSL bundled plans 990 and 1299 for PhP2,200. Subscribers of myDSL Plans 999, 1995, and 3000 can avail of a modem that can accommodate up to four wired and multiple wireless connections for only PhP1,000. Now everyone at home can get connected via different devices simultaneously. And you get to save around PhP1,500 since you don’t have to buy a separate router anymore.

Intel Reinvents 3-D Transistor

Intel Corporation recently announced a significant breakthrough in the evolution of the transistor, the microscopic building block of modern electronics. For the first time since the invention of silicon transistors over 50 years ago, transistors using a three-dimensional structure will be put into high-volume manufacturing. Intel will introduce a revolutionary 3-D transistor design called Tri-Gate, first disclosed by Intel in 2002, into high-volume manufacturing at the 22-nanometer (nm) node in an Intel chip codenamed "Ivy Bridge." A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter.

The three-dimensional Tri-Gate transistors represent a fundamental departure from the two-dimensional planar transistor structure that has powered not only all computers, mobile phones and consumer electronics to-date, but also the electronic controls within cars, spacecraft, household appliances, medical devices and virtually thousands of other everyday devices for decades.

Scientists have long recognized the benefits of a 3-D structure for sustaining the pace of Moore’s Law as device dimensions become so small that physical laws become barriers to advancement. The key to today’s breakthrough is Intel’s ability to deploy its novel 3-D Tri-Gate transistor design into high-volume manufacturing, ushering in the next era of Moore’s Law and opening the door to a new generation of innovations across a broad spectrum of devices.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini and Mini Pro

It’s not only the iMacs that gets the refresh but also Sony’s Xperia Mini and Mini Pro were renewed too.If you’re familiar with the Xperia Mini and Mini pro then what you’re seeing now may deceive you but just like the saying goes what really matters is the inside. Previous generation of Xperia Mini and Mini Pro is equipped with only 600mhz of processing power and Android 1.6 – 2.1 OS the new mini and mini pro by the way are buffed up with some special improvements.

Let’s start from the processor upgrade, 1ghz of processing power compared to 600mhz is a good boost plus the 2.3 gingerbread Android release is quite an excellence on the software side of things. Multi touch and Scratch resistant display matters most if you’re really worried on damaging the touchscreen. At least you don’t need to buy a screen protector so it will save you a couple of dollars for that.

Anyway there’s a 30% improvement on battery life which Sony claims to be a big benefit for power users. But what’s interesting about this upgrade is the Bravia Engine with Reality display which been integrated on the Xperia Mini and Mini Pro itself. So far the slide keyboard is appealing too if you don’t want typing in the touch screen with the cost of a relatively thicker phone. Release date is not yet announced and it is highly possible that it will be released here in the Philippines and hope that it comes with the Sony S1 and S2 tablets.

Flip UltraHD Video Camera

The Flip UltraHD Video Camera has a sleeky, handy design which has point-and-shoot usability with high definition quality. It boasts of an image stability feature and can record up to 2 hours of high definition quality video. It has a flip-out USB connector which you can connect to your computer so you can edit and share your videos easily.

Key Features of the Flip UltraHD Video Camera

• Can record up to 2 hours of HD video
• Simple user interface
• 8 GB of built-in memory
• Image stabilization
• Flip Video Rechargeable Battery Pack (recharges when connected to USB); also supported by standard AAA batteries
• Built-in USB arm
• FlipShare™ software
• Video: 16:9 widescreen, HD 720p (1280 x 720) at 60 frames per seconds (fps) progressive scan; recorded as MP4 files

It’s sleek, lightweight, easy to use, and record up to 2 hours of video in high definition. What more can you ask for from a video camera? Target is offering a great Black Friday deal on this lightweight HD camera. It is now available for only $179.99. That’s $20 of savings for a sleek UltraHD Video Camera. Watch out for more black Friday deals and bigger savings. Soon.

LG LZ9700 3D Full LED 72 Inch LCD HDTV

Something big is going to be unveiled during the CES 2011. LG Electronics will release the biggest 3D HDTV screen yet. The LG LZ9700 is 72 inches at 59 inches wide and 40 inches tall.

It is the world’s largest full backlight LCD 3d HDTV. With a 400 MHz refresh rate and a Magic Motion remote control, there’s nothing more you can ask from LG. Plus it has DLNA compatibility, a media link, and a USB port.

The LG LZ9700 will be available during the first quarter of 2011 in UAE and all GCC. With LG Life’s Good!

Faster downloading via Smart’s LTE

Smart Communications Incorporated said that it will commercially launch the fourth generation (4G) wireless technology called LTE "very soon" which will allow subscribers broadband speed of up to 100 megabytes per second, or roughly less than a minute downloading of a 3 gigabyte movie file.

The LTE technology offers speed of up to 100 Mbps, much faster compared to 4G technology using HSPA + which only offers up to 27.8 Mbps and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) up to 23.03 Mbps broadband speed. To experience full LTE, Smart official said they will be launching mobile devices capable to accept the LTE signals for faster internet connections.

Using the LTE, subscribers can do voices, SMS, WAP, MMS, video streaming , video call, 50 Mbps Data DL, 20 Mbps Data UL, HD Video Streaming, rich media app and man to machine apps. Initially, Smart targets to offer the service in 30 selected key cities and provinces as part of its strategy to improve the broadband services in the country.

However, Smart official refused to disclose the price of the service but it will definitely be more expensive than the ordinary broadband dongles in the market now. The LTE deployment requires service providers to build new base station and infrastructures as its entirely different platform of access channels and transmission backbone compared in 3G, HSPA and WiMAX which just require an upgrade and additional software.

He added that the bulk of its capex for the next two years was allocated for these new services. Part of the investment was to put up additional 481 WIMAX , 90 HSPA and more than 1,000 2G cellsites until next year. The company has various manufacturers for the new technology which include Huawei Ltd , Ericson , Nokia and Siemens.

Smart and its parent company, PLDT, has a combined broadband subscriber base of over 2 million as of 2010, up by 25 percent compared to the previous year. Of the total subscribers 1.4 million are SmartBro users and the remaining are PLDT MyDSL. The LTE data services can be accessed using USB dongles attached to laptops or networks, or, via LTE-powered wireless routers providing WiFi coverage.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Smartphone

Sony Ericsson introduced the new Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Smartphone, the first of a new generation of Xperia smartphones it uses the latest version of the Android platform. The best of Sony technology is inside Xperia Arc. The Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine delivers exceptional visual brilliance and a crystal clear image which enhances the overall entertainment experience. Furthermore, Sony’s award-winning Exmor R™ mobile sensor with the f/2.4 lens enable Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc 8 Megapixel 720p camera to capture of high quality photos and HD videos even in low light conditions. All pictures and videos can be shared in HD on your living room TV via the built in HDMI-connector. The Arc has managed to slim down to a crazy 8.7mm which wrests the title from the Samsung Infuze 4G’s 9mm. The back of the device is concave which makes the phone seem even thinner than its already slim dimensions suggest. The screen is identified by Sony Ericsson as a “reality display,” running a Mobile BRAVIA Engine and, excusing their bit of hyperbole, it is definitely an amazing looking display. At 4.2 inches they are striking new ground between the Droid X/Evo and the Galaxy S devices, and with its incredibly thin profile. The processor may only be a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, but it’s still fast and its pages quickly.

ASUS GTX580 the most powerful DirectX 11

The successful Fermi series from NVIDIA continues to expand with the new GTX 580, featuring 512 CUDA cores and achieving the most impressive DirectX 11 performance ever fielded by a single NVIDIA GPU. ASUS has added its own exclusive Voltage Tweak to the GTX580 for significant output gains on demand. The hardcore performance of the ASUS GTX580 offers full HD NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround gaming and movie watching on up to three screens, and CUDA parallel computing that puts the great power of the GPU at the disposal of the CPU for overall system enhancement.

Product Highlights

• ASUS exclusive Voltage Tweak gives users a quick and accessible way to overvolt the graphics card to its limit at 1157MHz – up to 50% faster performance compared to reference.

• ASUS GTX580 is factory overclocked at 782MHz with 512 CUDA cores, the most of any current NVIDIA design. It features a large 1536MB GDDR5 video memory, rated at over 4GHz. The massive 384-bit memory interface opens up performance by removing data transmission bottlenecks for better hardware utilization.

• Support for NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround in full 1080p HD — users can expand 3D games, movies and photos on up to three screens at once for the most immersive PC multimedia experience around.

• With its over-the-top power, ASUS GTX580 opens up optimal utilization of DirectX® 11 features such as advanced tessellation and real time ray tracing. This enables high resolution PC gaming in unprecedented detail, allowing even the most taxing titles to run smoothly at maximum frames per second.

• HDMI 1.4a updates video output to the fastest, highest-bandwidth standard available.

Fans carry a torch for BlackBerry

RIM’s new BlackBerry Torch 9800 may be the world’s first smart phone with a touch screen. It is ideal for watching movies and the like, and features a slide-down keyboard for the brand’s more loyal fans who refuse to let go of the tactile feel of buttons. BlackBerry smart phone, recently launched a new device packed with features to draw the attention of the younger crowd.

The new Torch, powered by the new BlackBerry OS 6, has a redesigned interface, expanded messaging capabilities and more intuitive features with which to manage social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and even MySpace.

“The new BlackBerry 6 operating system includes many new features that users will enjoy, including universal search, social feeds and a new WebKit browser,” RIM Southeast Asia managing director Gregory Wade said.

With the new Torch, RIM executives hope to grab a chunk of the market from industry heavyweights like the makers of Apple iPhone 4 and devices powered by Google’s Android operating system. Quoting third-party estimates, RIM said, BlackBerry phones could become the second best-selling smart phone in the Philippines. By offering the new Torch, the company may get to maintain or even improve this projection.

The Torch features a 5-megapixel camera with image stabilization, scene modes, continuous auto focus and a zoom. The Torch also supports video recording.

Wrapped in chrome and hard plastic, much like the Bold 9700, the Canada-made Torch feels well put-together, just like any other BlackBerry.

One of the most impressive features, of course, is the 8 gigabytes of out-of-the-box storage space available, which can be bumped up by another 28 gigabytes for a total of 32, “for customers who want more.”

But what distinguishes the Torch from other BlackBerry models, like the Bold and the Curve, is the slide-down keyboard hiding behind the high-resolution touch screen.

The new screen improves the Internet browsing or media consumption experience of users, while the keyboard makes sure that the new phone’s style does not compromise functionality. Users may still use an on-screen keyboard if they choose to. But RIM said the tactile keyboard would always be faster and easier to use for most consumers.

Microsoft Office for Mac 2011

MSI-ECS has launched Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 (Office 2011) in the Philippines. This newest version of the Office for Mac presents an all too familiar work environment and yet it is more intuitive than previous versions. Office 2011 is all about compatibility and flexibility, plus new and improved tools that empower you to create incredible and professional content.

Two editions are soon hitting the shelves -- Office for Mac Home and Student 2011 and Office for Mac Home and Business 2011.

Office for Mac Home and Student 2011

This edition provides the core productivity applications that Mac users want and need, including Word for Mac, PowerPoint for Mac, Excel for Mac and Messenger for Mac. It will be available in two editions — a single install and a Family Pack with three installs.

Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Business 2011

This edition includes Word for Mac, PowerPoint for Mac, Excel for Mac, Outlook for Mac and Messenger for Mac. It’s also available in two editions — a single install and a Multi-Pack with two installs. Those with the Home and Student customers can upgrade to Office for Mac Home and Business 2011using online upgrade if they want a desktop e-mail client.

Nokia's X3 Touch Review

In designing the new X3 (also known as the X3-02), Nokia must be thinking there are still enough people in the world who prefer dialing and texting the old-fashioned way. This combination instantly makes the mobile phone stand out as most candy bar-format devices at this price range—around P8,500—cannot boast of a 2.4-inch, 240x320 pixel display.

Advanced connectivity

Although the X3 Touch and Type is aimed at mid-level mobile phone buyers, Nokia has made sure it comes with advanced connectivity features, including support for 3G/HSDPA networks as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 data transfer.

For a device running on Nokia midrange Series 40 platform, this particular mobile phone may provide other higher-end smartphones a run for their money.

While the X3 Touch and Type boasts of a 5-megapixel, 4X digital zoom camera, which also allows video recording, this is not the mobile phone’s strongest suit.

Belonging to the “X” series of mobile phones, this device is optimized for music listening so it comes with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, FM radio, as well as support for microSD cards of up to 16GB capacity, which may be enough for holding up scores of music files.

Resistive touchscreen

While the new X3’s resistive touchscreen may not be the perfect choice for scrolling, dragging or swiping items on screen—as compared with the multitouch capacitive type—remember that most of what you will be doing with this particular device’s screen may only involve tapping icons or commands on screen.

In this case, the new X3’s finger-friendly resistive screen is more than enough to satisfy users.

Apart from the touchscreen feature, the new X3’s design may also be another deal breaker: Its body—barely a centimeter thin (9.6mm deep)—is mostly finished in high grade plastic, which makes it so light at just 78 grams.

DSL subscribers surpassed by PLDT wireless broadband

The total number of wireless broadband subscribers of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has surpassed the number of digital subscriber line (DSL) customers, figures from the company's financial report showed.

PLDT's fixed wireless broadband service, Smart Bro, and mobile wireless service WeRoam have added about 82,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2008, bringing the total to 384,000 subscribers.

Meanwhile, PLDT DSL subscribers also grew by over 35,000 to hit 300,000 subscribers during the same period, the company said.

The company's DSL services generated P1.3 billion in revenues during the first quarter of 2008, and now accounts for 51 percent of the PLDT Group broadband and Internet revenues for the same period.

Total broadband revenues increased 51 percent to P2.5 billion, the company said. This figure represents about 7 percent of the total service revenues of the company.

During a briefing, PLDT said it currently controls about 70 percent of the local broadband market, which includes households, small and medium enterprises, and corporate accounts.

Smart company is using its third generation (3G) mobile network as a vehicle to offer wireless broadband services in the country.

First playable Google doodle marks 30 years of Pac-Man

Internet giant Google marked the 30th birthday of Pac-Man by featuring the classic arcade videogame in the first-ever playable doodle on its home page. Web users who opened Google’s homepage after 1500 GMT Friday — which is midnight in Japan, where Pac-Man was born — were greeted by a small-scale Pac-man game set around a barely discernible “Google” in the middle of the game’s colorful maze.

The game designed by Toru Iwatani was first released by Japan-based Namco into arcades on May 22, 1980. The Google doodle Pac-Man comes complete with the arcade game’s trademark music and sound effects, and an “Insert Coin” button where Google’s “I’m feeling lucky” button usually is.

But even though Pac-Man grew to become the best-selling coin-operated game in history, the Google doodle was decidedly less popular with Internet users. Other online comments were more charitable, but wondered about the effect the doodle on productivity.

All the game details are spot-on, right down to the impulse to ignore work, friends, familiy and play for hours. The playable Pac-Man doodle will stay on Google for 48 hours.

Facebook may make prophet page inaccessible in Pakistan

Facebook is disappointed at being blocked in Pakistan over a contest that encourages users to post caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed and may make the offending page inaccessible to users there, the social network said late Wednesday. Pakistan blocked access to Facebook on a court order over a competition created by a Facebook user who set up a page called “Draw Mohammed Day,” inviting people to send in caricatures of the Muslim prophet on May 20.

Islam strictly prohibits depictions of Prophet Mohammed as blasphemous and Muslims around the world staged angry protests over the publication of satirical cartoons of the prophet in European newspapers in 2006.

The statement from the Palo Alto, California-based social network said “we want Facebook to be a place where people can openly discuss issues and express their views, while respecting the rights and feelings of others.

With now more than 400 million users from around the world… we sometimes find people discussing and posting about topics that others may find controversial, inaccurate, or offensive.While some kinds of comments and content may be upsetting for someone — criticism of a certain culture, country, religion, lifestyle, or political ideology, for example — that alone is not a reason to remove the discussion.

We strongly believe that Facebook users have the freedom to express their opinions, and we don’t typically take down content, groups or pages that speak out against countries, religions, political entities, or ideas. The statement noted that “Nazi content is illegal in some countries” but said “that does not mean it should be removed entirely from Facebook.

Some Bankers use Apple’s iPhone over Blackberry

British bank Standard Chartered is replacing the Blackberry, currently its standard corporate communications device, with the iPhone, a move that could eventually result in thousands of bankers switching to the Apple device for business communication on the go. Standard Chartered bankers in Asia told Reuters that the London-based lender was giving its corporate Blackberry users the option of switching to the iPhone, with the company agreeing to continue to pay monthly billing for business-related telephone and data services.

The process of migrating corporate email services from the Blackberry to the iPhone started about a month ago, said the spokeswoman, although she did not know how many of the Asia-focused bank’s 75,000 employees used company-issued Blackberries or when the switchover could be completed.

Bankers at other financial institutions such as HSBC Holdings Plc and Morgan Stanley have so far been restricted to the Blackberry as the standard device issued by their firms for business communications. Despite some indications of change, it may take time for a broader switch to take place, mainly because of security concerns, according to financial professionals and information technology analysts.

Blackberries, from Canada’s Research in Motion, are the device of choice for bankers and executives who need regular access to email and the Internet when outside the office.

People are always switching. I saw there were people switching to Blackberries as well. I think the point is it’s a very dynamic market. There are many very imaginative companies out there. Service providers, vendors, software application developers, very dynamic, after the launch ceremony for BlackBerry services offered by China Telecom, the smallest of China’s trio telecoms providers.

Feds to look at Apple policy on programming tools

Federal regulators plan to examine whether Apple Inc. is violating antitrust rules by requiring software developers to use Apple programming tools to create applications for the iPhone and iPad. Officials at the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are sorting out which agency will examine Apple's new policy, according to a person with knowledge of the inquiry. Apple's policy prevents developers from using outside tools such as Adobe Systems Inc.'s Flash format, which is used in many Web videos, games and interactive graphics, to design apps for Apple's popular devices.

The person with knowledge of the inquiry, who was not authorized to speak publicly, noted that it is in a preliminary stage. The two antitrust agencies regularly scrutinize whether corporate conduct could stifle competition, and not all inquiries result in a formal investigation or action by the government. Apple had no immediate comment Tuesday. The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department had no comment.

The inquiry was reported earlier by the New York Post.

A key question facing federal regulators is whether Apple hurts competition in the mobile device market by forcing software developers to choose between designing apps that can run only on the iPhone and iPad and those that can run on rival devices such as Google Inc.'s Android phones and Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry.

Apple's new policy has also raised concerns for Adobe, which includes Flash as part of a suite of software tools sold to professional designers and Web developers. Although Apple's decision to ban Flash limits what its iPhone and iPad can do, the popularity of the devices has led many software developers to design apps without the format.

Last week, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs defended the company's decision in a lengthy Web posting arguing that "letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in substandard apps." Jobs criticized Flash for, among other things, causing performance problems with mobile devices.

Adobe had no comment Tuesday. But last week, the company said in a statement that Apple's "attempt to position this solely as a technology issue is a smoke screen." Instead, Adobe said, Apple was trying to protect a business model that locks developers and consumers into its tools and services.

Original Source: PhilStar.com

Apple sells more than 300,000 iPads on first day

Apple Inc. said Monday that it delivered more than 300,000 iPads on its opening day, meeting expectations of some analysts while underscoring the challenges the company still faces marketing the device beyond early adopters. The total seemed modest given the weeks of hype about the revolutionary nature of Apple’s new touch-screen tablet device. Furthermore, the figures included pre-orders that were picked up or delivered Saturday and iPads sent to retail stores such as Best Buy but not necessarily purchased. Apple did not say how many went to such stores.

Assuming most of the 300,000 iPads ended up in the hands of consumers Saturday, though, the figure is in line with the number of iPhones that Apple sold when the smart phone made its debut in June 2007. Apple didn’t publicize first-day sales at the time, but later earnings reports indicated the company sold about 270,000 iPhones during the first two days the gadget was available.

Apple sold 1.1 million more iPhones over the next three months. The volume has only increased as Apple has released new versions of the phone in a growing number of countries and software developers have created add-on programs, or “apps,” that do everything from online banking to mapping bike rides using GPS. In the most recent quarter, Apple sold 8.7 million iPhones. Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu wrote in a note to investors Monday that he believes a similar pattern will unfold for the iPad.

“When the iPhone was first launched, it was also somewhat of a disappointment,” Wu wrote. “But as the iPhone got more refined, with more apps, better software, not to mention better prices,” then sales picked up.

Wu had estimated the iPad’s sales at 250,000 to 300,000 for the weekend. In the research note, the analyst wrote that manufacturers said Apple was telling them to get ready to ship 10 million iPads in the first 12 months, twice as many as previously expected. With the iPad in its early days, the iPhone will continue as Apple’s star product this year, Broadpoint Amtech analyst Brian Marshall said in a note to investors Monday. Marshall had predicted Apple would sell 525,000 iPads over the Easter weekend, despite some stores being closed for the holiday.

The iPad is “off to a fantastic start,” he wrote, but he still expects iPhone sales to top $20 billion this year, eight times his forecast of $2.5 billion for the iPad. The same hoopla that drew eager shoppers to long lines outside of Apple stores swept away a few analysts, too. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster published a research note early Monday boosting his initial forecast for first-day sales to 600,000 to 700,000 — only to quickly follow with a second note admitting he’d jumped the gun.

However, Munster wrote that he still expects Apple to sell 1.3 million iPads in the current quarter.

Apple devotees were willing to queue up across the country to be among the first to own an iPad, even if they weren’t exactly sure what they’d end up using it for. The models currently on sale connect to the Internet using Wi-Fi; prices start at $499. A second wave of buyers may emerge when Apple starts selling versions that can also get online using cellular networks; those models start at $629.

Once the early excitement settles, Apple needs to convince a broader swath of people to buy if it wants the iPad to follow the iPhone’s successful trajectory. Many companies have tried to sell tablet computers before, but none has caught on with mainstream consumers. Apple’s iPad comes at a time when people have even more Internet-connected gadgets — smart phones, laptops, e-book readers, set-top boxes and home broadband connections — and it may need to work harder to persuade people to buy yet another device that serves many of the same purposes.

Apple also said Monday that new iPad owners downloaded more than a million applications and more than 250,000 electronic books from its iTunes store on Saturday.

Shares of Apple, which is based in Cupertino, Calif., rose $2.52 to close at $238.49 Monday.

Microsoft to announce next week “Pink” phone project

Microsoft Corp. is set to announce its long-awaited “Project Pink” phones early next week, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday, as the world’s largest software company attempts to gain traction in the growing market for young smartphone users. The mobile phones
, to be sold by top U.S. mobile operator Verizon Wireless, are being targeted at heavy users of social network sites, according to sources. They will have a different name when the launch is officially announced.

In photos leaked to a tech blog last month, the new phones appear to be stylish, updated versions of Microsoft’s Sidekick device, which is popular with the youth market. The new phones, which likely won’t be on the market until summer, are to be made by Sidekick manufacturer Sharp Corp, sources said.

Microsoft has sent invitations to media to attend an event in San Francisco next Monday, but declined to comment further. A representative of Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between U.S. phone company Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group plc, also declined comment.

The new phone does not appear to be a central part of Microsoft’s main thrust in the mobile phone market, which is centered on the revamp of the Windows software it licenses to handset makers, which will be available later this year.

Microsoft hopes its Windows Phone 7, launched with great fanfare in February, will win back share from BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd and iPhone maker Apple Inc, and beat back newcomer Google Inc, which is making ground with Android-powered phones and its own Nexus One.

Microsoft is losing share fast in the U.S. smartphone market, according to tech research firm comScore, dropping 4 percentage points to 15.1 percent between November and February. Ahead of it are Apple, with 25.4 percent, and Research in Motion with 42.1 percent. Google is the fastest-growing rival, now holding 9 percent of the market.

Mobile Web Means More Revenues for Telcos

The local telecommunications industry is moving towards new revenue streams beyond SMS, with more Filipinos starting to use their handsets for more than just text messaging and voice calls. Even advertising is moving towards the mobile space, according to industry executives. The Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) revealed there were 385 million monthly ad impressions from users of Internet-capable phones. But as of now, revenues per subscriber in the Philippines is only round $3, which is still small even with the increase in overall subscriber base and usage of Internet services on handsets. There is also a lingering debate whether telecommunications services should be taxed or imposed with additional fees. While lawmakers contend that it is just fair, telecom firms argue that such orders could mean higher pass-on rates to users. Boudewijn Pesch, Asia Pacific managing director for mobile applications developer Acision, said that while taxation or new regulations imposing fees could stifle revenues, introducing new services and applications could augment dwindling revenues. Pesch stressed that Internet usage behavior has only a few differences with browsing on an ordinary PC. Some users access about five to 10 types of applications online from a PC but people would still use these while being mobile, if given the opportunity. As prices of Internet-enabled handsets and wireless Internet access go down, Pesch forecasted there will be an increase in mobile Internet access in the next 18 months to three years. Telcos have to add more value with services that people would actually need to use. It is already a fact that people will spend on a premium service as long as it delivers what is intended and if it actually helps in the productivity of the user. Pesche said applications for messaging will still be present for a long while, especially with the need to integrate messaging between desktop and mobile phones. Services such as Globe Telecom's new Duo service are among the services that are unique and targeted to different yet large segment of mobile subscribers. Configuring mobile services to cater to specific users is important in all telecommunications firms' plans to increase revenues.

Recharging your cellphone, mother nature’s way

A new solar cell that imitates Mother Nature’s way of converting sunlight to energy is making its debut in a variety of consumer products. The technology uses a photosensitive dye to start its energy production, much the way leaves use chlorophyll to begin photosynthesis.

The dye-sensitized cells will be used to provide power for devices ranging from e-book readers to cellphones — and will take some interesting forms. For e-book readers, for example, the cells may be found in thin, flexible panels stitched into the reader’s cover. But such panels will also be housed in new lines of backpacks and sports bags, where they can recharge devices like cellphones and music players.

The technology, long in development, will work best in full, direct sunshine, said Dr. Michael Grätzel, a chemist and professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. But the cells will also make good use of dappled and ambient light, including the indoor light of fluorescent bulbs, he said.

Most photovoltaic cells are based on silicon or related inorganic materials, not dyes. Dr. Grätzel and an American colleague, Brian O’Regan, first reported on the new type of cell in the journal Nature in 1991, and Dr. Grätzel said that he and other colleagues had been working since then to refine the technology.