Smart launches its All-Net postpaid plans with an amazing race

I’ve been on prepaid status with two of the mobile carriers since I left the corporate world. It has served me well because I could not fit my new mobile usage and lifestyle into any of the postpaid plans being offered then. Some were inflexible and offered call and text quantities that I knew I would not use. I did not want to be pegged to a fixed monthly fee which I could not maximize.

The invitation to join Smart’s All-Net Amazing Race (while being introduced to its new All-Net offerings under its All-In plans made me curious and interested to join. I wondered if, this time, I would have a clear alternative to just remaining a prepaid subscriber forever. Of course, the other motivator in this whole amazing race thing (as this was my first ever amazing race) was the fact that my teammate was my own dear friend, Noemi. Also in our team dubbed the “Yellow team” were Ryan (another blogger friend) and Marlon (who I just met that day).

The tasks given to us were physically challenging. We had to bungee jump to get some phone numbers hanging from a tree (that task was assigned to Marlon, the tallest in our team). Then we had to call 3 numbers from those papers and show the call logs to the game marshal to get the next task.

(Marlon did such a great job on this one. I would have been an epic fail.)
Noemi, by stroke of luck, had just finished reviewing the Samsung Galaxy Y, the
very unit given to our team, so she was our designated texter.

Ryan makes the calls.


Task 2 was to run to Timezone and rack up a certain number of points on a dance machine, after which we had to text (and receive responses from) 5 random friends to get Task 3.

Texting frenzy…

Task 3 required us to look for a living statue at City Walk Two. By chance, I was in that very mall area just before the event buying a sports top so I knew exactly where to run to. We had to call someone from the living statue post to read out one of the Smart All-Net Postpaid Plans features.

The living statue and our task

Task 4 made us go on a shopping spree with a limited budget of P1,200. Luckily we saw Graffiti Tee which had tees on sale for P250 each. We grabbed our sizes, got the next task and ran out. Task 5 had us calling a Hong Kong number to get a password. Task 6 made us run back to Eastwood Mall, look for the Smart dog (which was the same dog I saw hanging around the Smart tent earlier) and guess its breed. We all thought it was a German Shepherd (wrong!!!). Its master was instructed not to tell us its breed but fast-thinking Ryan asked people around – and it turned out to be a bullmastiff. We had to go online using our team phone to show the marshal the flag of the dog’s origin to get Task 7 (to assemble a puzzle) back at the Smart tent.

The clincher (Task 8) was to use another carrier’s billing statement and compute the savings if the same call minutes and number of texts were used on an All-Net postpaid plan. Thanks to an accounting training which included doing math without a calculator, my brain went full blast. Yes, our team was the first to finish all the tasks. We won first place! And for that, each one of us got — an HTC Wildfire S!

After the rush of the amazing race, Noemi and I lingered (because we also had to wind down and catch our breath from all the running) to talk with the Smart people. The tasks that they made us do actually was an introduction to just how much one can save with an All-Net postpaid plan:

* All-In plans beat out other plans because conventional plans tie you to a monthly FIXED fee for a certain combination of call minutes, text messages and internet use, whether you actually use them up or not. Value-added services outside your plan are billed to you ON TOP OF your monthly fee. All-in plans are just that, all in. What you subscribe to is what you pay, nothing more.

* You can tailor-fit your All-In plan from month to month. There are different mix-and-match services like Unlitalk, Unlitext, Unlisurf and IDD calls. Read more on All-In Plans HERE.

* All-Net plans are the latest services under the All-In plans.

* With Smart Postpaid All-Net Talk, subscribers can cut their postpaid call charges in half because this feature gives you 80 minutes of calls to ALL NETWORKS for only P250 for 30 days. That comes out to only P3.12 per minute compared to P7.50 per minute with other providers.

* With Smart Postpaid All-Net Text, you get 2,500 text messages to ALL NETWORKS for only P350 for 30 days. That is only P0.14 per SMS instead of the standard P1.00 per SMS charged by other networks.

* Data services under the Smart Postpaid All-In Plans also give the widest range of data volume on demand, from 25MB to 2GB.

* With the IDD bundle saver, you can make international calls at local rates, plus 5 minutes free for only P200.

Right now, I am already a frequent user of Smart’s Always On data plans for my ipad because I need to be connected all the time when out of the house. Now, with Smart’s All-Net Postpaid Plans, I will study carefully my usage for calls, texts and internet to see if it will save me more money compared to my current mobile costs.

I discovered that my Wildfire S could be turned into a personal hotspot. An All-In Postpaid Plan would mean cheaper calls and texts and if I activate the hotspot, I could share my internet connection from my phone to my ipad. That’s a lot of potential savings!

What about you? Do you think the All-Net Plans are worth your second look?

Netphone: Smart’s affordable smartphone

While smartphone prices have already been on the decline, making it affordable to more and more people, there is still a great majority of Filipinos whose mobiles are not internet-capable. This is true despite the Philippines being recognized not only as the texting capital of the world but also the world’s online social networking champ. Almost everyone I’ve asked has a Facebook account. A friend of mine even has a yaya (nanny) who’s got a Facebook account.

Recognizing these patterns, Smart designed its own brand of an internet-ready phone and tailor-fitted its features and apps to the Pinoy’s lifestyle and preferences. At a media launch recently, I was introduced to the Netphone, Smart’s offering for those who are budget-conscious but love to get on the internet and engage on social media.

By September 10, the public will be formally introduced to Smart’s very own brand of internet-capable phones via Netphone 701 (which I hear is a ZTE model). It is only the first model to come out, with other higher-end models being planned in the coming months.

Netphone 701 is an Android-powered phone, running on Froyo (ver. 2.2). This was my first time to play around with an Android handset but I noted that the initial apps loaded on it were pretty good. An FM radio, a Bible app, and even my favorite Docs To Go app was loaded in it. It’s got 2 cameras. The back camera is 3.2MP while the front cam is a VGA one. It was pretty light, something I’d always appreciate in a phone. Colors were quite vivid. This handset also allows you to turn your phone into a hotspot and it supports Flash 10.1. It has a 3.5″ touchscreen and runs on a 600MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

Not being familiar with the menus, I was trying to find out if the phone had wifi or ran on 3G only. Yup, the Netphone is good for both wifi and 3G. 

So far, we’ve seen features of an Android phone. Now what appears to set this Netphone apart from other smartphones in the market today?
Smart Center – Just a swipe and you can see your load’s balance. A few more touches and you can manage your Smart account, subscribe to call, text, data packages, and see any subscription’s expiry date/time. There’s no need anymore to memorize the text format for subscribing to any of these packages. As soon as new promos and offers are available, your phone’s info is updated.
SmartNet – this is a proprietary layer of software built on top of Android that allows social networking (Facebook and Twitter) and chatting (Yahoo Messenger) without having to spend a peso. And no matter how many status messages or chats you post, it does not eat up your load. Just one peso on your phone will still make all these work. 
Watch this video.

Now, you’re asking how much, right? Well, the prepaid phone kit costs PhP9,990 (very affordable compared to other Android handsets) but it is FREE when you get a postpaid Datalite plan at P800 (access to select sites) or a regular postpaid plan at P1200.
For those with a limited budget and have been holding off on purchasing a smartphone, the Smart Netphone may just be something to consider.

Cherry Mobile Launches its Android Smartphones

My oldest son, who’s the geekiest member of our family, has long been saving up for an Android phone. For someone who has the highest expectations and standards for his next mobile phone, he has done his homework as far as mobile OS are concerned and it seems that the Android’s performance is IT for him.

On my end, I had been wanting to get a device that would allow me to take pictures and upload them on the fly wherever my blogging activities take me. While I already have a 3G iPad, the absence of a camera means I still needed to bring one. And frankly, my existing camera, which is many years old already, has seen better days. So when I got an invite to attend an Android event, I just had to see for myself what it was all about and to check its specs.

Cherry Mobile (the company that was first known for providing affordable dual SIM handsets) launched its line of Android Smartphones powered by Qualcomm: the Nova, Magnum HD and Superion which is also the first ever tablet phone in the Philippines.

The most affordable model is the Nova (SRP P11,490). Compared to other smartphones in this price range, the Nova offers a lot more, including the 5MP camera and GPS services.

Nova specs:

  • Android OS 2.1
  • Quadband GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
  • Triband UMTS 900 / 1900 / 2100
  • 3.2″ HVGA capacitive touchscreen
  • Qualcomm MSM 7227 600 MHz processor
  • 3G/HSDPA connectivity
  • Wifi
  • Bluetooth
  • GPS/AGPS
  • Google mobile services ( Gmail, Maps, Marketplace)
  • 5.0 MP camera with flash
Its midrange model is the Magnum HD (SRP P18,990). I saw this one up close and I must say it looked pretty stylish.
Magnum HD specs:
  • Android OS 2.2
  • Qualcomm 1GHz processor
  • 4.1″ WVGA capacitive touchscreen
  • ROM: 2GB / RAM: 512MB
  • Expandable micro SD up to 32GB
  • Quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900
  • 3G Triband UMTS/HSDPA: 900/1900/2100
  • Wifi: 802.11 b/g
  • GPS/AGPS
  • Bluetooth 2.0
  • Standard micro USB 2.0
  • 3.5 mm Stereo Audio jack
  • HDMI-D type
  • 720p recording
  • 5MP camera with flash (back)
  • VGA camera (front)
And their top of the line, the first tablet and mobile phone in one, is Superion (SRP P19,990). According to its Product Development Manager, Reggie Ramos, the Superion will be available in the market this week. And yes, I did ask about its battery life with wifi and Reggie told me that based on his own experience with it, the Superion with wifi on, lasted him more than a day on a full charge. Whoa!

Superion specs:
  • Android OS 2.2
  • Quadband GSM, 850/900/1900/2100
  • Triband UMTS 900/1900/2100
  • 7″ WVGA capacitive touchscreen
  • Qualcomm MSM 7227 600 MHz processor
  • 512MB ROM, 512MB RAM
  • Expandable memory up to 32GB
  • 3G/HSDPA connectivity
  • Wifi
  • Bluetooth
  • GPS/AGPS
  • Standard mini USB 2.0
  • 3.5mm headphone jack
  • G-Sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Google mobile services (Gmail, Maps, Marketplace)
  • 3MP camera with auto-focus (back)
  • VGA camera (front)
I imagine that many who were going for an iPad may take a second look at the Superion, considering how much cheaper it is and it has a camera and phone to boot (though I wonder if it will be a bit heavy to hold up to one’s ear when making calls). My only disappointment so far with its specs is that it only has a 3MP camera. I wish it had the 5MP features that the Nova and Magnum HD’s cameras have.
Meanwhile,  those who want the 5MP camera combined with a touchscreen smartphone that is so elegant it can really turn heads, would probably consider the Magnum HD.