• 1.8 inch display
• Bluetooth Stereo Music
• Music (mp3, WMA, Ogg)
• Photo Slideshow (jpeg)
• Movie (ASF, AVI, RMVB and MPEG-4)
• Games
• Text viewer
• FM Radio
• Voice Recording
• 30 hour playback
• Li - polymer battery
• half an inch thick and weighs just 1.7 ounces
• Capacity: 4gb.
• Color: jet black

store price: P11,000 +,

my price: P8,000 only, STILL SEALED in BOX.

Some reviews around the web:
Techeblog.com
Gizmodo
Letsgodigital.org
Asia.cnet.com
Hardwarezone.com

Comments:
Asia CNET.com: "The bottom line: As a stocking stuffer this festive season, the YP-T9B is a dream. With its head-turning good looks and outstanding performance, Santa had better lay in more stock."

Hardwarezone.com: "Overall, we are pretty impressed with the Samsung YP-T9B digital audio player. It has an amazingly brilliant display screen, good audio quality and a successful A2DP setup that comes without any major hiccups."

I mean, everywhere you go, it's [tag]iPhone[/tag] this, iPhone that. On Google News, PWIT, Inq7 (oops ok that's 'inquirer.net' now), all the local blogs and there's even one in moderation queue at Kikay Exchange by one of the contributors. I talked about it both at my client's office yesterday, and even with basketball buddies at our game last night. Talk about getting in the news, Jobs is a news - hogging God, but it's not like we didn't know that already.

Ok, here's the things that kind of jumped out at me the first time I read its specs - which is pretty much what everybody else in the whole world can only do since like I said, it ain't around yet and won't be for a while.

[tag]EDGE[/tag] - edge? EDGE? On the supposedly most highest of hi-tech phones in the world? I mean, it's not like we haven't yet even come to grasp with [tag]3G[/tag] yet, then this thing takes a step back? How so early 2000s, and somewhat indicative of either a rushed product or one that has been so long in the making that it still retains some of the early features when it was first laid out on paper. It has [tag]wi-fi[/tag] though, which is always good, albeit limited.

US$599 - that's the price for the 8gb model, while the 4gb one costs $499.00. Amazing once you put a pricetag onto something, all the hype just fizzles out and you are forced back to reality. That's Php 29,950.00 and Php 24,950.00 respectively. While not that expensive, I bet once you hold that money in your hands, you're gonna start asking yourself what other phone you can buy with that kind of money, and start looking around at Nokia's N Series and SE's, Samsungs, LG's and Motorola's high end phones and the other PDAs as well. Granted, unless those other guys come up with something really good soon, I'd say the iPhone is the most interesting model at that price range.

Irreplacable batteries ala iPod - Why? That just plain doesn't make sense. No need to explain that.

[tag]Cingular[/tag] locked - You know, locking your phone to any single provider brings about only bad things. Promise. First, you will be feeding an underground economy of phone 'unlockers' who will open up your precious phone to make it available for use elsewhere. While that sounds ok to the consumer, that is what Jobs hates to see, with his devotion to maintaining the 'Mac experience' via keeping complete control of his products and how they are used. Second, because Jobs has made a deal with a telco, any enhancements a user may want to place into his phone, such as oh, maybe, [tag]Skype[/tag], will most obviously not be allowed. This greatly diminishes its capabilities and will make many Skype, or any 3rd party application developer users for that matter, disappointed. Third is pretty obvious. Why would you want currently satisfied customers of competing [tag]telcos[/tag] to shift to another? Why make them have to make that choice at all, given there's no new innovation or even reduction in cost while doing so? And fourth - and this is something the American skeptics may miss - will [tag]Apple Inc.[/tag] do so in every country? And if they for example, choose [tag]Globe[/tag] instead of [tag]Smart[/tag] when they come here, then I'll be in trouble, because I am a (more or less) satisfied Smart customer.

Cannot install 3rd party apps - Yup. I mentioned Skype, and make that the same for pretty much anything else you may want to install. It's pretty simple. You CANNOT. This system may work for most [tag]Macs[/tag], which comes with a plethora of applications that makes it 'complete' and 'ready to run out of the box' (there's one of those Mac ads that had this subject in mind) . Keep in mind however, that many of these apps that come with Macs perform fundamental easy tasks anyway, and for the most part, you'll not want to look for replacements for these. It's not the same with Phones. Again we go back to Skype. Skype is the sort of ground breaking, revolutionary innovation that makes everyone stand up and want it. As a result, they pattern their gadget buying habits after it as well. To miss out on something like this isn't good.

So anyway, these are what I've noticed so far. There are a lot of cool neat things though, like an 8gb flash drive (no moveable parts!), and one of the coolest looking GUIs around. Although keep in mind, cool looking GUIs is something gadget buyers need to look beyond quickly. I mean, remember how excited everyone was when XP came out, and now we all can't seem to get rid of that wheat field fast enough. That'll be the same with Vista's Aero too for sure. So get over how it looks and start checking out the specs and how it'll work for you because aesthetics can get pretty old quickly anyway.

For sure, I'd want to try one out. Who wouldn't? But let's be realistic here. It's just a phone. Just another gadget, just brilliantly marketed by a true icon of a man.

I've had it for longer than two weeks, and as of yet I've not had it provide any level of reliability or usability.

I've had the black one too, and I wrote about it back in May. Results were almost similar, except that was even worse as it was slow. This white one, nicknamed 'Pure', a limited edition version with a firmware update (as I understood it) and a replacement to the black one when I told them about my problems with it, is a lot faster but nonetheless - and I really hate to say this - useless.

Let me try to bullet point it.

1. Firstly, I am not its intended market because I'd be the first to admit I'm not a big fan of PDAs. I find these expensive computer wannabees as pure tech-toys than anything else, things to brag about or show to friends, but with very limited practical use. However, I promise you I'd still appreciate something well done if it showed it, and this did not.
2. Secondly, my main gripes are that it hangs, and that it forgets the time and date after you turn it off. I was told the updates would fix this, but it did not.
3. Another issue is how unreliable wifi is. I've only been able to use mobile wifi on the Nokia N91, and I found the experience exceptional. Here however, IE takes a long time to load pages, even if I it says it was connected. Also, ever since I connected with Robinson' Galleria's wifi network, it never gave up that connection even when I was trying to connect with Airborne Access or an Ayala network. So when I was at Glorietta yesterday, it kept saying it had a medium connection to Galleria's, and when you try it, you get zilch. Annoying.
4. Finally, and this is related to the first one: I find the idea of texting via a stylus on a tiny keyboard completely stupid, and the idea that one should pay P45,000.00 for a gadget that forces you to do so LUDICROUS. If I'm gonna shell out P45,000.00, I not only want something luxurious (which this is), I'd want something that'd make everyday tasks easier (which this IS NOT).

I'm returning it today, and I told the PR firm what I felt. I'm not sure if they understood what I meant, but they'll find out soon enough when I write my review.

For the most part, my reviews usually favor the manufacturer by default, what with my belief that something hyped so much and costs this much can't possibly be this bad, and my hesitation to write something negative in the first place. However, they've had their chance, and so I need to do my job.

Needless to say, this is all my opinion of course, gathered after some time using it (or trying to use it in this case). Ergo, I might be wrong, and so I'd like to hear from others who've had a positive experience with it. Prove me wrong, please. Otherwise, its thumbs down for this one.

Technorati Tags: o2 xda atom pure, windows mobile 5, pda, gadget, gadget review

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At any rate, here're a few pics of their more famous products, plus you can download the press kit and prices after the jump.

Download the prices and pr here. For inquiries email here or call +632.637.0474.

Technorati Tags: belkin, microwarehouse, kvm switches, ipod accessories

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Technorati Tags: samsung lcd monitors syncmaster 21gtw, syncmaster 244t, syncmaster 711nd, syncmaster 931ba, syncmaster 931bf, syncmaster 940mg, syncmaster 971p, samsung printers clp-300n, samsung printer clx-3160n, samsung printer ml-2571n, samsung printer ml-3051n, samsung printer scx-4200, samsung printer scx-5530fn, samsung printer scx-6230f

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now, the pics:

Technorati Tags: Ferrari 4006WLMi, Mobile AMD Turion 64 ML40, 15.4 WXGA TFT, 1024mb. DDR RAM, 120gb 5400rpm HD, 5 in 1 card reader, DVD super multi slot, 56k modem, 10/100/1000 Lan port, 802.11g/b wifi

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The culprit. The processor fan went all emo on me, and it'd stop every so often with a dramatic, ugly sound.

Anyway, it's all fixed now. Bought a new fan for P170.00, and removed it's crummy heatsink for my old one, which was taller and allowed for more air.

I swabbed it with thermal paste and voila! Incidentally it also quieted the beast down. I highly recommend people changing their fans at least once every two years or so, and at P170.00 why not.

Since I was at the computer store, I bought myself one of those fancy fans for P90.00 as well. It emits a red glow, which has unexpectedly given my PC a 'nightclub' look. All we need now is a disco ball, some dancing girls and beer.

The trip all the way to Gilmore, QC was exhausting. Anyway, soon as I get rested up I'll start taking pics of my latest gadget review, the seriously spec'd Acer Ferrari 4000, aka Ferrari 4006WLMi,

.

And now, to zzzz..

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Trying out any N-Series phone is a really special experience. I take a great deal of time trying to figure out what exactly they were trying to do with it before writing it up, and N-Series phones always have a lot to say. Their designers and engineers spend a lot of time dreaming it up, and sometimes I think they're given a clean slate when it comes to N-Series. What I want to do is to figure out the goal they were trying to achieve, and after using it, determine if they've achieved it.

That's actually the key difference, I think, to writing for Lifestyle and writing for Tech. Writing for lifestyle is in effect, explaining products to ordinary people. That means I avoid jargon as much as possible, and stick to how an ordinary joe would find value in it.

If tech publications are at fault in anything, it's that they've marketed these things as 'must - haves', sometimes as tools to use to make headway into social groups. that is completely way off the mark, and misses the point of technology entirely. In fact, I interviewed for a magazine post a few weeks ago, and decided that I didn't want the job when they said it's a prerogative to mention a few key jargon or two, for the purpose of 'mentioning these over a beer or two at a bar, for impressing their friends'. I almost choked.

Technology is supposed to help us do our daily things better (and I suppose if your daily thing is to impress your friends, then yes, go ahead and buy an N-Series). However, that is such a shallow, wasteful and potentially dangerous (because it sends the manufacturer the wrong signals, that we just want to impress people and develop products to that end) way of looking at tech.

I'm fairly determined that writing about gadgets for the ordinary folk to understand is the way to go, and the most fulfilling and, at the end of the day, most effective way to explain it. Techies must never forget that they need to reach out to non-techies in order to best preach the value of these, consequently increasing its users and the number of people it helps. And the best way is to immerse it into your daily life and see how it works out.

But this is waaay too much deep thinking at 9:31am. Especially when I'm just plugging a Nokia N91 review. Must be the coffee. It tastes extra strong today. I think I put too much sugar. I hope Inq7 doesn't change URLs again. Read my review of the Sony DSC-W50 digicam next week, or an interview with a heavy MS Office user (I'm not sure which will come out first).

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At any rate, I went through Y! tech again today, and here are a few thoughts. These would've come out sooner or later anyway, but my head is all big and swollen from self-importance right now, so I'm inspired to write it. Kidding.

1. It's not really clear what Saved Tech Products is for, but im trying to use it for saving products ive reviewed for a newspaper. People usually adopt stuff like this for their own purposes, so I hope Yahoo doesn't limit it to 'stuff i wanna buy' or 'stuff i already own', although those two categories would be nice to start with.
2. 2nd, I was reading a very interesting article re Nicholas Negroponte on Y!tech when I had to leave (it was long). I wanted to go back to it but I couldnt find any archives and a search for it resulted in 0. Pity because I thought it was a good read.
3. The ff. is one of the ideas I was gonna propose to a company I was applying to, but since I learned recently they passed on me (bitter Bitter BITTER), I might as well say it here: Give us stuff to put in our blogs, like rss code (or in Java like Feedburner does) that can display, say, the 'stuff i wanna buy' list. People like showing off (yes you do, admit it), and the link can make Y! tech the central repository for user-driven tech reviews imo.
4. Flickr integration would be nice, as well as Ygroups integration, but again this is more or less related to 'stuff to put in our blogs'. At the moment, I've had to jump hoops to get related rss feeds to display on movie exchange and basketball exchange, which use a feed parser plugin for wordpress.
5. In return, since these clicks are traceable Y! can work with the manufacturer or store to make that person win that item or get discounts to get it, further inducing others to put that code on their blogs, and so on.

Information is King. RSS is the delivery boy. Integration into LJ, Blogger, WordPress, Typepad, etc., is the final step to seeing that transition across. THIS is what I would have implemented if I got that job I was applying for. YES I'm bitter and angry. I KNOW I'm embarassing myself my going on about that. I MUST stop talking to myself. :)

Great to see Y! paying attention!

Technorati Tags: yahoo tech, yahoo, tech reviews, technology writing, bitterness about not getting a job.

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I'm the only one who made a review of it on the Yahoo tech page, and I thought the lack of comments meant people hated it, but apparently it was better known as the w600i. I wanna edit my review again to say that, but it seems I can't.

a few notes:

1. the only diff I think between the w600i and the w550i is that mine has GPRS, while theirs has EDGE. (like, big deal eh?).
2. t3 mag doesn't like it. Of all the tech mags, t3 is the most extreme, either praising to high heavens or trashing it in the dumpster, seldom in between. It's the sensationalist route, which isn't to say its good nor bad. It just works for them.
3. The latest accessory I've bought for it is a p40.00 'necklace', so it's always with me while I work, commute or drive. A clear indication that a product works is how we want it attached to us 24/7, and I am the prototype success story.
4. OT, I've stuck it to 107.9 'Underground Radio', featuring techno / hiphop, my preferred work music, all day and night. I think its in test broadcast as it has no commercials yet. I even added 'undergroundradio' as a friend on my yahoo messenger. They were advertising it so I did for whatever that's worth. Next time I see them online I'll request for more Petey Pablo.

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Hooray!!!

Ok I suppose uses are less dramatic than that. Likely you're just gonna show it off to friends and folks. At any rate, I'm not entirely sure how exactly high tech the Swiss Army is to need USB drives on their utility knives, but heck I want one.

Official site is here, hi res pics are here, and here.

update june 30, 2006: Found them at a store selling Victorinox products. The 256mb. model costs P5,000+, while the 1gb. model is somewhere around P15,000+. Egad.

Technorati Tags: victorinox, swiss knife, usb drives

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If you think you're impressing the shorties with the latest and greatest, well think again, cause this homie's got sumthin for yall.

Dolce&Gabbana, and Motorola's come up with the gold or silver V3i DG, and all you fly-mothers better come correct, or this dawg's gonna get you awwooo awwooooo!

Check it out, you'll get special ring tones, screensavers, wallpaper, and animation. Specs are 1.2mp. cam, quadband, class 1 bluetooth, etc. etc.

But the honeys don't need that. The honeys need the matching gold pendant, the gold bluetooth headset, the gold wired stereo headphones and gold wire phone case. After calling the homies, you'll need to put it somewhere, so you gotta have the gold leather phone case too.

Although the site sez they are, these are not optional, my friend, that is if you want to get the shorties.

Check it out:

postscript: I always knew listening to all those Snoop CDs would come to some value one day.

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I really really liked that phone, and for P15,000.00 (at the time I reviewed it), I think it was a steal with its internal 256mb, built in radio, music player capabilities, and comfortable (sideways) way of playing downloadable Java games. Caveats are lack of expandable memory, a proprietary connector for headphones and USB, its bulk and weight and the sideways opening thing loses its appeal after a few weeks.

Technorati Tags: sony ericsson w550i, w550i, walkman phone

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