The WiZ Smart Lighting Launch with Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach

It was great evening to see people take interest in making their homes smart, while we also look and marvel at the beauty of it's endorser Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach. Together with Signify, they launched new products from Wiz Smart Lighting, a thing that supports over 16 Million colors and work with the likes of Apple, Google, Amazon and Samsung. Your existing smart home networks would be glad that you don't have to remove everything and start from scratch.

Aside from the products, they also introduced the latest update to the WiZ App which now has WiZ SpaceSenseTM which makes sure you don't get those automation functions get lost in translation or fail to function if you've got Siri, Alexa or Google Home working in your home.

Ms. Pia Wurtzbach actully tried them all in order to give a consumer's POV on how to work with Signify's various products. They're the best in the market, they were previously called Philips Lighting. with these new WiZ Smart Connected Lighting products, it's going to be easy putting up smart home devices especially if you're into themed rooms, spaces, because yes, lighting  makes the difference. They're quite serious about it, with a strong commitment, they want this to be part of every Filipino household.

Pia says "I know how it is best to use something reliable and trustworthy, and with WiZ Smart Lighting products, I could customize the look of different rooms in my home. I actually plan to do that in the near future because WiZ Lighting Products include bulbs to portable light and accessories. It's also automated and supports the universal standard for it. It'll be easy to learn how to do it."

The app can be also downloaded on Apple or Google Play, or even used via motion sensors. Imagine the possibilities when you get it to be part of your home! 

Philips Promotes Eye Comfortable LED Lighting

Light can go beyond illumination. These days, companies have harnessed technology for communication, to make lighting more energy efficient so it wouldn't hurt the environment. 

Jagan Srinivasan, Philips Country Manager "We started off in a small factory in the 1800's and now we've dedicated generations in the art of lighting. We finished our last quarter with 61% of our revenue all from LED based lighting. We are shifting to energy efficient lighting and this is the philosophy of lighting, we want it to be human centric because everything is picked up from vision, and you need to see right. It's very easy to make lighting wrong, we have different needs in your office, in your home, in your study. You need to seamlessly have eye comfort, with lighting that is gentle to your eyes, no flicker, less glare, and we have delivered this around the world. We are continuing to educate the customer so you get the right LED's for what you need. We have guests who will talk to you about what they use everyday, and this is going to be interesting."

Paulo Alcazaren, Landscape Architect says "Lighting can define a character of a space and depicts the mood of it. It makes the atmosphere you need for a room where you have to have general lighting, mood lighting and accent lighting. You can mix and match but you have to have proper design. Our use of light has an impact to our environment and these days, we should always have LED's as it only uses 80% less than usual incandescent bulbs. Philips LED's are different, it doesn't have much glare and prevent flickering."

A Filipino living room can use a general light on ceilings, plus downlights because it livens up your home. If you wanna relax and chill, Philips have these lights that turns from 100%, 50% and 20% modes so you get less brightness/dimmed as long as you turn it off and on within 8 seconds. Accent lights can be your strip lights so you define the space, the technology is called "step dimmable". You can also do that with these new LED's from Philips. It just changes the look and mood of one area, you just have to install it. 

The kitchen is but a place for Moms and Dads, but I spend a lot of time there too. Mom and influencer Kelly Misa says "Lighting affects the way we live. I asked a friend to change all the lighting and the old fixer upper that looked scary before is now a comfortable refuge for us. Philips is different, as LED's are not created equal. My kitchen is quite similar because I have decor, mood and function all in mind. We spend hours there to eat and just bond, and I also save a lot of money as we've changed all of them to LED."

Vintage designed deco classic bulbs from Philips look old, but they are legitimate LED lighting. It gives you a cafe look, but is a legitimate mood changer just by dimming it. It saves energy, and has 15,000 burning hours. It will age with you and still function. You can have cold lighting with LED tapes, so you don't cut yourself while you're doing prep work for your cooking. This can apply to all sections of your house, and have this also change the mood in other areas of your home. Like your bedroom.

Celebrity Make Up Artist Jigs Mayuga says "With the downlight you can create different scenes. You can acheive different lighting conditions in one socket. Lighting also affects how people learn so they need daylight looking lighting, this can also turn into warm light in one single bulb. Yes this technology is already available. Lighting is needed in precision of makeup and work, you can't do it in a dark place and you need to do it in the front, highligts the neede areas where you need full brightness but still have eye comfort. There is no hear coming out of it too (yes you can touch it) unlike other bulbs in the past that could burn your cases. It has to be soft, not to harsh, it's called color rendition which mimics natural sunlight. I use it in a vanity mirror and it's better especially for makeup I had to do for events of my clients."

The importance of brightness at home is essential to how we live and the right illumination makes a household more homey. Philips has researched and made technology for consumers around the world and make their lights from that data. It's gotten way advanced, and they promise to keep consumers in their future development. I'm glad we're seeing the benefits of it now. Have you made your bulbs all Philips?

I have some, but I plan to change them all since their 7watt bulb are going to save me a lot compared to 60 watts I have at home. 

KUMAGCOW

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Choosing The Right LED's with Philips

Saving energy has become of national interest because we all need to do it. In the past few months, the Philippine government is even planning to utilize privately owned corporations' own generators so they wouldn't get anything from the government reserves and work off their own capability to generate electricity, even go the mile of paying for it with the Malampaya gas fund. The government is pro renewable energy but I think there are just not enough private corporations that are building power plants that would be able to save us in the next few years. The crisis is imminent and we all should do our share.

LED Technology has gone leaps and bounds, even surpassing the energy consumption rates of low watt light bulbs and fluorescent lamps. Ms. Fabia Tettero Bueno the country manager for Philips Philippines says, "A power outage can be catastrophic for the economy, we lose the comfort in our homes and the stability of livelihood and business. It will impact all sectors and consequently take the unified efforts of these to prevent it from happening in the future." 

Philips is now strongly pushing Filipinos to save energy now by using the right LED's. Together with Philips, Deustche Investitutions und Entwicklungsgesselschaft (DEG) Bank, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), they are holding this #MayMagagawaKa campaign to seek awareness to build urgency in conserving energy in the country. As WWF President and CEO Joel Palma says, "We are consuming way beyond our limits, saving energy is one way of helping to manage the lack of energy. Most of what we use is from fossil fuels and the only way to resolve this is by also lessening the greenhouse gases, it's carbon footprint so it would have lesser impact on climate change". A lot could be done by us too. If we all do our part by lowering temperatures in air conditioning, lesser waste and using the good kind of LED's that not only consume less power, negligible heat and doing something in your own homes.

Greg Yan, the communications officer of WWF also added that we're all using centuries old technology and we are all over drawing our planet. They are pushing for this too because if we switch all existing bulbs into the right LED's we would have saved 70% of energy and would've given lamps to remote areas in the country. They partnered with Philips to retain the quality of life that would improve how we live... They're also spearheading Earth Hour this weekend and assures is, we definitely can do something about it.

The situation is serious and we just lost a lot of power just this last week with the maintenance of Malampaya. We don't have enough energy reserves because the capacity of the plant is 700MW. We need to fill that up by using less electricity and we all can help. 

Changing your bulb would be a start. Do you see the need to save energy? Are you using LED's? (It has to be Philips!) We're only half way but converting to non traditional bulbs would save us up to 80% and people are seeing it now! It's also affordable because they've got some as low as Php 150! There are even smart lights now which you can control remotely, or have it in different colors too! 

There are even LED tube lamps that you can use and mount in different surfaces. There are a ton of advantages and you just need to know how to get the right LED.

To make sure, you need to make sure of the actual brightness, actual life + guarantee and safety. Philips has even tested their devices with third party corps which attests to the quality of these lamps and bulbs. Switching to LED can really get you to save up to 20% of your electricity. People should start converting to LED now, not on a later date because the lack of power is happening now! Go and change them now and post it on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook with the hashtags #MayMagagawaKa and #UsingTheRightLED, who knows, you might just win some prizes with that too! 

Oh by the way, they've got special edition Team Manila shirts that would be also given away on their Facebook page and other social network accounts. They are also giving this away on leading stores if you purchase LED's from Philips.

Now tell me, how would your life be affected if blackouts would be a regular thing in Manila? Every minute, every second counts. Philips is also pushing for standardization of all electronic devices/the industry. They're starting with yellow stickers now, but they hope this would be done with anything including lighting solutions used inside our homes.

For more information about their products:

Philips LED PH

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Visit their official website

http://www.lighting.philips.com.ph/

LED's Benefit You and SM Malls

What light bulbs are you using at home? Are you using LED's already? Well if not, you should! Millions of people around the world use the same LED lights to save Millions of dollars in electricity bills because this is the technology that can obtain the same intensity light less the consumption. One of the leading malls in the country even have their own Solar panels and use that energy to efficient LED lights in order to have less carbon footprint and individually power their malls separate from the power produced by plants nationwide. It's a greener source, greener products and less harmful to the environment which is one of SM Care's priorities.

SM now uses it in carparks and other facilities so it would radiate less heat, help customers find a spot and make the environment better for all of us! 

Now you're going to have a safer community, environment and can even grow a million trees in places like Samar if you get Yellow Tag products in their malls too. You can help now by getting your bulbs change at home. It's nice to know private corporations are doing their share to make this world a better place to live in!

For more information about their programs:

Official SM Cares

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Visit their official website

http://www.smcares.com.ph/

Wonderful Smart Things From Philips this 2015

Philips, the world's number 1 brand in lighting showcased their best products in the market in time for Christmas season. They believe so much in innovation and has been going all throughout the country in order to get people see what can make their lives easier. 

Philips LED lights have been so good in my home. I use it for most of my rooms and plan to also change the old school long fluorescent lamps when they go kaput. The thing is, you only need basic lighting in bathrooms and bedrooms. Having different ones would likely result to higher consumption of electricity, which is not a joke in the Philippines where we go second to Japan in rates. We are also in some sort of energy crisis and saving in that part would be beneficial to the greater populace right?

Speaking of which, new technologies in cooking like this Philips Induction Cooker gives us something to think about in kitchen appliances. It's totally going to save you a ton compared to those that have heating elements which layer costs you an arm and a leg in electricity. Best of all, it peaks so fast you don't have to wait that much if you're cooking something. It's safer too because it requires no gas and you can touch the thing without getting burned. 

Philips also has things for ladies. I like their hair irons and hair blowers, which is essential for people like us who need to be presentable at work. :)

Their AVANT line has pretty good pacifiers, breast pumps that would take care of our babies and infant needs. 

I also saw this Baby Monitor that's got audio and video cam capabilities. Put this in your kid's bed and you can vouch for his safety, whilst keeping an eye on him. 

For the kitchen, you'll love the air fryer so you don't have to use oil anymore for those fried food you always love. Less fat, less cholesterol and guilt. I also spotted a Soya Processor which makes milk in a couple of minutes. The Juicer also is a great companion to those who want to eat and drink something real. They're also on sale in stores nationwide, like 60 percent, still thinking? I don't think so. :) 

Ms. Fabia Tettero Bueno of Philips Lighting Philippines says "We have been working hard to reduce consumers energy bills. We also are bringing fancy decorative solutions that are energy efficient and also help decorate houses. We are pushing for LED's because it has continued to be one of our most important contributions in the market. We want to know what its impact is in the community, we can think through together with our partners much like the the Dragon Bridge in Da Nong, Vietnam. We are also helping areas in the Philippines which have no lights at all. We are helping them to have grid independence and have greener communities. Helping them to save energy."

Mr. RJ Buenaventura of Philips Consumer Lifestyle adds "We are a sector that takes care of health and well being. Philips has been associated with high end brands but we are gearing to show smart solutions. We are going to more categories like shavers for men, hair curling irons, domestic appliances like juicers, soya processor and we are hoping to have more solutions for the market as we get more urbanized. We are bringing these in the next few months and it all sounds super exciting for 2015."

Malone Guevarra of Philips Healthcare announced that "Philips has lots of milestones these year. We made important partnerships with DOH and it has resulted in 10CT Scans, 18 Mobile C-Arms (so they can operate in remote areas). Philips also partnered with National Academy of Science and Technology to play an important role in Research and Development in Non Communicable Diseases. PLDT also worked with us by getting access to clinical information anytime, anywhere. We also have been pushing for iDose which gives less radiation exposure but more quality images. Philips will also be providing radiology equipment for the Philippine Orthopedic Center as part of their modernization. We would like to expand our reach, a universal healthcare program that will be accessible to all. We will also be promoting mobile and remote technologies so we will play an important role in the Philippine healthcare system pursuant to our advocacy, to provide meaningful solutions to its stakeholders, that's you!"

It's so easy to trust a company that has done a remarkable job this 2014, thanks Philips! I'm looking forward to see more of your great products next year! 

For more information about their products:

PhilipsLEDPH

Like them on Facebook


Visit their official website

http://www.lighting.philips.com.ph/

Coca Cola Tree Lighting Ceremony Cancelled

I've been covering this event every year and its been the only place where the brightest stars from ABSCBN and GMA perform together to celebrate the Christmas season. Now more than ever, the people in Leyte need our help. They are now going to use funds from this event to help victims of typhoon Yolanda... An even better and worthy cause. Here's a statement from Coca Cola Philippines:

 

Thanks Coca Cola! I wish you all the best in helping the needy victims of typhoon Haiyan.

Kumagcow.com

Seeing the Edge of Light: Behind the Scenes

Fashion Photography in the Philippines has evolved through the years. It doesn't just fall on concept alone these days; and you need to know what it takes to make your shots "above and beyond" of how you imagine it. You've gotta listen to those who are in the business and make your dream come alive. Somehow, I thought it was impossible in the Philippines but Masters Xander Angeles and Niko Villegas of Team Edge of Light proved me wrong.

I was able to attend their workshop a couple of years ago and I must say; it spelled the difference of identifying what my passion was. Fashion Photography was something I thought I was good at, but these guys at Edge of Light was just SICK!

As if there weren't too much Masters that afternoon, Lito Sy even dropped by! That was my first time seeing him. On the right (in Pink) is Niko Villegas who recently topped Mega Fashion Crew.

I just visited their workshop a couple of weeks ago for Fashion Photography and I immediately noticed how directly they were dealing with the budding photographers that afternoon. It was just like the time I was able to attend their workshop. They didn't stop at just theoretically teaching me what the whole business behind a photo shoot consists of. They make you do the legwork of actually shooting the model. You device a way to do the lighting and setup what you need together with world class models, make up artists and crew.

The equipment they have in house are also at par with the world's best. Some are also Phottix gears and caters to mostly any brand of camera. They've also got Lowerpro bags/other gears around for those who would want to get it for a couple of percent (20%-40%) off. Best of all, Sensei Xander and Boss Niko are Nikon Ambassadors. I love how some of their lenses feel on my cam, you can borrow stuff while at the workshop. Try out the lenses if you feel like it.

The set that day was futuristic, made of wood, tarp and fiberglass. Hair and Make Up was by Ms. Dionne Co; which I must say was equally awesome! She did a great job interpreting the concept and look for the model. Stylist Ashley Cayuca is unquestionably lethal; she's done prodigious stuff for local brands and this shoot was no exception.

These guys taught me more than just taking a great photo, they made me realize the need to learn how to think differently and deconstruct things so you know where your kind photography would go. I'm so blessed that I got the chance to attend their workshops. These guys shoot in New York for crying out loud; if that ain't enough reason to run after what  they offer at Edge of Light I don't know what will. I didn't shoot with the actual gear that they had on studio that afternoon but I've got some of my shots turn out great. Just imagine how it would be if I got to shoot there.

This shot I sniped only had one light on it. Now just imagine how you would experiment with about 6 or 7 more light sources, wind, other stuff and make your photo phenomenal. I suggest you do the next best thing and call Haikka for their next workshop schedules. I'm telling you it would really do wonders for your photography!

For Inquiries and Reservations

Call Edge of Light at
Tel. No. (63) 2 3832209
And look for Haikka
Or Email edgeoflightinc@yahoo.com