Cop A TECNO Mobile Spark 7 Pro in Lazada Today!

Aimed to please students this time, TECNO Mobile comes out with the TECNO Mobile Spark 7 Pro. It's a smartphone that can do work related tasks, video conferencing, online streaming and entertainment. The cameras on this phone include a 48 MP AI Triple Rear Camera with Quad Flash consisting of a  48MP Main Camera, a 2MP depth of field Lens and an AI Cam. It also has a Quad Rear Flash for those who need to take photos in low light conditions. It also has an 8MP Front Cam and Dual Front Flash so you can take your perfect selfies.

The Helio G80 is a 2.0 GHz Octa Core Processor capable of running different apps at the same time, so if you're a multi tasker like me, it'll be easy to work and play in one unit. It won't run out of juice easily because of its huge 5000mAh Battery which can do upto 14 days of standby time, 18 hours of calls, 16 hours of socials and up to 22 hours of music playback on your favorite pair of earphones. That's a long time, and this phone rocks it. If you're a fan of movies, the 6.6 inch screen is capable of HD+ resolution videos, on 90HZ refresh rates so you see nothing of those weird lines when it can't cope with the standard of what you are consuming as content.

The phone also has the ability of detecting your smile, pro mode shooting, night shot, time lapse, and even 2K videos. That's way enough for student activities, you can become a content creator with that video quality. So if you are keen to have a TECNO Mobile Spark 7 Pro, visit their official Lazada store as they'll have it there exclusively via https://www.lazada.com.ph/shop/tecnomobilestore/. It costs Php 6,990, which is really affordable.

If that made you stop and think about it, you deserve to get one.

Efficient Self Storage Facilities Opens in Manila

Have you ever felt that there’s just too much stuff at home and you don’t have any place to put them? Feel trapped in your own house and don’t know where to start when you’re trying to be minimalist and life is just so complicated, messy or a security nightmare. Good thing there are now storage solutions in Manila and they are quite efficient. It’s not your run of the mill warehouse either where everything is exposed to elements and there is personalized security employed as well. It’s called Loc&Stor 24/7.

Loc&Stor 24/7 are conveniently located in C5 Bagong Ilog Pasig and the new one in JP Rizal. This way all those who live in Quezon City, Pasig, San Juan and nearby cities can just go to the flagship facility when needed and the Southerners can simply go to their facility in Makati as it is accessible. Both of their spots also have professional packers, the tools and equipments necessary so you can go in an out of the facility easy. They’re all ready to help whenever you need to. Since they employ personal security, you will also be alerted if there are attempts to open your space, HD cameras on perimeter so you get peace of mind all the time, every time. They rent this out on short or long term use, even gives additional two months free if you get it for a whole year. Sizes include 1.5 square meters, up to 18 square meters so you can empty out a 40 foot container and fit them all in there. It is guarded, gated and flood free, no need to panic either because they have plans to insure your products, your wares and it is available in different plans. Isn’t that re-assuring?

The new Makati space is located at 155 JP Rizal Ave., Space Solutions Bldg., Brgy. Tejeros in Makati. You may call for reservations now via 8109556 or 09177095390. Solutions are Php 999 and up, go to locnstor247.com if you need rates because it’s all there!

KUMAGCOW

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Putting Up My HANNS 5 Tier Storage Racks

The long weekend got me to start some homework because I do lack storage at home. My pantry is so full I just leave most of my groceries in boxes because it wouldn't fit in the shelves. It gets that way every time because I do groceries on a monthly basis. I just got a HANNS 5 Tier Storage Rack and tried to put one up at home. It's tall, which was one of the things I looked for a rack plus it's shelves and posts are made of steel so I opened the box and started building.

It's got instructions but I figured it would rarely be easy to put up. I can do this, I said that quite a few times and end up still reading the manual. Don't put this up without reading it because it'll give you pointers. I started peeling off ALL of the plastic covers around the posts. You need to have them separated and know what goes in the bottom, the middle and the top. The one you should look for are the ends, it's quite easy actually. But for the ladies, please ask a man to do this for you as the parts are quite heavy. You can control what height you would want to put this in but I suggest you evenly distribute it sans weight.

Now make sure the parts fit especially the ones 4 edges because that's the one that will make this sturdy. I got it to stand around 30 minutes, make sure you have ample amount of fans because it's so hot in the Philippines you'll be sweating before you know it. Before you do this, make sure all the parts are there including the number of plastic pegs, rings, as that's needed to make sure it's sturdy. The manual has the correct number of parts so please refer to that then count it. Mine was sturdy as soon as the second level was there because I've got it all complete!

Now I've got something to put all my groceries in including the eggs, canned goods, and several food products that won't fit in my pantry. It's also nicely colored, in Mahogany Brown which I think won't peel and have rust for a few years... that's going to make it worth every penny. If you want to order the rack, just head on to https://www.facebook.com/hannsph as they've got a lot of things there for practical use. It's not just the racks, but this rocks!

Now I've got lots of storage, time to fill them up!

Power Mac Center and ADAM elements at the 21st Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

I was invited to go to a trip up north for the 21st Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta with some of my blogger friends to try out one of Power Mac Center's best selling products, a brand called ADAM elements. I'm an iPhone user since they discontinued the Blackberry, so it's quite a long time already since I've had my iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S. As a blogger, I've taken thousands of photos, tons of videos too because of my coverages and you know I would suffer in storage because of that. I've been surviving using 2 16GB phones because I have fast LTE connection courtesy of Smart Communications (which I am super thankful for) where I upload my media real time so my phone won't get full. Sometimes, I couldn't still delete some of the files on my phone because I blog on it too and need the photos to be posted on my @kumagcow instagram account fast. 

This is the 32GB iKlips DUO+ which I used during the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, it was easy to transfer files and take photos because you don't have to worry about storage.

This is the iKlips DUO which I won in the raffle, and now it's part of my life.

I've been looking for  a solution for my storage problems but I couldn't really find the one that would be easy to carry around and connect to my laptop when I need to. ADAM elements took us to take photos of the Hot Air event and had us compete with our co-bloggers to see who could whip up an excellent shot without worrying about storage using iKlips (the app), iKlips Duo (first generation hot swappable storage) and iKlips Duo+ (which I had that afternoon). I actually had the capability of putting all my old files on it and making an experiential video about the trip, so here you go and enjoy!

I actually had 4 entries in mind and wanted an element of humans in it. This one was for the German Balloon, pulled by men who worked so early in the morning before the lift off around 7ish.

An element of love, there were tons of brides and grooms who did their prenup in the venue.

This was the ceremonial first fire, done by the Captain himself

My photo entry called TRINITY. It won me an iPAD2 from POWER MAC CENTER!

I would like to take this bit and thank POWER MAC CENTER for bringing us to Clark Pampanga, thank you also to ADAM elements who gave us an experience using the iKlips DUO and DUO+ storage (one of which I won in the raffle! Thank you!). Also, thank you to the fine people of 21st Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta aka Ms. Millet who gave us Media Passes for the event. Thank you for changing my life ADAM elements!

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Huawei Holds Philippine ICT Roadshow 2015

We got invited to cover Huawei's ICT Roadshow which happened in Dusit Thani in Makati, Philippines. It's an opportunity to learn, and how Filipino information technology decision makers would be able to take advantage of the many hardware advancements that Huawei can actually provide for servers, mobile devices and make internal network efficiency and security a reality. Huawei Philippines has been one of the leaders in this industry and they've been working hand in hand with government agencies, private corporations and institutions to help in nation building. Tall order, but its achievable. It's a give and take thing, and I think that if they want to grow as a company, they had to make changes and show what they could offer the Philippines. 

As Jackie Gao CEO of Huawei says "We are trying to make things possible. We believe technology and communication will enrich lives. Let's build a connected Philippines."

To open the event, they also invited Mr. Monchito Ibrahim of DOST and he says "June is the ICT month in the Philippines and we've seen how the internet has revolutionized the way Filipinos live their lives. Internet fuels the economy too, jobs have been created there. 18.6 US dollars has been generated in the ICT alone, being connected is sharing ingenuity and innovation. The real test is how to make challenges be resolved locally and start digitally empowering our countrymen even in the countryside. We are optimistic that the free internet program to be launched in major cities soon will make no Juan be left behind. As we aim to be the global leader in this sector, innovations through commerce has been done together with ICT corporations like Huawei like  the startup challenges we held last month and I wish everyone would help make this country a global leader in this segment." He also mentioned he used to compete with Huawei in the past, he was glad to be invited this time to speak in front of tons of IT professionals that afternoon.

The projected 6.4 GDP growth this year, low inflation rate and additional employment will make business models in connectivity a success in the Philippines because it is innate in Filipino homes to stay connected. We have millions of cellphone subscribers and are still expected to grow. The NTC is working with also with Huawei in making sure stakeholders are taken cared of. The new normal in the Philippine climate will make disaster response and security solutions to be put in place, Huawei can help the country in this sector. ICT will thrive in the years to come, increase in broadband connectivity increases a country's GDP to result in a more robust economy.

Jubert Alberto of IDC Philippines says "No company can survive without the heavy use of social media as we continue to change marketing strategies and becoming omni channeled so they can thrive on platforms. Telcos should provide stable and reliable connectivity so we all can gain access to cloud and big data services. BPO's will push more emerging business models as services. There is a rise in millenials and they want it now, they want it fast, there is a large room for growth and I hope Huawei would be able to help the Philippines".

They also launched the OceanStor V3 which are enterprise level storage systems that can still adapt older devices and new ones so they can work together (hardware and systems) without totally phasing them out. That would save corporations a lot of money in the long run and the premise is, big data plus reliable storage units can adapt to new technology with their devices running it. There will be more network and mobile devices that Huawei will be dishing out in the next few years. Information officers should take a look at what's possible to salvage so they can still efficiently use rather than changing whole systems abruptly which will need more resources like manpower, hardware, plus training costs. Congratulations Huawei for a very successful ICT Roadshow, I really learned a lot!

For more information about their products:

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Product Review of 2TB Seagate Wireless Plus

I had tons of fashion shows this week so when this arrived in my doorstep I didn't get to play with it. I was excited though because this is the Seagate Wireless Plus, a 2 TB external hard disk that's got wireless capability. I have a Seagate 3TB drive that I'm using for years and it's pretty much stored all my photos since I had my camera. It's also got videos and photos from my event coverages which means there are probably a hundred or more celebrities inside the drive. This 2 TB drive looks quite smaller. I think with the years of advancements in hardware design, Seagate has been able to make drives smaller in form factor. I also have felt that they're way lighter than my old Seagate drive but the metal exterior seems to look the same. It's sleek and classic look would never make your drive look old even for years. I could compare it to a classic Jaguar if you've seen one in Manila.

  

If you're thinking about storage space, 2 TB can fit around 1000 movies. It would be a little less though if it's going to be those that are HD of course because that's a different story. Imagine how much libraries you can fit in this single unit though, you might finish a whole radio day and never repeat a single track as you play hours upon hours worth of mp3's in one sitting. This can also stream the media wirelessly so if you've got several cellphones, a smart TV, a couple of tablets at home, you won't have a problem sharing content from your drive. I watched Naruto the Movie, Dragonball and Samurai X earlier in my Honor 6 phone, my iPad 3 mini and iPhone but I didn't have any problems. I also tried transferring photos to and from my other drive wired to my laptop and it didn't even get a hiccup. 

I was also surprised to see they thought about international customers. I know people who travel and find out later that their gadgets don't even have plugs on the countries they went to. Like me, I didn't know Hong Kong was going to be troublesome because I had to buy from a local hardware store some attachments like these... but Seagate takes care of that all!

The quick start guide had simple instructions and they also have the USB cable inside the box. I just attached it and installed the necessary drivers. You can transfer the files at this moment because obviously it's going to be slower wireless. If you want to go wireless, just search for the Seagate SSID and associated your device with the drive and voila! I just removed the cable and I was totally wireless! Place it anywhere where you have wireless coverage and you're good! Well, actually you can use it even without the wireless network because this can work as your base station.

Western Digital Storage and Entertainment Solutions

We visited the Western Digital store in SM North Edsa's Annex to take a look at their newest releases specifically the WD My Passport AV-TV and the WD TV Live! I'm no stranger to hardware like these because I configure them for a living a few years ago. There has been some really good improvements but it basically only does one thing (talking about the WD My Passport AV-TV), it's for recording TV broadcast and streams. Even at it's small built, the thing has 1TB capacity but also got a 500GB version of it.

It's also got accessories that can have the device attached to the back since some TV sets in homes are wall mounted. This small wonder can record your favorite shows so you can watch them whenever you want. Using the remote controls of your TV, you can pause, rewind, or fast forward any scene but you have to have the corresponding compatible TV with it. TV Models would be listed in Western Digital's website. Video output is superb and quality is crystal because the USB port is already 3.0, making transfer rate of data faster. Don't worry about messing up the bracket because you've got the Quick Install guide in the box too. Setting it up would be a cinch, else you can visit their knowledge base for detailed instructions.

I also saw something I'd want for my home on display.

Western Digital Releases WD TV in the Philippines

I think I've seen one of these in Greenhills a couple of years ago and I know there have been multiple upgrades and advancements in these boxes especially since it is WD TV. I've worked with other brands and cable corporations who have something similar to this but still, WDTV presents more premium functions and features that you won't normally see in other media players. Now, Western Digital just announced the release of the WDTV Personal Edition. This means that any other media whether you have it on your PC, Laptop or USB's. the WDTV Personal Edition would be able to play it as long as you have it on your network. This is also Wifi enabled so you don't need to be connected via ethernet or directly wired to the box itself. For me, that's totally convenient.

Mr. Jim Welsh the Executive Vice President for WD Content Solutions Business and Worldwide Sales says that "The new WDTV Personal Edition would make it seamless for anyone to play in a multitude of screen sizes and get them to play a variety of personal videos, photos and music. The quality will be superb and it can support various video file formats such as MKV, MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV and a whole lot more." You can also use Western Digital's array of external or portable drives like the WD My Cloud - Personal Cloud which I reviewed a few days ago. You can basically take charge with the kind of entertainment you want on your living room, you choose your own applications, you can stream HD videos too via Miracast, Youtube, Hulu Plus, Vudu + a lot more while playing it on your hand held device or HD TV's. 

 

The WD TV is currently sold in the Philippines through its official distributor Iontech Inc and EA Global Supply Chain Solutions Inc. It's suggested retail price is around 4,890 pesos while the WD TV Remote app for smartphones or mobile handsets is free on the App Store and Google Play Store. You should check it out!

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Unboxing The Western Digital My Cloud - Personal Cloud Storage

The WD My Cloud - Personal Cloud Storage

Storage options in this day and age is but of a necessity and we've kept an eye on most brands that carry them in the Philippines. I for one am in the looks for it because I have tons of photos to keep on archives for copyright's sake. The good news is, they're getting smarter and smarter now. Case in point is the WD My Cloud Personal Cloud Storage. This came out perhaps in the late half of 2013. It's given a whole new meaning on what to expect with today's network storage devices in the lines of SOHO servers. Add to that it's capability to get integrated with cloud storage features that would be perfect for mobile devices. This is one unbelievable device and I'll show you how to install it on Windows 7. Here's our attempt to unbox it!  

Now, you don't have to subscribe to major service providers to get that cloud capability. You can also have less maintenance since you can have this right in the comforts of your own home. It's also a shared storage so you can assign rights to users to have different access restrictions re: Read/Write capability. 

As long as you have internet connection, you can use WD's free apps to upload and share files from different platforms. It can come from your phone, tablet, phablet, PC or Mac. I tried it on my iPhone and it ran without a hitch. It's like your own virtual dropbox where you can assign and create your own folders and set access to it too. I love that you can also check the drive's status and see how your drive performs while connected to the network. 

Just type in the url WDMyCloud/UI and you'll be taken to this user interface. It's got all the nice little things you need to know about your drive. It also indicates the number of cloud devices connected to it. If there are also some updates on the hardware's firmware, you can choose to do it here as well.

It might be simple to some of you but I like the fact that they thought about having attachments like these on the box. It addresses something so simple but you don't have to go out anymore and buy one off the market because they knew you had this in your home.

It's also autovolt, so whether you are in a country who's got 110V or 220V on their outlet, don't worry because you'll have the adapter doing its thing for you.

You've got enough storage as it's got 3TB of space that's perfect for those HD movies you've stored long ago on your hard drive. Please do yourself a favor and transfer it to the Personal Cloud Storage and get everyone else access to the file. I can even see a movie marathon spurning on your own personal rooms, whenever and wherever you may wish to get it. I watched my favorite Hunter X Hunter series on my phone by transferring the file from the laptop to the drive. I want to have separate access restrictions to my parents because they're used to deleting apps on my tablet already, let alone the drive if they had it. We don't mean to do that.

Up close, it's make is surely sturdy. The base won't budge unless an outside force would be too much to handle. It's got one drive inside, but you know what makes it special? The speed. I think if you compare this to my existing 3 TB hard drive, it's like buying a sportscar and leaving the tractor outside your farm. My photos were transferred only in a few minutes, a couple more faster than my previous one. I haven't tested it though to mirror onto another drive but the backup feature on it from this to another drive on my desktop actually works. Where else can you find easy setup with the network drives to back up on multiple locations? It's something that WD can surely be proud of. The cable seen above can run Gigabit rates. That, in less than 200 hundred dollars. I've seen some around 170 bucks and possibly this could be cheaper in the Philippines less tax and duties.

 

 If you've got to save files and want to have instant access to it, the WD My Cloud Personal Storage would be the perfect network storage drive to have in your home. It's not complicated to set up, the unit looks sleek and classy that it won't look like clutter in your office. Best of all, it's available at Astroplus, DigiHub, Digital Arena, Digital Hub, my favorite store Digital Walker, Heima, iGig, Quicksound and other specialty stores nationwide. You may check out https://www.facebook.com/digitstrading and see specials on other items like these in their stores. I'll give it a 4/5 because it's affordable and has got more features than the regular network drive. If you're already using it, can you tell me what other things you are using this for? I'm so psyched I don't have to use remote desktop anymore if I need files off my home. What cool things have you done with it?

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http://www.wdc.com