My diGital worLd

Am I Stuck in a Dead end Job?

2016-11-08T23:49:00.000+08:00

Its 6:00 in the morning, the alarm clock of your cellphone is ringing and you're still in bed. You get your phone and click the snooze button for 15 minutes and get back to sleep. After a few minutes, the alarm goes off again. Still feeling groggy from last night browsing of your Facebook feeds and twitter posts you push yourself to get up and ready for the days work ahead.

For the last few years you can still remember the excitement in working in the corporate world after graduation but as the years passed by, reality struck and it seems even preparing to go to work is a very hard task. The question now comes to my mind, Am I stuck in a Dead End Job? Do I still crave excitement going to work? What will I do?

I will answer these questions next time since I am also looking for these answers. I also did some back-reading in my blog and I found some useful information.

By the time you're 30, your salary should be P120,000

2011-11-16T14:31:00.001+08:00

YES, you read it right. By the time you reach the age of 30, your salary level should be four times your age. If not, go and check what's wrong with your career. See a career doctor. Don't trust your self-assessment.

It is not a do-it-yourself thing. There was a time I was experiencing a severe stiffness in my neck and I was supposed to meet the CEO of a multinational company over dinner in Hong Kong. On my way to the airport I dropped in at Lourdes Hospital to see its director, Dr. Jose M. Pujalte, a world-class orthopedic surgeon. He prescribed a tiny tablet which cost me more than the price of an Emma Shapplin CD. But presto, upon reaching the check-in counter at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, I felt relieved and ready for the short flight and brain boggling meeting that very same day.

Lesson in life--don't trust yourself in areas beyond your competencies.

Farm it out. Hire a professional consultant. I am a consultant myself, but beyond my expertise, I hire only the best. I am prepared to pay the high price because quality for me is expensive. Careerplanning has being done in the first world a long time ago.

In the Philippines, we don't do it that's why we still remain in the third world class. It becomes a dictate from home.

When the boom for nursing employment in the US and UK hits the country, everybody wants to become a "nurse." This is motivated by the dollar syndrome and the opportunity to bring the whole family to the land of milk and honey--a promise of comfortable and easy life. Even licensed doctors are burning their brows again to study nursing and swiftly get to the US. High school graduates are no longer given the chance to pursue a career where they will eventually become happier.

Of course, it is the responsibility of the parents to guide them on what course to take in relation to their capability and interest. But it is still the best move to hire a professional career consultant. Planning should start from the time you pursue a degree. But it is not too late for you now if you will only keep an open mind.

A group of friends of mine from abroad who are experienced professional career consultants pooled themselves together and established a career consulting office despite of my objection that it will not prosper in the Philippines at that time--or even now.

Seven months later, they all decided to pack up and head to where they uprooted themselves. In my history as a headhunter for 17 years, I only got three appointments for career counseling. One was an executive of a mall, the second of a well-known television entertainer and the third, a very popular clothes designer in the '80s.

I have observed that most of our executives and professionals at any point in their career would rather buy a high-end mobile phone or an expensive designer bag than pay a career consultant for their stagnant or sagging career. They tend to forget that they have to live on a parallel lifestyle based on their position in the company and of course their take-home pay. If you are bent on having a good career, you have to focus on how you will attain it at a certain paradigm. It is not wanting but not doing anything.

On one occasion that I was invited to speak before a huge audience composed of young managers. I asked them to raise their hands if they want to become successful in their career. Everybody did. But when I asked if they have made a thorough check on where they were heading, no one braved the challenge.

I have interviewed hundreds and hundreds of executives and professionals in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, USA, Europe and even as far as Samoa and I have seen why only a few are successful.

New graduates, forget about where you got your degree. I never look at the so-called "top universities." I claim to pioneer in promoting this attitude with my multinational client-companies.

Have you ever wondered why this 38-year-old guy who earned his degree from a not-so-known college in the southern part of the country got a job which offered a whooping basic salary of P500,000 per month plus dizzying perks? You read it right: half a million pesos on the 30th day of every month.

This executive bested nine other candidates who are mostly graduates of "top universities" in the Phi-lippines fielded by other headhunters. The interview process was tedious.

First interview was done in Manila; second in Bangkok; third in Singapore. Then there were only four shortlisted candidates. The fifth interview was done in Hong Kong. A week later, I got a call from the chair of the company in the US and was asked to send my candidate to the US on a first-class seat that very same week for a courtesy call with the big bosses. He got the job. He was given a signing bonus of $50,000.

The secret? MBA? No, he does not have one and does not aspire to have one. It was his attitude, the quality of his experiences and accomplishments, capped by the desire to make things "happen" now.

If you do not have at least 10 years of meaningful work experience occupying a manager's position in your current employ, then you don't need an MBA.

Most of the top executives I placed do not carry graduate degrees. Being an honor graduate is likewise unimportant. I do not look at the transcript of records.

I often wondered why most of the summa, magna and cum laude graduates do not make it to the top. My profession has shown me the reasons.

One: honor graduates tend to be perfectionist and idealistic.

Two: they have high career expectations within a short period of time because they know they are the best.

Three: they have little patience. Since they are intelligent, they want things done their way, within their time frame which is impossible in a corporate arena. People skills matter. Team work counts. You are not alone in your department.

I once plucked a 28-year-old guy who works as communications officer for an international NGO. Impressed with his impeccable oral communication skills, I again concluded this fellow is a graduate of a so-so college.

True enough--he obtained his bachelor's degree from an up-town college in the south. He speaks with elan.

At a young age, he has already published a book on corporate social responsibility which is being used as the guide book of all the worldwide offices of the NGO where he worked with. He was asked by his employ to travel to different countries to speak about the topic he had written. I advised and moved him to a more responsible position with a blue-chip company for three times his present salary.

The company where I placed him was taken over by another giant. He called me up for advice. I coached him to move to another assignment. Other managers in his level decided to stay on. For three months, he could not find a job better or even parallel to his previous compensation, experience and qualifications. He started to get nervous. He dropped in my office one late afternoon and invited me for coffee. After a thorough analysis of everything in his career life, I told him to capitalize on his creative juices. Put on a new pair of shoes--be an entrepreneur.

That was three months before Christmas.

On his first month, he already earned his salary for the first quarter of the following year.

Capital? No. It is trusting the expert to do the thinking for him. His fellow managers who remained during the acquisition process were later advised on redundancy of their position. They lost their jobs.

It is true that career professionals move for better pay. But it should not be the monetary consideration all the time if you really want a high-flying career. Don't move just because the work is near the place where you live. Don't move because you just want to move. Pay an expert the way you pay for a nice-looking Louis Vuitton purse or a top-of-the-line mobile phone.

The best career is in the Philippines nowadays. Blue-chip companies are coming our way. This is the place to become successful. The most comfortable life is here. You leave the country because you feel you cannot make it here. If you cannot make it here, you cannot make it anywhere.

Be a winner in your own country.

Remember, by the time you reach the age of 30, your salary should be four times your age.

(The author is CEO of Headhunter Manila, an executive search firm. He consults for blue-chip companies and lectures on moving your career up. He also coaches executives and professionals.)

Improve your Financial Stability

2011-11-16T13:24:00.001+08:00

Have you ever got the feeling that your income cannot cope up with your expenses? You feel very burden with all the problems and all the solutions you could think off cannot still cope up with your expenses.

I suggest you sit down and relax but you may ask how could you relax if your full of debts? The steps and basic technique to relax is to free your mind, go out, think of the positive things that you have done in your life or the things that made you happy. Imagine of a place that you can relax, focused on the positive energy and let go of the negative energy. In that way you can think with an open mind.

Next, list all the expenses on a piece of paper, including credit card bills, utility bills, luxurious expenses, anything.

The question, what expenses you can let go or you can live without it? Step by step, remove that expenses. For example, is it necessary to spend that much on the clothing expenses? Or can I still go to the office commuting and not using my vehicle to save on gas? or cut the time usage of some home appliances like TV, Computer, heater or any other appliances?

List it again the expenses you can removed, and you will found out that there are more to list.

Then the hardest part, SAVING your income. I read an article once, it says "Saving is a skill, not all people knows how to save" but it can be learned. ( Learning how to save will be discussed on a different article)

Basic steps to start saving

1.) Save all your income

2.) List all your expenses in advance

3.) Only spend expenses that are on the list, unnecessary spending can cost you overspending and will eat up all your savings in just a moment.

Do this on a step by step basis, if you cannot do this on your first try, do not give-up. Start small and in a continuous habit, this will train yourself for a new habit of saving.

Once you get the hang of saving, invest and diversify to earn income from your savings (investments and business opportunities will be discussed on a different article).

Author - Crispin Janulgue is a Branch Head of WWWExpress-DHL Philippines Iligan and Ozamis Branch with solid background in Logistics industry / Sales and Marketing and a successful entrepreneur handling online business and brick and mortar business in the Philippines.

Back to Blogging

2011-11-16T13:15:00.001+08:00

Ive got this feeling since yesterday that I'd love to get back to blogging again. Well maybe I will focused on topic that I have more experienced with; maybe in the logistics industry, SME (small medium enterprise business) or Ebay.

Canon IXUS 870IS / PowerShot SD 880IS ELPH review

2009-02-15T16:05:00.002+08:00

Canon’s Digital IXUS 870IS (or PowerShot SD 880IS Digital ELPH as it’s known in North America) is a 10 Megapixel compact with a 4x optically-stabilised zoom and 3in screen. Announced in September 2008, it’s the successor to the IXUS 860IS / PowerShot SD 870IS. The new model adds two extra Megapixels, extends the optical zoom range a little to an equivalent of 28-112mm, enjoys redesigned controls and features the latest DIGIC 4 processor.

DIGIC 4 is probably the most significant upgrade here, equipping the IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS with more efficient H.264 compression for movies, improved face detection which better handles profiles, and a new Servo AF mode for tracking subjects in motion; Canon also claims improved noise reduction. The previous IXUS 860IS / SD 870IS was one of our favourite compacts, so the new model has much to live up to. Find out whether it’s a worthy successor in our review where we’ll detail the new features and directly compare the image quality against key rivals.

Measuring 94x57x24mm and weighing 180g with its rechargeable battery, the new IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS shares virtually the same vital statistics as its predecessor, although has slimmed down by 2mm. While still on the chunky side of the compact market, the 2mm reduction does make it look and feel a little more svelte than the IXUS 860IS / SD 870IS. Either way, it’s best-suited to bags and larger coat pockets than shirt or trouser pockets.

The exterior shape is essentially the same as its predecessor with a couple of small tweaks. In terms of a front grip, your right middle finger still has to perch on the cross-hatched Canon logo, although a slightly thickened right-hand edge makes it a little more comfortable. Interestingly the vertical ridge which previously ran alongside the right of the screen as a thumb rest has now been switched for a small patch of raised triangular shapes; we preferred the previous arrangement, but the new patch still allows for an effective thumb rest. The build quality is essentially the same as its predecessor, feeling solid and confident with no creaks or poor joins to worry about. Since it's slimmer, the previous underwater casing won't work with the IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS, but Canon offers a new WP-DC26 accessory that's good to depths of 40m.

Canon’s taken the opportunity to redesign some of the controls, which may be in the same positions as before but now feature newly shaped buttons. The biggest change in terms of controls is a swap from the touch-sensitive circle on the rear of its predecessor to a more conventional wheel which simply turns. In use this is much more tactile, responsive and consistent than the touch wheel, which we frequently found frustrating.

The IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS is powered by the same NB-5L rechargeable Lithium Ion battery pack as its predecessor, which Canon claims is good for 310 shots under CIPA conditions – around 40 more than before, thanks no-doubt to the lower power consumption of the newer image processor. The battery compartment also houses an SD memory card slot, and alongside the door, just off-centre, is a metal tripod thread. Behind a small flap on the right side of the body you’ll find a combined USB and TV output – the camera’s only port.

Canon’s slightly extended the optical zoom range from 3.8 to 4x, although this makes little difference in real-life and is more likely a decision made for marketing purposes. So the previous 28-105mm equivalent range has now become 28-112mm, giving the IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS 7mm longer reach than its predecessor. At least the 28mm wide angle coverage is still present though, and unusually remains a rare specification on Canon’s current range of compacts. As always, wide-angle coverage is invaluable when you’re faced with expansive landscapes, large buildings, cramped interiors or big group shots. You can see an example of its coverage below, and further examples of how you can use it in our sample images Gallery.

Canon IXUS 870IS / PowerShot SD 880IS coverage

5-20mm at 5mm (28 mm equivalent)		5-20mm at 20mm (112mm equivalent)

The lens extends rapidly upon power-up with the camera ready for action in around 1.5 seconds. A rocker around the shutter release operates the zoom motor with the IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS lurching a little between increments – we counted 10 steps between wide angle and telephoto. The focal ratio remains f2.8-5.8 but the closest focusing distance when zoomed-out has been improved from 3cm to 2cm - this allows for impressive close-up shots although it’s difficult not to cast shadows on the subject at the closest distance.

The IS in the camera’s title stands for Image Stabilisation, which helps combat camera shake. It’s an optical system and Canon offers three modes: Continuous where the system operates all the time, Shoot Only which only applies stabilisation as you take the photo, and Panning which only stabilises in the vertical axis for when you’re moving the camera horizontally as you take the photo – for an example of using the latter, see the Blurring Action tutorial at our sister site, DSLR Tips.

Canon IXUS 870IS / PowerShot SD 880IS Image Stabilisation off / on (Continuous)

100% crop, 5-20mm at 20mm, 1/10, 100 ISO, IS off		100% crop, 5-20mm at 20mm, 1/10, 100 ISO, IS on

Above are examples taken with and without Continuous stabilisation with the IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS fully zoomed-into its maximum equivalent of 112mm. Traditional photographic advice would recommend a shutter speed of at least 1/112 to eliminate camera shake, so by achieving almost complete sharpness at 1/10 with stabilisation proves the system is good for around three stops of compensation.

Round the back is a 3in screen with 230k pixels – the same spec as its predecessor, but using one of Canon’s latest Pure Colour II panels which claims brighter colours and a wider viewing angle. In use the screen certainly looked very good and is one of the best 3in / 230k models we’ve seen.

Like other recent Canon compacts, the IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS features a useful superimposed Function menu which runs vertically down the left side of the screen when you press the FUNC SET button. Pressing the up and down buttons will highlight each setting available in the current mode, with the options for each shown in a strip running along the bottom of the screen; you then simply press the left and right buttons or spin the rear wheel to set the desired value. This system allows you to quickly and easily adjust aspects like the image quality, white balance, metering and exposure compensation.

The direction buttons double-up outside of the Function menu to offer direct adjustments over the ISO sensitivity, flash, drive and focus modes, again with the wheel offering quick and tactile control over the options. Above these are the play and direct print buttons, while below are the Menu and DISP buttons.

While shooting, the DISP button switches between a clean view of the image or one with shooting information. You can enable a three-by-three grid in one of the menus, but sadly there’s still no live histogram.

During playback, the DISP button cycles between a clean view and ones with basic or detailed shooting information, the latter including a brightness histogram. An additional page in playback shows a thumbnail of the image alongside an enlarged portion showing the active focus area. If the photo was taken with Face Detection, then the enlargement will show the primary subject’s face, allowing you to quickly check their expression and confirm the focus. You can also zoom-in further on the detail if desired, or switch between other focus points – it’s a handy feature in practice. Turning the camera to the side will rotate the image by 90 degrees to always remain upright – handy for filling the screen with a portrait aspect shot.

The IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS has access to shutter speeds from 1/1600 to 15 seconds and two aperture settings, but like its predecessor, there’s no means to manually adjust them. If you want manual control over the exposure from an IXUS or ELPH, you’ll need the IXUS 980IS / SD 990IS, although while this additionally boasts 14.7 Megapixels and an optical viewfinder, it loses the 28mm wide-angle and 3in screen.

A three-way switch on the top of the body sets the camera between movie mode, scene presets and normal recording. In any of the three main modes, the rear thumb wheel is used to select sub-modes. For example, with the switch set to normal recording, the wheel will switch between full Auto and Program modes. With the switch set to Scene, the wheel offers a choice of 17 scene presets (including stitch assist and Canon’s Colour Swap and Colour Accent modes). Finally, with movie selected, the wheel switches between Standard, Colour Accent and Colour Swap. That’s a broad array of options, although there’s still no scene recognition boasted by several rival models, and sadly the time-lapse movie feature of its predecessor is also no longer offered.

The movie mode can capture 640x480 VGA or 320x240 QVGA video at 30fps. The new DIGIC 4 processor compresses the video using the modern H.264 format and encodes the audio as Linear PCM at 16 bit / 44.1KHz, then stores the result in a QuickTime MOV wrapper. Canon claims H.264 compression is more efficient than its previous video codec, and indeed the best quality VGA mode here typically consumes 1.2MB per second compared to the 1.9MB of its predecessor.

Of course the compression level could simply have been increased, but movie files from the IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS look very good when played back: smooth motion with lots of detail and few artefacts to mention. It’s a decent upgrade provided by the DIGIC 4 processor, and we look forward to seeing how it handles the 1080p HD video of the PowerShot SX1 IS and EOS 5D Mark II.

That said, it is a shame the IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS doesn’t already record HD video – after all, its rival the Panasonic Lumix FX35 offers a 720p mode, and the company has long-offered standard definition recording in widescreen. It’s also worth noting the Canon’s optical zoom is locked once you start filming, with only a increasingly fuzzy digital zoom at your disposal. The maximum movie length is around one hour or when the file size reaches 4GB.

The IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS can also record one minute long audio clips which are attached to images, or like its predecessor can alternatively be used as a voice recorder, storing up to two hours per file at sampling rates of 11.025, 22.050 or 44.100 KHz – handy if you’re taking longer spoken notes or conducting an interview.

DIGIC 4 also brings a number of enhancements to focusing. The IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS now offers a Servo AF mode which keeps tracking a subject while the shutter release is half-pressed. Face detection has also been improved with faster response and better recognition of profiles – in our tests the IXUS 870IS / SD 800IS certainly stayed locked onto faces turning to profile longer than models employing the previous DIGIC 3. There’s also a clever Face Self-Timer mode which waits until it sees another face enter the frame before pausing for two seconds then taking three photos. Finally, DIGIC 4 offers I-Contrast options which can tweak the brightness of dark areas in the frame to improve their appearance.

The IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS offers a basic continuous shooting mode that may fire until you run out of memory, but at a relatively slow rate of 1.4fps which isn’t really appropriate for any kind of action photography. We fired-off 20 frames in a relatively pedestrian 14 seconds, confirming the quoted rate of 1.4fps. It’s a shame there’s no faster option, either with a reduced number of frames or at a lower resolution.

Sticking with drive modes, the usual 10 and two second self timers along with the Face timer mentioned above, are complemented by a custom option which lets you set the countdown to as long as 30 seconds, and have the camera take one to ten shots at the end. This is handy for maximising your chance of successful poses and expressions in timed group shots.

At the heart of the IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS is a 10 Megapixel CCD sensor measuring 1/ 2.3in; the same as the cheaper PowerShot A2000 IS, albeit with a different image processor. The sensor delivers images with a maximum resolution of 3648x2736 pixels, which can be printed up to 12x9in at 300dpi. Four lower resolutions and a cropped 16:9 mode are available, and images can be recorded with the choice of three JPEG compression levels: Normal, Fine and Superfine. Unsurprisingly, there’s no RAW mode – you’ll need the PowerShot G10 for that.

Set to 10 Megapixel resolution, these compression settings deliver files that typically measure 1.2, 2.5 and 4.3MB respectively. Like other Canon compacts, there’s no built-in memory, but Canon supplies a 32MB SD card to get you started – since this is only good for about seven or 12 Superfine or Fine JPEGs though, you’ll be wanting to fit a bigger card sooner rather than later.

The sensitivity ranges from 80 to 1600 ISO at full resolution, with a 3200 ISO Scene Preset operating at a greatly reduced resolution of 2 Megapixels.

Finally, Canon claims DIGIC 4 offers improved noise reduction, so to see how the quality of the IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS measures-up in practice, take a look at our real-life resolution and high ISO noise results pages, browse the sample images gallery, or skip to the chase and head straight for our verdict.

Nokia N97 Review

2009-02-15T16:02:00.000+08:00

So, guess what Nokia came up with as a follow up for their Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Touchscreen phone? The Nokia N97, a Google G1 phone look-alike that sports a 3.5 inch touchscreen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

Design

The Nokia N97 looks like a cross between a lot of different phones from the iPhone to the Google G1 Phone to the AT&T Tilt (HTC TyTN II). Up front, the Nokia N97's 3.5 inch screen dominates the whole front of the phone except for the little button on the bottom left side corner which serves as the shortcut key to the N series multimedia applications. The call and end buttons are touch sensitive like ROKR E8. On the top of the Nokia N97 is the 3.5mm headphone jack and the power button. The Nokia N97 is just a tad bit larger and thicker than the iPhone and when you slide out the QWERTY keypad, you're reminded of the HTC TyTN II with it's angled screen. The Nokia N97 feels solid enough to hold though it just feels a bit too large especially if you have small hands. The QWERTY keypad is evenly spaced and you won't have trouble typing nor would you have to worry about pressing two buttons at a time. The buttons are very minimal compared with other QWERTY keypads from HTC or Blackberry. I guess this is to make room for the directional pad on the left side. The sliding mechanism feels solid enough though I'm a bit worried about the hinge that connects the screen and the keypad since it looks thin and breakable.

Features and Performance

The performance of the Nokia N97 is based purely on the demo version but I have to say I'm quite impressed. It looks like Nokia has fine tuned the Symbian OS to work well with touchscreen. On the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, you won't get much of the swiping and flicking finger action but they've refined it so that you can get that much out of the Nokia N97. Also, compared with the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic demo version, the Nokia N97 interface is quite fast and responsive. You can barely see any hiccup on the accelerometer transition or when you're navigating the Symbian OS. The user interface on the Nokia N97 is also quite new but is still very user-friendly. Like I said, it's touch optimized and there are a lot of widgets you can play with. The built-in browser also looks promising though I wasn't able to see if it supports YouTube desktop PC version. Scrolling through webpages isn't as smooth and fluid as when you're surfing the Safari Browser on the iPhone but the webpages renders quickly though I don't know if that's because the pages that the person demonstrating the phone is already saved and bookmarked on the phone's memory.

The Nokia N97 also supports TV Out, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, GPS, FM radio, and a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics. If the camera on the Nokia N97 is as good as that on the Nokia N95 then I'm sure that the Nokia N97 won't have any problems when it comes to its camera software. The Nokia N97 runs on Quadband GSM networks and supports 3G/HSDPA.

It's just too bad that Nokia decided to go with Resistive touchcreen instead of capacitive like that on the iPhone. I'm sure with a bit of development, they'll be able to come up with a lot of good applications that can make use of capacitive touchscreen.

Outlook

Hmm, looks like Nokia got it right on their second try. I like the Nokia N97 better than their Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and I hope that they'll be able to incorporate the user interface of the N97 on the 5800 XpressMusic though I highly doubt that since the Nokia N97 is aimed at the high end market while the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic borders on the midrange to high-end phone segment. From the looks of the demo version, the Nokia N97 looks promising enough. It's fast and responsive. I don't know what processor or RAM they've used on this device but I guess they were able to make use of the new Symbian OS. All in all, it looks like the iPhone, Google G1 Phone and the Blackberry Storm has a new competitor to watch out for. And knowing that there are a lot of Nokia fanatics, I think that the Nokia N97 will definitely take a large part of the smartphone market.

Sony Ericsson C905 review: Cyber shot, cyber hot

2009-02-15T15:54:00.000+08:00

High megapixel count is the rage these days and Sony Ericsson C905 is adding fuel to the fire. The first 8 megapixel GSM cameraphone to make headlines is shipping as we speak. On top of geotagging, Smart Contrast, face detection, and xenon flash, the elaborate camera-centric outfit hides the extra sweet Wi-Fi, GPS and turn-by-turn voice guided navigation. Is it us, or are cameraphones and smartphones alike lining up to negotiate a truce with Sony Ericsson C905?

The Cyber-shot squad has its trustworthy captain and its job is to keep spirits high in the face of cut-throat competition by Samsung and LG. Is it just us, or isn't Nokia missing quite some action here?

Official photos of Sony Ericsson C905 Copper Gold

Official photos of Sony Ericsson C905 Night Black

Lifestyle photos of Sony Ericsson C905

Key features:

8.1 MP autofocus camera with Xenon flash and active lens cover
Dedicated camera mode switch, two camera/gaming keys over the display
Face and Smile detection, smart contrast, image stabilizer, geotagging, red-eye reduction
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and HSDPA (3.6 Mb) / tri-band HSDPA for US version
Scratch resistant mineral glass 2.4" TFT 256K-color display
Built-in GPS with A-GPS function, Wayfinder Navigator software
Wi-Fi b/g with DLNA and SIP VoIP support, Bluetooth (with A2DP), USB v2.0
Enhanced user interface with basic multi-tasking
Media Center, Smart search, Manage Messages, extended TrackID
FM radio with RDS and TrackID
160 MB built-in memory, M2 card support, 2GB included

Main disadvantages:

Display is relatively small for a high-end device
Video recording limited to QVGA resolution at 30fps
No front facing video call camera
No office document viewer
Sliding lens cover of questionable durability
Exposed connectivity port
Fiddly battery cover

Sony Ericsson C905

Sony Ericsson C905 is no doubt trying to give it all. Now, finding room for all those goodies is a tough one indeed. Despite its massive thickness we love the C905 design and its imaging-related ergonomics. The impressive girth isn't that striking alongside the Pixon and will only get in your face against a real thin shooter like Sony Ericsson C902. You do get used to this in a while, and it's an enjoyable feature set after all.

More C905 views

Sony Ericsson C905 will be remembered as the first announced 8 megapixel GSM phone. That alone earns it a line in history but it's performance to decide if the line should become a chapter. By the looks of it, the Sony Ericsson team is going for a whole page, putting a great effort to dealing with the skeletons in the Cyber-shot closet. Now, that's about the closest it comes to a spoiler.

Sony Ericsson C905 with the display off

Anyway, the C905 is well aware it takes quite a bit to keep a bunch of sharpshooters off its back. Things have been heating up lately at ours, with the cameraphone finest scrambling and tail-wagging for a pat of approval.

Outflanked and outnumbered, Sony Ericsson C905 finds itself right in the middle of the Samsung - LG brawl. Both LG and Samsung are hedging their bets with two 8 MP cameraphones each. The Symbian-powered Samsung i8510 INNOV8 flaunts a formidable spec sheet and already has a head start on the rest, selling for about a month. Samsung M8800 Pixon is the other Samsung offer we just recently reviewed in-depth. LG stake their cameraphone fortunes on KC910 Renoir and LG KC780.

The 8 MP line-up

Comparison	Sony Ericsson C905	Samsung i8510 INNOV8	LG KC910 Renoir	Samsung M8800 Pixon	LG KC780
Network	quad-band GSM, tri-band HSDPA	quad-band GSM, dual-band HSDPA	quad-band GSM, dual-band HSDPA	quad-band GSM, HSDPA	tri-band GSM/EDGE
Dimensions	104x49x18-19.5mm	106.5x53.9x17.2mm	107.8x56.9x14mm	107.9x54.6x13.8mm	107x52x13.9mm
Display	2.4" QVGA 256K TFT	2.8" QVGA 16M TFT	3" WQVGA 256K TFT	3.2" WQVGA 256K TFT	2.4" QVGA 256K TFT
GPS/Wi-Fi	yes/yes	yes/yes	yes/yes	yes/no	no/no
Camera	geo-tagging, face detection, smart contrast, xenon flash, QVGA@30fps video	geo-tagging, auto-panorama shot, face/smile/blink detection, flash, VGA@30fps, QVGA@120fps video	geo-tagging, face/smile/blink detection, xenon flash, VGA@30fps, QVGA@120fps video	geo-tagging, auto-panorama shot, face/smile/blink detection, flash, WVGA@30fps, QVGA@120fps video	face/smile detection, flash, WVGA@30fps video

OK then, the scene is set and the all-star support cast will be enjoying a day-off. It's the Cyber-shot act and curtains are parting on Sony Ericsson C905.

Google now accepting paid apps in Android Market

2009-02-15T15:53:00.000+08:00

by Chris Ziegler

If you've been looking to make a little bank off that awesome flatulence soundboard you put together for the G1, take heart: Google's ready for you. As expected, it's been announced that developers can now submit end-user pricing for applications in the US version of the Android Market, with Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France, and Spain coming later in the quarter. It's no big surprise that Google Checkout is the only form of payment accepted, which publishers can sign up for right from the dev site. As for you Yanks, look for the first paid apps to be available for download in the middle of next week.

Update: We've just gotten official word from T-Mobile that the G1's RC33 build -- which has just been rolled out to owners -- contains paid app support. Thumbs-up for spending money!

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic hands-on

2009-02-15T15:44:00.001+08:00

She's arrived at last, the 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia's tardy entry into the (modern) touchscreen phone space, and we've gotten some quality face time with the device. Appropriately nicknamed the Tube, the device has a number of Nokia peculiarities that could appeal to certain sensibilities, but probably won't be taking a big bite out of existing touchphone market share -- at least in the S60-phobic United States. Let's dig in, shall we?

Gallery: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic hands-on

Hardware

Resistive touchscreen, huh Nokia? We're intrigued, but certainly wouldn't say impressed. Nokia claims the decision was made to appeal to the world market, particularly asian countries that prefer handwriting recognition to keyboards. Hence the stylus input option. It doesn't ruin everything for those of us that would rather tap with our thumbs, but means pushing that much harder on the screen, and using the tips of your fingers when you type instead of the flat -- knocking off a good 5 wpm or so in the process -- we'll talk more about software keyboards in the next section. There's also a plectrum (guitar pick) included that can hang from a wrist strap if you don't want to smudge the screen and don't feel like sliding out the stylus.

The LCD itself is certainly impressive, at 640 x 360, but colors and brightness aren't complete knockouts. Purists will enjoy the dull screen surface, which certainly cuts down on glare, but casual users often prefer glossy screens for watching movies, something this aspect ratio is very well suited to.

There's a very, very loud speaker in the back. It's not the clearest thing in the world, but if you want to share a song or something with a friend, they'll certainly hear it. There's also a 3.5mm jack up top, right where it should be.

The 3.2 megapixel camera focuses well and takes great pictures in daylight -- indoors is likely a different story, as with most cameraphones, but there's a rather powerful dual LED flash to help out with that.

All of this -- in addition to things like GPS, WiFi and a side-loading microSD slot (there's a free 8GB card included) -- are wrapped up into an elongated, chubby package, hence the Tube moniker. We'd hate to have something of its shape and thickness in a tight jeans front pocket on a regular basis, but we must admit that it's very comfortable to hold and use with a single hand, something that can't be said for all touchscreen phones.

Software

It's S60, so if you were hoping for something else you'll be sorely disappointed. Nokia's done "just enough" to turn the traditional interface into a touchable one with version 5.0, sizing up icons, adding finger-friendly buttons in lieu of traditional menu items and so forth. What Nokia hasn't quite figured out is consistency, requiring double taps in some places, single taps in others. Scrolling through most lists requires dragging a scroll bar, pulling down as the list flies up, but the browser has touch and drag scrolling. Nothing's too frustrating or unreasonable, but this is no seamless experience.

What's new is a touch-sensitive button above the screen that drops down the Media Bar for access to music, movies, photos, the browser and sharing. Not life changing, but quite convenient. There's also a new home screen with a "Fav Four" of sorts across the top and little else. Tap that friend, and you can get a quick look at recent calls, messages and even related RSS feeds. Pretty neat if you're a loner, but there's no way to add more than four friends, or view similar info for your regular contacts that don't make the cut. Luckily, the traditional S60 home screen is also available.

For text input you have four options: handwriting, mini QWERTY keyboard, full screen QWERTY and alphanumeric keypad. The first two are stylus-based (that mini QWERTY is truly mini), while the other two are only available in landscape and portrait modes, respectively. Like we said in the hardware end of things, the resistive touch means using the tips of your fingers instead of the pads, which we find a tad frustrating, but the keyboard in landscape mode is truly gargantuan, and after an hour or two of learning we're guessing you could rattle off some pretty lengthly emails or Great American Novels. Luckily, if you're a T9 fan there's nothing stopping you from keeping the phone in portrait mode and rattling off text messages with the touchable alphanumeric keypad, and the phone is frankly too narrow to work well with QWERTY in portrait. The handwriting recognition looks good enough, but we revert to a 2nd grade writing level whenever we pick up a pen, so that stylus is staying firmly in its holster.

We're not convinced the touchable browser is a step up over existing WebKit implementations on Nokia's other handsets, since the tap to zoom function is slow and unreliable -- and no, you can't select text from web pages to copy and paste. Panning around the page is also jittery, perhaps a tad worse than the G1 -- nobody has managed to pull off iPhone smooth yet in this department. We were using a slightly early software build, so some of these problems might be fixed in the final version, but it wasn't encouraging. Still, there's no denying the advantages of viewing the web on a 640 x 360 LCD.

We tested out an accelerometer-based driving game, but it was overly sensitive and no-fun-at-all -- though we're guessing that wouldn't be a hard fix. The graphics looked pretty good, though. Movies are potentially this phone's killer app, but you'll have to do the conversion just right to get smooth playback at full resolution. We did see some video shot with the phone (that Sea World shot in the gallery) and it looked pretty good.

Conclusion

If you haven't picked it up by now, Nokia isn't going after the power users here. The phone will be marketed under Nokia's "Live" banner, and really concentrates on the most basic communications -- calling and texting -- with a whole bunch of multimedia piled on top. Nokia's Comes With Music helps on that end of things, and the screen certainly helps with video, but this is no iPhone when it comes to to solid media integration or full-featured media player apps. On the communication side, we're sad to see Nokia almost burying some of its S60 advantages. Everything's still there, but Nokia didn't put the gruntwork in necessary to really take advantage a next-gen interface as it relates to keeping track of emails, social networking, IM and the correspondences of more than four people. All that said, Nokia isn't claiming that the 5800 is the be all end all, is releasing it with a very aggressive price point (€279 unlocked), and promises more where this came from.

The phone ships this fall in Europe, and will show up next year in the States without a carrier, though hopefully it picks up one soon -- a $50 subsidised price tag could turn this thing into a hit if the US carriers don't sit on it too long.

Tips for the Coming and Newly Graduates

2009-02-01T14:28:00.005+08:00

Let me introduce myself:

My name is Crispin Janulgue, I graduated with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration major in Entrepreneurial Marketing in Mindanao State University Iligan Institute of Technology, I am an ebay powerseller when I was in college and after graduation I went to Link2Support as a tech support for U.S. customers and after two months I went to Cebu and work as a Store Supervisor in SM and then move to Taft property as Marketing officer then to Cagayan De Oro City as a Jr. Salesman of Emperador Distillers then recently move back to my hometown Iligan City as an Account Executive Level VI in WWWEXPRESS / DHL Worldwide Express.

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Hi everyone, we know that graduation day is fast approaching, I know that a lot of you are very excited already to graduate and some are already planning their careers for the future. I remember this saying from one of my classmates in college, he told me that we are preparing ourselves to the employment world, we spend our past 20 years studying to ready ourselves for the next 40 years in our life so we better choose our career wisely and love it for the next 40 years.

So here are the tips that I can share with you:

1.) Make sure that you will graduate, do not take your subject for granted. In my experienced I almost did not make it to graduate because I have a subject that I did not get while I was in 2nd year college and that was Nat Sci (I hate going to class, and every quiz i failed), when my teacher told me that he was going to fail me, I was shocked and I did my convincing power to let me pass just for this subject just to graduate (do not imitate me or else..)

2.) Finish all your projects, do not let the maniana habit that you have plenty of time. Just make sure that everything is in order to avoid the stressful days and rush in the coming days of your graduation.

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Preparing for an Interview

As per my experience, there are a lot of job fairs before graduation. I suggest that if you can attend all the job fair the better, do not just focus on applying on one company, what I'm saying is that submit your application letter to the jobs that you like as many as you can so that there is a higher chance of getting employed. I do not believe in a saying that if you are intelligent you can get a job faster than others do, anybody can get a job if they go the extra mile, show your employer that you are the best among the best. The question is how to become the best if you are very bad in math or in any other subjects? Its simple, most of the works do not use the mathematical formula, you just have to do your homework, get the possible questions that employer will ask like "Tell me about yourself, how do you see yourselves five years from now?, why do you think we will hire you?". The best place to look for these kind of questions is try google around. After you are ready enough to face the employer, make sure your dress is neat and formal do not overkill your appearance just be simple.

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To be continued

Mactan Shrine ( Magellans Death )

2006-08-09T12:48:00.000+08:00

The place I am standing is the place where Magellan was killed by Lapu-Lapu.

Inspired by his success in bringing Christianity to the people of Cebu, Ferdinand Magellan crossed the narrow channel to Mactan Island in an effort to spread the Catholic faith. Whilst still wading to the shore, he was killed by island chieftain Lapu Lapu leading his army of men during the battle for supremacy and freedom on April 27, 1521. Magellan's body was never recovered and in 1866 a marker was erected as a monument to this great explorer, marking the spot that Magellan was slain.

Our Advertising Trip to Cebu City

2006-08-09T12:26:00.000+08:00

On our way to Cagayan De Oro City with my fellow BSBA Marketing majors

On board, Good Voyage Cebu Ferry on our route to Cebu

Posing for a shot

Replica of Rizal's House

2006-08-09T12:14:00.000+08:00

March 1893 - July 31,1896

Reconstructed in 1960, this house which sheltered Rizal during his exile is rectangular in shape and has a bedroom with a floor area of about seventy(70) square feet. It also features a veranda on three of its four wallsand a comfort room accessible through a bridge at the rear. On various occasions,the house also sheltered his mother Teodora, his sisters Trinidad, Maria andNarcisa, some nephews, his niece Angelica, and his loving wife, Josephine Bracken

About Dr. Jose P. Rizal

Dr. José Protacio Mercado Rizal y Alonzo Realonda
(June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896), variously called the "Pride of the Malay Race," "The Great Malayan," "The First Filipino," "The Messiah of the Revolution," "The Universal Hero" and "The Messiah of the Redemption." He is the national hero of the Philippines. Despite his relatively short life, Rizal's passion as a patriot together with his intelligence as one of the first Third World intellectuals of the post-colonial era have inspired succeeding thinkers and revolutionaries of the centrality of national identity as a social force in the project of nation-building. He is called by Benedict Anderson as one of the best exemplars of nationalist thinking.
Rizal was a polyglot. The medium of instruction in various academies in the Philippines and Europe where he studied were Spanish, French, Latin and German. There are facsimiles of letters of his that are in excellent German, and he also had correspondence in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, English, German and Dutch. He made translations from Arabic, Swedish, Russian, Chinese, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Latin, Sanskrit. In addition he had at least some knowledge of Malay, Chavacano, Cebuano, Ilocano, and Subanun besides his native Tagalog.

He was a poet. As a polymath, he was also an amateur architect, artist, educator, amateur economist, amateur ethnologist, scientific farmer, historian, inventor, journalist, mythologist, internationalist, naturalist, novelist, ophthalmologist, physician, propagandist, sculptor, martial artist, amateur sociologist and a Freemason.

A patriot of the highest order, the anniversary of Rizal's death, December 30, is now celebrated as a holiday in the Philippines, called Rizal Day.

Out to the Open Sea

2006-08-06T19:06:00.000+08:00

It was last year September of 2005 when we had our field trip to cebu city for our advertising subject.

It was 5:20 am and I'm in top of the boat waiting for a sunrise. while i was sitting on a chair, i find this once in a lifetime scene, so i suddenly get my Sony Cybershot DSC P92 to take a shot and it turns out good enough to show it off to the public. The island you see on the image is Bohol Island.

After 15 minutes, i took a shot with the sunrise.

Until now, i have never shown these pics to the public. And maybe in the near future, i will try to print these shots on a photo lab and put it on a frame.

the best photo software

2006-08-06T13:50:00.000+08:00

What comes first in your mind if you heard the word "the best photo software editor". Some may answer its Adobe photoshop, some may say its Google photo software. Both answers are correct, the only difference is the money you are going to spend for acquiring the software. You need more than $500 to acquire Adobe photoshop, then the question is " what if you dont have enough money to spend for buying Adobe?",

The question is simple: Download Google Photo Software editor, or called as Picasa. It does not only function as a photo organizer but it can also edit your pictures which i found myself very useful as an ebay seller, it saves time on editing pictures. For example, if you click "im feeling lucky" the picasa software will automatically adjust the best setting for your picture. Not only it does edit but it will recover photos that you have misplaced on your computer. It will recover all pictures in your computer from the time you bought your computer.

So if you dont have money to spend on expensive photo editor software, try google photo editor, its free to download. Click the link above "googles photo software editor" to download the software

Iligan City, City of Waterfalls (the place i live)

2006-08-05T19:35:00.000+08:00

Limonsudan Falls The two-tiered falls is the country's, probably Asia's, highest waterfalls, with a total height of 870 ft. The lower cascade alone is higher than Maria Cristina. It is in Iligan's eastern part, close to the boundaries of Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur. Situated in the hinterland barangay of Rogongon, it is 54 kms away.

Dodiongan Falls

Located in Bonbonon, 14.5 kms away from the city, is a 65-foot high falls cascading down a concrete-like boulder. Its tranquil, cool water and lush vegetation is a real haven for nature lovers. The pool at the foot of the falls is very ideal for swimming.

Tinago Falls

The falls located in Buru-un, 13 km away from the city proper, is hidden in a deep ravine, cascading into a calm, deep and cool basin-like pool. It's deep, and one can't see anything below even with diving goggles. Swimming or just floating in it gives one a rare thrill. Actually, there's more than one waterfall. There's a main fall, and on each side are countless smaller ones, as though sprouting from everywhere. The span of these wondrous waters is so wide that it takes a super wide angle lens to capture all of them in one photograph.