And it has been fun… being with family, and friends, with lots of food and fun things. Got to go home to the province for five days and it was glorious! I don’t see my family that much, and even when I was going home to Bulacan everyday, we rarely see each other, much more eat meals together. or hang out. It is definitely a privilege to spend the holidays at home.

But in different parts of the country, families don’t even have a home to go to. While I feel immensely blessed to be able to go home this time of the year, my wish for the families, especially those who met storms and typhoons, is for them to spend this wonderful time with family under one roof.

For many families from the small, coastal town of New Washington in Aklan whose houses were swept away by Typhoon Haiyan’s strong winds and deep floodwaters a year ago, this Christmas becomes especially meaningful as they not only get to spend time with their families but get to do so in their new homes.

All set to move in before the holidays, Salima Alcala and Nelia Roga together with 38 other families are filled with gratitude and hope as they await their wonderful gift from Globe Telecom and Gawad Kalinga.

Unlike what they previously had, the beneficiaries will be living in houses that are built back better. The GK Tattoo Village was established farther away from the coastline and the houses feature GK’s new design which is not only beautiful but also practical. It allows families to put a loft which can be used as a bedroom or an extra living space and which can also help secure the lives of the residents in case floodwaters come in.

“Excited na kami magkaroon ng sariling bahay tapos matibay na ‘yung titirhan namin. Hindi na kami takot (We’re excited to have our own house which is sturdy. We’re not afraid anymore),” enthused Salima Alcala. Salima and her family had to evacuate their home and move to higher ground when floodwaters engulfed their house.

Another resident Nelia Roga said: “Gusto ko sabihin sa Globe na nagpapasalamat kami na tumulong sila sa amin, nabigyan kami ng bahay. (We want to tell Globe that we are grateful for their effort to provide us with a house).” Although Nelia and family did not leave during the onslaught, their house still suffered severe damage which forced them to stay with relatives.

“One of the things necessary to rebuild the communities and bring back a semblance of normalcy is for those affected by the disaster to again have their own homes instead of living with relatives or in makeshift shelters. So we are glad to finally see the fruits of our efforts to provide homes for Typhoon Haiyan victims. However, we are not stopping until we fulfill all our commitments. That is why we are working closely with Gawad Kalinga in building more houses,” said Yoly Crisanto, SVP, Globe Corporate Communications.

The housing initiative is one of the efforts by Globe to rehabilitate the hardest-hit municipalities of Aklan as the development sponsor of the province under the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery. Going beyond New Washington, Globe is also establishing another 40 homes in the town of Libacao. These homes in Aklan are in addition to the 103 already built in Ormoc.

But now, it’s a bit more accessible and even prepaid options are becoming exciting… and with those GoSAKTO offers you’re never disconnected and are always on the go!

Get to know more after the jump!

In another pioneering move, Globe Telecom is boosting smartphone penetration in the country with an innovative offer that allows prepaid customers to avail of discounted devices and get rebates with GoGadgets.

GoGadgets is the first-of-its-kind prepaid service that allows customers to create their own prepaid bundle by choosing a gadget from a menu of discounted Android phones ranging from as low as P2,699 to P7,899.

To complete their prepaid bundle, customers just need to choose their promo combo (texts to all networks or unlimited calls), the validity period of the promo (7, 15 or 30 days) and the registration period (6, 12, 18 or 24 months), with no need to submit any requirements. Customers can earn their money back via GCash every time they register to any GoGadgets promo, which allows them to get their devices almost free.

Devices that can be availed from GoGadgets include CloudFone Excite 400dx, a smartphone that comes with interchangeable batteries and has 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB of internal storage and long-lasting battery which can last up to 1 day of heavy use and 2-3 days on regular usage and Samsung Trend Lite which sports 4-inch screen powered by 1GHz processor and 3-megapixel rear camera.

“We continue to provide game-changing experiences to our customers through the introduction of innovative and first-in-market products and services. With GoGadgets, prepaid customers get the latest devices and get their money back while enjoying the flexibility of prepaid promos, enabling them to fully enjoy their digital lifestyle,” says Issa Cabreira, Senior Vice President, Globe Consumer Mobile Marketing.

GoGadgets comes on the heels of another pioneering innovation from Globe Prepaid, GoSAKTO. When it was first launched in 2013, GoSAKTO offered its prepaid customers the ability to create their own promo, allowing them to choose the kind and amount of calls, texts, and data they need for the validity they want. With the improved GoSAKTO launched in June this year, subscribers can now add apps and sites like Facebook, Instagram, Viber, and YouTube to their promo, letting customers create over 200 million different call, text and app combos.

Globe Prepaid customers can register by dialing *143#, choosing GoSakto and selecting Choose a gadget.

GoGadgets is already available in select Metro Manila Globe Stores (Glorietta, Market! Market!, Robinson’s Manila, SM Aura, SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, SM Southmall, and Trinoma) and in select provincial Globe Stores in Luzon (San Fernando La Union, SM Calamba, SM Olongapo, LCC Iriga, and Central Mall Cavite) and Visayas (Robinson’s Tacloban, Boracay, and Gaisano Island City Mall Bohol).

To know more about Globe Prepaid GoGadgets, text GadgetINFO to 8888 for free.

So a few days ago, Globe announced their iPhone 6 launch. And now, we’ve got wind of the latest plans for the new Note 4 from Samsung! It’s a great choice if you’re not really the iOS type of person – Mashable announced that it is the best Android phone there is.

Plus, the plans over at Globe seem so good to be true – but yeah it is true – with the launch of App Bundles you can definitely focus your plan on to what matters most to you as a user.

More info about this indeed after the jump.

Get the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 for only P1,899 a month from Globe

Globe Telecom has unveiled its offers for the newest Samsung Galaxy Note 4, allowing customers to maximize the features of the device with a complete postpaid plan bundled with access to lifestyle suites.

For only P1,899 a month at Plan 999 with P900 monthly cashout, customers get the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 with the Photo and Chat Bundles, giving them access to a set of lifestyle apps that connect them to mobile internet anytime, anywhere. The postpaid plan bundle also comes with additional 1.5 worth of GoSURF data monthly, free 3-month subscription to Spotify Premium, and free 1-month subscription to Gadget Care.

With the Photo Bundle, customers can access Instagram, InstaSize, PhotoGrid, and Photo Repost, allowing them to take and edit photos, make collages, as well as add captions and filters using the 16 megapixel rear camera, 3.7 megapixel front-facing camera, and wide selfie mode of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.

The Chat Bundle, on the other hand, gives customers access to the world’s top messaging apps FB Messenger, KakaoTalk, Line, Viber, WhatsApp, and WeChat, connecting them to their contacts not just from other networks but also from around the world. Using the S Pen’s Elaborate Brush Effect with calligraphy feature, Note 4 users can share their notes, scribbles, and photos to their contacts all over the globe with the Chat Bundle.

“Discover your creativity with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 best experienced with Globe mySUPERPLAN and our suite of lifestyle bundles which give you access to your favorite apps, allowing you to make the most out of the device’s amazing features. With Globe, we guarantee you the best smartphone experience all the time as we continue to bring innovation in our wonderful offers and customer service,” said Raul Macatangay, Vice President for Postpaid Business and Devices at Globe.

Strengthening its foray into offering customers data plans that give them a differentiated browsing experience and value for money, Globe launched Lifestyle Bundles, its latest suite of mobile internet plans that give postpaid customers access to a specific set of applications or apps depending on their needs and interests.

The Navigation Bundle, available for only P99 a month, gives customers month-long access to apps such as Waze, GrabTaxi, Google Maps, MMDA, and Accuweather for a hassle-free transport experience around the city.

The Chat Bundle, which gives customers access to messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, Viber, KakaoTalk, Line, WhatsApp, and WeChat is available for only P299 a month.

Those who use their devices for work and productivity can avail of the Work Bundle, available for P299 a month, which provides access to Evernote, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail, plus free 10 GB Globe Cloud storage that will let them back up and access their messages, contacts, presentations, and other files from any device.

Customers into shopping and e-commerce can subscribe to Shopping Bundle, which extends access to sites such as OLX.ph, Ayosdito.ph, eBay, and Zalora, also for P299 a month. These subscribers also get an extra 5% off with their purchases from Zalora. Finally, customers into taking photos and images can avail of the Photo Bundle, which offers access to Instagram, Photo Repost, Photo Grid, and Instasize for only P299 a month.

The navigation, chat, work, shopping, and photo bundles can be availed as a combo service charged to consumables, or as an add-on booster service charged on top of the monthly service fee (MSF).

Postpaid customers can also avail of month-long access to Facebook for P199 a month, Twitter for P199 a month, and Spotify Premium for P299 a month, all charged as add-on booster services on top of the plan MSF.

Innovation is an important part of the human society. It is why a lot of us have easier lives. It is why we have these technologies helping us get through the day. It is why you’re reading this blog post. It is why I have a job (furrealz). The matter that from my desk at a random cafe here in Manila, I get to cut across this message is an amazing product of innovation.

Where would we be without innovation? I don’t know that is why it is important for us to learn how to innovate ourselves. Personally, I’d like to sit in a round table with great minds to discuss this — given that my job gives way for it hehehe. But seriously, if you have the time, let’s start innovating.

It’s the name of the game nowadays anyway.

Through ideas that rethink the present and breakthroughs that make things better, Globe Telecom is fueling innovation that would move the world.

“At Globe, we believe in innovation. More than that, we believe that we have innovators within our midst. That is why we are gathering employees, vendors and partners to share the newest technological developments through learning sessions and booths for curious minds,” said Pebbles Sy-Manalang, Globe VP for Product Management.

She added: “Innovation happens all around us – from simple pieces of paper to high tech gadgets and gizmos. They all began with a bright idea. But we need action to bring these ideas to fruition.”

Thus, for the month of August, Globe has prepared four major activities that would make employees re-envision their life, namely: Mind Brew Talks, iSpark, Globe City, and Globe Innovation Forum.

Through a relaxed, sit-down café forum, Globe employees learn from top innovators at the Mind Brew Talks. Experts of different fields such as performance artist and corporate trainer Gabe Mercado; news reporter Atom Araullo; creative geeks Tonypet Sarmiento and Jason Drilon; startup founders Terence Lok and Justin Lim of ZAP; and Kalibrr co-founder and CEO Paul Rivera were invited to inspire employees to share their thoughts and ideas and make them realize that there is always a more effective and creative way of doing things.

Globe developer community Globe Labs is likewise, helping employees unleash innovation and break boundaries through iSpark. Similar to international hackathons which Globe Labs organize, iSpark encourages employees to form groups, prepare their hack concept, make it happen, and pitch their app.

To make things more exciting, Globe has created Globe City, a virtual platform where everyone has the opportunity not just to share their ideas but to turn them into reality and earn from it, all in a fun gaming environment.

Fifty learning sessions are also lined up for the Globe Innovation Forum on August 26 by vendors and partners such as Nokia, WSA/Telco Systems, Gemalto, SMSGT, DTQ, Stratpoint, Acision, Teradata, Amdocs, SmartQ, Evolving Systems, Huawei, WSA/TeleDNA, Nominum, and SAS.

Earlier this day, we heard of the news that a new low pressure area is near the Philippines. It’s like the 3rd one (I’m not keeping tabs) to hit the country in one month. And even if the news tells that it’s just Habagat — we all know what it did the last time it hit us. Climate change is real and all we can do is to prepare for the worst.

I was just at El Nido just after Glenda and pre-Henry when I experienced first hand how coastal areas are in these times of big ass tandem of waves and winds. I can’t help but to worry if the place I was staying at will be torn apart. Everything just went wild! So be prepared — and it starts with having this numbers at hand. Store them on your phones, laptops, and even on a notebook. You just don’t know when your gadgets will die on you.

Let’s all be prepared for the storms ahead!

News and weather photo source: Weather.com.ph

“TxtHIV to 8504 is Globe Telecom’s way of tapping into the wide use of SMS in the country and harnessing the power of telecommunications to further solutions in health care. It offers an accessible and easy-to-use solution which can change and even save lives. Our assistance to this campaign is part of Globe Telecom’s advocacy to provide communities that it serves with access to social services,” said Fernando Esguerra, OIC of Globe Corporate Social Responsibility.

Currently available only to Globe postpaid and prepaid mobile users, those at risk may simply text HIV to 8504 and answer five yes or no questions via an interactive voice recording to check if testing is necessary. The sender is then provided with contact details and addresses of the nearest specialized accredited health centers where they can go for assessment, counseling, and immediate treatment. The use of IVR, likewise, ensures that all calls remain very impersonal and confidential.

“I wish to thank all our collaborating partners for their support and involvement in this pioneering effort. Development of this IT-driven platform took some time as it required the involvement of key partner organizations that believe in the same cause of making health accessible to all, are willing to share their resources and expertise, and are committed to make the idea become a reality. Indeed, this is a trailblazing public, private, civil society partnership for an innovative, cost-effective, and practical solution to reach individuals who are at risk or vulnerable to HIV and STI infection,” said Oscar Picazo, chairman of Philippine NGO Support Program (PHANSuP).

PHANSuP spearheads TxtHIV to 8504 together with the Philippine National Aids Council, Globe, S&S Technologies, and local health programs of the cities of Manila, Pasay, Pasig, and Quezon. It is currently being piloted in Metro Manila but is expected to eventually go nationwide. More clinics and local government units are also being enjoined to be part of the program.

There are only seven countries in the world which are experiencing a steady increase in the number of HIV cases and the Philippines is one of them. The Philippines received 12 new cases of HIV daily in 2013 from only one case in 2009, with 95% of them involving males. Since 1984, 17,450 Filipinos have been reported with HIV, 1,599 of them have progressed into AIDS.

By widening awareness about HIV and encouraging people to get tested, the campaign would be able to contribute to the country’s efforts of halting or reversing the spread of HIV/AIDs by 2015 in line with the UN Millennium Development Goal 6.

At present, only one percent of the general population has been tested for HIV since most people are afraid to ask for help or simply do not know where to get information, making TxtHIV to 8504 an important avenue not only for sending across information about HIV but also in encouraging those who may be affected to take the first step. The text service is provided for free to Globe users for one year.

HIV may be contracted through blood transfusion, needle-sharing, mother-child transmission, and unprotected sexual contact.

Signing the covenant wall in support of cyberwellness were NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba, Anti-Cybercrime Group Director Police Senior Superintendent Gilbert Sosa and Tattoo Home Broadband Marketing Director Joseph Hans.

The increasing number of cybercrime cases in our country is brought by the rising number of internet users. To prevent these modern day criminals, PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group in partnership with Globe Telecom held the Angel Net Summit recently at Camp Crame, Quezon City, with the theme “Safeguarding Our Children From Internet Dangers”.

The forum was participated by selected companies in the country, including Globe broadband Tattoo, sharing knowledge and approaches to be used for research and prevention of cybercrime especially among children.

Globe President and CEO Ernest L. Cu with Anne Bouverot, Director General and Member of the Board of GSMA at the Globe m-Education booth, GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain

The country’s out-of-school youth can soon learn English easily and conveniently just by using their mobile phone as leading telecommunications company Globe Telecom introduces its new English Proficiency and Training Hotline during the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain where Globe is one of the exhibitors.

The move is in support of the mEducation initiative of GSM Association which brought together the Department of Education (DepEd), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and other industry players to create education opportunities for OSY nationwide.

The Globe Hotline is an Interactive Voice Recording (IVR) that could help out-of-school youth build their English language foundation without the need for formal schooling so that they can break into the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, a booming and constantly growing sector that contributes more than USD 10 Billion to the Philippine Gross Domestic Product.

It is now being pilot-tested at Bagosphere, a social enterprise based in Bago City, Negros Occidental funded by Kickstart Ventures, a startup incubator and investment firm of Globe.

Bagosphere trains OSY to get jobs in the BPO industry. Thus, once the Globe Hotline students pass the required English fundamentals, they can opt to join Bagosphere’s two-month BPO training program. Bagosphere boasts of having 90% of its graduates employed in the first week of program completion.

“We are leveraging on our expertise in communications and information technology to bring skills and training to the underprivileged sector of society so that they can also have a chance to a brighter future. The key task now is to monitor success of the Globe Hotline solution both in usage and effectiveness in improving the knowledge of our out-of-school youth. Later phases of the project will include expansion of lessons and modules, and usage propagation in the rural areas,” said Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO.

At present, there are 4.2 million OSY in the Philippines who lack resources, basic skills, and opportunities to improve their standard of living. In rural areas particularly, schools are too far away and with no internet connectivity, leaving children and young adults with little or no access to online education or independent learning. As a result, OSYs find themselves staying below the poverty line and working in jobs offering less than the minimum wage.

Once the Globe Hotline becomes available commercially, Globe mobile service customers can gain convenient access to English training, acquire English fundamentals, and increase their employability. They only need to be equipped with any kind of mobile phone as well as cellular service.

For first time callers, they will undergo a 10 question diagnostic pre-test to assess their skills. After which, they will proceed to English training which has four lessons that make up the fundamentals for English proficiency such as parts of speech, parts of a sentence, listening and comprehension, and pronunciation. Each lesson has a lecture, practice module, and a test, to check the student’s mastery of the lesson.

So let’s be real here. What if you’re in a restaurant and we all know that a restaurant only has limited staffing. There are a lot of people and everyone’s demanding, everyone wants the waiter’s attention. You got to order in your first hour of stay. Then another hour for the food to come. And another hour to get your bill. It’s irritating and quite clearly you wouldn’t go back if it has to happen all over again.

That’s also what happens when a fair use policy is not implemented. Of the recent news about Globe’s FUP, I think it is not fair that we are hammering them for it. I will not defend Globe, because there is nothing to be defended in the first place. I get them, because it’s clear to me that as a subscriber to a larger network, there are also a lot of people using their service and it’s just fair to have each other’s portions equally. You wonder why your connection gets cranky a lil bit before midnight? Because people are downloading shit. If the fair use policy is in effect, then we have equal opportunity to fast internet. NOTE that, your connection speed might be affected by factors like illegal signal boosters and infrastructure around you.

Like you, I have a lot of questions about this. Like why is it called unlimited if it’s capped (which was answered already: the connection is unlimited, what’s capped is the amount of data downloaded in a day or month.) Or why is the cap so low (read above, and you’ll see that Globe’s has a fairly high cap compared to other countries.) And other questions. It’s good that you have questions, but ranting won’t help you. Contact Globe instead and let them address your concerns. Believe me, they’re nice people.

Now I think the big elephant is why does it seem that the other network doesn’t have a cap Actually they have 1.5 GB cap, half of Globe’s. And if they’re not informing you about this or not strictly implementing this, some time or another, they will have. Restaurant analogy.

Welcome the Year of the Horse with a brand-new BlackBerry handset from Globe Telecom, as the postpaid leader offers the BlackBerry Q10 or the BlackBerry Z10 free at Plan 999, making the latest BlackBerry devices more accessible to users who have grown to love the smartphone brand.

The BlackBerry Q10 or BlackBerry Z10 is exclusively available to new subscribers and new line applications at Plan 999 with no additional cashout, now the most affordable postpaid plan offer available for the BlackBerry 10 devices in the market today. The plan bundle comes with Long Term Evolution (LTE) surfing of up to 42 Mbps and a monthly consumable amount for calls and texts. 

The postpaid plan bundle also comes with a free one-month subscription to Globe Gadget Care, the most comprehensive mobile phone protection against robbery, theft, and accidental damage, as well as 24/7 access to Globe customer service channels available on the mobile phone and landline, e-mail, online chat, Twitter, and Facebook. 

“The demand for BlackBerry in the country remains robust on the back of the devices’ user-friendly features and powerful smartphone experience,” said Raul Macatangay, Head of Postpaid Business and Devices at Globe. “With this, we are poised to give more Filipinos access to the newest BlackBerry handsets by offering them at a price within their reach. For as low as P999 monthly, get the BlackBerry Q10 or BlackBerry Z10 and enjoy the wonderful world of postpaid from Globe.” 

In 2013, Globe became the first Philippine telco to launch the BlackBerry Q10 as well as the exclusive carrier of the BlackBerry Z10 LTE, on the back of its strong and longtime partnership with BlackBerry. 

Built with precision and offering premium performance in a signature design, the BlackBerry Q10 smartphone combines BlackBerry’s best physical keyboard and a touch screen with the power of the BlackBerry 10 platform to help users communicate and collaborate faster and more efficiently. The BlackBerry Z10 is the first BlackBerry smartphone to launch with the re-designed, re-engineered and re-invented BlackBerry 10 platform, giving customers a unique new mobile computing experience. 

Visit www.globe.com.ph/bb-at-2-plans-lower or the Globe Store nearest you to know more about the exclusive BlackBerry offers of Globe.