PHILIPPINES – APRIL 2011 – Casey commutes to work for almost an hour every morning. It’s a long commute – first by jeep to the FX loading station from her little subdivision in Alabang, then by FX van to Ayala, Makati.
Casey has done this several times, but the drive is not as boring to her as before. She whips out her smartphone from her bag once she hears a little beep, checks a new email deposited in her Yahoo! Messenger account, then proceeds to view the day’s news reports by surfing to a local news website.
“My smartphone enables me to be connected to anyone at anytime and anywhere in the world,” Casey says. “I just have to find a wifi spot, which are all over the place, and then I could be immediately connected. I’m so happy with it that I went berserk one time when it was stolen; it was like being cut off from the world!”
Smartphones may look like very complex gadgets. But the reality is, they’re so useful and user-friendly that they will soon be an indispensable part of your everyday life. A smartphone looks like your typical cellphone on the outside. But inside, it has a powerful operating system (OS) that enables it to execute more complex tasks.
A standard cellphone can make voice calls and receive and send text messages, including a few more functions like a built-in camera or a speakerphone. But smartphones, which have faster network speeds and bigger memory due to its advanced 3G network connectivity, can access the web, download documents, edit them and send them back by email, as well as view streaming video instantly. And these are not the only things it can do.
Which is why Mara raves over the use of her smartphone. A marketing director for a hip Makati-based company, Mara is always on the go, pitching to clients several times a week. “I make my changes to my powerpoint presentations on my smartphone. I just don’t have time to get to the office and do them,” Mara explains. “And because my smartphone has a QWERTY keyboard (a keyboard that looks like the one on your laptop or desktop), it’s like working on my laptop or desktop but without the added weight. It really gives meaning to the catchprase ‘working in a mobile office’,” she exults.
Majority of smartphones are distinguished by their QWERTY keyboards, enabling users to work anywhere they need to, thus increasing their productivity. Likewise, smartphones allow users to download software applications that make life easier and sometimes, much more entertaining for a lot of us.
“My smartphone has actually helped me connect with other housewives in my district,” said Myrna, a mother of two boys and a housewife. “Most of the time, I just stay at my son’s school, waiting for the end of his classes. But my life has changed when I downloaded this fun application on my smartphone. It helps me find other housewives in my area who have the same interests as I do – and we chat constantly throughout the day. It has widened my interests and my circle of friends.”
“And when I get bored, I just watch videos on my smartphone with the help of another application,” said Myrna.
Aside from being able to chat with your Facebook friends, you can download thousands of applications on your smartphone. And you don’t even have to go far to find the perfect smartphone for your needs.
SMART Communications, the leading Philippine telecommunications provider, is poised to launch the NetPhone, a user-friendly, one-touch, one screen smartphone that gives access to the most popular communications and social networking services available now.
Powered by Google’s Android 2.2 Froyo operating software, the Netphone achieves SMART’s goal of making the Internet accessible to all Filipinos. “SMART is changing the way Filipinos communicate and manage their lives,” said SMART Chief Wireless Adviser Orlando B. Vea. “We made theirs richer and more rewarding by the best in mobile technology today.”
