Technews

okia is the Top Brand in the Philippines. This was revealed in a recent survey on consumer preferences conducted by Nielsen, the leading global information and measurement company. In the survey, Nokia bested other top brands such as Nescafe, Lucky Me and Jollibee, among others. According to the survey, Nokia is the dominant market leader in the country, besting other top brands that are mostly categorized as Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).

EVERY MONDAY October 24, 2011

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Nokia first among top brands

Other brands included in the list are generally local and established brands which are leaders in their respective product categories.To be recognized as the most soughtout mobile brand and the top brand among other FMCG giants, is truly an honor," said Aveline Siy, Head of Marketing, Nokia Philippines. Nokia is well-known for its wide range of handset models from basic mobile phones to sophisticated smartphones. With the commitment of connecting people, the company is constantly designing products that cater to different users needs: en-

tertainment, social networking, business, and more. The exclusive Top 10 brands report was compiled by Nielsen to offer insights into the countrys consumer base, as part of a monthly focus on individual markets across the region. One thousand respondents in randomly selected urban areas nationwide were asked through a faceto-face interview which one (1) brand of a specific product category they consider as their favorite brand. The ranking was then determined through the number of respondents who chose the brand.

Dimension Data Philippines wins at Microsoft Partner Recognition Night 2011

imension Data Philippines was awarded the coveted Microsoft Partner of the Year 2011 as well as the Solutions Partner of the Year 2011 Business Productivity Infrastructure Optimisation at Microsoft Partner Recognition Night held in the Philippines on 11 September 2011. The annual awards honour members of the Microsoft Partner Network for delivering exemplary customer solutions in the past fiscal year using Microsoft technologies. Award winners and finalists were selected from nominated local partners based on their dedicated use of Microsoft technologies to provide solutions for their customers needs. Ernesto Batungbacal, General Manager of Dimension Data Philippines said, We are delighted to be recognised by Microsoft for our achievements. As part of our commitment to strengthen our partnership, Dimension Data has been making a number of significant investments in our operations to build

Globe Business Starter: No limit

oing into business is an attractive prospect for those who are not satisfied with living from paycheck to paycheck. While income from a business can be substantialand can be much more compared to being an employee there is one thing that makes would-be entrepreneurs hesitant: cost. But what if an entrepreneur can acquire essential business tools and solutions at a more affordable price? Business solutions at a cost that is easy on small- to mediumscale enterprises (SMEs) are now available thanks to various packages offered by Globe Business. Well-trained account managers at Globe Stores are ready and able to offer a suite of products and services to SMEsso they can choose the package that fits their needs and budgets. Globe Business is the corporate arm Globe Telecom that is geared toward supporting the efforts of SMEs. SMEs form the backbone of the Philippine economy. About 99.6 percent of registered firms nationwide are SMEs. These SMEs employ about 69.9 percent of the labor force and contribute about 32 percent of the countrys economy. The SME sector is resilient, relentless and is rich in opportunityit is the one economic sector that has so much potential for growth, explained Manny Aligada, Head of Corporate & SME Segments, Globe Business. Cost-busting deal One very good example of how committed Globe Business

up our capability in developing and supporting Microsoft solutions. Our efforts have paid off as Dimension Data is now collaborating with Microsoft and PLDT in delivering best-in-class cloud-computing solutions to our clients in the Philippines. Dimension Datas success can be attributed to its aggressive, investment-heavy approach to developing innovative Microsoft solutions, which range from desktop virtualisation to cloud computing. Microsoft noted that Dimension Data stood out from competition because of its philosophy of Selling not just Microsoft technologies, but Microsoft solutions. On the back of these achievements, Dimension Data has also established itself as a reliable go-to solutions partner for Microsoft in Core Infrastructure, Management and Virtualization, Unified Communications and Optimized Desktop as well as cloud computing. Dimension Data is Gold-certified in 21 countries around the world and its qualified Microsoft experts hold more than 1,400 Microsoft certifications

SERVING SMEs: Miguel Ramirez, Globe Business Corporate Account Manager, Andy Santos, VP for Sales and Marketing Messaging solutions Providers Inc. and Manny Aligada, Globe Business Corporate and SME Segments Head; were in full force to offer Globe Business' affordable, high-value and high-quality products and services at the Globe Business Negostar event.

Brain-enhancing games preserve youth

Apples iPad is a gift from heaven, because it not only replaces the laptop for simple-to-do tasks, but also gives fun and entertainment through its wide selection of games. While most of the games use our brain power to strategize the feat, some games are really built to train our minds. So instead of playing non-sense games, here are five addicting iPad apps that can keep our minds sharp as a tack. Words With Friends or Scrabble If you love puzzle-based games with words as the main meat of the dish, these two games are sure hit for you. It uses ones stock of vocabulary and creativity to form words thru trial and error in order to win the game. Both apps challenge your brain to produce words and at the same time find the most highscoring spot to put the letters into. Boggle The original and ever-popular word search game is also in the iPad. What sets the difference of this game to Scrabble and Words With Friends is its countdown feature, which adds to the pressure of getting the most number of words in such a short time. You can either play by yourself or challenge your friends to boggle with you. At the end of the game, you can then select from the list of words played and get the definitions from the built in dictionary lookup capability. iAssociate From the name itself, this is a game of word association. You have to figure which words or phrases are associated to each other given a general theme. This app really stirs the mind. It makes you think about things you have probably learned in elementary or the experience you had in a particular situation. Everything can be an answer to that next blank. The Magic Egg Remember the childhood days when you were asked to shoot stars, triangles, squares, etc. into a cube with holes? This game is almost like that, but a bit different. You need to solve tangrams by using several flat shapes to put together in order to form a specific figure. Brain Challenge If only real-life education could be as fun as this brain trainer, everyone would have enjoyable time learning. This app is a complete brain training program that covers all aspects of the brain math, visuals, logic, memory, and focus with the help of a virtual coach. The app is capable of tracking and monitoring your training progress with detailed stat charts. Remember that the brain is the most powerful tool we have, so lets fight its boredom and laziness by training it as often as we can. Just like our bodies, our brains need exercise to stay in shape. Maintaining it simply involves completing small exercises without pain, stress, and boredom. Thats why we need these games as vitamin boosts for our brains in order to keep it alert. With the iPad very portable and handy, we can use these games to engage in fun brain exercises whenever and wherever we want to. Enjoy! Can you recommend other brain teaser apps? Email glenn@ glennong.com or tweet @GlennOng. (Glenn Richmond Ong)

is in helping SMEs is its Business Starter package, which SMEs can subscribe to for only P499 a month. Business Starter is the most affordable communications package for SMEs today with great value for money: it already includes a cellular phone handset with unlimited calls to Globe and TM networks and 300 free texts to other networks. The Business Starter package is ideal for entrepreneurs who want to start right away but want to be careful about costs. Not all businesses need to be huge enterprises from the outset. Starting out as an SME is actually a good strategy especially for budding entrepreneurs. Starting a business for the first time requires learning the basics. You wont be successful right away, and sometimes, youll need to start over. So the Business Starter pack-

age allows to you start a business, learn the basics of what works and what does notbut without exposing you to huge costs right away, said Aligada. He added that the Business Starter package is also ideal for retail stores (clothing, jewelry, hobby shops, etc.); manufacturers of food items, garments, etc.; restaurants, salons or spas; pawnshops; and other SMEs that are starting out or are not yet in the process of expanding into multiple branches. Business Starter package not only provides the most affordable subscription plan for SMEs--it is also supported by the wide network and high-tech capabilities of Globe Telecom, the leading telecommunications provider in the country. This assures SMEs of quality service and support as Business Starter subscribers.

Shoot them now, focus later

ooking over a haul of digital photos can involve as much regret over fudged shots as reminiscing over golden moments. A camera from Silicon Valley startup Lytro promises to change that by allowing a user to focus a photo after it has been taken. The camera also has a novel lightfield sensor that enables photos to be viewed in 3-D. It is available to order today and will start shipping next year. The camera has a novel design reminiscent of a telescope. It features only two buttons: one to turn the device on or off, and one to take a photo. Only after a photo is taken does the user need to worry about focusing the resulting

The light sensor is what makes Lytros product different from any other consumer camera. In a conventional camera, the sensors pixels come in three versions that record red, green, and blue light to build a fullcolor image. On Lytros lightfield sensor, pixels are more discriminating. As well as being specialized to red, green, or blue, each detects only light coming from a particular angle.

image. The photos are dynamic and interactive. When viewing them on the camera, a user taps on the devices touch screen to choose the object or area that should be in focus. Everything closer or farther away is artfully blurred. A photo can also be set to show everything in sharp focus. The same experience is possible when viewing an image on a PC, with Lytros software, or online, with tools for sharing images via Facebook or embedding them in a Web page. Rather than just a convenience for bad photographers, photos that can be refocused also allow more playful and creative photography, says Ren Ng, who founded Lytro to commercialize research he began at Stanford University. Refocusing the image becomes a new way to tell the story, he says. It injects a drama into the viewing moment, like when you discover a face that was out of focus in the background. It seems ambitious for a startup to take on the camera industry, but Ng says Lytro is more than a camera maker. Its not just a consumer electronics companyits a Web 2.0 company as well, he says, referring to the Facebook sharing tools and other online features. Ng says he expects word of mouth to drive interest in Lytro when people encounter and like the photos it pro-

duces. The light sensor is what makes Lytros product different from any other consumer camera. In a conventional camera, the sensors pixels come in three versions that record red, green, and blue light to build a full-color image. On Lytros lightfield sensor, pixels are more discriminating. As well as being specialized to red, green, or blue, each detects only light coming from a particular angle. Knowing the angles that different rays of light travel allows the cameras software to simulate the photo that would be produced by a virtual cameras focused in a particular way. When a person interacts with a Lytro photo, software tweaks the settings of that virtual camera to produce the new, refocused image. Lytros sensor is made by bonding a carefully etched sheet of glass on top of a conventional digital-camera sensor. (NYT)