Angry Birds Flash Version Coming Soon

At Adobe MAX event this week where the company launched Flash Player 11 and AIR 3, the creator of today’s most popular casual game, Rovio Mobile, has just showed off a new version of Angry Birds built with Flash Player 11 hardware-accelerated graphics.

The Flash-based Angry Birds is built using the Starling framework, an ActionScript 3 2D framework developed on top of GPU hardware-accelerated 2D/3D APIs.

“We loved developing with Flash and Adobe because of the consistent and rich user experience it provides. […] We have an amazing brand in Angry Birds and we want to deliver an incredible experience to our fans. With Flash Player 11, we are able to deliver new and unique experiences that consumers haven’t seen before”, said Andrew Stalbow, Rovio’s general manager of North America.

We can recall last month that Adobe announced it will bring the possibilities of playing Flash contents to Apple devices through the new versions of its Adobe Flash Media Server and Adobe Flash Access. So by tapping Rovio Mobile to create a Flash version of Angry Birds is just a beginning of the reborn of Adobe’s Flash technology.



Andrew Stalbow added the new Flash version of Angry Birds is due in the next few months, and while you’re waiting – you may hit the preview of the game after the break. [via]







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SKYCable Brings High-Definition (HD) TV Service in Cebu and Davao

The country’s largest cable TV service company SKYCable, launched HD or high-definition TV Service in the provinces of Cebu and Davao.

SKYcable HD is a value-added service offered by SKYcable as a top-up to any basic package to enjoy High Definition TV viewing. It promises subscribers with breathtaking motion picture quality and cinematic digital sound in a panoramic widescreen format so they can watch more details and more action.



First introduced in the Luzon area last year, SKYCable HD will be available in Cebu and Davao beginning Monday, October 10th; and SKYCable also said the new service will launch in selected areas of Cavite and Laguna starting this month, followed in more areas in the coming months.

“SKYcable is leveraging its leadership position in digital pay TV to provide cable subscribers in Cebu the best and widest array in digital home entertainment content to suit individual preference for greater viewing pleasure”, said SKYCable's Head of Marketing Mr. Alan Supnet, at a press launch held at Marriott Hotel, Cebu City.

Mr. Supnet added that with the current depth and breadth of digital content and HD program offerings of SKYcable, complemented by its planned innovations that are currently in the drawing board, he is confident that SKYcable will continue to enjoy its market leadership position in Cebu in the years to come.



Currently, SKYCable has more than 40,000 subscriber base in Cebu alone with an expected increase to 65,000 by end of the year. This market potential in the region is more or less 10% of SKYCable’s 500,000 subscribers nationwide.



The company’s HD service offering is available in four packages: Innovation Pack that features Discovery HD World, HISTORY HD and HBO HD; Revolution Pack featuring Fox Crime HD, Fox Family HD, Fox HD, STAR Movies HD and National Geographic HD; NBA Premium TV (HD) Pack; and the Power Pack that offers all the HD channels. All of these packages come with ESPN HD for free.

SKYCable HD Packages (click to enlarge)

If interested about this service, you may call 346-4255 to 61 or text 0917-8800-SKY (759). Hit SKYCable HD official TVC after the break.







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Smartbro Rocket WiFi Plus Gets Official at Php 6,495

We’ve been teased early this week, and now it gets official. The press release that went into my inbox says the Smart Bro Rocket WiFi Plus is already up for pre-order at SMART’s website from October 1 and each prepaid unit will retail for Php 6,495, preloaded with FREE 180MB data.

I can’t find a pre-order page as of this writing though, so I suggest you drop a call to SMART in any case you’re interested of getting one. But of course before you grab a phone, let me tell you first what you need to know about this latest broadband product.



What is Smart Bro Rocket Wi-Fi Plus?



The Smart Bro Rocket WiFi Plus is a portable pocket router which you can use to turn any place into a Wi-Fi hotspot, providing internet access of up to 5 WiFi-enabled devices. This is basically an upgrade to last year’s Smart Bro Pocket WiFi, capable of reaching internet speeds of up to 20Mbps through SMART’s “4G” or HSPA+ network. Though it’s rated with a blazingly fast speed, this seems not to work as expected unless you’re covered in over 600 SMART HSPA+ sites (see the partial list here) across the country.

“If you thought the 12Mbps Rocket Plug-It was already ahead of its time, the Rocket WiFi Plus will blast you off even farther into the future,” said Smart Broadband Internet and Data Services Head Gio Bacareza. “The Rocket WiFi Plus can reach a ‘conservative’ 20Mbps on our 42Mbps network,” he added.

SMART says the Rocket WiFi Plus is available exclusively in prepaid and uses the same P200/180 MB pricing scheme as that of the Rocket Plug It. And subscribers can top via accredited Eload stations or through the use of Smart Bro Prepaid Cards. Smart Money account holders may also reload the Rocket WiFi Plus using their mobile phone.



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HTC Sensation XL Philippines: Specs, Price, and Release

After several leaks in the past few weeks, HTC has officially unveiled today the HTC Sensation XL, the Android counterpart of the Windows Phone, HTC Titan.

Definitely another product of HTC’s partnership with Beats Electronics, the HTC Sensation XL is the company’s second phone to feature Beats Audio, following HTC Sensation XE; and it comes with a customized and exclusive set of headphones called UrBeats.



With almost similar specs as the HTC Titan like a massive 4.7-inch display, a Qualcomm MSM8255 chipset packing a 1.5 GHz single-core Scorpion processor and Adreno 205 GPU, 8MP camera featuring a 28mm wide-angle and bright F/2.2 lens rated for better performance at low-light conditions, as well as the non-expandable 16GB internal storage -- the HTC Sensation XL got a boost in memory now with 768MB of RAM. Like any other high-end devices, it also runs Android Gingerbread; however, it’s already rocking the HTC’s latest costumed UI, the HTC Sense 3.5, before any other handsets get it over-the-air (OTA).



HTC Sensation Specs



Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread)

HTC Sense 3.5 UI

4.7-inch S-LCD (800×480 pixels) Display

1.5GHz single-core Scorpion processor

768MB RAM

16 GB Internal Storage

8MP Rear Camera with dual-LED Flash

720p HD video

1.3MP Front Camera

3G (14.4 Mbps HSDPA, 5.76 Mbps HSUPA)

Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n

Bluetooth 2.1, A2DP + EDR

GPS, A-GPS

Micro-USB 2.0

HDMI

3.5mm audio jack

Accelerometer

Gyroscope

1,600 mAh battery



HTC Sensation XL Price and Availability



HTC says the HTC Sensation XL will be available across EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) and Asia Pacific from early November, and of course that includes the Philippines. Suggested retail price is still yet to be known though; but if we have to throw-in a wild guess, it’s somewhere between Php 28-30K. And I’m sure Smart Communications will have it added to its HTC portfolio.



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Aakash, the $35 Tablet from India Gets Official; Specs Include 366MHz CPU, 256MB RAM, and Runs Froyo

Remember last year’s $35 slate unveiled in India and was touted as the world’s cheapest on its category? Well, it’ now official and the tablet is called Aakash.

And as we initially learned, this tablet is a project of the Indian government to address the need of a low-cost tablet computer for students. It turned out though that Aakash won’t retail as expected, ‘coz the official price at launch jumped to Rs 2,999 or $61. Nonetheless, it’s still competitive to take a share from other brands like the Apple iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab.



The Aakash tablet is designed and manufactured by a Canadian firm, DataWind, Ltd.; and it carries entry level specs like 366MHz Connexant CPU, a dedicated GPU, 256MB of RAM, 2GB internal storage (expandable up to 32GB), with 2 USB ports, Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11 a/b/g), GPRS, and flaunts a 7-inch resistive display at 800 x 480 resolution. It runs the Froyo version of Google’s Android OS, and got a 2100 mAh power source rated to last just 3 hours or less.



The country actually has similar project, the Rizal tablet; however, unlike Indian government’s effort through Aakash which is to connect educational institutions across the nation – the Philippines’ Rizal slate is truly just designed to commemorate the life and works of the national hero.



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2011 iPod Touch 4G, iPod Nano Philippines Price and Availability

Also announced at Apple’s “Let’s talk iPhone” event the other day are the new iPods -- a white version of iPod Touch 4G and an updated iPod Nano.

First up is iPod Nano. This year’s iPod Nano, should I say iPod Nano 7th-gen, retains almost the same physical design as the 2010 version. Available in 7 colors, it’s still compact at 1.54-inch, comes with multi-touch display, with volume buttons and integrated clip, FM radio, and of course the Pedometer which is a good feature for fitness. What I also like with the new iPod Nano aside from being a music-centric gadget is the built-in clock which now comes with 16 new faces including Roman Numerals, classic LCD style, and if you think for a kid – there’s a Mickey Mouse watch, too! And interestingly, the 2011 iPod Nano is more affordable this time with a price drop compared to the 6th-gen version. Listed at the Philippines Apple Store, iPod Nano is available at Php 7,490 for the 8GB model and Php 8,690 for the 16GB model.

Click to enlarge

On the other hand, the iPod Touch 4G doesn’t come anything new in the inside. It’s still the same iPod Touch 4G we’ve seen last year, featuring an ultra-thin design, the 3.5-inch multi-touch retina display, rear-facing camera and front-facing camera for FaceTime, HD video recording, built-in speaker and microphone, the Gyroscope and accelerometer and ambient light sensor. What Apple did to have a new variant on its iPod lineup is to add a White model of iPod Touch 4G. The price of the 8GB variant dropped by Php 1K from last year’s price of Php 12,490; however, the 32GB and 64GB model increased also by Php 1K compared to the previous year prices of Php 15,990 and Php 21,990, respectively.



To recap, prices of iPod Touch 4G (Black or White) this year here in the Philippines follows:



iPod Touch 4G   8GB – Php 11,490

iPod Touch 4G 16GB – Php 16,990

iPod Touch 4G 32GB – Php 22,990



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Breaking: Steve Jobs is Dead!

A breaking news has just pushed into my iPhone notification that the great Steve Jobs, the former CEO of Apple and the man behind the iconic iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers has died today at 56.

Steve Jobs’s death came just a day after Apple unveiled its next smartphone, the iPhone 4S.



We can recall Steve Jobs underwent a surgery for pancreatic cancer in 2004 and received a liver transplant in 2009. Early this year, he took another leave of absence and officially stepped down as Apple CEO in August.



Apple’s statement follows below:

We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today.



Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.



His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.

Following the news, Tim Cook, the new CEO of Apple has also sent an email to Apple employees which reads:

Team,



I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today.



Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

We are planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email rememberingsteve@apple.com.



No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.



Tim

RIP, Steve Jobs. You'll be remembered.



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