Smart Manny

First, the slow internet. Then, FREE 30mb internet access from MVP. Why 30mb? Is it because internet is so slow that it will take 30% additional patience to wait for internet to serve a request? Is 30 because that what Smart, TNT and SUN subscriber's happiness worth? Is it 30mb because it will not be enough and subscribers will tend to pay for extended access? I can guess and guess, but 30mb is a good deal (at least for me). But I would love to know why it's 30?

Maybe 30mb can give you couple of emails, chats, some surfing and maybe upload some photos to a cloud drive. It is better than nothing. Having to have free internet access for 2 months is a kind of blessing to others. But why 2 months? What MVP will gain from this promo? Maybe this is just an experiment. They want to see if their subscribers will continue using internet even after the promo. 

How about Globe - will Ayala follow the lead? Will it be 30mb+? or better, up the limit to 2gb per day for post paid subscribers. Who knows? Maybe a little prodding will help.

Oh, MVP's company (no it's not his) own almost all of the important infrastructure of our country, like hospitals, tool roads, media, mining, telecoms, etc. If you take down the company our country will crumble. That's sad.

Globe Cloud Drive

I don't understand why Globe will offer 15 pesos per month for 1gb cloud storage? 1gb is almost nothing. 1gb is way less than what Google, Dropbox and Amazon offer for FREE. I am using Dropbox to backup my pictures. Picture I've taken from my mobile phones is automatically uploaded. I set it to upload only over WIFI to preserve my 1gb per day mobile data traffic. I am using it for 2 years now and very satisfied.

I also have 15gb Amazon cloud drive and 15gb Google drive - all FREE! I have a CloudGoo application to monitor my usage. So, I would know how much percentage I already used for each of my drives. 

Maybe Globe can offer 5gb as free instead of 1gb for 15 pesos/month. Their customer will not bite it - not possible. They need a good marketing strategy to lure them to use their cloud drive instead of those that offer bigger space and proven platform.

Or maybe it's time for them to pay back what they overcharged to their subscribers - or better make text message 50 cents instead of 1 peso :).

Mario's Impact

With 7 dead and millions of properties destroyed. At last, the stormed is out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). Now, the impact...

Would it pull down the market? I think, it would, but not to a point where we would see below 7000. Not for now. US market is in steroid mode due to Alibaba IPO and something about interest rate being maintained to its current rate. So we MIGHT still see green on Monday.

Filipino are now more aware of the danger of typhoons. BER months is unofficial start of holiday in the Philippines but at the same time it brings it dangerous cousin as well. It is a time where most of the typhoons visit the country. The time where Metro Manila becomes flooded and rivers becomes a bit cleaner. Where covered court and schools becomes evacuation centers and Politicians becomes significant.

What company would be affected? I would say power distributions and telecommunication providers due to additional expenses that they will incurred in the rehabilitation of their infrastructures. But maybe they already have standby calamity fund since these bad weather conditions always happen in these time of year. I really hope so. But who will pay - of course, their customers. So there might be some increases in their charges. I really hope not.

Of course, those that supply food will definitely earn more. Government and Non-Government Organisations will surely buy food to give to those affected by Mario. Company such as URC and COSCO are some of the few. It is BER month, so, I can see a good year for these companies.

The only question I have in mind is - how long the market will hold? 2 years... 3 years?

Lazada for Filipinos

There is no question that Lazada is now becoming part of Filipino life. It's business is thriving in our country and in Asia. Most of the people I know like Lazada and trust Lazada for their online buying - may it be gadgets or just accessories. Prices are affordable and mostly less than the average price in Malls. Customer support is almost comparable with Amazon. I bought a mini camera which is not working so I shipped it back to Lazada for FREE. I just went to 2GO branch and they took care of everything. I received the replacement after 4 days. A bit long but still I received the replacement.

Lazada is the only authorise reseller of Xiaomi products. I learned it after my unfortunate experience buying Xiaomi power bank from Groupon. Lazada is benefiting from Xiaomi's fever. A lot of people are trying to beat other buyers to  get Red Mi 1s. This mobile phone is on sale for only 5K+! It is a runaway price for dual SIM phone with high-end specs. A truly phone for budget conscious Filipinos - low price, great quality phone.

So, with Alibaba, Rocket Internet (and possibly Lazada ;-)), are we up for another tech bubble?

Costa Coffee

Another coffee chain is vying for slice of coffee market in our country. Are Filipinos really a coffe drinker? Is it one of the reasons why we have Starbucks, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Seattle's Best and other coffee houses that occupy almost every corner of Manila? Many places has Starbucks located 200 meters from each other. As if one store cannot accommodate people buying coffee for habit. Is coffee a new tobacco? We know it is addicting. It trigger some chemical in our brain that makes us active above normal for at least 6 hours! That's almost 1 day! A must for those who stays late and work all day.

Costa coffee is the second largest in the world, next to Starbucks. It is planning to establish 70 - 80 stores in 5 years. It will provide another employment opportunity which the Philippines badly needed. Is Gokongwei the lucky guy here? I wish sometimes there are this kind of business opportunity for other people not just millionaire like Gokongwei. What if somebody (I hope it's me) ask funding from KickStarter to form a company that will franchise to a business like Costa Coffee? Would that fly?

I was able to visit Costa during my secondment in UK and India. I just orders cafe latte. Taste is comparable with Starbucks. Ambiance is like CBTL. I did not try the pastries but I think it would pass to Filipino taste. I hope to see them open their first branch in a few months. Who knows, maybe Student in Starbucks might decide to do their business there? I would love to visit Starbucks without waiting for table to be freed ;-)

Visited Costa Coffee in UK near Paddington Station

Groupon Fake Xiaomi Powerbank

Unlucky me. I bought a FAKE Powerbank from Groupon. The Seller insist that it is original product. But I am confident that it is a FAKE!

I blogged it here... 

http://psetrader.blogspot.com/2014/09/groupon-fake-xiaomi-powerbank.html

UP-Ayala TechnoHub

Have you seen the Royal Crescent in the city of Bath in England? It was built by John Wood the younger between 1767 and 1774. It was one of the best preserved old sites in UK. I am lucky to have seen it :-).

So, what it got to do with UP-Ayala TechnoHub? I would say the design look the same as Royal Crescent. It was designed as half-circle with the exceptions of having fountains and a concrete center instead of green. This place has restaurants to fill up your hungry stomach and coffee shops to make you awake during "constant bombardment of unnecessary stressful situations" - i.e. assignments, work related issues, personal issues, etc. 

The place has elongated pond full of colorful fish and African tilapia (I think they are for the Boys). With a family of Ducks to fertilise the regularly cut carabao grass - the place is really short of relaxing. You can sit outside of the coffee shops (of course, as courtesy - buy your favorite Frappuccino or latte). Air is not as polluted like what you would inhale in Central Business District (Makati). Lots of trees and plants to filter out those toxic fumes. Kids have a lot of estate to play and run with their itchy little feet, play with their favorite battery powered cars and little bikes - they will surely have a good night sleep after spending their "bottomless" energy. There are also companies here like IBM, PointWest and other IT companies - you'll see some Yuppies here too.

The place is a few hundred meters from Templo Central, you may want to visit the place after worship service. 

To give you a better idea of what you will find here, I listed some of establishments you may want to visit:

1. BPI - You are still in good hands, don't worry.
2. ChinaBank
3. Globe - I hate this branch - not just me, ask around. So, if you want to visit this branch, come early or not at all. 
4. Switch - If you're a fan of Apple. Price is a bit expensive compare to other re-seller.
5. Coffee Bean (CBT) - Go here if Starbucks if full (only if Starbucks if full).
6. Starbucks - We are here Saturdays and Sundays. The place I love to hate.
7. Rals - Tambayan - you know those cheers and yabangan.
8. Spaghetti House
9. Red Kimono
10. Razon's - Who will not like their halo-halo and tocilog?
11. Le Ching tea house
12. Kanin Club - Pinoy na Pinoy men!
13. Amici - Expensive ice cream
14. Pizza Hut
15. KFC
16. Reyes Barbeque
17. Mister Kabab - Persia is the best (I meant the one in Valero Makati).
18. Yellow Cab
19. Bon Chon - Love those spicy chicken wings.
20. Army Navy - Do they have taco Tuesday?
21. Family Mart - Very new to the place - Japanese store partnered with Ayala (watch out Mini Stop and 7 Eleven).
22. Mini Stop - Kung hindi nagtitipid - hindi kasi mini ang price.
23. Bench Fix
24. CDR King - All those cute China made products.
25. Cafe Breton - You should taste those yummy crepes!
26. Sea Food
27. Vanilla Cup Cake - opening soon...

Fountains

Pond with Fish

...and a lonely Duck

More Fountains

INC Centennial Logo in 100 Peso Bill

I just found out last month about this INC Centennial logo in an old 100 peso bill. I got 2 of this bill from my brother-in-law. Although they are old bill but still felt like they just came out from minting. The logo is not as pronounced as other logo in 100 bills like the Bangko Central logo. Nevertheless, if you look really hard you'll see the the round logo with lamp leaning to the left wrapped by Iglesia Ni Cristo and years 1914 and 2014 and of course the centenial word. It is blue in color not green as you would probably expect - so it blended with other colors around it - you would not notice it if you don't have a keen eyes. The logo is in the left side of the bill, just the right side face of Manuel Roxas. So, next time if you have a 100 peso bill, it worth checking for the logo. It is a nice souvenir for our 100th years anniversary.

Below are the pictures I've taken of the bill.