I am a Globe postpaid subscriber since 1998 and at the same time hold a Banco de Oro Emerald rewards card that is like an SM Advantage card (SMAC). There is good news for those who are both Globe subscribers and SM Advantage card holder.

Ask yourself : Are you a Globe subscriber who regularly earns points from loading prepaid credits on your mobile phone? Do you also happen to be an SM Advantage Card holder who receives points from your purchases in SM Malls and its affiliate stores?

If your answers are yes, then you’re in for a rewarding shopping experience made possible by Globe Telecom and SM.

With the customer loyalty programs My Rewards, My Globe, TM Astig Rewards and SM Advantage, Globe and TM subscribers can now instantly convert their Globe and TM rewards points to SM Advantage points, making SM Department Stores, Supermarkets and other affiliated retail establishments their expanded rewards catalog.

The points can then be used to redeem practically anything sold at any SM Department Store, SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, Save More and other SM retail establishments like Ace Hardware, Baby Company, Forever 21, Kultura, Our Home, Toy Kingdom, Watsons, among many others.

The offer is available to Globe and TM subscribers who are also members of SM’s loyalty program SM Advantage. SM Advantage points are earned by spending at SM Department Store, SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket and other partner establishments. Aside from rewards points, SM Advantage also offers numerous members-only privileges such as exclusive sales, discounts and freebies inside and outside SM Malls.

“At Globe, we continually try to find ways to delight our customers and our partnership with SM Advantage gives our subscribers more ways to use their hard-earned points and claim rewards via shopping treats,” said Jay Beltran, Head of Customer Lifecycle Management at Globe. “Globe and SM teamed up for this project to give our subscribers the most value for their money. While shoppers get SM Advantage points from their purchase, Globe offers relevant rewards they could avail at minimal points needed.”

To convert Globe or TM rewards points to SM Advantage points, simply text REDEEMITEM CODESM Advantage Card Number and send to 4438. Be careful typing in the syntax.

To get the list of SMAC item codes, text ITEMS to 4438.

Know more about this latest load and shop deal by visiting www.rewards.globe.com.ph.

The Nokia Lumia smartphones allows one to discover , create, and share amazing experiences with family and friends in the fastest and most convenient way. What better way to demonstrate these amazing features by actually experiencing an adventure in the “Ticket to Amazing Nokia Lumia” event. It was a treat …a relaxation or adventure of our choice – Aqua, Appetizing and Aero. I chose the Appetizing adventure- “Whip up something amazing with Chef Sau del Rosario” with a cooking class and a degustation lunch . I didn’t want to stress myself out over an adventure and at the same time playing with a new phone.

Before the cooking class, each of us were given a Nokia Lumia 610 to play around with. I got a metallic blue Nokia Lumia 610 which was not difficult to navigate. It helped that I was guided to the amazing features I might have not discovered on my own. I tend not to read the manuals so I do miss out on features.

It is a beautiful phone and not at all surprising to know that it was awarded the Best Windows Phone at the Mobile World Congress 2012. Aside from its award winning sleek design, the Nokia Lumia smartphones boasts of a fast Internet explorer 9 browser, Nokia Maps and the Nokia Drive which gives a turn-by-turn navigation.

It functions almost like that expensive GPS that my sister had in her car.

I can also see at a glance at what my friends are doing in real-time, and “what’s new” from updates in live integrated social feeds including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Of course there are the texts and chats from Facebook (IM) – all in one view. One can still be productive with the help of Microsoft office and saving files on Sky Drive.

Sharing to all social networks and groups completed in 20 seconds.

A neat feature is translate text by taking a photo of text and having it converted to text for translation. I tested this with the menu and had it translated to French.

A bit of specs and the Price

Watch the Nokia Lumia video

The little Nokia 610 is a desirable phone with its classy design and solid feature list, especially for its low price.

Expect a 3.7-inch touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera with 720p video recording, 8GB of internal memory and an 800Mhz processor. Another amazing thing is that the Lumia 610 runs a modified version of Windows Phone 7.5, which has been developed to deal with just 256MB of memory and a processor with a lower clock speed than other Windows Phones, enabling Nokia to break into the all-important entry-level smartphone market to take on Android.

And now the price?

The SRP for the Nokia Limia 610 is onlyPHP 10,980 and Php 23, 500 for the Nokia Lumia 800. The Lumia 800 is also available to Globe subscribers free at Unli Surf Plan 1799.

The Nokia Lumia 710 is exclusively available with Smart postpaid data plan 1000.

The Nokia Lumia 900 which won the best smartphone award at the Consumer Electronics show 2012 in Las Vegas will arrive in the Philippines this month .

And what did we have in cooking Class?

Chef Sau del Rosario demonstrated three recipes that were quite easy to follow yet pleasing to the eyes and palate:

Pan fried foie gras, Pineapple Compote

Fillet of Lapu Lapu in orange soya coriander reduction

Wild berry Panna Cotta

And as all of these were being demonstrated, I shared the photos in my facebook. Quite fast I must say. Look, I even took a video of the first demo and shared it in my facebook:

Blackberry Philippines just shared the following announcement about the availability of the new OS 7.1 to BlackBerry Bold 9900 customers in the Philippines starting today

The latest version of BlackBerry smartphone’s OS, BlackBerry 7.1, is now available for BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 customers in the Philippines. Discovering new things, staying in touch, and doing things that matter in real time is now easier than ever.

The BlackBerry 7.1 OS incorporates a new feature called BlackBerry® Tag that can change the way BlackBerry users share information and content. By simply tapping their NFC enabled BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone against another NFC enabled BlackBerry smartphone, users can make sharing easier than ever. They can instantly invite a friend to BBM™ (BlackBerry® Messenger), exchange contact information, documents, URLs, photos, apps and other multimedia content, and they can also pair their BlackBerry smartphone with an NFC enabled Bluetooth® device.

With BlackBerry 7.1 OS, customers can be productive from virtually anywhere. They can now turn their BlackBerry smartphone into a mobile hotspot that can be shared by up to 5 Wi-Fi® -enabled devices, including laptops and tablets.

The new BlackBerry 7.1 OS is now available for BlackBerry Bold 9900 customers to download. Customers can upgrade the OS of their smartphones by visiting ph.blackberry.com/update, or using the BlackBerry® Desktop Manager software.

I brought my husband and daughter along for a product review of Samsung’s latest Smart TV offering. These are not your ordinary smart LED TVs, I told them. The new market-revolutionizing features available in 2012 are Smart Interaction, Smart Content, and Smart Evolution. Arriving at the Maxim Hotel in Resort World Manila, I quickly got my orientation with a tutorial from Samsung Philippines. I guess I needed this tutorial to eliminate frustration.

First impression: “wow, how thin?” , my daughter exclaimed as she looked towards the side of the Samsung smart TV.

I was already aware of the features of this Samsung Smart TV during the 2012 Samsung AV roadshow but never actually handled the remote controls and the menu. I’ve seen how one can turn the TV on or off, activate selected apps or search for and select content in the web browser—all without touching the remote.

I urged my husband to listen so I could get impressions from a technophobe. This latest Samsung Smart LED TV uses voice and motion control to perform basic TV functions such as changing channels and adjusting the volume. It also can access your personalized Smart Hub Account through Face recognition via a built-in camera. I’ll show you some of these features in a while.

There are two types of remotes: Smart touch remote control and more standard remote. If one is not used to the Samsung TV remote, it can be quite a challenge so I prefer the user friendly smart touch remote control
.

This Smart touch remote control has an easy to use touch pad (in the center of the gray area) featuring “Edge User Interface: technology.

There are all sorts of menu that pops up pressing some keys in the simple remote control.

There is an upper menu that pops up from the remote control.

Let us start with the Smart Interaction.

Motion control

Hand gestures can turn the TV on or off, adjust volume, activate the Samsung’s smart hub and selected apps, search online, browse and select links. One has to get used to hand position to select choices. The TV is activated by waving one’s hand side to side 3-4 times in front of the TV.

My daughter tries it out herself. She closes her hands to form a fist which is needed to click on a selection.

Voice control

Just say “Hi TV” to turn on the Smart Interaction feature. There is a camera/microphone at the top center of the TV. The room should not have no other ambient noises so the “TV can hear you”. It takes getting used to . To show how this is done, I took a vide of my daughter and myself. It’s quite easy but takes getting used to. Sometimes the TV can’t hear your commands so use the mic in the smart touch remote control.

Voice control : Channel controls and turning off the Samung LED ES 8000

I practically yelled to turn on the Samsung Smart TV after my daughter failed to turn it on.

Voice control- Turning the Power on of the Samsung LED ES 8000

Face recognition

Smart TV can recognize your face and automatically log you in to your Smart Hub account. I decided to use a wireless keyboard (not yet available in the Philippines) to create a Smart hub account but first it needed to sync with the TV.

The keyboard has a trackpad on the right side of the keyboard.

I just needed to position my face within the green space provided. A video tutorial shows how to do this.

So I tested it and voila…position my face on the prompt and got logged in to the Smart hub.

It was time to log in to my twitter account (@momblogger) and the fitness app.

I wanted to watch 3D movies but unfortunately there was no DVDs made available unlike the last product review I did on the Samsung Smart TV.

It was time for my husband to do a smart interaction. But of course, the voice control was the easiest to do. With his booming voice saying “power off” , the TV responded and shut down.

By midnight, we called it a night. None of us wanted to turn off the TV but my daughter got up from her bed and called out “TV Power off”. This time, the Samsung TV heard her voice control command. Quite useful when one can’t find the remote control, huh?

Smart Evolution

Will I buy this TV?

I just bought a Samsung LED TV last July so I don’t think I will upgrade this soon.

The suggested retail price of this Samsung Smart TV UAES8000 55-inch model is 279,000 pesos . The 65-inch model is 359,000 pesos but you’ll have to place a special order for this model.

Before I bought my new Samsung LED TV, I owned a Sony TV that lasted me for 10 years. If only this Samsung ES8000 came last year, I would have bought it.

Why?

Samsung’s Evolution Kit is an industry first. With a simple slot-in at the back of the TV , I can keep pace with rapid advancements in both TV hardware and software—without needing to purchase a new set every year. It might even last me for 10 years.

Maybe when it gets more affordable, perhaps I will buy this and give the old Samsung LED tv to my daughter who will move in to her new condominium.

You might also want to read Carlo Ople’s unbox.ph review or Abe Olandres at Yugatech for their own experience.

Google Drive will open up to millions of users around the world starting today, allowing users to synch their files between PCs, smartphones and tablets. The service is available here. I went to the link but discovered it is not available for my email account. It will, however, prompt you to place your email address to notify me of its availability.

When I first wrote this entry, I didn’t have access to Google Drive . I had to fill in my email to get notification. Google Drive said I would receive an email from the Google Drive team. One will also see a blue Get started button in the top right of your window when you go to drive.google.com/start.

A few hours later, I noticed the “go to Google Drive” on the upper right hand corner when I visited the link drive.google.com/start.

Upon clicking the “go to Google Drive” it leads me to my google docs

Then download the “installgoogledrive.dmg” which is 23.3 MB.

It took only a few minutes to install. It then allows you to transfer files from Google docs to the Google drive.

So what is Google drive?

Google Drive is everywhere you are—on the web, in your home, at the office and on the go. So wherever you are, your stuff is just…there. Ready to go, ready to share. It works as a typical cloud service, allowing users to store videos, photos, documents, PDFs, and other types of files. Not surprisingly, Google also announced a Drive app for Android, although Apple iOS users will have to wait.

Watch this video:

Existing Google Docs files, the centerpiece of Google’s existing cloud storage offering, will move to the Google Drive service once users download apps and install the new service. Google will offer users up to 5 gigabytes of storage for free, and up to 25 gigabytes for $2.49 a month, with prices for larger amounts of data lower than many competitors.

Drive will be able to search and index more than 30 types of files, including Adobe (ADBE) pdf files. Google is also opening up the service to independent software developers, meaning developers with ideas for specialized uses of a cloud storage and collaboration service will be able to build specialized apps. Drive also allows files to be shared and co-edited by anyone.

Google Drive is available for:
PC and Mac
iPhone and iPad (coming soon)
Android devices

Nokia announced that the Nokia Lumia 610, it’s most affordable Lumia smartphone, has begun rolling out in Asia. It will go on sale first in the Philippines in the final week of April, and in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam in the following weeks. The Nokia Lumia 610 will also begin selling in other regions this quarter.

The Nokia Lumia 610 is designed as the perfect introduction to Windows Phone for a younger audience. PeopleHub makes it easy to keep in touch with friends, providing instant access to social networks and bringing all mobile, email, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn contacts into one place. It also makes it easier to browse the Web with Internet Explorer. The Lumia 610 will also come with WiFi tethering and flip-to-silence, features that will be made available across the Lumia portfolio.

Available with Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive and Nokia Transport, people can also choose from thousands of apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace to further personalize the experience. With a distinctive profile and finely beveled metallic edges, the Nokia Lumia 610 is built to convey both quality and aspiration.

“The Nokia Lumia 610 will introduce Windows Phone to a new generation of smartphone users, offering something very different to the monochromatic smartphones filling shelves today,” said Jo Harlow, Head of Smart Devices at Nokia. “PeopleHub, Nokia services and quality apps – coupled with a fast and friendly interface – will make for a great smartphone experience at a great price.”

The Nokia Lumia 610 is also a great smartphone for students who will appreciate the built-in Microsoft Office app. Word mobile, PowerPoint mobile, Excel mobile to manage documents, and OneNote mobile to capture notes, ideas, pictures and voice memos make working on the go easier. With SkyDrive, files and notes can be synchronized, and opened and edited from the PC or the phone.

The Nokia Lumia 610 will be available in black, cyan, magenta and white in select Nokia Stores and retail outlets nationwide. To learn more about the Nokia Lumia 610, please visit http://www.nokia.com/ph-en/support/product/lumia610/

SRP for the Nokia Lumia 610 is Php 10,980 and PhP 23,500 for the Nokia Lumia 800. These are available for purchase by end-April at select Nokia Stores and retail outlets nationwide.

Update: Also read Hands on review of Samsung ES 8000

I always get excited when Samsung launches their new products. The Samsung AV Roadshow of 2012 looks at the “future of TV…Now”. I recall our first Samsung TV was in 1999 and the quality then wasn’t that great. Ten years later, I bought an LED and am a happy Samsung user. Through the years, Samsung has been successful in bringing quality TVs that it has beaten some of its competitors.

The Samsung AV Roadshow at the NBC tent on Wednesday introduced the Samssung ES 7500 and Samsung ES 8000.

Ariel Arias, AV Business Unit head of Samsung Electronic Philippines introduced the awesome features of the latest Smart TVs…The forward-thinking future of Smart TV.

Three things that struck me tonight: Smart evolution, Smart content, Smart interaction.

Media and dealers were given a chance to witness all these features.

With Smart evolution, Samsung says “Now is the perfect time to buy TV”. Samsung Smart TVs will evolve every year in performance and service. They will get smarter every year, without requiring you to purchase an entirely new TV set.

Here’s how it works:

A slot resides at the back of the Smart TV, where an Evolution Kit can be inserted to enable upcoming features and enhance performance. Because Samsung makes their own system-on-chip components, they are the only ones who can make this available. They will include these slots on their 2012 TVs and deliver the kits in 2013 and beyond.

Smart interaction is really cool. The Smart TV got even much better with face recognition, voice recognition and motion recognition.

Samsung’s “Smart Interaction” technology uses two unidirectional mics and an integrated webcam for motion and voice control .

Users can turn the TV on or off, change the volume, activate apps, and search the web. The catch here is that there shouldn’t be extraneous noise around. The TV can also identify users with face recognition via the integrated webcam. The lady demonstrated how she logged in Twitter using face recognition. Awesome huh?

Can you spot Venues Raj in the photo above?

Here is a Samsung Smart TV with ‘Smart Interaction’ (hands-on video) at CES 2012 (not the one I attended at AV Roadshow)

The Smart content gives cutting-edge TV Apps and new Signature Services, plus web browsing, enhance the TV experience. Imagine online entertainment with the new enhanced content made available through Samsung’s latest three new signature services – Kids, Fitness and Family Story.

Samsung Family Story ensures that your precious family moments are not only saved but easily shared on your Smart TV.

I love the fitness app. With this Samsung fitness app, I can maintain exercise routines in the comfort of my own home. One can experience full HD 3D contents at home with the 3D explore feature.

The Samsung fitness app now feels like a built-in Xbox. When I first found out their latest TV had face, voice and motion recognition, I was thinking one will be a total couch potato. With this fitness app, my fears were unfounded.

Of course, what is Samsung Smart TV if it can’t give home entertainment?

The SRP of the Samsung Smart TV ES8000 55 inch is 279,900 pesos and the 65 inch model is 359,900 pesos. It may be worth it in the end if one won’t need to buy a new TV set each year. Just upgrade system-on-chip components which will start by 2013.

As portrayed in the Samsung roadshow, now is the perfect time to buy TV. Will you buy one?

Stay tuned for my review of the latest Samsung ES8000 smart TV next week.

—-

Check this video of the Samsung ES8000 that boasts gesture and voice control and which is claimed to be future proof.

Samsung Smart TV ES8000 Specifications

Foursquare users have checked in 2 billion times in the last two years, according to the 4sqDay badge message I received today. On average, that’s 100 times each — “suggesting that while checking in may be the least prevalent smartphone activity, those who do use Foursquare do so frequently.”

Here is my badge

In 2010, foursquare fans declared April 16 4sqDay (4/4^2 – nerds after our own heart!). Two years and two billion check-ins later, you’re still why we get out of bed each day. Thanks to all 20 million of you for making us part of your lives. Happy 4sqDay!

So I am one in the 20 million Four Square users. I remember the first time I got a Newbie badge two years ago on February 19, 2010 when I checked in at SM Marikina.

Congrats on your first check-in! In foursquare, you earn badges for your best check-ins – like going to museums, staying out late, or working out at the gym ten times in a month. Have fun exploring!

Since then, I have received a total of 38 badges.

Four Square says I am an expertise in 16 areas. How I love being the jet-setter.

Expertise badges represent who you are and what you know best. Whether you’re a pizza connoisseur or a sushi fiend, your badge levels reflect how much you’ve explored in the real world. As we introduce new ones, we’ll make sure you have the level appropriate to your exploration, so all you have to do is level up.

I love using Four Square because it helps me document the places I went to. During my vacation to Australia, I kept checking in to the new places. One time, I had to go back to the drug store where I bought my medicines. Good thing it was stored in Four Square. Sometimes I don’t like the idea that I can be stalked. One time, someone went up to me at a coffee shop to say hi…I don’t even know the person but apparently he knows me. That’s fine if the person is someone in my network but it can be creepy.

Do you use Foursquare?

Series of BlackBerry App Updates Will Make It Easier to Keep Your BBM Community In The Know

This is good news for Blackberry users that rely on their BBM Connectivity.

A series of updates of popular BlackBerry® apps will be released over the coming days to make it even easier for users to stay connected with their BBM™ (BlackBerry® Messenger) community. Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM)  announced that Facebook® for BlackBerry smartphones, Twitter® for BlackBerry smartphones, BlackBerry® Travel™  and BlackBerry App World™ will now include BBM connectivity, making it even easier for users to stay in touch with their contacts, share experiences and content, and discover new things from their BBM community.

Alec Saunders, VP of Developer Relations at RIM announced that “since we provided developers the means to build BBM connectivity into their apps, we have seen more than 800 hundred new BBM-connected apps come to market, which has been followed by a huge uptake by users – about one of every five apps being downloaded on BlackBerry App World is a BBM-connected app.”

It is indeed very exciting that RIM has also integrated BBM connectivity into a number of their own popular apps which can only mean that the BBM-connected revolution continues to grow.

Facebook and Twitter Apps Integrated with BBM

Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones (version 3.0) and Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones (version 3.0) now allow users to automatically share their Facebook status or latest Tweet with their BBM friends right from within the app.

BlackBerry Travel Goes Social

It is now easier than ever to update those who matter most about your travel plans. The new BlackBerry Travel app (version 2.5) is now BBM-connected, allowing users to share their travel plans and flight changes directly with select BBM contacts or with their entire BBM community.

App Sharing Made Simpler

With BBM (version 6.2) and BlackBerry App World (version 3.1.2), users can easily update their BBM profile to let their friends know about the great new app they’ve just downloaded on BlackBerry App World. With this updated version of BlackBerry App World, users can also instantly share info about their favorite app or a list of their installed apps with friends using BlackBerry® Tag*.

BBM Made Better

In addition to integration with BlackBerry App World, BBM (version 6.2) offers a polished, enhanced and more personal experience. It includes a new selection of animated avatars, a simpler way of updating one’s personal message in their profile, and now allows users to quickly send voice notes.

Availability

Twitter for BlackBerry smartphones version 3.0 is available now and Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones version 3.0,  BlackBerry Travel version 2.5, BlackBerry App World version 3.1.2, and BBM version 6.2 are scheduled to be available for download over the next ten days on BlackBerry App World (www.blackberry.com/appworld).  Stay tuned to BlackBerry social channels to confirm when each app becomes available.

Bloggers and media will be invited to a public launch on May so stay tuned for the invite.

I am proud to be part of Vibal Foundation (Via the Philippine Online Chronicles) that I want to keep sharing their projects. All their projects tie in with the foundation’s slogan. “Open Books, Open Minds”. Their latest is Vibe Philippine E-Bookstore.

I first saw the Vibe app, when Gaspar (Gus) Vibal and Kristine Mandigma showed me a prototype sometime August 2011. I was really excited and could hardly wait to get the app.. but there were many things to be done to make it fully functional. Inspired by the National Book Development Board’s Booklatan sa Bayan program, Vibal Foundation uses this cloud-computing project to make available to the reading public a wide range of newly published, out-of-print, or public domain book titles. The project addresses the issues of high printing costs, fragmented distribution channels, and delayed time to market, which are faced by all printed matter in the Philippines. Vibe is also an effective tool for independent publishers and authors who wish to sell their works directly to the public.

Gus Vibal, the executive director of Vibal Foundation first explained the project on October 2011 at the Kape + Teknolohiya to entpreneurs and technology enthusiasts, technology and education advocates at the Technohub. Then Kristine Mandigma introduced Vibe to bloggers at a gathering at the Filipinas Heritage Library shortly after.

It is an innovative project for many reasons.

1. The Vibe app is developed by Filipino software developers.

2. The unique Vibe books’ interactive features contains include animation, scores, embedded videos, and interactivity that appeal the reader’s senses. Some of the books also have built-in encyclopedias. With these features, Vibe promises that “the world of reading will never be the same.”

3. With a minimum of 20 titles, you can get your own customized storefront .

4. Sign up with Vibe , and they will convert your books for free.

5. Retain 70% of the retail price for every book sold.

6. Distribute your books to local and international markets.There is no exclusivity agreement. You can still sell your ebooks to other publishers.

7. It has its own encryption (not Adobe encryption where it can be easily hacked) so books won’t just be sold elsewhere or transferred to another user.

8. There is print -on-demand available anywhere around the world.

At the Vibe Publishers Preview last March 30, 2012 was very well-attended by local publishers. The organizers thought only 30 would show up but it seemed the publishers were excited about this as well. Gus Vibal presented the Vibe Bookstore and Vibe reader. There were many features that were not present when I saw it last November.

The public launch will be sometime early May. Bloggers and media will be invited here so stay tuned when I send out an invite. In the meantime, browse through the Vibe Bookstore for more details. While at it, check out the free books as well as the other titles that can be bought via Paypal. Soon G-cash, credit cards, and other payment scheme will be added.

Watch this Vibe app/ bookstore video

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Vibe?

Vibe is the first electronic bookstore of the Philippines. This year Filipinos will be able to easily access and buy all kinds of reading material on their smart phones and mobile devices. Vibe is also the name of a reading application (app) that will be downloaded for free and installed on users’ PCs and Mac computers, Android devices, as well as on iPhones and iPads.

What is the mission of Vibe?

Aligning itself with the core mission of and inspired by National Book Development Board’s Booklatan sa Bayan program, Vibal Foundation is using this cloud-computing project to make available to the reading public the widest number of newly published, out of print or public domain book titles, as well as magazines and newspapers. The project addresses the problematic issues of high prices, fragmented distribution channels, and delayed time to market that all printed matter in the Philippines face. Vibe is also a wonderful tool for independent publishers and authors who wish to sell their works directly to the public.

What are the advantages of Vibe?

With Vibe, publishers can reduce their time to market. E-book versions can be simultaneously launched with its print version, assuring nationwide availability as long as there is a mobile phone signal or Internet access. Depending on each publisher’s strategy, electronic editions can be substantially reduced in price considering that publishers save on paper, printing, distribution and marketing costs. Publishers can also offer more affordable reading options to budget-minded consumers by offering limited-time licenses, which allow readers to read print material that automatically lapses within an agreed 7-day, 14-day or one-year period. Magazine and newspaper publisher may even offer subscriptions directly within Vibe. Independent publishers will be able to publish books as solely electronic editions, foregoing completely the cost of manufacturing and distribution, with the added benefit of instantly reaching millions of readers. Textbook publishers will be able to sell tablets with interactive textbooks directly to schools with their content already pre-loaded in a secure and traceable manner. Vibe is a universal reading application (app) program. Vibe can read and display both flat and interactive reading material. Vibe has the functionalities of several reading apps currently available in the market such as PressReader (e-newspapers), Zinio (e-magazines), Apple AppStore (storybook apps), Kindle and Apple iBooks (e-PUB formatted books).

What makes Vibe different from other e-book stores like Amazon Kindle, iBooks, etc.?

Vibe is designed with the needs of Philippine readers and publishers in mind. Unlike foreign-based e-bookstores like Amazon Kindle and Apple iBooks, which utilize credit cards as their main payment method, Vibe accepts payments through Globe GCash, SMART Money, and other widely used local services, such as load wallets or pass-a-load, thus having great appeal to the Philippine market. Philippine publishers however can also simultaneously deploy their content to the international market, because Vibal Foundation has direct accounts with the three major international e-bookstores: Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks and Barnes and Noble Nook.

As a publisher, how can I sell my books in the Vibe store?

Simply open your own publisher’s account using Vibe’s business front end called PublishersConnect. You can directly and securely upload your own ePUB or PDF files to Vibe. We strongly advise publishers not to attach unsecured book files to e-mails or to copy them to USB devices or CD- ROMs.

What electronic publication formats does Vibe support?

Upload electronic versions of your magazines or newspapers as PDFs. Submit electronic versions of your books as ePUB files.

What is ePUB?

ePUB is an open standard and format for creating and selling electronic versions of books and has quickly become the de facto standard of the international publishing industry. The world’s largest e-book stores, including iBooks (over 60,000 titles) and Amazon Kindle store (over 450,000 titles) support this format. ePUB is a standard maintained by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF). ePUB version 3 guidelines, incorporating the use of HTML5 and Math Markup Language (Math ML) were published on 15 February 2011. These developments build on ePUB’s eminent suitability for math textbooks and interactive activities.

What are the technical details that I have to know about ePUB?

ePUB stands for “electronic publication.” All ePUB files are suffixed “.epub.”

Its format is a combination of three different open text/document formatting standards. It is supported by a wide variety of e-book readers, including Apple’s iPhone/iPad and Amazon’s Kindle. It was developed to be an industry-wide standard for e-books, with the potential to surpass other formats.I don’t have any in-house facility to convert my PDF files to ePubs.

How do I go about converting my books?

As part of its digital literacy program, Vibal Foundation has already digitized over 1,000 public domain titles. In addition the Foundation is currently helping dozens of Philippine publishers in mass digitization efforts. It also has over 5 years experience assisting national and local government offices on their electronic publication projects. The Foundation can help convert your print titles into ePUB e-books. You also have the option of converting your own e-books and uploading them directly to the store. For example Calibre is a widely available free and open software for converting your books to ePUB files. All preliminary ePUB files, whether supplied by you or the Foundation, undergo a validation process to ensure correct formatting and syntax.

What is the difference between ePUB and PDF?

Portable document format or PDF files are designed to look the same as the printed page no matter what device you view it on. In ePUB format, the text is reflowable, which means that the layout of the text automatically adapts to the size and orientation of the window or screen. This makes it much easier to read on various devices. You can make the font size bigger without having to scroll sideways to read the rest of the page. PDFs are the default standard for presenting electronic versions of magazines and newspapers. Vibe also offers support for PDF files.

When you convert a print book or PDF to ePUB format, will it look exactly the same?

No. The reflowable text of the ePUB format means that the text layout can change depending on the size or orientation of the screen you view it on. Multiple text columns are also supported. Tables will be converted into graphics in order to display properly.

What kind of interactive functionalities are supported by Vibe?

Vibe is a multi-platform and universal reading application. It can read flat, enhanced and interactive books and magazines. Vibe supports both ePUB and its proprietary VIBE format, which supports a fleet of interactive functionalities. ePUB version 3.1 supports embedded hyperlinks, whether internal or external, embedded audio-video, HTML5 and Math Markup Language. With the VIBE software development kit, publishers can easily build interactive features into their reading products, such as the ability to self-score tests and quizzes, answer survey questions, return results to a master tablet, decode QR codes, or embed database functionalities into a book.

How secure are my files when I send them in for conversion?

After you check in your files, they are automatically encrypted and stored on a central file server that acts as a vault. This vault is not physically located in the Vibal Foundation premises. The Vibe server is deployed into the cloud using Amazon Web Services. AWS provides world-class storage, security and availability. Currently two of flagship websites of Vibal Foundation have already been deployed into the Amazon cloud, namely, Filipiniana.net and Wikipilipinas.org, the latter already reaching 800,000 monthly visits.

How do you prevent e-books from being stolen or pirated?

Vibe e-books are stored on a production server linked to a cloud server and are sent as encrypted files when transferred to a reading device. The encrypted file can only be decrypted when a device sends a request to the Vibe server. Decryption is only made possible after three different security keys are matched. The reading program is only able to decrypt the file after all three keys are complete. The Vibe store is an ecosystem that automatically records these three keys. The server tracks these decryption requests, allowing us to pinpoint anomalous activity and flag suspected pirates.

Can my encrypted ePUB books be transferred from an Android device to another, via a USB port?

Although they can be copied from an authorized reader’s Android device and transferred via a USB stick, the pirated file remains encrypted and will not function because both the user and device security keys will not match. Also to guard against text or image harvesting, when an ePUB is unzipped or unpackaged, the resulting text file only displays gibberish and unintelligible characters, thus protecting whatever is wrapped into the ePUB file, whether text, images, or HTML5 code.

Can my e-books in Vibe be printed or exported?

Vibe, like iBooks reader and the Kindle app, does not allow users to print whole pages of text. The only way for a user to export and print book text would be to manually select, copy, and paste text paragraph by paragraph into a note application on their reading device. Then they would need a third-party software to be able to remotely print their text extracts.

How do I manage my Vibe titles?

Publishers will be able to log on to their account through the website. They can upload, publish, revise and manage their e-books, as well as access sales reports.

How can I keep track of my sales?

Publishers can access sales reports by logging on to their account. Sales reports are updated daily. Payments are remitted monthly. Vibe acts as the publisher’s agent (in Filipino “ahente”) and deducts a nominal commission. You remain as the publisher and have the fiduciary responsibility to remit withholding tax.

Can I just convert my books to ePUB files and distribute to the public without using Vibe?

We do not recommend giving anybody a copy of your unencrypted book files, whether stored in ePUB or PDF formats. For a publisher to have security of mind as well as maximum security over his or her digital assets, all e-book files should only be deployed through a securitized ecosystem, meaning a content server with digital rights management and e-book reading program. The combination of both Vibe e-bookstore and the Vibe e-reading application program provides a complete ecosystem to match each digital file with a unique reading device number and a unique reader ID.