Trying out Globe Tattoo Wi-Fi

For the past two weeks, I got asked to try out the Globe Tattoo Wi-Fi service. It is a mobile phone program that turns your Symbian mobile phone into a wifi hotspot by connecting through Globe’s 3G service.

This is ideal especially if you are in areas where Globe Tattoo is performing well (such as those cited in the Nesic Philippines wireless broadband speedtest).

I was able to try the service out while inside a taxi and shared it to some students during workshop class. It can be useful and convenient to share with 2 to 3 people for light Internet use activity.

The license fee of Globe Tattoo Wi-Fi is P300.00 (VAT inclusive). This is charged when a subscriber text 9999 for the installation key/activation code. The Globe Tattoo Wi-Fi installer can be downloaded from myGlobe website for free.

When starting or using Globe Tattoo Wi-Fi Hotspot, you will be charged with Globe’s mobile browsing rates. You can choose how you will be charged - by KB (kilobyte) or by TIME (per minute).

• KB Browsing Rate - P0.15/kb
• Time Browsing Rate - P5.00 for 15 minutes (this is the recommended charging scheme for Globe Tattoo Wi-Fi)

Globe Prepaid and Postpaid subscribers are by default on the KB Charging scheme. To switch to the TIME charging scheme, text TIME to 1111 for free.

To shift back to KB browsing: text KB to 1111. To check the charging scheme that currently applies to your account: text STATUS. Send the keyword to 1111 for free.

Requirements:

• Globe Tattoo Wi-Fi can be installed in Smartphones with Symbian v3 OS. The handsets should also have WLAN and 3G capabilities.
• The phone needs to have the latest firmware inside. Old firmware versions do not have the technology to enable WLAN sharing (should not be older than October 2007). For Nokia phones - In case you have an old firmware version in your S60 device, you can update the firmware using Nokia Software Updater. For Samsung phones, firmware is also available.

For further questions in using the service, please post them here. I look forward in trying out more services in the future.

Will cellular phone numbers become obsolete soon?

Last May, I attended Cherry Mobile's launch of its dual SIM phone series. Having 4 active mobile numbers can be a drag and may sometimes end up neglecting some of them. It will be convenient to just have them in one phone and just switch when necessary.

Also found out that my monthly mobile phone plan can be renewed or downgraded by January 2010. Now I'm partly torned as there are developments in the market that are affecting my plans on this.

Landline numbers are now mobile or wireless, can text, and surf the Internet too

With the kind of business I'm in, it will be convenient if people can reach me through mobile landline numbers especially now that they can be taken anywhere in the country and be able to receive the call.

I remember being surprised receiving a text message and the number that I replied to was actually a landline.

Some can even be plugged to your PC and you can already start surfing the Internet. So come October, I will likely have a mobile landline number of my own that I can take anywhere.

What will happen to mobile phone numbers?
I think the local telecommunication companies have already saturated the market. When you have 70 million mobile phone users (Philippines 2009), their needs for upgrade and changing of mobile numbers won't be that much right?

Therefore the whole new untapped market will be the wireless landline numbers where some can also be used with mobile phone handsets. If you can do almost everything that you are doing now with your mobile phone at your wireless landline phone (except international roaming - at least for now), then what is the use of having to maintain an expensive mobile phone subscription plan in the long run?

I think it is possible that a lot of us in business will have one regular cellphone and wireless landline number inevitably. This may decrease the size of the cellphone market as it will become more practical to have a wireless landline number as features get further beefed up. Unless of course, cellular phone subscription plans gets a radical make-over.

Personalized jump drive and storage as gifts

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In attending and organizing IT events lately, I noticed that Personalized Jump Drive are fast becoming popular choices for giveaways or souveniers. This is where the identity of the company gets used for brand recall.

Hopefully, with its increasing affordability, our next conferences, such as the upcoming E-Commerce Summit this November 2009 and the April 2010 Social Networking & eBusiness Conference, will have these personalized flash drives as storage for handouts rather than burning the materials in a CD that often takes time.

With such an option, this will also allow us to customize the flash drive further in terms of packaging by allowing the posting of our logo, among others. For example, the site Flash Dealer allows buyers to shop for various flash drive design and have it customized further.

Giving a personalized usb drive also promotes re-use as contents in flash drive can be deleted when done and be used for storage of various files. Unlike in a CD where it gets thrown out sooner or later.

I’m now thinking with Christmas happening in a few months time, perhaps it will also be good giveaway souvenier for our club members where our various training materials for the year 2009 can be stored in it.

Ratified Top 100 Blogs !st Half of 2009

Our next State of E-Commerce in the Philippines webinar will be on August 18 Tuesday from 11 am to 12 noon.

The topic for this episode will focus on Ratified's Philippines Top 100 blog based on blog growth from 2008 to first half of 2009.

I hope you can join.

P.S. To view a sample on how a webinar works, check out my first one.