The E-Pass tag kit now is cheaper as compared years ago – PHP2,100 that includes PHP400 worth of load (plus PHP40 if you’re to purchase it using a credit/debit card at Shell Magallanes – paging DTI!). Now, the tricky part of which is loading the E-Pass tag which leaves you with three (03) options: (1) Drive thru any of the E-Pass offices; (2) Buy the prepaid load at selected establishments (like Shell Magallanes); or (3) Enroll your credit (or debit) card for automatic or manual replenishment. All of the three (03) options have the same denominator: HASSLE.

OPTION 1: Drive to the nearest E-Pass Office

Your E-Pass can be loaded at Skyway O&M Offices located at Better Living Subdivision (at the back of SM City Bicutan), Nichols, C5, and Silangan exits. This may not be much of a hassle, if and only if you pass by near their offices. Imagine how much time and gas will you be consuming just to have your E-Pass reloaded at their offices.

OPTION 2: Buy the Prepaid E-Pass Load

I thought that when I buy a Prepaid E-Pass Load, I will be given a card similar to those used by telcos. I was wrong: instead, I was given a piece of thermal paper that contains the PIN of the PHP500 worth of load I bought at Shell Magallanes. If you accidentally misplaced or damages the thermal paper, there goes your PHP500!

Now, to load the amount to your E-Pass tag, you will have to call 776.7575 – this is where hell will test your patience. In my attempt over the weekend, I spent countless minutes trying to get connected with their “automated” system for E-Pass tag reloading. I was successful last Monday, though (I started calling them last Saturday) after calling their lousy Customer Service at 776.7676 – bottom line: my E-Pass account, even if it was activated already, was NOT enrolled for replenishment.

Total time wasted calling 776.7676: 45 minutes.

OPTION 3: Automatic or Manual Replenishment using a Credit/Debit Card

If you’re the tech-savvy or adventurous type, then you may opt to simply fill-up the E-Pass Credit Card Authorization form to enroll your credit/debit card to replenish your tag. For automatic replenishment, once the E-Pass tag’s account balance goes down to PHP350, it will be reloaded with the amount specified when you forwarded the Credit Card Authorization form to them (minimum amount is PHP500).

If you opted to have manual replenishment (just like what I did), you will have to call 776.7575 to initiate the debit process. The caveat: the debit/charging process is subject to “manual” approval and is usually done by 1700H (close of business hours?) the day you requested for such transaction. The minimum chargeable amount is also at PHP500.

Aside from their Customer Service Hotline 776.7676 to be inutile, the only way for one to check the remaining balance of his/her E-Pass tag is to call that very same number! Otherwise, you will have to wait for the monthly statement emailed to you by Skyway O&M. I know that Skyway O&M is a big company, but can’t they just allot a portion of their income to invest for a real automated system for E-Pass replenishment? Can’t they just increase the number of people manning their Customer Service Hotline to make the queue considerably shorter? Why not invest on an SMS-type of support system so that E-Pass account balance will be as easy as an SMS away?

Alcatel has the distinction of introducing the polyphonic ring tones to the Philippine shores not so long ago. Alcatel is back 100% introducing its line of Android phones. I was given the opportunity to review the Alcatel OneTouch Blaze 990, and here goes:

Specifications:

• Released on Aug 2011
• Display Type: TFT 262k colour landscape display capacitive touch
• Dimensions: 116mm x 62.2mm x 12.2mm
• Weight: 144g
• OS: Android 2.2 (Froyo)
• Processor: 600MHz
• Network & Data Connectivity: 2G / 3G / GSM / HSDPA / 802.11 b/g WiFi & WiFi Hotspot capability / Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP / microUSB v2.0
• Main Camera: 5MP autofocus with LED flash (2592 pixels x 1944 pixels) & geo-tagging
• Battery: Li-Ion 1300 mAh (up to 550 hours standby; up to 06 hours talk time)

Packaging contents of the OneTouch 990.

The Alcatel OneTouch 990 has the loudest speakers of all the Android units I had already used. You can actually audibly hear the person you are talking to (at the other end of the line) using the built-in hands-free speaker phone while driving (but please, do not Text and Drive).

Here’s the Alcatel OneTouch 990 side-by-side the BlackBerry Bold 9900 on top of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer tablet.

The screen of the OneTouch 990 is comparable to those of high-end smart phone units. The unit’s processor is decent enough to handle Android games and animations. Battery life is impressive, as it gave me more than 24 hours of use after a full charge – normal mobile phone use: SMS, Calls, and Tweeting from time to time.

For me, the only drawback of the unit is it’s weight – around 10 grams heavier than the heaviest BlackBerry unit I had used.

Suggested Retail Price of the Alcatel OneTouch 990 is PHP9,990.

Alcatel (Philippines) is asking you: ARE YOU 100% GOOD? Click here to join.

TurfSite Manila’s Rating for this mobile phone:

4 out of 5 stars

• Faster, Richer Web Browser
• Social Feeds and Views
• Universal Search
• Engaging Multimedia
• Simple Setup
• Intuitive, Fluid Design

I am still at awe on how fast my Bold 9700 unit now after the upgrade and with the features listed above. Will write a full review of the BlackBerry OS6 within the weekend. For the time being, here are some of the screenshots of the BlackBerry OS6 running on my Bold 9700:

The Home Screen of my BlackBerry Bold 9700 running OS6

Update: If you are experiencing problems with the Web Browser of your BlackBerry Bold 9700, which was recently upgraded to OS6, you may do this work-around: Go to OPTIONS then search for Service Book. There, search for BlackBerry Internet Browsing Service 2 (take note of the number 2). Delete this service book. Make sure that you only have one (01) BlackBerry Internet Browsing Service present.

It was 10 of us in the group; and me, together with the boss went ahead of the pack to reserve seats and place our initial orders: 04 Greca Pizzas — it was around 1130H then. Minutes later, the rest of the team arrived. We were, I think, their first customers for the day (as the waiter told us that they had just opened by 1100H today). The waiter took our individual orders. Since I am not a fan of Greek food and veggies, I opted to have spaghetti bolognese and bottomless iced tea — while the rest of the team settled for salads & other house specialties. The waiter informed me that it will take around 15 minutes for the spaghetti to be served, and I joke that even if it takes 30 minutes, no problem with me — as it is the only thing in their menu that I will eat.

Some 30 minutes later, we noticed that it has only been 02 of the 04 Greca Pizzas that we ordered, which were served to us already; so we made a follow-up. Then came another Greca Pizza on the table. Some more minutes later, and one-by-one the orders of my colleagues came, but not the spaghetti bolognese. Some 90 minutes later, while we were just treating ourselves (it was 3 of us waiting for our meals to be served) to a bunch of laughter (while our stomachs are rumbling in hunger) and the boss kidding (read as “threatening”) the waiter that we will be transferring to the restaurant next door, the waiter broke the sad news to me: they will not be able to serve the spaghetti bolognese! To make the matter worst: while sipping through the entire glass of iced tea, a flying insect appears just beneath the ice. I immediately called the attention of the waitress, and casually told her: “Miss, may flying object na nag-landing sa iced tea ko.” — just to give a comic relief to the almost irritating mood of my teammates. The waitress immediately took my drink and replaced it with another glass.

Good thing, (1) I was in the company of my office colleagues and (2) I am in a jolly mood; else, had I blown my top already, you will see heaven & earth separate your restaurant branch into pieces. After I had waited for some 90 minutes with just a slice of Greco Pizza and around 2 rounds of iced tea, then you will advise me that the spaghetti bolognese will no longer arrive! Out of pity, my officemates gave me the pita breads from their meals.

It may be the first time that we went to Cafe Med as a group (and in that particular branch), but we were not first-timers. Heck, our business is inflight catering. Based on our observations: Cafe Mediterranean Resorts World Manila branch is undermanned — we can see in the faces of your staff how harassed  they were after taking our orders. I intended to have a nice lunch with our team and be back at the office at around 1300H or so. I guess we missed to advise your staff that we were there for lunch and not for merienda.

I swear, we will never go back to that branch again.

Two factors made us decide to acquire the Nikon Coolpix L110 on top of the competitor’s super zooms (that of Panasonic’s and Sony’s) — value for money and it’s 15x wide optical zoom.

The listed price of the Nikon Coolpix L110 (black) at Kimstore is PHP13,000 but when we checked at SM Appliance Center, it’s on order basis with a tag of PHP28,000. Kimstore wins!

Now, on to the review proper …

The Nikon Coolpix L110 is easy to use — it’s like you’re just using a point-and-shoot (actually, it’s a point-and-shoot camera). There is an AUTO setting, so as not to complicate your life with the settings, especially if you are just new to photography and if you’re not a professional. It has an effective pixel count of 12.1 million pixels, and is sporting a 15x optical zoom NIKKOR lens that can give you a super-telephoto 420mm coverage from as close as 28mm. Macro shooting can be as close as 1cm or 0.4 of an inch.

Another best thing with the Nikon Coolpix L110 is that it uses four (04) AA batteries. No worries if you are on the road and ran out of battery charge, you can always get an Energizer AA (Ultimate Lithium recommend, based on the manual) off the shelf. Based on the manual, using Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries will last up to 840 shots or roughly 7 hours of HD movies.

Yes, you read that right — HD movies. The Nikon Coolpix L110 is capable of shooting HD (720p) quality video with stereo sound.

If you’re a semi-pro or a learned person when it comes to photography, the Nikon Coolpix L110 supports sensitivity of up to ISO 6400. This is the first in the L-Series Camera line to offer a new vibration reduction that combines the image-sensor shift system with electronic vibration reduction to help prevent or reduce blur caused by camera shake and subject movement.

The only thing missing in the Nikon Coolpix L110 is a viewfinder, else it’s the best consumer digital camera for me.

My rating for the Nikon Coolpix L110: 9 out 10.

Sample pictures taken using the Nikon Coolpix L110:

Portrait shots

Some macro photography shots:

How about food photography:

This time, let’s try the 15x optical zoom:

Using the 15x zoom, I can clearly see the tail number (registration) of this chopper:

Another shot using the 15x optical zoom:

Without using the built-in flash:

Sample HD movie:

On to the review:

The BlackBerry 9700 was announced last October 2009, and this is RIM’s second handset (next to the Curve 8520) that will sport a touch-sensitive optical trackpad instead of the problematic trackball. A very welcome move from RIM. Compared with the BlackBerry Bold 9000, the Bold 9700′s camera is upgraded to 3.15MP (from just 2.0MP) with Image Stabilization; weight is reduced to just 122g from 133g; the Bold 9700 supports GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 850/1900/2100, & HSDPA 1700/2100/900 — up to 3.6Mbps. Like the Bold 9000, Bold 9700 is also WiFi (802.11 b/g, UMA) enabled.

On the downside, internal storage for the Bold 9700 was reduced to just 256MB from Bold 9000′s 1GB. But, the Bold 9700 supports up to 16GB microSD expandable storage, while the Bold 9000 can only accommodate up to 8GB. The screen size got a little bit smaller at 2.44 inches, compared to the Bold 9000′s 2.6 inches.

GlobePH currently sells the BlackBerry Bold 9700 at PHP28,995 as a prepaid phonekit.

Total Charging Time: 01 hour, 55 minutes, & 17.6 seconds

I fired up the anti-virus software to scan the hard drive while the netbook is unplugged from the power outlet.

Windows XP SP 3 Usage Time: 01 hour & 33 minutes (low battery prompt goes on at 01 hour & 19 minutes of usage)

Windows 7 Beta (Build 7000) Usage Time: 01 hour & 33 minutes (low battery prompt goes on at 01 hour & 27 minutes of usage)

I remember having used the HP Mini 2133 for full two (02) hours when it was still using Windows Vista Basic. Wondering what’s draining the battery fast in Windows XP & Windows 7.

The Customer Service Agent at MOA gave me the dial-up number *99***1#, so I immediately created a dial-up connection with this number once I reached home. First try, nah! It didn’t worked. Called their Customer Service Hotline, and gave me a new dial-up number *99# — still does not worked. Then finally, a second call to their Hotline, the CS Agent told me that I need to install the LG PC Suite to use 3G dial-up.

So I tried to install the LG KU250 PC Suite using the mini-CD-ROM provided, but the next problem I encountered is that the LG USB Modem Driver provided is NOT Windows XP Certified — it won’t install on my PC (running Windows XP 2nd Edition with SP3). Surfed the internet and landed on a possible solution. Tried re-installing the USB Modem Driver, and wallah! It worked!

Now, here’s the settings in the LG PC Suite that worked my way connecting to the internet via 3G:

My Windows XP Internet Connection status tells me that I have a 115.2Kbps connection, but speedtest.net reached somewhere between 250Kbps to 350Kbps.

If you’re a blogger who wants more traffic to your site, better try rssHugger.com.

The much-awaited compilation album of TrueFaith band is finally out (made available just three days ago). Consist of thirty-four (34) songs in two discs, this album is a must-have for all Faithfools out there.

Included in the album are re-mastered hits like:

(Disc 1) Perfect, Love Stings, Everything She Wore, How Much I Feel, Ambon, Sa Puso Ko, Huwag Nalang Kaya, Muntik Nang Maabot Ang Langit, Shotgun Baby Bang! Bang!, Pure, Kahapon, Silence Of The Heart, Alaala, Baliw, Kundi Rin Lang Ikaw, Bukas Liligaya Din Ako, Hi, Ika’y Mamahalin.
(Disc 2) Enjoy, Alam, Get It On, (Awit Para) Sa Kanya, Kung O.K. Lang Sa Iyo, Minsan (Lang Ako Umibig), Sumasarap Ang Gising, Basta-Basta, Ngumiti Ka Lang, Deadma, Mistake Number 3, Dahil Ikaw, Sayang Ang Lahat,
Cross My Heart, Araw’t Gabi, Isang Pangarap Lamang.

How I wished that they had released a 3 CD compilation instead of 2 only. They missed to include my personal favorites Goodbye, God Bless and Sugar Kisses, but nonetheless, this is an awesome album!

Go, grab your (original) copies now.