From left to right: Armando Pascual, HP General Manager for the Imaging and Printing Group; Dr. Milagros Quiñones, DepEd-NCR English Supervisor; Efren Penaflorida, CNN Hero of the Year and Lakandula Awardee

Combining the power of innovation and education, HP ushers in its pioneering A+ campaign that empowers Filipino students to achieve academic excellence in school with the help of HP’s latest innovative imaging and printing technologies. Together with a full roster of year-long, youth-enriching activities, the campaign will leverage the HP Ink Advantage printers in cultivating children’s potential and improving their learning experience through affordable, reliable and high-quality prints for their school projects and other academic requirements.

A major component of the A+ campaign is Write&Read, a collaborative story-writing program that HP is launching with the Department of Education-National Capital Region that aims to inspire creativity in Filipino students. The program spreads the inspiration through CNN Hero of the Year and Lakandula Award recipient Efren Peñaflorida as its campaign ambassador, who championed youth literacy through the Dynamic Teen Company “kariton” classroom to educate children in far-flung areas of the country.

“We look forward to this meaningful partnership with HP. Through Write&Read, we will be able to work hand in hand in enriching the learning experience of children and inspire a growing interest in writing and reading, two of the most important and fundamental skills in education,” said Dr. Milagros Quiñones, English Supervisor, DepEd-NCR.

“Education is life-changing, and writing and reading is where it all starts,” said Efren Peñaflorida. “It is through colorful prints that students are able to appreciate and embrace education even more as it will embrace them back and enable them to change their lives for the better.”

Open to grades 4 to 7 and high school students from March 1 to May 30, 2012, the competition is set to recognize Metro Manila’s top 10 young writers who will join the ranks of young Filipino authors. The competition will also publish a book compilation of the winning short story entries.

To further hone the youth’s talent in creative writing, HP will launch a series of creative writing workshops nationwide that will feature interactive lectures and activities for students.

Write&Read will be driven by HP’s robust printing technology and innovations that lets students turn creative ideas into reality. Featuring ultra-low cost Original HP cartridges, the HP Ink Advantage printers deliver affordable, reliable and quality A+ printing that enables students to showcase their creations in the best way possible and further their passion for writing and reading.

“With the HP Ink Advantage printers, students can definitely showcase stunning output for their great ideas and enjoy the opportunity of achieving top grades,” said Armando Pascual, HP General Manager for the Imaging and Printing Group. “The A+ campaign allows students to enjoy learning and achieve excellence at the same time. It is HP’s way to inspire Filipino students to be more motivated and creative while we make sure that their outputs, in terms of printing, are excellent.

The A+ campaign is a part of HP’s advocacy of enriching the lives of children though technology, innovation and meaningful activities that foster creativity, personal development and better education in the Philippines.

Mr. Satoshi Uchida, President of Suzuki Philippines

Japanese compact car and motorcycle manufacturer Suzuki Philippines, Inc. (SPH) rolls out a sure best seller—the Suzuki GD110.

The Suzuki GD110 is an advanced commuter bike that will usher a new level of riding experience, as it comes packed with highly user-friendly features that even first-time motorcycle owners can easily understand.

The Suzuki GD110 features a newly designed compact and lightweight 4-stroke engine for high-combustion efficiency, 4-speed transmission for less gear changes and simpler operation, Suzuki PAIR system for lesser emissions, high visibility meters, indicator lamps and round shaped headlamps with park light indicator lamps for enhanced safety and convenience.

It also has a spare parts advantage as most parts can be bought piece-by-piece and not per assembly, making Suzuki’s GD110 one of the most anticipated models to date.

“We are optimistic about the launch of the GD110 because we are anticipating it to be one of our sure best sellers. We believe that the GD110 is packed with features that answers the commuting needs of the public—affordability, user-friendliness and durability, which very much complements our campaign, “Bakit Di Ka Pa NakaMotor”, Mr. Eiji Kobayashi, general manager of motorcycle sales and marketing said.

“For the Suzuki GD110, we are looking at the first time motorcycle owner market and the shifters—from commuters to riders,” Mr. Kobayashi added.

The Suzuki GD110 retails at a suggested retail price of Php 47,900 and comes in Pearlescent Black, Metallic Jade Royal Blue, and Metallic Silk Red.

Kawasaki Z1000

Kawasaki Motors Philippines starts their 2012 by unleashing a new breed of Leisure Bikes or “beasts” – as they are referred to in the riding scene. Novice and expert riders were thrilled to have heard the exciting news since the inside information about the new dark and dangerous beasts will be gracing the Philippine riding scene buzzed in the last quarter of 2011.

Now that the beasts are officially out of their cages, Kawasaki Motors presents the proud new beasts charmers hailed as the roadgasmers of the 2012 Kawasaki Leisure Bikes.

One of the new beasts is the Kawasaki Z1000, a unique, striking and handsome 1000cc beast for riders that are always game for excitement and maximum impact without compromising comfort and excellent manageability.

Kawasaki Z1000 roadgasmers are: Benjie Cruz, 41, Product Management Head at Eastern Telecoms, a leisure rider for the past two years; John Philip Balanzat, 30 Independent Automotive Parts Shop Owner, a leisure rider for ten years; June Alcorioto, 32, Head of the IT Department at Genie Technologies, a leisure rider for 10 years as well; Leovino Santiago, 48, member of the Highlanders (Highland Riders club) devoted rider for 29 years; Reuel Montalvo, 47, IT and Telecom Department at Meralco, a rider since his early childhood years and member of the riding club B.R.O.S. (Bikers Ride On Strength); Wilfredo Castro, 40, IT Department Head at TATA Consultancy Services, a leisure rider for 26 years; Cipriano Navarro II, 58, Old businessman and a veteran rider now on his 44th year; and Joey Santos, 60, owner of OBAGI, a leisure rider for more than 40 years. All of them shared the exciting attributes that Kawasaki Z100 amazed them.

Kawasaki ZX-14R

The Ninja ZX-14R, the other beast is hailed as the king of beast for its massive 1400cc displacement making it the most powerful motorcycle to date. This deserves fearless roadgasmers namely:

Ehren Ching Azarranga, 48, Seafood Exporter and Construction Business owner; and Roseller Kue, 46, Old businessman engaged in Food Trading, and a true daredevil in his own right with 3 years riding experience.

Kawasaki Motors Philippines is thrilled with the overwhelming response upon the revelation of the Kawasaki 2012 Models dubbed “The New Breed”. And with this, Kawasaki Motors Philippines is posing a challenge to any rider who thinks he has what it takes to charm these beasts – come forward and visit the Kawasaki Krib to feel what it is like to be a roadgasmer.

Nokia Philippines introduced Dharmesh Goshalia as their new General Manager. Aside from that, he will also act as the Head of Sales of the company.

Goshalia – called as Gosh by his colleagues – brings with him remarkable experience in business development, management and marketing across retail distribution and operating businesses in different markets. And with him as the new General Manager, Nokia Philippines is looking at maintaining its local leadership as they continue to innovate and keep on track with the needs of the market.

Gosh sets his aim of applying his strong leadership and strategic decision-making to further improve Nokia’s local success. “The mobile phone landscape in the Philippines is very dynamic and exciting, and we look forward to maintaining Nokia’s leadership position in the country. Nokia has a long-running relationship with Filipino mobile users, and enjoys a huge gap over competitors in terms of preference, driven by its strong image as a trustworthy brand, meeting customer needs and being easy to use,” he said.

According to Gosh, 2012 is another exciting year for Nokia as it delivers aspirational products that offer choice for consumers, with differentiation on quality and value for money. “I’m excited to be at the center of all these amazing developments and look forward to further strengthening Nokia’s relationship with Filipino consumers and steer the company to achieve further success here,” added Gosh.

Gosh was raised in Johannesburg and went to the Rand Afrikaans University where he finished Psychology back in 1989. He has been in the telecom industry for over 16 years – where he spends his 6 years in Nokia. During those years, Gosh has achieved building and reinforcing teams regardless of race and culture with his formidable management skills and passion for business cultures. His past experiences in Europe, Middle East and Africa have led him to Asia where he can easily adapt to diversity and cultural differences.

With the help of technology today, listening and downloading your favorite song is just a piece of cake. And to meet the demanding needs of music lovers to listen to the latest songs right through their devices, the biggest and most innovative music-downloading site from MobileCash Inc. and Rising Tide mobile Entertainment Inc., was launched in the country.

MyMusicStore.com.ph is a one-stop store that will fill everyone’s music needs. The music library of this site boasts thousands of songs and albums to choose from. It has an initial catalogue of over 160,000 songs available for download and showcases a variety of genres. Users can instantly listen to their favorite local and international artists by downloading their music for a very affordable price. The payment is guaranteed secure and hassle-free with the use of PayPal, credit card, or mobile load. This is in line with the goal of the site to provide affordable and accessible music, and delivering quality service to every music enthusiasts around the globe.

In order to give the best music selection, MyMusicStore.com.ph partnered with the most celebrated music companies in the local and international music scene like Alpha Music, EMI, GMA Records, House of Praise, Indie Pinoy, Ivory Music, MCA Music Inc., PolyEast Records, Sony Music, Star Records, Universal Records and Viva & Vicor Music Corp.

MyMusicStore.com.ph offers MP3 downloads for as low as 20 pesos, with their most expensive singles at 35 pesos. Downloaded MP3 songs can be played on all types of devices, such as a computer, tablet, MP3 player, and the like.

MyMusicStore.com.ph App for Android phones is currently being developed. Soon, Samsung Android phone users can download and enjoy their favorite songs at a very affordable price.

Supported by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI), MyMusicStore.com.ph endorses responsible downloading of music to fight piracy and for the effort of promoting and reviving the music industry. This is the better way of downloading music without threatening the livelihood of those who do the lovely songs that we love to listen to.

(L-R) SAP Channel Account Manager, Aldo Sanico, Airbridge Sports Plus Assistant Brand Manager, Sarah Jean Garcia with Brand Manager, Raquel Sumera, and ANSI Information Systems VP for Sales and Marketing, Charlene Sun

The story of Airbridge Sports Plus, Inc is one of shared vision among sports enthusiasts who had come from forwarding and distribution business, Airbridge 3000 Inc.  In 2010 they decided to join forces once again founding the Airbridge Sports Plus, Inc.

ANSI Information Systems is the implementing partner that oversaw the integration of the software.

Airbridge Sports Plus began sourcing an array of products from different Asian countries to meet the requirement of the sporting community.   Today it offers a wide range of sports equipment, from racquets, sportswear to accessories.  It carries top sports brands like Kason for badminton, DHS for table tennis, UHL for soccer and is the official distributor of Li-ning, the no. 1 Chinese sports brand and the official sponsor of the Chinese National Badminton team.   The Li-Ning brand is carried by various sports shops nationwide including JUEGO a sports retail shop that boasts of carrying the widest range of badminton products in the country.

The company has a lean staff of 20, but as with any enterprise that’s laying down the groundwork for expansion and diversification, Airbridge Sports Plus has had to deal with the increasing challenges posed by inventory management as well as warehousing and accounting. Moreover, the company, to ascertain its financial position in various stages of operation, needed useful and timely data to help management evaluate opportunities and strategize around these.

“There were no available data on the sizes of the market, demand, supply and such, so it was difficult to make informed decisions on business projections,” said Raquel Sumera, brand manager of Airbridge Sports Plus. Until recently, Airbridge Sports Plus conducted business following the hugely popular Pinoy consignment model, which make it difficult to manage inventory, unlike in other countries where 95 to 100 percent of the sales are being done outright.

Moreover, Airbridge Sports Plus had no Information Technology regime in place, relying on free software from the Internet and ordinary MS Excel spreadsheets. “Processes were disjointed and systems did not talk to each other,” said Sumera. “The applications used for expense processing, accounts receivable management (A/R) and accounts payable (A/P) did not feed into the general ledger system.” In a word, the inventory management and all contingent financials were done manually.

It was time to sign on to SAP Business One, following a well-considered management decision based on SAP’s peerless reputation applicability. “SAP had our business’s main requirements, such as an integrated system of inventory, accounts receivable and payable modules and the general ledger,” Sumera said. “More important, in SAP, Airbridge Sports Plus was guaranteed dedicated technical support every step of the way.”

Following the particularly challenging transition of the inventory and general ledger systems from manual to online, Airbridge Sports Plus has reported quantifiable improvements. “We have simplified and reengineered the processes for A/P, A/R and accounting, and have made them ‘talk’ to the general ledger system,” Sumera noted. “To be sure, some of the existing staff had to alter their mindsets toward approaching the process, but this did not get in the way of the change we needed in the company.”

Down the road, Airbridge Sports Plus anticipates that running on SAP would allow shorter processing times for inventory and financials, and hence allow the business to grow around the current staff setup. “The time savings will also translate to better controls,” said Sumera.  “The staff will now be freed up for reviews and data checks before a process is finalized.”

Airbridge Sports Plus also plans to use SAP for its other businesses. It also looks forward to further fine-tuning its internal forms and processes to better address its growing business requirements.

“Companies need to be agile especially in today’s new reality,” said Jennie Ligones, SAP country manager in the Philippines. “This is particularly true for small and medium enterprises as they need to differentiate themselves against growing competition, maintain appropriate growth in changing environments. SAP Business One is an affordable small business management solution that best fits medium enterprises like Airbridge Sports Plus, which has outgrown its legacy systems and is looking for a single integrated solution that is quick to install, easy to use, simple to maintain and allows for management of the entire business.”

Alcatel, a pioneer on mobile phone in the country, introduces two new mobile phones that are affordable yet glamorous and elegant. The One Touch Glam 810D is a perfect tech accessory that adds charm to today’s feminine mobile lifestyle while the Alcatel Blaze Glory 918N features what they want in one dual sim android phone.

One Touch Glam 810D
One Touch Glam 810D is a unique phone that brings variety and choice to the mobile technology landscape. It is the perfect combination of fun, easy-to-use technology and stylish design. Designed and created with girl in mind, this stylish phone is a girl thing.

Eye shadow, pocket mirror—the powder compact shape of the Alcatel One Touch Glam 810D resembles the mainstays of a woman’s handbag. Choose the color scheme that suits you best—Mystery Pink or Light Chrome.

As an added touch, the phone sparkles with customizable tiny luminescent diodes when you receive a message, text or call. The Alcatel One Touch Glam 810D opens like a music box, revealing a QWERTY keyboard and a 2.4” screen. Photos, videos, messages are all just a click away—all because of the shortcuts you can personalize yourself. And to make sure you capture all those special memories, this phone has a 2 MP camera that also records videos. It also gets you on your mood with music on the go on your MP3 player.

All day long, the phone can be discreetly tucked away in your handbag or proudly brought out into the limelight. Your own secret garden containing your Twitter and Facebook communities is just a simple click away. Today’s modern young woman never misses an opportunity to share her status, a tweet or a photo. And if you want to find the address of that fashionable restaurant everyone is talking about, the Opera Mini web browser is there to help. It makes you even more social by getting all your contacts in two sims in one handy dual sim phone.

“The Alcatel One Touch Glam 810D was designed to create fun, friendly and innovative products with emotional connections to the users” – Harry Au, General Manager for Alcatel One Touch Asia Pacific, adding “ It is the perfect accessory for your busy social life. From young to mature, this mobile phone fits your style with its feminine touch. Fashion and tech combined in ONE TOUCH.”

Blaze Glory 918N
With this phone, owning a high-quality Android Smartphone does not have to be expensive anymore. The Alcatel Blaze Glory 918N gets you one solid grip on its sturdy and metal finish which gives its sophisticated look for an android phone. It carries with it a larger screen from a typical android phone with the same size as it has. Its 3.2 inch capacitive screen makes user-experience really good, together with its quick response to navigation and loading of apps. The screen’s 320×480 pixel resolution makes its screen stand out even more.

This phone runs on an Android 2.3 gingerbread OS which makes the android experience more manageable. It comes with pre-embedded apps for social networking, music and audio, tools, games, and such which you can spice up and personalize all the more with unlimited downloads through the android market. A plus factor with the phone’s being dual sim, dual standby, using this phone is a maximized android and mobile experience in one single phone. You get games, music, apps, messages, Facebook and Twitter all at the same package.

Its 3.0 megapixel camera gives you quality pictures that you can share instantly on Facebook through its wifi connectivity. It’s also 3G and has Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP and HSPA. The ALCATEL BLAZE 918N is one complete package that gives users a better experience of their phone. With its TouchPal Curve, you can type by just swiping—lesser touches, more messages. It also enhances your game experience with its G-sensor. Now your phone becomes an instant game controller.

The Alcatel Touch Glam 810D is available nationwide for a just 3,999 while Alcatel Blaze Glory 918N is just Php 5,999.

Francois Mahieu, Senior Director, Product Management, RIM Asia Pacific

Research In Motion (RIM) announced five new BlackBerry smartphone models based on the BlackBerry 7 Operating System (OS) in the country. The latest additions to the BlackBerry 7 product lineup are BlackBerry Bold 9790, BlackBerry Curve 9380, BlackBerry Torch 9810, BlackBerry Torch 9860 and BlackBerry Bold 9900 in Pure White.

“The new BlackBerry 7 based smartphones offer customers a truly outstanding mix of communications, multimedia, productivity and social connectivity features,” said Hastings Singh, Vice President, South Asia at RIM. “We are excited to expand the BlackBerry 7 portfolio with the launch of five new models, providing Philippine customers with a broader selection of handsets to match their lifestyle.”

All five new devices are powered by the BlackBerry 7 OS, which delivers a faster and richer user experience with improved browsing, voice-activated searches and support for Augmented Reality. BlackBerry 7 offers the ability to manage personal content separately from corporate content, and comes with a variety of personal and productivity apps out of the box.

BlackBerry Bold 9790

BlackBerry Bold 9790 with Touch Display and Keyboard
True to the BlackBerry Bold brand, the new BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone is powerful, full-featured and built with premium materials and finishes. It combines a high-resolution and highly responsive touch display with a highly tactile keyboard and a precise optical trackpad, but comes in a narrow design that is easy to carry and exceptionally comfortable to hold. With the BlackBerry 7 OS and powerful 1 GHz processor, the BlackBerry Bold 9790 delivers fast, smooth performance for browsing the web, running apps, working with documents, and enjoying multimedia. It includes 8GB of onboard memory and an expandable memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB of additional storage.

BlackBerry Curve 9380

All-Touch BlackBerry Curve 9380
The finely crafted BlackBerry Curve 9380 is the first touch screen smartphone in the BlackBerry Curve family. It features a highly responsive and brilliant 3.2” high resolution display and comes with preinstalled social networking apps, including BBM™ (BlackBerry Messenger), Facebook, Twitter™ and Social Feeds apps, that offer a fun, easy and smoothly integrated mobile experience. This compact and stylish handset also features a 5MP camera with flash and video recording, allowing users to easily capture and share their favorite moments with family, friends and colleagues.

BlackBerry Torch 9810

BlackBerry Torch 9810 with Touch Display and Slide-Out Keyboard
Building on the popular design of the BlackBerry Torch 9800, the new BlackBerry Torch 9810 is faster and more fluid with high performance hardware features and the new BlackBerry 7 OS delivering an enhanced multimedia experience. Featuring a large 3.2”, high resolution touch display and a distinctive BlackBerry keyboard that easily slides out to allow faster typing, the BlackBerry Torch 9810 truly delivers the best of both worlds.

BlackBerry Torch 9860

All-Touch BlackBerry Torch 9860
The BlackBerry Torch 9860 smartphone offers the fast, fluid BlackBerry 7 experience in a stylish all-touch design. With a spectacular 3.7” display, the largest ever on a BlackBerry smartphone, the new all-touch BlackBerry Torch 9860 smartphone is optimized for displaying web pages, photos, videos, and powerful gaming experiences. It also delivers the highly refined, real-time communication and collaboration experience loved by millions of BlackBerry smartphone users around the world.

BlackBerry Bold 9900

BlackBerry Bold 9900 Smartphone in Pure White
The premium BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone is now available in Pure White. The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone yet at only 10.5mm. It offers the perfect union of a high performance keyboard and touch display integrated within the iconic BlackBerry Bold design. Distinguished by its beautiful design, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 is crafted with premium materials including a brushed stainless steel frame that puts the finishing touch on a truly outstanding smartphone.

1st Asian Underwater Photography Championship Awarding Night

Filipino photographers made it to the top 10 in different categories of the first Asian Underwater Photography Championship held in Cebu.

Hosted by the Philippine Association of Underwater Activities (PAUA) which gathered 65 underwater photographers representing 11 countries, the competition was based on CMAS (Confederation Mondiale Des Activites Subaquatiques) underwater photography competition rules and standards.

Paolo Garcia - Top 6 of the Close-Up Category

Marie Lat - Top 5 of the Wide angle category

Marie Lat - Top 9 of the Nudibranch Theme Category

Each photographer had to enter a photo in each of the following categories: Fish, Close-Up, Wide Angle, Wide Angle with Diver, and a special theme, “Nudibranch,” which Philippines is known for.

Wowie Wong - 9th in Fish

Philippine delegate Wowie Wong finished 9th in Fish category and got the silver medal for Wide Angle with Diver while other Filipinos Marie Lat completed the competition with 5th place finish on Wide Angle and 9th in Nudibranch; Pablo Garcia ended 6th in Close-up and Adrien Uichico finished 4th in Close-up.

Wowie Wong - Silver Award in Wide Angle with Diver

“This was the most challenging competition I had ever entered pressured by the fact that we were up against the best underwater photographers in Asia. Just to be a part of it was already an honor. We hope that all the winning photos would captivate tourists to visit our beautiful country and help our tourism,” Wong said.

(L-R) Marie Lat, Adrien Uichico, Wowie Wong, Oliver Ko, Paolo Garcia and son.

The wait is over. Globe held a countdown event in the eve of the official launch of the iPhone 4s having President Benigno “NoyNoy” Aquino III as the first recipient of the iPhone 4s in the country. PNoy is said to be a long-time subscriber of Globe and the iPhone 4s was given to him under Globe’s loyalty program.

Hailed as the most amazing iPhone yet, iPhone 4s boasts a Dual-Core A5 chip, an all-new 8-megapixel camera and optics, iOS 5, iCloud, and Siri. All that you can ask for a Smartphone you want to own.

The Dual-Core A5 chip of iPhone 4s gives twice as much power and excellent battery-efficiency. It also brings outstanding performance for multimedia experience. It can give ultra-fast graphics and response time in gaming, launching apps and web-surfing.

The iPhone 4s boasts as 8-megapixel camera that can surely take stunning pictures. It is also partnered with a custom lens with a larger f/2.4 aperture and other advanced imaging capabilities.

iOS 5 is the elegant, user-friendly interface of iPhone 4s. The iOS is coupled with 200 new features like the iMessage, Notification Center, Twitter integration, and photo editing to cope up with the astonishing capabilities of the iPhone 4s. Since the era of Cloud was introduced, Apple also incorporated the iCloud that allows users to store all of their files in their personal clouds.

One of the most amazing features of the iPhone 4s is the Siri. Siri works as a personal virtual assistant that can do almost anything you ask for. It can send emails, reply to messages, call someone, make reminders, etc. it can also give you valuable information that you can use in your everyday life such as traffic and weather situations.

Like PNoy, you can also experience the same amazing features as Globe announced different packages that will not give you a hard time to have your very own iPhone 4s. Like what they promise, “Enjoy your globe. Your way.”