National Bookstore’s Project Aklat

Hi guys!!

Yesterday, as I was strolling at SM Bicutan lookin for stuff to buy this christmas (as well as checking out some really neat RC helicopters which I made a blog post about last night) I went by National Bookstore to look for some art materials. Then I saw like this box in the center that says “Project Aklat”

Curious, I asked about it. Apparently, Project Aklat, is a Christmas book drive where they would donate books bought from the store to kids who are less fortunate. Proceedings would also go to the National Book Store Foundation. I have a lot of things to be thankful of in my life, specially now that I have so much, I wanted to atleast give back to others who aren’t so fortunate.

So I picked up a book I thought would be really cool among the rack of books, and went off to pay for it and write a small dedication to however it is that will be receiving the book. I picked this particular book coz I think it was really nice. (I guess the title got me XD)

Hope whoever it is that will get this have a great time reading it. Advance Merry Christmas everyone!!

SYMA S107 sighted at SM Bicutan!!

Quick post!!

Well for those of you peepz who read my previous post about RC helicopters, might remember that if ever I’ll get one, I’d want to get a SYMA S107. Reading the raving reviews about that helicopter about how easy it is to fly one, and the availability of parts online, I wanted to get one for myself.

Back then the SYMA S107 is very hard to get by in SM malls, and usually you have to find dealers online and sadly buying from them won’t give you any warranty for servicing your copter if ever it gets broken.

Well, as I was strolling at SM Bicutan today, I passed by the RC helicopter section. I was able to talk again to the guy in my previous post who demoed the helicopters to me. I asked him again about the SYMA S107 copter and he mentioned at first that he never heard if there was any shipment of the said model. However, as he went thru his stock of helicopters to see if there’s any helicopter I may get interested in, he saw a particular helicopter that caught my attention.

As you can see on the lower right it’s a SYMA brand copter (but distributed under the Speed-Tech brand locally). However, upon closer inspection of the helicopter itself, it’s really a SYMA S107 copter that’s rebranded for the local market!!

Not only does it look the same, it even has the S107 logo on the hood. Just to see how it flies in person, I asked for a demonstration and I recorded it using my Samsung ES30 digicam. Here’s the copter in action:

However, as cool as this copter maybe, its priced really high at around Php 2,500+. At that price, its gonna be hard competing with another RC copter with gyro that’s being sold locally which is apparently a rebranded Falcon X copter that’s being sold for only Php1,600. For now, considering the price, I’ll have to hold my reservations and just wait for the price to drop. Php 2,000+ is way too much money for me to plunk down on a RC copter.

Old VS New; Polaroid A544 VS Samsung ES30

Hey everyone!!

Well remember I mentioned back then that the reason I bought my Samsung ES30 was because I gave my old Polaroid A544 to my sister? Well just so happens I saw it one day on a drawer unused. I asked my sister about it, and she mentioned that she doesn’t need it as much anymore as she’s now busy with work. Oh well, atleast now its used as our official office camera for taking ID pics and stuff.

Here’s how my old Polaroid A544 looked like:

In my previous review about it last year, for the price it’s a pretty good digicam.

Now that I have a better digicam, I’m curious just how my old camera fares. Now first off, I know that its quite unfair to pit my old Polaroid camera with my newer Samsung ES30, since it only has 5 megapixels compared to Samsung’s 12 megapixels. But still I must admit I’m pretty curious nonetheless.

Here’s the comparison pics, and yes once again I’m using my trademark “Voltron test” for the comparison (resized). Here’s the results:

Here’s the pictures (unresized) for a much more accurate take on the pictures themselves and overall picture quality:

Samsung ES30 (top), Polaroid A544 (bottom)

Samsung ES30 (top), Polaroid A544 (bottom)

Samsung ES30 (top), Polaroid A544 (bottom)

Samsung ES30 (top), Polaroid A544 (bottom)

In the test, it shows clearly that the Samsung ES30 has better lens quality and shows much more sharper and clearer images than the Polaroid A544. It also does a great job in macro in locating the subject image. Colors are a little dull with the Samsung ES30 and leaves a lot to be desired, compared to the Polaroid A544, but IMHO Polaroid’s photos is oversaturated. The picture also look really blurred when I tried to picture Voltron full-sized when using the Polaroid A544.

Overall, I suppose the Polaroid A544 didn’t age as well as I hoped it would compared to let’s say my 2 megapixel Nokia camera. Till next time!! ^_^

My Play-asia package finally arrived!! XD

FINALLY!!

After like 2 months of waiting, my package has finally arrived!! You see back in October of this year, I ordered something for Play-asia that’s for sale at the time. It was a “Kyoshiro Maniax Mini Fig vol. 1 Gundam kit” (that was quite a mouthful..)

I got one for cheap really, so I went ahead and bought one anyway. Being a cheap-ass that I am, I used the cheapest method of sending it here. And well, I guess I kinda paid the price for being a cheap-ass when it comes to stuff like these. LOL!! It took more or less 2 months of waiting before I finally got my package. And to think I was beginning to get worried about not even getting my package at all. Anyway, without further ado, here’s my mini-unboxing:

This particular Gundam kit is pretty easy to assemble really, and is already pre-painted quite nicely. However it comes at a price of losing any sort of poseability or articulation. I suppose these gundam kits are more for those who just wants a gundam kit, without the fuss of painting them or assembling them.

Once assembled, the gundam kit looks really nice. The level of detail poured into the kit is really admirable to say the least.

However, as detailed and as good as this Gundam figure maybe, it’s a really REALLY small gundam figure. Here’s some comparison shots:

Well considering the price I got him for, and the amount of detail it has, I suppose it’s a good buy. Till next time!!

My Lolo’s brand new Nokia 2690!!

Quick post!!

Well yesterday, I went with my lolo to buy him a brand new Nokia phone, because his old celfone was a cheap second-hand china phone. I kinda wanted my lolo to have a phone with features he really likes, so I asked him what exactly is he looking for in a phone. And he specifically told me the following:

• “Yung may kodak” (translation: Has a camera built-in)
• “Gusto ko din yung may radio” (translation: Has a radio function)
• “Tapos ung may casette na din” (translation: Has an mp3 player)

With that in mind, I looked for a phone that fits the bill nicely, and I got me a Nokia 2690. Considering I’m running on a budget of just 3K, the fone fits the bill quite nicely. It has the following specs:

• Full colored screen
• VGA camera
• MP3 player with FM Radio
• Bluetooth 2.0
• MicroSD expandable memory slot

Here’s the pics I got of the phone itself:

I got this baby for only Php 2,900+ has Nokia warranty and it comes with a free SIM card as well. For what it’s worth, its really a pretty nice phone. And here’s my lolo really happy with his brand new Nokia phone.

 

My lolo is definitely having an early christmas this year. Mission accomplished!! ^__^

My Christmas Wishlist!! XD

Well as requested by my boss/friend; here’s my Christmas Wishlist for this year. This is for our christmas party and atleast would give whoever would be my exchange gift an idea of what EXACTLY I’d want this Christmas. And I made sure these stuff won’t cost more than Php1000 atleast. Anyway, here’s the list:

5 pcs. Tamiya or Mr. Color Acrylic Paint

• I need this in order to finally paint and assemble my Gundam 00 kits. I need the following colors: Black, White, Dark Grey, Red, and Yellow. I believe you can find these in ParkSquare in Makati.

Gundam Markers (1 set)

• Same as the Tamiya/Mr. Color acrylic paints, I’d need this to complete my Gundam 00 kits. Since this is already a set, I believe all of the colors I’d need are in here. I believe you can get these in toyshops in Greenhills/Virramall.

4GB or higher USB flashdrive

• Since I transfer files most of the time, I’d need this one. The higher the size, the better. But the lowest I’d like would be 4GB at least. These can be bought at CDR-King.

Canson A4 Sketchpad + 3pcs. Unipin drawing pen

• I love this sketchpad. It’s simply great to draw on and doesn’t have problems with inks. Problem is this is very hard to find at times. And no I don’t want any other sketch pad brands aside from this one. Also as for the 3 unipin drawing pens I’d like to come with this sketchpad for my gift, I’d want .01 .05 and a .08 pen.

Sanyo Eneloop AA rechargeable batteries

• I’d need atleast 2 pcs. of these batteries. Proven to be long-lasting and very energy efficient, I’d need these for my digicam. These can be bought at CDR-King.

NOTE: To my family who’s planning on that xmas exchange gift, I will have a separate list for you guys. This is for my friends only.

Lenovo IdeaPad U260 and ThinkCentre M70z launch

Hi guys!!

I was invited by a fellow blogger of mine yesterday to attend Lenovo’s product launch for the IdeaPad U260 and ThinkCentre M70z.

It was held at 121 Grill and Restaurant at Allegro Centre in Pasong Tamo Ext. Makati, which was conveniently near my office. So right after work, I went ahead to the event.

The event started out with the folks at Lenovo led by Ms. Vicky Agorrilla, thanking the media as well as bloggers for their support in spreading the love about Lenovo.

After thanking the media/bloggers, they kickstarted the event by introducing 2 of their brand new products; the Lenovo IdeaPad U260 as well as the ThinkCentre M70z.

They started first with the IdeaPad U260, which is claim to be the world’s first stylish 12.5 inch Ultraportable Laptop (or netbook if you so prefer).

It’s specs are as follows:

Processor	Intel Core i3-380UM Processor (dual core processor clocked roughly at 1.33GHz)
Display	12.5” display (1366 x 768) LED backlit screen
Video	Intel HD graphics w/ HDMI output
RAM	2GB RAM (upgradeable upto 4GB)
HD capacity	320GB SATA drive
Battery life	4 hours
Dimensions	12.5″ x 8.1″ x 0.7″
Connectivity	Bluetooth (2.1) 802.11b/g/n WiFi VGA port HDMI out 2 USB ports (2.0)
Other Features	Dolby Advance Audio 0.3 MP camera Lenovo “Active Protection System”

I love the sleek design of the laptop and the fact its powered by an Intel i3 chip instead of the usual Intel Atom processor makes it a very powerful laptop. However lack of upgradeability options, and a low battery life compared to most laptops that can dish out as high as 8 hours battery life, can be disappointing.

Then they moved on with the ThinkCentre M70z, which Lenovo says to be a Power Packed All-in-One business centric desktop that blends style and performance into one.

The unit can be customized between difference configurations based on the following specsheet:

Processor	Intel Core i5-650 (3.06GHz) Intel Core i3-540 (3.06GHz) Intel Pentium G6950 (2.8GHz)
Display	19” display (1440 x 900) LED backlit screen. Has optional touch capabilities.
Video	Intel ® H57 Express Chipset w/ HDMI output.
RAM	Up to 8GB DDR3 RAM can be installed
HD capacity	250GB/320GB SATA hard disk drives
Dimensions	12.5″ x 8.1″ x 0.7″
Connectivity	Bluetooth (2.1) 802.11b/g/n WiFi Gigabit Ethernet LAN VGA port HDMI out 6 USB ports (2.0)
Other Features	Dolby Advance Audio Slim DVD Super Multi Drive 2 MP camera Card Reader Lenovo “Active Protection System”

What’s cool about this desktop is its pretty compact, and its screen can do touch capabilities as well. Pretty sweet indeed.

Pricing for models of the ThinkCentre M70z and IdeaPad U260 starts at approximately PhP 52,100 and PhP44,900 respectively.