PLDT Enterprise, through its emerging technologies business unit, Disruptive Business Group (DBG), aims to drive Virtual Reality (VR) technologies in the country with its support of the recently Philippine Mobile VR Jam and Virtual Reality Conference.
From left to right: Cristopher David (VR Philippines), Joey Limjap (PLDT Innolab), Mark Joseph Basibas (Mobile VR Jam participant), Paolo Espiritu (Mobile VR Jam participant), John Hay Supetran (Mobile VR Jam participant), Michael Gaerlan (Samsung), and Lemelen Palad (DBG).
Organized by VR Philippines, a group of virtual reality developers and enthusiasts dedicated to promoting the advancement of virtual reality technology, The 1st Philippine Mobile VR Jam and Virtual Reality Conference provided participants with a first look at the most promising projects on Virtual Reality in the country through a series of workshops and seminars. Among the attendees were software developers, Virtual Reality Enthusiast, IT experts, Bloggers across the country.
Niko Peralta, Head of PLDT DBG’s Digital Mobility R&D said, “PLDT Enterprise is proud to support the burgeoning VR industry. As part of the PLDT Group’s digital pivot, we are constantly on the look-out for new-frontier solutions that will further the advancement of today’s digital enterprise. Start-ups can always rely on our support by which they can build on these newer tech.”
PLDT and SMART supported the event underscore its commitment to be at the forefront of the dawning VR technology revolution in the country. “We view virtual reality as technology that today’s enterprises can potentially utilize to deliver more engaging and immersive customer experiences,” said Lemelen Palad, DBG Product Development Manager for M2M and IOT. “A more personalized approach in the ever-growing mobile-first consumer market dictates that businesses today have to be more creative in the way they reach out to their customers,” Palad added.
The event series culminated with the “Virtual Reality Conference” which featured exhibits by various software companies, displaying an end-to-end VR ecosystem from design and production, including proposed commercial applications. Business models include gamification, real-estate, first-person training modules, among others.
Joey Limjap, VP & Head of PLDT ICT Research & Development, added, “We know that VR is still at its nascent stage, and are delighted to be a part of the Philippine Virtual Reality Conference and help create greater awareness of this fascinating and exciting technology. Of course, our PLDT Innolab will always be open to the new technologies like VR and serve as an incubator to further develop it’s potential.”
With the the emergence of Virtual Reality (VR) and 360° cameras, we get a new experience in visuals in the comforts of our home or anywhere for that matter. Now LAMUDI AND MYPROPERTY makes use of these technology to further market real estate properties.
Lamudi Philippines and MyProperty, the leading real estate marketplaces in the country, are looking to further improve property-buyers’ online experience via VR tours. With full 360° view of the area, Virtual tours give anyone who has Internet access via computer or smartphone a comprehensive view of a space from almost anywhere and at any time.
Lamudi Philippines’ Virtual Reality Specialist and Google StreetView Trusted Photographer Carlo Salgado says brokers and sellers stand to greatly benefit from the upcoming feature. “Interactive media such as virtual tours greatly increase views, and online listings with a virtual tour definitely receive more views than those without it.”
“Virtual tours would also save buyers, sellers, and brokers a lot of time,” Salgado adds, “as it works like a permanent open house, where property viewing can happen 24/7 even without the presence of the seller or broker.”
Virtual tours also offers the audience an idea of how these properties look during the day, night, and at different weather conditions.
The following weeks will see the increased availability of virtual tours on Lamudi Philippines and MyProperty, where users will be able to view an increasing number of properties from all angles and in one fluid manner. Both websites expect the virtual tours to increase viewership as a result; they will also greatly assist interested buyers in deciding on their next real estate purchase and help sellers and brokers efficiently market their properties to a larger number of prospects.
Lenovo Vibe K5 finally makes its appearance in its metal-clad design that comes in brushed graphite black, gold or silver color options. Houses a 5 inch 720p HD IPS Display which should make it more manageable size for easy to carry and portability.
Here is quick unboxing of Lenovo Vibe K5!
Examining closely, all ports are located on top with 3.5mm audio jacck and MicroUSB port. Clean is the bottom part and left side part. The Right Side only holds the volume rocker and power/lock button.
Removing the back case reveals more. It is not entirely a metal back case as its top and bottom part is polycarbonate plastic. There are pins that connects the board to the metal sheet. This might be to enhance signal strength as both wifi and cellular signals show better reception. Two (2) MicroSIM and one dedicated one (1) MicroSD slot is also found for its network and additional storage. Could see Dual Stereo Speakers that provide very loud sound system.
Underneath, is a Snapdragon 415 Octa-Core Processor with Adreno 405 GPU coupled wiith 2GB RAM and 16GB of expandable storage (up to 10GB usable storage). Lenovo is first to sold smartphone utilizing 415 and it delivered acceptable Antutu score and performance. See Antutu Below:
With Performance, we played Asphalt 8 and NBA 2K16. With Asphalt 8in high setting, it ran flawlessly. However with NBA 2K16, it is not playable on High Settings as game play was plague with lag but the game is playable in ultra low settings with reflections and shadows are off. It did run Asphalt 8 wiithout any trouble.
A 13MP Rear camera with LED Flash and 5MP Front camera serves its photographic features. Camera UI is just simple with only few modes and settings but its captures and outputs are of better quality with great focus, real colors and detailed.
Simple Camera UI that offers only Normal, Panorama and Effects. Full HD Video Recording with EIS is supported. Manual Settings include only White Balance, ISO and Metering.
Camera Samples Here:
Focusing is on the spot and remarkable as seen above. With a bright sunlit environment, it was able to focus on the flower alone and brought down exposure to the point the background had darken while enough highlights on the target.
Colors are on point and like real-time. Camera module has great control of light. Even with aperture size of f/2.2, outputs came out with good exposure not over exposed or under.
Daylight photos are good with better image detail. However with HDR mode, there is too much adjustments on shadows and highlights therefore even with foreground is highly detailed, clouds were washout due to high highlights.Although when it comes to Night shots, this is where the camera fails to capture details.
For its 5MP, Lenovo Vibe K5 just produce decent output in well lit conditions. This is because with aperture of f/2.8, smaller camera hole therefore less light enters so poorly exposed selfies. You really need a steady light source.
Comes with today's standard of connectivity features such as WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS. This is a Dual Sim Handset and supports better internet connection via LTE. Like we said on the start of the article, signal strength are enhanced with the metal construction of the phone. A very good use of metal design by Lenovo.
Vibe UI is on top of Android 5.1 Lollipop. There are a few bloatware but you could easily uninstall, disable and manage via Background App Management. There are other management settings like Notificaton, Permission and App Management and Data.
There are Customization available with Themes but touch and gesture controls are missing. Other value added apps such as ShareIt is available. It's build in file manager, supports FTP to wirelessly access your files via your internet browser and wireless network.
Lenovo Vibe K5 is the cheapest Lenovo Smartphone with Theatermax coupled with enhanced Dolby Atmos for its Dual Speakers for a better sound experience. Simply just turn on VR Split screen mode launch the VR app, put on the VR kit and enjoy.
Carries a 2750mAh Removable Batttery which should give you more battery life considering its not so power hungry specifications. For heavy user, with gaming (NBA Grade games) 3-4 hours max but for casual and moderate use 6-7 hours. Charging time is 2+ hours and does not support 2A Fast charger.
Overall, Lenovo Vibe K5 is fairly good budget smartphone with solid metal built, quality performance, better camera and VR ready smartphone at budget price. It does have some of its shortcomings with only HD Display and no fast charging but Lenovo needed to cut on somethings to make this affordable. Tested VR on kids, and they found it to be good and exciting. VR kit is not included in the package so better get the 299 with Lazada. haha
Spotted Via Villman and said to retail for 6,990 Pesos which should make it the more affordable Lenovo Smartphone with great build, portable size, Snapdragon processor with LTE.
Offering beautiful crafted symmetrical design with combination of Metal and Glass polished with in-mold spin effect and introducing a dedicated “Boom” key that can be specially assign a task to Boom Up your Experience whether in Music, Camera, Galleries and even in Games.
Sports a 5.5 inch QHD AMOLED On-Touch Screen Panel protected Oleophobic coating and 2.5D Dragontrail Glass that offering great viewing angles and outdoor readability as well as rich colors and contrast. Precog UI also adds a twist to operating the device with Touchless control.
Alcatel Idol 4s Dark Grey, Metal Silver, Gold and Rose Gold
At its core is Qualcomm new MSM8976 Snapdragon 652 Octa-Core Processor with Adreno 510 GPU. Ample Memory and storage at 3GB RAM and 32GB Flash Storage. MicroSD slot is available for more storage expansion. This is quite a new setup and should be able to run Customized Android Marshmallow 6.0 as well as apps and games flawlessly.
Audiophiles will be delighted as the iDol 4s has HiFi with OM DRM 1.0 as well as powerful front facing speakers amplified with TFA9890. Dual-Mic Noise cancellation is great for listening to tunes without the noisy crowded background.
Alcatel Idol 4s Boom Key
Following the 360 degrees feature of the IDOL 3, the IDOL 4S also carries the same and thanks to its symmetrical design with Dual Mic and Dual Speakers for which you can operate whether what side you handle your IDOL 4s.
Look at it optics, it carries a 16MP with Sony IMX 298 at 1/2.8” 1.12um sensor with 6P Lens at f/2.0 aperture with Phase Detection Auto-Focus that lets you capture detailed and well exposed images and videos even in low light conditions. Dual Real-Tone Flash support lights up your capture but retains a more natural colors. Upfront there is a 8MP front selfie camera which is also at 1.12um but offers a 84 degrees Wide Angle Lens which gives you more frame to capture and so great for groufies or taking in more scenery. Samples Below:
All Pictures were taken in Auto Mode... I had some trouble focusing but so far captures turn out well exposed. The IceKing is focused on first picture while on the second the background is focused. Clearly its rear camera has an aperture size of f/2.0 and so even in low light it does well. Selfies come out clear as you can see but seems there's too much noise reduction.
Complete set of connectivity feature from the regular WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC. This is a Dual Sim Dual Standby handset which supports LTE internet connectivity on both Sim.
Carries 3000mAh non-removable battery that supports Quick Charge 2.0. Quoted to last 13Hrs of Talktime, 40h (headset) 11h (loadspeaker) of Music Playback. Full Charging Time is 1.5 Hours.
We got to try the VR kit and it did a great job. Controls found on the bottom of the VR Headset. As it was comfortable to have on and easy setup. It is far better than ANTVR offered by Lenovo.
Said to be PRICED below 30k Pesoss…. To be release out in the market hopefully soon... It is uniquely package in a box that makes of the VR, Unit, Charger and JBL Headset (See Below).
Will try to ask for review unit for extensive review....
Alcatel IDOL 4s Specs
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
5.5” QHD AMOLED On-cell Display
Ocleophobic Coating
Dragontrail Glass Protection
Octa-core CPU (4x1.8 GHz + 4x1.4 GHz)
MSM8976 Snapdragon 652
Adreno 510
3GB RAM
32GB Internal Storage
Expandable via MicroSD up to 512GB
16MP Sony IMX 298 PDAF Rear Camera f2.0 aperture, 6P lens
Sensor size: 1/2.8”, pixel size: 1.12µm
Dual-Tone Led Flash
8MP FF Front Camera
1.12µm pixel size
84° Wide-Angle Lens
Selfie lash
Dual Sim Dual Standby
LTE / HSPA+ / 3G / 2G
WiFi a/b/g/n/ac Dual-Band
Bluetooth 4.2
GPS, aGPS
NFC
HiFi Audio OM DRM 1.0
Power Amplifier TFA9890
Waves Technology
Dual Speakers
HD Voice
HAC M3 Sensors: G-Sensor, E-compass, Hall sensor, Gyroscope, Proximity sensor, Light sensor
Boom Key (Dedicated Special Key)
3000mAh Non removable Battery
Quick Charge 2.0
Comes in Dark Grey, Metal Silver, Gold and Rose Gold
