Smart offers unlimited calls to 38Million Smart subscribers. Here are a few clipping from the local dailies and some SmarTalk links and FAQs.

Smart Talk for Smart Buddy

Clippings from the local dailies:

Smart joins ‘unlimited calls’ bandwagon (Inquirer.net)
“With this new service, Smart subscribers all over the country need only one phone, one SIM and one number, to be able to make unlimited, crystal-clear calls to over 38 million Smart numbers anytime, anywhere,” said Orlando Vea, chief wireless advisor of Smart and also one of its founders.

New Smart service offers unlimited calls (Philippine Star)
Smart subscribers will be able to avail of the service by purchasing loads for umlimited calls which come in two denominations. The first is ‘Smartalk 100’ which for P100 offers five days of umlimited calls to any subscriber on the Smart network anywhere in the country at any time of the day.

How to avail Smartalk

Another variant, ‘Smartalk 500’ offers 30 days of unlimited calls to any subscriber on the Smart network for only P500, effectively reducing the cost to as low as P17 for a whole day of unlimited calling to any number within the country’s largest mobile subscriber base.

Smart Buddy prepaid subscribers may avail of Smartalk through registration. A subscriber just needs to set Talk100 to 6400 for a Smartalk 100 package, or Talk500 to 6400 for a Smartalk 500 load. The payment for the package bought will be automatically deducted from the subscriber’s prepaid load.

They can also buy these Smartalk packages as load from any of over a million Smart Load retailers.

How to use Smartalk

When making a call using the Smartalk unlimited package, Smart Buddy or prepaid subscribers need to dial *6400 plus the 11-digit subscriber number being called.

Smartalk

• SmarTalk for Smart Buddy: http://smart.com.ph/buddy/promos/SmarTalk.htm
• SmarTalk for Smart Gold: http://smart.com.ph/gold/promos/SmarTalk.htm
  
  • SmarTalk for Smart Gold FAQs: http://smart.com.ph/gold/support/SMARTalkFAQs.htm

Related articles:

• Smart Joins Unlimited calls bandwagon (Inquirer.net)
• Smart Communications unveils unlimited call service (Business World)
• SMART offers “ultimate unlimited” calling to 38M subscribers (Smart Press release)

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man is unlimited … except for the limits he imposes on himself

I’m preparing to listen to an open forum with Jack Canfield. It’s called “Ask Jack Canfield” Tele-Class.

I’m going to dial-in using Skype. Because of timezone differences, I’ll be up at 1am to listen. I want to record the call for future listening, while driving for example.

Thus began my search for ways to record a Skype call.

I started with the built-in Sound recorder of Windows XP (Start > Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Sound Recorder). Limitation: 1 minute recording. Have to click it again and again if I were to record a 1 hour call.

One of my search results was a YouTube video from a … 13 year old kid who calls himself KidGuru (www.adrianstech.com). (How to Record a Skype Call – by Kidguru on YouTube) Although I didn’t find my answer there, it was interesting finding such a young man who knows so much about technology. He is indeed a guru. Very eloquent, highly technical and very intelligent. Spent some time viewing some of his Videos. Galing!

Still through search, I found a good reference through Digital Inspiration. (How to Record Skype Conversations: Tools, Resources, Tips – by Digital Inspiration) . His list of resources is useful. But it’s easy for me to narrow-down to my needs: I’m looking for the FREE solution. The only one I found on Digital Inspiration’s list was PrettyMay

PrettyMay

I went and downloaded PrettyMay. (PrettyMay Call Recorder for Skype) I run the application, it rebooted Skype automatically. It looks rather easy and seamless recording calls on skype through PrettyMay. But I was stuck with “Searching for Skype”. You see, PrettyMay gets access to Skype and that’s how it’s able to record seamlessly with Skype. Unfortunately, I have a corporate version of Skype and some functions are disabled. i won’t be able to use PrettyMay. Sayang, it looks very cool pa naman. And I think it would have removed any ambient noise around my laptop’s mic.

Audacity

Search goes on. And I find it in my laptop afterall! Audacity! I used audacity many months back when i dabbled with some podcasts. I tried recording on a skype call on my laptop using audacity. IT works for me! It’s not crisp and clear. Audacity picks up the crickets chirping outside my window. But hey, the voice is clear. This will do well for me for now.

Resources:

• How to Record Skype Conversations: Tools, Resources, Tips – by Digital Inspiration
• PrettyMay Call Recorder for Skype
• How to Record a Skype Call – by Kidguru on YouTube
  
• Audacity

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getting ready to ask jack

How would you like to know the general location of any cellphone or telephone number?

How would you like to know the name and address of any cellphone or telephone number?

TraceNumber.com

There’s a service called TraceNumber.com which allows users to type in a telephone or cellphone number and get the location of the number for free. For a fee, you can lookup the name and address of the number.

This service is available for the US and Canada.

This could come in useful if you’re getting prank calls. It can be used to trace missed calls.

This would be useful sana to catch some of the scammers preying on Pinoy mobile phone users.

Unfortunately, in the Philippines, it’s so easy to get a prepaid SIM and stay anonymous. Anybody can just buy a prepaid SIM and use it for whatever purposes, even illegal transactions. Well, there are good people and bad people, good uses and bad uses too.

When I got my prepaid SIM in the US last year, I had to sign multiple documents (for compliance, I’m sure). There were some waivers and certifications and all sort of contract stuff. The attendant summarized it in a few words: “By signing, you’re signifying that your not a terrorist nor will you use the phone for illegal purposes.”

I wonder if a trace number reverse lookup will ever be available to the public in the Philippines. Eh kung pag-hanap pa nga lang nga scammers, ‘di magawa ng telcos at ng NBI, eh. tsk tsk tsk.

Try it out for free. See which part of the US your friends are at. Key in their US or Canada numbers at TraceNumber.com and you’ll find their general location.

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reverse psychology

Does that make it 4G with Globe’s “G” included?

I see a lot of hype about the iPhone 3G launch here in the Philippines. There are a lot of blogs who’ve posted prices and other information about the launch. So let me just describe what I’ve heard about the iPhone 3G, as told to me by a friend while I was in the US.

My friend Edmond, based in Chicago, had the predecesor iPhone. He said that a few weeks before the launch of the iPhone 3G, an upgrade was pushed to his phone. Of course, just like he did for most upgrades prior, he accepted the upgrade.

He regretted the upgrade! He said it terribly slowed down the iPhone. Even just sending SMS was sooooo slow after the upgrade. There were allegations that the upgrade that slowed down the iPhone was deliberate (allegations lang naman). People were saying this increased the demand for the iPhone 3G.

Today, I uploaded photos from a Mac Center in Chicago. I was there in July a day before the simultaneous launch of the iPhone 3G in the US and Europe. And you know what? The lines went all the way outside the store and around the block! Whew!

iPhone 3G - people lined up to get them

Will folks in the Philippines line up for the iPhone 3G? I haven’t seen such a phenomenon in the Philippines. Maybe for rice, but not for iPhones. Here’s Globe’s iPhone 3G reservation page.

So, for all those who’ll be trying to get that elusive iPhone 3G … ingat!

Related links:

• The price of iPhone 3G on Pinoy.Tech.Blog
• iPhone 3G by Lloydlopez
• iPhone 3G prices by Can Talk Tech
• iPhone 3G Specs and Prices at Grabeh
• iPhone 3G at mukamo
• iPhone 3G at mobile Philippines
• Solar Powered iPhone 3G by Lestat

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1G, my one and only

There was a loooooong line of people at the Apple Mac shop extending outside the store’s doors, going round the corner and making its way around the block to the side of the building.

What were the people lined up for? The rollout of the iPhone 3G phones! And they’re lined up one day before the launch!

We were at Michigan Ave at Chicago, known as the Magnificent Mile — the main commercial district of Chicago like Orchard road of Singapore and Ayala Makati in the Philippines. Then we saw this looong line of people at the Apple Mac store. The first clue I had of what they were lined up for was the Apple logo at the outside of the store.

Wow! What some people would do to get a taste of cutting edge technology before everybody else. To think that the iPhones were going to be released *tomorrow*. Those people were lined up the day before the release of the product!

From the flyer of an Apple iPhone store representative:

We’re with you wherever you go.

iPhone 3G harnesses the power of AT&T’s extensive 3G mobile broadband network, which offers download speeds of up to 1.4 Mbps for 3G mobile phones. AT&T has the best global coverage of any provider, with vice roaming in more than 200 countries and data roaming in more than 145 countries.

I have a few photos to share. I’ll post at a later date.

(posted 16 Aug 2008):

iPhone 3G

Twice as fast. Half the price. iPhone 3G.

iPhone 3G Mac Center at Michigan Ave, Chicago

Related links:

• New iPhone 3G Popular, But Rollout Bumpy
• Wait continues for iPhone 3G at Apple store CNET News
• iPhone 3G: Hands-on reviewer’s notebook Macworld
• Continuing coverage: Apple launches the iPhone 3G Computerworld
• First Look: Apple iPhone 3G Fires On (Almost) Every Cylinder Wired News
• New iPhone 3G puts Apple in the game Reuters
• iPhone 3G: Initial reaction ZDNet
• First impressions: iPhone 3G InfoWorld
• Update: London launch of iPhone 3G marred by software problems Computerworld
• If you wanted the 16gb iPhone 3G from AT&T, you should have lined … Chicago Tribune
• Countdown to the iPhone 3G launch CNNMoney.com

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iEnjoy!

I received my ümobile SIM today via courier delivered right at my office doorstep. The messenger tells me they’ve delivered a few hundred in Southern Manila and Southern Tagalog. They are expecting to deliver a thousand or more, lined up for the next many weeks. Thanks to codegiver and people scrounging around for invites and codes. (Read on to find out how to get an invite.)

The messenger tells me that the SIM is already activated, has P100 prepaid credit and that additional airtime load can be purchased online. I ask him whether it’s paid via credit card and he says he doesn’t know.

(I got a call from Leo of umobile customer service a few hours after I published this article. He said they’re investigating the observations I made about outgoing calls/text and the wapsite. He answered a few of my questions as well, noted by updates below. By the way, I haven’t received any of those text advertisements … yet! )

Update from Leo of umobile (June 12): Online loading is done via PayPal and what sounded like “e-Pin”. We can load also using any bancnet or megalink, I’m told. I also found out from the website that we can transfer load to other users.

Here’s what the package looks like.

The SIM pack describes some features:

• Get rewards for every ad you receive and enjoy sponsored usage of umobile services.
• Get FREE P100 load every month for 6 months
• Experience nationwide coverage
• Enjoy PC calling with umobile’s virtual phone
• Access any Internet site
• Be connected with brands that matter to you
• Visit www.umobile.com.ph or call *999 on your umobile phone anytime for more information. You can also email us at customerservice@umobile.com.ph or call our hotline at (02) 319-9999.

My first umobile SMS message:

Welcome to the new and exciting world of umobile, where everything is created with you in mind. Visit www.umobile.com.ph/mobile for more info.

But the website isn’t loading on my side tonight. It gives me this message:

You don’t have permission to access /mobile on this server.
Apache/2.2.3 (CentOS) Server at www.umobile.com.ph Port 80

I wonder, is that URL accessible only to mobile phones?
Update (June 12): It’s a wapsite. I tried browsing the wapsite via an online service www.wapsilon.com, but still couldn’t load the wapsite (see umobile wapsite screenshot).

Mic test

I try to access the hotline *999 but a familiar voice “Your number cannot be completed as dialled. Please check the number and try again.” It’s a familiar voice It’s the same voice as Smart’s automated reply.

Incoming calls and text from my Smart number worked fine.

I tried calling my Smart number using umobile. Result: “Number barred”
I tried texting my Smart number. Result: “Check operator services”

Update (June 12, 7pm): Three (three!) customer service reps from umobile called me today. They asked me questions, verified my reports from this blog etc. Late in the afternoon, I got a call saying the services have been activated. From my umobile SIM, I successfully texted my Smart number, successfully called my Smart number and successfully reached the hotline *9999. As for calls to Sun and Globe, that’s still being worked out, they say.

More ümobile info

Call rates: http://www.umobile.com.ph/call
Mobile VOIP: http://www.umobile.com.ph/fring

How to get an invite: http://www.umobile.com.ph/invite_instructions (official press release)
Here is how I got my invite:

Send to ϋmobile Customer Service customerservice@umobile.com.ph your:
1. Full Name
2. Email Address/es

Load validity

• PHP100.00 (15 days)
• PHP300.00 (30 days)
• PHP500.00 (60 days)
• PHP1,000.00 (60 days)

umobile according to blogs

• My previous umobile post: Ad Funded mobile network
• SMS is now free in Philippines
• U Mobile invite codes giveaway by Jepoy
• U Mobile on Pinoytechblog
• U Mobile connection problems by Abe
• U Mobile High Speed Mobile Internet
• U Mobile: Asia’s First Ad-Supported Cellphone Service
• U Mobile broadband, unlimited broadband access? – Kongtechnology.com
• U Mobile: CURE’s Free Mobile Service – Philippine News on Grabeh.com
• rockersworld.com » U Mobile
• U Mobile : Free 350 Load Monthly | Waukster Online
• U Mobile Should Send No More Than Four Ads a Day | The Mike Abundo Effect
• Google Search U Mobile

What’s your umobile story? Do share!

Updates from umobile received via email June28:

Greetings from ümobile!

Thank you for being one of the first to become a ümobile member! We appreciate the time you spent in filling out our application forms and for waiting patiently for your ümobile SIM cards to arrive at your doorstep. We count your support in the early stages of ümobile as invaluable!

With this, we would also like to clarify and address some issues that have cropped up.

• As most of you have noticed, your ümobile SIM has difficulty connecting with Globe and Sun. This is due to the delay in the interconnectivity of the ümobile network with the two operators. We have already remedied part of the problem by allowing you to call Globe/Sun users; soon, you will be able to text them as well. We are currently working on full network interconnectivity so that you may receive calls and texts from Globe/Sun subs.

• Regarding load/top-up inquiries, we are pleased to announce that you can get additional ümobile load from the following sources:

• • Load.com (http://www.load.com.ph/outlets.asp)
  • Mega Cellular Network Inc. (http://www.load.com.ph/outlets.asp)
  • Mega Fone Card Station (http://www.megafonekardstation.com/branches.html)

We are currently finalizing the expansion of our load network to cover convenience stores as well as major transportation points for your easy access.

• We are fine tuning our approval and logistics process to speed up the delivery of ümobile SIM’s to those who wish to be part of the ümobile family.

• We will be improving and moving some of our key facilities in order to improve our services and take advantage of the expertise of the PLDT group of companies; this may entail some service interruptions during certain periods. Please bear with us and know that all this is being done to better serve you.

Thank you for your valuable feedback and rest assured that your concerns are read and acted upon by ümobile.

On a more positive note, we are in the final stages of getting advertisers. You will soon get ads that fit your profile and provide you with free load all at the same time! That’s why completing the lifestyle questionnaire is important!

Watch out as we will make more exciting announcements in the near future that will give you more reasons to smile.

Cheers!

Ardie Balderrama
Chief Marketing Officer
ümobile-CURE, Inc.

To the people behind umobile, congratulations on how you’re keeping your customers up-to-date with the service improvements! Keep it up, and looking forward to seeing the mobile environment changing for the better!

Update, August 30

From: codegiver@umobile.com.ph
Date: Fri, Aug 29, 2008 at 11:17 PM
Subject: ümobile Updates

	Hi ümobile customer! As part of our on-going service to you, we would like to update you regarding the status of the ümobile service. We would like to inform you that due to the planned migration and integration of the ümobile systems and equipment to the Smart facilities, we will not be able to accept applications starting September 1, 2008 until further notice. The good news is that for as long as we receive an application to the service by August 31, 2008, ümobile will continue to process and still give the FREE P100 Load every month for the next six months even if the approval happens beyond this date. Current ümobile customers and those who will be approved will still continue to enjoy the benefits ümobile has been given you over the past months. We will again send you an update on the system migration and integration project as soon as we have news. Please be assured that we are doing everything we can to make the &uu! ml;mobile experience good for all our customers like you. Thank you. Sincerely, Ardie Balderrama Chief Marketing Officer ümobile – CURE, Inc.

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u and me and all other people

It’s here!

It was written in the books …. well, in technology magazines and on the internet, really.

A few years ago, I read a feature in Time Magazine saying that mobile phone services will eventually become free. This will happen when advertising will be so effective on mobile phones that advertisers will *pay* just to be seen in your mobile phone.

That’s what ümobile does. They send subscriber advertisements. In exchange subscribers get cellphone load.

Interesting website they have there. Very appealing to young netizens like me. I feel as if they’re talking directly to me.

I got a u code invite. I chose not to go to their service launch last Monday. But I sure would like to try their service.

How to get an invite

Send to ϋmobile Customer Service customerservice@umobile.com.ph your:

1. Full Name
   
2. Email Address/es

Related Links: Mobile Telecoms , Mobile IM , Mobile Ericsson , Mobile Banking

Some FAQ Excerpts: Who is ümobile?

Scoot over to the umobile website and read over their FAQs. Get your umobile invite here.

I sure would like to try their service. I’ve got the invite already, now waiting for that SIM. Who wants an invite?

Related articles:

• u mobile on pinoytechblog
• u mobile on juanel’s blog – interesting that umobile is sharing facilities pala with Smart

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i’ve got u babe!

I picked up an old new clipping about while clearing out our home during the holidays. It’s about “Vocal (more than just VOIP) – a service by Pacific Internet. The print advertisement says …

Expand your business and have the power to call anywhere in the world. Plus … have business presence in 400 cities in 39 countries worldwide. have a virtual office in Singapore, Tokyo and New York, or in any major city you choose. With our vocal World Numbers, your customers, suppliers and even your relatives abroad can call your Singapore, Tokyo and New York “local numbers,” while you take their calls right here in the Philippines – at no additional cost!

Hmmm…. this could come in handy when I grow into a global company .

Contact Vocal:

• Hotline: 918-5200
• Cebu: 032-2542542 or 032-4158003
• Toll free hotlines: 1-800-1-888-1866 (PLDT)
• 1-800-3-888-8888 (Digitel)
• www.callvocal.com

The callvocal.com url, when I visited it today, displays the Pacific Internet corporate website, though. Looks like Pacific Internet is the Philippine partner of an International carrier-grade VoIP service by Pacnet.

Whew! I found a clipping of the launch. I wonder why I haven’t been hearing much about Vocal. Pacific Internet doesn’t seem to be very vocal about the service.

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bokal

Hi there! This is Edwin on technobiography.edongskey.com.

In this podcast I’ll be discussing the Interactive Voice Response Service also known as IVRS.

Interactive Voice Response Services; these are the recordings that we normally hear here in the Philippines. Services such as;the hotline of SMART or GLOBE the phone banking service of BPI or many other banks, or government agencies. These are the ones that ask you to dial a number if you wish to avail of this service, dial another number for this service.

So in this podcast;
-I will talk about IVRS,
-I’ll give an example of IVRS in the Philippines.
-And I will tell you about the IVR service that I used while I was in the US.

So this is a two segments, and at the end I will tell you what I like the IVR service in the US.

So let’s start. I’ll be simulating. Gagayahin ko what I hear when I dial my SMART hotline. And then later on how it was when I made a call in the US.

First part: IVRS in the Philippines.

Talking like the costumer service hotline. So in the Philippines the IVR service of SMART sounds like this:

“Welcome! To the simply amazing world of addict mobile”

And in this part of the IVRS- they usually insert a 10 second or 20 second advertisement about the latest service like 3g and that is not very attractive to business people like me. I don’t like listening to this advertisement. Anyway it continues on to say:

“To inquire about your bill, press one.”
“To report a missing or stolen cellphone, press 2”
Etc.

And the customer (the caller) is guided to a series, a menu of services which it all depends on what service you require. Basically it’s a hierarchy of services, you’ll need to go through a series of options before you finally receive the service that you want (the information that you want).

That’s how most IVRS services are in the Phil. You’ll need to dial numbers.

Second part: IVRS in the US.

On the other hand, when I was in the US I tried one of their hotlines; I had to make some calls to change bookings. If I remember correctly I called expedia.com so this is how the ivr service of that company was like when I tried it out in the US. After dialing the hotline there’d be a voice that would answer and he’d say:

Hi there you’ve reached expedia.com. What can I do for you today? You can say “book a flight”, “follow-up booking” or “inquire”
[At this point the customer can give the option. So example I replied]
Follow up booking.
[The hotline replied]
Ok you want to follow up your existing booking; do you have the reference number?
[At this point I would reply]
Yes.
[He’d reply]
Great! Can you give me your booking reference number?
12345678
I’m sorry I didn’t get that. What is your booking reference number?
12345678
Ok, I heard “12345678”. Was that right?
Yes
Ok. What would you like to do with booking reference 12345678? You can say “flight-details”, “confirm” or “change bookings”

At this point I’d choose which of these options I’d like to take.

That’s the end of my pang-gagaya of the ivr service.

So the ivr service that I used in the US, it was very personal. In fact at the first few questions that he had for me- I thought that I was talking to a real person. In fact I think I started talking to him and then I think that was the first time he said “I’m sorry, could you say that again” something like that. And then when I replied and he didn’t understand something like “sorry, pardon me” something like that. It was very personal it was not a robot tone and I thought I was talking to a real person until later on.

It also did not require me to dial any numbers. So it was fully voice activated. It had voice recognition so it did not rely on me dialing any number it allowed me to use my own voice to go through the menu of services.

Lastly what was interesting was it responded to me in a variety of ways the ivrs service in a variety of ways. Sometimes he’d say “I’m sorry I didn’t get that’ or sometime “could you repeat that”. It’s not repetitive (Hindi makulit) unlike the ivrs service of SMART or BPI express online if you press a wrong, if they don’t get an answer or if mali ung napindot mo- they’d say “press 1 to..” “press2..” an then it would repeat around two or three times until you get it right. And it’s not personable right? On the other hand the US ivrs was very (well not extremely) but it was interesting how there was an interaction between myself (the caller) and the ivr service.

I think it helps to relieve the stress of the caller. Especially for people like me who are not familiar with the service it was interesting for me. I found it exciting to be talking to an ivrs instead of just listening and then keying in the appropriate number.

I’m sure it’s something that we could do in the Philippines. I’m sure the technology cost more than the usual ivrs in the Philippines where we used dialed numbers to interact with the ivrs. But it was interesting and I think it would help Philippine hotlines to be more personable maybe we could start conversing in tagalong in the ivrs. It is also good for the less technology savvy people; they won’t need to figure out which number to press. They just need be guided by a personable voice. Although it is recorded, it is warm, it’s a warm voice.

That was my experience with the ivrs in the Philippines and ivrs in the US.

Interesting don’t you think?

Maybe not but hey that was my experience.

Podcast pemalink: My IVRS story

EdXcribe
21 August 2007
Technobiography