2021 v21n5 - LOOKING FORWARD

PRESIDENT & CEO

Maribelle Alba Marisa Consuelo

SALES AND ADVERTISING MANAGER ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Carol Agabin

ACCOUNTING MANAGER ACCOUNTING STAFF

Maritess Pascua-Maulion Lorie Bernardo

HR & ADMIN MANAGER ADMINISTRATION STAFF

Amy Christine Giray Ramil Almojano

DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER LEGAL COUNSEL

Jerico Lutrania Alba Law Office

GADGETS Magazine is published monthly by Great Minds Media Inc. Address all correspondence to GREAT MINDS MEDIA INC. 14/F Net Cube Centre 3rd Avenue cor 30th Street E-Square Crescent Park, West Bonifacio Global City 1634 Taguig City, Philippines Our telephone number is: (02) 8479 5475 Our website is: www.gadgetsmagazine.com.ph

2021 has finally arrived! We’re glad you’re here, reading this issue, because that means you made it to the new year! We here at the magazine are more determined than ever to deliver all the best from the worlds of tech, motoring, and lifestyle. We all made it, and we’re here with a renewed fire, to try and stick it to 2020, and make the next 12 months absolutely awesome. We hope you’ll continue to join us this year, and we’ll see you in a few short weeks!

All unsolicited manuscripts, illustrations and photos submitted must be accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope if they are to be returned.

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. Every care is taken to ensure that the content of Gadgets is fully accurate; however, the publisher and printer assume no responsibility for the effects arising therefrom. Gadgets Magazine is a registered trademark of Great Minds Media Inc.

Ren Alcantara Editor-at-Large

GABRIEL JOHN PE STAFF WRITER

Maribelle M. Alba

Presy Alba

Arnel Doria

Jay Alba

Jose Alvarez

Gerry Gaviola

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @bellealba

EDITOR-AT-LARgE @presy1121

MOBILITY CONSULTANT

DIgITAL INITIATIvES LEAD

CONTRIBUTOR @josealvarez

CONTRIBUTOR

Ren Alcantara

Gabriel Pe

Jerico Lutrania

Carmela Birao

Zeil Romero

Chini Yu Soriano

EDITOR-AT-LARgE

STAFF WRITER @pe_gab

DIgITAL CONTENT pRODUCER @_easyo

vIDEOgRApHER @carmelabirao

gRApHIC ARTIST

gRApHIC ARTIST @chinisoriano

@hisnameisren

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JANUARY 2021

@zeil_heyo

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JANUARY 2021 | Volume 21 No. 5

33. Cover Story

2021 Forecasts

08 22

Parade New year, new gadgets!

Gadgets Lab

38

Mobility

52

Feature

56

Bullet Points New year checklist

Wheels just keep on turning

The future of connectivity is 5G

The hits just keep on coming.

26

Photofeature More tech for the coming year.

Start the new year right.

31

CoverStory: 2021 Forecasts Take that, 2020!

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Live the life you want with

Getting started with your career? The Adulting Starter Pack, tailored for first-time workers, freelancers, and fresh graduates, gives anyone taking their first steps towards independence the start they need. This package brings together Sun StartUp life insurance, and Sun Life Prosperity Money Market mutual fund, with a total monthly rate starting at just PHP2,000* a month. *Based on Age 25, Male, Non-Smoker

Plan for a

Insurance and Investment Made Easy With Sun Life

Next in line, for entrepreneurs and freelancers who combine business and personal goals, is the Negosyante Starter Pack, which offers Sun MaxLink 100 life insurance, and Sun Life Prosperity Achiever 2028 mutual fund, and starts at a total monthly rate of PHP4,000* a month.

future-proof business with

*Based on Age 35, Male, Non-Smoker

Provide for your

family’s future

C

hoosing the correct financial solution can be a daunting, confusing task.

There are a lot of factors to consider, and the market is full of options, all vying for your attention. It pays to take your time in making the right choice, but with nowhere to start, it can all be a confusing jumble of numbers, dates, and requirements.

with

For clients who have just tied the knot, Sun Life offers the Newlywed Starter Pack, so clients can focus on starting a family and other future milestones that they hope to achieve with their partners. This puts together the SUN Smarter Life Classic life insurance, and Sun Life Prosperity Achiever 2028 mutual fund, with a rate that starts at just PHP5,000* a month. *Based on Age 30, Male, Non-Smoker

Sun Life aims to change all that, and make the process of choosing the best insurance and mutual fund investment easy by putting them together in packages that cater to customers with specific needs and investment goals in mind. These offers eliminate the confusion and guess work from making the right choice, and offer together features clients in every stage of their financial journey will need.

“Many Filipinos are reluctant to consider insurance and investment products because they find the variety of options overwhelming or they think it’s expensive,” Sun Life Chief Marketing and Client Experience Officer Gilbert Simpao said. “This prompted Sun Life to highlight and offer the budget-friendly essential products to start their financial foundation with. These insurance and investment starter packs can suit different lifestyles and needs of Filipinos.”

These packages can be customized to further suit the needs of every client.

Be ready for

Health will always be a concern, and for clients starting to prepare for retirement, Sun Life makes choosing health insurance easy. The health Starter Pack combines Sun First Aid Plus and Sun LifeAssure with a rate that starts at PHP5,000* a month— it’s peace of mind, made simple, so clients can rest assured that their retirement is as free and easy as possible.

health emergencies with

*Based on Age 40, Male, Non-Smoker

Support your

parents and their needs with

The last package is the Parent of OFW Starter Pack, which is tailored for OFWs and their families here in the Philippines. This package, which consists of SUN Senior Care health insurance, and Sun Life Prosperity Money Market mutual fund investment, starts at PHP7,000* monthly. This helps keep both the health and finances of clients in good shape. *Based on Age 55, Male, Non-Smoker

It’s never too early to choose life insurance that suits you, and it’s never too late to help your money grow. Contact a Sun Life advisor at bit.ly/advisormatch to learn more, and further tailor the packages to your needs and requirements.

66 Gaming

6

58

Gaming

60

Gaming

66

Everything Apple

78

Enterprise

JANUARY 2021

There’s still time to get some gaming done!

SLAM DUNK

A quick Apple roundup

82

Cybersecurity

86

Bits and Bytes

92

Relic

New year, new threats

While you were on break

Geocities

Ain’t no rest for big business

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Online Learning Safeguard during Pandemic - Synology NAS Faced with the continuing pandemic, schools and other educational organizations continue to wrestle with the need to hold classes and learning sessions remotely. This necessary digital shift happened suddenly, with schools and students alike struggling to adapt. With little prior experience with how to conduct classes online, course materials became increasingly fragmented across different storage media, physical locations and cloud-based storage services. These concerns, coupled with the increasing sizes of online Network Attached Storage answers many of the problems relating to the challenges of the digital pivot and allows educational institutions and

entire learning modules

Synology NAS, the secure and stable storage for online learning files

Access and data redundancy are more stumbling blocks that have to be addressed in tailoring a storage solution for distance learning. The Jodrell Bank Center for Astrophysics, part of the University of Manchester School of Physics and Astronomy, deals with large volumes of important data, the loss of which would be catastrophic for research and learning. Generating about

Local storage allows for better control, management, and security

volume and redundancy.

To ensure that an educational organization meets industry standards as well as any existing regulations that may exist, the ideal solution is to go local. Local storage allows for better control, management, and security than storing course materials and modules in a whole host of hard drives,

Their needs included a system that was bulletproof—extremely resistant to data loss, as well as easy access through multiple device types. The solution was a RAID setup, which backed up nightly, to ensure any changes are saved with redundancy as a safeguard to data loss. The 5-bay Synology DS1512+ was the perfect solution, allowing easy access to hard drives that need replacing, for up to 60TB of storage at a time. Data can also be mirrored to other Synology devices, ensuring live backups can

the likelihood of losing important data with misplaced external drive or broken computer. With NAS in place, all learning modules can be stored

This was the case with the Central Unit of Distance Learning in King’s College London. The university signed up for an initiative to provide Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and needed a solution to deal

for the university’s small distance learning unit. Their prior method, which was a smaller NAS system, coupled with a computer and a large number of external hard drives, created a fragmented system that could not

in their case. “With three copies of everything, including two on RAID, we are pretty much bomb-proof,” said Dr. Melhuish, RF Engineer at Jodrell. It’s this kind of data security and ease of access that schools need in these times of distance learning, particularly when dealing with high volumes of data, such as videos, and entire learning modules.

systems is exactly what a modern center of learning needs in these unprecedented times of digital change. With built-in to store, share, safeguard, and access large amounts of data with

storage, and create redundancies to provide large, worry-free storage solution that could be accessed easily. It was also a simple solution that users of all levels of tech experience could navigate, decreasing the learning curve, and permission levels in the centralized system.

teaching and learning.

Learn more about Synology NAS: http://sy.to/sliwo

PARADE

Canon PIXMA Ink Efficient G1020 Printer The Canon PIXMA Ink Efficient G1020 is the most affordable print-only option in Canon’s new PIXMA Ink Efficient series. It has a new easy refillable ink tank for high volume printing. Its capable of printing 9.1 ipm or 5 ipm. The new Ink Efficient system also yields up to 7,600 to 7,700 pages of print out, making this budget printer the perfect partner in your home.

PHP 6,395

Canon PIXMA Ink Efficient G2020 All-in-one Printer The Canon PIXMA Ink Efficient G2020 is the middle child of the new Canon printer series, offering print, scan, and copy to users. It has a 2-line LCD display allowing for an easier user experience. It can print 9.1 ipm or 5 ipm (Black and White/ Colored) and print up to 7,600 (B&W) or 7,700 (Colored) pages. A must have for your home office.

PHP 8,395

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Canon PIXMA Ink Efficient G3020 Wireless All-in-one Printer Canon’s flagship in its new PIXMA Ink Efficient line-up, the Canon PIXMA Ink Efficient G3020 has everything you want in a printer. It can scan, print, and copy. It has a 2-LCD display to make it easier to use. And it supports wireless and mobile printing for maximum productivity and efficiency. It can print 9 images per minute in black and white, and 5 images per minute in color, and the new Ink Efficient System last for 7,600 pages in Black and White, and 7,700 pages in colored.

PHP 9,995

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Samsung Galaxy A42 5G Smartphone Gamers can experience hyperfast speed as the Galaxy A42 5G comes with the much-anticipated 5G technology, promising lightning-fast connections even during heavy data usage so players can enjoy their games in real-time with fewer lags. It has a long-lasting 5000mAh battery with 15W fast charging technology. It also offers an immersive gaming experience with its 6.6” HD+ Super AMOLED screen. Its Infinity-U display and Dolby Atmos audio offer amazing visuals and high-quality surround sound. It is powered by an Octa-core Snapdragon 750G 5G processor for smooth gameplay, while an artificial intelligence-based Game Booster makes the user’s playing experience smoother, more seamless, and more life-like. This 128GB internal memory can be expanded up to 1TB with a microSD card to store more games. Its camera setup consists of a 48MP quad-camera, an 8MP ultra-wide lens with a 123° view, a 5MP depth camera with Live Focus, and a 5MP macro shooter. It also comes with a 20MP front camera for bright and clear selfies. Security features include Samsung Knox as well as biometric authentication through face recognition or the fingerprint scanner.

PHP 19,990

Samsung the Terrace Weatherproof Smart TV & Soundbar With the release of their new The Terrace line, Samsung breaks barriers to bring entertainment outdoors with the first-ever weather-proof TV and Soundbar. The Terrace’s IP55 water-resistance build takes it a step further to give you peace of mind, especially with the unpredictable rainy season in the Philippines. Equipped with wide viewing angle capabilities further improved with an anti-glare screen, and featuring Samsung’s signature QLED technology and Ultra Bright Picture Quality, The Terrace negates all the possible nuisances of outdoor lighting, ensuring a delightful viewing experience. Moreover, The Terrace is a Smart TV, which can connect to the internet for your video streaming needs, and comes with pre-installed entertainment apps including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Completing the outdoor home entertainment experience, The Terrace Soundbar provides optimized audio for all types of content, thanks to its Adaptive Sound feature. Its WideSound Coverage feature provides surround-sound capability and can fill up any open space with its 210W powerful sound.

PHP 266,999

65” The Terrace TV (QA65LST7T) + Soundbar (HW-LST70T/XP)

PHP 335,999 75” The Terrace TV (QA75LST7T) + Soundbar (HW-LST70T/XP)

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ALLER PLASMA NANO+ ALLER PLASMA NANO+ Air purifier and surface sterilizer The Aller Plasma Nano+ is a sleek, compact, portable air purifier and surface sterilizer. Developed by Aller Innovations Inc., the device makes use of cold plasma technology that can kill up to 99.9% of harmful bacteria and viruses in the air and on surfaces. The unit has two modes: eco and enhanced. The eco mode is used for sterilizing cars, while the enhanced mode is used for sterilizing storage bins and small rooms. Its built-in battery takes only two hours to charge for up to three hours of use. You can use it wirelessly or while it is plugged.

The Aller Plasma Nano+ can eliminate harmful bacteria and viruses within an enclosed 70L container in only 15 minutes. It can also sterilize a space of up to 30 cubic meters—roughly the size of a small room—within an hour. It takes about 30 minutes to fully sterilize a car. 3The unit is safe for people, pets, and even plants, and is eco-friendly as it does not use any filters or secondary pollutants. It comes in three colors: winter white, space grey, and limited edition gold.

PHP 6,000

NOKIA 5.4 Smartphone Championing speed and performance at amazing value, the Nokia 5.4 is the perfect partner for budding photographers. The signature quad-camera stamps out shutter lag completely and has been upgraded to 48 megapixels. This means you’ll never miss a moment – whether you’re capturing your passion project or precious family moments. Moreover, 60fps video-shooting capability brings a cinematic feel to your home and work movies.

A 4000mAh battery ensures you have enough juice to last you through a couple of days, while a tough polycarbonate body is strong enough to withstand strenuous use. Android 11 ready, HMD Global guarantees 3 years of monthly security updates and 2 years of software upgrades.

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SYNOLOGY DS1821+ Network Accessed Storage The DS1821+ is a next-generation 8-bay NAS designed for high-capacity and high-performance data management and storage. Its application ecosystem, versatile performance capabilities, and storage expandability enable content creators and businesses to easily store and secure their files. The DS1821+ is powered by a quad-core AMD Ryzen processor that delivers significantly faster performance and snappier response time across Synology Drive, Moments, and more. It has 8 drive bays with the option to expand to 18 using compatible expansion units. Synology’s Disk Station Manager (DSM) allows use of older drives as well as installation of additional drives as needed. Synology back-up and restoration solutions offer enterprise-level data protection.

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realme X50 Pro 5G Smartphone One of the first 5G smartphones with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G processor in the market today, the realme X50 Pro 5G is next-gen ready. It brings in the fastest processor, fastest charging technology, and the fastest network. The powerful combination of a 90Hz Super AMOLED display complementing the device’s 5G speed is sure to delight gamers with a smooth and competitive gaming experience. With 65W SuperDart Charge technology, its 4200mAh battery can be fully charged in 35 minutes.

In the camera department, realme X50 Pro 5G boasts the latest flagship, ultra-clear quad camera set-up comprised of a 64MP main camera, a 12MP 20x hybrid zoom telephoto lens, an 8MP 119° ultra wide-angle macro lens, and a B&W portrait lens. A dual-front camera of 32MP Sony 80°wide-angle with an IMX616 sensor and 8MP 105° super wide-angle camera captures clear selfies and videos. The dual-front camera supports ultra wide-angle video shooting and UIS video stabilization will please content creators.

MI Watch / MI Watch Lite Smart Watch The Mi Watch and Mi Watch Lite are the latest additions to Xiaomi’s wearable product lineup. The Mi Watch is made to empower all kinds of active lifestyles, while the Mi Watch Lite is built for fitness and health enthusiasts. Featuring a 1.39” bright AMOLED panel and a dedicated sports button on the side, the Mi Watch provides users with instant access to 117 exercise modes. It offers key health metrics and environmental data including heart rate, blood oxygen level, and air pressure. A full charge offers 16 days of battery life. It comes in black, navy blue, and beige.

The Mi Watch Lite, meanwhile, has a 1.4” display with automatic brightness function. It offers 11 workout modes and integrates sports and health data with the Xiaomi Wear app for a personal health assistant. Its 230mAh battery lasts up to 9 days from a 2-hour charge. It comes in black, navy blue, and ivory with an easy-change strap.

PHP 4,990 - Mi Watch PHP 2,490 - Mi Watch Lite

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Lenovo Legion Phone Duel Gaming phone If you are serious about gaming, you need a serious gaming phone. The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel is exactly that. With a gaming-centered design including a side and bottom charging port for convenience and 90W charging, landscape-oriented front camera and picture-in-picture functionality for streaming, software overlays for gaming controls and capacitive shoulder buttons for ease of use, it’s a gaming beast. It also sports 5G connectivity, up to a whopping 16 GB of RAM, and a huge 6.65, 144-Hz display, it’s every mobile gamer’s dream.

PHP 39,995 - 12 GB RAM, 256 GB storage PHP 49,995 - 16 GB RAM 512 GB Storage

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Realme M1 Electric Toothbrush Oral health isn’t something to ever take for granted, and realme is making sure your pearly whites get the care they need with the M1 Sonic Electric Toothbrush. With 90 days of battery life, DuPont antibacterial bristles, and a high-frequency sonic motor that vibrates at 34,000 times a minute, this isn’t your regular electric toothbrush. With a wireless charging base for greater convenience, IPX7 water resistance, and a 1-year warranty, this is exactly what the dentist ordered.

PHP 1,999

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Asus ZenBook Flip S Convertible Laptop The Asus ZenBook Flip S packs an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 processor and power-efficient Intel Iris Xe Graphics with a 4K 13.3-inch NanoEdge touchscreen OLED HDR display for unparalleled image quality on the go. Weighing in at a feather-light 1.2 KG, and at 13.9mm thin, it’s the perfect companion for those who need a powerful device while working on the go. The full-backlit, edge-to-edge keyboard makes typing effortless, and Harman Kardon speakers deliver crisp, clear audio for multimedia applications, as well as online meetings.

PHP 94,995

Asus ZenBook Flip 13 Convertible Laptop Tipping the scales at a scant 1.3 pounds, the ZenBook Flip 13 is all about versatility and portability. With a NanoEdge touchscreen display that lets you see the whole picture, and a remarkable amount of ports for a laptop that’s just 13.9mm thin, it’s exactly the laptop you need if you’re looking to get work done while you’re on the move. With an amazing 16 hours of battery life, and the ability to charge to 60 percent on a 49 minute charge, it’s everything you want in your next work device.

PHP 64,995

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Mi Redmi Note 9T Smartphone Itching for 5G connectivity, but not feeling the price tag of current offers? Mi is here to help with the Redmi Note 9T. The phone offers a compelling reason to jump on the 5G bandwagon with a 6.53-inch FHD punch-hole display, dual speakers, and a 5,000 mAh battery with 18W fast charge. Running the device is the Mediatek Dimensity 800U chipset, and 4GB of RAM, with storage options of 64 and 128 GB. For gamers, it also comes with a 90 Hz screen so you get smooth graphics on supported titles, and camera buffs get a nice 48 MP main camera for their snap-happy adventures.

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Dell Optiplex 3090 Ultra Modular Zero-footprint PC The Dell Optiplex 3090 Ultra is all about space. With PC hardware cleverly hidden in the monitor stand, it takes significantly less space than your standard PC. With up to an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, up to 64 GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of storage, it has more than enough to keep up with your work or studies. With Intel Iris Xe graphics on the i5 variant, it delivers great performance with a small footprint. USB 3.2 ports, AN connectors, and a headphone jack round off its features, and compatibility with a wide variety of monitors makes it the perfect partner for home or the office.

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GADGETS LAB

Jabra Elite 85t Reviewed by Maribelle Alba

When I attended the Asia-Pacific virtual launch of the Jabra Elite 85t last November, I wished so hard I would be one of the lucky winners who would get first dibs at these new active noise canceling true wireless earbuds.

That didn’t happen, so I’m happy that Jabra has lent me a pair that I can test for the next few weeks.

DESIGN The Elite 85t is a worthy successor to the Elite 75t, building on the strengths of the latter. Designwise, they look very similar except that the 85t has grown slightly heavier, possibly due to hardware enhancements. Each 85t earbud is slightly heftier at 7g, making it 1.5g heavier than its predecessor. The additional weight is hardly noticeable, and you can still wear them comfortably for extended periods.

Thousands of ear shapes helped Jabra design the Elite 85t to ensure audio quality along with great fit and whole day comfort. One improvement introduced in the Elite 85t is its semi-open design with pressure relief vents.

The silicone ear gels have been reshaped to be more slightly oval and are supposed to come in three sizes (S, M, L) `to ensure the best fit. Unfortunately, the spare ear gels appear to be missing from the package.

The black plastic charging case has a USB-C port at the back for wired charging and is also compatible with Qi wireless chargers.

HARDWARE Possibly the most outstanding feature of the Elite 85t is the Advanced Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) technology built into such a compact body. The dedicated ANC chip offers complete digital control from full ANC to full hear through.

The Elite 85t features 12mm speakers that deliver outstanding audio quality. Its 6-microphone technology reduces noise for incoming voice calls while protecting against wind noise for outgoing voice audio. Additionally, a sidetone allows you to hear your own voice more naturally during calls.

Its lithium-ion battery can be fully charged in 3hrs on a dedicated 500mA USB-C wall charger or 3.5hrs via a wireless charger. With ANC activated, battery life is 5.5hrs on the earbuds plus an additional 19.5hrs from the charging case. Without ANC, the earbuds deliver 7hrs of use, plus 24hrs from the charging case. Standby time can last up to 6 months.

Bluetooth 5.1 technology allows pairing with up to 8 devices, with two devices connected

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simultaneously. Operating range is the usual 10m.

With auto power on/off, the earbuds turn on when taken out of the case and automatically turn off after 15 minutes without a connection or 30 minutes without activity.

USER EXPERIENCE As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, the thing I love most about Jabra is that they’re probably the only truly multipoint Bluetooth headsets with the capability to pair with two devices simultaneously.

This means I can be watching a Netflix video on my iPad and still be able to answer calls that come in on my iPhone without having to disconnect/connect.

Overall, there is a marked improvement in the Elite 85t’s audio quality over the previous 75t, thanks to larger and more powerful 12mm speakers. Sound is fuller, more well-rounded, and more balanced. Plus, the Sound+ app allows you to further configure the earbuds according to your preferences.

I’ve never really liked noise-canceling headphones because I want to keep some level of awareness about what’s going on around me. Plus, noisecanceling headsets tend to create uncomfortable pressure build-up inside my ears, and I don’t like feeling like I’m in a plane. Jabra has very smartly addressed both issues with its fully-adjustable ANC, so you can opt to allow some level of ambient noise while a semi-open design prevents ear blockage.

Call quality is also noticeably improved, thanks to the three microphones on each earbud—two on the outside and one on the inside. These filter out ambient noises to ensure clarity on both ends of the call.

this pair of noise-canceling true wireless earbuds can offer you.

SPECIFICATIONS: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Wearing style: True wireless in-ear Speaker size: 12mm Speaker bandwidth: 20Hz to 20kHz Microphone type: 6 x MEMS Microphone bandwidth: 100Hz to 10kHz Battery life: 5.5hrs earbuds, 19.5hrs charging case Charging time: 3hrs for full charge Charging mode: USB-C, wireless charging-enabled Standby time: 6 months Weight: 7g per earbud, 45.1g charging case Noise cancellation: Active noise cancellation, adjustable hearthrough Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.1 Operating range: Up to 10m Connection: Multi-connect, two simultaneous devices Controls: Sound+ app IP rating: IPX4-rating

What’s Hot: • Personalization through the Sound+ app • Active noise cancellation with hearthrough • Six mic technology What’s Not: • Spare eargels missing from package • Premium-priced

A final note, the Jabra Sound+ app is an absolute essential to optimize the use of the Elite 85t, offering everything from firmware updates, control over ANC, ambient noise soundscapes, and equalizer settings for various listening modes. It even includes a headphone locator in case you misplace your Elite 85t

VALUE

BOTTOMLINE The Elite 85t does not come cheap with its PHP 11,999 price tag, so you will need to justify the cost in terms of the amount of use and convenience that

Possibly one of the best earbuds in the market. www.gadgetsmagazine.com.ph

Lenovo Legion Phone Duel Reviewed by Ren Alcantara

Geming has absolutely exploded over the course of the pandemic, with mobile gaming being an even bigger thing than expected. Mobile gaming in particular is accessible, convenient, and has a reasonably low cost of entry. Lenovo wants a chunk of that mobile gaming pie, and they hope to take it with the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel. Do they hit the mark? Let’s find out.

DESIGN The Legion Phone Duel is designed to remove any doubt that it is a gaming phone. Plenty of red accents, a sharp Legion logo, and lots of graphics on the back scream “gaming device.” It even has the legion tagline “Stylish outside, savage inside” on there for good measure. Say what you want about it, but at least the brand knows who they’re targeting.

There are some interesting design differences between the Duel and the usual smartphone. First off, the two main camera modules can be found just off the very center of the rear of the device.

The front camera is a pop-up affair, though it resides centrally on the edge of the right side of the phone, instead of the top edge. There are also two USB-C connectors on the phone, on on the bottom edge, and another on the edge opposite the pop-up camera module. Individually, these seem like odd changes, but once you consider that it’s a phone that’s meant to spend a lot of time in landscape mode, it makes a lot of sense.

It’s also a chunky piece of tech. It will take up most of the space in your pocket and will absolutely let you know it is there thanks to its weight.

Thankfully, it’s not exceedingly thick, so it won’t create a particularly unsightly bulge.

HARDWARE True to the tagline, Lenovo cut no corners giving this phone a savage spec sheet. Our demo device, which has the higher spec of the two models available in the country, comes with a whopping 16 GB of RAM (as much as my gaming laptop), 512 GB of storage (again, the same as my laptop), and the highly capable Snapdragon 865+ chipset. It of course has the Adreno 650 GPU, and a gorgeous 6.65-inch 144Hz display that pushes a resolution of 1080x2340. To back this hardware up, it also features dual liquid cooling, and a split battery (5000 mAh) that’s located away from where one would hold the device, to keep it comfortable during extended play sessions.

It also features built-in shoulder triggers for use in games like shooters, so you don’t have to worry about attaching external triggers to your device.

These “buttons” are capacitive though, and don’t offer any tactile feedback, but they do have a different texture from the rest of the device so you know you’re tapping the correct spot.

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The Duel also has 90W Fast Charging that gets it from 0 to 100 percent in a blistering 30 minutes of charge time for the Blazing Red 512/16 GB variant.

All models also feature 5G connectivity, so you’re set for the future.

a solid gaming phone, it’s actually a streamer’s dream. You can even activate the front camera and overlay the footage from that right on the screen, without having to mess with anything else, which is extremely useful in cutting down the steps you need to get a stream running.

USER EXPERIENCE VALUE The first hurdles to get over with are the phones size and weight. It’s got gravity to it, and one-handed usage is on the challenging side. It’s also a little slick, and since it’s quite a niche device, finding a suitable case might prove a bit of a challenge. Still, once you get accustomed to how to best handle it, it performs like a dream.

We could spend a paragraph or two talking about daily use, but really, there’s nothing to say about it except that it blows all those “normie” tasks away. I mean, with 16 GB of RAM and an SD 865+ chipset, what else can you expect? And yes, it does also have 5G connectivity.

Where this phone really shines is gaming. I primarily play shooters, and on mobile this means a lot of COD: Mobile, and PUBG Mobile. A bunch of features really make this phone shine with those titles. Firstly, there’s that huge, bright screen that really lets you see what’s going on without having to squint. The shoulder buttons are a huge plus as well, as the claw method, while effective, is tiring to keep up for more than a few rounds of play. The shoulder buttons on the Duel are wonderfully responsive and don’t add bulk or complexity to the phone like external triggers do. Sure they’re not tactile, but they do a really good job nonetheless.

The thermal control of the Phone duel is also remarkable. Despite hours of play at a time during the holiday break, the phone didn’t get uncomfortably hot. The worst it got was noticeably warm when playing while charging, but even then, it was far from being unpleasant. They did a great job moving the warm parts around to where they have little impact on the player.

Apart from the solid gaming performance, the Duel also has up its sleeve a few tricks aimed at streamers. The location of the front camera makes streaming in landscape mode effortless, and additional functionality. There’s even a handy function that lets you get into the gaming features like trigger controls, screenshots, and a handy back record button that lets you take footage from the last 15 seconds of gameplay. Aside from being

The price of ust under PHP 50,000 is admittedly quite expensive, and I admit this isn’t for everyone, but if you’re a streamer, are dedicated to mobile gaming, or you want a highly capable phone that stands out from the rest, this is actually a valid value proposition, and one I don’t think you would regret.

SPECIFICATIONS: • Dimensions: 6.66 x 3.09 x 0.39 in • Weight: 239g • Display: 6.65 inches • Resolution: 1080 x 2340 pixels • Memory: 16 GB RAM • Storage: 512 GB • Camera: 64MP + 16 MP main, 20 MP Motorized front • Connectivity: 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, US 3.1 • Battery: 5000 mAh, dual charge 90W What’s Hot: • Currently THE gaming phone to beat • Lots of streamer-centric features • Powerfill

What’s Not: • Price • Aesthetics aren’t for everyone

BOTTOMLINE It’s THE streamer phone.

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Hisense ULED 65a6505 Reviewed by Ren Alcantara

Despite, or maybe because of the whole trend towards streaming, a great TV is something that anyone can appreciate. With the times being as they are, taking the cinema experience into the home is something that has become less a luxury, and more a thing that we turn to, to maintain our sanity. The thing is, a cinema experience at home doesn’t come cheap. At least, not all the time. Hisense, a solid brand that hails from the electronics mecca of Shenzen, makes some very compelling cases for taking home a large 4K TV, and we’ve been lucky enough to try one ourselves. The ULED 6505 is a massive 4K TV that promises to deliver a premium viewing experience without the premium price tag. Does it deliver, or will it leave you wanting?

DESIGN The design on the ULED 6505 is actually quite sharp. With extremely narrow bezels on the top and sides and the slightest chin on the bottom barely large enough to have the Hisense badge be legible, it is right up in design with current-generation smart TVs. As is the case with TVs these days, there’s not a lot more to say. The panel, as we mentioned earlier is a mammoth 65 inches on the diagonal, which is really quite an imposing sight.

The remote is simple and neatly designed, with a number pad on the top third, a four-direction pad with a center selection button in the middle, and quick controls for playback and other smart features on the lower half. Everything is quite straightforward and within easy reach of a single thumb. There are also context-sensitive buttons that help make navigating through complicated menus a little simpler.

HARDWARE The TV itself has a 65-inch screen with a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels—four times the resolution of FHD, for picture-perfect images, even when you’re up close. It is HDRcompatible for great contrast, has wireless and wired connectivity, HDMI ports, and two 120-W speakers for immersive audio. The panel is equipped with Hisense’s exclusive ULED technology for great contrast, color, and motion regardless of the content.

USER EXPERIENCE The first thing we have to mention about this TV is that it is properly large. I did manage to set it up alone, but it took patience, planning, and a good measure of willpower to get it out of the box and onto the shelf where it currently resides.

Unless you’re at least as stubborn as I am, this is clearly a two-person job. It’s not all that heavy, but it is quite wide, and you really don’t want to put too much pressure on that thin panel, just to keep it safe.

Once you’re done wrestling it into position, it’s a simple matter of plugging in a single power cable, and you’re ready for business. The TV runs

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a Hisense-proprietary OS called Vidaa U, and to their credit, it’s really quite simple to navigate.

There’s a home button that has apps, dedicated buttons for YouTube and Netflix, and a menu that’s straightforward and intuitive. Without having to pick the manual up, I was able to get it connected to the WiFi network, logged in to my YouTube and Netflix accounts, and playing videos in around 5 minutes flat.

You can start viewing with a simple button press to launch your streaming app of choice, or you can fire that up with your phone and cast it to the TV—you don’t even have to press the power button. As long as WAKE ON LAN is enabled in the settings, you can just press the “cast” button on the Netflix or YouTube app, and the TV will power itself on. Granted, there’s perhaps a ten-second delay before it fires up, but that’s not too bad.

As for picture quality, it is true to the 4K promise.

Videos come out with impressive resolution and rich, vivid colors. The panel is plenty bright, even in less than optimal room lighting conditions, and had no trouble at all keeping up with the other (more expensive) smart TVs we have. Contrast was impressive, with blacks that were more than deep enough to not take away from the immersion, and bring areas that weren’t washed out.

We did have a problem with motion at the start.

Live-action shows came out quite smooth, but when we switched over to animated shows on Netflix, there was significant ghosting and delay in the image. A trip to the settings to tweak the judder and smooth motions settings did the trick though. If you experience the same issues, play with those settings, and be aware that a little goes a long way—in fact, applying too much of either setting will prove detrimental to your viewing experience.

Fast-paced games gave the TV no problems at all.

Hades, our current go-to title, was as smooth as on any of our other TVs, but even better given the brightness and massive screen size. Even plugging it into our PC for other games and movies proved to be no problem at all.

Audio quality was superb. It was the first thing we noticed, and it consistently impressed us. From movies to music, and even games, there was

plenty of power, without the loss in clarity that can plague over-boosted audio systems.

VALUE At PHP 47,700, the Hisense ULED 65A6505 is a great TV. The 4K resolution, great image quality, smart features, and easy-to-use, snappy OS make it very pleasant to use. Great sound and bundled soundbar are the cherry on top. The settings might need a little tweaking when you get it out of the box, but that’s a small price to pay for a TV of this value.

SPECIFICATIONS: • Size: 65 inches • Speakers 2x 120W • Connectivity: LAN, WiFi, HDMIx2, USB, Aux, Co-ax • OS: Vidaa OS (proprietary) • Features: YouTube, Netflix, screen mirroring, web browser, Bluetooth What’s Hot: • Great OS • Great image quality • Superb audio What’s Not: • Image settings need tweaking to get the best viewing experience

BOTTOMLINE If a 65-inch TV is what your living space needs, this is worth a good, long look. www.gadgetsmagazine.com.ph

Maono AU-A04 USB Mic Kit Reviewed by Ren Alcantara

It’s 2021 now, and if you’re still using the built-in microphone of your laptop, it’s time you changed that.

With the increased focus on video calls for work, school, and even just catching up with our friends and families, there’s little reason to keep using the limited capabilities of those tiny mics. Fortunately, there are a lot of options available to make computer audio sound much better, such as USB mics. Today, we’re looking at the Maono AU-A04 USB Condenser mic kit to see if it’s a worthy addition to your hardware arsenal.

DESIGN

USER EXPERIENCE

As the name suggests, the Maono AU-A04 is an entire kit that is put together to let you be able to up your audio game without having to go out and get lots of individual items. The heart of the kit is the USB condenser microphone. It’s solidly built, with a metal body, and quite a bit of heft to it. The mic itself has no inputs, outputs or controls, aside from a USB port on the bottom. The grille on the top protecting the capsule is reasonably robust, though it does flex a bit against thumb pressure. It’s a side-fire microphone, and while there aren’t any lights or indicators as to where to address the mic, the logo is conveniently placed on the correct side.

As long as you’re speaking into the side where the Maono branding is, you’ll be fine.

Just to give a little background, the main use I’ve had for this mic was for spoken word, primarily a podcast, as well as in-game comms for Overwatch, so read this review with that in mind.

The kit also comes with a basic shock mount into which the mic clamps, a 5/8-inch to 3/8-inch adapter, a scissor stand that clamps on to your desk, and a nice, large pop filter that clamps on to the stand.

The shock mount is quite basic, but holds the mic firmly, and has a single locking joint so you can set the angle of the microphone. The scissor stand is similar to the inexpensive ones that go for a few hundred bucks online, but at least the clamp that affixes to your desk is done in thick, sturdy metal, and not simple stamped steel. The two-layer, fabric pop filter is affixed to the end of a flexible, metal gooseneck, with a simple screwing clamp that lets it attach securely to your stand. It’s a fairly basic kit, but you could do way worse than this setup provides.

HARDWARE The microphone itself has no frills. It actually has nothing on it. Made as an entry-level device, it has no lights, controls, or jacks, aside from the USB connector that lets you plug it to your computer.

There is, unfortunately, no zero-latency monitoring on this mic, so if you’re looking for something for more serious work, you’ll want to give Maono’s higher-level offerings a look.

The mic records 24 bit, 192 KHz audio, which is quite impressive, and has a cardioid polar pattern.

The frequency response is roughly flat, with a bump at 100Hz, a dip at about 8KHz, and another bump at 10KHz. It has a 16mm capsule, and a sensitivity of -38dB to +3dB, as per the manufacturer’s website. www.gadgetsmagazine.com.ph

I’ve gone through quite a few microphones in my quest to find the one that works best for my purposes, and while I’m very much in love with my XLR condenser mic + Zoom H5, it’s quite a pain to set up, involving unpacking, making space, plugging wires, and adjusting settings. The Maono AU-A04 cuts through all of that with quick, painless USB compatibility. Really all that needs to be done is to plug the wire into the mic, then plug that into a free USB port on my computer, and that’s it. As a matter of fact, since it’s actually quite a compact microphone, I just have it permanently set in place, with the stand clamped to my desk, so I don’t need to do anything extra except make sure it’s the correct input device in Windows. The included cable is plenty long enough for my setup and at about 3 meters (don’t quote me on that though), there should be plenty for most applications.

I have a deep-ish voice, and I have found that the mic actually makes that significantly more pronounced, adding quite a bit of boom to it, even at the recommended 4-6 inch distance. Any closer, and it starts to become overwhelming. In that light, the pop filter ends up serving the purposes of filtering out plosives and helping maintain the proper distance from the mic. Remember this doesn’t offer zero-latency monitoring, so you really won’t be able to keep track of how you’re sounding while you’re recording, so you have to take extra care to make sure the recording gets done right.

That extremely pronounced bass is apparently not a thing for the previous model of the AU-A04, but as mine appears to be a late 2020 production unit with different internal components, it’s quite heavy on the low end. This unfortunately cuts into the mids a bit, making them sound a little muddy. This isn’t such a big deal for spoken word, and clarity doesn’t seem to suffer, but it’s something to be aware of.

The highs are present, and audio from the mic isn’t fatiguing to listen to, but it doesn’t have that sparkly quality that some people might be looking for.

Overall, if you either don’t mind the bass-heavy sound it captures, or if that’s exactly what you’re looking for, it’s not bad. This might not be ideal for

singing, but taming those bottom end a little in post actually makes it sound quite pleasant to my ears, at least for spoken voice.

VALUE This is where the mic really shines. The performance, ease of use, and price does make it a very viable option for those looking for an upgrade over their built-in mic. It might not be the right choice for singers, or people who need zero-latency monitoring (the inclusion of which would probably have bumped the score to a solid 5), but if you just want a simple, easy-to-use mic that is actually quite inexpensive, this is just the ticket.

SPECIFICATIONS: • Microphone-core: 16mm Condenser • Polar Pattern: Cardioid • Frequency Response: 30Hz-16kHz • Sampling Rate: 192kHz/24bit • Sensitivity: -38dB+/-3dB (0dB=1V/Pa at 1kHz) • Interface: USB What’s Hot: • Great price • Simple setup • Includes everything you need to get started What’s Not: • Boomy low end • No monitoring • Pretty basic

BOTTOMLINE If you just need better audio for meetings, or if you’re not too concerned about extra features, add it to cart now.

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PHOTO FEATURE

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COVER STORY

2021 Forecasts 2021 is here, and it couldn’t have come sooner!

We’re all eager to get a fresh year to work with, and so are the rest of the industries we’ve been keeping an eye on. While we have a lot of time to make up for, 2021 looks like it’s going to be a good year for consumers. Here, we’re going to be looking at some of the things we’re looking forward to over the next 12 months, so buckle up!

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Personal Computing in 2021 Words by Gabriel Pe

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f there’s one thing that didn’t suck in 2020, it was the countless PC component launches. Even before the pandemic the announcements of new mobile computer processors caught the attention of a lot of people, AMD offered a great bang for the buck processing for their new Ryzen 4000 mobile processor, while Intel unveiled their new 11th Gen mobile processor with their new Xe Graphics architecture.

Even during the pandemic, NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel all locked horns on new tech and performance upgrades by launching new graphics architecture with Ampere and Big Navi, and new processing architecture and process with the new Zen 3 and Comet/ Rocketlake structures. But the best thing about all these is the price they are dropping these things for. For 2021, we’re expecting some pretty good stuff for personal computing.

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Entry-level now doesn’t mean bad If you’re scouring the internet if you’re building a PC the word budget is often associated with the word entry-level and poor performance. But if we’re looking at the current trend of product releases this might not be the case anymore.

Advancements in manufacturing components have made it possible to create products with more power and performance for even a lot less cost. If 2020 produced an entry-level processor that matches toe to toe with a high-end processor from 2017, it’s exciting to think what 2021 can bring us.

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Mobile Ray Tracing receives an upgrade

The processor war will be great for consumers

Gaming and esports will continue to thrive

If you’re into games, chances are you already know that ray tracing is all the rage, especially in the desktop segment. While Ray Tracing capable graphics are already available right now, they fail to produce the same great quality you can find on the desktop. The arrival of the new NVIDIA RTX 3000 series mobile GPUs and AMD RX 6000 mobile GPUs next year might make Ray Tracing much more attainable for laptops and small form factor devices.

It’s no secret that the Intel and AMD rivalry has made processors faster and cheaper, but the sudden arrival of Apple’s new M1 chip and NVIDIA’s acquisition of ARM will make things much more interesting in the coming years. With the competition pushing each manufacturer to one-up each other, this will also go down to consumers who now have a lot more choices for their systems and at the same time get more value for their money.

If there was one sport that thrived during the lockdown of 2020, it’s esports. Even though there was almost no major tournament for the year, esports continued to draw viewership records. Many of these new viewers are first time viewers who were introduced to the games because of the pandemic and will carry on for the next year. Aside from new viewers, new investors have also entered the esports market in 2020, from superstar athletes funding organizations to multinational corporations adding to the massive prize pool in tournaments, one thing’s for sure is that esports will continue to grow in 2021.

Stocks will hopefully stabilize

2021 will be a great year to finally do that build

VR gaming might finally be available to more people

If there’s one thing that’s been a downer for the PC building and enthusiast community, it’s the lack of stocks for the new releases. The release of NVIDIA and AMD’s new graphics cards as well as the new AMD processors saw how the pandemic had disrupted the supply chain for the new components leading to low stock availability and the rise of scalpers who jacked up the prices for these parts. As the world slowly gets back to normal, stocks will also stabilize and hopefully, we’ll soon see these new components at their MSRP.

Will all the new stuff that came out in 2020, 2021 will be the year to finally do that dream build you’ve been dreaming about. 2020 saw some components such as RAM and storage return to their original prices. Add to that the new much more powerful processors and graphics cards, 2021 will be the best year to build your dream gaming rig.

Lastly and might still be the most stretched prediction, VR might finally be available to more people. Virtual Reality gaming has been around for a few years now and if you’re one of the few early adopters then you might have noticed that games have improved since then. This makes VR gaming much more alluring for new gamers, but what will make VR much more accessible to many is the cheaper and more powerful PC components and the cheaper VR gear. Hopefully, the new VR gear can reach the country’s shores with minimal price changes so Filipinos can make the shift.

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Consumer Tech 2021 Words by Ren Alcantara

A

lot is going on in the consumer tech world, and as we look forward to this year, we’re probably going to see a lot of innovation that might just help us forget about 2020. Let’s take a quick dive and see what we’re going to be spending on this year. There is a lot of getting back on our feet that has to happen before some of the technologies really start going at speed, but it’s still encouraging to be moving forward.

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The 5G rollout continues Among other things, 5G connectivity brings great speed to the table. As telcos increase the 5G coverage, manufacturers will continue to bring 5G-capable phones to the market. The technology will trickle down to even more inexpensive handsets, allowing all of us to reap the benefits of high-speed, low-latency mobile internet. Whether or not people will appreciate it remains to be seen, but the experience is significantly better.

Expect the price of your average 5G smartphone to drop sharply over the course of 2021, with more options across all the brands. This will also bring changes to how we use apps and an even greater reliance on cloud technology. Better start saving up for a good data plan.

“Unusual” displays As more and more material research is put in we’re going to see even more interesting, unusual displays hit the market. Folding screens, which are currently crazy expensive, will start to become less so, though they’ll still be a bit more expensive than most of the current flagships, just because of the tech needed, and to create a little bit of a “premium” difference within the top tier. Dual display devices might also start popping up here and there, as will more exotic ones such as

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scrolling screens that roll-up. Also here are the next generation of displays (Mini-LED) that offer great image quality at a lower price than OLED screens.

apps, but the hardware and infrastructure will be more than happy to oblige.

Gaming

The pandemic has created a surge in the reliance on remote healthcare, and this momentum is likely going to continue. As methods and services become more refined, and better smoothed-out, even more people will turn to teleconsultation and app-based services. This, combined with a rise in the use of wearables, might mean a change in how we take care of ourselves is on the horizon.

Making monitoring and consulting might actually mean we take better care of ourselves, which is definitely a good thing.

The growth of the esports industry has been affected by the pandemic in good and bad ways.

While more people are getting into gaming, live events and tournaments have been hit hard, and online viewership hasn’t exactly been the same for many tourneys. With more people playing now, and the potential end to the pandemic in sight, we’re hoping that 2021 is going to see a revitalization of esports as a whole. Streaming has gone up with the increase in gaming, and that as a form of entertainment can only mean good things for the esports scene.

Augmented Reality Because of the increased availability of 5G connectivity, AR apps and services will increase.

These require low latency for the best effect, which 5G has, and re-locating the processing load from the device to a powerful server somewhere (something 5G is also great at) means that lowerspec’d devices will be able to do some interesting AR things. It’s only a matter of people making the

Healthcare

The rise of the machines Ok, so it might not be as apocalyptic as the title might make it sound, but AI will be more pervasive in 2021. From chatbots to photorendering, video production, and dedicated AI cores on devices, we’re going to see more of this tech in our devices. Again, this is tied in with 5G rollout, but also the continuing development of the tech. We don’t need to worry about our toasters coming after us in our sleep, at least not yet, so just continue to enjoy the benefits AI brings.

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Automotive Trends 2021 Words by Ren Alcantara

2020 has been a tough year for everyone, there’s no doubt about that. Despite the local automotive industry launching dozens upon dozens of new models, it’s still very much apparent that manufacturers are looking forward to this year to turn things around. Technologies we’re going to be seeing haven’t been developed overnight though, and not even the pandemic is likely to derail the plans of manufacturers to roll out the kind of tech we might be seeing throughout the year. Let’s take a quick look at what the car industry might have planned for consumers over the next 12 months.

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Better features for the entry level

A general shakeup

As is the case for all top-tier tech, features that were once available solely in the realm of the top tier will continue to make their way closer to the entry-level. We’re already seeing some brands trickle premium features such as reverse cams into the lower tier, so we’re optimistic that 2021 will see this trend even more. It doesn’t seem too much to hope for to have more safety features, better entertainment options, and extended creature comforts in the coming year, even in the more bare-bones entry level offerings manufacturers bring to the market.

Cars have mostly been used as a means to get to and from work, particularly here in the Philippines where the public transportation system leaves a LOT to be desired. With the pandemic-driven transition to working from home, this might change somewhat. This shift away from work-center commutes will give manufacturers a bit of pause and possibly rethink either how the vehicles are marketed, or the features that they will include, as people might be even more content with keeping their current daily drivers that don’t see as much use anyway, or start to look for a vehicle that is more centered towards driving for fun rather than necessity.

More smart tech This is a continuation of what we’ve already been witnessing over the past few years. As car companies continue to make developments in making cars smarter, 2021 will be a great year to be on the lookout for upcoming smart tech in the automotive space. All the major players have poured a lot of talent and time into tech such as driver assistance features and better connectivity, and we see even more of that happening in this year. The race to have more horses under the hood will never go away, but even that is changing, and the competition to have more brains to go with that brawn is heating up in earnest. More driver assist tech (think lane drift assist, blind spot detection, and the like) as well as better connectivity should be on the horizon. The top tier should have even better versions of the same tech, as well as some new features, perhaps relating to connectivity, leveraging the trend towards 5G and a much better data connection for smart, if not more autonomous driving.

No autonomous driving—yet The pandemic threw a wrench in the plans for a more widespread adoption of autonomous driving all over the world. While some brands have led the charge and have rolled out tech that allows for that in some stretches, COVID has slowed the plans down to a much more cautious pace. This doesn’t mean that it’s not going to happen. As we said earlier, 5G connectivity opens the doors even more. Cars right now rely on individual data based on their own sensors, as well as internal processing to crunch the sensor information. This puts a hard limit on what each car can do individually to drive themselves. With the speeds, and more importantly, better latency from 5G, cars can start communicating with each other, and better-equipped hardware over the cloud, on top of their own processing, making a much more robust self-driving system—though maybe not in the coming year. We may have to be a little more patient.

Increasing electrification If 2020 is any indication, the march towards more electric and hybrid vehicles continues. With even chinese brands getting on the bandwagon, 2021 should see even more of these fuel-saving vehicles hit the market, with more models offering at least a mild hybrid option. Right now, one of the barriers for entry is the premium label attached to the hybrid versions, but once these become the norm hopefully this year, prices should start to drop, making the hybrid option much more attractive to buyers.

More aggressive digital marketing drives The pandemic has created a new marketing move in the part of the automotive manufacturers. A very sharp uptick in digital marketing and online showrooms was observed. The manufacturers who made the pivot before the pandemic will retain their advantage, so don’t be surprised if you see more of their brands on the roads as things move forward. The connectivity and tech are ready, and we’ll see even more brands look at virtual showrooms, virtual walk-arounds, and maybe even virtual drives. While the experience of driving in person can’t be replaced, the option of being able to see things online does make the choosing easier, and shopping across different brands will be as simple as a few clicks.

Lots of competition With a lot of growth forecasted for this year, brands will all be fighting for their share of the market. In this light, we might be seeing some great deals and lots of great features coming in, so if you’re looking to get a new vehicle, it won’t be a bad time to go shopping around, maybe with some of the virtual showrooms we talked about just now.

The automotive market is looking up this 2021, and everyone is eager to leave last year behind. Hopefully, this year will see eased restrictions to travel, better traffic (one can hope), and a better drive ahead.

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MOBILITY

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he most anticipated motoring and driving event in the country, the Manila International Auto Show (MIAS), has shifted gears by mounting its ever digital edition, MIAS WIRED.

From December 16 to 20, 2020, MIAS WIRED was a virtual event that brought together the biggest automobile brands and car enthusiasts to showcase the latest updates in the automotive industry. Joseph L. Ang, founding chairman of Worldbex Services International, officially opened the event by highlighting the role of MIAS in the automotive industry.

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President Rodrigo Roa Duterte graced the opening of the online event. Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Danilo Lim and House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco also delivered messages of support. MIAS’s long-time industry partner Automobile Association Philippines (AAP) president Gus Lagman completed the distinguished opening ceremony guests.

What did guests experience at MIAS WIRED?

Event highlights included: • Virtual Booths and 3D Showrooms featuring the top car brands such as BMW, Changan, Chery, Chevrolet, Dodge, Foton, Geely, Hyundai, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, MG, Nissan, RAM, Subaru, and Suzuki.

• Car Launches • Formula V1 Virtual Cup and Formula V1 Fantasy League • Road Safety Academy by JP Tuason • 25th Automotive Association of the Philippines (AAP) MotorSport Awards • Petron-MIAS Custom and Classic Car Competition

Organized by Worldbex Services International, the leading exhibition and events management company in the Philippines, MIAS WIRED offered a platform for the community by taking events beyond expositions to create connections and nurture the automotive industry. The event brought together all the country’s top car brands, car accessories, automotive technology, and car enthusiasts to offer fresh perspectives in facing the challenges to the industry in the new normal.

Aside from all these, MIAS WIRED also brought some of the annual trade show’s exciting event highlights to a new, accessible, and dynamic channel, with the same excitement they have come to expect from the annual MIAS.

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MAJOR AWARDS: OVERALL WINNER: “BEST OF SHOW” #7 1980 Toyota BJ45 pickup (blue) owner: Egai Ortiz-Luis/Shelby Auto Station SPECIAL AWARD “INQUIRER MOBILITY AWARD” #1 1958 Porsche 356A (brown) owner: Manny Dimaculangan “BEST IN PAINT” #31 2016 Hyundai Tucson (light purple) owner: James Rivada “BEST IN PAINT” (RUNNER-UP) #17 1999 Honda SIR (orange) owner: Mojahed Potawan

OVERALL WINNER: “BEST OF SHOW” #7 1980 Toyota BJ45 pickup (blue)

“BEST INTERIOR DISPLAY” #1 1958 Porsche 356A (brown) owner: Manny Dimaculangan “BEST INTERIOR DISPLAY” (RUNNER-UP) #14 1992 Porsche 993 Carrera 2 (polar silver) owner: Space Specific “BEST ENGINE DISPLAY” #17 1999 Honda SIR (orange) owner: Mojahed Potawan

“BEST INTERIOR DISPLAY” #1 1958 Porsche 356A (brown)

“BEST ENGINE DISPLAY” (RUNNER-UP) #32 2016 Toyota FJ Cruiser (yellow) owner: Golden Fire & Rescue / Pitstop Group

MINOR AWARDS: “BEST GOLDEN ERA 60’s” #3 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL W113 “Pagoda” (red) owner: M2 Autoworks “BEST GOLDEN ERA 60’s” (RUNNER-UP) #1 1958 Porsche 356A (brown) owner: Manny Dimaculangan “BEST RETRO 1970’s” #4 1974 Porsche 911 G-series Safari (grey) owner: Manny Dimaculangan

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“BEST GOLDEN ERA 60’s” #3 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SL W113 “Pagoda” (red)

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“BEST RETRO 1970’s” (RUNNER-UP) #5 1977 Land Rover Series III 88 (blue) owner: Arch. PJ Miranda “BEST CONTEMPORARY 80’s” #7 1980 Toyota BJ45 pickup (blue) owner: Egai Ortiz-Luis/Shelby Auto Station

“BEST RETRO 1970’s” #4 1974 Porsche 911 G-series Safari (grey)

“BEST CONTEMPORARY 80’s” (RUNNER-UP) #12 1990 Toyota Land Cruiser 60 5-door (white) owner: Black Rhino Wheels

“BEST MILLENIUM 1990’S” #16 1996 Porsche 993 Turbo (blue) owner: ACG (Art Circle Gallery) “BEST MILLENIUM 1990’S” (RUNNER-UP) #17 1999 Honda SIR (orange) owner: Mojahed Potawan “BEST 2K 2000” #20 2003 Lamborghini Gallardo (yellow) owner: ACG

“BEST 2K 2000” #20 2003 Lamborghini Gallardo (yellow)

“BEST 2K 2000” (RUNNER-UP) #30 2007 Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG Black Series (silver) owner: ACG (Art Circle Gallery) BEST “2 DOOR” STOCK EUROPEAN #15 1996 Ferrari 512 TR “Testarossa” (red) owner: ACG (Art Circle Gallery)

BEST “MODIFIED” #35 2018 Toyota Hilux Pickup (black)

BEST “MODIFIED” #35 2018 Toyota Hilux Pickup (black) owner: Mike Fernandez

BEST “CRAFTMANSHIP” #6 1979 VW Kombi Van (white) owner: Don Robert BEST “4X4 OFF ROAD” #9 1984 Toyota BJ40 (grey/orange) owner: Black Rhino Wheels BEST “SUV” #32 2016 Toyota FJ Cruiser (yellow) owner: Golden Fire & Rescue / Pitstop Group

BEST “4X4 OFF ROAD” #9 1984 Toyota BJ40 (grey/orange)

BEST “PICKUP TRUCK” #7 1980 Toyota BJ45 pickup (blue) owner: Egai Ortiz-Luis/Shelby Auto Station BEST “RACE CAR” #4 1974 Porsche 911 G-series Safari (grey) owner: Manny Dimaculangan

BEST “CLASSIC SPORTS CAR” #11 1989 Benz 560SL R107 (white)

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BEST “CLASSIC SPORTS CAR” #11 1989 Benz 560SL R107 (white) owner: Pitstop Group

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fter a series of exciting model launches, leading mobility company Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) wrapped up 2020 with the introduction of the 2021 update to its popular hatchback – the Toyota Yaris.

TOYOTA YARIS: RE-STYLED FOR 2021

“The Yaris appeals to many married professionals in their mid to late 30s looking for a modern fun-to-drive vehicle that offers the great cargo space a hatchback offers,” TMP vice-president for marketing services Elijah Marcial said, describing the Yaris customer.

“The Yaris nameplate has amassed quite a loyal fan base for being synonymous with fun driving and flashy looks, and this year we’ve elevated it with a new premium eye-catching design to suit our customers’ evolving style.

All without, of course, compromising on the power, convenience, and safety we’ve all come to expect from every Toyota,” she added.

The new Toyota Yaris sports an aggressive redesigned front grille that gives it a commanding and wide stance, flanked by new LED fog lamps across all variants. On the 1.5 S CVT variant, the headlamps have been upgraded to LED and are now paired with new Daytime Running Lights (DRL). It also sports new kicks with its newly-designed 15-inch two-tone machine-finish alloy wheels across all variants. The updates extend up to the interiors with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto now a standard feature across all variants, and synthetic leather seats for the 1.5 S CVT variant.

The new Yaris also comes in a vibrant new color across all variants to match its customers’ colorful personalities. Appropriately called “Cyan Metallic”, this bright blue shade is sure to appeal to young and young-at-heart customers alike.

Starting at a price of Php 973,000, the new Yaris combines fun design, premium comfort, and uncompromised convenience in a compelling package for today’s stylish generation.

Premium and fun design Appealing to both loyal fans of the hatchback form factor and the casual customer looking for a versatile and fun vehicle, the new Yaris is sure to excite with its fun design matched with premium sensibility. With its sporty, mesh-type front grille and wide-winged headlamps, the new Yaris makes a lasting first impression. Expressive character lines stretch across the side of this quirky hatchback before meeting at the rear. Glossy piano black accents contrast with the body paint color and chrome finishes on the door handles, adding to the visual interest and sporty feel.

Cars behind the new Yaris 1.5 S CVT variant are in for a visual treat with LED line guides outlining its rear combination lamps. Finally, the sporty rear spoiler completes its edgy look.

The new Yaris comes in an electrifying new “cyan metallic” color as well as other vibrant

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colors such as “citrus mica metallic” and “red mica metallic”. For something more classic, customers can also rock the new Yaris in “super white II”.

new synthetic leather seats and boasts an immersive 6-speaker system so everyone can enjoy their favorite music and podcasts!

Safety at every turn

Beauty with just as much brawn Underneath that stylish facade is a capable and efficient 1.5L Dual VVT-i engine for the S CVT variant, and a 1.3L Dual VVT-i engine for the E CVT variant. Drivers can enjoy seamless and uncomplicated driving with its Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). Feel in control with paddle shifters conveniently placed behind the steering wheel of the 1.5 S CVT variant, which are especially helpful when overtaking. This variant also offers Eco and Sport Drive Modes so drivers can further customize their drives.

Toyota’s got your back, front, and all sides covered with its class-leading 7 SRS airbags equipped as standard on all Yaris variants. Even in sticky situations, the new Yaris minimizes risks with its vehicle stability control (VSC) which helps prevent side skids and assists in stabilizing the car when abruptly turning on a tight curve. Ain’t no mountain high enough for the Yaris with its hill-start assist so you can safely advance uphill from a full stop with ease. The 1.5 S CVT variant also comes with automated safety features like speed-sensing door locks, so everyone inside is safe once the vehicle speed up.

Convenience at your fingertips Pricing The new Yaris greets passengers with its spacious 5-seater cabin and large cargo space. With Apple CarPlay and Android Auto now standard across all variants, connecting and controlling your smartphone media has never been easier. Adjust it all without ever taking your hands off the steering wheel with the Yaris’s cleverly thought-out media control buttons. Customers who opt for the 1.5 S CVT variant won’t have to scramble for their keys with its convenient smart entry and push start system. This variant also comes in

The sticker price on the 1.3 E CVT variant is PHP 973,000 while the 1.5 S CVT variant retails for PHP 1,114,000. Customers may begin reserving the new Yaris by contacting their local Toyota dealerships. Retail sales in all of TMP’s 70 dealerships across the country will start on January 13, 2021. They may also check out the Yaris’ full specs and product highlights, plus calculate payments, and submit inquiries direct to any preferred dealer via https://toyota.com.ph/yaris.

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THE LEGO TECHNIC FERRARI 488 GTE “AF CORSE #51” Accelerate into the adrenaline-filled world of endurance racing

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he LEGO Group reveals the latest model to line up on the grid, the LEGO TechnicmFerrari 488 GTE “AF CORSE #51”. Having delivered prestigious wins for the Prancing Horse in the world’s toughest endurance races, the racetrack icon is replicated in minute detail to encapsulate the same unmistakable Italian spirit as its real-life counterpart.

This racing car model is packed with authentic features and beautiful design elements, making it a true expression of Ferrari’s endurance racer. The fierce-looking model features front and rear suspension, aerodynamic curves, a V8 engine with moving pistons, and a steering wheel emblazoned with the Prancing Horse badge to help the model truly come alive. Original race number, sponsor stickers, and the authentic Tricolore paint job add the perfect finish to this epic model.

crafted from 1,677 LEGO Technic elements, making it a rewarding and absorbing build for older builders aged 18+ who love endurance racing, motorsport, and Ferrari cars. Once complete, builders can take it out for a spin or proudly display it for spectators.

Designed to help LEGO fans and those who love motor racing experience the thrills of life in the fast lane, this 48cm (19in) long racing model is

“Having the chance to recreate a Ferrari in LEGO Technic form is an absolute childhood dream come true,” says Lars Krogh Jensen, designer, LEGO Technic. “Ferrari is renowned for their truly incredible vehicles, so I knew I had to push the boundaries of the LEGO Technic system to do justice to the dominating racetrack idol. This model captures the sophisticated silhouettes of the iconic car while paying homage to its engineering powers to capture the true essence of the 488 GTE. The build is a great challenge for any fan who appreciates excellent design and is interested in learning more about the engineering and technology that goes into crafting such an impressive car.”

The LEGO Technic Ferrari 488 GTE “AF Corse #51” will be available from January 4, 2021, across LEGO Certified Stores in the Philippines, priced at PHP 10,999.75.

Alessandro Pier Guidi, Ferrari Competizioni GT Official driver, commented: “When I was a kid I played quite often with LEGO bricks, so when I saw this reproduction of the Ferrari 488 GTE I was really impressed, especially considering some of the features they managed to replicate. I have to say that to see a LEGO Technic model of a car that I raced and carried my name on has made me very proud.”

The LEGO Technic Ferrari 488 GTE “AF Corse #51” is the first LEGO Technic model designed with Ferrari and continues the more than 15 year-long partnership between the two brands.

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he Yamaha Racing Arena concluded its 7th and final leg and crowned the digital tournament’s first-ever champions. With official competitions suspended worldwide, Yamaha Motor Philippines went out of the circuit and onto a virtual platform. The tournament replaced the throttle with a controller, as it took place in front of a screen playing a video game.

The top riders in the Philippines who formed the Yamaha National Team for the ARRC, namely: McKinley Kyle Paz, Masato Fernando, and Kerwin Chang, were designated as captains of competing teams. They had all started their careers on the Sniper 150, which they used to claim victories in local and international competitions.

Using the YZF-R6, Paz had taken the next step by joining the SS 600 category in the ARRC. But at the Yamaha Racing Arena, they were a long way from the track, facing a new challenge to steer their teams to victory. Their teams were made up of fellow racers and special guests.

entire tournament with a first-place finish in the final round. He was followed by Kerwin Chang and Dustin Esguerra. Team Kyle finished on top with 303 pts. Team Kerwin followed with 278 pts and Team Sato with 252 points. The first every digital tournament for Yamaha had a wild finish, and if a 2nd tournament is in the cards, the players are sure to give it their best once again.

The digital tournament bought to close a very challenging year but one filled with hope for the future. Whether or not the racetracks open in the coming season, Yamaha will always strive to keep moving forward for the passion of racing.

• Team Kyle – Kyle Paz (captain), Andrei Reyes, Motodeck • Team Masato – Masato Fernando (captain), Dustin Esguerra, Kaisaya • Team Kerwin - Kerwin Chang (captain), Leeandro Paredes, Ella Cruz The games were shown live on the Yamaha Facebook page, where viewers could enjoy the race and win prizes along the way. The Teams weren’t just fighting for bragging rights but also for a cause.

Each race and its purse went to the H.E.R.O. Foundation. After 7 rounds and donations from the sponsors, the total amount raised reached PHP 1-million.

The Yamaha Racing Arena had its share of action, drama, blowouts, and photo finishes. Kyle once again dominated like he had the

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Subaru PH Welcomes 2021 with AWESOME DEALS and WORRY FREE OWNERSHIP for the FORESTER and XV Motor Image Pilipinas, Inc., the exclusive distributor of Subaru vehicles in the Philippines, ushers in the new year by introducing worry-free ownership on purchases of the Forester and XV On top of the cash discounts available for all variants of the Subaru Forester and all variants of the Subaru XV, Subaru is throwing in an additional Php 50,000 service voucher to purchases of the said models.

This special deal also comes on top of the standard 5-year warranty for purchases of new Subaru vehicles. Special deals for other Subaru models such as the BRZ and WRX will also be available.

Subaru PH is also extending service operations by opening its doors for service during Sundays at selected outlets – namely Greenhills, Pasig and Manila Bay from 7:30am to 5:30pm. Setting an appointment in advance (via https://www. subaru.asia/ph/en/owners/subaru-service. php ) is recommended to ensure your safety and convenience.

Subaru Forester and XV FREEBIE

CAN BE USED FOR

SERVICE VOUCHER worth Php 50,000

- PMS (approx. equivalent = 2 years worth) - Parts - Other outlet-based Services and Labor

So what are you waiting for? Start your 2021 right by visiting your nearest Subaru showroom and test drive your next Subaru vehicle!

Chevron donates funds to PRC, Tanging Yaman Foundation for communities affected by Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses Chevron Philippines Inc. (CPI), marketer of the Caltex brand of fuels and lubricants, and Chevron Holdings Inc. (CHI) recently donated nearly PHP1.5 million to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and Ateneo de Manila University’s Tanging Yaman Foundation Inc. (TYF) to support their relief efforts for the families greatly affected by Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses.

of PRC this support will be put to good use,” added CHI general manager Steve Callaghan.

CPI and CHI each donated PHP 500,000 to PRC making a total of PHP 1 million worth of donation, which was used to purchase relief items, finance operational costs, and provide cash grants for livelihood and shelter repair.

Subsequently, CPI donated its Christmas party budget for this year, amounting to PHP 431,000 in support of TYF’s disaster relief efforts for families affected by the recent typhoons.

“We’re immensely thankful to Chevron for their donation. They have always been generous in aiding relief efforts for typhoon victims. This donation will be a great help in rebuilding the affected communities,” shared PRC secretary general Elizabeth Zavalla.

“Chevron has always been committed to contributing to relief efforts for victims of natural disasters. We make our donations in hopes of improving the quality of life of the communities where we operate, and we trust that in the hands

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CPI and CHI regularly donate to the PRC as the organization has a bigger network to carry out large-scale relief operations. Earlier this year, CPI reached out to PRC to help provide relief for the victims of the Taal Volcano eruption.

“We truly appreciate Chevron’s effort to channel their Christmas party budget into a worthy cause.

Their donation will surely make Christmas merrier for typhoon-ravaged communities,” said TYF founder and chairman Fr. Manoling V. Francisco, SJ. “We saw the devastating aftermath of Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses, and our heart goes out to the victims. We hope these donations will be able to help the affected communities get back on their feet,” added CPI general manager and country chairman Billy Liu.

PRC volunteers board a boat to provide relief packs for the victims of Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses

PRC donates steel roofing sheets to help rebuild the homes of families affected by the recent typhoons in Bicol.

Aside from the official donations, CPI and CHI invited its employees to make personal donations to the PRC and the Kaya Natin Movement, a local non-partisan, non-government organization that advocates for good governance and leadership with integrity.

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Hyundai Dream Centre-PH awarded Outstanding CSR Program in Education by League of Corporate Foundations H.A.R.I. Foundation, Inc., the CSR arm of Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) closes 2020 on an inspiring note with Hyundai Dream Center Philippines (HDCP) hailed “Outstanding CSR Program in Education” at the virtual awards ceremony of the 2020 League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) CSR Guild Awards.

This new and first-time citation from the LCF came at the heels of HDCP receiving the highest honors, the Platinum for Education, at the Driven to Serve Awards of the Society of Philippine Motor Journalists (SPMJ) last November.

The LCF CSR Guild Awards is a recognition program of outstanding social good initiatives of the country’s premier business organizations in the areas of education, arts and culture, enterprise development, environment, and health.

Hyundai Dream Centre-Philippines passed the scrutiny of the LCF’s 96 member organizations for its meaningful and sustainable impact on the communities and institutions that it serves.

Said HFI president Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo, “Hyundai Dream Centre Philippines embodies H.A.R.I. Foundation’s core advocacy for education—the education of bright young people who do not have the resources, but who have the capacity and the drive for a better shot at life. With this new and

first-time citation from the LCF, we know that we are on the right track: For as we uplift lives, it will be easier for people to look beyond their basic needs, aim for higher goals, and take charge of their lives.

Thank you for the inspiration and the renewed push for us to carry on.”

The HDCP, launched on April 10, 2018 in Calamba City, Laguna, is a world-class automotive training and education hub established by HARI in partnership with Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) and humanitarian organization Plan International.

It is the fifth Dream Centre that HMC has set up in the Asia-African region since 2013. HARI is the first Hyundai distributor to be tapped to craft Dream Centre training programs that respond to local industry needs. HDCP scholars are referrals from Hyundai dealerships and Plan International program areas (Mindoro, Masbate, Cebu, Samar, Leyte, Cotabato, and Maguindanao). Its training programs are made up of three TESDA-certified training courses. Since its launch, HDCP has produced 174 graduates from 4 batches, 87% of whom are employed as automotive technicians, service advisors, and warranty officers at Hyundai dealerships across the country.

John Batten, senior adviser and international outreach and international development consultant of the International Institute for Rural

Hyundai Dream Centre Philippines is hailed “Outstanding CSR Program in Education” at the 2020 League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) CSR Guild Awards.

Reconstruction, and a member of this year’s LCF panel of judges, noted that this year’s winners stood out from among equally innovative social projects for demonstrating strong performance in long-term sustainability, employee involvement, and collaboration with NGOs and government institutions in order to scale and achieve the widest social impact.

Honda Cars Fairview reopens under new management Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), Honda’s automobile business unit in the Philippines, officially reopened Honda Cars Fairview (HCFR), its 37th dealership in the country last December 11, 2020.

HCFR is the first Honda dealership under the business group of Gatewayfairview Motors Corporation. Located in Don Mariano Marcos Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, it is strategically located to cater to the needs of residents in nearby areas for quality transportation and after-sales services.

With a total lot size of 2,760 square meters and a capacity of four Honda vehicles for display, Honda Cars Fairview is open to provide top-notch customer service from Monday to Saturday for sales from 9:00AM to 5:00PM, and after-sales services such as preventive maintenance and general repairs from 8:00AM to 5:00PM. “We are truly pleased to welcome Gatewayfairview Motors Corporation as Honda’s

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newest dealership partner. The addition of Honda Cars Fairview in our growing dealership network in the country symbolizes the increasing demand of Filipinos for Honda, as we aim to expand customer joy by delivering the best experience to our customers, through our products and services.

We are optimistic that this new addition will be contribute to great years ahead for HCPI.” said

Masahiko Nakamura, Honda Cars Philippines Inc. president.

To know more about the latest HCPI news and promos, visit the nearest Honda Cars dealership, or access Honda Cars Philippines, Inc.’s VIRTUAL SHOWROOM through HCPI’s official website at www.hondaphil.com

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Hino Laguna to cater to South Luzon’s growing market Hino Motors Philippines (HMP), the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of Hino trucks, buses and parts in the Philippines, recently held an agreement signing ceremony for the Hino Laguna dealership.

The dealership agreement signing underscores Hino’s continued commitment and capability to provide Total Support in the new normal. It was graced by Hino Motors Philippines representatives and was followed by the showroom’s blessing.

Physical distancing and other health protocols were strictly observed during the event.

“We recognize the developing truck market in Region IV and its potential as an industrial and commercial hub for businesses. Apart from its rich history and strong agro-industrial sector, the Alaminos municipality also has low susceptibility to landslides and flooding, making it a more favorable location for risk management and disaster control. We want to provide the people of South Luzon with a one-stop shop – from the assembly of chassis and building of vehicle body based on client’s customization needs and preferences to vehicle repair, maintenance, and refurbishing. This is our way of bringing our Total Support promise to them,” shares HMP president Mitsuharu Tabata.

The dealership, strategically located at Km. 78, Brgy. San Benito, Alaminos, Laguna along Maharlika Highway, is easily accessible to neighboring cities and municipalities through a network of highways and bridges.

In line with Hino’s promise of providing long-term maintenance service and lifetime value to its customers, Hino Laguna dealership will be more

than just a trucks and buses solutions hub and will serve as a complete 3S center offering sales, service and spare parts for 360-degree after-sales service.

Hino Laguna, with a total lot area of approximately 1,900 square meters, will be managed by Toyota San Pablo chairman Richard Tan and president Ryan Tan.

PLDT Enterprise, AF Payments partner for transport sector solution Under the country’s largest integrated telecommunications company PLDT, PLDT Enterprise has entered into a strategic partnership with AF Payments, Inc. (AFPI) to enable a modernized fare and tracking system for the transport sector.

AFPI will bundle its Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) with PLDT Enterprise’s Smart Tracker solution—powered by Vectras—to provide a complete fleet management and fare collection solution to public transport operators. Public transport operators will now have the option to get fleet management and fare collection functionality from AFPI without the need to contract with multiple suppliers.

The strategic partnership’s goal is to make it easier for public transport operators to meet the demand for effective fleet management and modern fare collection. In this way, the riding public will benefit from more convenient fare payment options, better vehicle scheduling, and passenger information systems.

“The Smart Tracker solution aims to simplify the management of fleets of public transport vehicles.

With the service, public transport operators can choose to provide locator links which commuters can access in order to better manage their commute

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and travel time,” says Jojo Gendrano, FVP & head of PLDT Enterprise Core Business.

With the guidance of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), AF Payments Inc. (AFPI) has been working with the public transport operators of train, jeepney, and bus fleets, including the three light rail systems of Manila and the EDSA bus consortiums, to help make public transport more convenient by introducing modern fare collection based on contactless cards and QR codes.

“Through this strong partnership with PLDT Enterprise, we continue to build on the efforts of

modernizing the public transport sector and making modern fare payment accessible to all,” says Sharon Fong, Chief Commercial Officer of AF Payments Inc. Jovy Hernandez, ePLDT president & CEO and SVP & head for PLDT and Smart Enterprise shares that “we at PLDT Enterprise are confident that this strategic partnership will enable a more modernized transportation management and cashless payment system to benefit Filipino commuters. Bus companies can manage their operations better and the public will be assured of a simpler and safer way to commute with contactless payments.”

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Usher in business success with Hyundai’s New Year’s ReSolutions Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai commercial vehicles, understands the challenges that another year of combatting the pandemic brings. 2021 would remain vulnerable to economic disruptions, yet opportunities are opening up as well. To help cushion the impact of starting or reopening your business, Hyundai opens the year with cash discounts on its hard working commercial vehicle fleet. For light-duty trucks, PHP140,000 off on the HD65/65X cab and chassis and PHP280,000 off on the HD36L Maxculado cab and chassis; a PHP200,000 cash discount on the premium COUNTY to set your shuttle business on track; and, for those looking for massive, heavy-duty support for construction, logistics, or other heavy industries, a hefty PHP480,000 discount on the XCIENT dump truck and tractor (6- and 10-wheeler).

Muscle up with the HD36L Maxculado Built with high-capacity chassis and made even more durable with its new ladder frame that features heavier gauge steel, the HD36L Maxculado helps you muscle up any business that requires a good deal of heavy lifting.

This may be a light-duty truck, but its serious muscle and performance will give your operations a boost.

The added stabilizer bar increases front-end rigidity and improves steering stability while the enhanced front suspension and shock absorber makes for uncompromised protection of vehicle and cargo.

Volume capacity also gets a boost with a longer shuttle rear body. Now 11.8 feet (3600 mm) long, the extended wheelbase and longer cargo bed can accommodate an 11-foot rear deck, giving it a 1.7- ton payload capacity. Complementing the sturdy build is the new more fuel-efficient 2.5-liter diesel engine that gives 130ps power output and 26kg-m torque, further optimized by mating it to a six-speed transmission that delivers 53% more torque than its predecessor and makes for a more effortless drive.

Work hard and smart with the HD65/65X Engineered to make light work of heavy duties, the HD65/65X is a hardy vehicle built with heat-treated, web-strengthened, ultra-rigid super frame that make for the superior performance and safety of Hyundai HD trucks.

truck’s advanced integrated fuel filter that requires service at 20,000 km intervals, contributing to greater peace of mind and even greater savings for your operations.

saves you on undue costs from engine damage and hampered operations.

Drive big possibilities with the XCIENT

Specially designed for mass transport, the COUNTY mini-bus boasts a host of features that assures dependability, safety, and comfort.

Boasting of a robust design, highlighted by a striking and voluminous front grille, and bold, dynamic lines, the Hyundai XCIENT is a commanding presence on the road. Its strength of character is reinforced even more by the extensive application of Hyundai’s signature high-strength steel, contributing to structural integrity and durability whatever the road or load.

Whether fully loaded or empty, suspension resilience is optimized in the HD65/65X through the proven strength and stability of leaf springs with advanced shock-absorbing technology. When it comes to power, the HD65/65X does not disappoint with its Euro 4 D4GA direct-injection diesel engine with turbocharger. Mated to a 5-speed manual transmission system, this engine generates maximum power output of 150 ps @ 2,500 rpm and maximum torque of 59 kg-m @ 1,400 rpm. All within a highly efficient engine operation that optimally churns generous power at minimal fuel consumption.

The XCIENT is built to take on tough jobs with its front and rear multi-leaf suspension system and its core Powertech engine (in the D6HA and D6CC for Xcient cargo trucks and Xcient 4x2 and 6x2 tractor heads).

Engineered with Hyundai’s class-leading technology, these direct-injection turbo-diesel engines produce higher power output for superior road performance no matter the load and are Euro-4 compatible, which makes for smarter operational efficiency with improved fuel consumption and emissions. The D6HA delivers a maximum power output of 380 ps @ 2,000 rpm and maximum torque of 160 kg-m @ 1,200 rpm, while the D6CC churns out maximum power of 410 ps @ 1,900 rpm, and maximum torque: 188 kg-m @ 1,200 rpm—all ready to support the daily rigors of cargo or hauling.

Servicing and maintenance for the HD65/65X also comes easy, thanks to the 50-degree tilting cab feature that provides quick and easy access to the engine compartment. Other routine maintenance checks involving fluid levels are effortless with the

Vehicle maintenance for the XCIENT is also a cinch, thanks to its cab’s tilt angle of 61 degrees and enlarged tilting cylinder that secures the volume of tilting pump reservoir. Protection applied to upper components helps prevent oil leakage, which

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Count on the COUNTY for countless business ideas

Its body alone is as sturdy and as stable as it gets, thanks to greater rust-resistance from Hyundai’s standard seven-dip electrodeposition primer (EDP), or electrostatic immersion process, plus a stringent chassis durability test that ensures that it can handle a variety of road conditions.

The COUNTY also employs reassuring stopping power, as it’s equipped with Load-Sensing Proportioning Valve (LSPV) that adjusts brake pressure according to the weight distribution of passenger load, as well as 9+10 brake booster for even safer braking.

As for comfort and convenience, it is loaded with thoughtful amenities, like a swing-out type door for easy ingress and egress, semi-cloth upholstered seats for firm yet gentle support, deluxe cargo space to stow extra luggage, and nifty overhead shelves for handy storage.

If you’re out to stick to your 2021 targets, then take that first step with Hyundai’s New Year’s ReSolutions. Promo runs from January 1 to February 10, 2021. Per DTI Fair Trade Permit No. FTEB-111321. Series of 2020.

See flyers for complete details. Get to know more of Hyundai trucks and buses at https://www.hyundai.ph/ trucksandbuses or email wecare@hyundai-asia.com.

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No toll fees for 1 month: SMC partially opens 18km Skyway 3 to motorists San Miguel Corporation (SMC), which financed and built the much-awaited Skyway 3 project, the county’s longest elevated expressway, is soft-opening this vital link between southern and northern Luzon and making it free to motorists for one month, according to its president and chief operating officer, Ramon S. Ang. “We are glad to finally welcome motorists, even on a limited capacity, starting December 29. While this is only a partial opening, given the scale and importance of this project, this is a very significant development. We have the government of President Rodrigo Duterte to thank, for paving the way for the continuous construction of Skyway 3 over the past few years. We believe it will be key to our economic recovery after the pandemic,” Ang said.

Ang also credited Duterte’s entire economic team, led by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, for pursuing massive infrastructure development under its “Build Build Build” program, and helping accelerate the completion of Skyway 3.

In particular, Ang said it was under the Duterte administration when major right-of-way issues that hampered the project, were settled. It was also Sec. Villar that made it possible for the end point of

Skyway 3 to be extended and connected directly to the North Luzon Expressway.

“This project is the result of the hard work and contributions of so many stakeholders, past and present. We especially thank President Rodrigo Duterte and his economic team, from DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, DOTR Secretary Arthur Tugade to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, for their continued push for infrastructure development to create growth and make life easier for more Filipinos,” he said.

For the partial opening, Ang said motorists will be able to use up to four lanes of Skyway 3. By January 14, he said SMC will formally open all seven lanes of the entire 18-kilometer stretch from Buendia, Makati to NLEX. Ang said that the company would have soft opened the expressway sooner, but disruptions caused by recent typhoons meant more time needed to allow for the sufficient curing of concrete, and proper preparation for asphalting.

“We cannot rush the curing of concrete and preparation for asphalt, because these have to be given enough time and have to be done according to the highest specifications to ensure quality and safety,” he said.

Together with Skyway 1, 2, and Skyway extension which have a total of 20 kilometers, Skyway 3 extends the entire Skyway system to 38 kilometers. With the completion next year of the Skyway Extension project at the southern end-from Susanna Heights to Alabang--the entire Skyway will have 36 access points on both sides, from end-to-end.

It is seen to dramatically reduce travel time between Makati to NLEX to only 20 minutes, and Alabang and NLEX to only 30 minutes. It will also serve as an alternative to Edsa for those traveling between Metro Manila cities, reducing traffic on the country’s busiest thoroughfare.

New SFEX road temporarily open motorists from Dec 28 to Jan 15 Starting December 28 and until January 15 next year, the new and expanded section of the 8.2-km Subic Freeport Expressway (SFEX) will be opened temporarily to serve motorists coming in and out of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone during the holiday season.

2×2 divided expressway, with the construction of two additional expressway lanes, two new bridges, and a new tunnel. This will increase the road capacity of SFEX from one lane in each direction to two lanes in each direction.

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark A. Villar along with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and administrator Wilma B. Eisma and NLEX Corporation president and general manager J. Luigi L. Bautista, led the drive-thru of the new expressway lanes built to improve traffic flow and road safety.

The project also includes the installation of expressway-standard LED lights, the raising of elevation of Maritan Highway-Rizal Highway-Tipo Road junction, and the enhancement of the drainage system for better flood management in the area.

The new SFEX road, constructed beside the existing SFEX carriageway, will be available to motorists on December 28, 2020 until January 15, 2021 from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. During this period, it will be closed from 6:01 pm to 5:59 am the next day for the continuing construction of remaining works.

“The project is 92 percent complete. While there are still works to be done in some areas, we are temporarily opening the new road to ease the travel of our motorists this holiday season, especially the truckers and merchants who are delivering essential goods,” said Secretary Villar.

The PHP 1.6-billion SFEX Capacity Expansion entails the conversion of the Subic Freeport Expressway to a

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A series of road safety audits showed that the whole project alignment, except for the portion of Jadjad Bridge which is still under construction, has complied with the safety requirements thus safe for use by the motoring public.

Earlier, TRB and NLEX representatives led by TRB executive director Abraham Sales and NLEX vice president for Tollway Development and Engineering Nemesio Castillo, together with the Independent Certification Engineer, conducted a pre-opening inspection to ensure that the SFEX sections to be opened are safe for use by motorists.

The SFEX Capacity Expansion is envisioned to enhance accessibility and promote travel efficiency on this key road that connects Bataan and Zambales.

It is also expected to boost Subic’s competitiveness

as an ideal shipping gateway for businesses in Central and North Luzon.

“With the improved and expanded SFEX, the transport of goods in and out of the Subic Freeport will be faster and easier. Night driving will also be equally safe and enjoyable for our motorists,” said Bautista.

The Subic Freeport Expressway was built when the Philippines was chosen to host the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in 1996. It initially aimed to cut down travel time from Hermosa, Bataan to Subic, Zambales from almost one hour to less than 10 minutes. With the capacity expansion project, more motorists will be accommodated at any given time and will enjoy a safer and more convenient journey.

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Isuzu PH completes turnover of 46 N-Series trucks to First PGMC Enterprises Inc., an affiliate of Nutriasia Inc. Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC), the country’s leading assembler and distribution of brand-new trucks, turned over N-Series light duty truck to First PGMC Enterprises Inc., an affiliate of Nutriasia Inc. thru Orix Rental Corporation to complete the fleet of 46 units.

The event was held at Isuzu Taytay dealership, which facilitated the sale of the 46 units comprising 21 units of NMR85, 13 units of NPR85, and 12 units of NQR75.

During the turnover, Assistant Division Head for Sales Mr. Hiroto Nakaguro praised the partnership between IPC and Orix Rental Corporation as the ideal example of how Isuzu vehicles transform the Filipino spirit of entrepreneurship into a major economic force for the national growth. “Among the many reasons for IPC’s market dominance over the years, ability to meet customers’ everchanging needs has always been a priority” he added.

According to Mr. Edward Dela Cruz, National Sales Manager of First PGMC Enterprises Inc buying ‘brand new truck’ is the better option when it comes to peace of mind and safety of their employees. With a brand-new truck, you’ll know every bit of the vehicle’s history because you’ll be the one to make it and for corporate identity, he added.

Aside from the proven reliability, power, comfort, and efficiency of Isuzu -branded trucks, First

PGMC Enterprises Inc., an affiliate of Nutriasia Inc. thru Orix Rental Corporation also counts on the aftersales support of the 45 authorized and strategically located Isuzu dealerships and service centers, which includes the supply of readily available parts that can be delivered promptly.

To know more about the N-Series and the rest of Isuzu Philippines’ world-class roster of commercial vehicles, log on to www.isuzuphil.com, or call your nearest Isuzu dealership.

Philippine Red Cross Recognizes Honda Philippines Inc. for Humanitarian Service The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) recently awarded Honda Foundation Inc. (HFI) the Outstanding Humanitarian Award for Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR). The recognition was for the organization’s efforts in helping communities in times of calamities and amid the pandemic.

In May 2020, HFI donated 104 motorcycle units — 52 red units each of TMX125 alpha and Wave 110 alpha — with insulated top boxes to PRC. These motorcycles are for the use of volunteers and staff in 104 PRC chapters nationwide. The endowment also provides PRC with a fast and high-quality mode of transportation.

“We, at Honda, are one with the Philippine Red Cross in providing a helping hand to those in need. With our innovative mindset, we recognize the power of our motorcycles in helping this organization in all its much-needed humanitarian efforts,” said Susumu Mitsuishi, president of Honda Philippines Inc. (HPI) and member of the HFI board of trustees.

HFI is the arm of the Honda group of companies in the Philippines that oversees and manages its corporate social responsibility programs and activities, such as promoting road safety, protecting the environment, supporting the youth, and addressing local community needs.

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“Honda has always been present in protecting the lives of Filipinos, especially during crises like the Taal Volcano eruption, the current COVID-19 pandemic, and even the series of typhoons. In 67 years of its trustworthy services, Honda Philippines, Incorporated has been supportive to the Philippine Red Cross for a decade now,” Mitsuishi said.

The donation project is in line with Honda’s ONE DREAM campaign, which aims to make Honda motorcycles an essential tool in saving lives and helping institutions like the PRC by enabling the group to respond rapidly during crises.

The Outstanding Humanitarian Award for Corporate Social Responsibilities is an award given to an exceptional donor who gave generous donations from the Mindanao Earthquake last December 2019 until the recent Typhoon Ulysses. It is the organization’s way of appreciating the donor’s contributions as an instrumental humanitarian partner, committed to serving the community and the country selflessly and compassionately to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable.

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Words by Maribelle Alba

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amsung Electronics Co., Ltd. shared its vision for the future at the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), highlighting how it’s continuing to innovate by creating solutions that are flexible, intelligently connected, and use AI to understand context to make daily life seamless.

“Our world looks different, and many of you have been faced with a new reality–one where, among other things, your home has taken on a greater significance,” said Sebastian Seung, president and head of Samsung Research, the advanced R&D hub of the company that leads the development of future technologies for Samsung Electronics’ SET (end-products), addressing the company’s efforts to enhance the at-home technology experience.

Creating more intimate and personalized user experiences As people spent more time at home last year, the tech they wanted became the tech they needed. In relying on that tech, people came to understand many ways connected solutions could make life easier. TVs were vital for entertainment—and sometimes, fitness.

Chromebooks became crucial home learning tools.

Smart fridges helped with remote shopping and meal prep. Smartphones were indispensable.

Samsung’s continued investments in innovations that adapt to evolving lifestyles enable the company to keep pace with rapid changes. Key innovations unveiled include: Samsung Bespoke 4-Door Flex: The latest version of the Bespoke refrigerator features changeable panels that come with a choice of colors and materials that made the original a success, allowing consumers to adjust their fridge for form and function. The new 4-door model also includes a brand-new beverage center, which gives quick access to a water dispenser and an automatically-filled water pitcher. The 4-door Bespoke also comes equipped with a dual auto ice maker which makes not only regular cubed ice but also smaller ‘ice bites’ to suit different preferences for cold beverages.

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110-inch MICRO LED: This new screen features self-lit inorganic LED with a slim and nearly bezel-less Infinity Screen design that seamlessly blends into the living space. The result is a spectacularly immersive viewing experience with astounding picture quality. The 110-inch MICRO LED also adds “4Vue” (Quad View), a four-way viewing option—so you can keep up with multiple sports at once, or stream a tutorial while playing a video game. Also, for US consumers, more than 160 free channels are available through Samsung TV Plus. MICRO LED will be rolled out globally in the coming months.

Lifestyle TV: Samsung’s cutting-edge lifestyle TV lineup includes The Serif, The Frame, The Sero, and The Terrace—a recently launched 4K QLED outdoor TV—as well as Samsung The Premiere, a cinema-like quality 4K laser projector.

SmartThings Cooking: A new service from Samsung SmartThings is designed to make your

culinary journey seamless. An automatic meal planner powered by Whisk’s Food AI recommends meals for the whole week, makes shopping lists with the ingredients you need, and connects to grocery retailers for one-stop shopping straight from the Family Hub refrigerator or your mobile screen. Recipe instructions can be sent directly to synced Samsung cooking devices to minimize hassles and mistakes.

Samsung Health Smart Trainer on Samsung 2021 TVs: Samsung Health seamlessly transforms the home into a personal gym, and the new Smart Trainer feature tracks and analyzes posture in real-time, just like a personal trainer.

During and post-workout, Smart Trainer provides feedback on form, helps you count your reps, and estimates calories burned. With video and interactive training via Bixby-enabled voice control, Samsung Health Smart Trainer elevates and personalizes the home workout experience.

Bringing AI and robots to daily life including housekeeping Samsung has long been at the forefront of AI and robotics innovation, leveraging its seven global AI research centers to advance technology. By bringing AI to its products, Samsung is creating new home experiences—from washing machines that optimize water usage, detergents, and wash cycles, to TVs with a Quantum AI Processor that can upscale HD content into pristine 8K resolution.

The major technologies featured during Samsung’s press conference include the following: JetBot 90 AI+: Coming to the US 1H 2021, this new vacuum cleaner uses object recognition technology to identify and classify objects to decide the best cleaning path. LiDAR and 3D sensors allow JetBot 90 AI+ to avoid cables and small objects, while still cleaning hard-to-reach corners in your home. Also outfitted with a camera, JetBot90 AI+ is integrated with the SmartThings app to assist you with home monitoring.

Samsung Bot Care: The latest development in Samsung’s growing robotics lineup, Samsung Bot Care is designed to use AI to recognize and respond to your behavior. It will be able to act as both a robotic assistant and companion, helping to take care of the details in your life. It will also learn your schedule and habits and send you reminders to help guide you throughout your busy day.

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Samsung Bot Handy: Also in development, Samsung Bot Handy will rely on advanced AI to recognize and pick up objects of varying sizes, shapes, and weights, becoming an extension of you and helping you with work around the house.

Samsung Bot Handy will be able to tell the difference between the material composition of various objects, utilizing the appropriate amount of force to grab and move around household items and objects, working as your trusted partner to help with house chores like cleaning up messy rooms or sorting out the dishes after a meal.

Looking to the future, Samsung is also developing other tangible applications of AI technologies for daily life. Samsung is continuing to build on its

Samsung Bot Retail, which would guide users outside the home in retail environments, and GEMS, Samsung’s health-focused exoskeleton as mobility aide. These innovations allow robots and robotic devices to co-exist with humans, enhancing their lives and catering to a variety of lifestyles and different environments.

“Our innovations are designed to provide more personal and more intuitive experiences that express your personality.

We’re hard at work to bring you next-generation innovation, with AI as the core enabler, for your better tomorrow,” Seung concludes.

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FEATURE

Words by Ren Alcantara

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here’s been a lot of buzz about 5G of late, what with telcos all over the world rushing to roll the service out en masse. When you ask the person on the street though, all you’re likely to hear they’re excited about is faster connection speeds. While this is true—5G is blisteringly fast—it’s so much more than just raw speed. 5G opens up a lot of possibilities that future tech will be building upon. If you want to get the skinny on the 5G phenomenon, we’re here to give you just that, so read on.

There are a few things that 5G is looking to address, and the first is, of course speed. As content gets more and more rich, we need connection speeds to match.

Let us put things in perspective: 4K streaming can be taxing even for some fixed-line connections (think wired home internet). 5G will let us stream 8K content on phones. Whether or not you need 8K on your phone is another thing altogether, but it’s nice to know that it’s possible. 5G allows 10Gbps data rates, which is anywhere from 10 to 100 times better than current 4G connectivity. Movies, work files, music, streaming—if you thought 4G was great, multiply that by at least 10, and that’s the kind of speed we’re talking about with 5G.

more impressive is what low latency will allow technology to do.

Let’s start simple, with an example like gaming. Right now, for the most part, games run on the devices they’re played on. When you load a game on your phone for example, your phone does all the heavy lifting, rendering the characters, the environment, sounds, everything about the world your game is in.

Even for online games, it’s our computers and phones that do the work, and servers simply take in and

Another requirement 5G was designed to meet is 1 millisecond latency. In the simplest terms, latency is the time it takes for an instruction to be sent, and a reply to be received. Currently, it’s at about 400ms for 4G. While that’s quite an impressive number, what’s

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process information and farm it out to the relevant players, where their devices make sense of that information, do some more computation, and render sounds, visuals, and reactions accordingly.

With super low latency, we can move all that load elsewhere, to much more powerful computers located remotely, and your phone can basically receive a video stream of the game that that powerful remote computer is rendering. This means that phones don’t need powerful, hot, batteryhungry hardware to play games that look great and are incredibly immersive. “But,” you might ask, “can’t we do that now?” Sure we can, but with latency in the hundreds of milliseconds at best, if we were to do that, it would take an unacceptable amount of time between your pulling the trigger in-game, and the result of that trigger pull in a remote computer elsewhere, making the game unplayable. That’s why playing a shooting game while battling high latency is so infuriating. 5G gives cloud computing a massive boost.

This extends to other things that are more critical than gaming. The calculations needed for self-driving cars to function is extremely sensitive to time. We can have each car do all the computations locally, but allowing that to be backed up be better connectivity (more on this later) and better compute power remotely can only lead to good things. You would be less reliant on the computing power located in a single vehicle, and instead have a lot of the work done by powerful server banks that don’t even have to be in the same zip code as the cars they’re helping.

There’s also telemedicine. With the time difference between issuing commands and the receipt of that command measured in single-digit milliseconds, this allows remote surgery to happen with much greater precision than ever before. With the correct hardware (think remote-controlled surgery robots) and 5G connectivity, doctors can perform surgery from across the globe, as if the were in the same operating room as the patient.

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Another thing 5G brings to the table is a greater number of connected devices in a given area—up to a hundred times more than can be supported by 4G connectivity. This becomes important once the internet of things (IoT) starts to really take off. Once everything is connected to the internet, we’ll need networks to match, and 5G is the answer. From phones, to wearables, cars, package trackers, and every little data collecting gadget for weather, temperature, movement, and anything else you can imagine, networks will have a lot to deal with, and 5G has been built to do just that.

While we’re talking about the internet of things, 5G connectivity will also allow devices to stay connected with low power requirements, allowing even smaller IoT devices to stay connected for longer, without having to keep being charged.

There are even more, equally important things that 5G lets networks, including better coverage, better availability, and the like, all of which are also important for the next steps in an even more connected world.

So, when is it arriving? Well, networks are rolling 5G out as we speak. More and more devices are likewise arriving with 5G connectivity. Some technologies are ready to take off, and are just waiting for that last piece to complete the puzzle, while others need a little more research and development to make it into prime time. Estimates are expecting to see 5G users break the 1 billion mark in 2023, and a report by network leader Ericsson says that 5G services will have 3.5 billion subscriptions when 2026 rolls around. From what we can tell, it’s not going to be a massive change all at once, but like a lot of tech now, more of a steady improvement of the technologies we currently enjoy. There are challenges, including legislation, infrastructure, and adoption, but that’s true of practically any technology. Rest assured though, that the benefits of 5G connectivity are going to happen sooner, rather than later.

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Ten Tech Trends to watch out for in 2021 Alibaba DAMO Academy, the global research initiative by Alibaba Group, provides its forecast of the leading trends that would shape the tech industry in the year ahead.

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rom the application of third-generation semiconductor materials, AI-driven R&D of medicines and vaccines, to automatic optimization of data management systems, and data intelligence-powered agriculture, technology breakthroughs are expected to accelerate and make impacts across sectors in the economy and the society at large.

“Technology has played a critical role in fighting against the pandemic since early last year, and it will continue to reshape our society and industries through innovative production models and intelligent services,” said Jeff Zhang, head of Alibaba DAMO Academy and president of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence. “We hope to work with the academia and industry players to accelerate the exploration of frontier research, in the hope that we can make technologies more accessible by various businesses, and together we can rise up to the challenges imposed by the pandemic and accelerate the pace of a digital economy.”

The following are highlights from the Academy’s predicted top 10 tech trends in 2021:

Trend No. 1: The application of third-generation semiconductor materials, represented by GaN and SiC, will expand to new industries TREND

Third-generation semiconductor materials, represented by gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC), boast high-temperature resistance, high breakdown voltage, high frequency, high power, and high radiation resistance. However, for a long time, the application of these materials has been limited only to a narrow scope of fields due to their complex processing methods and high costs. In recent years, breakthroughs in material growth and device

fabrication have helped reduce the costs of third-generation semiconductor materials, making a wider range of applications possible. For example, SiC-based devices are used for automobile inverters and GaN-based fast chargers are emerging in the market. In the next five years, the world will witness third-generation semiconductor materials spring up in areas such as 5G base stations, new energy vehicles, ultra-high-voltage power grids, and data centers.

Trend No. 2: Quantum error correction and practical utility of quantum computing will be the top priority of the “post-quantum supremacy” era

2020 is the first year to pass after quantum supremacy was achieved. In 2020, investors worldwide flocked to the quantum computing field, related technologies and ecosystems thrived, and numerous quantum computing platforms rose to prominence. In 2021, this trend will garner further attention from all corners of society. Quantum computing must deliver enough

value to make it worthwhile. The mission in the “post-quantum supremacy” era must be aligned across the industry: to tackle critical scientific and engineering problems through collaborative innovation and to pave the way for quantum error correction and practical utility, two milestones in quantum computing.

Trend No. 3: Breakthroughs in carbon-based materials will stimulate the growth of flexible electronics

Flexible electronics deliver stable performance even after mechanical deformations such as bending, folding and stretching. They are preferred in wearable devices, electronic skins, and flexible screens. In the past, flexible materials were simply not flexible enough or could not compete with rigid silicon-based materials in terms of electrical characteristics, which limited their commercial use. In recent years, ground-breaking

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developments in carbon-based materials have allowed flexible electronics to go far beyond their previous capabilities. For example, carbon nanotubes are now used to produce large-scale integrated circuits that deliver better performance than silicon-based circuits of the same size. Graphene, a promising carbon-based material for flexible electronics, has also been put into large-scale production.

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TREND

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Trend No. 4: AI accelerates the R&D of medicines and vaccines Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has been widely adopted to interpret medical images and manage medical records while its application in vaccine development and the clinical research of drugs is still in the pilot stage. As new AI algorithms are emerging and computing power is reaching new heights, this technology will make it easier to complete the R&D of medicines and vaccines that were previously very time-consuming and costly. Compound screening, disease model generation, target identification, lead compound discovery, and lead drug optimization are some of the areas in which the technology excels. The integration will reduce repetitive work and improve R&D efficiency. The beneficiaries will be the wider public, who can enjoy better medical care and pharmaceuticals in the near future.

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Trend No. 5: Brain-computer interface technology allows us to go beyond the limits of the human body Brain-computer interface technology is essential for new-generation human-machine interactions and collaborative intelligence between humans and machines. This technology is the pillar and driving force of neural engineering. It analyses how the human brain works from a higher dimension. A brain-computer interface forms a direct communication pathway between the brain and an external device. It acquires, analyzes, and translates brain signals to control machines. In the future, brain-computer interface technology will help control robotic arms more precisely than ever before and help patients who are fully conscious but cannot speak or move to overcome their physical limitations.

daunting challenges to computing task processing, storage cost control, and cluster management during traditional data processing. Manual management and tuning are unable to process massive amounts of data in diversified, complicated scenarios. Therefore, AI-based automatic optimization of data management systems will inevitably be the best choice for future data processing. AI and machine learning will be adopted in a variety of fields, such as intelligent cold/ hot data separation, anomaly detection, intelligent modeling, resource scheduling, parameter tuning, stress testing data generation, and index recommendation. This way, costs for computing, processing, storage, and O&M will be reduced.

Autonomous, self-evolving data management systems will be made available.

Trend No. 6: Data processing will become autonomous and self-evolving The rapid development of cloud computing and exponential growth in the amount of data has posed

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TREND

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7 Trend No. 9: Industrial intelligence leaps from single-point implementation to industry-wide implementation

Trend No. 7: Cloud-native technologies will reshape IT systems Long product development cycles and low R&D efficiency in traditional software development have long been a source of pain. Cloud-native architectures featuring distribution, scalability, and flexibility appear to be the cure. They allow enterprises to utilize and manage their heterogeneous hardware devices and cloud computing resources more effectively. Cloudnative methodologies, toolsets, best practices, products, and techniques allow developers to focus only on creating new applications. In the future, chips, development platforms, applications, and even computers will be cloud-native. The benefits that cloud-native technologies will bring are too numerous to mention. Just to name a few, the technologies help abstract away many layers of infrastructure components such as networks, servers, and operating systems, reduce computing costs, improve technology efficiency, lower barriers to developing applications on the cloud, and expand the scope of cloud applications.

Industrial intelligence has been mainly used to meet partial requirements because its implementation is costly and complicated, data at the supply side is isolated, and the ecosystem is immature. After the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020, the remarkable resilience of the digital economy drew great attention from enterprises, digital technologies developed and spread rapidly, and more investments were injected into the construction of new infrastructure. These factors helped build a picture in which we can see industrial intelligence leap from single-point implementation to industry-wide implementation. This is true particularly in manufacturing industries that have mature IT systems. The industries include automobile, consumer electronics, high-quality clothing, steel, cement, and chemical industries.

Industrial intelligence will spring up in every corner and help closed-loop decision making in these industries. It will make an impact on a large scale, applying to the supply chain, production, asset management, logistics, and sales.

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8 Trend No. 10 Intelligent operations centers will be a must for cities in the future

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environmental resources on demand. In addition, technologies such as 5G, IoT, and blockchain are utilized to control and trace the transportation of agricultural products, ensuring their safety and reliable delivery. With these new-generation digital technologies, agriculture is no longer highly dependent on the natural conditions and will be driven by intelligent data analytics.

Trend No. 8: Agriculture will be powered by data intelligence Traditional agriculture can suffer from inefficiencies caused by poor land use and a disconnection between the production and retail sides. Today, new-generation digital technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT), AI, and cloud computing, are being applied to the agriculture industry throughout the production process to retail. New-generation sensors help obtain real-time farmland data. Big data analytics and AI expedite the processing of large amounts of agricultural data. Agricultural practitioners can monitor crops, implement precision breeding, and allocate

Smart city initiatives were first launched a decade ago and have sparked a significant improvement in city governance through digital technologies.

However, when coping with the COVID-19 outbreak, a number of smart cities faced challenges. This is why intelligent operations centers are widely accepted and deployed to maximize the usage of data resources and promote global, fine-grained, and public services. In addition, as the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) becomes mature and widely applied and spatial computing technologies are improved, operations centers will be more intelligent. By keeping “digital twins” of cities, intelligent operations centers consider each city as a unified system and deliver city-wide services capabilities. Intelligent operations centers will become the digital infrastructure of cities in the future.

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BULLET POINTS

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GAMING

Developer: CD Projekt Red | Publisher: CD Projekt Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PC, Stadia

Words by Jose Alvarez

Many games and other media have been made about the future. Blade Runner, Metro, and Cyberpunk are just three examples of what the future might look like. CD Projekt Red, already known for gaming successes such as The Witcher(which has also become a successful TV series), set out to create something even bigger and better. Cyberpunk 2077 has gone through many delays through its eight-year development cycle, but was it worth it?

The game takes place in Night City, which is controlled by corporations. You play as V, a mercenary you can customize to your own liking. You can make the main character male, female, or even non-binary. The character customization is very robust. The player can choose the voice, face, hairstyles, body type, modifications, background, and clothing of their character. Afterward, you can choose to be a nomad, streetkid, or a corpo, which will also give you special dialogue you can use in the game.

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After you customize your player to your liking, you can also upgrade your stats which are divided into five categories: body, intelligence, reflexes, technical, and cool. You can also choose specialties such as netrunning (hacking), techie (machinery), and solo (combat). You must visit a ripperdoc, a specialist that allows you to upgrade and purchase cyberware implants. If you really want to go for the best gear in the game, you’ll have to visit black markets to make sure you’re up to speed against the most brutal enemies in the game.

You’ll also be able to customize, upgrade, and modify weapons, which are classified into three types: power (standard), tech (penetrate walls and enemies), and smart (homing bullets). There are four types of damage: physical, thermal, EMP, and chemical.

One of my favorite parts of the game is the Braindance, which allows you to undergo another person’s experiences. Like in any action RPG, you gain experience from completing quests which can be used to upgrade stats. There are also many side quests that you can undertake to give you street cred, which unlocks additional skills, vendors, places, and even more side quests. Fixers provide these quests. There are six different regions of Night City: City Center, Watson, Westbrook, Heywood, Pacifica, and Santo Domingo. You can even explore the Badlands, which is the area outside of Night City.

There has been controversy surrounding the already-delayed game, mostly on the console versions of the game. The older PS4 and Xbox One consoles have reported numerous bugs and gameplay issues that are not present on the PC version for the most part. However, to fully enjoy the PC version of the game, you will need a very high-end PC if you want to play on the best settings. In fact, Cyberpunk 2077 is the most expensive video game in history to develop even without adjusting for inflation, including both marketing and development at USD 330-million.

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Developer: DeNA Hong Kong Platform(s): Android, iOS

Words by Gabriel Pe

Imagine yourself back in the early 2000s, you just got from school slightly tired but all the while still giddy with excitement. You waited the whole day for this moment, you turn on the TV, and the ever so familiar (now nostalgic) song from the Japanese Rock Band Baad plays. You’re just in time for Slam Dunk, the anime that defined a generation of Pinoys and Pinoy ballers alike; and now it’s on your smartphone.

Slam Dunk the mobile game, was created by Hong Kong-based developer DeNA Hong Kong, with supervision from Toei Animation, the studio that animated the anime and as well as many other anime classics such as Digimon, Sailor Moon, Dragon Balls, and One Piece.

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shooting on nostalgia If there’s one thing that Slam Dunk the game is good at is hitting that nostalgia factor to gamers. The game is built around the anime, offering a story mode that’s based on the anime and even uses some clips from the anime. If that’s not enough the game does have the original Japanese voice acting to make it even more nostalgic.

So far there are two chapters available with more than 10 sub-sections each but more will be added in the future. With the first chapter,

you get to relieve the first time Hanamichi Sakuragi tries basketball and his quest to impress his crush Haruko Akagi by joining their school’s basketball team led by Akagi’s brother Takenori Akagi.

One thing to note about the story mode is that it’s full of mini-games you need to do in order to progress. Some are as simple as tracing a line to open the gym while others introduce game mechanics such as dunking and shooting.

a nEw takE on an old classic

Aside from the story mode, there’s the normal basketball gameplay. Slam Dunk the mobile game makes a new twist on the classic basketball type of gameplay we all know and love. The game highlights the characters with each having a unique set of abilities that are based on the anime.

Since each character is unique playing has a chance to plan out a strategy before going into the game. Adding to that is the fact that you can only control a single character like the MyCareer modes in the popular NBA 2K series.

Each character also has its own special ability which can be activated by earning points when you contribute to your team, be it scoring, rebounding, stealing, or blocking.

Abilities are also not equal, with some needing less time to earn while others are rarely used in the game due to the 3-minute max time limit.

You can also level up each character to increase their efficiency. This enables fans to “main” on a single character and make it the best over his collection or evenly spread out resources so he can be a versatile player in any composition.

Slam Dunk the mobile game, has three different game modes, the standard 5 v 5, a 2 on 2, and the game’s bread and butter 3 on 3. The game is built around the 3 on 3 mode, being played on half-court rules. This makes the games faster but needs more coordination with your teammates to win.

EvErything ElsE nEEds a lot of gEtting usEd to

Slam Dunk the mobile game does what it needs to do, provide a nostalgia blast to fans, and decent basketball gameplay.

But it does come with a slight drawback.

Opening the game you’ll be greeted with an overwhelming UI, which crams a lot of information. Once you get used to it, you’ll find that everything is present, from choosing what game to play,

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upgrading a character, or simply opening some in-game rewards.

the achievements and first-time player bonuses.

Another thing to note is the grinding aspect of the game. Features such as abilities and the 5 v 5 are level-locked meaning that you’ll need to reach a certain level to access them.

But don’t sweat it, earning levels isn’t all that difficult with the added exp gain from

Slam Dunk the mobile game is definitely made for the anime’s fans. From opening the game to actually getting in a multiplayer match, everything radiates Slam Dunk. For the sports and the anime fan, this is a good game to play if you need a boredom buster.

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Words by Ren Alcantara

There’s no denying that gaming, in general, made the whole of 2020 just a little bit easier to deal with. While we can’t be sure that 2020 is going to be better or worse, we can at least look forward to having a few games to make it bearable. Here are a few titles we’re looking forward to over the coming months.

HITMAN 3 The 8th and concluding main installment in the series, Hitman 3 drops in line with the series’ 20th anniversary. The title brings Agent 47’s story to a close and will be featuring the same muliapproach, stealth-based, non-linear gameplay that made the previous entries in the series so great.

The final game will again take place over multiple locations across the globe as the player takes control of Agent 47. As a bonus, owners of the previous titles Hitman, and Hitman 2, will be able to import maps, levels, and progress to the third game. It’s going to see a rather wide release, with availability on Windows, PS 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, Stadia, and even the Switch. It’s one of the more underrated franchises in all of gaming, and believe us when we say the Hitman games are some of the ones we’ve enjoyed in our long history of gaming. Contracts open on January 21 here in the Philippines.

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RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE A few years after the events of Resident Evil VII, the protagonist, Ethan and his wife, Mia live under the protection of the BSAA, the UN agency of which Chris Redfield is a founding member.

At the reveal, Capcom explained that “Ethan’s world suddenly comes crashing down once again when Chris Redfield, an unexpected yet familiar face makes an appearance, setting off a chain of events that sees a distraught Ethan seeking answers to Chris’s shocking actions, and ultimately finding him in a mysterious village,” and that the events of the game will take place in Europe. Another key point is that the game will be played from a first-person perspective.

Not a lot else has been revealed, but the game will be coming to PC and PS5 this year, and we’re super excited about it already.

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HUMANKIND If you’re a fan of the Civilization series of games, this might be one right up your alley. A turn-based, historical strategy game, it lets you create your own civilization by combining 60 historical cultures pretty much spanning the whole of human existence.

As you can imagine, each of these introduces its own quirks and perks, and gives you a game that has a lot of variation, and rich replay value. Esource gathering, building, and combat all factor into your peoples’ growth, and historical events, along with moral choices and plenty of science keep things interesting. If the slow burn of a historical strategy is your jam, this game is going to be available in April of this year.

DEATHLOOP We love us a good time loop. Bethesda’s upcoming title Deathloop drops the player squarely into their own personal little Groundhog Day experience, except you’re in the shoes of a hitman named Colt. To escape the eternal hell of reliving the day ad infinitum, you have to kill 8 targets in a single loop. To complicate matters further, there is an enemy assassin, Julianna, tasked with protecting the loop, whose job it is to kill Colt and keep the day repeating.

Aside from the interesting premise, the game lets players choose to be Colt, OR Julianna IN SOMEONE ELSE’S GAME. This is an amazing twist to the rival multiplayer concept, though if you so choose, you can close the Julianna slot in your playthrough, and have AI play her instead. If you’re interested, the game will release in May for Windows and the PS5.’

HORIZON ZERO DAWN: FORBIDDEN WEST The first HZD game was a great open-world adventure that we really enjoyed playing through. In this sequel, we once again play Aloy as she makes her way to the American West Coast, where she will be meeting other tribes, and probably kicking lots of robot butt. The game will be taking full advantage of the PS5’s hardware, and loading times, from game startup, to loading, and even fast travel is promised to be “super fast,” making the game much more immersive.

The trailer has revealed a few locations, including San Francisco and an overgrown Golden Gate bridge, and the Palace of Fine Arts (also in SFO) sunken and in ruins. The map has been confirmed to span from Utah to the Pacific coast, making the whole adventure more ambitious than the original game. The trailer has also revealed a few new robot enemies, so even if you’ve fully completed the original game, there’s going to be a lot more fun to be had. There’s unfortunately no exact release date yet, but the game has been confirmed to be launching for the PS4 and PS5 this year.

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STRAY Cats have it great. 18 hours of sleep daily, super-cute faces, superb athletic ability, and the whole world is your toilet.

Stray is an upcoming title that lets you play the titular stray cat, wandering through what looks like a futuristic Hong Kong that’s suspiciously devoid of humans. Not a whole lot has come up about the game yet, aside from that you’re a cat, you’re looking for answers, and you have a cute robot companion named B12. The publisher, Annapurna Interactive, does have a solid track record of titles under its belt, so we feel it’s an ok bet to be excited about this one.

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CYBER SECURITY

New open AI developments from Sophos

defenses against these and most other types of cyberattacks require assistance from AI. Openness and peer review among those applying AI to address these security threats stimulate innovation and discoveries, driving the entire industry forward.

Sophos is providing datasets, tools, and methodologies in four important areas: SOREL-20M dataset for accelerating malware detection research

Sophos, a global leader in nextgeneration cybersecurity, announced four new open Artificial Intelligence (AI) developments to help broaden and sharpen the industry’s defenses against cyberattacks, including datasets, tools, and methodologies designed to advance industry collaboration and cumulative innovation. This move accelerates a key Sophos objective to open its data science breakthroughs and make the use of AI in cybersecurity more transparent, all with the aim of betterprotecting organizations against all forms of cybercrime.

While it is common practice to share AI methodologies and findings in other industries, cybersecurity has lagged in this effort, creating a noisy understanding of how AI truly protects against cyberthreats. Sophos and its team of SophosAI data scientists are catalyzing this change toward openness, so that IT managers, security analysts, CFOs, CEOs, and others making security buying or management decisions, can discuss and assess AI benefits from a level and well-informed playing field.

“With SophosAI’s new initiative to open its research, we can help influence how AI is positioned and discussed in cybersecurity moving forward. Today’s cacophony of opaque or guarded claims about the capabilities or efficacy of AI in solutions makes it difficult to impossible for buyers to understand or validate these claims. This leads to buyer skepticism, creating headwinds to future progress at the very moment we’re starting to see great breakthroughs,” said Joe Levy, chief technology officer, Sophos. “Correcting this through external mechanisms like standards or regulation won’t happen quickly enough.

Instead, it requires a grassroots effort and self-policing within our community to produce a set of practices and language that will advance the industry in a disruptive, open, and transparent manner.”

It is difficult to overstate the criticality of this shift given the immense potential of how AI can benefit cybersecurity. Sophos evidence shows that defenders are increasingly facing human adversaries who are constantly upping their game, launching highly contextualized Business Email Compromise (BEC) forgery campaigns, or relentlessly developing new ransomware attacks. Scalable and effective

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SOREL-20M, a joint project between SophosAI and ReversingLabs, is a production-scale dataset containing metadata, labels, and features for 20 million Windows Portable Executable files (PE). It includes 10 million disarmed malware samples available for download for the purpose of

research on feature extraction to accelerate industry-wide improvements in security. This dataset is the first production-scale malware research dataset available to the general public, with a curated and labeled set of samples and security-relevant metadata.

AI-powered impersonation protection method SophosAI’s Impersonation Protection is designed to protect against email spearphishing attacks, where influential people are impersonated to trick recipients into taking some harmful action for the benefit of the attacker. This new protection compares the display name of inbound emails against highlevel executive titles – those most likely to be spoofed in a spearphishing attack, such as a

CEO, CFO, or president — that are unique to specific organizations and flags these messages when they appear suspicious.

Sophos has trained the AI working behind the scenes on a large sample set of millions of known attack emails. SophosAI has opened up this innovative new protection method, which it has also discussed publicly at Defcon 28 and in an Arxiv paper.

Digital epidemiology to determine undetected malware SophosAI has also built a set of epidemiologyinspired statistical models for estimating the prevalence of malware infections in total, which enables Sophos to estimate — and in turn enabling a better chance to find — the needles in a PE file haystack. SophosAI has pioneered and made publicly available this

method that helps to determine malicious “dark matter,” malware that might be missed or wrongly classified, and “future malware” that is in development by attackers. The model is designed to be extensible to other classes of files and information system artifacts and is also discussed in the Sophos 2021 Threat Report.

YaraML automatic signature generation tools Signature generation for the detection of malware families is a laborious, manual process.

Over the years, researchers have proposed a variety of automatic signature generation methods, most of which have not found adoption because they underperform manual methods. SophosAI has developed a new method for automatic signature generation, called YaraML, that’s significantly different from previous options by taking an AI-based

approach to the problem. SophosAI directly “compiles” full-fledged, industrial-strength machine learning models, the kinds used in commercial security products, into signature languages, essentially allowing AI to “write” the signatures. This proves to be far more effective than previous approaches and represents a breakthrough for the security community. SophosAI has open-sourced YaraML.

These four advancements are the latest from SophosAI, which works creatively like a start-up incubator, but with the intellectual resources of a near billion-dollar global company, including SophosLabs, Sophos Managed Threat Response, and hundreds of thousands of customers. Another advantage is that SophosAI can add new technology directly into shipping products. This model allows Sophos to react quickly to market needs, predict where the industry must head, and advance openness for greater cybersecurity industry collaboration and innovation, all of which are essential when developing defenses against fast-moving adversaries.

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WELLNESS

Online Surgical Skills Training

Johnson & Johnson Institute, Philippine Society of General Surgeons and Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society collaborate to promote continued learning for surgical residents

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rue to its commitment to empower healthcare professionals through continuing medical education, Johnson & Johnson Philippines (J&J) collaborated with the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society (POGS -NCR) and the Philippine Society of General Surgeons (PSGS Metro Manila and Central Luzon Chapters) to launch the country’s 1st Online Learning Continuum on Basic Surgical Skills Training.

The pioneer program is the first of its kind in both the Philippines and Southeast Asia, the Johnson & Johnson Institute’s Surgical Skills Training program was designed to provide continued learning for first to third year PSGS residents in a convenient online digital format. Seasoned proctors and surgeons facilitate the online learning sessions which are built on the latest developments and breakthroughs in the field. Through a curriculum designed to develop proficiency in basic surgical skills, learning sessions are delivered through blended learning that covers modular and evidence-based sessions and ‘virtual hands-on training’.

collaboration with our partners at POGS NCR and PSGS MMC and Central Luzon. As the Surgical Skills Training program that we launched this quarter continues to evolve, we will continue to collaborate with our partners to co-develop relevant content for every stage of surgical skills training and education,” explains Dr. Erwin Benedicto, Head of Medical Affairs of J&J Philippines.

The Institute’s Surgical Skills Training pilot began in October 2020 and will run until December 2021 and will be deployed to a total of 87 training hospitals within NCR and Central Luzon. Participants will earn certificates upon program completion.

“This pandemic has required us to adjust operations according to safety and physical distancing protocols, causing a lot of elective cases to be put on hold and disruptions to our surgical residents’ training.

With this program, we are hoping to bring back up to speed our trainees’ skills development and help them in delivering the highest quality of healthcare, and ensuring the best patient outcomes“ said Dr. Alfred Q. Lasala II, President of PSGS Metro Manila Chapter.

“As a healthcare ally, we at Johnson & Johnson have pledged to support the continued medical education of our medical professionals and are happy to finally launch the first Surgical Skills Training in the country and in Southeast Asia for PSGS residents in

Dr. Raymund Noel Mallari, President, PSGS Central Luzon Chapter shared that the roll-out of this program comes at an opportune time for the society, as it will allow for them to open their doors to non-emergency case patients again and go back

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to providing those with elective cases preventive treatments.

Likewise, Dr. Rosalie Junio, Regional Director, POGS NCR said that the introduction of this online platform will be of great value to their members and residents, as it will allow for them to further their training, despite the limitations presented by the community quarantine.

Since 2017, the J&J Institute has provided comprehensive professional training that helps enable healthcare professionals to improve patient outcomes in today’s value-based care environment. Through 24 training centers in 23 cities on 5 continents, the Institute has provided training to over 125,000 healthcare professionals across the globe through on-site training, online courses and strategic educational partnerships.

In the Philippines, the J&J Institute has supported over 70 training institutions in the education of over 6,000 healthcare professionals in various medical fields to include colorectal, head and neck, gastric, thoracic, cardiovascular, liver, gynecology, and tissue management.

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EVERYTHING APPLE

The Apple M1 Chip: Game-Changing Words by Gerry Gaviola

When Apple announced that they were in the process of making their own CPU chips for their Mac products last June, many were skeptical. Sure, the brand had a reputation for making great processors for their phones and tablets, but for a laptop? It was a way different beast. Many speculated that it would fail and Apple would go back to a major chipmaker in the future. But as we all know, Apple has a thing for proving naysayers wrong and produced a game-changer in the form of their M1 chip.

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Power in a small form factor Apple’s new M1 processor has eight CPU cores, eight GPU cores at the highest configuration, and 16 cores Neural Engine for Machine Learning and AI. All this in the world’s first 5nm process chip on a laptop.

According to Apple, this new processor can have up to 3.5x faster CPU performance compared to its previous generation Macbooks.

The GPU is also the most advanced graphics processor the company has built and delivers up to twice faster performance than the previous generation of Macbooks.

Why the M1 torches the competition Reviews about the new Mac Mini, Macbook Air, and Macbook Pro 13 all garnered the same remarks, the new M1 chip is just so good. The question is then, why is it so good? It boils down to shifting to ARM. The M1 chip is an ARM-based processor, which uses a different CPU architecture than their former Intel chip which is based on the x86.

Going over the difference between ARM and x86 processors is technical, but the main thing to note is that ARM processors are made for power efficiency while the x86 was made for performance. A good way to look at this is comparing a smartphone with a laptop, after all, smartphones use ARM CPUs while laptops use x86 based processors from Intel or AMD. Shifting to the new CPU has made Apple’s new Macs more power efficient with reviews noting the new Macbook Air lasting for about 12 hours and the new Macbook Pro 13 lasting almost a full day in a single charge and constant use.

Energy efficiency is good and all, but what about its performance? It is safe to say Apple has thought about everything with the new Macbooks.

Based on reviews, the M1-powered Macbooks outperformed their Intelbased predecessors and some of its Windows-powered rivals. Apple did this by reshaping their macOS along with Mac apps and programs to fit the new M1 chip.

Like its previous shift from its PowerPC chips to Intel, Apple created another Rosetta emulator, Rosetta 2, to help developers bring their x86 based programs to the new M1 Macbooks. Aside from Rosetta 2, Apple has built its latest OS, macOS Big Sur, specifically to utilize the new M1 chips.

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What does the new M1 processor mean?

The M1 processor delivers on the Apple promise to their own processor that is not only fast but also beats all of their rivals. But that’s not all.

The arrival of the M1 processor signals a shift in personal computing, particularly in the processor market. Apple has undoubtedly proven that they can beat the top two CPU makers Intel and AMD using ARM. One of Apple’s biggest rivals, Microsoft, has been reported to be similarly making their own ARM-based processor, but this time under development in their Azure server department.

Moving forward, Apple is reportedly ready to showcase their next silicon, rumored to be called the M1X. This new processor is expected to debut on the brand’s flagship Macbook Pro 16-inch models and will supposedly be sporting 12 CPU cores and 12 GPU cores. If rumors are to be believed, the new Macbook Pro 16 will demolish its competition, making it the top choice in its segment. if the rumors pan out, Apple will have succeeded in turning the once Intel vs AMD contest into a three-way, with consumers— particularly Mac users—having another great option for their daily driver.

Lastly, the shift to the new processor gives Apple greater control over its ecosystem. Since their chips use their own ARM-based architecture, the new M1 Macbooks can actually run iOS apps natively. Soon developers may even create apps that can be accessed both on mobile and on Mac without any compromises.

This means increased productivity for users who work both on iOS and Mac.

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VISUAL SPACE

Coloring Lives: An Online Art Exhibit

After a few months of online art classes, Sunshine Place members showed how their creativity flourished, and were ready to showcase their works in Coloring Lives, an online art exhibit held last December 12 to 23, 2020. The exhibit, which highlighted 146 works in Acrylic, Oil, Porcelain, and Diamond, also reinforced the fact that art heals, and can bring out the best in people especially during difficult times.

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The Coloring Lives exhibit brought together the works of 26 artists from four of the Sunshine Place’s online art classes. These included the acrylic and oil painting classes of Arts Association of the Philippines president Fidel Sarmiento; the porcelain painting class of Mee Lee Casey, a Malaysian expat wife who has been teaching Porcelain Painting in UK, Hong Kong and Australia for more than 20 years; and diamond painting with Gobi Buencamino.

Art classes are said to be beneficial for the development of cognitive functions such as imagination, creativity, motor, and analyzing skills. More than that, art heals by lessening depression, anxiety and boredom, especially for the homebound. And the exhibit certainly colored the lives of members who participated in its online classes.

The Sunshine Place offers art classes to seniors, as well as adults, teens and kids. At the core of the workshops, are mentoring sessions in hands-on techniques, application of different brushes & basic strokes, and color rendering. Participants get to explore different styles in creating landscape, seascape, still life and portrait paintings.

A senior recreation center under the Felicidad Tan Sy Foundation, the Sunshine Place is a venue for adults to live actively, through engaging in recreational classes and age-appropriate physical training programs. It is the venue to be entertained, to socialize and to reflect; a place of happiness and wellness for one’s mind, body and soul.

Meliza Gonzales, and her artwork, Closed Door, acrylic on canvas, framed, (16 x 20).

Lita Gelano’s Hanging Out, acrylic on canvas, framed (24 x 24).

Florangel Rosario Braid and her White Orchids, acrylic on canvas, framed, (16 x 20).

Conchitina Bernardo’s Blessings #3, acrylic with gold and silver leaf, (24 x 32)

Pearlized Duck by, Atty. Vicky Pollisco ceramic figurine porcelain, (4.5 h x 5.5 b).

Amanda Atayde’s Mystic Horse, diamond artwork, unframed (12 x 16).

Contact mobile number (0917) 515-5656 to enroll in Sunshine Place's art classes. For more inquiries and information, visit their website at https://www.sunshineplaceph.com/coloring-lives-online-exhibit, like and subscribe to the Facebook Page and YouTube channel of Sunshine Place: Senior Recreation Center, or follow the Instagram account @sunshineplaceph.

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FINTECH

CES 2021: Kingston Previews New NVMe SSD Lineup and Launches Kingston Workflow Station along with Readers

Kingston Technology, a world leader of memory products and technology solutions, today announced the launch of its upcoming NVMe SSD roadmap along with Kingston’s Workflow Station and Readers at the all-digital CES® 2021. Despite of adopting a new format this year, Kingston will bring its industry leading SSDs to the forefront for attendees to experience the best-inclass technology virtually.

Kingston’s Workflow Station and Readers give users the freedom to create and customize a file offload setup that fits their needs allowing them to transfer video, photos, and audio from multiple sources at once1. Whether on a 4K/8K multi-cam shoot with portable audio recorders or filming B-Roll with drones and GoPros, with the customizable Workflow Station Dock you can simultaneously connect the USB miniHub, SD or microSD readers that the shoot requires to transfer footage quickly.

Workflow Readers can also be used standalone by connecting to a laptop via the included USB-C® cable giving users the flexibility to have their workflow on-the-go. Whether shooting on location or working back at your desk, Kingston Is With You. “It’s not just the flexibility of the Workflow Station and its Readers that is sure to aid content creators, but also the speed,” said Kingston. “Workflow Station products support incredible USB 3.2 speeds, which together with Kingston’s high-performance memory cards and USB flash drives get users through the post-production process faster than ever.”

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Kingston is poised to continue its SSD market leadership position with both new client and data center U.2 NVMe drives this year. The new offerings include its first PCIe NVMe Gen 4.0 SSDs as well as an external USB 3.2 SSD:

• Ghost Tree: Our upcoming High-Performance Gen 4.0 drive is perfect for the content creator and power user. Codenamed “Ghost Tree,” Kingston is targeting speeds of 7000MB/s read and write, stretching PCIe Gen 4.0 x4 8-channel to the limit with capacities ranging from 1TB-4TB. • NV Series: The latest Gen 3.0 x4 SSD is the ideal entry-level drive for first-time NVMe users with capacities up to 2TB. • XS2000: Kingston’s all-new USB 3.2 Gen 2 x2 external drive with 500GB - 2TB capacities is perfect as additional storage for photos, videos and other files. The USB Type-C®1 interface allows for super-fast data transfers up to 2,000MB/s.

• DC1500M: The Data Center 1500M is an update to the DC1000M adding support for multi-namespaces. The U.2 NVMe SSD is designed to support a wide range of data-intensive workloads including cloud computing, web hosting and virtual infrastructures.

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ACTIVE LIFESTYLE

Hasbro partners with World Taekwondo Federation for tutorial series Global play and entertainment company Hasbro announced a multi-territory partnership that will see its popular animated super hero property, PJ Masks, join forces with the World Taekwondo Federation for an exciting collaborative campaign designed to engage children around the world in taekwondo. Get Active with the PJ Masks will span multiple markets and feature 12 World Taekwondo top athletes, including the Philippines’ two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medallist and Asian Games bronze medallist, Pauline Lopez.

The campaign aims to combine the global appeal of the popular animated series with the fun and accessibility of taekwondo to encourage children to take part in the sport. A unique digital tutorial series and an interactive website have been created to help young fans of World Taekwondo and PJ Masks get active, have fun and master their own taekwondo-inspired superpowers.

“There couldn’t be a better time to get kids active and excited about sport and movement,” said eOne’s Rebecca Harvey, EVP global marketing, family & brands. “Action, heroism and integrity are central to the PJ Masks brand and these values are perfectly aligned with the World Taekwondo Federation’s mission to teach taekwondo to kids around the world and channel their youthful energy into skills that will build strength and resilience.”

Taekwondo heroes from 12 countries have been selected as ‘Get Active’ hero ambassadors to create 12 Let’s Get Active taekwondo movements that will encourage children to try and recreate them at home. They are Bianca Walkden (Great Britain), Dae-hoon Lee (Korea), Hatice Kubra Ilgun (Turkey), Jingyu Wu (China), Joel Gonzalez (Spain), Magda Wiet Henin (France), Maria Espinoza (Mexico), Milena Titoneli (Brazil), Panipak Wongpattanakit (Thailand), Pauline

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Lopez (Philippines), Tahir Guelec (Germany) and Vito Dell’Aquilla (Italy).

One by one, the Get Active ambassadors will share their created movements on World Taekwondo ‘s social media accounts — IG: worldtaekwondo.pr | FB: WorldTaekwondo1 | Twitter: worldtaekwondo1 | YouTube: worldtaekwondo — as well as their own.

The partnership aims to amplify the reach of both brands and increase participation of the sport in the 3-8 year old age group through a rewardfocused syllabus that teaches coordination and discipline skills.

World Taekwondo president Dr. Chungwon Choue commented, “We are delighted to partner with Hasbro to bring together our shared values and the skills of our world and Olympic stars. World Taekwondo is committed to connecting with young people around the world and getting them to practice taekwondo and live healthy lifestyles. Partnering with the most loved and internationally-recognised children’s shows in the world is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate how fun and rewarding taekwondo can be. I want to thank each of these World Taekwondo Heroes for bringing smiles to the faces of children and families everywhere”.

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EDUCATION

T.I.P. students place 3rd at cybersecurity hackathon with sex trafficking prevention app

A group of Information Systems (IS) students from the Technological Institute of the Philippines (T.I.P.) Quezon City and their iSAFER sex trafficking prevention app took home bronze in the Cybersecurity Conference 2020 Hackathon organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Information Systems Security Association Philippine Chapter (ISSA Ph).

Moreover, it has a quick-access siren button that creates a loud noise to alert people nearby. The button would also trigger an automatic video call to the law enforcement agency, with the video saved to a secure database for investigation efforts. These helpful features of the iSAFER app also won the team the Best User Interface Award in the hackathon.

Shaina Dizon, Mauee Samaniego, and Zachary Jatayna discussed how they used various web scraping and data mining tools—including Beautiful Soup, Google BigQuery, Data Studio, and Voyant—for their research projects for UNFPA and ISSA Ph. They received laptop units from the two organizations to help in their research endeavors.

Created by T.I.P. IS students Aldrin Asama, Elisah Redonga, and Justine Triambulo under the guidance of T.I.P. IS faculty member Dr. Risty Acerado, iSAFER is a mobile application created to address the growing cases of online sex trafficking affecting women and young people in the country. It expedites the reporting to and calling of law enforcement authorities in times of harassment and emergencies.

This strong third-place showing from the T.I.P. IS students marks another notch in the school’s hackathon-winning ways. T.I.P. computing students also placed third in the 2018 Philippine Programming Challenge Finals which took place last March 2019.

The Technological Institute of the Philippines is one of the country’s premier technological, engineering, and computing higher educational institutions. Established in 1962, T.I.P. currently has over 25,000 undergraduate students under its wing spread out over campuses in Quiapo (Manila) and Cubao (Quezon City). Using an outcomes-based educational model with its locally and globally accredited programs, T.I.P. ensures that its students acquire industry-desired qualities and essential experiences that better equip them to be effective as soon as they enter the workforce

In addition to placing third overall, the T.I.P. team also won the tourney’s Best Pitch Award. iSAFER is designed to help its user in emergency situations where calling authorities might be difficult. The application has a button that alerts law enforcement authorities in times of emergency while also providing them the user’s GPS location. It also simultaneously publishes a “panic post” and “panic tweet” on the user’s social media profiles to alert even more people.

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T.I.P. Information Systems Program Chair Dr. Roselia Morco noted, “Hackathons are significant in enhancing the analytical skills and problemsolving skills of our students. We joined this hackathon to challenge our IS students and let them realize that joining such competitions provides greater opportunities, including exposing them to new ideas and collaborations with industry practitioners and other professionals.”

In addition to the winning T.I.P. team, five other T.I.P. IS students presented at the conference.

Jane Sulit, Ramon Christus Tomaquin, Erika

For more details regarding the T.I.P. Information Systems program, please go to tip.edu.ph. You can also reach T.I.P. through the following numbers: (+632) 8911-0964 and (+63) 917-8590279 for T.I.P. Quezon City; and (+632) 8733-9117 for T.I.P. Manila.

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TRAVEL

RedDoorz HygienePass This new clean promise is every Filipino’s travel must-have

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his year, not being able to travel for summer and holidays because you are concerned for the safety and cleanliness of the place you will be staying is COVID19’s wreaked havoc on everyone’s lives and schedules. That is why Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing hotel management chain, RedDoorz, has made sure of a new clean promise for every Filipino with HygienePass certified hotels.

Launched last July 2020, RedDoorz has now acquired more than a hundred budget hotels across the Philippines that have the HygienePass certification.

These establishments are keeping a close monitoring of the health of all their hotel staff and guests, actively maintaining physical sanitation of the hotels’ premises, and are now accepting bookings from local travelers.

What does this mean in a nutshell?

It means that RedDoorz has a digital system in place where rigorous hygiene and sanitation protocols are being implemented to keep every FIlipino worry-free and risk-free during the whole duration of their leisure travels.

Dr. Renzo Guinto, MD., DrPh, HygienePass Consultant, and one of the prominent public health physicians in the country, has supported RedDoorz not only through the certification process but also in pushing HygienePass as a travel must-have in the Philippines.

“It’s very interesting to see how RedDoorz, a brand known in the affordable hotels category, is becoming the largest new-age hospitality company today. With the efforts they have put through with this program for the past six months and how we’ve been keeping an eye on the Filipinos’ conscious health and safety requirements, HygienePass is the real deal as it brings out the new clean promise of the new normal era… I can assure you that we’ve seen how it shifted to being one of the top travel must-haves!” Dr. Guinto said.

Since local tourism has been opened in selected areas like Batangas, Baguio, and Palawan, RedDoorz also provides enjoyable stays in these areas because of the

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new clean promise that is assured by the HygienePass certification.

Other hotels in key cities and destinations that have been HygienePass certified are in Metro Manila, Laguna, Cebu, Davao, Gensan, and Pampanga. All these hotels that have passed the certification will have the HygienePass logo sealed in their profiles which can be easily seen in the RedDoorz application.

Now that the government is now pushing for the revival of tourism in the country, by reopening selected areas, more and more travelers are looking for safe spaces amid the COVID-19. Miguel Capistrano III, country manager for RedDoorz Philippines, commented: “Being

one of the budget hotel brands that have the most locations around the country, providing a safe haven for local travelers where they can leave their worries outside the hotel is our top priority. Through HygienePass, we can help in revitalizing the hotel and travel industry as we move forward together.”

So rest easy on your next travels in the country because RedDoorz has got you safely covered with HygienePass certified hotels! Hurry and book now with the promo code NEWCLEAN to get 20% off!

You may find the HygienePass certified hotels on the RedDoorz app. Get it on Google Play and Apple Store.

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FEATURE

tHe Future oF Work: 3 BeSt CAreerS to purSue Words by Artur Meyster

The workforce is always in a state of disruption. How does one prepare for the future of work? No matter the year or century, there is always a new innovation that will guide the direction of work. Every so often, one of those disruptive factors has the potential to upset every industry of work. This is the case we are currently facing due to technology, which stands to change the way work is performed in unprecedented ways.

Getting ahead of this disruption and identifying careers that are worth entering now is one of the best ways to stay relevant and skilled in the future of work. The world is already in a state of disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and getting over this hurdle just to be shoved out due to a second disruption would be pointless. Therefore, you should take the time now to update your skills and pursue a career similar to one outlined below.

Front end development

dAtA SCIenCe

Front end development is an impressive field that is still relatively up-and-coming. Front end developers are responsible for building the parts of a website that a user interacts with. This includes, but is not limited to: landing pages, website clickable buttons, layout and more. Front end developers rely on coding and programming skills to turn website ideas into reality.

Interestingly enough, data science is a field that used to require a master’s degree, yet anyone can now enter the specialty field thanks to popular online degree programs.

Data scientists take large amounts of data and analyze it to pull meaningful information that upper-level managers can use to make key business decisions.

This field is one to watch, as it encompasses a large number of skills that will be incredibly useful in the future of work, the most notable of which is coding. The importance of this skill and the field, in general, can be seen by the fact that the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the field of Web development will grow by 8 percent over the next decade.

In a world that is gradually becoming ruled by data, data scientists hold the keys to the kingdom. Looking closer at this field, one can

If finding a career that uses skills relevant to the future of work is your goal, then front end development is one of the best possible paths.

What makes this an even better option for anyone looking to enter a new field is the low barrier to entry. While the skills needed to enter the field may seem difficult on the surface, there are a number of online coding bootcamps that can teach these skills to anyone in a matter of months.

If you are worried about finding a job in technology and don’t have many tech skills, don’t worry. There are still paths you can pursue within the industry that actually don’t require extensive tech experience. Digital marketing is one example, provided you have experience with traditional marketing strategies.

see that analytical skills and data wrangling abilities are two of the most important traits needed for success.

This career is a great choice for anyone who likes dealing with and making sense of numbers. With this in mind, you will need to take a year or two in order to develop the skills to enter this field. Although a master’s degree is no longer required, some of the topics can be complex and time-consuming to learn.

dIgItAl mArketIng

The only difference between digital marketing and in-person marketing is that you will need

a basic understanding of how humans interact with technology to become a successful digital marketer. Marketing and digital marketing both have the same goal: to sell a product. Marketing is just an example of one of the fields that are merging with technology, and being able to identify these fields now can give you an edge up on your competition in the long run.

ConCluSIon In the end, there is no way to definitively say what the future of work will look like. However, by paying attention to which careers are taking off today due to their reliance on technology, we can gain a sense of which jobs will still be around later on. Additionally, by looking at the above careers and other similar positions, we can see which skills will be essential in entering those fields. Getting ahead of workforce disruption is as simple as having the foresight to notice that a disruption is coming, and to anticipate how it will change your work. Don’t let yourself get caught off guard by a work disruption if you can overcome it today.

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Crowdsource by Google Help build better products for everyone with machine learning

With AI powering some of the most magical experiences in one’s favorite apps and products, it is important to ensure that AI systems are able to recognize and understand a diverse set of language and culture.

Google launched Crowdsource to empower people everywhere to help train Google’s own machine learning models directly. In addition to that, open sourced data via Crowdsource enables the developer and research community at large to advance the state of the art of technology, with diversity in mind.This free platform, which is available for app download in both Google Play and Android as well as through the web browser, aims to bring diversity and inclusiveness across Google’s AI systems.

Using gamified activities, Crowdsource

by Google allows users to answer simple, fun questions that will generate diverse and more inclusive training data for ML models. The answers from millions of users around the world will help to make their favorite Google products such as Maps, Photos, Translate, and Assistant even more delightful as they become inclusive of one’s language, region, and culture.

Early next year, Crowdsource will host a free online workshop, called Explore ML with Crowdsource, for anyone who is interested to learn about machine learning.

Anyone above 18 years of age, with or without a tech background, is welcome to learn about the basics of Machine Learning and understand how it powers some of their favorite Google products and services.

Crowdsource influencers who have been trained by engineers and domain experts at Google will be conducting this free online workshop. They will be helping build the participants’ foundation on Machine Learning and Neural Networks, complemented with hands-on activities for a practical application of the learnings to have a better grasp of the module.

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Machine learning for everyone Through Crowdsource, anybody can be a Contributor and be part of the community based on one’s interests and background.

Language enthusiasts can work on translation activities, those interested in photography can tackle Smart Camera or Image Capture, while users who love looking at different pictures from around the globe can take on Image Label Verification. There is also Handwriting Recognition where users transcribe handwriting samples and help create training data for the models that power handwriting recognition for products like Gboard.

Community members can also answer the Image Captions activity where they can improve technology behind accessibility features like Image Description in Chrome browser. Sentiment evaluation is also available to help AI systems better understand YouTube and Google Play Store

reviews. All contributions and answers are used in Machine Learning-based products to make them work well for the diversity of the global population.

Interested volunteers can easily become a Crowdsource contributor by simply downloading the app or signing up through the website.

Those with a strong passion for community building can choose to level it up and become a Crowdsource influencer to gain access to exclusive Google-led learning sessions and events where they can hone their soft skills and sharpen their technical knowledge on the basics of ML and AI. To sign up for the Explore ML with Crowdsource workshop, visit http://bit.ly/CSEMLPH. The online registration will be open to interested participants until February 28, 2021. Join the Crowdsource community and help make AI work for everyone, everywhere.

Download the Crowdsource by Google app on the Google Play Store or visit the website https://crowdsource.google.com.

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ENTERPRISE

Four startups win inaugural Microsoft Emerge X competition Four startups from the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Singapore are winners at Microsoft’s inaugural Emerge X Regional Pitching Competition in Asia Pacific: • Lifetrack Medical Systems from the Philippines and Singapore: A cloud-based platform that provides affordable access to medical imaging in emerging markets • Abivin from Vietnam: An AI-powered platform that optimizes supply chains across multiple sectors by solving the vehicle routing problem • Agrithmics from Sri Lanka: A cloud-based solution that enriches the agri-industry by digitizing the farm to factory supply chain and connecting farmers and buyers • Milky Way AI, from Singapore: An AI-powered smart retail solution leveraging image recognition technology to help retailers manage shelf inventory and maximize sales

“For Asia Pacific to remain at the forefront of global transformation, it takes disruptors, visionaries, and futurists. There are no limits to what people can achieve when the world and technology reflect the diversity of everyone who uses it. At Microsoft, we build technology so that others can create technology, and to be successful we all need to come together,” said Andrea Della Mattea, president, Microsoft Asia Pacific. “Through the Highway to a 100 Unicorns initiative and our Emerge X program, we aim to help startups on the road to innovation, where they can meet unarticulated needs of the industry and help businesses become resilient.”

Microsoft Philippines hosted the Emerge X Regional Pitching Competition during the 2020 Philippine Startup Week (PHSW20) from November 23 – 27, 2020, the biggest startup conference in the country which hosted more than 10,500 registrants from across the Asia-Pacific region.

“We’re very pleased and very excited to have brought the Emerge X initiative to the Philippines, giving access to Microsoft’s greater efforts towards empowering startups and digital natives to Filipino entrepreneurs and innovators,” said Microsoft Philippines COO Abid Zaidi.

In the Philippines, a total of thirteen startups emerged as finalists, with Lifetrack Medical Systems, which also represents Singapore, being chosen as one of the winners for its cloud-based platform that provides affordable access to medical imaging in emerging markets. Lifetrack Medical Systems started in 2011 to rethink how radiology software could be distributed and made available, especially 78

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Team Life Track Medical Systems

in the challenging conditions of emerging markets.

Via its LifeSys platform, over 1.7 million patients in 12 different countries have been diagnosed.

“Microsoft’s Emerge X competition has given Lifetrack a platform to share the work we have been doing to improve affordable access to medical imaging with our partners and stakeholders around the world. We are excited to join the Highway to a 100 Unicorns initiative and looking forward to partnering with Microsoft to drive innovation forward in the region for the benefit of all,” said Dr. Eric Schulze, CEO and founder, Lifetrack Medical Systems.

“The potential and collective opportunity within the local startup ecosystem here in the Philippines is enormous and in our reality today, economic recovery for the country will need all businesses and organization to work together—including startups.

We’re committed and invested in this now and for the future and we’re excited to join hands with the many startups and innovators of the Philippines,” said Microsoft Philippines’ Zaidi.

Growing the startup ecosystem in emerging markets across APAC The Emerge X Program is part of Microsoft’s Highway to a 100 Unicorns initiative, which was launched in the Asia Pacific in October 2020 after the overwhelming success in India. Microsoft engaged with more than 70 prominent startup ecosystem players and governments across 16 countries, who then nominated more than 300 of their most promising for the program.

The 16 countries engaged in the program are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Seventy-nine startups were selected to join the Microsoft Emerge X program, including Aiah, ChatGenie, Edukasyon Expedock, Frontlearners Inc., Investagrams, Lifetrack Medical Systems, Omnirio, Packetworx, Rumarocket, Tangere, and Qwikwire from the Philippines. As an Emerge X startup, they will participate in a year-long mentorship program with Microsoft for Startups which is designed to help them scale and accelerate their growth. They will also receive GitHub and Azure credits, have the opportunity to attend a Founder Bootcamp for 3 days, gain access to enterprise clients globally through Microsoft’s unique co-sell program, and interact with Microsoft experts and industry stalwarts.

Of these, 21 of the Emerge X startups pitched their ideas at the Emerge X Regional Pitching Competition, held at the Philippine Startup Week 2020, with Abivin, Lifetrack Medical Systems, Agrithmics and Milky Way AI identified as the top startups in the whole region. They were selected by a jury of leading investors and startup ecosystem leaders, including investors from BOV Capital, Cradle, Monk’s Hill Ventures, Movac, M12, SBK Tech Ventures, Sequoia, Vista Consulting Group, and 54i Ventures, and ecosystem leaders from GitHub and Target Accelerator. www.gadgetsmagazine.com.ph

DIGITAL INTELLIGENCE INDEX Measuring Digital Evolution and Digital Trust around the world

The Fletcher School at Tufts University, in partnership with Mastercard, recently unveiled the Digital Intelligence Index, which charts the progress economies have made in advancing their digitalization, fostering trust, and integrating connectivity into the lives of billions.

Building upon earlier editions in 2014 and 2017, the 2020 index paints a picture of global digital development, sheds insight on key factors driving change and momentum, and unpacks what this means for economies facing the challenges of a global pandemic and postpandemic future.

Notably across Asia Pacific, Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, South Korea, and Chinese Taipei are amongst the most digitally dynamic economies. South Korea and Chinese Taipei have significantly outperformed the OECD growth rate in Q2 2020 amidst the global lockdown. These economies feature high levels of available talent, active R&D collaboration between industry and academia, and a strong record of creating and bringing digital products into the mainstream.

Bhaskar Chakravorti, Dean of Global Business at Fletcher, said, “The pandemic may be the purest test of the world’s progress towards digitalization. We have a clearer view on how dynamic digital economies can contribute to economic resiliency during a time of unparalleled global turmoil and can be positioned for recovery and change.”

Other key findings include: • With nearly two-thirds of the world’s population online today, we are entering an ‘after access’ phase, where access alone is not enough. Aspects such as the quality of access, effective use of digital technologies, accountable institutions, robust data governance policies, and fostering trust are greater factors in determining digital competitiveness and sustainability.

• Young people in emerging economies are demonstrating high levels of digital engagement, a bright spot for governments attempting to expand digitalization in their economies.

Ajay Bhalla, president, Cyber & Intelligence, Mastercard said, “Never before has there been such an acute need to understand the factors that drive digitalization and digital trust. With that knowledge, businesses and governments can work together to help all 7.6 billion people around the world benefit from the vast

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opportunities a digitally advanced economy can bring. Whilst much remains uncertain today, it is clear that digital success will be a key building block in our collective recovery.”

A global outlook on digital evolution and trust The latest index looks at two components: Digital Evolution and Digital Trust. Digital Evolution captures an economy’s historical momentum from the physical past to the digital present. Digital Trust is the bridge that connects its journey from the digital present to an intelligent and inclusive digital future.

Mapping 95% of the world’s online population and drawing on 12 years of data, the Digital Evolution scorecard measures 160 indicators in 90 economies across four key pillars: institutional environment, demand conditions, supply conditions, and the capacity for innovation and change. These segment into four categories: • Stand Out economies in Asia Pacific are Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Malaysia. They’re in this category alongside the United States, Germany, Israel, and others because they’re both highly digitally advanced and exhibit high momentum. They are leaders in driving innovation, building on their existing advantages in efficient and effective ways.

• Stall Out economies in Asia Pacific are Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. These are noted as mature digital economies with a high state of digital adoption despite slowing digital momentum. They tend to trade off speed for sustainability and are typically invested in expanding digital inclusion and building robust institutions.

• Break Out economies in Asia Pacific include mainland China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. These are evolving rapidly with momentum and significant headroom for growth that is highly attractive to investors.

• Watch Out economies — such as the Philippines — have a number of infrastructure gaps. Despite this, young people are showing enthusiasm for a digital future with increased use of social media and mobile payments.

The Digital Trust scorecard measures 198 indicators in 42 of the index’s economies across four key pillars: behavior, attitudes, environment, and experience.

• Economies such as Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, Chinese Taipei, and South Korea provide citizens with a nearseamless experience, delivering the holy grail of advanced infrastructure, broad access, and unparalleled interaction.

This experience is also matched by high levels of engagement, offering these economies a clear advantage in a ‘beyond access’ future.

• Economies such as mainland China, Indonesia, and Vietnam have increasingly favorable attitudes about their digital future, buoyed by rapidly expanding digital adoption and opportunity.

• Overall, digitally advanced economies with higher levels of socio-economic equity expressed more positive attitudes towards digital technologies, while fastmoving Break Outs are more optimistic than their Watch Out peers.

“COVID-19 has advanced digitalization across Asia Pacific by at least five years in as many months, only serving to further accelerate the development of the digital ecosystems across the region. With rising levels of consumer trust and engagement and growing digitization in the small business segment, all deeply supported by proactive enabling actions from governments, the opportunities ahead for the region’s digital economy are immense.

With Asia Pacific poised to recover quickly from the pandemic, the strong performance in the two components of Digital Evolution and Trust will only serve to further support Asia’s leadership in digital.” Matthew Driver, executive vice president, services, Asia Pacific, Mastercard.

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Cisco launches UGNAYAN 2030 Country Digital Acceleration Program Cisco, a worldwide leader in technology, launched UGNAYAN 2030 last December 18, 2020, as part of its Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program. This collaboration framework with government leaders, industry, and academia aims at building greater digital resilience by unlocking the value of digitization in the Philippines.

Strategically aligned with the national digital agenda of the Philippines, UGNAYAN 2030 is envisioned to launch several key digitization initiatives to grow the country’s GDP, create jobs, and promote innovation, and develop next-generation skills across the private and public sectors.

Cisco’s CDA team collaborates with national and state governments worldwide to accelerate their national digitization agendas and deliver beneficial services to their citizens faster and more effectively.

With UGNAYAN 2030, Cisco aims to create a platform on which existing, ongoing, and upcoming ICT-related plans can be enacted, whether it be access to Cisco technology, knowledge-sharing, or stakeholder engagement.

“There is a lot of talk about digital transformation this year, but there are many missing pieces before we even begin to consider ourselves digitally transformed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital resilience not just for companies, but for the overall economy, and the need to focus on it urgently. This pandemic will not be the last challenge that will turn the world upside down, and we see every day what happens when we are not ready,” said Karrie Ilagan, managing director of Cisco Philippines.

“Institutions from the public and private sectors have written up several plans and created roadmaps for the country’s digital journey, but there is an urgent need to now implement these plans due to COVID-19.

Organizations know what to do, but the real challenge is being able to do it. At Cisco, we are committed to working with all stakeholders to play a role in building digital resilience across the country,” said Ilagan.

Cisco aims to bridge three factors that impede implementation: uneven access to ICT resources, weak cross-organizational structure and ICT adoption, and limited

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expertise and manpower. Through UGNAYAN 2030, Cisco intends to invest its technologies, infrastructure, tools, knowledge, and expertise to empower crucial stakeholders to enact their digital transformation plans.

There are three key pillars and flagship projects that Cisco intends to focus on as part of UGNAYAN 2030: (1) Connectivity in building a high-speed and reliable information highway; (2) Collaboration in building an integrated and inclusive ecosystem; and (3) Cybersecurity.

Together, these pillars build the foundation of digital resilience in the Philippines.

Naveen Menon, president of Cisco ASEAN, said: “At Cisco, we are committed to building an inclusive future where no one is left behind.

Cisco’s CDA Program plays a key role in that by developing strategic partnerships with governments across the world. Now officially active in 37 countries, encompassing two-thirds of the world’s population, 75% of global GDP, and with over 900 projects completed, CDA initiatives align with a nation’s priorities and bring digital solutions to unique societal challenges. We are looking forward to the positive impact that initiatives under UGNAYAN 2030 will deliver to the people of the Philippines and its economy.”

Key projects envisioned under UGNAYAN 2030 are:

Connectivity • Cisco-PLDT Joint Private 5G Trial: An end-to-end incubation platform where enterprise and vertical industries can develop a wave of relevant use cases on 5G

Collaboration • Cisco-ACCESS Health Research: An indepth study to examine the status of digital technology integration in primary care • Cisco collaboration with the Department of Health: Provision of virtual meeting and communication solutions that can enable healthcare practitioners to deliver services remotely • Konektado: A disaster response suite of communication solutions that is easy to use for non-technical users • Digital Learning: Working in collaboration with PLDT, provision of connectivity to

schools via a mobile bus that allows students to connect to the internet and access online modules specifically in the Department of Education portal • Baguio Smart City: A full build-out of a new, state-of-the-art Command Center, which can serve as the city’s eyes and ears to ensure that its citizens and visitors have a safe and enjoyable stay

Cybersecurity • Cybersecurity Management Framework: An assessment of the COVID-19 Interagency Task Force to measure, manage, and reduce cybersecurity risks “We’ve never been as busy as we have been than this year, but the speed of innovation not just by Cisco but also our ecosystem partners is something we’ve never seen before. I am looking forward to building on that momentum so we can collectively make a lasting impact on the Philippines economy,” added Ilagan.

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EDUCATION

empowers youth to build web solutions for disaster resiliency Announces a twelve-week SkillsBuild Innovation Camp in partnership with Asia Pacific College

IBM has partnered with the Asia Pacific College (APC) to host the SkillsBuild Innovation Camp that aims to accelerate a students’ journey to becoming front-end web developers and address the current skills gap in the Philippines.

154 APC students of Multimedia Arts, Game Development, Information Technology, and Computer Science will learn from experienced professionals about coding, front-end web development, and design thinking. The SkillsBuild Innovation Camp for Web Developers will culminate on March 10, 2021, with a competition where the participants will present to facilitators, stakeholders, and potential employers or investors their innovative humancentered web solutions for disaster resiliency As we accelerate towards a more digitally enabled work environment, the need for new digital skills is set to increase. According to the latest World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report findings based on workforce trends in 20 economies, over 42% of all jobs will change significantly by 2022 and require new technical and soft skills.

To close this gap, IBM launched SkillsBuild in 2019 as part of its Corporate Social

Responsibility initiatives for education and skills, to help job seekers upskill, reskill and reach their professional goals. IBM and its global ecosystem of learning partners ensure SkillsBuild is able to deliver the best possible experience for its users by providing them with purposefully curated relevant technology and professional content, skills badges, coaching, and project-based learning.

The SkillsBuild Innovation Camp for Web Developers’ curriculum is built from IBM’s SkillsBuild online learning platform and is supported by partners. The Department of Science and Technology – Science and Technology Information Institute (DOST-STII) and ARISE Philippines, a private sector alliance for disaster-resilient societies, will be providing the disaster risk reduction and resiliency content while CodeDoor, a non-profit organization will enable the students to learn how to code and reach professional levels as developers and digital training content.

During the 12-weeks, students will be exposed to front-end web development and programming skills including HTML, GIT, Javascript, CSS-Preprocessors, and CSS, as well as gain globally recognized IBM SkillsBuild badges which can be used later for employment. As a badge earner, a student will be able to demonstrate a foundational understanding of front-end web development concepts, principles, and practices, and a deep understanding of how to use programming languages and frameworks to create web applications. They can also use these skills to pursue and advance their career as a web developer when they graduate.

The program also provides personalized coaching and experiential learning. Students will be participating in weekly touchpoints together with a small team and a coach.

They will also have

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the opportunity to meet web development experts from around the world and grow their professional network.

“IBM is committed to helping prepare the Philippines’ future workforce for business and social progress that is being driven by technologies such as Cloud and AI. The SkillsBuild Innovation Camp is one way to hone the interest of students on technology and how it can change their lives and careers,” said Aileen Judan-Jiao, president and country general manager for IBM Philippines.

“The camp’s disaster resilience theme is also very significant and timely given the recent natural disasters that have caused the Philippines the loss of lives, infrastructure, and natural resources.

What makes me really hopeful is that young minds will take on the challenge, through this camp, to become socially responsible citizens who make a difference by developing innovative, sustainable, and impactful solutions,” Judan-Jiao added.

Teresita Medado, president of Asia Pacific College said, “IBM SkillsBuild is a strategic opportunity to bridge the academic life of APC students with the ever-evolving digital economy. An entirely unique and dynamic industry-academic ecosystem, IBM SkillsBuild at Asia Pacific College makes possible real-world experiences such as meeting mentors/experts across the globe, acquiring global industry certifications, working in multidisciplinary teams, while developing solutions to real-world problems. Most of all, the impact of IBM SkillsBuild is beyond learning skills. When integrated with General Education courses, it is a powerful learning experience towards developing successful behaviors for career success and responsible citizenship in the digital world.”

IBM has been making investments and partnering with governments, educational institutions, and businesses around the world to equip the global workforce for emerging “New Collar Jobs”, or jobs that don’t necessarily require traditional 4-year degrees but do require a good amount of skills.

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CYBER SECURITY

Cybersecurity Predictions 2021 Trends influencing the digital future

Palo Alto Networks, global cybersecurity leader, announces four major cybersecurity trends which businesses should take into consideration to sustain their momentum to digitally transform this coming 2021.

Cybersecurity has been the top prerogative for boardroom leaders as companies across industries were forced to digitally transform in 2020.

With multiple cyberattack reports uncovered throughout the year, it is no doubt that these attacks, due to the impact of accelerated progression to digitalization, will continue to advance and leave many companies vulnerable. It is pivotal for businesses to identify the countermeasures they must take to navigate the new normal in the longer term.

Prediction 1 Miss travel? Get prepared to share more personal data Travel bubbles and green lanes will amplify the data privacy debate

Despite the data privacy conversation circulating for several years – with wariness around the use of data by some big tech companies and general data protection regulation compliance continuing to be a challenge for companies – it is contact tracing that has really made individuals sit up and take notice of data privacy.

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Rigorous contact tracing and timely access to accurate and complete data has proven to be a key factor in helping to “flatten the curve” in many East Asian countries that were quick to turn to such digital tools. Aside from public sector initiatives led by health authorities, private sector initiatives are also being rolled out to support such efforts, with the most notable being the Apple–Google Exposure Notification system, which some countries have even started to utilise.

accompanied by transparent communication about how such data will be handled and stored.

More countries are establishing travel bubbles and reciprocal green lanes in a bid to revive the travel and hospitality sector. In order for such arrangements to be efficient and safe for all travelers, however, personal data will need to be shared across borders with the right security controls and

With this critical need to move data between government agencies and enterprises such as airlines, airports, and hotels, the debate around how data is stored, accessed, and used will only increase in 2021, particularly as individuals are now far more conscious of their personal data being shared.

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Prediction 2

The wait for 5G is over … for those who are ready

The private sector takes over from the public as the latter leads the fight against COVID-19

While 5G networks may have been introduced in a few markets already, the availability of the iPhone 12 will see the mass adoption of 5G-enabled devices for the first time. This will undoubtedly encourage the acceleration of 5G network rollouts as telcos seek to deploy new services for consumers and governments tap digital opportunities for economic recovery in 2021. However, it will still be a while before we experience the reduced latency and exponential growth in speed that has been promised.

This is something that more enterprises will have to pay attention to in 2021. The sheer number of nodes that need to be installed makes the deployment of such networks that much more challenging, dramatically increasing the potential surface area for cyberattacks. Private sector infrastructure owners cannot

Prediction 3

afford to deploy the same approaches to designing and rolling out 5G networks, less they fall victim to the same types of attacks as they did in 3G and 4G.

Working from home gets smarter and safer

Security will get pushed to the edge and simplified

If 2020 has taught enterprises anything, it’s that remote working on a company-wide scale is possible. With people at the centre of everything, 2021 now offers an opportunity for businesses to chart a new way forward and ask how they can deliver work to their people.

With the increased adoption of cloud tools, we could see a reduction in the need for pricier devices with more computing power as virtualized desktops become an increasingly popular solution.

Businesses could instead provide employees with simpler, connected devices that enable employees to access the programmes and resources they need online, delivering the work to them directly – and in turn, protecting the company’s crown jewels.

This radical redesign of the way employees connect does away with the cybersecurity complications associated

Prediction 4

with BYOD – or, as it has become the norm, bring your own computer (BYOC) policies – while enforcing the segmentation of networks more efficiently and effectively.

Security will then need to be delivered via the edge, which will see solutions such as secure access service edge (SASE) being the new cybersecurity norm, thanks to its flexibility, simplicity, and the visibility it offers.

The year of getting the house back in order

Blue-sky thinking will go out the window as IT teams go back to basics

While network security controls remain an important component of cloud security, an additional layer of identity and access management (IAM) governance is now needed as organizations continue to scale their cloud presence.

This year, Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 researchers observed that a single IAM misconfiguration could allow attackers to compromise an entire, massively scaled cloud environment and bypass just about every security control.

With the pandemic steering IT teams away from blue-sky thinking towards more nuts and bolts issues, 2021 will see more businesses shifting their IT focus inward to look at getting the fundamentals right and refocusing on things that are truly important, even finding ways to do the same thing for less.

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Doing so will likely see existing cybersecurity teams and roles being redesigned to align with an overall emphasis on getting the house in order and building a more resilient cloud environment.

Security now needs to work at the speed of the cloud, and any organization that is slow to recognize this in 2021 will only see vulnerabilities multiply exponentially.

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forecast

Cybersecurity trends to watch out for in Southeast Asia in 2021 The rhythm of life among Southeast Asians was shaken by the sudden, sweeping changes last year. Despite the gloomy outlook, policies across SEA successfully compelled both the public and business sectors to shift gears quickly, step up their use of technology and go online for literally everything. Security experts from Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) give us the lowdown on how cybercriminals took advantage of 2020’s disruptive event and what the cybersecurity threat landscape in the region will be like in 2021.

Just like the rest of the world, people in SEA have been forced to stay indoors, but the pandemic didn’t stop them from moving about, albeit digitally. A recent report showed that 40 million Internet users in Southeast Asia came online for the first time in 2020, many of whom were from noncity areas in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Southeast Asians, among the world’s most active Internet users, have always been digital, but the adoption wasn’t as pervasive as when COVID-19 hit. With 400 million netizens that are nearly 70% of the region’s population, people and businesses are now practically doing everything online that even those who were previously digitallyaverse had to jump into the online world.

This is where it gets critical because apart from old-time Internet users who, until now, are still being educated on cyber hygiene, here come the newbies who count among the most vulnerable to cyber threats.

A quick recap of Kaspersky’s monitoring throughout 2020 showed that the top cyberattacks in SEA were cryptomining, phishing scams, targeted ransomware, and DDoS (distributed denial of service).

Not one of these attacks is new, but these have been proven effective techniques as cybercriminals only need to tap into the weakest link — the human factor.

In 2020, the region was struck with massive cyber attacks resulting in exposure of confidential data: • Over 310,000 credit card details issued by top banks in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, were involved in a data breach in March.

• In the same month, personal information of 91 million users of Indonesia’s largest e-commerce platform was leaked.

• In Thailand, 8.3 billion subscribers of

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the country’s largest mobile network were exposed in May. • A Singapore-based online grocery platform suffered a data breach affecting 1.1 million accounts in October.

• Cybercriminals also capitalized on people’s fear of COVID-19 and used healthcare as bait for different attacks targeting medical equipment in countries where digital transformation has just begun. A government database with personal data of 230,000 COVD-19 test-takers in Indonesia was breached in May. Meanwhile, in Thailand, a hospital confirmed four years’ worth of patient records were affected by an attack in September.

“2020, however, has seen an unparalleled adoption of technology and an increase in attack surface that is ripe for potentially more successful breaches.

Those who have been quick to come on board this transformation must also be just as vigilant to protect themselves. As always, social engineering remains to be one of the most effective attack vectors and just as much as technology, a strong focus on education and awareness is needed more than ever,” says Muhammad Umair, security researcher for Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) Asia Pacific at Kaspersky.

“We do not see anything changing so soon.

People in our region will remain social and will always look for ways to be productive using technology. In the business world, we see that remote work will be practiced in most sectors even after the pandemic subsides. Now is the time to reflect on the lessons of 2020, and we

recommend companies start creating a security strategy if there’s none, or revising the existing one to effectively adapt to the changing environment and protect the workforce,” says Yeo Siang Tiong, general manager for Southeast Asia at Kaspersky.

Kaspersky researchers list down key areas to watch out for in 2021 in SEA. Let’s take a look:

Digitalization Under the new norm, most sectors in the region have been increasingly going through a digital transformation in a race for survival. Schools are switching to remote learning, SMBs that never had an online presence have started to build online storefronts, restaurants that never offered home delivery are left with no choice but to change their whole business model.

2020 witnessed a drastic increase in the use of online payment services and transactions and a growing number of potential victims who have come online.

We have already witnessed an increased number of phishing attacks on such victims in the first half of 2020, and this trend is expected to continue through 2021.

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Ample lures were going around with a COVID-19 theme, and as the availability of vaccines draws closer, we might see similar lures incorporating vaccination themes as well.

Similarly, perimeter security will be one significant area of concern throughout 2021 as people continue to work from home, connecting to their corporate networks via VPNs. The increased focus on remote working and reliance on VPNs opens up another potential attack vector: the harvesting of user credentials through real-world social engineering approaches such as voice phishing or “vishing” to obtain access to corporate VPNs. Another possibility is for attackers to accomplish their espionage goals without deploying malware in the victim’s environment.

Elections Malaysia has recently stated that it will conduct re-elections once the pandemic has been overcome—which, if it follows through, should come to fruition sometime in 2021. Vietnam is also planning to conduct its general elections in 2021, while the Philippines is scheduled to hold its national elections in 2022.

As highlighted earlier, COVID-19 pushed many users to come online for the first time across the region. Malaysia reportedly has the highest social media penetration rate, followed only by Singapore and Thailand. It also has the second-highest penetration rate of smartphones after Singapore.

In short, the whole region is quite ripe for potential disinformation campaigns, and Kaspersky researchers will undoubtedly see such tactics being increasingly employed by the various stakeholders as each country draws near to their elections in 2021 and onwards.

These stakeholders can potentially be both internal and external. More than that, due to an increased user base for social media and mobile devices, such campaigns are likely to see a much larger effect on opinions than was ever seen previously.

Indonesia had its general elections in 2019 and, last year, we saw a breach where the private information of voters were leaked online by a group of hackers. Just as some of these other countries are gearing up to collect updated information on voters during their upcoming elections, it is certainly not far-fetched that similar intrusion attempts might be made here as well.

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5G Rollout

Ransomware

2019 saw the introduction of 5G networks.

Last year, Kaspersky researchers saw the widespread adoption of 5G technology in mobile devices with hardware vendors like Apple updating their complete lineup to be 5G compatible.

Kaspersky has been observing a reduction in ransomware attacks across the region recently. However, the cybersecurity company has been noticing ransomware threats becoming more dangerous, sophisticated, and targeted. The amount of money being demanded by ransomware groups has increased significantly.

Telecom operators in Southeast Asia have been trying to keep up with this technological evolution as well. Thailand, for one, specifically seems to have ramped up this adoption. This has been fueled by a need to support solutions like telemedicine to decrease contact following COVID-19 restrictions. This is only going to speed up in 2021, with other countries in the region following suit.

The way 5G has been designed is such that more of its operational functionality has been switched to software rather than hardware. This opens up various avenues for potential attack surfaces (the number of possible vulnerable points in a computer system where an attacker can get through). Software is generally considered more accessible and arguably easier to discover vulnerabilities for. It may only be a matter of time when researchers start to find potential software-based flaws, and threat actors will definitely not be much behind, if not ahead.

Health Sector The healthcare field as a cyber threat target is a worldwide trend. In previous forecasts, Kaspersky experts have projected an increase in attacks on medical equipment in countries where digital transformation in healthcare is burgeoning. In 2020, interest in medical research surged among cybercriminals specializing in targeted attacks, spurred by the development of the much anticipated COVID-19 vaccine and its potential significance for the global community.

All across the SEA region, there has been an increased push towards remote health monitoring solutions and online health consultations to reduce physical contact.

This means an ever-increasing number of patient data is coming online as well as the increase in attack surface throughout the health sector. According to Kaspersky researchers, this trend will continue through 2021. The new year may also see more attack attempts targeted towards this sector as new regulatory restrictions, new treatments, and an increase in the number of potential victims continue to attract attention.

The first-ever recorded ransomware-related death was witnessed in Germany last year.

A patient had to be redirected to another hospital because of an ongoing cyberattack but ended up passing away before reaching the medical center.

While the ransom amounts being demanded are likely to continue to increase, we expect to see an increase in ransomware attacks due to the sheer number of increased potential targets across the region and thus a reversal of the current trend in 2021.

Cloud Security More and more companies are incorporating clouds in their business models due to the convenience and scalability they offer. However, this is a relatively new attack surface that is increasing as more businesses come on board. There might be a heightened number of breaches on such infrastructure if companies make rookie mistakes and do not deploy proper security measures and solutions, which can often be the case for newer adopters.

Industrial Control Systems Last year, Southeast Asia was one of the worst-hit regions in terms of ICS attacks as per several ratings. We are, however, seeing more focus from governments to curb such events.

Malaysia has dedicated RM1.8 Billion for its national cybersecurity strategy 2020-2024.

Indonesia’s National Cyber Encryption Agency (BSSN) also seems to be actively improving its cyber resilience strategy by partnerships with countries such as Australia since last year.

Similarly, the Philippines has also adopted a strategy where it is partnering with the private sector for a more effective cyber defense. We might see the fruits of such initiatives come into play in 2021, with the aforementioned trend seeing a reversal.

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FINTECH

leads the way to a cashless Philippines

As Filipinos turn to cashless payments as part of the New Normal, PayMaya leads the way in making a more inclusive and accessible cashless ecosystem for the Philippines a reality.

By the end of 2020, PayMaya had more than 28 million customers across its platforms.

They are able to conveniently pay, add money, cash out, or remit in over 200,000 touchpoints nationwide.

As the country’s only end-to-end digital payments platform provider, its platforms are used by consumers, businesses, communities, and government agencies. On top of its popular PayMaya app and wallet, it also powers all kinds of enterprises for eCommerce and everyday transactions.

It has likewise expanded its Smart Padala network to over 33,000 agent touchpoints nationwide, allowing even those in the farthest reaches of the country to conduct transactions such as remittances, bill payments, mobile prepaid loading, and even QR payments.

As a result of this inclusive ecosystem approach, total digital payment transactions processed

by PayMaya has tremendously grown as more sectors of society adopt cashless payments, making it the default for transactions.

“No other fintech company has built this inclusive ecosystem of products, services, and touchpoints that reach a vast majority of Filipinos nationwide.

We have made it so easy for ordinary consumers to get a financial account and for merchants to

accept a wide range of cashless payments, including PayMaya,” said Shailesh Baidwan, PayMaya president.

“This radical shift to cashless for the Philippines will only continue accelerating in 2021 as we offer more services and forge more enterprise partnerships that are relevant for many consumers,” he added.

These initiatives are also in support of the goals of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to increase the share of digital payments to 50% of all retail transactions and expand financial inclusion to 70 percent of Filipino adults by 2023, as part of its recently released Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap 20202023.

E-Wallets take center stage

With the whole country combatting the spread of COVID-19, Filipinos have turned to the PayMaya e-wallet for safer and more convenient everyday transactions, making cashless payments increasingly the preferred mode over cash.

According to the latest e-Conomy SEA 2020 report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company, the average number of cash transactions by consumers declined from 48% pre-COVID-19 to 37% post-COVID-19. On the other hand, the frequency of e-Wallet transactions rose from an average of 18% pre-COVID-19 to 25% postCOVID-19, the study said.

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Cashless transactions made by Filipinos through the PayMaya app, in fact, have consistently registered triple-digit growth rates throughout 2020, peaking sometime around May at the height of the enhanced community quarantine to register over 1000% year-on-year growth compared with the same month in 2019.

The top use cases among PayMaya users in 2020 were sending money to friends and family, paying bills, and purchasing mobile prepaid load, all of which have formed part of their everyday financial transactions.

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Enabling digital government services

In the same vein, the government has also tapped PayMaya to help disburse financial aid through the various COVID-19 mitigating programs of the government, with over PHP 4.5 billion in aid disbursed to PayMaya accounts of hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries nationwide.

These measures include the Social Amelioration Program under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Small Business Wage Subsidy Program of the Social Security System (SSS), as well as loan programs launched by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Agriculture.

At the start of the quarantine in March, the cities of Manila and Caloocan also begun disbursing allowances and aid to their

constituents affected by the lockdowns. Since then, the cities of Mandaluyong, Quezon City, Las Pinas, and Pasig have followed suit and disbursed proceeds of their various aid programs to PayMaya accounts of residents.

“Now that many Filipinos have their own PayMaya accounts, cashless payment technologies have become an essential part of the government’s arsenal toward economic recovery and building the better normal in the next few years,” Baidwan said.

Aside from receiving government aid via their accounts, consumers can also safely and seamlessly transact with government by paying their fees and dues to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, SSS, PAG-IBIG Fund, Philippine Statistics Authority, Department of Foreign Affairs, Land Transportation Office, Professional Regulation Commission, Bureau of Customs, and Department of Trade and Industry, among others, using their PayMaya app.

To date, over 60 government units both at the national and local levels have tapped PayMaya as their partner of choice in offering cashless payments via their online and branch channels.

The growth of PayMaya’s volume related to government payment acceptance is projected to grow by 1,200% by year-end as compared to 2019.

Merchants, businesses accelerate pivot to digital and cashless

Businesses of all shapes and sizes can also settle their permits, social security contributions, and tax dues as agencies such as the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Social Security System (SSS), and PAG-IBIG Fund are now offering cashless payment options via card and PayMaya through their online and branch channels.

To recover from the effects of the pandemic on the economy, many merchants have also shifted their focus to delivering products and services online by utilizing chat apps, social media, or even their own dedicated online store.

Because of this, the number of new merchants onboarded and using various PayMaya digital payment acceptance solutions has increased by over 1,500% year-on-year in November, signifying an exponential shift in the way merchants are conducting their business amid the pandemic.

Apps such as PayMaya Negosyo and tools such as Payment Links, Digital QR, as well as the

PayMaya Checkout payment gateway, allow these businesses—many of them Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)—to quickly offer cashless payment acceptance and even generate new income streams from services such as bills payment and mobile prepaid reloading.

Meanwhile, large enterprises in the restaurant, groceries, pharmacy, transportation, and petroleum industries, among others, have accelerated their adoption of cashless payments acceptance using PayMaya QR and the PayMaya One terminal in support of the “Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat” campaign to inspire consumer confidence amid moves to safely re-open the economy.

“Our broadest range of relevant digital payment solutions for businesses of all sizes, coupled with fast and seamless onboarding, means it’s easier than ever for businesses to accept cashless payments within minutes,” Baidwan added.

PayMaya is the only end-to-end digital payments ecosystem enabler in the Philippines with platforms and services that cut across consumers,

merchants, communities, and government.

Through its enterprise business, it is the largest digital payments processor for key industries in the country including “everyday” merchants such as the largest retail, food, gas, and eCommerce merchants as well as government agencies and units.

Through its app and wallet, PayMaya provides over 28 million Filipinos with access to financial services. Customers can conveniently pay, add money, cash out or remit through its over 200,000 digital touchpoints nationwide. Its Smart Padala by PayMaya network of over 33,000 partner agent touchpoints nationwide serves as last-mile digital financial hubs in communities, providing the unbanked and underserved with access to digital services.

To know more about PayMaya’s products and services, visit www.PayMaya.com or follow @PayMayaOfficial on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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$

UNAPAY: Buy Now, Pay Later from Robocash

International fintech holding Robocash Group has expanded the product line with the launch of its first Buy Now Pay Later service UnaPay in the Philippines.

Apart from the new product, Robocash Group has been providing micro-consumer lending services with a focus on Asia and operating its own P2P lending platform in Europe. The ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ feature will open new opportunities for the group’s customers, offering installment plans for online and offline shoppers in the Philippines.

With UnaPay, users can make purchases on the Lazada e-commerce platform with up to 12 installments due every two weeks. The customers

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can apply for a virtual credit amount of up to PHP30,000. Having inherited the ease-of-use and full automation from the existing products of the group, UnaPay provides Filipinos with fast and convenient access to finance. The approval process takes 5 minutes, while the funds are credited to the customers’ Lazada e-wallet within 24 hours. Moving forward, UnaPay plans to increase the number of active merchants, which is expected to reach several hundred by the end of 2021.

Sergey Sedov, chief executive officer of Robocash Group, commented: “We see a big potential in the new product, as there is a high demand for alternative financial services among Filipinos.

More than 50-million people remain unbanked, but many of them need additional funds. For example, our recent survey showed that over 50% of Filipinos borrowed money from family or friends in 2020. At the same time, the Philippines has a significant share of smartphone (64%) and internet (70%) users. It means that most of the population has an opportunity to access financial services online to meet their immediate spending needs.”

Although the e-commerce market in the Philippines is at the emerging stage now, it is one of the fastest-growing in Southeast Asia. Between 2015 and 2019, it increased at a CAGR of 26.4%.

By 2023, it is expected to reach USD 7-billion.

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RUSH launches Unilever U-COIN digital rewards program

RUSH, a 917Ventures Inc. loyalty and e-commerce solutions provider, has launched a partnership with Unilever through a digital rewards program called U-COIN. U-COIN is a web-based platform that provides consumers with a more rewarding shopping experience through incentives for customers when they buy Unilever products.

Membership to U-COIN is free and accessible to all regardless of network, which aligns with Unilever’s value of touching lives across their various brands and initiatives. As a hub for innovative data-driven marketing and collaborative culture, Unilever’s vision of an agile platform that aggregates digital rewards from different partners is an advantage that RUSH readily delivers.

Wence Wenceslao, digital hub lead for Unilever Philippines, said that meaningful engagement

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is important to Unilever. “With U-COIN, we get to continuously reward people through a single digital currency for engaging with Unilever. And it also democratizes how they choose their rewards. We recognize that the unique positioning of Unilever as an FMCG is that we touch lives, across our different brands and initiatives. U-COIN helps consolidate that view for us to better provide more relevant experiences for them.”

Through this partnership, consumers nationwide are able to maximize the value of their hard-earned peso, while being able to share the perks and rewarding experiences with their loved ones.

Glenn Estrella, head of acceleration group for 917Ventures shares that “RUSH remains firm in our commitment to enable businesses in fostering stronger and long-lasting

relationships with their customers through digital solutions. Through our strength in data collection and processing, we have provided our partners the capability to understand their audience better, allowing them to create the most relevant and appealing offers. With U-COIN, Rush has once again been able to seamlessly connect Unilever to their customers in a more meaningful and impactful way.”

The experience encompasses various customer experiences, be it purchasing Unilever products, answering a survey, or simply engaging with a Unilever brand. More so, with U-COINs they’ve earned, consumers may purchase amazing gifts from Unilever’s partners for daily essential needs, mobile load, mobile data, travel, shopping, and more. Customers can visit https://www.U-Coin.com.ph/ to monitor their earnings and redeem amazing rewards from the catalog.

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BITS & BYTES

Cignal VSAT technology to power Smart in remote areas SMART is utilizing Cignal’s VSAT technology as a broadband backhaul in areas that are difficult to reach through land-based networks. By doing so, SMART Communications expands availability of broadband services for its subscribers in areas that have low to no data coverage.

Cignal, the country’s largest Pay-TV and provider of Direct-To-Home satellite services, was chosen

by SMART Communications as its provider for satellite broadband services, a testament in Cignal’s expertise in providing satellite-based services across the country.

More and more of our rural communities in coastal and highland municipalities are getting connected to the rest of the country as the world continues to use their smartphones for voice and data communications. SMART Communications, the largest and only integrated telecommunications company in the Philippines, is now better able to respond to our people’s clamor for a reliable, all-weather internet connectivity using Cignal’s VSAT service facilities.

To date, their VSAT service is active in select cell sites across the Philippines’ three island groups: from the archipelago province of Batanes,

Calanasan and Kabugao in Apayao up north, to Kalayaan and San Vicente in Palawan, and down to the coastal areas municipalities in Tawi-Tawi and Basilan in Mindanao.

Cignal was also quick in taking action to support SMART to provide its all-weather broadband technology to affected communities critically hit by Typhoon Rolly back in November. One of the areas badly affected was the Bicol Region, in which Catanduanes province was placed under a state of calamity. The SMART and Cignal partnership paved the way to power 10 cell sites in the island province in order to assist communities in recuperating, while offering its residents broadband restoration to stay connected.

According to Cignal president and CEO Robert P. Galang, this partnership with SMART opens more doors for enterprise clients and communities in far-flung areas in need of better connectivity.

“This partnership is aligned with our mission to address the national clamor for better broadband connectivity and giving access to quality (and uninterrupted) entertainment to the nation. We are hopeful that through our VSAT broadband service, and this joint effort with SMART, we are

able to ease the lives of Filipinos moving forward,” Galang expressed.

With the archipelagic nature of the country and a population of more than 110 million stretched over vast seas and mountain ranges, SMART continues to utilize Cignal’s service to reach their consumers in these far-flung areas to provide a stable connection any time. As the current year comes to an end, Cignal’s partnership with SMART aims to ensure that all our people are provided with a secure internet connectivity that will be more resilient and reliable in whatever situation they may be in.

Sun Life Ceo Benedict Sison reelected to second term as PLIA president The Philippine Life Insurance Association Inc. (PLIA) has elected Sun Life Philippines CEO & country head Benedict Sison to the PLIA Board anew as a secondterm president. This election was held during PLIA’s annual business meeting held virtually last 24 November 2020.

Sison expressed gratitude for the opportunity to once again serve in this capacity. “I am honored to be given a fresh mandate to continue leading the Association. This will allow me to pursue the completion of our ongoing initiatives and creating new ones that will enable our industry to rise above the challenges presented by the prevailing pandemic,” he said.

During his first term, Sison led PLIA in working with the Insurance Commission (IC) to establish regulatory initiatives to allay the adverse impact of the pandemic. Among those implemented were the online product approval process, digitally-enabled selling facility, an online portal for submission of regulatory reports, and relief from the minimum net worth and Risk-Based Capital requirements.

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the 2021 PLIA Board of Directors in further strengthening the life insurance industry. These include AXA Philippines president and CEO Rahul Hora as Vice President; Country Bankers Insurance Group senior vice president and general manager Geraldine Desiderio-Garcia as Secretary; First Life Financial president and CEO Peter Coyiuto as Treasurer; and Philam Life CEO Kelvin Ang, Beneficial Life president & CEO Jaime Fernandez, Etiqa Philippines president & CEO Rico Bautista, Troo president & CEO Dominik Smeets, and Philinterlife president Jose Lee as Directors.

“Among the Board’s priorities are working with the IC in launching a facility for the conduct of online agent qualifying examination, initiating the review of the current insurance e-commerce regulations to support financial inclusion, and connecting with the Bangko Sentral in enabling insurance companies to offer affordable retirement programs for micro, small, and medium enterprises through issuance of a limited trust license,” Sison said. “The Board will work closely together in promoting the interests of the industry alongside with those of the insuring public.” www.gadgetsmagazine.com.ph

Automation, AI, and Connectivity key innovations to address pandemic disruptions in manufacturing

Health measures to curb the effects of the COVID-19 have heavily affected business continuity for many industries, most especially manufacturing companies that rely on physical work on the factory floor to keep afloat.

were the biggest challenge. But for businesses like Amkor Technology Philippines, Inc., the company’s ability to manage costs and immediate pandemic response allowed them to continue business as usual.

“Social distancing is key in a factory because it’s very common for people to get together,” said Carlos Rojas, Manufacturing Industry Lead of Cisco Philippines. “Digital technologies that enable companies to keep their teams safe, productive and connected are vital. There are lots of ways to utilize technology, but those backbones and investments are key for companies to remain agile in the current situation.”

“We continue to execute our digital transformation initiatives and I am ensuring that our I.T. infrastructure is stable and capable to support any new requirements,” said Amkor Senior Director and Head of IT Jonathan Mondero.

In their online webinar series titled “Manufacturing in the New Normal: Moving Beyond the Disruption”, Cisco Philippines gathered innovative leaders to provide solutions to complicated challenges in the manufacturing industry.

Another challenge felt not just by the industry but by the whole country in general is the lack of transportation services. For both Microchip Philippines, led by Country Manager Greg Fisher, and Allegro MicroSystems Philippines Inc., led by Asia IT Head Rhett Ramos, the inability of employees to reach their places of work due to restricted public transportation caused severe business disruptions.

Nevertheless, Ramos noted that government measures to ease the disruption were a great help, especially with processing fees in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

As a top priority, however, health and safety measures in an otherwise highly physical workspace

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Of the numerous adjustments done by the companies, system integration, automation of services and innovating supply chain management were the key transformations from the pandemic that the panelists agree will stay for good.

Rojas explained: “Making changes on a factory floor is very common but it requires a lot of time. In the pandemic, you need to be agile and you can’t make mistakes. If you don’t have people looking to implement new processes and technologies preemptively, such adjustments will take more time and will be more challenging to implement remotely.

You have to look at ways to automate processes for greater connectivity from remote locations in a very sophisticated and speedy way, so that those changes that you make on production rounds are as easy as plugging a machine in and plugging it back.”

Amkor Technology Philippines turned to full digitalization at the onset of the pandemic. “We designed the whole integrated and secured architecture for a hybrid workspace, and we developed and deployed it in just two days. That’s the fastest that we were able to create a new system from scratch,” said Mondero.

For Asurion, these developments were a natural part of their business.

“Innovation is embedded in our culture.

Even before the pandemic situation, our Fort Bonifacio site already supports remote working, and our management team had the necessary technology platform and framework available then,” said Asurion IT Director Lito Espacio. “Many platforms like digital currency and online transactions which have long been available are going to be appreciated further and will be part of the new norm.

Opportunities like this will even continue to evolve in the supply chain businesses through the use of augmented or virtual reality. All the different branches in the supply chain including the end consumers will embrace this technology naturally.”

Despite the promising advances of key players in the industry, the experts acknowledged that not all companies and countries are capable of digital transformation right away.

For Cisco’s Rojas, however, the world will be moving towards the same direction in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in supply chain management and automation of network systems in connectivity as the future of remote management.

“Flexibility is the buzzword I see around the world. Creating spatial separation but still keeping people connected is possible with technology. Businesses should consider how they’ll manage their supply chain. Data is also very critical in the connection to the assets, to the machines, to the systems,” Rojas concluded.

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PESO partners with Mineski to promote youth opportunities in growing esports industry

Pilipinas E-Sports Organization (PESO), the National Sports Association for esports in the country recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee, recently formalized a partnership with Pillar Digital E-Commerce, Inc., the parent company of Mineski Philippines, to officially accredit Mineski’s Youth Esports Program (YEP) as one of PESO’s flagship activities in 2021 to promote the growth of esports among its local stakeholders.

YEP is an initiative by Mineski and the Philippine Collegiate Champions League that promotes responsible gaming among young people and brings co-curricular esports programs to schools nationwide. YEP also recognizes chapter organizations within universities, organizes the National Interschool Cyber League (NICL), and hosts regular YEP talks for YEP Chapters to come together to compete, learn, and have fun within the program.

As one of PESO’s key programs in the coming year, the association will promote YEP as a training program for future esports athletes, introducing and endorsing it to schools that might want to formally join the program. YEP will also be endorsed to the International Esports Federation as an example of a commendable esports program for the youth.

Meanwhile, Mineski will assist PESO member organizations in tapping YEP member schools

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to promote their future events and activities, as promote collaboration with PESO member organizations for joint esports initiatives.

“The Philippines has a vast pool of talent that has the potential to succeed in esports. The partnership between PESO and YEP will put a grassroots program in place that nurtures young talent and engages stakeholders to drive the growth of esports in the country. With the right infrastructure and programs in place, we hope that more young Filipinos will see the potential of esports, from opportunities to participate in highlevel competition and cultivate the discipline of an athlete to considering pursuing a career within the large, growing ecosystem of the esports industry,” said PESO Board Member and Mineski Global CEO Ronald Robins.

Most recently, esports has been announced as an official medal event in the Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2022. The team behind YEP notes that this can be motivation to further develop the grassroots program.

“Filipinos have fared well in past global competitions, and with esports becoming an official sport within larger platforms, we hope that more young people will see the potential of bringing together what they love with the discipline and rigor of competing at the highest levels. We know that the next champion could be from anywhere, and YEP will cast a wide net

by engaging colleges and universities, as well as student organizations, to drive the growth of esports in the Philippines,” stated YEP Program Director Marlon Marcelo.

To date, YEP has a network of over 200 schools all over the Philippines, which means its wider reach could present more opportunities in esports.

Beyond organizing competitions, YEP regularly engages its members on such topics as esports careers, esports industry stories, and the benefits of responsible video gaming.

“We recognize that many students are passionate about the games that they love to play. We also want to help the youth who will consider a career in esports as a result of our efforts to develop the right foundation and develop more holistically by encouraging the right balance between esports, their academics, and other pursuits,” shared Marcelo.

YEP also aims to engage schools in integrating esports into the curriculum, from establishing varsity teams to introducing esports-focused courses.

“When schools recognize the value of esports, there is a greater chance for us to provide more structure and guidance to young minds. The academe and esports are not opposing forces but complementary, and can work together to ensure holistic development,” said Robins.

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Globe lets more Pinoys enjoy the promise of 5G Globe’s relentless modernization of its network has made it possible for its 5G technology to be available to more customers in more areas in the country.

Recent upgrades made in the last two months of 2020 have made the latest technology available in at least 848 sites in Metro Manila and Rizal and 183 locations in Visayas and Mindanao. Several parts of Cavite, Laguna and Bulacan are also 5G-enabled. Overall, 5G is now available in 1,045 areas in the country.

“We are rolling out more 5G areas this year to make this new technology more inclusive. We want more Globe customers to experience the difference of 5G technology in terms of better and faster connectivity. This technology has vast potentials and soon we will start rolling out cases that are best experienced with 5G,” said Coco Domingo, Globe VP for Postpaid and International.

5G is the latest wireless internet connectivity that promises faster speeds, higher bandwidth, and more stable internet connections compared to 4G.

In Visayas, 5G is now available in four provinces: seven locations in Negros Occidental; 64 in Cebu; 12 in Iloilo; and three in Aklan.

Continued ramping of Globe facilities has also made the technology available in 25 sites in Misamis Oriental and 72 places in Davao del Sur in Mindanao.

In Cavite, 5G is present in three areas; five in Laguna and six in Bulacan.

“Along with expansion, the growing availability of 5G-enabled devices, especially those offered on Globe postpaid plans plus the compatibility of the LTE SIM to the 5G network, makes accessing the 5G technology much more seamless,” added Domingo.

Globe has laid out a 3-pronged strategy for its network upgrades and expansion, which includes aggressive cell site builds; upgrading its cell sites to 4G/LTE using many different frequencies; and fast tracking the fiberization of Filipino homes nationwide.

The company likewise champions the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically UNSDG No. 9 which recognizes the importance of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. Globe has vowed to uphold the 10 United Nations Global Compact principles and 10 UN SDGs. To learn more about 5G possibilities in healthcare, entertainment and more, please listen to Globe podcast on Spotify: glbe.co/PossibilitiesPodcast.

To learn more about 5G please visit: www.globe. com.ph/5g

LG Takes Home Cooking to the Next Level with Air Sous Vide Oven With the likelihood of spending more time at home in the near future, LG changes the game yet again as the South Korean company is set to introduce its new line of Instaview Range ovens that come equipped with Air Sous Vide technology. Set to be introduced early this year at CES, the complete cooking solution also features LG’s Air Fry mode, InstaView oven door and a range of smart functions for a healthy and convenient culinary life at home.

With the company’s innovative Air Sous Vide mode, the stylish range cooks food perfectly every time for meals that look and taste like they’ve been prepared by a professional every time. With precise low temperature and airflow control, vacuum sealed foods are able to lock in maximum flavor and aroma to elevate dishes to succulent new heights. LG Air Sous Vide can consistently maintain any temperature between 100 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit (38 to 96 degrees Celsius) for up to 48 hours without water, which results in more consistent dishes that take up less counter space to prepare.

With LG InstaView technology, tapping twice on the oven’s glass door automatically turns on an interior light to make visually checking the progress inside a cinch. And thanks to EasyClean, users can maintain the cleanliness of the oven

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and the cooktop with no effort and no chemicals in just 10 minutes using only the power of pure water. The range also features LG’s ProBake Convection technology for quick and thorough cooking without preheating while Air Fry delivers flavorful fried treats using significantly less oil than deep frying.

For even more convenience, the LG range can be controlled and monitored using the ThinQ app connected to Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa smart speakers. And LG partners SideChef, Innit, Drop, and Tovala offer helpful culinary inspiration through the hundreds of easy-to-follow recipes on their apps. Once the user has selected a recipe, cooking instructions are sent to the oven which

then sets the appropriate cooking mode and temperature. With Drop and a smart Thermomix, making pizza at home is a no-brainer with ThinQ controlling the mixer settings and LG InstaView Range preheating automatically so as soon as the dough is rolled and toppings topped, the oven is good to go. And heating frozen meals from brands such as Nestlé and Kraft Heinz is as simple as scanning a barcode with Scan to Cook.

For even more added value, the new range supports Proactive Customer Care, LG’s AI service solution. With just a smartphone and the ThinQ app, users can maintain the optimal performance and efficiency of compatible LG appliances for years to come.

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RELIC

Words by Jose Alvarez

The idea of creating your own personal website has been around since the dawn of the Internet. However, you had to learn HTML and make your own designs. It’s worth to know that a personal website in the early days of the Internet was a really big deal back in the day. In the early-to-mid 1990s, showing your web site off to your friends showed how tech-savvy you really were, especially if you built and coded it yourself.

GeoCities was instrumental in bringing personal websites to the forefront of the Internet before social media allowed us to personalize our Internet experiences.

GeoCities started in 1995 as Beverly Hills Internet, which was a small web hosting and development company based out of Southern California. What made this interesting was that it created its own web directory and organized them into neighborhoods. The first six neighborhoods were “Colosseum,” “Hollywood,” “RodeoDrive,” “SunsetStrip,” “WallStreet,” and “WestHollywood”. New members joined up in these neighborhoods with a street address (for instance, https://www.geocities. com/Hollywood/1234). By July, other neighborhoods were added, and thousands of users, known as “Homesteaders,” were getting 6 million monthly page views. The name of Beverly Hills Internet officially changed to GeoCities on December 15, 1995.

GeoCities only grew and grew as time went along. Other tech companies such as Yahoo! invested in GeoCities. Despite GeoCities controversially introducing advertisements on its pages, it became the fifth most popular website on the Internet. In October 1997, GeoCities had its millionth Homesteader. By the following year, it watermarked Web pages in another controversial move. Many people thought it did not mesh well with their page design. However, it was a futuristic move as it preceded the adoption of CSS and the standardized Document Object Model used today.

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By August 1998, the company went public on the NASDAQ exchange with the code GCTY, with an IPO of US$17 per share; this share price would soon exceed US$100. By 1999, it was the third-most visited website after AOL and Yahoo!.

Another major change would come to GeoCities in 1999, as it was purchased for US$3.57 billion in stock by Yahoo!. This was the most unpopular move in GeoCities history to this point. The webpages that Homesteaders worked on so hard were all of a sudden handed over to Yahoo!, who said in the new terms of service in Yahoo!

GeoCities that the new company-owned all rights and content including pictures. Yahoo! quickly reversed its decision as many Homesteaders had threatened to quit the site and take their pages elsewhere.

Yahoo! then introduced a for-fee premium hosting service at GeoCities in 2001. The site somehow survived social media such as MySpace, while increasing its growth astronomically. In March 2006 alone, GeoCities had 18.9 million unique visitors. This significantly declined in the late 2000s thanks to the advent of social media as well as other factors. Some business analysts and experts had stated that GeoCities could have become Facebook if Yahoo! had managed it better, while Rupert Goodwins of ZDNet stated that GeoCities had become the “first proof you could have something really popular and still not make any money on the Internet.”

GeoCities closed for good in the United States on October 26, 2009. The Japanese version of GeoCities lasted until 2019, but most GeoCities pages were gone by 2014. The Internet Archive had started archiving GeoCities pages, and others had sought to preserve this important part of Internet history through sites such as GeoCities.

The important part of GeoCities is that it gave everyday people the chance to become famous on the Internet through their web pages. Now, you can do that easily with a smartphone and social media, but GeoCities was a vital step forward into gaining fame online. If you have run a GeoCities site, you might have moved onto other projects if you were interested in creating websites or just liked web design. GeoCities was one of the first sites to really bring Internet access to all, and it should be remembered as such.

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