The iPad "Mini" soon to be a reality?

The iPad "Mini", which is what a lot of people are calling the rumored 7.xx" iPad, seems to be shaping up to be a reality.  When Steve Jobs was still living, any and all rumors about a smaller iPad I took with a grain of salt since he believed that the 9.7" screen was the absolute minimum size for anyone to browse the WWW without any loss of productivity.  Now that he's gone, the equation has changed.

According to iMore, not only will an iPhone 5 be announced on the 12th of September and released on the 21st, but that the iPad "Mini" will also be announced.  Release date for the latter though has not been reported yet, but speculations put it at the start of the Christmas season.

These reports seem to be confirmed by other sources such as Digitimes who reported that Apple's supply chain in China is ramping up production of 7.85" iPad parts.

What does this mean for us iOS addicts?  I do know for a fact that many people would really like to have a 7" iPad.  Many of whom have already bit the bullet and got themselves a similarly sized Android tablet but have complained about a more confusing interface, some lag or choppiness in the touch screen response, and less intuitiveness.  Not to judge them, but I daresay an Android user who switches to iOS would probably have the same issues.  Many iPad users would welcome a smaller form factor, especially those in the medical community who wear lab or smock gowns to work daily in whose pockets a 7" device would fit perfectly.

Reading or watching a 7" device for an extended period is also better in a lighter device... although eyestrain could be a new problem especially for the more senior and presbyopic fans.

Mockup of the 7"iPad by iMore

For myself, the 9.7" iPad serves my needs.  One of my most common uses for my iPad is to read eComics and eMagazines.  Compared to a real comic book or graphic novel, the 9.7" screen is actually slightly small, but is still a reasonable compromise.  Going down to 7.85" may be unacceptable for this use.

In any case, it would seem to me to be overkill to own an iPhone 5, an iPad "Mini", an iPad, and a Macbook (Air/Pro).  Owning three devices already shows bit of Apple FanBoy madness, but owning all four?  That's a tad overkill.

For practical purposes, and probably most people, will have to choose between the 7" and the 9".  The advantage for Apple is that it will keep their fans who prefer the 7" from "biting-the-bullet" and switching to Android but then how high a number is this?  One drawback is that t may also scavenge sales from the 9".  Thus as far as total sales are concerned, the total sales of the 7" and the 9" may not be as far from the 9" was when it was the only size iPad you can get.

One interesting scenario, which my daughter would love, is to get rid of the iPhone and switch to a normal T9 keyboard feature phone with basic telephony and SMS features then use a 7" iPad with a persistent 3G/HSDPA/4G/LTE microsim with an unlimited data account, that you carry around. Skip the iPad 9", then use a Macbook of any flavor.  When you have a need for iOS touchscreen goodness, a less conspicuous and lighter weight device is what you pull out.  It's like going back to the days when you had a Nokia phone and a Palm OS device (Yup, been there!).

I'll probably have a more definite picture IF (and that's a BIG IF) and when the 7" iPad does come out and I am able to get my mitts on it in the store.

Globe's Bridge DataRoam (Plus), A Near Perfect Data Roaming Solution?

I had the opportunity to visit two countries in my last Globe Postpaid billing cycle with BridgeRoam support.

In a nutshell, Bridge DataRoam Unlimited & Bridge DataRoam Unlimited Plus are promos for Globe Postpaid clients who want unlimited data access on their mobiles when abroad, akin to their SuperSurf locally.  If you're a gadgethead like me, who always has to be online, is used to having a SuperSurf account, then this may be a good solution for you.

You may ask, "Why not just get a prepaid sim from the country you're visiting?"  It's not as simple if you're more into data access compared to just telephony/SMS functions.  Fee for the sim can be from 12 to 30 Euro, then load it with data, which can cost anywhere from 15 to 60 Euro.  Not that bad, however when you look at the fine print, you'll see that this is for a cumulative consumable load of around 2 Gb.  Gadgetheads like me will find that not nearly enough.  I'd probably go through that in a few days, especially if you use the GPS apps with online maps.  Why not use GPS apps with offline maps?  Aside from being expensive, I don't think it's worth it, unless you go to that country frequently enough and drive.  If it's just to get directions, prevent getting lost, or just to see the progress of your travels, then a data connection is much more versatile since you can also use it to email and surf.

Bridge DataRoam isn't cheap but considering what you're getting is an unlimited data account for the duration of your plan, then the equation changes.  What are they exactly?  One is Unlimited, the other is Unlimited Plus... the loose difference is that the former is for Australasia region while the latter supports the Western hemisphere.

Bridge DataRoam is supported in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.  You activate it by sending a text or USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) request (dialing *143#).  Once activated you need to check which specific provider in that country supports Bridge DataRoam.  Configure your phone's preferences to use that provider... do not use Automatic since it will select the strongest signal and it may be an unsupported provider thus charging you full roaming rates.  In addition, you need to enable Data Roaming in order to use it.  Data Roaming in the iPhone 4x is disabled by default to prevent unnecessary data roaming charges.  However, once you've activated the DataRoam and have connected to the specific supported provider, you can turn Data Roaming On to enjoy full unlimited Internet connection.

Below are the charges for Bridge DataRoam Unlimited (Australasia):

Plan Denomination	Unlimited Data Roaming Service
US$10	1-day unlimited
US$27	3-day unlimited
US$40	5-day unlimited

Below are the charges for Bridge DataRoam Unlimited Plus (USA, Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Spain, UK, and China):

Plan Denomination	Unlimited Data Roaming Service
US$15	1-day unlimited
US$35	3-day unlimited
US$55	5-day unlimited

As you can see, the Plus is more expensive, but still you'll be hardpressed to find a prepaid solution that has no Gb cap.

I had used Bridge DataRoam Unlimited in Singapore early last month and it worked like a charm.  SingTel is the supported provider.  Speed was really fast and I couldn't complain about anything.  You can even enable Personal Hotspot or tether to your laptop.


Later that month, I used the Plus service in Spain, and again, it worked flawlessly.  In Spain however, it is listed in Globe's website that the provider is Telefonica.  Unfortunately, unless you do the research, when you search the telecom's available, you will not find Telefonica listed in your phone.  It turns out, Telefonica is now named Movistar, and that's what appears in your phone's telecom search.  Once I had selected Movistar and activated Data Roaming, again flawless and quick.

To the Left is a screenshot of my iPhone 4's Map app showing directions from San Sebastian to Pamplona in Spain using the Movistar (Telefonica) network.

It is actually quite expensive, however, if I had used the prepaid solution, it would probably been only a bit less expensive and have a Gb cap to boot.  With Bridge DataRoam you have a true unlimited mobile Internet.

Wine Discoveries from Sommelier Selection's 100 Wines 2012

Before we left for Spain (more on that later...), my box of wines arrived.

We attended Sommelier Selection, Inc's "100 Wines 2012" event last June. I usually enjoy these events as this allows you to taste A LOT of wines in one sitting and buy them at a discount.

As we just got back from my trip, I was only able to organize these wines during this stormy weekend and took advantage of the "house arrest" situation caused by this year's UPCAT and the Anti-RH Bill rally in EDSA.

During the tasting, I was particularly fascinated with three wines and I'm now trying to recall the experience.

The first was a lovely 2009 Mario and Giorgio Brunori Fonteascosa La Battinebbia Marche IGT.

This is an Italian wine from the Marche area (pronounced "Marké"). Distinguished by it's absolute dedication to the "organic" wine philosphy. A Moscato varietal, resulting in a lovely floral, but not perfumy, white wine balanced by light citrus flavors enhanced by some apricot and peach notes. A well-balanced and medium bodied wine that is complex enough to drink alone just to enjoy how it plays around in your mouth ending in a moderate to long finish. It should pair well with well seasoned crustaceans and cream pastas.

This wine is classified as Marche IGT ("Indicazione Geografica Tipica") or a "Typical Regional Wine" of Marche. This is because it wasn't made with Verdicchio or Trebbiano. Personally however, their Moscato worked extremely well.

The next memorable wine for me was the 2006 Domaine du Pech Buzet Le Pech Abusé.

This is a fascinating red wine from the Buzet appellation in South-West France. Buzet wine usually has similar characteristics with Haut-Medoc in the Bordeaux region, but this wine is absolutely far from that.... It is aptly named, La Pech Abusé... "abused peach"? This to me is a lighter bodied, silky vino rosso bursting with red fruit, plus peach notes dancing around your mouth. Mushrooms and minerals can also be discerned with smooth tannins and a decent finish. Quite complex, fascinating and fun to drink. Pairing would probably be perfect for Asian non-spicy meat dishes, in particular Lechon.

The last wine looks very unassuming, thus hiding the powerhouse inside. This is the 2008 Azienda Agricola Il Carpino Merlot Vigna Runc Venezie IGT.

This was one of the favorites of the night. Another "Super Friuli-Venezia" for want of a better term. This is wine which can disprove the bad press that Merlot had received from the movie, "Sideways." At first taste, one will not think it is Merlot. Then later, you find out that there's absolutely no oak fermentation. What you get is a balanced preserved black fruit with herbal notes, but not too grassy. Quite appropriately, this one will be best paired with tomato-based Italian food and some of the lighter meats, such as well-seasoned chicken and pork.




These notes are just preliminary impressions, mind you. I have yet to have them with with a properly paired meal, but I will eventually.

Start of my public blog... the Nth attempt

“Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate”
”Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”
— from Dante Alighieri’s Inferno

Again, here I am starting and restarting my blog... and again the line above from Dante’s Inferno comes to my mind for any unwary web surfer who stumbles across my blog.
What usually prevents me from going through with it is not really lack of time, as blogging can be as short as doing a status update in Facebook, but rather being a perfectionist and my own worst critic, hesitating to post something that may displease someone in the world. As it is impossible to please everyone... I just decided to go ahead and turn off user comments... :-)

Why start again now? This is the direct result of a conversation with my high school daughter which goes something like:

Me: "You know, if you want to improve your vocabulary, not only should you read profusely, but you should also write."

Her: "But what will I write about?"

Me:"Why don't you make a blog, and write about your day, just like the classic diary, except a blog is public so you have to be creative in writing stuff that shows your feelings, be politically correct and will not incriminate you in anything."

She: "What for, no one will read my blog anyway?"

Me: "So what, at least it's good practice for you, but then what if people do read it and you become famous and then make money from it?!"

That's when I stop and think, "Hmmm, why not?"

And so, here we are again... another blog attempt to set down some of my thoughts regarding life as a Urologist, Father of three, Husband, Gadgeteer, Apple Fanboy, medical informaticist, Foodie, Wine Connoisseur, Pig Farmer, Art Galerie Groupie, World Traveler, shutterbug, and Information Junkie... (Note that this list is a work in progress…)

Thus, here's to not caring whether anyone comes and reads this... but for those who do, "À votre santé" with a glass of Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé, my favorite wine that I can actually afford!

The Twitter Book

Just finished “The Twitter Book” by Tim O’Reilly and Sarah Milstein. Great book if you really want to get into the meat of Twitter.

If you think Twitter is just your typical Instant Messaging service or internet-based SMS, then you’ll be way off! This book will show you just what Twitter can do for you, personally, professionally and for your business. That’s The #TwitterBook by @timoreilly and @SarahM. This is @dryusi.

My First 72 hours with iPhone 4

Before you turn it on, you will notice the construction and weight of the iPhone 4. It's relatively heavy since there is little plastic in the chassis. It's made primarily of tempered glass and metal. No, it does NOT feel like a toy as compared with a lot of phones out there. When you feel it in your hand, it feels very solid, no creaking when you squeeze it, it truly feels expensive... and it is... which then makes you want to treat it very gingerly. Thus the next thing you want to do is to apply a screen protector and a good case. Choosing a case and screen protector is a whole blog by itself....

The iPhone 4's new Retina Display is really impressive. It is to date the highest resolution of a mobile phone. The pixel resolution is 960-by-640, which implies that it can play 720p HD video, which I've tried and it does! There are pages-upon-pages of descriptions out there talking about how great the Retina Display is, so I'll just say that it really is as good as they say! That being said, I think it would be a shame to mute such a display with a matte type case. Although these cases are more fingerprint and smudge proof as well as being anti-glare, the one I put on my iPhone 4 decreased the brilliance of the screen such that it decreased the significance of it's clarity over the iPhone 3G.

Migrating from a 2-year old iPhone 3G, the most significant advantage of the iPhone 4 is the speed. It is TRULY ZIPPY! Apps (HandBase in particular) that used to crawl in the 3G now pops open immediately. I have a trio of ebook readers (iBooks, eReader, Kindle Reader), all of which have search features that are quite slow. The iPhone 4 searches significantly faster. With the speed also comes the ease at which you can switch between apps through the iPhone 4's unique brand of "multi-tasking". Pundits may say that it isn't "true" multi-tasking, but who actually needs "true" multi-tasking in a phone?!! The only task that I want to multitask from the background is music or even Pandora. I'd use a full Mac computer when I need multitasking.

What about this issue on antenna reception and dropped calls? I haven't experienced any so far. I've got a bumper case on mine so that was said to fix the problem. As far as antenna reception, it wasn't truly outstanding (as compared to my old Nokia 8910 had excellent antenna performance) but it wasn't so bad either. As compared to my old 3G, I'd say it was roughly equal. In any case, the issues happen when:

1. Your network's coverage is borderline.
2. You aren't using any case that covers the metal frame.
3. You touch the gap in the lower left side.

Since Globe's cellular coverage in NCR and most parts of the country is quite good, that counts #1 out. I doubt if many Filipino iPhone 4 users will be leaving their "precious" naked. Filipinos generally "overdress" their personal technologies.

For a more detailed explanation, check out this nice article from eWeek.com.

One feature that I've been eagerly awaiting for them to improve significantly is the camera. The first iPhone and iPhone 3G had 2.1mp while the 3GS had a 3.1mp. My own personal opinion is that for casual photos, the minimum should be 5 megapixels. The iPhone 4 now has a 5 megapixel camera with 720p video, autofocus, digital zoom, and LED flash. It won't be able to compete with a dedicated digital camera or camcorder, but considering everything else that it can do, that's good enough for me... for now!

Couple of years ago, my clutch bag had, a compact Canon iXUS 65 digital camera, a Palm TX, a 16gb iPod Touch 1st Gen, and an 8gb iPod Nano 2nd Gen plus a Sony-Ericsson z610i on my belt. When iPhone OS 3.0 came out, and the apps for kept getting better, and HandBase was finally ported over, I ditched the Palm TX. When a larger iPod Touch came out (32gb), I could let go of my 8gb iPod Nano since now it could handle apps, videos and still have space for music. Then the iPhone 3G came out along with iPhone OS 3.0, I got rid of the feature phone. Only now can I totally leave the digital camera at home... finally, the only personal technology that I wear is the iPhone 4. The dream of a true "convergence" device is nearing reality!

Globe's iPhone 4 Launch Experience

Sunday the 26th, not thinking about the iPhone 4 at all (see previous blog entry), we decided to do a long-overdue spring-cleaning... had some interesting discoveries but that's another story. After cleaning, at 7:27pm I received an SMS in 3-parts:

"GLOBE_IPHONE4 Good news! You now have a chance to get your iPhone 4 TODAY, Sept. 26. Please be at Makati Shangri-La Hotel (Rizal Ballroom) anytime before 10pm. Hurry! First come, first served. Limited stocks only. See you there!"

I didn't really know what to do with this immediately. I had just had supper, so was basically winding down after a day of cleaning. I wasn't really that anxious about getting the phone... not really. I could have easily waited. However, I thought, "It's a Sunday... no traffic... it's up to 10pm, so plenty of time... I had a full stomach... not at all tired yet... WHY NOT?!"

We now set-off for Makati Shangri-La. True enough, no traffic, parking was easy. We get to Rizal Ballroom... SO MANY PEOPLE!! But quite orderly.

They had 2 lines, one for 16gb, the other for 32gb. The 32gb was the significantly longer lin

e... and that was my line! After a couple of minutes, they tell us that they had run out of 32gb models this afternoon. Hokay, I just ask calmly, "Then, why did you send out this SMS if the stocks of 32gb had run out?" They said it was a failure in their part to specify that the 16gb was still available. I say, "Okay, so if there are none, I'm going home, are you quite sure wala na?", in a very calm, casual manner. She then said she will double check. After a few moments, she comes back and says that there were a handful of 32gb units that had arrived from New World Hotel (the other launch site). So, they counted how many 32gb clients there were, and guess who got the last unit?!

Now, flashback to the launches of the iPhone 4 in other countries, with lines stretching for blocks, customers camping out in the cold, crowds gathering, etc.

In the Philippines, we were in a 5-star hotel ballroom, air conditioning, very comfy cushioned chairs or couches, snack buffet (sausage & salsa, pastry shell with meat, empanada), brewed coffee and tea. They give you a number which is strictly followed, and inside you will see around one hundred workstations to process all of the clients. This was around 8:30 pm on a Sunday, and they've been there since 5:30 am, still with hundreds of clients to go! You can imagine how many people had come and gone since that morning! I'm not surprised they're able to afford a 5-star hotel ballroom with complimentary food and beverages. How many phones (the cheapest being 38k) do you need to sell to pay for the accommodations? Peanuts to them! Everything was orderly without raised tempers which is more than I can say for the Corporate User's launch on the 24th!

With all the workstations the large number of ushers and staff facilitating, the movement of the line was still quite slow. Approximately one person is called every 3-5 minutes. Occasionally 2 or 3 will be called at one time, but it was still very slow. Later I found out why.

When my turn came up (I was one of the, if not THE, last one), they sit you down in front of a person with a workstation. This is when you have a one-on-one discussion on what Post-Paid Plan to get, new vs retention vs loyalty points vs pre-paid. You can imagine how long these conversations take (if I get..., how much?). Also the amount you pay not only varies with choice of plan, so does the mode of payment. A LOT of people paid in cash! I can imagine that there were armored cars coming in after the launch ended. I paid via PayLite 0% interest for 6 months. Makes it more painless. Others I saw, paid for it partially in cash then credit card.

One big problem, especially for the 32 giggers was that the extra stocks had only arrived a few minutes ago, and thus the stocks had not appeared in the computer's inventory, so as far as the computer was concerned, "out-of-stock" pa! They probably had to encode each unit one-at-a-time before it came in, and only after will the unit be brought to the ballroom to be released. If you think about it, it was a logistics and sales nightmare, and everything could have SNAFU'd quite easily... good thing it didn't... but it did take a long time.

After getting your unit, you go to the activation desk where they unbox your new toy, hook it up, and activate it. There's no getting away from this! You can't do it at home. I was disappointed since I, of course like any geek, prefer to unbox these things myself.

Afterwards you're free to go, but there are two more stops of note. There's a "Synchronization Area" for those who are computer illiterate or don't have a computer to sync it to... which I can't really understand! You're buying one of the most advanced and expensive phones in the world, and yet you don't have either the knowledge or the resources (or both) to synchronize it to your own computer?? I will NEVER synchronize any of my gadgets with a computer that isn't mine for obvious reasons (if it's not so obvious, in a nutshell it's, Security and Personalization). But this may be a rant for another day.

The next stop is a kiosk that was set-up by PowerMac where you can buy accessories such as cases, cables and chargers. I didn't bother to get any since I had already looked at virtually all cases available in the local market and had chosen the Momax i Case Pro which is similar to Apple's bumper but with a plastic cover at the back.

Then that's it... we went home and I just charged "My Precious" and went to sleep. Tomorrow's my birthday, and that's when I'll play with my new present!

Waiting for Globe's iPhone 4 Launch...

Like many Apple fanboys in this country, I was among those who had been anticipating the arrival of the iPhone 4 to our shores.

As far as Apple products are concerned, the Philippines are among the last to get their latest staff, which to my mind has it's own advantage. By the time the new stuff gets here, all of the best and comprehensive reviews had been released, giving the prospective buyer a good idea if that product is truly right for him. In addition, whatever software or OS bugs that had "escaped" their quality control would have been fixed by the time the product is released here.

That said, in spite of the myriad of options in which I could have gotten my hands on one, whether it be the grey-market, relatives coming home, or eBay, I decided to get the official Globe release... even though it is around Php 10,000 more expensive than in Hong Kong or the USA. There are however two glaring advantages (and one other disadvantage, aside from the price) in getting the Globe release. One, you have a one-year iron-clad warranty that you can claim in this country. The iPhone is the only Apple product that has NO international warranty and must be claimed in the country it was purchased from. Two, you can buy it via a 0% interest credit card scheme. The other disadvantage is that it is sim-locked to Globe, but then I can always jailbreak it if and when I need to, when I go abroad. However, how often do you really need an open-line phone abroad? Only if you're staying a long time (say 2 weeks or more) and you need a full data account, which to me happens very rarely.

Thus, like every Pinoy Apple fanboy, when Globe announced that they were accepting "intent to reserve" requests last August, your truly was one of the first to register in their website. Saturday, September 18, they sent email and SMS messages to us that the launch was on September 24 for Business accounts and the 26th for Personal accounts. They also asked what model (16 or 32g) and plan (New Post-Paid, Loyalty/Retention, or Pre-Paid) we wanted. I wanted to retain my present plan but NOT really wanting to have myself in a 2-year lock-in if I go for a Retention Plan, I requested for a Pre-Paid Kit. I then received a confirmation email that my request will be processed and I will receive an email or an SMS in 3 working days.

Wednesday, no email or text. Thursday, no email or text. This went on until Saturday the 25th. When I was looking at accounts in Philmug, sure enough, many of them were saying that they received their, so-called, "e-stub" via SMS. But then most, if not all, were New Post-Paid Plan clients. Apparently, Globe was prioritizing these clients, 2nd were the Loyalty/Retention, and last were us Pre-Paid Kit clients. According to some at Philmug, Globe will be sending SMS e-stubs until midnight of the 25th. Midnight came and I stopped waiting and forgot all about it.

September 26, 7:27 pm the text came...

About this Blog

I'm actually responsible for a number of websites since 1998. I guess this stems from my experience in setting up an old Bulletin Board System (BBS) with a Hayes-compatible modem back in the early 1990's.

One of the first questions I ask myself (or people who want to set-up that particular site), is WHO IS THE TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC?

The design, content, and management of the site ultimately depends on this most simple of questions. For this site, I would answer, my friends, my family, my relatives, (perhaps) my residents (or former residents), my colleagues, my students (very important), and anyone else who may be interested.

GEEK. Who, me?!

GEEK (\ˈgēk\):

"One who is perceived to be overly obsessed with one or more things including those of intellectuality, electronics, etc." - Merriam-Webster

"You say that like it's a bad thing." - Summer Brooks (sliceofscifi.com)

I'm a geek... a geek who eventually became a Urologist. In recent years, Urology as a field, started to develop some new toys which appealed to geeks. These include a whole slew of lasers for urinary stones and prostate enlargement (only the "eye guys" and the "skin guys" use lasers more than we do), laparoscopic urology, robotic-assisted surgery, HIFU, etc. In addition, the practice of Medicine is quickly evolving such that the usual way we do things are changing to reflect advances in information technology, mobile devices in particular.

I remember when I was young, my parents were nagging me why I spent so much time on computers... turns out, all of it would be a great advantage in the future!

One important section of this site will be for my San Beda Medical Students. I will be attempting to use the site as a learning tool with multi-media, syllabi, and some other things which I will keep to myself for now.

Thus, this blog will reflect my different interests which can be divided into several broad categories: Urology, Cinema, Technology, Medical Pedagogy and Gastronomy.

Alea iacta est!

In the beginning...

This is my first post in the phenomenon called Weblog or "Blog" for short. Still wondering what I'm doing here so just posting this to get a feel for it. No need to comment.