Need Net? IMMORTALSURF20

For only 20Php: Internet on your phone?! No Expiry?! Too good to be true, or is this total BS? IMMORTALSURF20 service review below~

Last May 6, 2010 Globe Telecoms Philippines announced a new IMMORTAL service called Immortal Surf 20. For only 20Php, you’ll have 1 hour’s worth of “data calls” aka internet connection, and just like the other Immortal services (Immortal Text & Immortal Call), it will not expire and consecutive uses will stack.

A few drawbacks though: 1) Not fast. Not too slow either though, but don’t expect to break 100kbit/s [Note: standard desktop DSL is 500 to 1mbit/s] 2) A maintaining balance of 5Php, not a big deal and 3) Minimum use of 1min- which means your usage is always rounded up to the next minute eg. 1min and 2sec data call = 2 min. Understandable, given the price of 20php :D

Now before you try the service out, make sure that your phone is properly configured first:

1. Check if your phone has a web browser. If it does, I highly recommend going to Opera and get their browser- it will compensate for the slow internet speed.
2. Set up myGlobe GPRS. This may vary from phone to phone, but for the tech savvy:
   • APN: www.globe.com.ph
   • Internet Mode: HTTP
   • Use Proxy: Yes
   • Proxy Address: 203.177.042.214
   • Proxy Port: 8080
3. You’re all set, so just text IMMORTALSURF20 and send to 8888 [note: All caps, one word]. After a while, it will reply and you’ll have internet access!
4. If you want to check your remaining data allowance, just text IMMORTALSURF STATUS and send to 8888.

Aside from the hassle of setting up your phone to receive GPRS, I’m finding the speed acceptable and the data connection is stable (so far). I like the service, not to mention that IMMORTALSURF extends the Internet to more Filipinos. Enjoy the mobile Internet~! ^^

PS: The promo pic above is photoshopped (by yours truly)~ Globe wouldn’t use a Windows Phone 7 in their ads.

Windows Phone 7 (w/ Video)

I just received an email about the Windows Phone 7 Developer tools being available ‘immediately’ this morning, so I went through their site to find it. The email didn't contain the link to the download page, and I can’t find any direct downloads, so I was forced to get the web installer version here.

*after a few hours*

Here are my thoughts:

+ Teh Interwebz is enabled by default :D Woot~!
+ XNA/Silverlight views & C# models means that code can be easily reused/ported to Windows Phone 7
+ The default resources are included in the app.xaml including the textblock, font, button and slider styles.

• The Emulator was fast and snappy (after a long startup load) but will the apps run this fast on real hardware?

- NOT Silverlight 4, which means that there’s no ICommand interface. You can see the commonly used workaround on the video above.
- I forgot to show this on the vid, but I can’t multitask. When I click the back button (black arrow near the windows ‘start’ button) the current application exits.. maybe I’m doing something wrong?

All in all, I love it when a new platform comes out and I can use my existing knowledge to code apps there immediately~ :D