The current age has brought about a new trend with it. This trend is called the “Selfie.” This six letter word defines the activity of taking your own photo with a camera. It can be with a group of friends or at a special occasion or even with your pet! Every person comes up with their own version.

Due to many advancements in technology along with this amazing new trend, many smartphone manufacturers have come up with newer versions of mobile phones that have the best camera quality present for those umpteen number of selfies that everyone takes. These selfie phones are being sold at a number of stores along with many marketplaces who are offering them at discounted prices such as Kaymu and Ebay etc.

The best Selfie Phones for the year:

Samsung Galaxy S7 (Unofficial)

Everyone is eagerly waiting for this phone to launch. With the new Android 6.0 operating system and Quad-core 4.0 GHz 64 bit processor, it will be a very stable phone. The back camera will be 16 MP with a 5.1 MP front camera with flash for all your selfie needs.

Microsoft Surface Phone (Rumoured)

Surface Phone Concept art

This phone has a 5.5in Quad-HD AMOLED display to view all your pictures in the most beautiful manner. It offers 21Mp rear and 8Mp front cameras to snap away those lovely selfies that you want to take. Moreover, it has a 64 to 128 GB storage space to keep all that you love.

HTC One M10 (Unofficial)

HTC One M10 Concept Art

This is the upcoming and highly coveted selfie phone as it offers a whopping 27 MP front and back camera auto face detection focus technology. When you buy this phone, not only will you have high resolution pictures, you won’t even have to work that hard for them.

LG G5 (Unofficial)

LG G5 Concept Art

This LG phone is one the most popular upcoming ones. It offers a 20 MP back camera and a 10 MP front facing camera for you to look classy and sophisticated in all your pictures. Along with that, it has a true IPS HD display for a beautiful picture quality.

Oppo Find 9 (Unofficial)

Oppo Find 9 has a large 5.5 inch Quad HD display that offers superior picture quality and beautiful colors for you to enjoy. When it comes to cameras, it has a 20 MP secondary camera and an 8 MP front camera for all your selfie needs.

Sony Xperia Z6 (Unofficial)

This phone will make you love yourself in all your selfies. In terms of cameras, it has a 27 MP rotator camera scanner that will take your selfies in all the angles that you will love. Moreover, the screen is of 5 inches with 4k display resolution.

iPhone 7 (Unofficial)

Everyone knows the picture quality that the iPhone has to offer. This phone will have a 12 MP back camera and a 5 MP front camera for you to look absolutely great in. For men and women alike, they will be overjoyed with this one.

HTC Desire Eye (Available)

This is the phone to get if you are a selfie fanatic. It has a 13 MP shooter at the front and the rear. Both of the cameras have their own dedicated flash for the best pictures possible. Along with that, the wide 22 mm lens gives a large angle to all your selfies.

Asus ZenFone (Available)

This phone has a 13 MP front facing camera that has an LED flash present with it. Moreover, it offers a wide 88 degree angle so that all the aspects of your selfie are taken in. It also has features such as panorama, slow motion, smart remove and time lapse present.

LG V10 (Available)

This phone has not one but two front facing cameras that you can use for all your selfies. The two front facing cameras are of 5 MP and the back camera is 13 MP. The cameras feature multi view and snap options with it.

About the Author: Sab

I cover Mobile, Internet, Good and Bad of Technologies. I’ve been a technology writer for the last three years. If you have any question and feel free to contact me on Gtalk – it’s a beautiful way to get contacted me directly.

Nowadays, digital devices play an important role in our lives. We spend ridiculous amounts of time looking at our laptops, our tablets, our monitors and our smartphones whether for work or just to keep ourselves entertained. However, long periods of exposure to a specific wavelength of blue light that digital displays emit can cause discomfort to the eyes.

Known as digital eye strain, the discomfort is caused when our eyes are exposed to the blue-violet light with wavelengths ranging from 380 to 500nm. Unlike UV lights that are harmful to the eye’s cornea, this type of light causes harm to the retinas, especially when the eyes are exposed to it for long periods of time.

The optics industry has solved this issue with the use of special lenses that reflect the harmful blue –violet lights. These lenses are usually prescribed by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist and are often quite expensive.

Luckily, a Singaporean company was able to create a similar product that’s not going to cost you a fortune. The brand is called Energeyes and it has recently arrived in the Philippines.

The Energeyes digital glasses come in two styles and in a variety of colors. The product is made entirely of plastic and features a special lens that are designed to reduce harmful blue light which is emitted from digital screens as well as reduce screen glare that can also cause eye strain. Apart from reducing digital eye strain, an added benefit of the Energeyes glasses is that it helps improve the screen’s contrast.

Read the full review on The Techie Lifestyle Blog

Energeyes glasses are available on the company’s website (SG$53.01) and through select Ekotek kiosks nationwide (Php 1,999).

With the holidays just looming around the corner, a lot of us are already looking for nice gifts to get for ourselves or for our loved ones. With technology playing a huge part in our lives these, tech products such as mobile phone and tablet accessories are an easy and convenient choice especially if you’re planning to do your shopping online.

For instance, American consumer electronics manufacturer Belkin has a wide selection of mobile device accessories that are offered on Lazada, making them readily accessible and easy to order in case you don’t have the time to go to malls to hunt for the products you want to purchase.

Here are our top picks from Belkin’s roster in Lazada, which we think you’ll really like as well:

5. Belkin Mixit 4 Feet 90 Degrees Lightning to USB cable

One of the most common complaints about Apple products is that their cables are not that built well. In fact, the cable has a rating of just 1.5 stars on the Apple store and there are a bunch of discussions regarding the product (mostly complaints) on the company’s website.

The usual issue with Apple’s own cable is that it can easily break near the connectors causing the wires to fray. The Belkin Mixit cable avoids this dilemma by using a 90-degree angle for the lightning connector, protecting the tip and lessening the stress on the cable.

The cable is also four times longer than the standard lightning to USB cable and yet it offers the same fast charging and data transfer rates as the one made by Apple and comes in 7 different colors. Belkin is also offering a 2-year limited warranty for this cable ensuring that you’ll be able to use it for a long time.

Price: Php 1,190 (Get it here)

4. Belkin Micro USB Cable with Lightning Connector adapter

Another nifty accessory you might want to consider is the Micro USB cable with lightning connector. The product extends the functionality of the Mixit cable but adds a micro USB cable adaptor so you can charge other devices.

The cable is perfect as a travel companion as it eliminates the need to bring multiple cables to charge different devices. The adapter is connected to the cable via a durable yet flexible rubber strip so you don’t have to worry of losing it when it’s not in use.

Just like the Mixit version, this cable is also 4ft long, comes in a slew of colors and if offered with 2 years limited warranty.

Price: Php 1,490 (Get it here)

3. Belkin Family RockStar 4-port USB Charger

Another handy accessory for people who own multiple devices is the Belkin Family RockStar 4-port USB charger. The device features four USB ports that delivers a total of 5.4 Amp of power allowing users to charge multiple devices at the same time.

The charger also comes with an intelligent smart chip that regulates the flow of electricity to each port depending on how many devices are being charged. The charger is also wall-mountable and sports a 10-foot cable for convenient placement.

Price: Php 3,290 (Get it here)

2. Belkin Stylus for Tablets

For those looking to do some productive work during the holidays or those who delve in the field of arts and design, a great gift idea would be this Belkin Stylus for tablets.

The stylus features a rubber tip that glides smoothly over any tablet screen allowing users to easily jot down notes or sketch illustrations. The stylus looks very much like a standard pen and even comes with a clip so you can attach it easily and securely to a folio.

Price: Php 325 (discounted by 50% - Get it here)

1. Belkin QODE Thin Type Keyboard case for iPad Air

If you’re looking to do more work on your iPad, the Belkin QODE Thin Type keyboard case for the iPad Air is the perfect product for you.

Despite its slim 4mm profile, the keyboard case’s aluminum construction gives a feeling of durability and strength to the user. The case features well-spaced TruType keys that are designed for accurate typing as well as tactile response thanks to the spring mechanism placed underneath each key.

The Thin Type cover uses Bluetooth technology to connect to the iPad and uses Smart Sensing technology that automatically turns the keyboard on or off when the tablet is placed on the slot. The keyboard also boasts function-specific keys that provides shortcuts for different functions.

Price: Php 4,990 (Get it here)

This holidays, give yourself or your loved ones, one of the most awesome gift they can get with these great finds from Belkin. You can get all these stuff by ordering online from Lazada. 

You can also create your own wish list on Lazada and ask your friends and family to give these items (or other products from Belkin) to you as a gift this Christmas.

It seems like just about every other week a new piece of technology is released, from just about all of the major cell phone companies.

Apple is at the top of the list and there is no question that the majority of people that use Apple products will run out to the store, even wait in line for lengthy periods of time, just to get their hands on the brand new iPhone 6.

However, a great deal of people are wondering to themselves whether getting the new phone is actually worth it.

In reality, the new devices that are being released do not have too many things that are brand new, in comparison to the past models that are already out there. While it is true that there are new designs and new pieces of technology that are integrated into each mobile device (that it is considered the hip thing to do to get the brand new iPhone), the overall price is starting to get a bit high for a cell phone.

In the past, most of the new iPhone's that came out would hover somewhere around five hundred dollars, which most people thought was a lot of money in the first place. However, the new iPhone 6's go well above that are are posted at six hundred and fifty dollars, which has made a great deal of people's eyebrows.

Nearly two thirds of a thousand dollars is a great deal of money to spend on a device that is going to become outdated in a year or so anyway and in reality, the capabilities are virtually the same. The new iPhone 6 will be slightly bigger than the older models, which seems to be a trend with Apple products, as they are also making the new iPads bigger as well.


Apple also claims that the features that are on the iPhone 6 far surpass that of the older models, although the majority of people simply use their cell phone to surf the internet, play games, use applications, make phone calls and text.

All of these things can be done on each and every one of the older models, so it has become a highly debated topic among a lot of people as to whether it is worth it to shell out the great deal of money that is required to get your hands on the new iPhone 6.

When it comes down to it, it really is a personal preference. If you are one of those people that loves having the newest of the new models of technology, then you are probably going to be satisfied with putting up the money for a new phone. These people likely already have an iPhone 5 and can probably trade their phones in or sell them to get a great deal off of the newer models anyway, so in this respect it can be very worth it for these people.

Additionally, if you prefer a bigger screen, you may want to go ahead and get the iPhone six, but in all reality, the majority of people are probably better off keeping their older model iPhone's.

The truth is that they are slightly more advanced, but the increase in technology is not enough to rush out to the store, wait in line and get a new device, all while causing a major blow to your pockets. If Apple had come out with a brand new model that had some amazing new type of technology that has not been seen before in passed iPhone's, it would probably be worth it, but in this case it is looking like the better idea to skip buying one.

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About Author: This article was written by Andy G, a tech geek and Linux fan from Austria. At the present moment he maintains firmware and driver download website called Helpjet.

This week, Fortinet announced two web application firewalls (WAFs) designed to protect customers from identity thieves, financial fraud and DoS attacks.

The new FortiWeb  4000E and FortiWeb 3000E offer advanced security services that are integrated with the  company’s Fortiguard Lab advanced threat intelligence as well as real-time threat protection at the application level strengthening Fortinet’s end-to-end cyber security platform.

A more detailed description of the two products are included in the press release below.

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Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT) – the global leader in high-performance cybersecurity solutions, today announced the launch of its new FortiWeb 4000E and 3000E Web Application Firewalls (WAFs), designed to help customers prevent identity theft, financial fraud and denial of service through specialized, layered application threat protection. 

FortiWeb appliances now offer advanced security services backed by FortiGuard Labs’ advanced threat intelligence, providing real-time threat protection at the application level.These new FortiWeb solutions are also integrated with Fortinet’s FortiSandbox and offer support for new enhancements in partnership with Acunetix’s advanced vulnerability scanning solutions. These new additions bolster Fortinet’s broad end-to-end cybersecurity platform that protects customer data at every possible entry point to the network.

High-Performance Meets Advanced Layered Protection 

The new FortiWeb 4000E delivers an unprecedented 20 Gbps WAF throughputand features built-in advanced anti-malwarecapabilities – a first for the WAF appliance market – while also integrating leading vulnerability scanning features from Acunetix.Fortinet’s FortiWeb appliancesprovide the performance, effectiveness and featuresthat only Fortinet can deliver, surpassing all competitive solutions and resettingexpectations for web application firewalls.

The FortiWeb series of WAFs are now fully integrated with Fortinet’s FortiSandbox and Advanced Threat Protection (ATP framework), ensuring that organizations can arm themselves with seamless, end-to-end protection from even the most sophisticated cyberthreats.These enhancements to FortiWeb deliver advanced, layered application threat protection for medium and large enterprises, application service providers and SaaS providers demanding the very best WAFs in the industry.

FortiWeb appliances can now receive real-time security updates from FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s ground-breaking threat intelligence and research team. These consist of three services that can be delivered individually or in a bundle:

• FortiWeb Security Service offers advanced and constantly updated defensesagainst web vulnerabilities and suspicious URLs while also delivering application layer security. 
• The IP Reputation Service delivers advanced protection from botnet attacks. 
• Anti-malware and Anti-intrusion Services proactively protect against malware infections.

All of theses services are delivered in real-time and sourced from Fortinet’s global network of over 2 million security appliances.These sensors give Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs the widest visibility into new and existing threats and ensure that FortiWeb appliances are armed with the best possible application protection in the industry.

“Application Security is an increasingly important tool in the fight against Advanced Threats. However, with many of the Web Application Firewalls on the market today,customershave to trade off Performance for Security. This problem will only get worse as customers’ network reliance and Data Center bandwidth requirements continue to increase. Fortinet is well known for the best combination of performance and security, with its Network Security products, and is now bringing that knowledge to bear for the benefit of customers with its FortWeb Application Firewalls.” - John Maddison, vice president of marketing at Fortinet.

“By virtue of continuously scanning evolving web apps and web sites with Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner, Fortinet users can now be assured that their web site security is being kept up to date regardless of what vulnerabilities could creep into their web site code through business pressures and forced short cuts in the development process. While not eliminating the need to promptly fix these issues, this will help reduce the pressure on security and dev teams. A warning though. Users should scan their web apps or web sites regularly to identify new vulnerabilities as they emerge," - Chris Martin, GM,Acunetix.

Availability

The new FortiWeb 4000E and 3000E are available immediately. Please contact your authorized Fortinet channel partner for pricing and details. For more information about Fortinet’s Web Application Firewall products, you can visit Fortinet.com

If you thought the notion of someone following you around town was creepy, prepare for the next level of weird, brought to you by technology: cyberstalking. Without ever leaving their home, individuals looking for cheap thrills or to satisfy some unhealthy urge can monitor your activities and make your life miserable.

Cyberstalking often turns into harassment, with the cyberstalker sending their victim messages through email, texts or IM services such as Facebook. While some activities may be benign, things can easily escalate if proper measures aren’t taken. There are different levels of actions available to you, with some more or less appropriate for the given situation.

Like most of life’s problems, prevention is often more effective than treatment. One of the first precautions to take is to limit the kind of information you share online. A common mistake people make is oversharing details about their personal lives.

This can be anything from variable information (where you are at certain times of day) to static information (birthdays, home addresses, etc.). Sure it seems okay to post on Facebook for your family to see, but be aware that what you post may become accessible to others. This is especially true on public services such as Twitter, where anyone can see what you’re putting up.

Keep names, contact information and addresses to yourself as much as possible. Only share them with people you know and trust, and ensure those people know not to give your information away without your permission. Remember, all it takes is your phone number or email address for a cyberstalker to be able to start contacting you.

You may also want to consider purchasing a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service to keep the most malicious stalkers at bay. In simple terms, a VPN keeps your internet usage private by making your IP address anonymous and encrypting your internet traffic. While it won’t keep you from oversharing, it will keep your information from being taken forcibly.

Even if you keep your information private, if your accounts become compromised, it won’t do you much good. Use strong passwords with different types of characters (uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols, etc.) and keep them varied between your various accounts. If you have trouble managing multiple passwords, consider a service such as Blur to help you keep track.

Blur (formerly DoNotTrackMe) helps keep websites from tracking you, but it also allows you to save and manage your passwords between the different devices you may use. It also lets you create temporary credit cards and phone numbers if you feel the need for extra security.

Cyberstalkers, not unlike identity thieves, thrive on any information they can get their hands on. Sometimes your information can be stolen by mistakenly visiting a fake website or responding to an email from a suspicious person (or a friend whose account has been stolen). Be on the lookout for anything suspicious, such as being asked for your login details, or links that ask you to click on them (click here to see my pics!).

Malware can also lead to problems, so use an anti-virus service on all of your devices (that includes smartphones and tablets). Avast Anti-virus is available for multiple platforms and is totally free unless you decide you need the extra features offered by the premium version.

Supposing you keep most of your information private, you might still run into a cyberstalker who doesn’t know a lot about you, but is still interested in making your life miserable. It may be in the form of posts on one of your social media feeds, often in the form of “trolling” or posting defamatory statements and just acting like a general nuisance. You might be communicating on Twitter and find some jerk keeps posting offensive things targeted at everything you say.

Just like back in grade school, the best thing to do is to ignore these kinds of people. A great majority of cyberstalkers are doing it for attention, and they virtually feed off of your distressed responses. Yelling in all caps over the internet or trying to argue with them will only make things worse.

If you get a strange email (especially if you get more than one from the same person), delete it or report it as spam. The more you react, the more drawn in you can become, and the harder it can be to escape. But, if things start to get uncomfortable…

In most cases, there are rules in social media services that forbid harassing other users of the service. At times machines and website moderators can’t catch everything, so it may be up to you to report someone who is breaking the rules (and cyberstalking is almost certainly going to be against the terms of service). What’s more, cyberstalking is also against the law in many states and countries.

When cyberstalkers begin moving from being annoying to seemingly dangerous, it may be time to contact the authorities. Police are increasingly cracking down on cyberbullying and cyberstalking, as both activities continue to grow in frequency and in the number of lives affected negatively. Consider talking to a friend or family member if you believe you’ve become a victim of cyberstalking.

In many cases, the stalker is someone you know or have met, and while it’s never recommended that you confront your stalker, it’s best that your family knows who is giving you problems. In some cases, this is enough to give your harasser cold feet. More than anything, there is one absolute way, albeit extraordinarily inconvenient, to put a stop to cyberstalking.

Sometimes the only way to win is not to play. While it’s unfortunate, the most surefire way to put a stop to cyberstalking (especially if it’s become serious) is to totally unplug. That means suspending or at least not using social media accounts for a while, blocking messages from suspected harassers on your mobile and just generally getting off the internet.

Considering the multitude of benefits that can be had from social media and the internet, this certainly isn’t the first step you should take. But it should always be an option, and it should be comforting to know that there is an “off” button to cyberstalking.

Ultimately avoiding criminal activity and harassment shouldn’t be your job, but if you don’t take steps to keep yourself safe, you may live to regret it. Keep as much of your personal information to yourself as you can, and be certain that you can trust the people you do share it with. Use up-to-date security software to keep your information from being stolen as well.

Don’t get into fights with people online, and always consider using the proper legal channels to handle any pesky stalkers that just won’t go away. Remember that you’re in control; you can always put an end to cyberstalking if you’re willing to do what’s necessary.

The big screen smart TV market segment is slowly gaining traction among Filipinos, especially upon the entry of smaller and more affordable brands that allow the budget-conscious Pinoys to still enjoy the capabilities of a connected big-screen TV without breaking their wallets.

Haier is one particular manufacturer who is trying to capture a chunk of the growing smart TV consumer base with its K5000 series LED smart TVs. The series was recently launched here in Manila and should soon be available for purchase on select consumer electronics store.

For more information about the Haier K5000, do read their press release below.

When Haier Asia Co., Ltd executives said early this year that they were going to take the region by storm, they sure meant it. Haier is ready to bring out its best innovations yet, starting out with its K5000 LED Smart TV series.

Launched at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Manila, the K5000 is Haier’s first range of Smart TVs, offering its technology and internet savvy customers something new to get their hands on. The series is a total standout with a sophisticated design that features an ultra-slim frame, brushed aluminum finish, and stylish metal stand. 

It also boasts LED edge-lit backlighting, a 5,000,000:1 mega dynamic contrast ratio, and an IPS panel to enjoy crisp realistic pictures in wide-viewing angle. Its three built-in HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) ports also make it possible to send audio from the TV to an ARC compatible device via an HDMI cable, without the need for an additional audio cable. 

Available in 32”, 40”, 50” and 55’’ models, the K5000 series includes 2 USB ports (USB recorder, Timeshift for real-time TV broadcast recording, and USB video), DLNA, 1 RJ45 connector, integrated Wi-Fi, 3 CEC HDMI ports (1.4a) including 1 ARC-compatible port, 1 headphone socket, 1 PC D-Sub15 socket, 1 optical/ digital output, automatic volume limiter, powerful invisible loudspeakers, hotel mode, CI+, A energy rating.

If that’s too much tech talk for you when all you really want to know is how smart this Smart TV is, then let us tell you that this new range is everything you need to stay updated and keep connected. The K5000 TV has a YoutubeTM button that directly connects the user to their favorite YouTube videos. It also includes a hub with a multitude of catch-up TV applications, VOD, entertainment features, and news. It allows users to surf the net via an integrated easy-to-use web browser and keep in touch with friends and loved ones through email, and their favorite social media platforms. The K5000 series is also ISDB-T ready for receiving digital channel signals which is now available with the use of digital antennas and/or set top boxes. 

With its classy design and a heap of high tech features, the K5000 series is truly the ultimate package that promises an excellent entertainment experience. Now if you think this new product exciting, wait ‘til you hear about the cutting-edge devices and appliances that Haier has in store for everyone scheduled to hit the stores in the near future. We just can’t wait! Can you?

Fans of the Nickelodeon channel’s hit preschool series Blaze and the Monster Machines will be happy to know that the channel has launched a new app based on the show. The app is now available both on iOS’ App Store and Android’s Google Play. For more information about this app, do check out the press release below.

New app, based on Nickelodeon’s hit preschool series, Blaze and the Monster Machines, available now on iOS and Android.

1, 2, 3 Let’s Blaze! Nickelodeon’s all-new app, Playtime with Blaze and the Monster Machines is available now in Asia on iOS and Google Play. The new app, based on Nickelodeon’s hit preschool series Blaze and the Monster Machines, offers preschoolers five different fun-filled activities to test drive their skills in memory, matching and colouring, set within the world of Blaze and the Monster Machines. As each game is completed, preschoolers are rewarded with stickers that can be used to customize and create their very own scenes from Axel City.

Features include:

1.) Available on iOS and Google Play in 13 languages including English, French, Italian, Dutch, German, Spanish (Latin America), Spanish (Europe), Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Russian, Portuguese (Brazil), and Turkish.

2.) Choose your favourite avatar: Blaze, Crusher, Pickle, and Stripes.

3.) Five mini-games:

• Blaze’s Truck Wash: Blaze, Stripes and Pickle have gotten all muddy! Help scrub them down with soap, wash them off with water from a hose, and towel dry them to make them sparkly and clean again. 
• Blaze Race to the Finish Line: Help Blaze avoid obstacles on the track and collect items to race to the finish line on time! 
• Monster Machines Memory: Play the classic game of memory by flipping over cards to match all of your favorite characters from Blaze. 3 levels to complete! 
• Creative Coloring: Get creative with 4 colouring activity sheets including Blaze, Stripes, AJ and Pickle! 
• Match-up with Blaze: Find groups of 3 of the same tools to match up. 9 exciting levels to play! 

As you complete each game, you are rewarded stickers which can be used to create your very own Blaze world by customizing two landscapes from Axel City. 

The country’s top Apple product retailer recently launch its Pixelworx campaign that advocates the use of technology in the creation of arts.  The launch of the campaign was initiated through the introduction of PMC’s art ambassadors and the announcement of its multimedia awards winners.

The four ambassadors that were introduced during the event were Jay Contreras for photography, Nikki Luna for visual arts, Electrolychee (Marcus and Bru Nada) for graphic design and Leeroy New for sculpture. The four art ambassadors conducted free workshops and live demonstrations at PMC classrooms for the past two months.

The event was also the venue where PMC awarded the winners of its multimedia competition wherein 6 winners were chosen from the 20 finalists who submitted their work a few months back. The winners were given prizes including iPads, Wacom tablets and PMC gift certificates.

When traveling, you will likely have three consistent companions: your family (if you’re bringing them), your plans (if you have any), and your smartphone (no ifs, ands or buts). You will likely use your smartphone more than anything to navigate, communicate, and do whatever you need to do to make your travelling as smooth as possible.

What makes a smartphone so great is that there are all sorts of different applications available to make your life so much easier. If you are having a hard time navigating a new city, GPS apps abound. If you can’t understand a language, translation apps are available. If there isn’t an app for one of your needs yet, give it time, and someone will create it.

Here are 5 apps for your smartphone that will help you make sure that your trips go perfectly:

TRIP SPLITTER

Trip Splitter takes care of who owes what when handling expenses on a trip or dinner. It works great even for large parties because you can put in as many participants as you want. You can also email participants a reminder after the trip is over if you don’t want to take care of everything right away. This is great for travelling in a large group that isn’t necessarily financially linked or for certain business situations. 

This is a travel app that has equal use at home, allowing you to split up a shared bar tab or simply let you figure out how much everyone owes for pizza. If you find yourself a social person, this app is definitely worth downloading.

EXPRESS VPN

If you are travelling, then a Virtual Private Network (VPN) can be the savior to your privacy and data. If you are travelling, you are likely using many public networks, which can be incredibly risky to use since hackers can intercept sent data (including private communications and financial information) over unprotected networks and then use it against you.

What a VPN will do is connect your computer through an encrypted “tunnel” of sorts to an offsite server that no one can infiltrate, and this server will handle your requests and send you whatever information you want just like normal. Using this server also has the benefit of masking your IP Address and location data, which means you can get around regional restrictions and even possibly allow you to take advantage of regional pricing for airline tickets.

There are several options to choose from, but ExpressVPN is a great choice in particular due to its compatabilty with smartphones on any operating system.

CITY MAPPER

If you are travelling to a major city, you should check out Citymapper. It is one of the most popular and highest-quality apps for figuring out transit (in almost any form) in major cities, particularly in the United States, which can be harder to navigate than many European cities. Some of the things that are especially useful are real-time updating of departure times, bike routes, and alerts if there is a disruption on a route so you can adjust accordingly.

If you put in a location within a city, this app will find a way for you to get there. In fact, it will probably find multiple ways for you to get there. When you’re in a new place, there will be nothing you are more thankful for.

GOOGLE TRANSLATE

If you are going to a different country that doesn’t speak English (which is most of them), you want this application on your phone. While not perfect, Google Translate is improving constantly. It has most every language you will need and is fast enough to beat out most other translation devices available and certainly faster than lugging around a two-way dictionary for each language you might need.

ENTRAIN

This one might be considered a little extreme for some, but jet lag is awful and can ruin a day or two of a perfectly good vacation. If you don’t want this to happen, then Entrain is the app you need both before and during your trip.

It provides you with a schedule and data for when you should seek light in order to help your body adjust to the new time zone as quickly as possible. You can use this data to adjust your circadian clock and keep up your energy after your flight. With lots of options at the press of a thumb, you won’t need to figure out anything else to get your sleep cycle in check.

Thank you for reading. Please note that any applications listed here can be found on both iTunes and Google Play. I hope that you have found something here that you are looking for so that you may travel with improved safety and convenience.

Lazada has recently teamed up with ABS-CBN’s Bantay Bata 163 most likely as part of their corporate social responsibility activities. The online retailer has recently visited the Bantay Bata site in Calauan, Laguna and has pledged to help these children by donating a certain amount of their sales from July to October made by using their special Bantay Bata voucher.

Check full details of this campaign by reading their press release below. 

MANILA PHILIPPINES - Lazada, the Philippines’ One-Stop Shopping and Selling destination, recently partnered with ABS CBN’s Bantay Bata 163 in reaching out to children displaced by recent calamities.

Last July 3, 2015, Lazada Philippines, together with Bantay Bata 163, brought smiles and laughters to over 100 kids when they visited the Bantay Bata Site located in NHA Calauan, Laguna. Lazada PH employees together with the company’s CEO, Inanc Balci, shared an afternoon with the kids through healthy lunch, games, and other fun-filled activities. Later that afternoon, the kids of Bantay Bata in NHA Site Calauan Laguna received school supplies and educational toys. The afternoon was filled with joy and hope as Lazada Philippines pledged its support to the cause of helping out Filipino children.

In line with this, Lazada is giving away P300 worth of vouchers with a minimum purchase of P3000, exclusively for the Toys, Kids, and Babies category.  These vouchers will be available every month for a week from July 27 until October 2015. Enjoy this discount using the voucher code BANTAYBATA and for every voucher used, P50 will be donated to Bantay Bata 163. Grab the opportunity to help out and head on to http://www.lazada.com.ph/bantay-bata-163/ and spread the joy of giving.

Shutterbugs interested in taking on some competition will be delighted to know that Canon is hosting the national leg of its PhotoMarathon competition both for amateurs and professionals this coming Saturday, November 8 at the High Street of Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

The Canon PhotoMarathon is an on-the-spot photography competition designed to push the participants’ creativity by letting them capture photos following a theme under time pressure. The competition is already on its ninth year. Participants will be divided into two groups based on their equipment – Point & Shoot and ILC categories. All entries will be judged by the Canon Crusaders of Light.

Winning entry for 2014 Photomarathon University for the Point & Shoot Category by Agatha Albano. Taken with a Canon Powershot SX80. 

Winning entry for 2014 Photomarathon University for the Digital Camera with Interchangeable Lenses Category by Raymond Paredes. Taken with a Canon EOS 60D.

Over three thousand amateur and professional photographers are expected to join the event. Canon will be awarding major prizes to the winning participants. For the Point & Shoot category, Canon will be giving away a Canon EOS 700D, a dual-arm Foto Crane from Steady Tracker, a BlackRapid camera strap, a 32GB Wi-Fi SD card from Transcend and 1 international round trip ticket from Cebu Pacific.

On the other hand, those who will be joining the Interchangeable Lens category will have the chance to win a Canon EOS 7D Mark II, a dual-arm Foto Crane from Steady Tracker, a BlackRapid camera strap, a 1TB Wi-Fi SD card from Transcend and again 1 international round trip ticket from Cebu Pacific.

Winning entry for the 2013 Canon Photomarathon Philippines for the Point & Shoot Category by Luis Alexander. Taken with a Canon Powershot S110.

Winning entry for the 2013 Canon Photomarathon Philippines for the Cameras with Interchangeable lens category by Maricris Carlos. Taken with a Canon EOS 1000D.

The event will start as early as 8AM, so those interested in joining the event should adjust their alarm clocks accordingly. Moreover, Canon will also be holding a special sale in High Street from November 7 to November 9 to cater to photography enthusiasts looking to get some new gear.

For more information and updates about the Canon PhotoMarathon, you can visit the event’s website of Canon’s Facebook page using this link.

Canon is pushing for the improvement of the local printing industry in the Philippines by releasing tow new large format printers to empower print service providers and their customers.

On one hand there’s the imagePress color production cut-sheet presses, which include the imagePress C700 and the imagePress C800 which churns out 70ppm and 80ppm respectively. The C800 is capable of handling a wide variety of media including heavyweight coated stock and envelopes thanks to its Elastic Intermediate Transfer Belt that allows it to produce extensive applications on uneven materials such as textured or recycled media.

The printer utilizes a 32-beam Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) unit with multi-exposure technology to deliver incredible detail and resolution up to 2400 x 2400 dpi. It also has a new AutoCorrect Color Tone (ACCT) feature that allows for multi-dimensional mixed color calibration.

Other notable features of the C800 include Consistently Vivid (CV) technology that allows for improved transfer efficiency for enhanced color consistency and accuracy across various mediums, and a Compact Registration Technology (CRT) that ensures every single image is placed at the same spot on every sheet thereby granting the user with precision alignment for large volume print jobs.

And speaking of large volume print jobs, the C800 offers a new multi-drawer paper deck with three new technologies, which prevents misfeeds even with coated stocks. There’s also a built-in induction heating and cooling technology to allow the device to moderate its internal temperature intelligently to optimize productivity with mixed jobs.

Finally there are the new Canon imagePROGRAF printers (iPF8410SE and iPF6410SE) that offer high quality large-format printing. The printers in this range features six-color pigment ink system for lowered ink usage.

Just like the C800, the imagePROGRAF printers are compatible with a wide array of print media and enables users to produce vibrant posters through enhanced basic performance for the creation of posters and other point of purchase materials. Moreover, both models come with two ink tanks which allow them to continue printing even if the tank runs out of ink due to the sub-ink tanks installed.

The iPF6410SE comes with a free copy of Canon’s PosterArtist Lite software for easy poster editing. Both models also come with a Print Plug-in for Office that should make it easy for users to design, preview and print posters from Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word.

For more information about these products, you may visit Canon’s website using this link.