RIM Introduces the BlackBerry Storm2 Smartphone in Australia and New Zealand

Sydney, Australia – Research In Motion today introduced the BlackBerry® Storm2™ smartphone for customers in Australia and New Zealand. The second generation of RIM’s innovative and award-winning touch-screen smartphone, the BlackBerry Storm2 significantly improves the BlackBerry® touch-screen platform with new technology and new features to let customers stay easily connected to the people, places and things that matter most.“The BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone, with its next generation SurePress technology and large, brilliant display, gives users an unrivalled touch-screen experience for advanced communications and multimedia applications,” said Gregory Wade, Managing Director for Southeast Asia, Research In Motion. “In addition, with the recent introduction of BlackBerry App World™, users can get even more out of their smartphone with a broad range of free mobile applications that are easier than ever to discover and download.”

Next-Gen SurePress Technology
The BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone introduces a next generation SurePress™ technology based on an electronic system that provides the user with tactile feedback when the touch-screen is pressed. The new system responds equally to gentle pressure applied anywhere on the surface of the screen and makes clicking the display practically effortless. Typing on the smartphone’s virtual keyboards is easier, more comfortable and more accurate. The new SurePress technology also allows the user to type a letter with one thumb even while their other thumb may still be touching or resting on another letter, enabling faster typing and multi-key actions such as Shift or Alt-key combinations.

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz offers an interesting and viable option

The Sony Ericsson Vivaz is an advanced mobile phone that contained within its body provides an impressive level of functionality. The handset is one of a range of smart phones, with this particular unit making use of a 720 MHz processor and the Symbian series 60, 5th edition operating system in addition to powerVR SGX graphics capability. The phone is compact at 107 mm x 51 mm wide in addition to being 12 mm thick. At 97 g it is also a lightweight unit.

The phone provides an impressively colourful 3.2 inch TFT touch screen that displays imagery of excellent depth of colour reproduction by virtue of its ability to display 16 million colour variants. The handset also includes a turn to mute feature as well as snoozing alarms. The accelerometer sensor provides the means to automatically alter image orientation.

Philips and LUCI open the eighth annual international City People Light awards for 2010 entries

Eindhoven, The Netherlands – As urban lighting becomes an increasingly essential component of town planning, and a major element of a city’s identity, Philips and LUCI (the Lighting Urban Community International association) are to invite cities all over the world to celebrate their enhancement of urban living by launching the eighth annual international city.people.light awards.
Urban lighting can give a city a night-time beauty to match or even compete with its daytime image. At the same time, changing the urban landscape after dark through lighting can redefine the relationship between a city and its inhabitants.

The city.people.light awards set out to recognize the efforts cities and towns make to ‘rehumanize’ their environments, applying the medium of light for the well-being of those who live, work, visit or do business in a city or town. Awards are given to cities which best integrate an appreciation of contemporary urban living needs with the notions of ‘city’, ‘people’ and ‘light’ in a coherent lighting strategy.

Watch Live! Pacquiao vs. Clottey!

Watch Live! Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey on March 13, 2010 at Dallas Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas. 

Ticket prices range from USD44 to USD2,781.00 each. For complete pricelist and available seats, visit Ticketnetwork.com.

Here is the Pacquiao-Clottey Boxing Match Section Seating (click to zoom)

Universal Studios Singapore will start selling tickets on March 10!

SINGAPORE – Universal Studios Singapore, the region’s widely-anticipated attraction in Resorts World Sentosa, has concluded its sneak peek week to rave reviews and continues its opening process with team members, invited guests and charitable organizations building up to start welcoming the public in March.

Universal Studios Singapore Map

Located within one of the world’s most extensive and expansive tourism projects – the US$4.4 billion Resorts World Sentosa – Universal Studios Singapore will bring to life the best movie-themed attractions packed within seven zones ranging from Hollywood, Far Far Away™ to Sci-Fi City™ and The Lost World™.

Stone Temple Pilots Return With Self-Produced Eponymous New Album

Atlantic recording group Stone Temple Pilots has announced the upcoming release of their hugely anticipated new album. “STONE TEMPLE PILOTS” – the Grammy Award-winning band’s first all-new collection in close to a decade – will arrive in stores and at all online retailers around the globe on May 25th.

Produced by Stone Temple Pilots and mixed by Chris Lord-Alge (Green Day, Dave Matthews Band, My Chemical Romance), “STONE TEMPLE PILOTS” sees one of rock’s biggest bands continuing to explore their enduring approach to music – melding big rock riffs, classic pop hooks, and the restless experimentalism of glam, punk, and psychedelia.

Intel® is advertising on the Oscars® for the first time

SANTA CLARA, Calif., – On the heels of its return as an individual Super Bowl advertiser after a dozen years, Intel Corporation has announced it will be an Oscars® telecast advertiser for the first time.
“The Academy Awards® gives us another opportunity to convey to a huge audience that Intel is a different brand of company,” said Heather Dixon, consumer marketing director, Intel Americas. “We’re talking the all new 2010 Intel® Core™ processor family being brought to some 36 million viewers only weeks after we reached a Super Bowl audience of 106 million.

“The Super Bowl was a touchdown for us and the Oscars are our extra point.”

Intel’s Oscar debut, during Sunday’s ABC telecast, will be marked by a commercial titled “Generations,” which debuted during the Intel® Super Bowl Today Post-Game Show last month. As with most ads under the company’s 10-month-old “Sponsors of Tomorrow” marketing campaign, the 30-second spot employs what Intel calls “geek humor.” The commercial opens in 1982 with two boys excitedly playing a video game, wired remote and all. Fast forward to 1993 and 2003 and the same two guys – now older, of course (and played by different actors) — are still blown away by the latest technologies, which here are electronic mail and wireless PCs, respectively. Cut to the present day and the men are now Intel engineers practically speechless over how smart and fast the new Intel Core processors are.

Diet Coke Helps People "Stay Extraordinary" in New Marketing Campaign

ATLANTA –  Millions of extraordinary people enjoy the great-tasting refreshment of Diet Coke every day. It’s an indispensable part of their lives that helps keep them at their very best and “Stay Extraordinary” in whatever they do.

A new Diet Coke marketing campaign, which launches with a 60-second commercial centerpiece called “Stay,” celebrates the daily achievements of the next generation of young adult Diet Coke drinkers and shows how the brand helps them get the most out of life.

“Diet Coke drinkers are the most extraordinary people in the world. For these multi-faceted, confident, motivated individuals, the brand is an essential part of their lives,” said Katie Bayne, Chief Marketing Officer, Coca-Cola North America. “Because they strive to be their best, they embrace brands that inspire drive, passion and courage. Diet Coke helps them to excel at both work and play and ‘Stay Extraordinary.'”

Virgin America Elevate programme now offers frequent flyers easier, faster rewards

Virgin America today rolls out changes to its Elevate frequent flyer program, which will give guests more flexibility to earn and redeem points for travel on the award-winning airline.  As of today, the airline’s frequent flyers will be able to retain their Elevate points indefinitely, as long as they either earn or redeem points at least once every 18 months.  Previously, Elevate points expired 18 months from their earn date.  In addition, Elevate members can now earn even more points for free flights by shopping at the Red store.

“Since our launch in 2007, we’ve welcomed 1.24 million Elevate members.  Elevate has earned positive feedback from our guests for its simple, no-black-out date rewards structure – which does not force them to jump through hoops to book the travel they’ve earned,” said Porter Gale, Vice President of Marketing at Virgin America. “As a new airline, we’re continually striving to improve the guest experience and we take the input of our loyal flyers to heart.  We’re pleased to deliver today on one of our Elevate members’ most frequent requests:  points that don’t expire.”

Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew Global Expansion Begins with U.K. and Japan

SEATTLE – Six months after Starbucks introduced Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew in the U.S. and Canada the Company announced today it will launch Starbucks VIA® throughout Company-operated and licensed locations in the U.K. on March 8 and Japan on April 14. Customers in the U.S. and Canada have embraced this new product offering, and have become repeat purchasers as they discover that Starbucks quality coffee can be enjoyed anytime and anywhere. Building on this momentum, the company continues to expand Starbucks VIA® into grocery, mass and drug accounts in the U.S. and expects distribution to double to 30,000 locations by the end of the third quarter of Fiscal 2010.

New line of Sony digital voice recorders to be launched this April

Choice of ultra-high quality recorders with smart features and affordable MP3 note-takers

• Crisp, clear digital speech and music recording
• Super-long record times up to 1505 hours (model SX850)
• Easy operation and convenient recording management functionsLong battery life up to 48 hours (model BX800/PX820)
• Value bundle with Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 software (model SX850DR / PX820D)

Latest MP3 digital voice recorders from Sony team sparkling sound and huge record times with beautifully simple operation. Light and easy to carry, they’re perfect for ‘any time, any place’ recording of lecture notes, interviews, speeches and presentations, live music and more.

ICD-SX750 and ICD-SX850

Superlative audio quality meets ultra-long record times with the slim, elegantly styled ICD-SX750 and ICD-SX850 digital voice recorders.

2GB of flash memory inside the SX750 offers storage space for no less than 750 hours of voice recordings or music (in LP mode). A massive 4GB memory boosts record time on the SX850 to a phenomenal 1505 hours – that’s over two months of non-stop voice or music.

Xbox LIVE® Arcade: Toy Soldiers

Put your foot soldiers, snipers, cavalry, and fighter pilots to the test in Toy Soldiers. Poised to be a smash hit on Xbox LIVE® Arcade, Toy Soldiers is an action-packed strategy-based game in which players command antique WWI toy soldiers vying for control of the trench-filled battlefields of Europe. Deploy an exciting arsenal such as tanks, cavalry, biplanes, and flamethrowers in vintage WWI toy dioramas. Developed by Signal Studios exclusively for Xbox 360, Toy Soldiers allows you to take control of individual units or control the entire battlefield from a strategic view. Integrating multiple game genres and world-class visuals, Toy Soldiers is a unique and action-packed entertainment experience!

Experience epic action-packed battles with more than 50 unique units across two distinct armies, across five unique maps with their own special characteristics and multiplayer options.

• Easy-to-pick-up controls: Soldiers can fight on their own, or be controlled from a third-person mode.
• An arsenal of weapons: Fly planes, zeppelins, and even drive tanks to help your unit succeed in protecting its base.
• Multiplayer: Split screen allows you to easily fight in head-to-head battles with friends over Xbox LIVE, or on the same console.
• Miniaturized mayhem: Unique game visuals and post-effects capture the imagination and provide real world historical events in a playful toy-like miniature world.

Click for detailed information.

Apple Sues HTC for Patent Infringement

CUPERTINO, California—Apple® today filed a lawsuit against HTC for infringing on 20 Apple patents related to the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware. The lawsuit was filed concurrently with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

“We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.

Skype for Symbian phones: Free calls, free IMs, Free Download!

Luxembourg and Espoo, Finland – Skype and Nokia today jointly announced the release of Skype for Symbian,a Skype client for Nokia smartphones based on the Symbian platform, theworld’s most popular smartphone platform. Skype for Symbian will allowNokia smartphone users worldwide to use Skype on the move, over eithera WiFi or mobile data connection (GPRS, EDGE, 3G). It is nowdownloadable for free from the Ovi Store, Nokia’s one-stop shop formobile content or visit skype.com/m on your mobile phone.

Skype for Symbian enables Nokia smartphone users to:

• Make free Skype-to-Skype calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world*
• Save money on calls and texts (SMS) to phones abroad
• Send and receive instant messages to and from individuals or groups
• Share pictures, videos and other files
• Receive calls to their existing online number
• See when Skype contacts are online and available to call or IM
• Easily import names and numbers from the phone’s address book

Skype for Symbian will run on any Nokia smartphone using the latest version of the Symbian platform. Skype will soon introduce this client to Symbian mobile devices from other manufacturers, including Sony Ericsson.

“Symbianenables us to bring smartphones to more and more people and ensuresscale for our solutions and compelling services, such as Skype. We’reseeing around 1.5 million downloads a day on Ovi Store now and believethat the Skype client for Nokia smartphones will have wide appeal toSymbian users,” said Jo Harlow, Senior Vice President for Smartphones,Nokia.

“Skype, the king of Internet communications, running onSymbian, the world’s dominant smartphone platform, makes for anexplosive combination,” said Larry Berkin, Head of Global Alliances andGM USA, Symbian Foundation. “With Symbian’s global reach, Skype is thatmuch closer to becoming the ubiquitous real-time communicationsplatform for hundreds of millions of Symbian-based mobile users.”

RussShaw, General Manager, Mobile at Skype said, “With Skype for Nokiasmartphones, more than 200 million smartphone users worldwide** will beable to take the Skype features they love with them on the move.Alongside Skype’s relationships with operators and handsetmanufacturers worldwide, making Skype available direct to consumerswill help millions of users keep in contact with the people that areimportant to them without worrying about the cost, distance or whetherthey are away from a computer.”

The initial Skype for Symbian application is compatible with the following Nokia touchscreen models: 

• Nokia N97
• Nokia N97 mini
• Nokia X6
• Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
• Nokia 5530 

And the following non-touch devices:

• Nokia E72
• Nokia E71
• Nokia E90
• Nokia E63
• Nokia E66
• Nokia E51
• Nokia N96
• Nokia N95
• Nokia N95 8GB
• Nokia N85
• Nokia N82
• Nokia N81
• Nokia N81 8GB
• Nokia N79
• Nokia N78
• Nokia 6220 Classic
• Nokia 6210 Navigator
• Nokia 5320

For more information on Skype for Symbian, including the latest supported handset list, click here

7-Eleven’s 7-Election will allow us to drink juice from a Dick…Gordon Gulp® Cup!

This coming election, Filipinos can have a drink and vote with it, too.

Beginning March 10, 7-Eleven Philippines will be giving the entire Filipino nation a voice in the upcoming Presidential elections through the 7-Elections.

“7-Eleven in the USA first conducted this in 2000 and has run for three consecutive elections,” explains Jose Victor Paterno, President and CEO of Philippine Seven Corporation, Philippine licensee of 7-Eleven stores. “Partnered with two of the most prominent news networks in the U.S., CNN and USA Today, the informal polling was able to provide the public with daily and weekly poll results.”

While the poll may be informal, evidence from its U.S. precedent revealed surprisingly accurate results—revealing a one to two percent discrepancy between actual numbers from U.S. Voters versus 7-Election participants. In the same vein, the local 7-Election is set to provide Filipinos a fun and informal Presidential polling platform that not only makes it more accessible for the voting public to make their voices heard, but introduces the concept of choice and responsible voting to a wider demographic.

Locally, 7-Eleven hopes to highlight the Filipino’s Presidential options by making sure that all the Presidentiables–the top five, namely  Manny Villar, Joseph Estrada, Richard Gordon, Noynoy Aquino, and Gilbert Teodoro alongside fellow candidates Jamby Madrigal, JC de Los Reyes, Nicanor Perlas, Eddie Villanueva, even the voter’s right to abstain, are represented. The idea is to engage the greater public in this national initiative anchored on the value of freedom of choice and underscore the importance of responsible voting.

“For the duration of the campaign, anyone who wants his vote to be counted can just visit any 7-Eleven store and pick up a 16oz Gulp® Cup that bears the colors and image of their Presidential bet. And we’re making it easier and accessible for Filipinos to let their voices be heard by making it available in over 450 stores.“ he explains.

To ensure the veracity of each vote, each Presidentiable is assigned a specific barcode, which 7-Eleven cashiers will scan upon purchase of your Gulp® cup.  All votes are carefully audited and may be verified online at www.7-election.com.ph where the public can also view updates on detailed polling results, to give the public regular updates on the Presidential race. Voters may even share their vote thru Facebook.

“This has the potential to provide a pulse on the upcoming National elections. Our strong network of over 450 stores caters to Filipinos from all walks of life and may offer a good indication of how the real elections will turn out,” ends Mr. Paterno.

And because Every Gulp® Counts! Filipinos can literally drink to their candidate.