Globe Postpaid lowers cash-out for LG G4

Photo courtesy of engadget

After 3 months of being launched in the Philippines, LG Philippines cut P4000 off the SRP (Suggested Retail Price) of LG G4 from P32,990 to P28,900 for the G4 with Leather back case, and  from P31,990 to P27,900 for the G4 with metallic back case. 

Globe followed the move by lowering its cash-out for new and re-contracting subscribers. You can go ahead and check it out at the Globe online store, or visit the nearest Globe branch near you.

I got very enticed, and tempted as I am considering to get this phone should I decide to recontract, migrate to the new myLifestyle Plan, and be locked with Globe for 2 years. 

See old and new cash-out from Globe and Smart below:

Smart introduces "refreshed" Postpaid plans

Image courtesy of Smart Communications Inc

Disclaimer: The article below are my views on the new plans based on the infomation I know (experienced) and information I see in their website.

Smart followed Globe's footsteps a few months after it changed their Postpaid offerings, lowered its phone subsidy, and implemented a data cap across all data plans.  ,

Smart All-In Plans is almost the same as the old "All-In Plans", but note that its flexibundles does not offer unlimited data anymore. You may want to check-out the list of flexibundles here http://smart.com.ph/Postpaid/plans/flexibundles/flexibundle-list

Smart Data Plans 999, 1500, 2000, and 3000 are nowhere to be found now, and are replaced by Surf Plus Plans which puts a data cap (or allowance) to any of the plans, but allows users to subscribe even with smaller data allowance. I noticed that SurfPlus Plan 999 now gives 30 minutes of calls to all networks, 100 texts to all networks, and an Value Added service interchangeable every month, while the old (err. grandfathered) Data Plan 999 only gives 9 minutes of calls to all networks and 99 texts to all networks. See more details here: http://smart.com.ph/Postpaid/plans/surf-plus-plan 

Plan 399	Plan 599	Plan 799	Plan 999	Plan 1499	Plan 1999
Data Allowance	100 MB	200 MB	1.5 GB	5 GB	7 GB	9 GB
Calls	-	Unli calls to Smart and TNT	Unli calls to Smart and TNT	30 minutes of calls to all networks	60 minutes of calls to all networks	150 minutes of calls to all networks
Texts	Unli texts to Smart, TNT and Sun	Unli texts to Smart, TNT and Sun	Unli texts to Smart, TNT and Sun	100 texts to all networks	120 texts to all networks	200 texts to all networks
Gadget Shield	1 month	1 month	1 month	1 month	1 month	1 month
VAS Content	1 Free, interchangeable monthly	1 Free, interchangeable monthly	1 Free, interchangeable monthly	1 Free, interchangeable monthly	1 Free, interchangeable monthly	1 Free, interchangeable monthly

Choosing the best postpaid plan and network is entirely up to you. It is influenced mainly by your contact list, and the quality of service you get where you live and work. So choose wisely, because choosing the wrong one will end-up in 2 years of "misery".

Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge Live Photos

I went to Eastwood yesterday morning after my usual workout routine, and to my surprise, a live demo unit is already available at Smart Center Eastwood Citywalk. I was the first "customer" at the store, so I got a chance to play with it and view it from every angle for quite some time.

I have to say that both phones look gorgeous and premium. The camera is really good, I think one of the best in Android phones. The speakers are way louder than the iPhone 6 Plus. 

I read on early reviews online that the Samsung Galaxy S6 looks like an iPhone. It looks like an iPhone 6 only if you look at its aluminum side, other than that, it doesn't. I also noticed that the S6 demo unit is a dual SIM variant, while the S6 edge demo unit is a single SIM variant.

Later in the afternoon, I went to SM Megamall, and saw more demo units at the Globe Store, and Samsung Store in Cyberzone Bldg. B

If you are planning to get one, and not from a postpaid plan, prices are as follows:

• Galaxy S6 (32GB) SRP P35,990
• Galaxy S6 (64GB) SRP P41,990
• Galaxy S6 edge (64GB) SRP P47,990
• Galaxy S6 edge (32GB) SRP P41,990

The Samsung Galaxy S6 edge really took my heart. I love it's "edgy" look and feel. I think Samsung finally got the design right this time, to win both Android and non-Android users.

Here are a couple of photos I took from Smart Eastwood Citywalk, and I hope you enjoy it.

Samsung Galaxy S6

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge

All photos posted are my property.Copyright is applicable.

Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge Postpaid Plan Price Comparison

Globe and Smart finally released the postpaid plan cash-out prices for the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. Both devices will be available on April 10. If you pre-order now, both networks offers free wireless charging port on your new phone. Are you having a hard time thinking which plan offers less cash-out? See the table below.

You may also want to consider which plan will give you the best value out of your monthly service fee before signing-up. Some plans offers a data plan, a lot of free calls, but less SMS. Some plans offer a data plan and unlimited same network calls and text.

In my opinion, Smart wins this round. I personally do not like Globe's myLifestyle Plan. You can also read the same sentiment in online forums when they changed their myBest Ever Superplan to myLifestyle Plan. Globe subscribers will have to wait for a year or two before they change it again. 

Please note that this post is not a paid advertisement from neither networks.

Bookmark this page to be updated when Smart releases their cash-out for Data Plan 1500.

Smart released cash-out prices for Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Go to http://www1.smart.com.ph/postpaid/samsungnote4 for more details

Smart started offering the LG G3 at a lower plan!

Photo courtesy of Smart's LG G3 Page

Yes, you heard it right! The ultra-sleek LG G3 is now offered to Smart Postpaid Subscribers at a lower plan compared to Globe's. Take note that this is the LG G3 16GB ROM and 2GB RAM variant.

Globe details Samsung Galaxy Note 4 pricing across all plans

Photos courtesy of: Globe Samsung Note 4 Page

Planning to get the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 this weekend from Globe? Make sure you have lots of cash, or a high credit limit from your bank before you go to a Globe store because it ain't going to be free!

My Globe complaint regarding the latest billing system upgrade

Hello Globe,

I am very disappointed with your service recently. This is about your billing, after being delayed for three weeks, I finally received my Globe billing statement #26 which covers 16 Feb 2013 – 15 March 2013. To my surprise, I saw my data charges on “per-KB” basis, and worst of all, I am charged P45,390.26 for using my data which is supposed to be on a “special” time-based charging. I am grateful that you waived P43,158.12 of it because of the “No-Bill shock” feature, but I am sorry to say that I am still shocked to look at my bill as there are a lot of errors on my latest bill. I am blaming your “I.T. Billing upgrade” because it seems like it does not recognize how my legacy plan charges.

Now let’s enumerate the facts here first:

1.       Affected Mobile Number: 0917564****
2.       Plan prior March 19: MY FULLY LOADED PLAN 999 (Legacy Plan)
3.       Having billing issues with Bill Number: 26
4.       I have an unpaid balance of P1310.62 from Bill Number: 25

Let me enumerate the issues I have with my current bill:

1.       I did not request to change my data charging scheme from time-based to KB-based, so why am I being charged on per-KB basis?... and what is WAP charges? (See image below)

2.       I have Freebie F: 3-hour free mobile internet. You know what this means? If I consume this freebie, I will be charged P0.33 PER MINUTE and will not be on-top my bill because it will charged against my consumable. I have this freebie during this period, so why am I still being charged on per-KB basis? Please refer to ALL my previous bills, and you will be surprised that I am charged for data usage by the minute, and not per KB.

Bill No. 26

Bill No. 25

Now, you may be asking why I am sending an email instead of calling the hotline. Well, I already did. Three times actually, and it seems like all your representatives can’t understand English or Filipino because they can’t get the report right. You may refer to reference numbers:

1.       50202381 (4/20/2013) – Was not submitted by the first agent according to agent who created 50229581.
2.       50229581 (4/25/2013) – Disapproved. The agent just said on the report that I just wanted a bill adjustment, no details mentioned as above according to agent who created 50256847.
3.       50256847 (4/30/2013) – I don’t know if he took note of all the details I mentioned above.

You don’t know how stressed I am with this issue. I never had a billing issue with your company until this bill came along. I am also really disappointed because I have to repeat myself three times to report this issue without any resolution. Your customer service sucks when handling issues with bills. You better fix this because I am not responsible if there are issues with your “new” billing system, and I am not paying for something that is clearly isn’t my fault.

Regards,

Jan Brane Tizon





Follow me on Twitter @JBTizon, for updates regarding this matter.