The Smart Netphone – Not Just A Device But An Advocacy

I was recently invited to the 2 grand launches of Smart’s latest and revolutionary device – The Smart Netphone.

The first launch was held at the PLDT-Smart Jump Experience Center inside SM Megamall’s Cyberzone.

My son, Ralph, loves gadgets and tech toys just like me so I asked him to come along.  We checked (and tested) out a ton of smartphones, tablets, laptops and many other devices displayed and readily on-hand.  Very cool place.

During the program, Smart executives and the people behind the development of the device (and its proprietary technology) explained how this revolutionary phone was birthed.  They demonstrated its ease and power.  And since the best way to actually know more about something like this is to experience it hands-on, Smart raffled out 11 (yes, eleven) brand new Netphone 701s!  Neat, eh?!

The second (and more “chic”) launch was held at Republiq, Resorts World just a day after.

It was an awesome Netphone party with the entire venue blanketed with a hazy shade of blue lights and countless LCD TVs displaying scrolling tweets of people talking about the new #SmartNetphone.

KC Montero and Andi Manzano hosted the festivities wherein a huge number of Netphone 701 units were raffled off once again.  But other than phones, Smart also gave away trips (for two) to countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, and Silicone Valley, United States.

Why is it called a “netphone”, you ask?  Well, in a nutshell, it’s an Android powered (version 2.2 Froyo) smartphone that keeps you connected 24/7… for free.

With a pretty affordable prepaid package price of Php 9,990.00 only, the Netphone 701 gives everyone the opportunity to use one of the best smartphone in its class (according to Smart).  Using proprietary applications on the phone over the SmartNet and with Smart’s patented Safe Browse technology, chatting via Yahoo Messenger or connecting to social networks such as Twitter and Facebook is absolutely worry-free.  It even has its very own Netphone Messenger which is, in a way, a counterpart of Blackberry’s extremely popular BBM (Blackberry Messenger).

Those who aren’t too keen on using the Android OS need not worry.  Smart promises that the power of the SmartNet will eventually be ported to the Symbian OS (Nokia) and Apple’s iOS platform.

But what exactly can a Smart Netphone do other than send tweets and post Facebook statuses for free, you might be asking yourself.  Below is a video that best shows its power and potential:

SMS is still a major mode of communication in the Philippines, but with the onset of social media and the various ways you can communicate with other people, “texting” has greatly declined.  It is for this reason, perhaps, that Smart has decided to embrace and harness the power of social media – to enable each Filipino, privileged and underprivileged, to get online… not just constantly, but affordably.

Think of it as an advocacy.  In line with every person’s right to have access to the internet.  Bravo, Smart!  You have brought us one step closer to realizing this.

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