ONE of the leading wireless communications providers around these parts, Globe Telecom kicked off the new year by rebranding its postpaid offerings to a single, unified subscription plan for a more simplified and, thus, better customer experience. With the new MyLifestyle Plan, priced at P499, new postpaid subscribers will enjoy unlimited calls and texts to other Globe and TM subscribers, and this without the user ever having to key in particular—and particularly confusing—number combinations to enjoy the same, as all that “unli” goodness is already built-in with the new plan.
No doubt, the new Globe MyLifestyle Plan, which the company made available on January 16 and launched during Cebu’s legendary Sinulog Festival, can only further Globe’s leadership in the postpaid landscape.
Of course, there is more to the company’s unified postpaid plan than just unlimited calls and texts to family, friends and acquaintances subscribed to its network. You can top off that basic P499 plan with just the mobile and data add-ons—called “packs”—most suitable to your lifestyle. (You didn’t think Globe called it “MyLifestyle Plan” on a whim, right?) If you typically leverage the Internet on a daily basis, you can choose from a variety of “Surf Packs” that already come with free Spotify and NBA League Pass. From there, you can choose from yet another variety of “Lifestyle Packs” to add to your plan, allowing you to do all the social networking that you want. Finally, you can choose from a range of so-called Classic Packs that give you, for example, unlimited everything to contacts living offshore or subscribed to other networks.
Besides offering a new and simplified postpaid plan that can be easily customized according to one’s lifestyle, Globe is of course also providing a range of desirable smartphones and mobile-gadget bundles to go with the base plan and the added packs. Certainly the most desirable of these gadget offerings is the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, the latest iteration of what started this so-called phablet madness now going around, and which has resoundingly eclipsed the Galaxy S6 as the most compelling offering from the South Korean consumer electronics giant that has been beset by troubles in recent months.
It is easy to see why the Galaxy Note 4 has been better received in the market than Samsung’s flagship smartphone. As iterations go, the Note 4 improves on its predecessor in ways big and small. As with most Samsung smartphones, the Note 4 is still largely a polycarbonate (read: plastic) affair but it has appropriated the metal rim the company introduced with the Galaxy Alpha. And while the faux-leather textured backing of the Note 3 has been retained, Samsung has chosen—very wisely, we must say—to ditch the equally faux-stitching detail for this latest generation. The metal rim and the textured finish give the Galaxy Note 4 not just a reassuring heft but also a premium feel.
Looking at the Note 4, you would think that Samsung didn’t bump up the high-definition AMOLED display from the previous generation’s—and you’d be right and wrong at the same time. True, the display of the Note 4 still measures 5.7 inches, but fire up the phablet and you’d quickly notice that the company has cranked the display resolution to 2,650×1,440p, up from its older sibling’s 1080p—and even the pixel density has been improved from 386 ppi to 515 ppi. That’s even more pixels than what the iPhone 6 Plus can boast about with its 401 ppi. And while Samsung rival LG’s G3 flagship can brag about having better pixel numbers at 538 ppi, we can say that after jacking up the brightness level on both smartphones, LG’s display looks just a tad dimmer than Samsung’s. Of course, non-Samsung fans would say that the Note 4’s display is blindingly bright, but you know the saying about different folks and different strokes. Needless to say, photos and videos look great on that HD AMOLED screen.
The Galaxy Note 4 that has made its way into Asian markets is powered by Samsung’s own 64-bit 1.9GHz octa-core Exynos 5433, while other markets are getting it fueled by a 2.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon—but don’t let the hard numbers fool you. The Note 4 we’ve had the pleasure of playing with held up exceptionally well despite throwing at it multiple tasks, this no doubt helped by the 64-bit Mali-T760 GPU and 3GB of system RAM. It runs on Google’s much-lauded Android 4.4.4, also known as KitKat, but of course Samsung has assured Note 4 buyers that the phablet is primed and ready to be upgraded to Lollipop (V5.0), the latest and greatest version of the dominant mobile OS.
For those who like to consume and create media while on the go, the Galaxy Note 4 comes with 32GB of user memory built-in, and storage can be supplemented by the microSD card slot to provide 64GB more of space for all those photos and videos the user will be inclined to take with the phablet’s solid and sensational 16MP rear-facing camera with optical image stabilization and LED flash. There is also the secondary, front-facing 3.7MP camera for video conferencing and, yes, all those selfies everybody is inclined to take these days—although Samsung’s camera app has a selfie mode that leverages the more powerful front-16MP shooter, resulting in selfies with much better image quality once you get the hang of it.
To cap this, Globe offers the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 under its MyLifestyle Plan at P2,249 with P800 monthly cash-out for 24 months. The plan offer comes with unlimited calls and texts to Globe, 1.5GB worth of mobile Internet, free access to Instagram, Instasize, Photo Grid and Photo Repost, and monthly consumable for more calls and texts. Visit tinyurl.com/n4xnv5x to know more about the company’s new postpaid offers.
