WHEN Sibol, the Philippine national eSports team powered by Smart, won the gold medal for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, they not only made history for being the first gold medalists in the eSports debut, but they also proved that becoming a professional gamer is a career worth aspiring for. That more than the cash, the prizes or trophies, it served as a validation that they, too, deserve the same level of recognition just like any other athlete.
The success of team Sibol further sparked interest in eSports, and at the recently concluded NCR leg of the Smart Siklab Saya Mobile Legends Tournament, thousands of gamers gathered at the SM Megamall Megatrade Hall and SM Skydome to try and make their own mark, and win the P1 million grand prize. Siklab Saya is the biggest nationwide gathering and tournament for gamers and fans of MLBB, and it was also held in key cities, including Bacolod, Olongapo, and Tuguegarao.
The mobile services provider has always been a staunch supporter of Filipino gamers and even has its own team competing in The Nationals, the first and only franchise-based eSports league in the country.
With the deployment of 5G in more areas in the Philippines coming much sooner, Smart sees mobile gamers benefiting from this super high-speed mobile Internet connection.
Last week, athletes from The Nationals joined the country’s first 5G-powered eSports exhibition match held at the PLDT Headquarters in Makati City.
Using 5G handsets, such as the Huawei Mate 5G, OPPO Reno 5G and the ZTE Axion, athletes from PLDT-Smart Omega and Cignal Ultra Warriors battled it out on Mobile Legends using Smart’s 5G network.
PLDT Chief Revenue Officer, and Smart President and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio said they have always been a staunch supporter of this growing industry, and part of this commitment is making the best of our technologies available for the advancement of eSports in the country.
During the SEA Games, Smart partnered with the Philippine national eSports team Sibol and offered incentives for gold medalists.
For Darren Vitug, commissioner of The Nationals, 5G is very promising and said the athletes would love the lower latency which would allow them to maximize their response times, and teams will benefit from other use cases like instant download of replays, and access of VODs for their reviews and strategy phases.
5G, or fifth-generation wireless broadband technology, has the capability to deliver extremely high speeds coupled with lower latency—two factors important in delivering an enhanced gaming experience.
5G is super fast, maybe even 20 times faster than 4G, and gamers know the importance of low latency and how precious milliseconds could spell the difference between victory and defeat.
Lower latency delivered by Smart’s current 5G network will also be ideal for real-time AR/VR and game applications. Lag is one of the reasons that early ventures into virtual reality proved sickening for the player. Because of high speed and low latency, lots of the processing power can live in the cloud, freeing those headsets from cords, and allowing for an even better VR experience.
Of course, faster speeds can lead to even more growth in mobile gaming. A lot of mobile games are played while you are outside or on the move; with 5G, you don’t have to worry about playing online and dropping out of the game because of bad or slow connections. 5G SA has been described as “pure 5G” as it relies solely on 5G for data transmission and allows the full benefit of 5G capabilities to be tested and demonstrated. In contrast, 5G NSA (non-standalone) combines the use of 5G and existing 4G/LTE resources to transmit data.
Smart fired up the country’s first 5G base stations in Makati and Pampanga in 2018, transforming Makati City and Clark Freeport Zone into the country’s first Smart 5G Cities. Last year, Araneta City became the country’s first Smart 5G Lifestyle Hub and 5G-enabled shopping mall as it hosted the country’s first 5G indoor deployment. PLDT and Smart have also launched 5G at the Ateneo de Manila University, transforming it into the first Smart 5G campus.
Armed with both fixed and wireless infrastructure powered by the country’s most extensive fiber network (now over 307,000 kilometers), PLDT and Smart are best positioned to deploy 5G in the country. In its ongoing LTE and LTE-Advanced roll-out, Smart is also deploying 5G-capable equipment and upgrading its network’s Core and Transport elements, including upgrading to fiber the backhaul connecting the network’s cell sites nationwide
SAMSUNG LAUNCHES S20 SERIES, GALAXY Z FLIP
IF there’s any indication that 5G adoption might be happening a lot sooner, it’s the commitment of smartphone companies in producing 5G-capable smartphones. Earlier this week, at their “Unpacked” event in San Francisco, Samsung unveiled the new Galaxy S20 series. The new devices boast of a new camera architecture capable of taking “pro-grade” photos and videos and, for the first time, Samsung is releasing a fully 5G lineup with all versions touting support for the emerging mobile technology. As of this writing, we are not sure which 5G variants will be available here in the Philippines.
This year, we get a trio of options, the base Galaxy S20, the S20+ and the S20 Ultra. Samsung says its decision to jump straight from the S10 to the S20 is meant to signal its shift to a new generation of devices as 5G becomes increasingly available—or maybe its just to match the year 2020?
Perfect for multi-hyphenates who juggle work and play—and everything in between—on their device, the Samsung S20 Series features both performance and an immersive display to let users switch from one productivity app to another, browse social-media updates, and enjoy a much richer multimedia experience on the go.
The Galaxy S20 introduces an entirely new camera system—powered by AI and their biggest image sensor, yet—that brings out the best in every image and every moment. The S20 and S20+ have a 64MP camera, while the S20 Ultra—the most advanced in the series—offers a variety of perspectives in capturing precious moments on the fly with its powerful combination of cameras, including a 12MP Ultra Wide Lens, 108MP Wide Lens, 48MP Telephoto Lens and ToF Quad Camera with 100x Space Zoom at the back, and a 40MP front camera.
The S20 boasts of a Space Zoom technology that uses Hybrid Optic Zoom, which includes AI-powered digital zoom, up to 30X zoom on the Galaxy S20 and S20+, and an industry-first Super Resolution Zoom up to 100X on the S20 Ultra, with its revolutionary folded lenses. One interesting camera mode is Single Take, which captures a 10-second video of a particular moment and picks out the best frames, such as live focus, cropped, ultra wide, etc., and lets you choose the best one to save. As for videos, the Galaxy S20 can shoot in 8K, which you can later stream to your TV, if you have a Samsung QLED 8K TV, or upload it directly to YouTube.
The Galaxy S20 Series also debuts Quick Share, Samsung’s new feature similar to Apple’s Airdrop that allows users to send large files to each other.
Besides photography, the Galaxy S20, likewise, takes mobile gaming to the next level. With a 120Hz display, you’ll have the ability to experience incredibly smooth gaming. Combined with the fastest Exynos processor and 12GB of RAM, audio tuned by AKG, and a game booster working in the background to optimize settings for peak performance, the Galaxy S20 offers a powerful gaming experience.
Almost stealing the scene from the S20 is the sleek Galaxy Z Flip, the second foldable phone from Samsung. It features an ultrathin glass technology for its premium look and feel, and a revolutionary fold experience with its free-stop hinge, which allows users to conveniently take photos and videos hands-free. Moreover, it offers a fluid and immersive viewing experience with its 6.7” Dynamic AMOLED Infinity Flex-O Display, and gives users a seamless experience on their favorite apps while flipping from the cover to the main display.
Smart offers the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra at P3,199 per month with a one-time cash out of P15,020 for the device, and the Galaxy S20+ at P2,899 per month with a one-time cash out of P9,900 for the device. The Galaxy S20, which will be exclusively available to telco operators, goes for P2,699 per month with a one-time cash out of P9,700 for the device.
On the other hand, Smart offers the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip at P3,499 per month with a one-time cash out of P15,310 for the device.
These are all under the Signature Plan L, which comes with monthly 15GB data, unlimited texts to all networks, unlimited on-net calls, and 150 minutes of calls to all networks under a 24-month contract.
As a bonus, subscribers with approved preorders for Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S20+ will get free Galaxy Buds Plus worth P6,990.
Moreover, Smart subscribers who are renewing their postpaid plans also enjoy discounts on their chosen plans.