CORP TALK: In a report by Nikkei Electronics, Shenzhen, China-based Huawei Technologies has deployed what is believed to be Southeast Asia’s largest 2.5GHz WiMAX commercial network in the Philippines.

The company supplied local telecom company, Globe Telecom, with a telecom-grade, end-to-end WiMAX solution which allowed the operator to deploy the network quickly. Through this WiMAX network, Globe Telecom subscribers will now be able to enjoy high-speed wireless broadband access and high quality VoIP services as part of its efforts to provide affordable and reliable Internet access and broadband services in the country.

In a separate report, the company has also partnered with Singapore telecom company StarHub to launch StarHub’s HSPA+ network in Singapore. This would make StarHub the first operator in Asia-Pacific to have mobile broadband network speeds of up to 21Mbps (from a previous speed offering of up to 14.4Mbps), making StarHub customers among the first users in the world to experience the fastest mobile broadband speeds.

Up to 33 new imaging and printing products were shown in Canon Philippines' ImageNation Smile Expo 09 tour.

SHOWCASE: Our team in Philippines reported that Canon Philippines held its annual ImageNation celebration with a theme called Smile Expo ‘09 at A. Venue, Makati City, Philippines yesterday. The expo saw 33 new products from Canon’s line of digital cameras, digital camcorders, printers and copiers.

Among the items shown were the PowerShot A480, SX200 IS, D10, A2100 IS, A1100 IS cameras; IXUS 110 IS, IXUS 100 and IXUS 95 IS; SELPHY CP780 Compact Photo Printer; PhotoDV camcorders DC410 and DC420; VIXIA camcorders FS21, FS22 and FS200; PIXMA printers MX328, MX338, MX868, PIXMA Pro 9000 Mark II and Pro 9500 Mark II.

What’s unusual about Canon’s ImageNation Smile Tour is that besides the launch, the tour visits various SM malls nationwide, beginning with SM Mall of Asia (12-25 March 2009), then SM Cebu (23 March - 5 April), SM Pampanga (26 March - 8 April), SM Davao (9-22 April), SM Megamall (23 April-6 May) and SM North EDSA (14-27 May).

More images of the products after the jump. (more…)

SHOWCASE: Research in Motion (RIM)  unveiled the thinnest and lightest full-QWERTY BlackBerry smartphone - the BlackBerry Curve 8900 - in the Philippines today. Within the region, the Curve 8900 has been announced in Singapore with a price of S$898 (US$586) without contract.

BlackBerry Curve 8900 has no price and service plan yet, but expect them before the end of March 2009.

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone weighs 110g and measures 109 x 60 x 13.5mm. Besides the usual multimedia and office productivity apps, the Curve 8900 has a built in GPS, EDGE, a HVGA+ (480 x 360) screen and 3.2-megapixel camera. It also boasts a hot-swappable microSD/SDHC memory card slot with support for cards up to 16GB. The Curve 8900 will be available from Globe Telecom and Smart Communications but pricing info and service plans weren’t released by the carriers.  (more…)