Starry-eyed over Starmobile phone..

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Now that my three alternative phones are already resting in peace, I have decided to go ahead with my plan of buying another, but better one.  I could have tried to revive my old phones, e.g., replacement of battery and/or charger but then, for now (read: temporarily), I just seem to grow tired of saving a few hundred/thousands bucks at the expense of my inconvenience.

In the spirit of Christmas (read: another excuse), I deserve a little bit of splurging, don't I?  Well, I'm still trying to control my spending and I hope, this time, I will succeed.  I've been goggling for the best tv phone and just recently, I came across with Starmobile's Up Max, which specs are as follows:

Screen Size: 5-inch IPS Multi touch

Scratch Resistant DragonTrail Glass

Sim: Dual SIM (Regular + Micro)

WiFi: Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Hotspot

Internal Memory: 16GB Internal Storage

RAM: 1GB RAM

Card Slot: Expandable Up to 64GB via MicroSD

Camera: 13.0 Megapixel Autofocus Main Camera with Sony IMX 135 Sensor and LED Flash

Front Camera: 5.0 Megapixel Autofocus Front Camera

OS: Android 5 Lollipop OS

Processor: 1.3GHz Quad Core ARM Cortex-A7

GPU: Mali-400 MP2 GPU

Chipset: MediaTek MT6582 Chipset

ISDB-T Digital TV Tuner

Radio: FM Radio

Battery: 5000mAh Li-Po Battery

I like that the phone has a digital tv tuner, fm radio, and a 5000mAh battery, which is almost twice the life of my primary phone's battery.  And per their website, it costs P6,490 only, which exceeded my targeted expense of P5,000 by P1,490.  Nonetheless, the price is still cheap compared to the better but pricier Knight Spectra's P14,990.  The downside, however, of Up Max is that its connectivity is only 2G GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 / 3G UMTS/SCDMA: 850/1200 / HSPA+ compared to Spectra's 2G / 3G / HSPA+ / Download upto 21.1Mbps / 4G LTE.  In other words, there might be connectivity issues that is expected to be dealt with concerning the use of Up Max.

Urggh!  I am so into internet!!!

But I am not willing to shell off P14,990 just for that.  No!!! I must remind myself that I am buying an alternative phone, and that means, going for the second best.. :(

Globe, No Longer An Option

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Just when I already decided to get myself a Globe Plan P1,799, I found out that my residential address is not among those covered by Globe's long-term evolution (LTE) service.  I will be transferring to a new residence soon and my inquiry disclosed that even my future location is not covered too.  Too bad, Globe's plan package would have had suited my budget and lifestyle as compared with that of Smart.

It is disappointing to know that Globe is not yet that competitive especially when it comes to internet service.  It does not even offer LTE connection yet for those on prepaid plans and/or light internet users like me who, at times, depend on free wifi signal every time there is a chance to be connected free of charge.

No wonder Smart still dominates the telecommunication industry.  That only means one thing, I have no other choice but to get a Smart plan.  Whether it is a postpaid or a prepaid, that is the question.. :(