Homegrown tech: myPhone’s TV21
by Miguel Escobar on August 25, 2010
Filipino technology: do we make the cut?
Modern-day denizens of the Philippines are keen to embrace technology— that much is fairly certain. A stroll about Manila’s many nooks and crannies will reveal that this particular urban metro is tightly woven with all things tech. Mobile phones and their various parts are vended in even the most uncanny of places, malls boast different kinds of tech hubs that cater to peoples’ growing digital needs, and Internet shops seem almost perpetually packed with people.
All of these are representative of how truly tethered we have become to technology in all its arguable splendor— but the question remains: how competitive can our nation be in the global technology industry? Filipinos are clearly very potent consumers of tech, but are we capable of being productive game players in the tech market? Or are we better off with sticking to top-notch brands brought to us by America, Japan and Finland?
Unsurprisingly, stalwart Filipino patriotism wouldn’t stand for this. About three years ago, Solid Group Incorporated brought the myPhone brand into the Philippine market with the goal of creating a purely Pinoy brand that’ll earn a good spot in the tech game. Since then, they’ve released several models under myPhone, garnering a fair amount of popularity and penetration across the nation.
Despite how popular it has become, another question persists: how good is our tech compared to other internationally-made and readily-available products in the market? To find out, I recently got my hands on a myPhone TV21.
This particular unit is known for its dual-SIM capability and a plethora of other features that come as generally standard among today’s phones. Within the seven thousand peso range, you’re getting a touch screen, a two-megapixel camera, analog television with an antenna, expandable memory via SD card, MP3, MP4, the works— the TV21 definitely isn’t just a regular phone.
The phone had its perks— it was loaded with the fully-working features you might expect from a phone of that price range, and it feels sturdy and reliable enough. The dual-SIM is really convenient too. However, it had numerous problems in terms of intuitiveness and accessibility. The touch screen is difficult to use (most especially and disappointingly when texting); the user interface itself, while easy enough to learn, feels rather awkward and cluttered.
A single USB-FireWire port for charging and as an audio jack is also a gripe— you won’t be able to do both at the same time, and it’ll be difficult to come by a good set of earphones. While the TV21 may have a market in buyers-on-budget, it’s not exactly the best bang for your buck out there.
More than anything, the TV21 and myPhone in general make a few fair representations of Filipino technology. They stand as testament to our ability to provide ourselves with decent tech that keeps us reasonably in touch with modern times; so suffice to say, we’re going somewhere.
While I salute the valiant effort, a lot of loose ends still need to be taken care of. Quality and originality are main points to consider for the future, since a lot of our tech (including myPhone and its various iPhone dead ringers) feels overly derivative and quirky. So yes, while the myPhone is still a workable option, for now I think it may be best for us to stick to the likes of Nokia, Samsung, Sony, and Apple. That’s not to say there isn’t hope for us yet, though. With time, I am confident that Filipino ingenuity will prevail.
photo sources
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