THE ALL-NEW HONDA REBEL1100: Sophistication, elegance in its design

June 6, 2023

The all-new Honda Rebel1100. (Photo from Honda Philippines, Inc.)

WHEN it comes to different types of motorcycles, few are as revered as the bobber style.

The bobber’s sleek and powerful appearance, along with its unique riding position, instills a sense of authority in any enthusiast who takes on the open road.

Honda Philippines, Inc. (HPI), the country’s leading motorcycle manufacturer, has recently introduced the all-new Rebel1100 to give Filipino riders the opportunity to experience this iconic bike. With its modern bobber design, classic single-round LED headlight, and muscular fuel tank, this model catches the eye and exudes a vintage-inspired charm.

Not only does it evoke a nostalgic aesthetic, but it also provides riders with a relaxed posture for a comfortable and sophisticated journey, be it long or short. Best of all, this stylish and high-performance big bike comes at an affordable suggested retail price of P650,000, making it easily attainable for those who crave mobility in style.

To enhance the bike’s stylish appeal and reflect personal taste, the Rebel1100 offers two-color choices for its front fork, exhaust, and shock absorber — Gunmetal Black Metallic and Iridium Gray Metallic — both radiating an imposing presence on the road.

One of the notable features of this impressive machine is its smooth and adaptable suspension settings. The front fork is positioned at a reclining angle, reminiscent of cruiser-style bikes, ensuring a seamless ride. The bike is equipped with preload adjusters, allowing riders to customize the suspension to suit their preferences. Whether you’re embarking on a leisurely drive, a tranquil out-of-town getaway, or navigating through daily traffic during your commute, the Rebel1100 delivers a smooth and controlled experience.

While the Rebel1100’s styling embraces the vintage allure, its performance specifications are undeniably cutting-edge. Its powerhouse consists of a 1,083cc, Parallel-Twin Cylinder, Liquid-Cooled, Single-Overhead Cam (SOHC) engine capable of producing 64kW of power at 7,000rpm and 98Nm of torque at 4,750rpm. Paired with Honda’s exclusive 6-Speed Dual-Clutch Transmission (DCT), which offers automatic-style shifting, riders can expect exceptional confidence and control on the road.

Additionally, the Rebel1100 is equipped with Cruise Control and an advanced Selectable Riding Mode. Cruise Control enables riders to maintain a steady speed within a specified range, reducing fatigue during long-distance travel and ensuring a comfortable arrival after an extended road trip. The Selectable Riding Mode allows riders to choose from four performance modes: Standard, Sport, Rain, and User. Each mode provides different levels of power, torque control, engine braking, and shift schedule. Standard mode is perfect for everyday riding under optimal conditions, ideal for city cruising. Sport mode offers a more aggressive throttle response, perfect for winding roads and performance-oriented riding. Rain mode prioritizes safety control in wet conditions, particularly useful during the rainy season. Lastly, User mode empowers riders to customize the engine characteristics according to their specific needs.

Safety remains a top priority for the Rebel1100, as it incorporates a range of advanced features to ensure a secure ride. The bike is equipped with front and rear disc brakes featuring 2-Channel ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) and Honda Selectable Torque Control (HSTC) with Wheelie Control.

This braking system guarantees immediate stopping power while maintaining control. The exclusive HSTC system, coupled with Wheelie Control, enhances grip and stability on slippery roads, providing riders with an enhanced sense of security. Additionally, the bike offers a USB Socket Type C under the seat, allowing for convenient charging of phones and other devices. All these advanced systems can be efficiently monitored on the bike’s high-tech inverted LCD meter display.

Motorcycle training coincides with world road safety week

Gregory E. Bautista

May 16, 2023

JAPAN’S leading oil company Eneos held last Friday a motorcycle riding course KRB MX Speedway in Antipolo coinciding with the global celebration of the UN Global Road Safety Week. The event was participated in by young riders as well as members of the motoring media who were trained by esteemed motorcycle riding coach Mel Aquino. The event was held at the KRB MX Speedway in Antipolo.

Warm welcome from ENEPH President Kazumasa Imai.

“We are not only committed to provide products and services that are safe and secure, but we also advocate for safety on the road especially for the motorcycle riding public,” Kazumasa Imai, President of Eneos Philippines Corporation (ENEPH) said in his welcome speech, highlighting how the one-day program was designed to make riders safer on and off-road.

“Given the very high number of riders in the country, we intend to play a major role in helping the community value safety both off-road and on-road. Helping us in this endeavor are our brand ambassadors that are champion riders who understand that safety is paramount whether on the racetrack or on public roads,” Roscel Isip, General Manager, Marketing & Planning of ENEPH explained. Data shows that the motorcycles industry in the Philippines is the 5th largest in the World. Motorcycles account for 71 pecent of total registered vehicles in the Philippines and is seen forecast to grow by 5 to 7 percent annually.

“The Motorcycle Riding School Philippines by Mel Aquino is one good things to start getting rid of these so-called “kamote riders”…I never handled a motorcycle before. But when we finished the almost 4-hour riding clinic, I can now manage to ride one and learned a lot, from proper riding posture to proper braking and even the basic gadgets needed for motorcycle riding,” Andy Sevilla, motoring editor of Market Monitor said.

“It is a great opportunity to enhance our motorcycling skills and learn more about being safe while sharing the road with other riders and road users,” Raffy Pedrajita, technical editor of Tech Patrol told Malaya Business Insight. Pedrajita who is a daily rider said he learned many innovative ways of riding during the training.

Aquino, who is also a local motocross hero was assisted by a team of other coaches led by Eneos Motor Oil brand ambassadors Philippine motocross champion Bornok Mangosong, Superbike rider and off-road lady rider Des Buncio and Superbike champion Jacq Buncio.

The Buncio sisters are daughters of one of the legends of Philippine motocross Gregorio “Yoyong” Buncio. Their brother Maico was also a road racing champion before being killed in a tragic accident while practicing for the 2011 Superbike races in Clark, Pampanga.

During the one-day seminar at the Motorcycle Riding School Philippines KRB MX Speedway in Antipolo, participants learned about the importance of wearing the correct riding gear, the need to conduct a pre-ride inspection, the 7 different riding postures, braking techniques, cornering and the 3 types of leaning, and tips in proper road behavior. The afternoon was spent going around the off-road track where Coach Mel and his team of coaches conducted hands-on training for better appreciation and application.

“The number one cause of motorcycle accidents is human error and we hope to address that through proper motorcycle safety training. Learning in our off-road track would greatly benefit an on-road rider especially when road conditions are less than ideal,” Aquino said. “We also have a program specifically for kids so they start with the right fundamentals and can have more fun riding as they grow older.”

“After the event, I realized that there are many things I need to improve with my riding. Even off-road the techniques are applicable in riding on the asphalt because we deal with controlling traction and grip all the time. This is an important lesson from the event,” Novy Quiamco, Managing Editor and Web Content Editor at 2Ner, who is lady motorcycle enthusiast and daily rider.

Part of road safety is good motorcycle maintenance which means the use proper and high quality lubricants. For the two-wheeled segment, Eneos Motor Oil has a high-performance fully synthetic motorcycle oil for racing, a synthetic-based motorcycle oil for all types of 4-stroke engines, a synthetic automatic scooter oil and scooter gear oil and a mineral-based motorcycle oil for all types of 4-stroke engines. For cars, on the other hand, it has ultra-modern and environment-friendly fully synthetic motor oils for gasoline and diesel engines, high-performance synthetic motor oils for gasoline engines and diesel engines and a highly refined mineral-based motor oil for gasoline and diesel engines.

Eneos Philippines is part of the global distribution of Japan’s No. 1 Oil Company that provides top quality, high performance automotive lubricant solutions within reach of motorists nationwide. Established in October 2019, it commits to deliver outstanding power to every Filipino’s drive.

realme C55 REVIEW: A stylish champion with impressive features

Gregory E. Bautista

April 26, 2023

IT’S called the Stylish Champion for a good reason.

And as of this writing you need to wait for to get one because stocks have run out–a testament to the appeal of a beautiful device with an affordable price.

There is a lot to say about the realme C55’s (aka RMX3710) classy and sharp lines as well as how it is put together, sturdily, with just the right amount of features. And for its price, the oft used and abused ‘value-for-money’ proposition, for the C55 it is the norm.

First, the feel is really hefty and premium and not plasticky or light. The wonderful dual-tone finish on the back panel gives a glossy and sheen when light hits it. The nacelle that houses the camera looks sturdy and clean but the cameras are large and googly, like the eyes of my dad’s cat, which I feel is really appealing and nice.

Next, the matte surfaces all around provide a tactile feel to the already premium hold and adds to grip. I do like the flat edges and curved corners, which is snug and though it does not feel light and cheap it is actually only 189 grams, making it easy to hold for long periods without fatigue. realme says it’s the thinnest phone in its C-series range now.

Priced at P8,999.00 for the 6GB+128GB and P10,999.00 for the 8GB+256GB variant the realme C55 falls under a mid-range the ‘budget-friendly’ segment. There is so much that price gives–a 6.72-inch FHD+ display with a 90Hz screen refresh, the 64MP + 2MP dual rear cameras, and an 8MP selfie camera.

The review unit I tested was the 8GB variant so that there was more that could be done on the gaming side, which I was told by my colleagues in the community, the 6GB version could also deliver fairly well, but not for an extended time.

The realme C3, still alive after a major road crash incident, with a simple screen change is back in business and have been a tool since 2018. I expect the same longevity from the C55.

realme is tough

The last time I held a realme smartphone for a review was the realme C3 aka the RMX2020, which performed well beyond its price range. That phone, suffered major damage after it fell from my unzipped pants pocket while riding to Nagcarlan. I didn’t find out about it until 4 hours later and found it using FindMyDevice in a somewhat dry ditch somewhere between barangays Buenavista and Manaol.

I went over to the realme service center in Calamba and had the screen replace for P2,000 (with labor). Now I could have thrown it away given that the C3 was prices at around P6K when it was launched, but the heck, isn’t recovery and repurposing more environmentally sane?

So when I recovered the phone, I have since used it instead not only as a back up phone but also as the main hotspot because I packed it with a GOMO SIM whicih is also as relentless.

The incident for me cemented the toughness of realme–I had the screen replaced the realme service center in Calamba, Laguna and it has been operating, now as my second phone for over nearly 3 years now. The battery still works well enough and despite all the bashing with the plastic casing, it stood up very well for me.

Maximized where it counts

Tech nuts will probably complain of the vintage MediaTek Helio G88 chipset. But I wouldn’t. It’s not like technology updates happens every month. The Helio isn’t vintage at all based on the lifecycle of chips, it was was first introduced in 2021 and is a standard for many other brands.

Maximizing that SoC is what is important. This can be done from a hardware or a UI perspective and I do feel that realme’s UI does this well. With Android 13 OS running in the back and the and realme’s UI 4.0 interface moving on top, it handles almost all the tasks given to it, and passed on the online performance tests with ease. It doesn’t heat up under pressure and comes with storage that is expandable up to 1TB using a microSD card. One can also part of the phone’s internal storage to build up to 8GB of virtual RAM.

Since the Android skin has a lot of bloatware and ads, shutting those down actually saves more power. There are several new features such as auto-pixelate, (is great for image privacy and security) dynamic widgets, flexible windows, and the mini capsule, which I believe is in beta. Using it allows a host of features to run to keep phone performance at optimal levels. Find the trigger in the realme Lab in the settings tab. It is good for charging notifications or battery information, it also shows data usage and steps taken in a day. There is a little pull that appears when the notifications come in, but it is more of an info feature.

Smooth UI

The smooth operation of the UI also comes with an added bonus–a publicly open forum where one can comment and deliver experiences about the phone and UI and this goes directly to realme, unfiltered. I used that forum twice to express one situation when using ‘Sniper’ I had notice significant lag and stuttering, which was easily solved by a restart. It won’t perform with gamer expectations but will deliver where it should.

The 5,000 mAh battery isn’t big news but it isn’t insignificant either. Unboxing reveals the SUPERVOOC fast charging technology via USB type-C to a 33W SUPERVOOC charger. The large battery capacity makes it normal to expect at least 10 to 12 hours of battery life. Using the PC Mark battery test running Work 3.0, the reading is 11 hours and 45 minutes on a complete idle and 10 hours, 40 minutes with a limited number of apps running. Keeping standard social media apps running though reduces power down to 10 hours and 25 minutes. Still really good performance.

The 6.72-inch IPS LCD display has a 90Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 680 nits at 180Hz touch sampling rate. Most of the colors and details are correct, viewing angles may suffer somewhat, but that is a good thing for privacy purposes. With 680 nits brightness outdoor viewing is optimized, but compromised under the noon sun. Touch response ranks high and animations are quick and fluid. The front camera hole also becomes the center of a information capsule, inspired by an iPhone interface.

Optics expertise

Rating the dual rear 64MP main and a 2MP depth cameras with the 8MP front cam is easy. One word: impressive. In good lighting the 64MP image engine delivers with sharp and detailed shots in vibrant colors, and hues shown by the crisp highlights around the shadows. The front camera, operates in the same way, with decent selfies and natural-looking skin tones. Though it may struggle a bit in the lowest of light conditions, the sensor captures images with acceptable accuracy and understandably with a little lag. But don’t that deter you. Higher price phone cams deliver the same performance but it is nothing to fret. Within certain bounds the camera performs like it should.

Priced just right and complete with the features that matter, the realme C55 is more than powerful, inspired and confident with fast charging, multi-camera modes, and the experimental mini capsule on the display is a potential gamechanger which I believe will close the deal on this smartphone. –with Raymond B. Tribdino

How Earth Day influenced UN’s agenda for sustainable development

Gregory E. Bautista

April 21, 2023

SINCE Earth Day is a global event that aims to promote environmental awareness and encourage action to protect our planet. It brings together people from all walks of life, including businessmen, scientists, students, and civil society, to work towards common goals. The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aligns with the plans of action of all stakeholders. It is, in itself, an action plan adopted by the United Nations in 2015 to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all.

The agenda includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets that aim to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges, including poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water, life on land, peace, justice and strong institutions, and partnerships for the goals.

The SDGs are intended to be universal, meaning that they apply to all countries, regardless of their level of development. The goals aim to create a more sustainable and equitable world by 2030. To achieve the SDGs, the UN calls for collective action and partnerships among governments, businesses, civil society, and individuals.

The SDGs are a significant milestone in the global sustainability movement, as they provide a framework for governments, businesses, and civil society to work together towards a common goal of sustainable development.

Earth Day directly contributes to the United Nations’ SDGs, as it is closely aligned with several of these goals.

Goal 13: Climate Action. Earth Day’s focus on climate action aligns with Goal 13 of the SDGs, which aims to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. By promoting awareness of environmental issues and advocating for policies and practices that reduce our carbon footprint, Earth Day can contribute to achieving this goal.

Goal 14: Life Below Water. Earth Day’s focus on environmental cleanups and promoting sustainable practices can contribute to achieving Goal 14 of the SDGs, which aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development. By reducing ocean pollution and promoting sustainable fishing practices, we can protect marine life and maintain the health of our oceans.

Goal 15: Life On Land. Earth Day’s focus on tree planting and promoting sustainable practices can also contribute to achieving Goal 15 of the SDGs, which aims to protect, restore, and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems. By combating deforestation and promoting sustainable agriculture and forestry practices, we can protect biodiversity and ensure the health of our ecosystems.

Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals. Earth Day’s focus on collaboration and partnership aligns with Goal 17 of the SDGs, which aims to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development. By working together, we can achieve the SDGs and create a more sustainable future for our planet and future generations.

Earth Day like the UN SGDs promote awareness of environmental issues, advocating for policies and practices that reduce our carbon footprint, reducing ocean pollution, protecting biodiversity, and fostering collaboration and partnership. By aligning with these goals, Earth Day can help us create a more sustainable future for our planet and future generations.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes that achieving sustainable development will require transformational change in the way we live, work, and interact with each other and the planet. The agenda calls for a holistic and integrated approach to development that takes into account social, economic, and environmental dimensions.

Purpose-built security solutions fight vulnerabilities caused by digitalization

Gregory E. Bautista

April 5, 2023

Vignesa Moorthy, Founder & CEO of ViewQwest

AT THE event, “It takes only one: Navigating cyberthreats for safer digital transformation,” the need for industry-specific, purpose-built security solutions amidst the changes brought about by digitalization was emphasized by Vignesa Moorthy, Founder & CEO of ViewQwest.

ViewQwest Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based leader in regional telecommunications and Managed Security Services, recently held the Cybersecurity Leaders’ Masterclass Series with key technology leaders and decision-makers in the Philippines to propose a stronger, more purpose-built approach to security in the face of the challenges posed by the post-pandemic system.

An increase in potential security threats was noted by various cybersecurity vendors, emanating mostly from remote work or hybrid working set-ups. The pandemic-induced demand for less geographically-based workforce has pushed the boundaries of connectivity and securing various points from source to edge in the online network has proved crucial to unimpeded operations.

An example is the BPO industry which kept employees retained and commitments to client, like customer service and order delivery completed because of work-from-home arrangements. Last-mile deliveries and B2B logistics handling, which could be operated by agents in their kitchen or home office also benefitted from WFH or hybrid operations.

Creating the masterclass allowed IT and security leaders to explore next-generation cybersecurity measures that ensure safe and successful digital transformation amidst increasing cyber threats. These threats especially target areas where growth outstrips traditional systems.

“This is why Asian markets, particularly in the Philippines, can be at risk,” Moorthy said, as he also warns that this digitalization, crucial as it may be, could leave corporate assets and sensitive information open to threats and cyberattacks. He brings to the discussion solutions such as Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions and software-defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) which ViewQuest has studied and tailor-made for the Asian market, having serviced over 10,000 branches across North and Southeast Asia.

With a deep understanding of the Philippine market and the general Southeast Asian market, built on ViewQwest’s experience from large-scale enterprise projects, the company is cost-effectively delivering a simplified and high-availability network that provides superior network and application performance, as well as best-of-breed secure access to any remote user, branch office or device.

Moorthy at the ViewQwest Masterclass in Singapore last March

“We help customers transform their network and security architecture with confidence. Leveraging our telco DNA, we have built the most cost-effective, high-performance and reliable networking solutions integrated with our certified best-of-breed SASE capabilities from leading global cybersecurity leaders such as Palo Alto Networks,” Moorthy added.

One of the core strengths of ViewQuest both as a managed service provider and a telecommunications technology deployer is that they have many partners, such as Palo Alto, whose experience and

This allows us to create differentiated services that address unique security demands across our markets and customers — a distinct advantage that ViewQwest offers to enterprises in the Philippines and across Southeast Asia,” Moorthy concluded.

ViewQwest Philippines offers a complete range of connectivity options, SASE, SD-WAN and managed services required for enterprise network and security transformation. Since entering the Philippine market in 2019, ViewQwest has grown its clientele and now supports the needs of top Philippine enterprises across various industries.

Manufacturers in Asia struggle to outpace competition, study says

Gregory E. Bautista

March 29, 2023

FOUR out of five manufacturers in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region still lack an end-to-end supply chain planning solution, while globally, twice as many manufacturers believe their organization lacks the technology needed to outpace the competition, as compared to 2022. These are but two of several findings of the 8th “State of Smart Manufacturing Report,” a global study commissioned by Rockwell Automation.

The study surveyed more than 1,350 manufacturers across 13 of the leading manufacturing countries including Australia, China, India, Japan and the Republic of Korea and came to several conclusions, the most impactful throughout the whole manufacturing industry in these countries surveyed was the fact that 45 percent of APAC manufacturers struggle to outpace competitors mostly due to lack of innovation, a skilled workforce and smart technology. This is exacerbated by the lack of appropriations need to enact these innovations.

Rockwell Automation, Inc., the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, releases the report annually with the sole objective of raising awareness of enterprises to the benefits of the digitalization of their processes and the impact of smart manufacturing technology on maximizing data insights, attracting talent, and minimizing risks to supply chain, quality, and cybersecurity.

“The survey found that smart manufacturing technology is enabling manufacturers of all sizes to optimize more resilient, agile, and sustainable solutions that accelerate transformation. If we’ve learned anything from history, it’s that organizations that invest in innovation, with a bias for action, during times of uncertainty can outpace competitors,” Veena Lakkundi, senior vice president, Strategy and Corporate Development, Rockwell Automation said. This year’s report reveals a focus on delivering profitable growth without sacrificing quality, an emphasis on accessing data’s true potential, and increasing adoption of technology to build resilience, enable agility, increase sustainability, and address workforce challenges.

Another important key finding is that some of the biggest barriers to adopting smart manufacturing for APAC manufacturers are employee resistance to technology adoption and change, lack of skill set to manage smart manufacturing implementation, and lack of clear definition of the value/ROI of smart manufacturing.

Corollary to this discovery are solutions which APAC manufacturers already have in their plans.

Some 88 percent will maintain or grow employment due to technology adoption. Additionally, 39 percent believe they will be able to repurpose existing workers due to their increasing use of technology.

The study also pointed out the continuing relevance of Quality management system (QMS) is the smart manufacturing system that APAC respondents have seen the largest ROI in, followed by manufacturing execution system (MES) and enterprise resource planning (ERP).

Sustainability also ranks as important because of the 94 percent of APAC manufacturers who have formal or informal environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies in place, close to half (48 percent) cite “a competitive differentiator” as the top driving factor for pursuing ESG initiatives.

Lakkundi also said that based on the survey findings, technology is crucial to mitigating risk and delivering growth. However, for one-third of manufacturers globally, the range of available systems and platforms is leading to “technology paralysis” — an inability to decide between solutions.

She recommends that manufacturers choose an industrial partner with relevant industry expertise and experience who can advise and guide them in implementing a fit-for-purpose solution to achieve desired outcomes. This one simple action can make overcoming this indecision paradigm easier and faster.

“Balancing quality and growth,” and “tracking or quantifying sustainable practices” are the biggest internal obstacles inhibiting progress for APAC manufacturers this year, compared to deploying and integrating new technology in 2022. To close this gap, almost half (44 percent) of APAC manufacturers plan to adopt smart manufacturing within the next year. Companies in China (80 percent), Australia (60 percent) and India (59 percent) are already using some components of smart manufacturing.

“Manufacturers are continuing to seek opportunities for profitable growth but are realizing that uncertainty in workforce availability is impacting quality, along with their ability to meet evolving customer needs,” Lakkundi added.

Finally, all respondents say that cybersecurity risks rank highest as the obstacle which all of them are looking to mitigate with smart manufacturing initiatives.

“At Rockwell, we combine the power of our portfolio of industry solutions with our second-to-none partner ecosystem to serve as a trusted advisor to leading companies around the world,” Lakkundi concluded. “As the biggest company focused solely on industrial automation and digital transformation, we work to make the complex simple and meet companies where they are in their journeys.”

Metaverse, green energy, sustainability hot topics at tech forum

Gregory E. Bautista

March 22, 2023

DIGITALIZATION. Victor Genuino, ePLDT President and CEO speaks on how companies will remain relevant with digitalization.

THE metaverse, sustainability and green energy, AI, faster Cloud adoption prompted by the speeds and carrying capacity of 5G are the main technologies that will push digital transformation faster, wider and deeper into enterprise and society. This was the common conclusion formed by top tech executives on these trending topics at the recently concluded Philippine Digital Convention 2022 (PH Digicon).

Victor Genuino, ePLDT President and CEO, led a panel of top tech executives including Nokia Vice President and Head of Southeast Asia, Daniel Jaeger, and Cisco IOT APJC Senior Sales Director, Simon Rizkallah.

The panel, moderated by PLDT and Smart FVP and Group Head of Corporate Communications, Catherine Yap-Yang, discussed how innovations are expected to change the business landscape after the pandemic during the panel discussion, “Going Beyond the Future of Tech.”

“Enterprises have realized that in order to remain relevant to their customers, they have to digitally transform, disrupt themselves and the way they conduct business,” Genuino said, pointing to how digitalization remains to be fundamental for businesses to progress faster than what customers need or demand.

The Harvard Business Review confirms this observation. It predicts technologies like 5G, AI, and further developments in the Cloud will continue to be game changers, and front-runners for mass adoption in the next few years.

The metaverse, that digital space once thought only for gamers is also rapidly becoming acceptable, and useful with 71 percent of the world’s 79 largest consumer firms putting down stakes in this virtual world. This according to global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. The metaverse now does not operate only on a digital plane but has its equivalent in the real world, such as in digital twin technologies. Also challenges on sustainability are achievable through data-driven insights and innovative solutions.

Pioneering enterprises, like Nokia who realize that it is the critical technologies that are also disruptive. Operating in various industries for over 155 years, it wasn’t until the 1990s that Nokia focused its operations on large-scale telecommunications infrastructure, technology development, and licensing. The telco solutions provider has gone from ‘connecting people’ to now ‘helping the world act together’.

“Indeed, the tagline that we are carrying now is much bigger than the previous one,” shares Daniel Jaeger, Nokia Vice President and Head of Southeast Asia. “It has not completely changed, but…became a bit bigger. Yes, we are still connecting people with technology that we provide with the networks that we build and partners like Smart and PLDT, but it goes way beyond that.”

After 9 Nobel prizes in science and technology and 130 countries it is operating in now, Nokia continues to be a trusted partner for critical networks, committed to innovation and technology leadership across mobile, fixed, and Cloud networks.

Committed to their pledge towards an environmentally friendly and sustainable future, Nokia wants to lead the way on the global stage in making the case for digitalization as central to addressing the climate challenge echoing the call “there is no green without digital, declared at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference last November.

Jaeger echoed this commitment when he said, “Of course, we start at home, and the first question is how do we make the networks that we build as efficient and as green as possible?” The company has made the call for accelerated digitalization and green energy uptake and has committed to use 100 percent renewable electricity in its own operations by 2025.

“It’s not just a job that we have to do,” he explains further. “But it’s really a contribution that we as the communications industry, in a broader sense, need to do.”

ePLDT, on the other hand, has been an advocate of sustainability by pushing for greener data centers in the country. Genuino believes that sustainability starts with the customers. “They’ve been asking us difficult questions that push us to reassess how we run our business,” he says. “It’s our customers that drive us to be innovative in the way we build [our] data centers, source power and manage our operations.”

More than servicing its customers, it has been one of the PLDT Group’s core values to champion a sustainable future as it continues to build infrastructures to improve the country’s digital ecosystem.

From helping the world connect to ensuring that it does so in as green as possible, Nokia and the PLDT Group are paving the way for the future— in building a sustainable and transformative tomorrow.

Foton launches light duty EV truck

Gregory E. Bautista

March 21, 2023

Fotonâ€™s Tornado light duty electric truck.

FOR its 16th anniversary in the country, Foton Motor Philippines, Inc. (FMPI) introduced what could be the country’s first light-duty electric truck, the Tornado EV, which is priced at P3.6M.

The Foton Tornado EV 4×2 utilizes a permanent magnet synchronous motor with peak outputs of 154 horsepower and 300 Nm of torque. With a driving range of 208 kilometers, the truck can do in-city deliveries with its one ton payload. The motor provides ample acceleration, according to Foton, enough to accelerate from zero to 50 km/h in just 9 seconds and reach a top speed of 90 km/h. More impressive though is the truck’s gradeability–the steepest hill a truck can climb using maximum torque at the lowest gear–is at 20 percent.

Charging may be done via AC filling up for 12 hours on AC from 20 percent to 100 percent charge) or via a high capacity DC charger in 2-4 hours.

Foton Motor PH displayed the EV truck at the return of its Big Show event, and fully intends to be at the forefront of electrified commercial vehicles.

“Foton Motor Philippines has always strived to be at the forefront of mobility solutions. We were the first Chinese automotive brand to break into the Top 10 in the Philippine market–way before other Chinese brands even entered the country. And now, we’ve rolled out yet another game-changer in the Foton Tornado EV,” Foton Philippines General Manager Levy Santos said at the Big Show launch.

The Foton Tornado EV weighs in at 6,000 kilograms (GVW) with a load mass of 3,600 kilograms and a curb weight of 2,400 kilograms. It measures 5,960 x 1.925 x 2,260 mm on a 3,360 mm wheelbase. It is stopped using a traditional hydraulic system for ease of maintenance and repairs. Safety features include ABS, EBD, central locking with remote key, reverse sensor as standard. Comfort, convenience is provided by a built-in air conditioning system, multimedia (MP3/Aux/USB) audio system, adjustable steering wheel, and power windows.

“We’re doubly excited that this state-of-the-art all-electric truck will be making its debut at our Foton’s Big Show, which has always been a favorite event of truck enthusiasts and users alike, generating record orders from small to large business entrepreneurs, year in and year out,” he added.

Santos was only recently appointed Foton’s GM. He is a veteran executive with the company. Santos believes that to shift Filipino businesses to achieving a zero-cost strategy on fuel, more efficient logistics, reduced operating costs, and increased environmental awareness, will be very important to brands seeking sustainability. And Foton will be there as the demands are increasing.

For 16 years Foton Motor Philippines has established itself as one of the leaders in the commercial vehicle industry. Its line-up of passenger vehicles, modern public transport, light-, medium-, heavy-duty trucks, and heavy equipment has helped them forge partnerships with huge local, regional, and multinational companies like J&T Express, Shopee Philippines, YTO Express, Coca-Cola, Arrow Go Express, GoGo Xpress, San Jose Del Monte, and the Province of Pampanga.

Identity expert lists themes reshaping security industry

Gregory E. Bautista

March 8, 2023

BUSINESSES globally, of any size or industry have learned many lessons from the pandemic. Processes like remote working, biometrics or even sustainability, which took the backseat before the pandemic found new importance during the lockdown. What’s driving the next innovations especially after the restrictions of COVID, along with the technology that supports them, has made the security industry more innovative and empowered.

An inaugural study by HID, a worldwide leader in trusted identity and physical security solutions, called State of the Security Industry Report, gathered responses from 2,700 partners, end users, and security and IT personnel across a range of titles and organization sizes representing over 11 industries reveals five common threads that are reshaping the security industry.

Sustainability is not just a trend. Nearly 90 percent of respondents acknowledge sustainability as an important issue with end users demanding that suppliers provide footprint transparency in terms of their operations, product sourcing and research and development practices. 87 percent of respondents said sustainability ranks as “important to extremely important,” indicating it is not just a passing trend.

Mirroring this finding, 76 percent said they have seen the importance of sustainability increasing for their customers. Today, security teams are leveraging the Cloud and the Internet of Things, even more, to optimize processes and reduce resources. Additionally, new products and solutions are being strategically developed to address sensible energy usage, waste reduction and resource optimization.

Identity “as-a-service” (IDaaS) to support hybrid work should not be an option but the standard. 81 percent of respondents have a hybrid work as part of their business model. Some 67 percent of respondents state that multifactor authentication and passwordless authentication are most important to adapting to hybrid and remote work, while 48 percent point to the importance of mobile and digital IDs. However, relative findings also reveals almost half of the organizations aren’t quite ready to implement a comprehensive IDaas strategy.

Digital for identification with mobile authentication to propel many more mobile access deployments. Identification and authentication are more commonly completed via mobile devices, including smartphones and wearables. The growing popularity of digital wallets from major players such as Google, Apple and Amazon is a key driver of this trend. And expanded capabilities allow smartphone users, for example, to add keys, IDs and digital documents directly in the wallet app. These include, but are not limited to, drivers’ licenses in eight states, verifiable COVID-19 vaccination information, employee badges, student IDs and hotel room keys. Commercial real estate companies (40 percent) are outpacing other verticals as large commercial real estate firms are leveraging mobile access as part of their larger tenant experience apps, according to the HID survey.

Nearly 60 percent of respondents see the benefit of contactless biometrics which represent a major break from more conventional means of access control. Using biometrics as an additional authenticating factor (e.g., biometric scans to verify an individual’s physical identity) can help organizations eliminate unauthorized access and fraud. The importance of this trend is exemplified in the survey data, which shows that 59 percent of respondents are currently using, planning to implement, or at least testing biometric technologies in the near future.

Supply chain issues continue to be a concerning factor, but optimism begin to emerge. According to the survey, 74 percent of respondents say they were impacted by supply chain issues in 2022, although 50 percent are optimistic that conditions will improve in 2023. Most affected are commercial real estate companies, with 78 percent citing supply chain problems as their main concern.

More than two-thirds of organizations with fewer than 1,000 employees indicate that they were highly impacted by supply chain issues in 2022, but they are also the most optimistic that these issues will resolve in 2023.

By better understanding the aforementioned topics, security professionals will be better prepared to adapt faster, deliver exceptional digital plus physical experiences, and capitalize on breakthrough innovations in solutions and services. Read the survey in its entirety here.

Tesla leads global BEV sales, but BYD is the world’s largest EV maker

Gregory E. Bautista

March 7, 2023

BYD Atto one of the companyâ€™s global best sellers (Photo from BYD website)

TESLA is still the number one battery electric vehicle (BEV) brand globally propped by sales of its Model Y, especially in export markets. BYD is now the world’s largest electric vehicle maker. This is according to Cleantechnica’s “World EV Sales Report.”

BYD follows Tesla in the all-electric category but is the global leader in both BEV and plug-in EVs–a commanding 1.8 million cars versus Tesla’s 1.34 million total production. BYD already stopped producing ICE-powered vehicles in April last year and with its focus on electrification is expecting a net profit of about 17B Yuan versus 3B in 2021. It also now has the most expansive line-up of both BEVs and PHEVs of any car maker in the world.

BYD also manufactures electrified commercial vehicles and leads in this segment too. In the US the BYD electric bus fleets is now starting to dominate California’s transportation lines, all the vehicles made in the US. The company said it had it achieved strong sales growth and significantly improved profitability and had “effectively relieved the cost pressure brought about by the rising upstream, according to a Reuters report.

Comparative records show BYD’s lead over Tesla in combined PHEV and BEV production. (From Cleantechnica)

Tesla’s 18.2 percent share of the global BEV market is a significant drop from its 2021 share of 21 percent. This market share is difficult to achieve considering the current diversification process in electric vehicles with plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and pure hybrids eating up the BEV pie. BYD takes second place with a 12.6 percent share, a 5 percent gain versus the same period last year.

The study also points to the fact that from a preference perspective, a noticeable shift to PHEVs happened, prompted by sales in China, as it remains to be the biggest market worldwide. The global market grew tremendously with China leading the pace. But growth was led by Australia (352 percent), followed by India (256 percent), then US (118 percent), Japan (104 percent), then Belgium (75 percent). The rest of the countries in the global EV chain increased in 20 to 65 percent, including the Philippines.

As of June 2022, 1,018 electric vehicles were sold and registered in the country. That is a mere 28 percent increase from 843 units sold the previous year. Toyota claims 962 of that number leaving the remaining 56 units shared by Nissan, WM, Porsche, Audi, and Mitsubishi. These numbers however mean that in the BEV category, the jump in sales is almost 90 percent, focused mostly on the Nissan LEAF.

Tesla is top of global BEV production. (From Cleantechnica)

“Last month, BEVs grew by just 5 percent YoY, their lowest growth rate since the COVID-hit month of June 2020, while PHEVs were up by 21 percent, mostly thanks to the increasingly PHEV-friendly Chinese market. What happens in the Chinese market is always important globally – this market represented 52% of all global sales of electric cars in January,” Jose Pontes, who led, and created the study for Cleantechnica, America’s number on renewable energy and electric vehicle website. Pontes also said that plugin hybrids in China are mostly range-extended vehicles, with large batteries sized between 30—40 kWh and typically include fast-charging capability.

Some 10.5 million new BEVs and PHEVs were delivered in 2022 a total 55 percent increase year-on-year compared to 2021. The number however, represents less than 15 percent of global car sales. In this recovery period after the pandemic, the regional growth pattern is shifting. But weak overall vehicle markets and persistent component shortages have taken their toll, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine,” Roland Irle author of EV-Volumes said. EV-Volume compiles sales of electric vehicles worldwide.

EVs gained only 15 percent increase in 2022. However, in conditions were stronger in some markets. EV sales in USA and Canada increased by 48 percent year-on-year, despite a weak overall light vehicle market which plunged by 8 percent in 2022.

PHEVs stood for 27 percent of global EV sales mix in 2022, 2 percent lower compared to 2021. While their sales volumes increased, the share in the PEV mix is declining partly because of incentive perks of BEVs. Sales growth is dependent on the degree of electrification. The rapid outlay of charging stations in certain markets like North America, China, Japan and parts of Europe, as well as policies for zero emissions and ESG goals affect this number.

Full hybrids grew by 15 percent and mild hybrids by 1 percent. A full hybrid gets its initial propulsion from an internal combustion engine and shifts to battery power once the momentum is overcome. It uses both the ICE and motor to keep the vehicle running at its most efficient performance. All Toyotas are full hybrids. Mild hybrids use mostly ICE power and intermittently shift to battery as a power assist. An example is the Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid.

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