The tech circuit

CEBU, Philippines – Lazada Philippines – the Philippine subsidiary of the Lazada Group, a leading e-commerce company in Southeast Asia – inaugurated its Cebu logistics hub last Thursday, October 15. The newly inaugurated facility aims to speed up Lazada’s delivery system in Cebu and neighboring cities.

Present during the inauguration were Lazada Philipines co-founder and CEO Inac Blaci, Philippine chief operating officer Marco Quiray and Southeast Asia chief logistics officer Felix Hochgesand.

The new Lazada facility in Maguikay, Mandaue City, has a holding capacity of over 100,000 items. Manned by 50 warehouse and logistics personnel, the facility functions as the delivery dispatch hub of  Lazada Express (LEX) – the company’s delivery fleet.

Founded in 2011, Lazada is an online retail portal that offers a variety of products – consumer electronics, toys, fashion apparel, fashion accessories and more. It is one of the pioneering e-commerce companies in the Philippines that adopted cash-on-delivery for online purchases.

More information on Lazada is available at lazada.com.ph.

New e-payment platform launches in Cebu

“PayMaya,” a new e-payment platform for online transactions, had its Cebu launch early this month. The service essentially affords its subscribers with a “virtual Visa account” that can be used for various online purchases and transactions.

Operating on a reloadable service model (much like prepaid mobile subscriptions), PayMaya is backed by Smart Communication’s Smart e-Money service. To sign up for the service, prospective PayMaya account owners just need to download the PayMaya app via App Store or Google Play, then key in their personal information (name, mobile number and other pertinent details). Once the PayMaya account is activated, subscribers can use it for various online shopping transactions.

Loading up PayMaya accounts can be done via reloading centers in various Smart stores and Smart Padala centers, or by transferring funds from an active “Smart Money” account. More information about the service is available on paymaya.com.

Weather Philippines

“Weather Philippines” is poised to be the country’s premiere private weather information provider. Recently launched by the Weather Philippines Foundation , the service is backed by the Aboitiz group of companies and the MetroGroup – a global weather monitoring service organization that operates in 15 countries.

The service aims to reinforce nationwide disaster preparedness and timely responses to the variable weather conditions affecting the country – complementing the government’s weather monitoring and disaster preparedness initiatives.

More information about the service is found at weather.com.ph or via the “Weather Philippines” mobile app for Android and iOS.

Pepsi rolls out the “P1” smartphone

Pepsi is reportedly rolling out a smartphone in China. Online reports say that the smartphone – dubbed the “P1” – is powered by a robust processing chip that’s backed by 2 gigs of RAM and 16 gigs of storage space – topped by a 5.5-inch display. The smartphone is said to also come with a 13 Megapixel primary camera and a 5 Megapixel front-facing camera.

Reports indicate that Pepsi won’t actually be manufacturing the “P1,” as the company is licensing its production to a partner manufacturer. The said Pepsi smartphone will only be available in China.