Globe Gaming

Globe Telecom, one of the country’s internet service providers, launched a gaming-oriented program last week.

Named “Globe Gaming,” the program consists of a series of partnerships with local and international gaming industry stakeholders. The partnerships are intended to initiate training programs for eSports teams, foster partnerships with leading game title publishers, events and more.

One of the highlights of the program is the introduction of a multi-country tournament structure which will award winning teams with direct entry into the “League of Legends” World Championships.

“League of Legends” is a popular multiplayer battle arena video game published by Riot Games. The tourney – billed “Globe Conquerors Manila” – is spearheaded by Garena (a Southeast Asia-headquartered digital entertainment platform) and is slated to take place in Metro Manila in August 2018.

The forthcoming tourney is envisioned to be the region’s leading sanctioned, competitive “League of Legends” event. More information on “Globe Gaming” and its upcoming events and highlights are hosted on Globe Telecom’s official online channels.

Google to redefine SMS standards with “Chat”

Google is at the helm of developing a new standard for text messaging. Working with various industry partners, the new standard is primed to implement rich communications services (RCS) technologies.

At its core, the new standard arms smartphone owners with “richer” interactive communications via better photo sending/receiving and longer text message features, among others. Various reports on the matter indicate that Google aims to implement the standard by replacing “Messages,” the default SMS app in Android handsets, with a new app named “Chat.”

Expected to be launched next year, “Chat’s” operational dynamic is similar with “iMessages,” which is Apple’s proprietary messaging application that works on data networks over traditional phone networks.

Reception on the news have been mixed, with a number of tech journalists citing that the probability of security cases related to the standard are likely because it doesn’t support “end-to-end” encryption or security protocols. Others are hopeful that this concern will be ironed out before the new standard is rolled out commercially.

A 2018 “iPhone SE”?

A recent post by Japanese technology blog Macotakara got techies talking last week, as it hinted that a 2018 “iPhone SE” is likely going to be unveiled within the second quarter of the year.

Talking to accessory makers in a recent tech industry tradeshow in Hong Kong, the blog post’s author notes that the rumored second edition “iPhone SE” will maintain the base design of the first edition, though it will have a few design changes like the absence of a physical 3.5mm headphone jack.

It’s also purported (though there’s no conclusive evidence) that the phone might come with a glass-based back case – a design component that hints of wireless charging functions.

Various tech journalists have weighed-in their opinions on the probability of a second edition “iPhone SE” launch, with most noting that the release of a second edition “iPhone SE” without a physical headphone jack is likely intended to consolidate Apple’s “headphone jack-less direction.”

The “iPhone 6s” and the first edition “iPhone SE” are currently the active iPhone models that have headphone jacks, and these, should rumors be believed, are forecasted to be discontinued models by this year.

The first “iPhone Special Edition” or “iPhone SE” was unveiled and released in March 2016. It maintained the core design elements sported by the “iPhone 5S” and was marketed as the iPhone for consumers who preferred to have an iPhone with a 4-inch screen, as opposed to models that are topped by bigger-sized screens.