This Saturday, September 19, 2009, will be Smart Bro’s B Free Day! The event will be held at the Mega Tent, Meralco Avenue, Ortigas.

Smart Bro will be giving away 10,000 limited edition UAAP & NCAA plug-its (USB 3G modem) at a first come first serve basis. They’re also raffling off free laptops. Free food will also be served. There will also be free rides, free booths and a lot of other freebies. The best thing about this is that admission is free!!

The event is exclusive to college students of the following UAAP and NCAA participating schools:

• Adamson University
• Angeles University Foundation
• Arellano University
• Ateneo de Manila University
• Colegio de San Juan de Letran
• College of Saint Benilde
• De La Salle University
• Emilio Aguinaldo College
• Far Eastern University
• Jose Rizal University
• Mapua Institute of Technology
• National University
• San Beda College
• San Sebastian College – Recoletos
• University of Perpetual Help – Dalta System
• University of Santos Tomas
• University of the East
• University of the Philippines

Don’t forget to wear your school’s color. Validated school ID for the current term is also required. To register for the event, sign up for an access pass.

For more information, visit the B Free Day website.

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I just received a text message from SMART Bonus. The text says:

Wla na po kayong load. Punta na sa pnkamalapit n SmartLoad retailer upang patuloy ang text at tawagan! Pwde p mgkaroon ng FREE 5 txts pg nag-load ka bago mg Sep 17. Ipgsawalang bhla ang msg na to kung nkpg-load n kayo.

SMART is giving me five free texts if I load before September 17? LOL.

It’s been a while since I last topped up my SMART account. I usually use it is a backup whenever the handset linked to my Globe account goes dead.

I’d like to share it in case anyone might be concerned on how to do so.

Prerequisites

1. A Bluetooth, GPRS and/or 3G (but preferably with 3G) capable mobile phone.
2. A machine with a Bluetooth adapter.
3. Bluez Bluetooth GNOME applet (the Bluetooth icon on your system tray).
   1. If not installed, may be obtained by typing sudo apt-get bluez-gnome.

This works pretty well on my Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron and Linux Mint 5.0 installation.

Here’s how to do it:

1. First of all, enable Bluetooth for the mobile phone and workstation (laptop, desktop, etc). Make sure both devices are discoverable.
2. On your workstation’s terminal (on Ubuntu, go to Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal), type hcitool scan .
3. You should see your mobile phone’s name and address.
4. Now, let’s bind your device to rfcomm. Type sudo rfcomm bind /dev/rfcomm0 <replace_this_with_address_of_device> <replace_with_channel> .
   1. Replace <replace_this_with_address_of_device> with the address you obtained from hcitool scan (the ones on the left of your phone's name).
   2. Try the values 1, 2 or 3 for <replace_with_channel>. In case the whole process doesn’t work, just unbind your device to rfcomm by typing sudo rfcomm unbind rfcomm0 and repeating the whole process again with another value.
5. After doing so, click on the network icon in your system tray (near the clock) and choose manual configuration. Unlock it with your password. Change the settings of point-to-point connection by double-clicking the option.
6. Check “Enable this connection”.
7. Choose GPRS/UMTS as Connection Type. Change access point name to “internet” without the doublequotes. For account data, just enter any username and password.
8. On the second tab named “Modem”, type /dev/rfcomm0 to modem port field.
9. On the third tab, check “Set modem as default route to internet” and “Use the internet service providers’ nameservers”.
10. Hit OK.
11. Now, check the checkbox of point-to-point connection.
12. By this time, you should have an internet connection on your workstation. If it doesn’t work, repeat the process. Note to try other channels (described in the fourth step).

That’s all. Hope it works.

Smart Bro is a wireless internet service provided by Smart Telecommunications, one major player in the Philippine mobile services arena.

Smart Bro connections differ in two types: the fixed antenna and modem usually installed above the house and the USB 3.5G modem, the more handy and truly mobile option.

I happened to use the second type, the USB 3.5G modem, which is actually capable of using 2G (the old-school voice and text), GPRS, EDGE, 3G and 3.5G (HSDPA) signals. I borrowed the 3.5G modem from a high school classmate. I tested the connection at Kalayaan Residence Hall of University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City Philippines.

Specifically, I used Smart Bro’s service in my room which is located on the basement and at the newly renovated lobby. First off, I’ll discuss my internet experience on my room.

Smart Bro @ the basement of Kalayaan Residence Hall

The connection was virtually dead even if it was connected to Smart’s servers. A high school batchmate earlier reported that she can’t connect to the Internet. The inner geek in me went out and suspected the DNS server to be the culprit. I switched to OpenDNS and tadaaa, it worked.

The big question is: how about the unknowledgeable public that doesn’t even have an idea on DNS servers?

Yes, it was insane. I swiftly browsed my way to speedtest.net, my favorite speed test website. I tested on the nearest server, BayanTel server in Quezon City, Philippines. The ping time was 571ms (too high), 78 kbps (kilobits per second) download rate and 30 kbps upload rate. This means that the connection is just nearly 40% faster than the 56kbps dialup connection for download and a bit behind a dialup’s usual upload rate.

Then I tried to access my email, open my blog’s administration panel and the usual websites I visit. It was crappy slow — our home dialup Internet was still a lot faster. It was really the biggest crap in the world — a “broadband” Internet slower than a narrowband dialup connection. — deleted, too harsh.

Smart Bro sucks [ sucked at my room ]. Smart Bro is Smart Broken.

I was not convinced and so I unleashed the adventurous side of me. I stood up on the ledge of my bed, held the laptop on one hand and the 3.5G modem on the other. Tested the speed and tadaa, yielded a 563ms ping time (a very little bit faster than the previous normal scenario), 162 kbps download rate and 31 kbps upload rate. Still very disappointing since you still have to risk yourself from falling down with a laptop to obtain the speed. Another downside of this is that you can’t type on the keyboard unless you have a third set of hands.

Smart Bro, for the second time, sucked! Smart Bro is Smart Broken.

Smart Bro @ Lobby of Kalayaan Residence Hall

The lobby is situated on the first floor, higher than the basement. I tested its speed but still got very disappointing results at 543ms ping time, 204 kbps download rate and 42 kbps upload rate. The actual Internet connection was sluggish and was not consistent. A number of instances that the connection goes dead for quite a time and restores itself back to momentum unexpectedly.

For other freshmen living in Kalayaan Residence Hall, I advise you that Smart Bro is not a good choice [unless they do a system enhancement of the 3G signal in the area]. I suggest that you avail the free DilNet wifi at the U.P. Computer Center located right in front of Ipil Residence Hall, EnggLib2/CS Building and other DilNet hotspots. [ I suggest you avail of the free DilNet wifi at the lobby. ] Internet speed [ of DilNet Wifi ] usually ranges from 3 to 4 mbps download and upload rate (40ms ping time) on peak hours and 6 up to 10 mbps on nonpeak hours. A drawback of using DilNet is that it is filtered. Game sites, social networking sites and streaming sites are blocked at most times of the day (semi-allowed domains) while porn, gambling and illegal sites are prohibited at all times.

Conclusion

As for conclusion, Smart Bro is a crappy bad Internet choice for Kalayaan Residence Hall residents unl. Smart Bro sucks! Similar reports and blog entries on Smart Bro on other areas area also evident and widespread in the world wide web — thus safe to conclude that the Kalai experience is not an isolated case.

Smart Bro sucks, on the said area.

Here’s an interesting review of why Smart Bro really Sucks by Jehzlau. And also, I would like to share a list of the Best ISPs (Internet Service Providers) in the Philippines.