Derek Ramsay , ambassador of Tanduay

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Tanduay launches the all-new premium rum for today’s game-changers

Derek Ramsay, ambassador for Tanduay 

Derek Ramsay, Filipino-British model, actor and host, was recently at the party and media launch of world’s no.1 dark rum Tanduay 's Select, held at the Raven Bar, W Fifth, Bonifacio Global City. During the event, Tanduay SELECT was presented, an all-new premium drink that embodies the success and achievement of today’s young and success-oriented Filipinos.

With a smoother distinct flavor and aroma, Tanduay's Master blender created the new, Tanduay SELECT, a new-age rum that will surely satisfy the discerning taste of today's young drinkers.

“Throughout the years, Tanduay rum has been enjoyed by generations of Filipinos. And now, the brand is giving today’s upwardly mobile individuals a taste of the finest rum with a flavor suited to their unique preference – the drink that every passionate individual truly deserves,” says Tanduay President and Chief Executive Officer Bong Tan.

Each bottle of Tanduay SELECT is a blend of ages of rum matured in oak barrels, a Tanduay tradition that gives its well-rounded and smooth distinct taste.

World-class heritage

Heritage is the foundation on which Tanduay was built and its story is a triumph that deeply inspired a nation. Tracing its humble beginnings from a small distillery in Hagonoy, Bulacan, the company is now among the leading liquor producers in the world. Buoyed by more than a century and a half of creative innovation and foresight, Tanduay takes pride in being one of the most awarded companies in the spirits industry with over a hundred international quality awards that include 88 golds, 7 International High Quality awards. This 2015, the company was awarded the Crystal Prestige trophy by the Monde Selection International Quality Institute, one of the world's most prestigious and highly esteemed body that recognized wines and liquor products with the highest standards of taste and quality.

Derek Ramsay at his launch as brand ambassador for Tanduay Select, held at the Raven Bar, W Fifth, Bonifacio Global City

Toast to success

Apart from heritage, the success of every Filipino and the entire nation has been the sole inspiration of Tanduay – making the brand a national icon as well. And as the Spirits Drink of Filipinos, it represents the nation’s true characteristics as a people. 

These include the spirit of honor and tradition; the spirit of bravery, resiliency, and dedication; and the core trait of respect for elders and family values. Such characteristics have made Tanduay what it stands for today.

“Tanduay has been with the Filipinos in witnessing several historic moments and recognizing different heroes across all generations. In this modern age, our heroes are the young professionals who are not afraid to step up and achieve their goals, not just for their own fulfilment, but for their family and the society as well,” added Tan. 

Believing that all stories of triumph deserve a celebration – such as the impeccable achievements of today’s young generations – Tanduay once again raises a toast to the success of today’s young Filipinos with the all-new Tanduay SELECT.

OPPO solidifies global presence with FC Barcelona partnership

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The rise of global smartphone brand OPPO has remained under the international radar for much of the company’s 10-year history. However, all is set to change for the emerging mobile phone powerhouse thanks to a new three-year partnership with FC Barcelona, which is sure to increase public awareness and interest and cement OPPO’s status as a true global player.

The partnership, announced on May 31st, will see OPPO serve as Barcelona’s official partner for the mobile phone device category starting from the current season until 2018. The agreement covers a wide range of activities including soccer events, fan activities, TV advertisements and accessories. OPPO’s logo will also be prominently displayed at the Spanish football club’s home stadium, Camp Nou.

With Barcelona’s position as one of the world’s most recognized sports teams, this groundbreaking partnership is set to bring OPPO closer to the legions of fans that follow every move of the football club and its star players such as Lionel Messi and Neymar. Barcelona is the first sports team to amass more than 85 million fans on Facebook, with many of them in countries as diverse as Indonesia, Egypt, Brazil, and Mexico.

FC Barcelona Chief Executive Officer Ignacio Mestre expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration, saying, "We are thrilled to team up with OPPO and hope that the partnership will excite fans around the world. As a global leading smartphone brand that values artistry of design and innovation in technology, OPPO is more than at home in Barcelona.” 

Driving expansion forward with cross-brand partnerships and campaigns

This deal with Barcelona comes as the smartphone maker charges forward with a new global expansion strategy that was put in place in 2014, as an integral part of OPPO’s mid to long-term growth strategy. As of April 2015, the brand has been registered in 116 countries worldwide. 

“OPPO has been focusing heavily on overseas expansion in recent years,” says OPPO CEO Tony Chen. “From the very beginning, we have positioned ourselves as a global company and our dynamic expansion strategy fully demonstrates this commitment.”

Founded in 2004, OPPO started its business journey as a global electronics and technology service provider by manufacturing high-quality MP3 and MP4 devices before adding Blu-ray DVD players to its line-up of products, the latter of which continues to do well in the US market. It started its foray into the mobile phone market in 2008 and made its first step overseas the following year, outpacing many of its rivals in terms of global outlook. 

In 2009, OPPO entered its first overseas market, Thailand, with lively campaigns and creative marketing strategies. Today, it is a top smartphone brand in the country. OPPO smartphones are currently available in over 20 global markets as well as being sold online in an additional 50 countries via 3rd party online store OPPOstyle.com. 

OPPO’s global expansion

OPPO made a big splash in 2011 when it enlisted Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio to star in the commercials for its Find smartphone series. In 2014, the company took part in a co-branding campaign with the action movie Transformers 4 for its promotional tour in Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. This was followed up in the following year by a similar agreement in 10 countries with the blockbuster film The Fast and the Furious 7. This year, has seen OPPO make huge advances into the fashion industry; participating in 2015’s New York Fashion Week, with another major global fashion event this summer. 

Thanks to its highly successful global marketing strategy that has put cross-brand partnerships and entertainment, fashion, and sports campaigns at the forefront, OPPO has seen its profile rise significantly, especially in Southeast Asia and South Asia. In 2014, the smartphone brand achieved registered market shares of 10% in Indonesia, 11% in Vietnam, and 12% in Malaysia, and has even established its first overseas assembly plant in Indonesia to service booming demand in the region. A second assembly plant is set to follow in India this year, as OPPO remains on target to ramp up its sales in the country to match that of the China market within the next five years. 

In another recent global development, this July, saw OPPO enter into a partnership with leading Australian technology retailer Dick Smith to bring the full range of OPPO handsets to its 400+ outlets across the country. 

With a series of diverse and worldwide partnerships in full swing, OPPO is well on track in its quest to establishing itself as a true global brand.

Brother Color Inkjet MFCs: Value and reliability for every printing, imaging need

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The wide variety of printers and multi-function centers in the market today makes it harder for people to choose which ones to buy. It is thus best to know which brands can be trusted and which models best suit one’s needs.

Brother International Philippines Corporation (Brother Philippines), a leading provider of home and business IT peripherals here in the Philippines, is one of Filipinos’ most trusted brands for over a decade now. Throughout the years, Brother has brought to Filipino homes and offices reliable and value-for-money machines with the different printing and imaging needs of consumers in mind. For one, Brother introduced to the Philippine market Color Inkjet Multi-function Centers with a wide range of business features, while at the same time offering users greater versatility.

If you are looking to buy a color inkjet printer for either your home or office, the following key information on Brother’s wide array of Inkjet printers and multi-function centres can serve as your guide.

Super High Yield Inkjet Models

Students and other budget-conscious consumers can print photos or presentation charts in Brother’s Inkjet color printers such as the DCP-J200 which has wireless printing and fax functions.

Brother’s entry-level Inkjet multi-function centres (MFCs) that are perfect for students have super high-yield printing and additional functionalities that students can really make use of to excel in their projects.

This range includes the DCP-J100, the DCP-J105 and the MFC-J200 InkBenefit series models that can be had at affordable costs starting at P4,950. 

MFCs combine the functions of a printer, fax machine, scanner, and copier in one powerful device, thereby enabling users to do away with several bulky machines, and instead have a one-stop shop for their printing and imaging needs. Users will definitely get superb value for their money with these Inkjet models’ low unit costs and 2,400 page yield based on standard ISO print speed. Not to mention additional functionalities such as scanning, copying, and wireless connectivity. Brother Philippines President Glenn P. Hocson said, “Brother offers machines that suit the needs and budgets of our consumers, as we understand that they prefer practical functionality when it comes to printing and imaging solutions.”

Refill Tank System series for high-volume printing

Brother’s Refill Tank System MFCs like the DCP-T700W is ideal for personal users, or business users printing from small office home office (SOHO) who seek bigger savings. The DCP-T700W has an ADF which can scan and copy legal documents.

Brother’s comprehensive line of Inkjet printers and multi-function centers also got a boost with the recent addition of the revolutionary Refill Tank System MFCs.

The Refill Tank System MFCs that include the DCP-T300, DCP-T500W (with wireless networking capability) as well as DCP-T700W (with wireless networking and ADF for legal size documents) and MFC-T800W (with fax, wireless networking and ADF features) models are ideal for personal users, or business users printing from small office home office (SOHO) who seek bigger savings.

The new Brother Refill Tank System series has low-cost ink bottles with 6,000 page-yield (A4) for black ink, and 5,000 page-yield for the three color ink bottles for only P390. Brother Refill Tank System’s fast print speeds of up to 11 monochrome and 6 color images per minute (based on ISO/IEC 24734), is almost double that of competition’s, and is suited for high print volume users who value efficiency.

Moreover, with paper of up to 100-sheet capacity, users avoid consuming additional time in replenishing paper. Brother Refill Tank System’s smart design also takes the hassle out of ink refilling by simplifying the process while minimizing ink wastage. The new range’s built-in refill tank’s see-through cover at the front also makes it easy for users to check how much ink is left, while freeing up precious desktop space. Ink calibration time with the Brother Refill Tank System is also the fastest in the industry at seven minutes.

“We at Brother always try our best to provide our customers quality printing, while keeping running costs low for them,” said Hocson, “Our new series provides our customers with greater value, reliability and convenience that all translate to generous savings for them.”

All these models are available at Brother’s authorized dealers nationwide. What’s more, they come with a one-year standard warranty, plus a one-year extended warranty (or 30,000 pages, whichever comes first, for the Refill Tank System). All machines are supported as well by Brother Philippines’ Customer Service Center located at the ground floor of Marajo Tower in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

Here's the Advanced Camera with Interchangeable Lenses - NIKON 1 J5

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The world's fastest continuous shooting with AF and the world's shortest shooting time lag

Full-scale specifications, including an effective pixel count of 20.8-million pixels, a backside-illumination CMOS image sensor, and the new EXPEED 5A image-processing engine, all in a compact and lightweight body

PHILIPPINES - Nikon Hong Kong LTD. is pleased to announce the release of the new NIKON 1 J5, the latest model in the J series of Nikon 1, Advanced Cameras with Interchangeable lenses, propose new forms of imaging expression.

The NIKON 1 J5 is an extremely portable compact and lightweight camera, a primary characteristic of the Nikon 1 series, with which the world's fastest continuous shooting with AF at up to approximately 20 fps, as well as the world's shortest shooting time lag, have been achieved. It offers moving-subject capturing performance that exceeds that of digital SLR cameras, and even better image quality and operation than ever before.

It has an effective pixel count of 20.8-million pixels, and is equipped with a new backside-illumination CMOS image sensor and the new EXPEED 5A image-processing engine. Improved noise reduction functions enable even better image quality at high sensitivities. In addition, the NIKON 1 J5 supports recording of 4K movies that make ultra high-definition imaging expression possible.

Operation has been improved with a number of features that offer greater support for full-scale photography, including Function (Fn) button, to which a frequently used function can be assigned beforehand, a command dial that allows users to adjust settings while framing images, and a tilting LCD monitor that enables capture of self-portraits.

The NIKON 1 J5 is also equipped with more shooting functions and effects such as seven new Creative modes, which make more varied photography fun and easy, and Glamour Retouch for making faces look attractive after they are captured.

What's more, the NIKON 1 J5 is equipped with an NFC function and a dedicated Wi-Fi button that enable simple connection to a smart device, such as a smartphone or tablet, via Wi-Fi connection.

NIKON 1 J5 Primary Features

1. Incredible moving-subject capturing performance that exceeds that of digital SLR cameras

• The world's fastest high-speed continuous shooting with AF at approximately 20 fps, and the world's shortest shooting time lag
• The superior AF performance of the NIKON 1 J5 enables capture of even moving subjects in sharp focus. The world's fastest high-speed continuous shooting with AF at approximately 20 fps and the world's shortest shooting time lag enables certain capture of decisive moments.
• Advanced hybrid AF system features 105 phase-detection AF points that respond quickly and precisely to rapidly changing scenes
• Phase-detection teams with contrast-detect AF for virtually full-frame coverage. Featuring 171 AF points tightly packed over nearly the entire frame, of which 105 are phase-detection points, this system offers superb focus accuracy for any scene.
• Sports mode optimal for photographing moving subjects
• The mode dial on the NIKON 1 J5 offers a Sports mode that makes capturing rapidly moving subjects fun and easy. Choosing Sports mode enables quick adjustment of settings suited to continuous shooting. With playback, each burst or series of images captured in Sports mode plays back as a group, making viewing and confirming images after capture smoother.

2. An effective pixel count of 20.8-million pixels, a new backside-illumination CMOS image sensor, and the new EXPEED 5A image-processing engine achieve even better image quality

• The NIKON 1 J5 offers a backside-illumination structure adopted for the first time in the Nikon 1 series with a newly developed backside-illumination CMOS image sensor.
  This, along with the renowned EXPEED 5A image-processing engine, achieves extremely detailed rendering of images with which noise is effectively suppressed throughout the ISO 160–12800 range of sensitivities. The ISO 6400 (NR) and 12800 (NR) noise reduction functions use very precise processing to combine images with shooting at high sensitivities to acquire photos exhibiting superior image quality with very little noise, even with shooting in dimly lit surroundings or situations. In addition, the noise reduction function used with movie recording has been improved for movies exhibiting superior picture quality in which noise is effectively suppressed. Further, Active D-Lighting, which can now be used with movies, allows users to record movies exhibiting beautiful rendering, even of backlit or high-contrast scenes.

3. Superior operation that supports intuitive, full-scale photography

• An Fn (function) button to which a frequently used function can be assigned
• The NIKON 1 J5 is the first camera in the J series to be equipped with a Function (Fn) button to which a frequently used function can be assigned. This enables immediate access to the assigned function by simply pressing the Fn button during shooting. By assigning a function regularly used to the Function (Fn) button, flexibility of use is significantly increased.
• A command dial that can be used to adjust settings while framing images
• The NIKON 1 J5 is the first camera in the J series to be equipped with a command dial for smooth adjustment of camera settings. It allows users to adjust a variety of settings without looking away from the scene they have framed.
• A tilting LCD monitor and Self-portrait mode convenient for capturing self-portraits
• The camera is equipped with a tilting LCD monitor that not only supports shooting from low and high angles, but also supports capture of self-portraits. When the tilting monitor is reversed for capturing self-portraits, the new Self-portrait mode is automatically enabled with display that allows users to confirm composition and the like while taking photos of themselves.
• A comfortable grip
• The elegant and refined body offers a grip that seems to form to the hand for a firm and steady hold.
• A compact and lightweight body that is both elegant and easy to use
• The NIKON 1 J5 is an elegant camera with an authentic appearance, functional design and mechanical buttons and dials with a metal feel that will make users proud to own. The compact and lightweight body is extremely portable and comfortable to use, even over extended periods of time, supporting hours of reliable shooting enjoyment.

4. Enhanced imaging functions

• Equipped with a function for recording 4K movies
• The NIKON 1 J5 is Nikon's first digital camera to be equipped with a 4K (3840 x 2160/15p) movie-recording function that makes recording beautiful, ultra high-definition movies enjoyable. 4K movies up to ten minutes in length can be recorded.
• Creative modes and Glamour Retouch that makes more varied photography fun and easy
• The NIKON 1 J5 offers seven new Creative modes: Pop, Retro, High-contrast Monochrome, Nostalgic Sepia, Cross Screen, Fisheye, and Skin Softening. In addition, Selective Color and Cross Process modes can now be used with movie recording for more creative movie expression. The NIKON 1 J5 is also equipped with Glamour Retouch that allows users to change or enhance the impressions of faces they have captured. Eight Glamour Retouch effects are available: Skin Softening, Small Face, Big Eyes, Brighten Faces, Hide Eye Bags, Whiten Eyes, Whiten Teeth, and Redden Cheeks.

5. NFC support and a dedicated Wi-Fi button that make transferring images even easier

• The NIKON 1 J5 is equipped with a dedicated Wi-Fi button that makes connecting to a smart device, such as a smartphone or tablet, via Wi- Fi connection even easier. The camera is also equipped with an NFC function that enabled smart device.

BEST Center SBP/Passerelle Tournament 2015 opens

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SBP/Passerelle Twin Tournament, the country’s most prestigious interschool basketball competition for kids, kicks off its 30th season this Sunday, July 19, at the Xavier School Fr. Rafael Cortina Gym in Greenhills. The opening ceremony will be attended by Nieto twins, Michael and Matthew, who started their basketball career in Small Basketeers and are now members of Batang Gilas.

Organized by the Basketball Efficiency and Scientific Training (BEST) Center, this year’s season promises to be another exciting tournament with 600 players from 40 teams participating in the games.

The competition will run for three months with kids 9-11 years old vying for the Small Basketeers Philippines (SBP) trophy and kids 12-14 years old playing for the Passerelle title. Defending their SBP title is Xavier School, which was the NCR and national champion last year. University of Visayas, meanwhile, will play their all for their Passerelle title.

The SBP participating teams are composed of Xavier School Team A, Xavier School Team B, Ateneo de Manila Team A, Ateneo de Manila Team B, De la Salle Santiago Zobel, La Salle Greenhills Team A, La Salle Greenhills Team B, Notre Dame of Greater Manila, St. Mary;s College, Quezon City; Lourdes School, Quezon City; Marist School, San Beda College Rizal, and San Sebastian College-Recoletos.

The Passerelle participating teams, meanwhile, include Ateneo de Manila Team A, Ateneo de Manila Team B, Lourdes School Mandaluyong, Xavier School, Adamson University, La Salle Greenhills Team A, La Salle Greenhills Team B, University of Santo Tomas, Nazareth School of NU, Notre Dame of Greater Manila, St May's College, De la Salle Santiago Zobel, San Beda College Rizal, and St. Augustin International School.

Sponsored by Milo and Chris Sports, the SBP/Passerelle Twin Tournament is organized by the BEST Center since 1985 to provide aspiring young players a platform to showcase their basketball skills on a national level, as well as foster camaraderie and sportsmanship among the participating schools, the players and parents.

For more information, please call the BEST Center hotlines 411-6260 or 372-3065, or visit BEST Center Sports Inc. on Facebook.

Celebrating 35 years of producing basketball legends, the Best Center is the pioneer scientific sports clinic in the country and was cited with an Olympism Award by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), and installed in the Hall of Fame by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA).