SandBar Beach Club is now the hottest daylight destination in Boracay!

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The sun is at its peak, the sea is glistening and reflecting the bright blue skies, everyone looks fabulous in their bikinis and boardshorts – Boracay’s energy and marvelous beauty are best captured during daytime indeed! However, almost every place in this island gets a little crowded during the summer season. 

Finally, there is a place where you can relax, hang out or even strut your bikini body in style, as Station 1 welcomes the hottest daylight destination for all ages, the SandBar Beach Club Boracay.

Set in the powdery white sand of Boracay is this exclusive chill-out place with 18 cozy beach beds for your ultimate comfort. While you can also relax in your hotel, chances are you’ll miss the fantastic outdoor sceneries of the paradise and all the fun that it has to offer. 

At SandBar Beach Club Boracay, comfort doesn’t need to be boring. It combines good food, refreshing drinks, exciting water sports and entertainment into one fantastic place. Join the Saturday Shindig, a daytime beach party every Saturday from 11:00am to 4:00pm. For only PhP3,000 per person, you get unlimited Banana Boat and Fly Fish rides, sumptuous lunch and snacks, and bottomless specialty drinks.

Every Sunday, the club transforms into an ideal place for every family with its theme the Sunday Magic, a children's beach party from 11:00am to 4pm. For PhP3,000 per person, you get unlimited Banana Boat and Fly Fish rides, sumptuous lunch and snacks, bottomless specialty drinks plus a special magic show for the young and the young-at-heart.

Experience priceless daylight fun in the hottest summer destination of the country, and head to SandBar Beach Club Boracay for a weekend of fun, adventure, relaxation, and good food with family and friends. 

“COSMIC”: Samsung Launches The New SUHD TV

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Samsung new TV sets a new standard in premium UHD (Ultra High Definition) content and elevates the viewing experience to new heights.

What makes Samsung such an innovative company?

For many people using Samsung always feel the difference the real life’s rich colors that Samsung make to each scene as SUHD TV displays a wider spectrum of nature’s colors. Through Samsung innovation and technology, these colors are reproduced more accurately so that images look life-like on the screen.

Samsung is a global leader in screen technology, TVs, batteries, and chip design.

And now, Samsung reinforces TV and innovation leadership with New SUHD TVs and New Audio Solutions.

SUHD TV and expansive range of audio products open a new era for immersive viewing and sound.

The leader in TV for nine consecutive years, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., introduced an extensive range of SUHD TV at its 2015 TV Roadshow, the official launching of SUHD with a “COSMIC” theme. It showcased Samsung’s expansive line-up of Audio products including Omni-Directional 360 Audio and Curved Soundbars which complement and enhance the home entertainment experience with immersive and crystal clear sound.

Raul Macatangay, AV Product Marketing Head said “We are proud to introduce a new advancement in our line of products. Samsung continues to be the leader in providing picture quality to push the boundaries of home entertainment experience.”

“We will never stop with our commitment to consistently giving superior home entertainment experience,” Macatangay said yesterday at the The New SUHD TV launched held at the SMX Conference Room, SM Aura, Taguig City.

Samsung Premium “S” TV: The New SUHD TV

Samsung reserves the “S” identification for the most premium, flagship product that signifies a true leap forward in technology. As the leader in the TV industry, Samsung is excited to extend the prestigious “S” identification to its newest TV line, the SUHD TV. The SUHD TV is designed to excite all of the senses, with sensational picture quality, seamless interaction and stylish design.

Introducing Unmatched Picture Quality

Samsung SUHD TVs demonstrate groundbreaking advances in contrast, brightness, color reproduction and detail to deliver a superior picture quality experience. They utilize proprietary, eco-friendly nano-crystal technology and include an intelligent SUHD re-mastering picture quality engine.

The SUHD TV’s nano-crystal technology transmits different colors of light depending on their size to produce the highest color purity and light efficiency available today, which produces a wide range of more accurate colors, providing the viewers with 64 times more color expression than conventional TVs. The intelligent SUHD re-mastering engine has optimized all content to match the color and brightness reproduction of the SUHD TV. It automatically analyses the brightness of images to minimize additional power consumption, while also producing ultimate contrast levels, showcasing images with much darker blacks and an elevated level of brightness that’s more than 2.5 times brighter than conventional UHD TVs.

Samsung is working with leaders in the industry to promote secure and steady growth of a comprehensive UHD ecosystem. In order to establish premium UHD quality standards, Samsung has announced the UHD alliance – a coalition of companies united to set the bar for next generation video entertainment that will implement new standards supporting innovation in video technologies including 4K and higher resolution, high dynamic range, wide color gamut and immersive 3D audio.

Samsung’s SUHD TV’s use environmental-friendly technology to deliver best-in-class energy efficiency and reliability. Moreover, Samsung will offer three new series of SUHD TVs – JS9500, JS9000 and JS8500 – from 55 to 88 inches, so consumers have the flexibility to purchase perfect TV that fits their style and taste.

Sophisticated and Improved Curved Designs

The newly announced Samsung SUHD TV J9500 features a chamfer bezel design, adding more depth to the TV screen, and the elegant frame makes the display look like a piece of art mounted on the wall. The SUHD TV JS9000 also has a soft, textured shirring design on the rear of the display giving TV a premium look and stylish edge when viewed from any angle.

With the increase on consumer demand for curved TVs, Samsung will continue to add new models to its product portfolio to complement every unique viewing environment.

Samsung Introduces Features for the Philippines

To meet the needs of consumers in the Philippines, Samsung is introducing a number of features tailored to match unique lifestyle of users in the region through Samsung Seasons. It allows customers to enjoy handpicked selection of popular international TV shows, wherein users can watch the first episode free, and rent the full season of a show for 30 days to enjoy on their smart TV, or on a Samsung tablet or phone.

Customers will also be able to enjoy Family TV 2.0, which further enhances the overall viewing experience. Maintaining the features of last year’s popular family TV feature, Family TV 2.0 allows customers to save and send photos and sound bites of their favorite TV moments. The feature now has a Story Replay, which can record sill photos with the audio of TV programs.

Customers can enjoy Sports mode, which allows quick access to sport matches on Samsung Smart TVs. Sport Mode is designed specifically for the thrilling basketball or boxing experience. Three points and punches will be highlighted, and users will be able to playback top moments from the game so they can relive the action.

Samsung Omni-directional 360 Audio – A New Era in Premium Sound 

Designed with style and elegance to harmonize any home interior and developed in Samsung’s new state-of-the-art Audio Lab in California, the WAM 7500/6500 speakers are  Samsung incorporated its proprietary ring radio technology which allows sound to flow in 360 degrees radius that provides rich-bodied sound, unlike conventional speakers that project sound in a single direction.

The WAM7500/6500 also features a simple and hassle-free setup with plug-and-play installation – users simply connect the speaker to a router and plug the unit in.

Samsung Curved Soundbar – Curved Design to Surround Users’ Senses

Samsung is introducing the Curved Soundbar that features a sleek and clean design. It complements Samsung Curved TVs from 48 inches to 78 inches, providing premium audio solution.

The newly introduced 8500 series also offers enhanced sound quality with 9.1 channel audio, featuring a central speaker and side speakers on each end—added to further intensify the immersive experience by delivering a more equalized surround sound experience.

With its patented Multi-Air gap speaker unit at its subwoofer, the Soundbar will feature deeper bass than conventional audio offerings. It allows users to stream music through its multiroom functionality, and has a wireless connection to the TV through TV SoundConnect via Bluetooth.

Samsung, a leader in innovation, brings you the right to own a premium and unmatched picture quality that is perfectly stylish with its sophisticated and improved curved design and has put its efforts high in bringing you a new era in premium sound. 

The Samsung TV and audio visual solutions surely uphold their leadership by truly redefining picture quality with superior brightness and the widest color spectrum available.

Citi Philippines Celebrates 25 Years of Leadership in Credit Cards with the campaign ‘My Unforgettable Story'

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Everything in life revolves around money. And here's finding the simplest possible way of making payments, in many situations wherever we are. Also when abroad is safer on a card than by paying with cash. You don’t need to have the cash readily available if you have credit card.

Shopping or just buying whatever you need using a credit card is an easy and secure way to pay for goods - in many places around the globe and even online.

Credit cards provide a fast and efficient way of paying for goods and services, but they also allow us to build up our credit history.

Citi Philippines, the country’s largest foreign bank celebrates another milestone as it marks its 25th year of providing world class credit card products and services to the Filipino consumer.

Celebrity SocialiteTessa Prieto-Valdez hosting the Citi Philippines 25th Anniversary Celebrations held at the Fairmont Hotel, April 27, 2015.

It was in 1990 when Citi Philippines introduced the Citibank MasterCard, marking the global bank’s entry into the Philippine credit card market. Back then, Citi was also credited for changing the payment landscape, when it lowered the minimum income requirement to own a credit card, and turned what was once a financial tool only for the elite, into a payment product that empowered middle income Filipino cardholders.

“We are extremely proud of our legacy of success here in the Philippines, particularly in our consumer banking business led by our credit cards,” shared CEO Batara Sianturi in his speech at the celebratory event. “As the world’s largest issuer of credit cards, we bring our experience and expertise across the globe in providing and anticipating the credit payment needs of our clients here in the country with the help of our partners like MasterCard.”

Today, Citi remains the acknowledged industry leader, with an enviable track record of innovations and best-in-market offers and promotions, making many unforgettable stories possible for its Filipino customers. And what would be a better way to celebrate its 25th year than to reward its loyal clients with the campaign ‘My Unforgettable Story’?

Unforgettable Stories with Citi Cards

Launched in March and running until August 2015, the promotion presents Citi cardholders the chance to create new memories in some of the world’s most breathtaking places –by simply using their Citi credit card.

Bea Tan, who heads Citi’s consumer banking business in the country related: “In designing this promotion, we wanted to break the mold and ensure that our clients are truly engaged from day one. We wanted to reward our loyal cardholders with delightful and unique experiences, and empower them with making the best choice from a list of impossible to resist selections according to their lifestyle and preferences.”

And ‘My Unforgettable Story’ certainly delivers all that and more. A total of fifteen lucky cardholders will be chosen in three raffle draws, with five winners to be awarded in each set. The first set of winners can choose one of the Stories of Discovery prizes, including a gourmet food tour in Japan, journey to self-discovery in Bali, scuba diving in Palau, and China or Egypt exploration.

Meanwhile, 2nd raffle draw winners can have a spectacular celebration of love as they can choose one of the Stories of Romance prizes such as a honeymoon in Maldives, island escapade in Thailand and hot air balloon date in Dubai. Winners can also have their dream wedding gown designed by a top couturier, or make their most romantic proposal happen.

Things get more exciting as the third set of winners can revel in one of the Stories of Adventure prizes like a family ski adventure in Korea, US theme park getaway, Mediterranean cruise, African safari and the magical Aurora Borealis experience. 

“It’s so easy to win – just use your card for any purchase, regardless of amount, and you will earn raffle entries. And because we want all our cardholders to have a chance to win, we are awarding raffle entries for nearly every use of a Citi card: from using Citibank Online to charging with Citi PayLite, and even when you apply for a Personal Loan,” explained David Stoughton, Credit Payments Head of Citi Philippines.

To see the complete list of prizes and ways on how to qualify for the promotion, visit www.citibank.com.ph/mystory.

25 Years of Making Fantastic Plastics

“Beyond putting a Citi Card into Filipinos’ wallets, we also opened up a host of world class services and set new benchmarks for the industry,” recalled Tan. “Those were very exciting first years as we unveiled one product or service after the other, and saw not just our market share grow by leaps and bounds, but also competitors sit up and take notice. What was most satisfying is that the Filipino consumer is the real winner here.”

One of Citi’s game changing programs was the launch of Citi Rewards; Citi was the first credit card to introduce a loyalty program – offering rewards points to fuel rebates to air miles to shopping credits – for every spend made on the card. “It begs to be said that when we launched the program, it was so well designed that it set the bar, and we have not needed to make any changes to it since,” narrates Tan.

Indeed, Citi’s Rewards Program has become so successful that today, clients think of three options when they pay: credit card, points or cash? 

“In this day and age when consumer trends and preferences change as fast as news travels, it’s a real challenge to keep track of what customers want and to make sure these are met – and at Citi, we strive to meet this challenge each day,” said Tan.

The Road ahead…is Digital

Looking ahead to the future, its loyal cardholders can expect Citi and MasterCard to continue to invest in the digital payments space and leverage on technology to transform the way in which it serves clients. 

“At Citi, we strongly believe the future is digital. Around the world, we actively promote the transition to digital money. We are a global company doing business in 160 countries and jurisdictions, deeply embedded in over 700 cities and serving about 200 million customer accounts with hundreds of products and services,” declared Sianturi. 

In Asia, Citi has over 7 million digital banking registered users. Nearly 98% of all transactions in this region now take place outside the branch, or via non-branch channels. That’s roughly 20 million digital banking transactions a month in Asia – and the trend is expected to double in five years.

Closer to home, 47% of its customers in the Philippines are registered users of digital banking. Over the last decade, Citi has seen consistent growth in terms of the number of users of both the Citibank Online and Citibank Mobile Banking platforms year on year. 

“Indeed, we have seen an increasing shift to mobile usage, with customers using our Mobile App and mobile browsers to make Funds Transfers and Bills Payment on their mobile devices,” says Tan. “At Citi, we want our clients to have a remarkable experience each and every time they choose to pay with our credit cards. Our investments in the digital space, and partnership with trusted payment solutions provider MasterCard, afford us the opportunity to deliver again and again on this promise.”

About Citi

Citi, the leadng global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. 

Additional information may be found at : 

Website:  www.citigroup.com 

Twitter: @Citi 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi 

Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi 

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi

Story and Photo by Janet Marie Caducio (Arts Travel Magazine)

Arielle Orella, Most outstanding athlete from NCR all geared up for Palaro 2015

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Armed with clubs, hoops, ribbons and a ball, the Rhythmic Gymnastics team of the National Capital Region (NCR) rigorously trains at the gymnasium of Jose Abad Santos High School. Amidst them is a soft-spoken girl who has been the crown jewel of the team after bagging the title of “Most Outstanding Athlete” in last year’s Palarong Pambansa.

Arielle Orella, 16-year old NCR Rhythmic Gymnastics athlete, is all set to compete in the 2015 Palarong Pambansa."

Meet Arielle Nichole G. Orella - a girl whose demure façade is not to be underestimated since she is a frequent in the first place-winners platform in every Palaro that she has competed in. At the age of seven, Arielle was enticed to enter the world of rhythmic gymnastics after watching older girls in her elementary school perform the graceful sport. 

It takes Arielle three (3) months of intensive training to perfect a routine. “If we don’t have any classes, our training starts from morning until afternoon, 7am to 4pm. When there were still classes, training starts from 3pm to 6pm. Our only rest day is every Sunday, but when there is an upcoming competition, there is no such thing as a ‘rest day’,” she said. 

Through the capable hands of her coaches, the dedication and determination that she has been giving out in her trainings, Arielle has been reaping gold after gold in the hopes of one day becoming the Philippine representative in international competitions. “I want to be part of the National team because I want to compete again internationally to represent our country.” said Arielle, referring to her experience in the recent ASEAN School Games.

In college, Arielle wants to take up Physical Education in preparation for a coaching career. “Gusto ko rin pong magturo din ng Gymnastics at mag-coach ng mga batang athletes. That is my dream.”

The champ’s message for inspiring gymnasts out there? - “Never be afraid to try the craft you really want, don't ever think of giving up and lastly, strive for your higher dreams to be an inspiration to others.”

She and the NCR team will be competing next week in the 2015 Palarong Pambansa in Tagum, Davao del Norte.

As continuing journey to enable the Filipino digital lifestyle, Globe partners with WhatsApp !

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Globe partners with WhatsApp, offers free access with a prepaid promo or postpaid plan subscription

In another revolutionary move to sustain its leadership in the mobile data business, Globe Telecom has forged a partnership with WhatsApp to allow customers to enjoy free access to the mobile messaging app with a prepaid promo or postpaid plan subscription.

Available to prepaid and postpaid customers, free WhatsApp enables users to enjoy real-time messaging and voice calling without data charges on any Globe prepaid promo or myLifestyle Plan subscription starting April 30, 2015. 

Prepaid customers registered to any of their favorite text, call or surf promos such as GoSakto, GoUnli25, GoUnli20, and GoSurf as well as postpaid customers on myLifestyle Plan can avail of free access to WhatsApp. With free WhatsApp, Globe customers can exchange text and video messages, create messaging groups, and send each other unlimited images without having to pay any extra amount on top of their current prepaid promos or monthly service fees (MSF).

Simultaneous to the launch of the partnership, WhatsApp also recently introduced its WhatsApp Calling feature that allows users to make and accept calls, decline or respond to calls with a message, use a speakerphone and mute the microphone feature. 

“At Globe, we are proud to be partnering with global companies to give our customers the best digital experiences on their devices. WhatsApp is a leading global messaging company, and we are very excited to announce our partnership with them, which coincides with the global introduction of the new WhatsApp calling feature,” says Dan Horan, Senior Advisor for Consumer Business Group at Globe.

“As part of our continuing journey to enable the Filipino digital lifestyle, we have collaborated with WhatsApp to let our customers enjoy free access to one of the world’s leading messaging apps with a prepaid promo registration or postpaid plan subscription. With WhatsApp, users can enjoy free calls, texts and photo sharing with other WhatsApp users anywhere in the world without worrying about their data charges or the need to look for Wi-Fi spots. Just register to your favorite prepaid promo or get a myLifestyle Plan and avail of free WhatsApp only from Globe,” says Issa Cabreira, Globe Senior Vice President for Consumer Mobile Marketing.

“With the new WhatsApp Calling feature, our 800 million users can easily call their friends all over the world,” said Brian Acton, Co-Founder of WhatsApp. “We’re excited to be partnering with Globe to enrich everyday communications for Filipinos in the Philippines and abroad.” 

WhatsApp is a cross-platform, real-time mobile messaging application that allows millions of people around the world to stay connected with their friends and family. To access free WhatsApp, customers can just download the app and use it free of data charges instantly.

Aside from free WhatsApp, prepaid and postpaid customers can also enjoy free access to Facebook by subscribing to their favorite Globe promos. 

In 2014, Globe led the industry in mobile data business with revenues and data traffic growing faster than competition, on the back of its partnerships with global players and better network experience to provide compelling content that enrich the Filipino digital lifestyle. 

Mobile browsing and other data revenues reached P14.3 billion in 2014, up 23% from P11.6 billion in the previous year, giving Globe a clear edge over competition with 64% revenue market share. 

The Globe network also carried significantly higher data traffic at 87,000 terabytes of data, increasing 270% from the previous year because of a significant surge in mobile browsing activity and higher smartphone adoption among its customers. With its network modernization, Globe has greater capacity for data traffic that translates to better experience for its customers.