First Look: Celebrity Mom Nikki Gil-Albert Gives us a Glimpse of her Life at Home

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Nikki Gil opens up her home for the first time as she talks about how their life has changed during the pandemic. Not being able to go out to work and socialize, the celebrity-mom shares how she rediscovered her home by turning quarantine time into quality time for her family. Take a closer look and at her home in this exclusive video.

A Shared Social Space for Home Entertainment

Making the most of every opportunity to bond and connect, Nikki shows her favorite spot for the family to hang out - the living room couch. Doing different things and being entertained while still being together has become very special for her. “Someone would be binge-watching Netflix, I would be browsing Instagram, and my son would be on Youtube Kids. I like that while we are all doing our own thing, we are still together, we are still spending time together.”

 

Working and Learning Anytime, Anywhere

Showing her own corner of the house, Nikki shares that she has even enrolled in online art classes to rekindle her love for art. Along with hosting online events, checking important emails, and attending virtual social gatherings, she has really put her home office to good use with the internet playing a vital role for her daily activities. “I’ve realized that strong, stable internet connection has proven to be so important to me the past year. And I’m so grateful that PLDT Home has been so reliable and has been a partner in being productive and staying in touch.”

Equipped with the new PLDT Home WiFi Mesh System, the entire household benefits from strong connections anywhere in the home whether they are using it for entertainment, online classes, web-based meetings, or even preparing meals and deliveries through the internet.

 

Secure Parental Controls

Another aspect of the PLDT Home Wifi Mesh system that is important for Nikki is the Parental Controls. “One of my most favorite features is the Parental Controls. I can block any inappropriate content or website that I don’t want my son to have access to. And, I can limit how long my son can use the device.”

 

Whole Home Coverage

Nikki and her family now enjoys seamless connection anywhere in the house without dead spot issues. The PLDT Home Wifi Mesh system supports 2.4 and 5 GHz capable of providing up to 800 Mbps in a seamless and wide-covering network. This means having a connection all around the home without any delays or dead spots. “You know how you’re walking around the house and you’re streaming something or talking to someone and it just disappears. This solves just that. Wherever you are at home you will have the same WiFi signal,” Nikki shares.

Catch the full video here and discover how the new PLDT Home WiFi Mesh System can boost connections the way it has helped Nikki enjoy better productivity at home.

You can get your own PLDT Home Wifi Mesh system for as low as Php 298 per month for a starter kit which comes with two (2) mesh units. Visit www.pldthome.com/wifimesh to know more.

Claim your FREE Covid, Dengue insurance vouchers from Globe At Home starting April 4

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Postpaid subscribers of Globe At Home should mark their calendars because starting April 4, 2021 until April 18, 2021, they can claim their FREE COVID-19 and Dengue Insurance for 3 months powered by GInsure and Singlife with coverage of up to P140,500.

 

This is the latest offering of Globe At Home to its loyal postpaid customers to continuously provide #ExtraCareAtHome protection that goes beyond connectivity.

 

The 3-month insurance plan offers comprehensive benefits against medical costs such as Php 500 test allowance for Dengue, up to Php 40,000 confinement allowance as well as up to Php 100,000 medical cost reimbursement if diagnosed with COVID-19 or Dengue.

“We recognize the need to provide a sense of safety and peace of mind for our customers as cases in the Philippines continue to surge. We highly encourage our current Postpaid subscribers to avail of this promo to keep themselves protected as we keep them connected through our reliable services and relevant offers,” said Darius Delgado, Globe Vice President and Head of Broadband Business.

Globe At Home makes the health and safety of its loyal postpaid customers a priority by making redemption of this voucher easy through the Globe At Home app.

 

All current Globe At Home subscribers are eligible for this promo as long as they have the Globe At Home or GCash apps and make sure that their accounts are active and contact details are up to date.

With customers at the core of its service, Globe At Home continues to lead in building new ways to show care for customers as they continue to develop innovations for greater convenience and service upgrades.           

 

Download the Globe At Home app today to claim your FREE 3-month COVID-19 and Dengue Insurance.

To know more about Globe At Home, visit https://www.globe.com.ph/broadband.html.

 

Xiaomi Celebrates Mi Fan Festival 2021

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Global technology leader Xiaomi has announced the start of its annual Mi Fan Festival (MFF). The 2021 festival will center on the theme “Explore the Possibilities”, and to cultivate the spirit of this message, Xiaomi will launch a wide array of online campaigns and invite Mi Fans to discuss and share their experiences of how Xiaomi's products have benefited their lives with their friends and families. The global shopping extravaganza will kick off on April 6 with special offers more than USD 147 millions* on official authorized channels. Xiaomi is collaborating with more than 70 online platforms and 300 offline partners** in 59 markets to bring the most innovative products at incredible prices to Mi Fans across the world.

Google and Qualcomm Technologies are also celebrating Xiaomi's founding day together through MFF 2021. The co-creation of posters for MFF 2021 use the unified visual symbol "&" as the key creative idea of the picture, symbolizing the close cooperation between Xiaomi and Google also between Xiaomi and Qualcomm Technologies. The posters also combine the "infinite" concept of the "Möbius ring" to convey that with Xiaomi, the companies strive to bring infinite possibilities to users' lives.

Xiaomi, Google and Qualcomm Technologies have always been the forerunners, setting trends for their respective industries with innovative software and hardware solutions. Xiaomi has been working closely with Google and Qualcomm Technologies to advance and accelerate the mass adoption of technological innovations. Xiaomi will continue joining hands with the two tech partners to explore new possibilities, as expressed by the theme of the MFF 2021, with an aim to make everyone's life smarter and enhance convenience in daily life.

“Xiaomi has always put Mi Fans and users at the core of everything we do. Mi Fan Festival (MFF) is an iconic representation of our Mi Fan culture. This year marks the 10th MFF, and the 11th year since Xiaomi's establishment. Every year, we celebrate this festival together with Mi Fans, users, and partners around the world to express our gratitude for their support -- which is one of our key drivers to continue exploring and innovating. With the announcement of Redmi Note 10 Pro MFF Special Edition and the launch of a series of MFF activities, we hope to convey our brand proposition of providing innovation and smart lifestyles to everyone, and our commitment to always be there for our Mi Fans and users," said Xiaomi spokesperson.

Redmi Note 10 Pro Mi Fan Festival Special Edition

At this year's Mi Fan Festival, Xiaomi is launching Redmi Note 10 Pro MFF Special Edition with the slogan "Explore Infinite Possibilities", which will serve as a unique MFF souvenir that Mi Fans can take home. The MFF special edition phone represents the adventurous spirit of Xiaomi and seeks to encourage Mi Fans to explore the infinite possibilities in life by connecting Smartphone x AIoT.

To echo the theme of infinity, Redmi Note 10 Pro MFF Special Edition comes in a package with a cosmic-inspired design. The front of the box features an image of astronauts floating through galaxies, representing Xiaomi and Mi Fans exploring the infinite possibilities of life together.

The box also contains a Mi Fan Festival postcard featuring an image of Mi Bunny astronauts. The back of the postcard is a Mi Fan Festival theme sticker***, which can be stuck onto items such as mobile phones, computers and suitcases to add an extra touch of Xiaomi to users' lives.

The Gradient Bronze version of Redmi Note 10 Pro in a natural metallic luster color was selected for this year's Mi Fan Festival, and the exclusive Mi Fan Festival 2021 icon will be printed on the back.

As the special souvenir smartphone for this year's Mi Fan Festival, Redmi Note 10 Pro MFF Special Edition will be sold in limited quantities worldwide.

Building a Better World Together with Mi Fans

From the day Xiaomi was founded, building real relationships with users and having them be a part of Xiaomi’s future has been at the core of the company's culture. From the very beginning, Mi Fans have been joining the Mi Community, offering suggestions and even contributing ideas and inventions to help drive the growth of Xiaomi. Mi Fan culture has always been an integral part of the Xiaomi brand.

To celebrate MFF 2021, Xiaomi Global Mi Community officially launched its theme song A Melody for Mi, which was co-created in an online Mi Community by Mi Fans from 15 countries. Around 1000 Mi Fans participated in this songwriting project. Contributions from 30 Mi Fans were selected and used to compose the music and lyrics. The song expresses Mi Fans' unceasing pursuit of a better life, centered on love, passion, innovation, vitality, and smarter life for everyone -- the very values that Xiaomi has been conveying to Mi Fans for over a decade. Today, Mi Fans are delivering the same message to the world. Together, united by the same vision, Mi Fans show resolute confidence and belief in building a better world.

The song A Melody for Mi has been set as an official ringtone and uploaded to Mi Theme Store where users from all over the world can download it. The song will also be applied to the customer service hotline on-hold music.

Xiaomi maintains its image as one of the coolest companies in the minds of Mi Fans and users. For years, Xiaomi product users have been connected through a shared experience of interacting and living with all of these innovative products that have truly life-altering intelligent features. In the Xiaomi Global Mi Community, thousands of Mi Fans have already posted their stories describing how the Xiaomi brand and products have changed their lives.

A Mi Fan with the username "Crossfiree" shared her story about Mi Smart Home during a Mi Community activity. She has been using more than 30 Xiaomi ecosystem products at home, although she describes herself as a technophobe rather than a tech enthusiast. Mi Air Purifier helped improve the air quality in her home and eased her severe dust allergy, while Mi Band helped her whole family cultivate a healthier lifestyle. Another Mi Fan, Arun Abhimanyu, mentioned that Mi Motion Activated Night Light solved his grandmother's long-standing problem of finding the light switch in the dark when she woke up at night to use the restroom. This was just some of his experiences with Xiaomi products, and he explained that "these products have made my life easier in a way that I never could have imagined. That’s how Xiaomi wins users' trust."

History of MFF

The first MFF was held on April 6, 2012 in Mainland China when Xiaomi decided to launch an event to celebrate the two-year anniversary of its founding. Since Mi Fans played a significant role in the rapid growth of Xiaomi, the company invited Mi Fans to celebrate its birthday together by holding a big party for them. The party venue was set up like a club and guests celebrated while a DJ performed and interacted with them. 100,000 Xiaomi smartphones sold out in just 6 minutes and 5 seconds on that day. From then on, Xiaomi has held MFF every year to show its gratitude towards Mi Fans for their support.

Outside of Mainland China, MFF was first held in India and Indonesia in 2015, before being launched in European markets in 2018, when the first shopping carnival was held in Spain. This year will be the 10th annual MFF, and even more, global markets will be joining to celebrate the occasion.

For more information about MFF 2021, please refer to MFF2021 press kit.

Disclaimers:

*The amount is calculated based on the total available promotions, product discounts and discount vouchers during Mi Fan Festival 2021 on all official authorized channels worldwide and is subject to availability and activity time of different markets.

**The sales partners for Mi Fan Festival 2021 vary between different markets. Please refer to local information for sales availability.

***The Indonesian market version is designed with the Mi Fan Festival theme sticker on the back and without the Mi Bunny astronauts image on the front.

PayMaya expands its widest network of cashless touchpoints nationwide with The SM Store

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PayMaya is making it even more convenient for Filipinos to make the cashless shift as it expands its Add Money partnership with The SM Store, allowing PayMaya customers to easily transact and add funds to their accounts at close to 600 additional top-up locations nationwide.

On top of the service being available at The SM Store branches nationwide, PayMaya users can now add money to their PayMaya account at the Mall Information Booth, Servicio and bills payment counters located in SM Supermarket, SM Savemore, SM Hypermarket, and Waltermart touchpoints across the country.

These new Add Money channels are the latest addition to PayMaya’s extensive network of over 200,000 touchpoints nationwide – the widest in the country to date - where customers can add, transact, and send money for their day-to-day needs. 

“With cashless now being the default and preferred mode of payment for many Filipinos, giving them access to safe and accessible ways to add money to their accounts is very important. We are glad to expand on our partnership with SM Supermalls so that our customers can enjoy the cashless convenience," said Shailesh Baidwan, PayMaya President. 

Adding money at the SM branch near you is easy— all you have to do is follow these simple steps: 

1. On the PayMaya app’s home screen, select Add Money 
2. Tap the SM icon 
3. Enter the amount you want to add to your account (minimum P100 and maximum of P20,000) and select Continue 
4. You will get a 7-digit code. Go to the customer service counter at The SM Store or the Bills Payment counter at SM Supermarket, SM Savemore, or SM Hypermarket and present this code along with your payment to the cashier 
5. Wait for an SMS confirmation, and that’s it! You can now pay for your purchases using your PayMaya account.

After adding money to your PayMaya account, you can now enjoy safe, convenient, and rewarding contactless transactions at The SM Store or your favorite restaurants at SM Supermalls via PayMaya’s #BetterQR. You can also pay cashless for your groceries at SM Hypermarket and SM Supermarket using your PayMaya card.  

With all the benefits and rewards of going cashless waiting for you, it’s a great time to start using PayMaya! Just download the PayMaya app at https://official.paymaya.com/CAK1/425eb133 and register an account to find out what it’s like to go cashless with the fastest, safest, and most rewarding way to pay for anything online and in stores. Remember, don’t pay cash. PayMaya! 

PayMaya is the only end-to-end digital payments ecosystem enabler in the Philippines with platforms and services that cut across consumers, merchants, communities, and government. Through its enterprise business, it is the largest digital payments processor for key industries in the country including "everyday" merchants such as the largest retail, food, gas, and eCommerce merchants as well as government agencies and units.   

Through its app and wallet, PayMaya provides over 28 million Filipinos with access to financial services. Customers can conveniently pay, add money, cash out or remit through its over 200,000 digital touchpoints nationwide. Its Smart Padala by PayMaya network of over 33,000 partner agent touchpoints nationwide serves as last-mile digital financial hubs in communities, providing the unbanked and underserved with access to digital services. To know more about PayMaya's products and services, visit www.PayMaya.com or follow @PayMayaOfficial on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Rising Pop Star Jack Newsome Releases 'Arms'

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Like most people, 24-year-old singer/songwriter Jack Newsome spent a large part of the world’s pandemic figuring things out. The New Jersey native lived in an air of uncertainty in his new home of Studio City, CA, trying to understand what was happening around him.

“'Arms' was the first song I wrote with my new partner-in-crime Cambo. We started the song on Zoom and finished it at his studio. I wore my mask there and only took it off to lay the vocal in the booth. We’re living in really lonely times, so the lyric speaks for itself,” Jack told Popwrapped.

On the accompanying music video, he adds: “The concept of being alone worked out really well for the video to “Arms”; we didn’t need any actors or extras. My creative director Louis Browne is a genius and found this gorgeous movie set in the desert. The concept was super vague which scared me at first. I like having everything planned to a T, but I think keeping it loose was the perfect move for the song and the vibe.”

A former Berklee College of Music student, Jack moved to LA to pursue his music career a couple of years prior and shortly thereafter grabbed the attention of reality songwriting competition series Songland. Jack was a part of the first season, working with singer/songwriter/producer Shane McAnally as his episode’s mentor turned mentor in real life. As a finalist for his episode, Jack and Shane cut “Lying (Next To You)” which cracked the one million mark on streaming platforms. A publishing deal from McAnally’s SMACKSongs and record deal with 12Tone Music followed, and since then his rise has been steady with sync placements in the Rocket League video game, CBS’s Love Island, and credits with multiple well-known recording artists.

To start 2021, Jack delivers his own impactful anthem “The Year The World Stood Still,” a song about the realization that sometimes hitting pause is vital. Much more than a song of the moment, the track carries into the concept of what happens even after this is all over and life goes back to “normal”. Produced by Jack and co-producer Cambo (Doja Cat, Bea Miller), the track is inspirational but also poignant, while bringing together all of the elements of a solid Pop song. It’s something Jack Newsome knows how to do quite well. But above all, his goal is to make music that speaks to different generations who can all understand the same sentiment.

"soft, dreamy but utterly fantastic pop release"

EQ Music Blog

"If Newsome keeps up this pop brilliance with strong melodies and thoughtful lyrics, we’re in for much brighter days"

Arjan Writes