Riding high on push-email on the P910i

Equestrian champion Toni Leviste will be the first to admit that she is no "techie." The distinguished rider, who led the Philippine Equestrian Team to a gold medal finish in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, describes herself as a health buff and food lover but is not much into IT.

That would change after her sterling performance at the World Cup Southeast Asian League qualifiers, and the Southeast Asian Games qualifier: the Sony Ericsson Showjumping Classic 2005.

Leviste recalls that Sony Ericsson GM Dennis Manzano handed her a Sony Ericsson P910i, the company’s flagship smartphone, as part of her prize. "He knew I traveled a lot for international competitions and now I take it with me all over the world," she says.

The Sony Ericsson P910i combines a mobile phone, PDA, still and videocamera, entertainment device, BlackBerry Connect e-mail access and Web browsing functions in one smart package.

The user of P910i, designed with efficient mobile communications in mind, can choose the stylus, the five-way jog dial or the thumb keyboard to make calls or get their SMS, MMS or e-mail messages across.

Its huge memory affords a variety of other functions and storage of large amounts of data like contacts and business applications.

"I didn’t have any major concerns when I first started using my P910i. It is very user-friendly and amuses me when I discover something new in the device that I didn’t know before. I’m sure there are still lots to know and many other functions I haven’t touched on," she admits.

One of the key applications she constantly uses now is BlackBerry Connect available on the P910i by subscription through Globe Platinum.

Developed by Research In Motion, BlackBerry Connect enables users of P910i to connect to proven and popular BlackBerry services and e-mails featuring push-based wireless technology.

BlackBerry provides an efficient and reliable communications platform that automatically "pushes" e-mails and data to and from a wireless device.

The user can then check their phone for e-mail anywhere in virtual real time. It also synchronizes the phone with the PC so there’s never any hassle of checking which messages have been retained or deleted in which inbox.

With Globe Platinum having the widest international coverage, with 433 roaming partners in 196 countries, getting connected and checking e-mail anywhere, everywhere and on time, is a cinch.

As the pioneer in the high-end mobile segment, Globe Platinum provides the richness of mobile communication through state-of-the-art technology, and exclusive rewards and privileges.

True to form, Globe Platinum subscribers were the first to enjoy BlackBerry Connect in the country as Globe was the first network to offer it through the P910i.

For Leviste, this means instantly checking and replying to e-mails whether she’s out training in the Globe Platinum Equestrian Park in Lipa, Batangas or competing in horse shows around the world.

BlackBerry Connect also lets her open and view document attachments in popular formats like Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe PDF, Corel WordPerfect, HTML and ASCII.

"Since I spend most of the week at the Globe Platinum Equestrian Park when I am in the country, I am never worried of not being connected to everyone and anyone I wish to send to or receive any e-mail messages or phone calls from," Leviste says.

"I don’t have to wait until I get to my hotel room anywhere in the world in order to check important e-mails. I just check it directly from my P910i," she adds.

She is confident of her modern lifestyle with the mobility afforded her by the P910i. Half of the year is spent teaching aspiring equestriennes at the Globe Platinum Equestrian Park. The other half of the year is spent flying from one international competition to another, and seeing to the health and safety of her horses. Still, Leviste is upbeat on the constant moving and keeping in touch.

Other benefits of this smartphone include keeping track of daily, weekly and monthly appointments all recorded in the P910i, with daily, even hourly reminder-alerts.

"How can I miss a step? It’s like I have a ‘personal assistant’ right in the palm of my hand – literally!" she says. "With the P910i, I can receive photos and view videos of horses that horse agents in Europe wish to show me for a prospective sale or lease. I can also send videos of my daily training to my Belgian coach, to update him on my progress with the Team Globe Platinum horses."

"That’s what ‘mobile communication’ is all about, isn’t it?" she quips. Indeed, a mobile communication lifestyle enhanced by Globe, Sony Ericsson and BlackBerry Connect.