Manly mobiles: Perfect phones for Father's Day

MANILA, Philippines - Father’s Day is fast approaching and before you know it you and your siblings will be bugging the good old dad to treat the family to a big day-out.

Ironic as it may seem, though, this yearly celebration of fatherhood rarely involves fathers actually being “spoiled.” In fact, withdrawals from dad’s bank even reach an annual high, what with the occasion always falling near the beginning of the school year.

Nuances aside, Father’s Day is a great time to show your appreciation to your tip-top Pop. And be it a good meal, a get-together with friends and relatives, or a simple gift, he’ll appreciate it more if you put some real thought into it.

One, for example, could never go wrong with a new phone. There are lots of choices available out there and for sure, a phone is something that would be of real use to your dad (or anyone for that matter).

Here are a few of the latest handsets available from Smart, the Philippines’ leading wireless provider:

• For the Practical Pop: Nokia E5

Like the no-nonsense parent that he is, the Nokia E5 is perfect for the cost-conscious father because of its bargain basement price. The E5 runs on Nokia’s trusty Symbian OS giving it smartphone features and functionalities such as e-mail messaging with Yahoo! Mail and Gmail, and high-speed Internet browsing via 3G and Wi-Fi.

*Other features: Full QWERTY keypad, five-megapixel camera with video, stereo FM radio

*Price: Free at Smart Plan 800 (promo from June 15 to 30)

• For the Rad Dad: Nokia N8

One of the finest Finnish phones to ever come out from Nokia’s famed factories. The Nokia N8 sports a stunning AMOLED screen that’s capable of displaying 16 million colors. And rightfully so, as the N8 packs a camera with an unbelievable 12 megapixels of resolution and HD video recording capabilities.

*Other features: 3.5-inch screen size, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, 680MHz processor

* Price: Free at Smart Plan 1800 and Smart Unlidata Plan 2000 (promo from June 15 to 30)

• For the Hardworking Head: Nokia E7

Putting up with the daily pressures of work is never easy, so why not give dad something that will help him zip through his office duties like the Nokia E7. Powered by a 680MHz processor and the latest Symbian^3, the E7 is designed to take on work, even when your dad’s not at work. The multi-touch screen is great for navigating in and out of menus and the slide-out QWERTY keypad makes typing e-mails and office documents a snap.

*Other features: Four-inch multi-touch screen, 16GB internal memory, 8-MP autofocus camera with flash and HD video recording

*Price: Free at Smart Plan 1800 and Smart Unlidata Plan 2000 (promo from June 15 to 30)

• For the Techie Daddy:

HTC Desire S

HTC’s latest makes a great gift for those who like to tinker with techie toys. The Desire S contains the latest, sweetest version of the Google Android family — aptly-named version 2.3 “Gingerbread” — bringing with it a smoother user interface and better battery life.

Combined with a speedy 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, the Desire S is capable of installing and running the many mobile applications in the Android Market such as the award-winning Angry Birds by Rovio Mobile in the blink of an eye — ideal for the dad who likes downloading all the latest apps even into the wee hours of the night.

*Other features: High-definition video camera (720p), Gorilla Glass durable screen

*Price: P9,000 at Smart Plan 1800, free at Smart Plan 2500 and Unlimited Data Plan 2000

• For the Providing Patriarch: Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc

You can’t spell Patriarch without Arc and as far as Android smartphones go, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc is the granddaddy of them all. The bright screen makes photos and videos look crystal clear even under direct sunlight and the generous 4.2-inches of real estate makes it useful even for those with large fingers. But best of all the sharp 480 x 854-pixel screen resolution allows anyone with less-than-stellar eyesight to read text messages and even e-mails with ease.

Like the HTC Desire S and the Samsung Galaxy Ace, the Xperia Arc has access to the hundreds of thousands of apps available in the Android Market, and to regular software updates by Internet giant Google.

*Other features: Android ver. 2.3 “Gingerbread” OS, 8MP autofocus camera with 720p HD video recording, 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor

*Price: P16,000 at Smart Plan 1800, free at Smart Plan 2500 and Unlimited Data Plans 2000

For more information on other handsets available from Smart or to know more about Smart’s postpaid and prepaid offers, log on to www.smart.com.ph on your PC or visit m.smart.com.ph on your mobile phone’s browser.