It was textra long in Cebu

Anime characters, extra-long text messages, e-mail on the run and Cebu City. How much more fun could there be? At least, that was what Globe Telecom made sure happened when it recently launched two of its services at the party capital of the South.

"We have targeted the younger set. Those between the ages of 13 and 22 for the XTM," said Rufino Jose Ruiz, director for value-added services of Globe Telecom at the launch held in Cebu recently.

"So, why anime characters?" we ask.

"Our studies have shown that the younger generation likes the anime characters because they are cartoonish without being childish," said Ruiz.

Indeed, if we were to judge by the turnout of people who came to Cebu Ayala Food and Entertainment Center that day. It was a healthy mix: Cebu’s young gen set was there and so were the young-at-heart who just had to see for themselves Globe’s newest services.

And then out they came — the anime characters who have become the icons for the Globe’s XTM.

Iya, the only girl in the group, was brandishing her Ericsson T200. Being the tactician in the group she seems to call the shots for the team.

Then out came Sami, who likes his Trium Mystral and is the group’s black belter. The last of the trio was Mico, who looked really cool with his Nokia 3510 and is a master of disguise.

At this event, Globe Handyphone, the cellular phone service of Globe Telecom, launched a new service called Globe XTM (X-tra long Text and e-Mail on the run) that enables GPRS (General packet Radio Services) enabled cell phones to send and receive extra long text messages.

As we were captivated by the show, we wondered just how many young people would really text away — after all isn’t texting that form of communication that allows people to get their message across in the shortest possible way?

‘’I think that the young people will take to it after they log on and register as part of the XTM service," added Ruiz. Ruiz is convinced that the younger set will catch on to extra long text messages and e-mail on the go. "There is no doubt about that," Ruiz added. "After all when they discover just how much more they can say for a buck, why would they not use this service," he said.

Easy Does It

Getting into the XTM mode is not hard — if you have a GPRS phone, that is. Just think about it, text 480 characters in one go and spend P1. What better deal could there be?

GPRS-capable phones range from the Nokia 3510, Ericsson T200 and the Trium Mystral. And shifting to a GPRS phone is not all that expensive. You may have to shell out anywhere from P4,400 to P8,000, depending on what phone catches your texting fancy. Of course, the good news is that most of the new cell phones coming out will be GPRS capable anyway.

Here’s what you gotta do:

With your GPRS phone, go to the phone’s menu option and select ‘services. Click on ‘services’, then go to ‘home’ and you will reach the myGlobe homepage. Select XTM. You can then choose ‘write message’. And then the good stuff begins because you can start writing your loooong XTM.

When you use this service you are given a default e-mail address which is <your cellphone number>@globextm.com.ph But if personalizing is your game you can do that too. Just select ‘user name’ from the menu. Your e-mail address will then become: <your username>@globe xtm.com.ph

‘Nuff said.

We tried it out when we were in Cebu and although we did encounter some problems connecting at the start, we did not give up. Texting away came easy in fact. Imagine, there were no need for shortcuts — but old habits (for abbreviating text messages) die hard. Let’s just say that the person I texted in Manila that day got the longest text message of her life.

E-mail on your phone? Not a bad idea. With Globe XTM service, any GPRS-enabled phone can turn into a mobile electronic mailbox, too. So, go ahead, send and receive e-mail whenever, wherever. Did I tell you that there are also other cool options like adding pictures, which can go with the XTM?

‘’We realize that there is an increasing mobile lifestyle in the country. And with what Globe has allowed us to do with our cell phones, there should be no need to run to the nearest Internet cafe,’’ Ruiz added.

‘’It is important to Globe that since we were the first to unleash the text craze that we continue to nurture that craze that we started. And since texting has become a staple for most Filipinos we just want to make sure that we give our subscribers the best service possible,’’ he pointed out.

Go ahead. Text that message and make it XTM. Better yet, send me an e-mail, k?