Netphone makes best use of Smart's all-IP network

MANILA, Philippines - Users of the Netphone, the latest innovation offered by Smart Communications Inc., are expected to benefit most from the telco’s modernized network.

The Netphone — a line of Android devices pumped full of Smart’s proprietary services that, together, offer the best mobile Internet experience at low price points — is designed to be always online.

How does the Netphone do this without straining Smart’s network and breaking the bank for the budget-conscious Smart subscriber?

Its “SmartNet” suite of instant messaging and social networking applications is an Internet-based service, which uses bite-sized or very little amounts of bandwidth and connectivity.

Its “Safe Browse” turns off the connectivity for any other sites or apps unnecessarily running in the background, and provides access only to the services that matter to the typically social Filipino user.

Moreover, Smart and its parent firm PLDT’s all-Internet Protocol (IP), next-generation network (NGN) is suited to allow Smart to rapidly deploy new widgets, apps, and services over the air to every Netphone, at no cost to the subscriber — continuously enhancing the Netphone’s value and relevance to its users.

The connectivity powering this network is also deployed by Smart across the country using the most advanced technologies - a unique and superior matrix of 3G, HSPA+, WIMAX, and LTE.

Orlando Vea, chief wireless advisor of Smart, said, “We have built the most advanced network in the country. That translates to an enhanced communication experience and mobile lifestyle for Smart subscribers, and this is especially so for Netphone users.”

Underpinning this objective to create the best possible mobile Internet experience for Smart subscribers is the direction for Smart to start building its own “community” — or to create a telco-centric ecosystem powered by Smart.

“The Netphone is a key component of our roadmap to staying competitive in an all-IP environment that, if operators don’t watch out, could one day be ruled by a bevy of players like Google and Facebook,” added Vea.

With many ecosystems defined by various platforms — Apple’s iOS, Android, RIM’s BlackBerry OS, Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7, Nokia’s Symbian — services are not built to be as flexible as developers would want them to be.

With the Netphone, all devices regardless of OS, eventually, can have such unique and relevant but cross-platform compatible services such as SmartNet and Safe Browse, among others.

With the Netphone on Smart’s all-IP NGN, the possibilities are virtually endless. For more information on the Netphone and to view the complete menu of services, visit www.netphone.ph