The future is bright and well-connected

MANILA, Philippines - If there is one thing that the recent weather disturbances and their subsequent damaging effects on the country have taught me it is to value what is important. And perhaps, in so doing, to simplify my life.

I have listened to many stories from people whose houses were flooded, and how, at a moment’s notice, they had to decide what they could save and what they had to let go of.

And then there are the stories of the many folks, from all walks of life, who gave what they could and what they had to help those affected by the storms.

“I wanted to help everyone I saw at Provident Village,” said Ginny, the 15-year-old daughter of a friend of mine. “The flooding that happened in our house was nothing compared to the damage that I saw at Provident Village.”

Ginny lives with her family in the Katipunan area. Her house, which is a two-story one, was submerged in floodwaters that reached about seven feet.

“During the flooding, my Mom and my brother tried to get to whatever they could save,” said Ginny. “They handed all the stuff to me, as I stood on the stairs leading to the second floor of our home.”

Yet, it was not even two days after the floods had subsided in her home that Ginny and her brother were off to Provident to help in whatever way they could.

When I asked Ginny what the experience taught here, she laughed and said, “Maybe for Christmas I should give more — and expect less.”

“But,” she added, “Tita, I am grateful that my cellphone was OK all throughout Ondoy. I was able to stay in touch with all the people who matter to me.”

Ahh, the cellphone. It is still the gadget that we can’t do without.

And, what cellphone did Ginny have?

“Mom recently got me a Nokia 6730 Classic,” she said. “I just love it.”

Staying connected

Nokia recently introduced the Nokia 6730 Classic to the market. The cellphone is a mid-range candy-bar handset that is packed with lots of functions that young people like Ginny enjoy.

“Mom always says that it is better to have a cellphone that does everything that I want it to do — yet is simple and not flashy,” said Ginny.

The 6730 Classic Ginny has is a white one. Basic, classic, simple, cool are some of the words that come to mind when looking at the phone.

Ginny told me that when the rains started to pour on Sept. 26 she was busy connecting to the Internet and checking on her Facebook and Twitter with her cellphone.

“I updated my status as ‘flood water rising,’” quipped Ginny. “I was surprised when I saw that many of my friends who live in the area had similar status on their Facebook.”

The Nokia 6730 Classic is based on the S60 software that lets users stay connected quickly.

Tech specs

The Nokia 6730 Classic has a 3.2-megapixel camera, 2.2-inch display with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels, FM radio, external memory microSD card 1GB, and a multimedia player.  It supports 3.5G with HSDPA download speeds and upload HSPA, and also features Bluetooth and USB connection. It can survive for 3G talk time of up to four hours, and 10 hours for GSM.

“I just loved that the battery stayed strong during Ondoy,” added Ginny. “Although I only limited my use to texting because I wanted to make sure that I was also updated about what was happening outside our home, since we had no electricity.”

Ginny showed me the box that her Nokia 6730 Classic came in. The box is environmentally friendly with a 100- percent recyclable packaging. So, not only is the cellphone a Classic–looker, the Finnish manufacturer has made sure that its users will learn to value our environment even more.

Cool factor

The music player is great. I got to listen to some of the tunes that Ginny had loaded her 6730 Classic with. OK, I admit that I did not know a lot of the songs, but the sounds were cool.

The photos that Ginny took of her friends as they packed goods for the victims of Ondoy were clear and crisp.

“I thought that if a cellphone had only a 3.2-megapixel camera it would take blurred photos,” said Ginny. “But, look Tita, the photos are so clear.”

Ginny also took lots of photos of the damage caused by Ondoy in Provident. And for a 15-year-old, she is a great photographer. She captured lots of human interest photos — particularly those of people helping others.

If there is one thing that we have learned from calamities, whether techie lover or not, it is that getting lost and being out of touch with friends, when it is a must, could be a thing of the past.  

The young, they truly are the future of this country.