AND just like that, we are back on lockdown.
It’s been a year since the government implemented the first pandemic-related restrictions a.k.a. enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), which has become even more diverse than those Covid-19 strains—evolving into MECQ, GCQ, MGCQ, soft, hard, localized, granular, circuit breaker, plus—spawning an entire “ECQverse” of synonyms that simply means: “Please stay at home.”
But not everyone could, and many simply didn’t want to, and now everything feels like a bad case of déjà vu.
As of March 22, a week after our the first quarantineversary, Covid-19 cases continue to surge with 8,019 new cases—the highest single-day tally since the start of the pandemic.
Are we back to square one? Nope. It looks even worse.
At least last year, there was the promise of some form ayuda, the private sector could still provide financial protection for their employees and spend billions to help others, and our frontliners—despite their fears—were fresh and eager to fight this unknown enemy.
Now everyone is just tired—pandemic fatigue, donor fatigue, Zoom fatigue, Netflix fatigue—and we’ve all felt that sense of loss, helplessness, sadness, frustration, and irritability.
Instead of individuals, entire families are testing positive for the virus and hospitals are once again overflowing with patients in the Covid wards.
If only things were as simple as getting an oil change.
While other countries are now scheduling and distributing vaccines, we still don’t have a standard, reliable and accurate contact tracing system in place. You enter an establishment, and either scan a QR code or fill up a form that you need to drop in a box as if it was a raffle entry. The only problem is not everyone is filling it up the correct information and judging by the penmanship, 95 percent are written by doctors.
Last week we got the chance to talk to tech expert and app developer Architect Richelle Singson-Michael who believes that biometric technologies are the ideal solution to the challenges of data inconsistency and integrity, not only in terms of contact tracing but also vaccination data.
Singson-Michael is the chief executive officer of Casha Inc., an app technology company that specializes in using biometric technology in their various applications to make identification easier and more consistent. The Casha Biometrax app uses contactless biometric tracing technology to assist and augment the government’s own contact tracing efforts.
She said the main issue is that our present contact tracing apps do not have a verifiable identity link to the individual registering. Since people voluntarily input the details, there is a strong possibility that many entries are inaccurate, incomplete, duplicated or downright fake.
But with a centralized Biometric database, it will be easier for the government to efficiently plan the vaccine roll out by accurately identifying individuals who have been tested or vaccinated.
Through Biometrax, people can register their fingerprints and facial data via their mobile phones. It then issues the user a unique cryptograph code, which has been designed to compress 250x more data than a QR code, and is far more secure than an unencrypted QR code. The Biometrax cryptograph stores the individual’s biometric data without needing Internet connectivity and will serve as a Health Passport, making it easier to identify whether they have been vaccinated or not, whether they have previously contracted Covid-19, and other necessary information to assist in policy making and enforcement.
Furthermore, unlike QR Codes, the Biometrax code can only be read by authorized individuals and, more importantly, can only be read if the owner of the Health Passport authorizes the reader with his/her biometrics. Thus, through this system, the user holds their own data and must always be present to verify their own data, minimizing any fraud or misidentification.
Nokia 3.4 looks promising, but does it deliver?
WHEN I first heard about the Nokia 3.4, I got really excited because it was supposed to be part of James Bond’s arsenal in his upcoming movie No Time to Die. But no thanks to the pandemic, the movie has been delayed several times and they had to reshoot the parts where 007 was using his phone. After all, why would the greatest spy be seen using the last year’s tech? But did the Nokia 3.4 even deserve to share the spotlight with Mr. Bond?
Here’s our quick review of the Nokia 3.4.
I’ve always loved Nokia’s phone designs and the Nordic design language of the Nokia 3.4 is one of its best features. It’s an entry-level phone that “looks” way more than its price tag. It has a large circular camera hump that differentiates it from other camera modules, while its matte textured finish, and the colors Fjord and Charcoal are certainly unique. I got the Charcoal one which subtly changes from brown to black to gray depending on lighting, but in a sea of smartphones with gradients and sparkling finishes, the Nokia 3.4 is a nice departure.
I did say “look” because there’s no denying the entry-level price point with its plastic build. The plastic unibody makes the phone lightweight and the matte finish helps it resist scratches. You get the standard button volume and power layout on the right, and on the left you’ll find the dual nano-SIM card slot with a dedicated microSD slot and a dedicated Google Assistant key. This button is pointless since the Assistant is just a swipe away on Android 10 and I couldn’t count the number of times I accidentally pressed it.
Up top, there’s the 3.5mm audio port and the secondary noise-canceling microphone, and located at the bottom is the microphone, USB Type-C port and speaker grill.
The placement of the fingerprint sensor on the rear is easy to reach but its disappointingly S-L-O-W and erratic, like you have to wait for a second before it unlocks. You are better off using your passcode or face unlock. I don’t recall Bond, in the middle of a mission, ever fumbling just to unlock his phone.
The Nokia 3.4 has a 6.3-inch LCD display with a 720p pixel resolution, both of which is just okay. It gets the job done but nothing special; the same goes for its audio quality.
While other brands are pushing for 48MP and 64MP main shooters, the Nokia 3.4 has a modest 13-megapixel primary camera, a 5-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and 2-megapixel depth camera. If you’re not excited by those numbers, it’s the same feeling you’ll get when you see the photos. Mind you its not bad, but its average at best.
The Nokia 3.4 is an Android One phone, so there’s no bloatware or unnecessary apps. But the Snapdragon 460 chip that’s paired with an Adreno 610 GPU, (4GB RAM+64GB storage) has limited processing capabilities. Google apps, as expected, run fairly well, but unless you’ve never used a flagship or midrange phone, the slowdown is evident. Its not “unusable” slow, but opening and switching between apps is laggy, so getting the “lite” versions of apps is a good idea.
The 4000mAh battery inside the Nokia 3.4 promises up to two days of battery life, but I couldn’t make it past a day and a half on moderate use and the charging system is so slow, it takes over two hours to get back to 100 percent.
A final word: The Nokia 3.4 isn’t a bad phone, but it is far from being great either. everything is just… good. Unless you really love the brand and just want an “OK” phone, its best to follow James Bond’s lead and look past the Nokia 3.4 and wait for this year’s upcoming Nokia devices instead.
Special anniversary deal from electronics brand
Promate joins Lazada’s ninth birthday celebration today with up to 70-percent off on select items and up to 50-percent off on Apple Watch accessories in their official Lazada Flagship store (bit.ly/2Pp0PpF). Here are some of the items in the anniversary deal.
The Capital-30 is a high-capacity 78W power bank with power delivery that can charge your USB-C enabled laptop. No need to worry about overcharging your phone or your laptop as this power bank can protect your gadget from it. Capital-30 comes in color black. The sleek Harmoni Bluetooth TWS earbuds are perfect when you listen to your favorite music playlist, or when you’re simply working from home. Experience True Wireless Stereo for up to 16 hours of playback time with the Harmoni earphones. The anniversary sale comes with free Bolt-10 Power Bank.
The Promic-1 is a high-definition omni-directional microphone with flexible gooseneck that lets you record professional-level audio at the comfort of your home. It has an easy-to-use interface as you just have to plug Promic-1 to your device and you’re set.
The Trekpack-BP is a 17.3” professional slim laptop bagpack with anti-theft handy pocket. This bag, designed for an on-the-go lifestyle prepped with organizer compartments for all daily essentials, comes with Free Promate Pastel Wireless Keyboard & Mouse Combo.
The products come with a two-year international warranty.
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