CD-R King 7" Android Tablet - FastPad

CD-R King just introduced a 7" Android Tablet that they named FastPad. And it costs only 8,800 pesos.
The specs of their Android Tablet are pretty decent for its price.

• 1 Ghz Arm Cortex A8 - based Samsung S5PV210 processor
• 4 GB internal storage expandable to 32 GB
• 512 MB DDR2 RAM
• 7 inch 800x480 resolution capacitive touch screen
• Android 2.2 (Froyo) with Flash 10.1 support
• Android Marketplace
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• 1 HDMI port, 2 USB ports, 3.5" audio port, memory card slot
• Built-in microphone and stereo speakers
• 3MP front facing camera
• Accelerometer for screen orientation and motion sensing apps and games
• Video: 1080p HD, MPEG4, H.264, H.263, VC1, RMVB, RM, 3GP, AVI, MKV, MOV
• Audio: MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, AAC+
• Image: JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF
• Ebook: UMD, TXT, PDF
• Quickoffice support

The only things missing are GPS/A-GPS, bluetooth and 3G SIM card slot.

My guess is it's a re-branded DroPad A8.
Click here for extensive web reviews.

If this is indeed a DroPad, one neat feature is ability to connect a keyboard & mouse to the USB port. With these connected you vitually have a pretty well equipped netbook similar to an ASUS EeePad Transformer. The USB port also accepts 3G USB internet sticks (available from Smart, Globe or Sun) to have internet connection on the go. So the absence of a SIM card slot has a work around.

Good bang for the buck!

MMDA Online Traffic Update

I envy the Google Maps version in the US with the up to date layer of traffic info that can tell you where traffic congestions are and suggest alternate routes for your destination.

MMDA and TV5 launched a beta version of a traffic update service for 6 main roads in Metro Manila (EDSA, Quezon Avenue, Espana, C5, Roxas Boulevard and SLEX). It's years behind whats available in Google Maps US and GPS navigators there, but it's still a good start for Manila than nothing at all.

Traffic congestion levels are color coded red, yellow and green. System view, line view and Google Map views are available. The traffic condition is updated every 5 to 10 minutes between 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

I hope they get full integration will Google Maps for mobile phones so that Google Maps GPS navigation in Manila would be even better. For now you can access their website using either your PC or Phone connected to a wi-fi or 3G network.

System view of the traffic condition of parts of EDSA, Quezon Avenue and C5

Google Maps view of the traffic condition in EDSA