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Best known for its 3D printers, it almost seems as if MakerBot is going in the opposite direction of technology with the introduction of its new MixTape Kit. It sounds pretty old school, but the product is actually aimed at those who already own a MakerBot 3D creation machine. MakerBot provides all the tools so that users with a 3D machine can create their own custom tapes from home.

MakerBot has plans offered on the site so that they can be customized and printed out. After that, all you have to do is plug everything in and upload your chosen music. But for people who actually don’t have a MakerBot 3D printer and still want a nice blast from the past, a selection of molded tapes will be available to be ordered directly from the company.

The MakerBot Mixtape has 2 GB of storage and a battery life of about four hours. You can use the controls to play, pause or skip songs and there’s a headphone jack and USB port that comes with it. People who own the MakerBot 3D printer will obviously get the full benefit from it as they’ll be able to completely design and tweak the physical appearance of the case by customizing the 3D design files, but the MixTapes being offered on their own is still kind of a nice touch.

[via CNET]

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Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) introduced “Tap Share” a new service that lets Smart subscribers download content by tapping on a poster.

With a Nokia C7 smartphone, Smart subscribers can now inquire about their prepaid balance or download mobile content such as news, music, and games using specially-marked posters in selected Smart Wireless Centers and Smart Stores nationwide.

“With Tap Share, Smart is once again pioneering innovation in the Philippines,” said Smart Chief Wireless Advisor Orlando B. Vea. This contactless technology offers our users a hassle-free and safe means of availing of products—they no longer need to memorize lengthy keywords, codes, and URLs to enjoy a service,” he said.

To enjoy Tap Share, existing Nokia C7 users can update their phone software by going to their phone’s update menu or by connecting their phone to their PC via Nokia PC Suite (standard data rates apply). They can also visit the nearest Nokia Care Center to have their phone software updated for free.

“As more NFC-enabled handsets become available in the future, we will be adding more Tap Share services in even more Smart branches,” Vea ended.

A Contactless Future
Tap Share uses NFC (Near Field Communications), a technology which allows for contactless data exchange between two devices in close proximity to each other.

NFC technology is predicted to be a major player in mobile transactions within the next few years. It is already being used in many Asian countries and is expected to “replace” traditional credit and debit cards.

In May of this year, Google—the world’s largest Internet company and owner of Android, the world’s most popular mobile phone OS, announced that they will be actively pushing NFC technology.

Then CEO Eric Schmidt said that on Android’s upcoming versions, NFC support will become a standard feature.

Smart is the first company in the Philippines to utilize NFC technology through the use of smartphones.

Get your Nokia C7 today
Apart from being the first NFC-enabled device to be officially sold in the Philippine market, the Nokia C7 is a full-fledged smartphone which comes complete with 3G HSPA and WiFi connectivity.

It runs on the reliable Symbian mobile operating system which allows it to download and install from among the thousands of apps on Nokia’s online app store, www.store.ovi.com.

The Nokia C7 is also equipped with a cutting edge 3.5-inch Active-Matrix Organic LED (AMOLED) multi-touch display giving the phone unparalleled image quality and color depth.

Shutterbugs will also find the 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash and HD video recording a neat extra.

The Nokia C7 is free on Smart All-in Plan 1800 or Unli Data Plan 2000.

Smart also carries other devices such as the premium HTC Sensation (free at Unlidata Plan 2000), the Android “Honeycomb” Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (free with a Samsung Corby 2 at All-in Plan 2500), and one of the most affordable Android smartphones in the Philippines, the Huawei Ideos U8150 (free at All-in Plan 500).

For more information about Smart’s other device offerings, visit www.smart.com.ph/postpaid or subscribe to Smart’s official Facebook account at www.facebook.com/SmartCommunications.

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