Ilumina iTV unveiled for the second time

I was so tired yesterday that I forgot to write about the product demo of the Ilumina iTV, the convergence product invented by a young group of Filipino engineers and Industrial Designers. I've been helping them since last year because I sincerely believe that they need all the support they can get from every Filipino.

I arrived at Magnet Cafe at exactly 11am. The Inovent Design team was still preparing the iTV for us. Thirty minutes after, some people are already registering. They also want to see the demonstration of Filipino engineering and design ingenuity.

The event started at around 1:15pm when the Inovent engineers finished preparing the Ilumina. Unlike the November 30, 2008 "soft launch", this "beta prototype" is more stable and tougher than the first one. It has a 1.5 terabyte hard drive, able to store 10,000 gigabytes of movie and music files. It already has a kick-ass high definition (HD) webcam, a built-in VOIP and wifi/LAN and has a Blue Ray hard drive for full entertainment viewing.

Inovent founder Brian Quebengco and his partner Mark Ruiz claims that this is the first fully convergent interactive iTV. I believe him. Though in the US, there is already an interactive TV, as what my friend, Noemi Dado checked, this is the first LCD television to have all the media entertainment features that we normally find in our living rooms. It must be very clear that this is a convergence product, meaning, it already converged all the fine elements of the LCD television equipped with a very stable and powerful computing functions.

Anyway, the product demo is still a work in progress. Shortly before the event ended, the iTV encountered some problems, mainly due to the "overheating" of the internal fan. Brian explained that they still need to modify this in the final product, yet, they still don't have the funding, as yet. They need all the support.

What they want to prove, says Quebengco is the fact that this is achievable. If a group of young Filipino engineers, industrial designers and technicians can come up with a great product with only a pittance in their pockets, surely, someone with tons of money can truly come up with a greater and more refined convergence product.

This perplexes me. We Filipinos now have a product that we truly can call our own and has the possibility of dominating a new category, which is the LCD television category.

Like other Filipino inventors they lack the financial muscle. I urge all my friends in the United States to support this excellent initiative by our young fellow Filipinos.

World's 1st Interactive TV Invented by Filipinos

Despite the dread that we feel everytime we read the newspapers, of how this government fucks everything up, there is still some reason to feel good today.

Yes, there is still some hope left for us, Filipinos.

I am proud that a group of young Filipino Inoventors will launch by today at 12noon Magnet Cafe (2nd Floor, 3-c Bonifacio High Street, Global City, Taguig) the World's 1st Interactive Television. Yes, what Apple, Samsung and Sony failed to do, the Filipinos successfully accomplished and this is NOT an easy feat.

This historic unveiling of the Ilumina iTV by Inovent Incorporated, a group of young Industrial Designers will be marked with evident pride and passion. Pride because we, Filipinos, just proved that we are not just at par with the rest of the world---we are even better than those engineers over at Apple. Who will have the guts to combine the fine elements of the LCD television with a very powerful computing capability that empowers the consumer to watch television and access the internet at the same time.

Called the ilumina LCD Interactive Television (iTV), the beta prototype was literally produced from scratch in a garage and dorm by the Inovent team, a group of young Filipino industrial designers, engineers and programming experts. The television set is described as a complete multi-media device with access to Google Gadgets, Plasma Widgets, & Mac OS X dock Widgets. It is the first convergence product made in the Philippines that synthesizes the functions of an LCD television and the personal computer.

The ilumina LCD iTV has all the features of a regular 32-inch LCD television enhanced with personal computing functions. Housed in a uniquely bold and minimalist inspired curved casing, the iTV is equipped with a High Definition (HD) webcam, a Blue Ray DVD slot drive, VoIP, DVR, Wifi/LAN, 1.5 tera byte Hard Drive, wireless keyboard, and a blue tooth head phone built-in the back of the remote control, which is also motion gesture base. The device allows you to watch your favourite local and cable shows while browsing the Internet.

The new chassis design is described as “bold and revolutionary”, says Inovent,Inc. Founder Brian Quebengco. The set has a unique, curve design that lets it stand alone. When you click on the ilumina LCD iTV, it has a Multi-Media Interface that allows you to record television shows, download documents from the web, play on-line games, and call your loved ones abroad in the comfort of your living room using the VoIP function.

Inovent,Inc. Founder Brian Quebengco described the ilumina as a revolutionary product that would change the TV experience of every Filipino. Quebengco said that the ilumina LCD iTV aims to “free” the Filipino from the mundane experience of watching television.

“The driving force behind the ilumina LCD iTV is “Free Yourself.” We see a future where the ilumina LCD iTV will be the center of the living room and it will eliminate a lot of the unnecessary clutter of having too many devices and wires plugged in your TV, “says Quebengco who started the ilumina project with the Inovent team composed of Filipino Industrial Designers, Electrical & Mechanical Engineers, and Programmers last year. “Although it still turns on like any regular TV, with a flip of a switch, you can browse the internet, you can download your favorite shows on TV straight to your 1.5 Hard Drive, and you can watch TV and talk with someone on Skype, just to name a few of the functions.”

Quebengco said that the ilumina LCD iTV just proves that Filipino Industrial Designers, Engineers, and Programmers have what it takes to conquer the highly competitive global LCD television industry. Amidst a worsening global economic crisis, it is fitting to launch a purely Filipino inovention, says Quebengco, because they hope that their inovention would uplift the sagging spirits of the Filipino and give the country something to be proud of.

“It’s what our country needs. For many years we have been thinking of how to penetrate the market and hopefully have a chance to begin competing against Samsung & Sony. The LCD iTV industry, being very new, is our chance. Once this is launched, it will harness the collective talents of our best Engineers, Designers, Programmers, Executives, Managers, local OEM & EMS manufactures, and also slowly build the image of the Philippines as an Inoventive country. This will eventually reverse the brain drain we are experiencing. I see a future where the best Filipinos around the world will want to come back and work in Inovent Electronics, Inc. in the Philippines, “adds Quebengco who teaches Innovation Technology and Entrepreneurial Psychology at De La Salle University.

Inovent, Inc. has already incorporated Inovent Electronics, Inc and invited top executives with a combined 90 years experience. They are currently in talks with local OEM & EMS manufactures in PEZA, the leading wireless service provider in the Philippines, and the world’s largest semiconductor chipmaker. The ilumina LCD iTV is expected to hit the shelves in the early part of 2010.

For my friends, if you want to be part of this historic launching, come over at Magnet Cafe, Bonifacio High Street, Global City, Taguig. Let us make history together at 12 noon.

For those who can't, I will post by today the highlights of this event.