Here's one kind of brownie from the Brownies Unlimited assortment. They have their own labeled box now (or maybe they've had those for a while now) but I remember when their assortments came in generic plastic containers. They're doing very well, obviously. A six-brownie pack from Brownies Unlimited used to cost 90 pesos many years ago. I wonder how much they cost now.By the way, there are 12 brownies in their label box... or maybe I'm just way off the mark on this signature-box theory. They've probably been using that for the 12-brownie pack all this time. Shows how much I know about what's going on in the big, outside world of brownie manufacturers, huh?
The second agenda on this post is Globe music. And no, it's not about "world music". It's about my mobile service provider's (Globe) WAP music store. I'm going to start from what happened this morning... very, very early, this morning:
I had to check my email but I was still very sleepy (cos I just went to bed a few hours before then) so I figured that I'd use my cell phone for it in stead of getting up and turning the computer on and all that muss.
So, myGlobe Connect went to the WAP site where you won't be charged for anything while on it. I scrolled down to see if it had a shortcut link to a search engine when I saw that "something" song (I forget what it was) was available for 30 pesos to download (N.B.).
Anyway, when I did not see the shortcut that I was looking for, I typed it in and searched for it. That took me out of the free Globe WAP site to the pay-per-KB (edit: it's pay-per-kb and not KB -- apparently, there's a big difference) worldwide web. Errors came up on the search results so I disconnected the connection, got up, went to the computer and did all that muss. Of course, I went back to bed after that.
Later tonight, I thought about what I saw on Globe's WAP site and looked it up on web. So there I was, in Globe's music downloads MP3 section (it's on their web portal). Songs from local and some international artists were there. I am just going to stick to their MP3's so... They offer two kinds of it - one, the 15-second MP3 that costs 30 pesos and two, the full song MP3 that costs 50 pesos.
I thought that it looked promising but being a mobile download and all, it meant that the quality of the song will be very, very low and for 50 pesos for one low-quality song, that is expensive. So how low of a quality am I talking about here?
Well, a high-quality MP3 song is around 8-10 MB while Globe's mobile MP3 is less than 1 MB per song and the only way to enjoy it is with the cell phone's music player and nothing else. So if I'm going to compare costs and accessibility, a high-quality MP3 is normally at US$0.99 that is actually a little less expensive than 50 pesos. Ergo, I will spend almost the same price for drastically different qualities of the same product.
Unfortunately, since I have a VERY LIMITED (almost strangling) access to a superior MP3 (me, being physically located in the Philippines and who is all about legal downloads), Globe's offer is as good as it gets around here - so far. (If you want perspective, take a look at my Fliptunes Plus post - "what's not to hate?") .
I also assume that this is legit MP3 that they're offering because Globe is a huge corporation and all. Now, they should be legal, right? I sure hope so because I bought one full MP3 song from Globe already - just to try it. I am sure to be obsessed about this tonight and before I am sure about it, I am not buying any downloads from there except for this one (and I don't really want to, anyway).
UPDATE: I called Globe's customer service just now and they said that all products available for sale on their WAP and web portals are LEGAL. I specifically asked about their MP3 songs and yes, they said they're legal - all of them are. Of course, they'd say that - I bet you're thinking that right now. But nothing was written about song downloads in the terms and FAQ so I just had to get something that wouldn't make me all crazy-bothered about it.
The song I bought is from an international artist and it was a little over 800 KB. The process of buying it was fairly painless. I searched for an artist and found a good song. Thank goodness that they had something that I liked and was willing to buy since the selection is less than what appealed to me - from what I've seen so far. Also, NO SONG PREVIEWS are available too. You just have to take their word for it that they have the real deal as they describe the product (or that the link isn't broken!).
Next, I clicked "buy" and keyed in my mobile number. Instructions said that I would receive a download link via text message and I did - almost immediately, actually. I opened the link and it connected to myGlobe Connect. On my first try, the connection dropped after 200 KB and I thought, "OH NO!" I was afraid that I was going to be charged another 50 pesos if I try the link again, but I wasn't so that's a relief.
My second try worked out well. When the download was complete (which took about five minutes - yup, I had to be patient), it played the full MP3 song and it asked me to save it. I am happy with it now even though I can only listen to it on my mobile phone. Then again, I will not be going back and purchasing another song any time soon. But it's good to know that it is a better option for us here, who very much believe and stand for legally buying music.
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