PLDT, Microsoft team up for TVolution Stick

MANILA, Philippines – The broadband and digital unit of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) expects a good take-up from its newly launched TVolution product based on the computer stick conceptualized and manufactured by tech giant Microsoft.

TVolution Stick is a dongle-sized device which transforms any HDMI-ready TV into a fully functional PC. It runs on Windows 10, letting users stream movies and videos, search the Web, send and receive e-mails, and do other activities that are normally done on a PC, Patrick Tang, PLDT vice president of home voice solutions, said during the PLDT-Microsoft launch in Makati on Tuesday, December 8.

“The overwhelming consumer response from the introduction of TVolution Stick by Intel last October inspired the PLDT Home to continuously innovate the product, providing a suite of connected home services,” said PLDT VP and Home Marketing Director Gary Dujali.

Tan said on the sidelines of the event that PLDT has stocks of over 3,000 units and an order backlog of about 1,500 units as of last week.

“We asked them (Microsoft) how many do you have? We are taking all of that,” Tan replied when asked how many more TVolution units it plan to order from Microsoft.

Coming from a launch in the US and India, PLDT said the Southeast Asian debut of the TVolution Stick by Microsoft in the Philippines will see the beginning of a partnership between two industry leaders that is expected to level up the digital experience for digitally active Filipinos.

Unlike other similarly designed sticks, Tan said Microsoft-manufactured TVolution Stick “enables subscribers to surf with the new Microsoft Edge browser and run the built-in and complete Office 365 suite, including MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, OneNote, One Drive, and Skype, among other productivity applications.”

Users of the Microsoft-powered TVolution Stick will find several entertainment options in the Windows Store and the Xbox PC Games application, access as much as 15 gigabytes of files through the OneDrive cloud storage, and chat and video call through Skype, Tan said.

From security to entertainment

The PLDT Home executive said his team is now focusing on delivering varying entertainment options for its consumers, after launching several products focused on home security.

“As you can see, we already launched several products concentrated on home security, like the Fam Cam. Now, we are delivering more entertainment options for Filipino households and with that is the TVolution Stick,” Tan said.

Carlos Lopes, general manager for Microsoft Consumer and Channels Group Southeast Asia, said, “Filipinos are among the world’s heaviest Internet users with a huge appetite for various forms of multimedia content, which is why the TVolution Stick by Microsoft is a perfect fit.”

“We live in what we call a mobile-first, cloud-first world where people are always on the go and are using devices that are getting better and smarter,” Lopes added.

The TVolution Stick by Microsoft is available to new PLDT Home subscribers and those who want to upgrade to high-speed plans starting at P999 ($21.17). – Rappler.com

$1 = P47.19