The Battle of Cafes in Naga City

Due to the increasing number of cafes, I decided to visit one the other day. But before I say something the food I ordered. Here are a few thoughts regarding cafes in the city.

Finding the unique taste of every shop will stand out eventually after being compared to the others. Taste and preference will always be very subjective. Talking about coffee, I can honestly say that some of our local frappes, hot and iced coffees are actually tasting similar to one another and differs only in presentation. When asked "How's the coffee?" and if just I answer "kape", then your coffee is just like many others available in the city. 

It's a must for cafes to realize that patrons will come back if you have something in your menu that are not offered by others and you can proudly say that somehow you started it here in Naga and it's UNIQUELY YOURS. 

As an observation, these are the things that patrons usually consider when visiting cafes (hopefully I can find time to conduct a scientific study about this haha):

1. Good food and unique offerings

2. Affordability and value for money

3. Ambiance and "social media picture perfect / instagrammableness"

For owners, if you are innovative and creative in all those three areas, chances are you will last longer than those who gets stuck after reaching the comfortable state of earning what you are targeting to earn. When there's no more upgrading, you'll get stagnant and might end up like FRIENDSTER.

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Review: Transcend DrivePro 220 Dashcam

Naga City - Our city roads are not all the time driven by responsible drivers. While we can safely say that provincial drivers are a bit more responsible than those in the metro, still we cannot the deny the fact that stubborn drivers also exists here. Last December 2015, I bought a dash cam with an intention of showing Naga City streets on a day to day basis and not mainly to submit photos or videos to a motoring magazine/social media account. For quite some time, I was using my smartphone as a dashcam. Most often than not, it heats up and worries me that it might not serve anymore its purpose considering that its capacity is only 16GB (As a blogger, you know it's difficult to delete photos or videos). I said to myself it's high time for me to get a dash cam or else my phone will wear out easily. Thanks to this motoring magazine, Top Gear to be specific, that I chose Transcend DrivePro 220 as my "reliable eyewitness on the road" showing a clear cut comparison to other brands of dash cams available in the market.

HERE's a full detailed specification of DrivePro 220 from Trancend's website.

Bought the unit here in Naga, at Hypertech Computers at ALDP Plaza Mall, Diversion Road. Last December 2015, it was around P7,600 but was able to get it around P7,300 inclusive of a 16GB memory card. Price at that time was similar to online stores like in Lazada. As of writing it ranges around P6,400 to P7,300 depending on the offer. DP220 can record in 1080p at 30fps or 720p at 30fps.

Here are my Top 3 Favorite features of Transcend's DP220. 

1. Forward Collision warning System to keep a safe distance and the Speed Alarm

"DrivePro 220's Forward Collision Warning System (FCWS) will warn the driver when the driving speed exceeds the preset value and the vehicle gets too close to the car ahead. In such case, the system will alert the driver with a warning sound and warning sign on display."

The Speed Alarm feature is really advantageous in our long drives. I usually preset the Speed Limit to 90 kph or sometimes 80 kph. 

Lane Departure #Warning System, Forward Collision Warning System and Speed Limiter of #Transcend #Drivepro220 Preset speed limit was 80kph and beeps when you go beyond it. Just a few of my favorite features of this #dashcam. #slex #expressway #ncdtravels #nagacitydeck #ncdreviews @transcend_usa

A video posted by Bicol Deck (@bicoldeck) on Jul 6, 2016 at 5:17pm PDT

2. Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS) 

"Designed to prevent potential incidents by warning the driver when the vehicle begins to move out of its lane. The system monitors the lane markings on the roadway, and shows an alert picture on the screen plus a warning sound whenever the driving speed exceeds the preset value and the vehicle starts to deviate from its lane."

3. Built-in WiFi and App

A one-minute Full HD 1080p at 30fps is around 111 mb in file size while the 720p at 30fps at 50 mb. Videos are easy to transfer to my smartphone and ready to edit just in case with an App that gets to be updated from time to time. The unit buttons are easy to navigate as well as the mobile App.

There's also a built-in battery to ensure uninterruptible recording. On full charge, it can record at around 30 minutes. An emergency recording red button is also in place just in case you need a video that needs to be secured and saved since the unit goes on a continuous recording mode cycle. I realized that its better to record in 60fps since we need a more detailed graphics in videos. At night, it compensates automatically for glare. 

Sample Video - FULL HD 1080p at 30fps

So there, at this point in time, my unit is still in good running condition. More videos are posted on my Facebook Page for reference. Pretty sure there are new models out in the market today, but if DP220 is still available, I would recommend purchasing this dashcam. Oh btw, the lower version which is the DP200 has almost the same features except for the GPS. 

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