Globe Labs Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Globe Labs

Q: What is Globe Labs?

Globe Labs is a new innovation-driven group within Globe Telecom, designed to bring in the newest information and communication technologies at the earliest market relevant time. Globe Labs has 4 general activities:

Building future technology test beds
Provide creative and secured environments for developers
Multi-level partnership with developers to build and showcase applications
Support developer partners

Q: What is in www.globelabs.com.ph?

Using the portal www.globelabs.com.ph, you can:

Know more about Globe Labs and its programs
Register to become part of the Globe Labs Developer Community
Email inquiries to Globe Labs

Partnering with Globe Labs

Q: How do I become a partner of Globe Labs?

There are two types of partnerships with Globe Labs – one is a technology partnership, while the other is a developer partnership.

A technology partnership involves partnering with Globe Labs to build test beds based on the technologies brought in by the technology partner. If you wish to become a technology partner, email us at globelabs@globetel.com.ph
A developer partnership involves partnering with Globe Labs to create applications on top of the Globe Labs technology test beds. To become a developer partner, register at www.globelabs.com.ph

Q: What are the benefits of registering at www.globelabs.com.ph to become part of the Globe Labs developer community?

The benefits of registering are:

You get the latest information on Globe Labs offerings to developers
You get exclusive invites to Globe Labs events and competitions
You get an opportunity to participate in Globe Labs technology projects
You get a chance to attend trainings and workshops on new technologies

Q: Can I join Globe Labs’ developer community even if I’m an individual?

Yes, you can join even if you’re an individual. Register at www.globelabs.com.ph using the individual registration page.

Q: I have a product that I think Globe Labs might be interested in. What should I do?

If the product you have is already a commercial application that Globe Telecom might be interested in, send your inquiry to custhelp@globetel.com.ph. If the product you have is based on new and future technology, use the Contact Us page to send us your inquiry.

Q: I did not receive instructions on how to activate my account. What should I do?

Send an email to globelabs@globetel.com.ph and we’ll be glad to assist. Include your contact details so we can easily verify your account. Please wait at least 36 hours for our response.

Q: I forgot my password. What should I do?

Click on the Forgot Password link found in the Login box of the Home Page. Follow the instructions to retrieve your password.

Q: I got locked out of my account. What should I do?

Please email us at globelabs@globetel.com.ph. Include your contact details so we can easily verify your account. Please ensure that you send the email from the same email address you used when you first registered. Expect a response from us within at least 36 hours.

The 3G Multimedia Challenge

Q: What is the 3G Multimedia Challenge?

It was a competition launched last January by Globe Labs and co-sponsored by Ericsson. The competition focused on finding applications based on SIP/IMS technology. D3Systems, Inc. won the grand prize for its Whiteboarding application, Ateneo de Manila University’s Department of Information Systems and Computer Science and the Ateneo Java Wireless Competency Center bagged 1st runner up for the M-Learning application, and eScience Corporation placed 2nd runner up for its Social Networking application.

Q: I’m interested in finding out more about SIP/IMS technology and the applications that use it.

Please forward your inquiries regarding the teams and the applications that entered the competition to globelabs [at] globetel [dot] com [dot] ph. To find out more about SIP/IMS check out http://www.ericsson.com/mobilityworld/

Globe Labs Challenge 2008

Q: What is Globe Labs Challenge 2008?

It is a competition open to members of the Globe Labs Developer community. This competition starts on August 2008 and ends on November 2008. Applications built and entered into the competition must use or connect to any of these Globe services: SMS, MMS, GPRS or 3G/HSDPA

Q: Who can join the competition?

The Competition is open to any individual developer, group of developers, company, or educational institution.
Individuals and companies must be members of the Globe Labs Developer Community by September 3, 2008 to be invited to join this Competition. To be a member of the Globe Labs Developer Community, please register through the Globe Labs portal (www.globelabs.com.ph) as a company/institution or as an individual.
Each Participating Team, representing themselves, a group, a company, or an educational institution, must have at least one (1) member and a maximum of three (3) members. The team shall designate a Team Leader. Each member of the team must be a member of the Globe Labs Developer Community.
All members of the participating team must be of legal age. Parental consent is required for participating minors.
Employees of Globe Telecom, Inc., Synerbyte Limited, eScience Corp., Apsmith Solutions Corp., Adobe Philippines, Nokia Philippines, Microsoft Philippines, Sun Microsystems Philippines and its subsidiaries, and their immediate family members are not eligible to participate in the Competition.
Registration deadline for the competition is on September 4, 2008. Registration is done through the competition page of the Globe Labs Portal (www.globelabs.com.ph).

Q: What are the important dates to remember with regards to the competition?

Q: What other services / APIs will Globe Labs make available for the competition?

For the Globe Labs Challenge 2008, Globe Labs will be making the SMS/MMS API available for joining teams. For other Globe Services such as G-cash (mobile money) and Tracker (Location Based services), developers can use SMS keywords to access the services.

Q: How do I create an application under the Location Based Service (LBS) category. Will Globe Labs be creating an API for this?

Right now, Globe Labs doesn't have an API yet for location based services but it's in the pipeline.

For traditional location based apps you'll need a means of generating lat-long coordinates. You can look at phone models that have GPS support built-in (like some of the Nokia N series models). You might want to look at http://www.forum.nokia.com/main/resources/technologies/location_based_services.html for related information.

You can also look into using the myGlobe Tracker service (7000). This uses keywords similar to GCASH. However, this service only provides the general proximity of subjects.

Finally, location based apps can also be proximity-based rather than coordinate based. LBS also includes "near field" applications / solutions." Here you can use bluetooth or even WI-FI to determine proximity. Alternatively, you can use Cell IDs as a basis for proximity. While we can't provide you the actual coordinates for the Cell IDs, you can create applications that determine if you've visited a cell site area before or you can build your own database of Cell IDs. Cell ID identifiers are programmable under J2ME in more recent phone models.

Q: Can teams submit an application in more than one category?

Sorry but no. Teams can only submit their application under ONE category. Teams just have to decide which category best describes their application or which category will the team have the strongest chance of winning.

Q: What will the Intellectual Property (IP) arrangements for the applications we develop for the Globe Labs Challenge? Do the developer teams retain copyright?

Yes, you or your team maintain the copyright to your application. Enforcing copyright here means that Globe cannot sell, distribute, replicate the application's binaries and source code without your explicit consent. Copyright holders have the right to be credited, to determine who may create derivative works from the application (based from source code) and who may financially benefit from the selling / using the application.

That being established, joining your application to the Globe Labs Challenge will require you to agree to the following obligations from the start of the competition till 6 months after the awarding ceremony:

a) not to disclose the Application Concept or the Application to other parties,

b) not to disclose or release the Application to third parties,

c) not to offer or attempt to offer the Application to third parties, whether for personal or commercial use, and

d) to grant Globe the right of first refusal to enter into a commercial agreement for the use, license, or distribution of the Application

e) to allow Globe to use the Application entry for market research, for demonstration, or promotional purposes.

This is the reason why we ask you to sign a non-disclosure agreement and provide a signed copy of the Challenge Mechanics.

Note that these conditions are limited for only six months until the end of the competition. After which, you (as copyright holder) still retain normal copyrights UNLESS you have chosen to enter into another arrangement with Globe.

Q: Will the application be scored based on the no. of features using the sms/mms api?

Though there are no required number of features to implement, the judges will score based on the "Richness & Relevance" of the features.

Q: For the social networking category, will the application be scored based on the no. of social networking website it integrates with? eg. friendster, myspace, etc.

The app must integrate to at least one social network. If integrating to multiple social networks is a key differentiation and is relevant to the target users, it may affect these criteria - Overall Appeal, Originality, Richness & Relevance.

Q: Will the application be scored only on the list of features specified in the proposal? If we deliver features in addition to those in the proposal, will they be considered in the judging?

Features beyond what is proposed will be considered for judging. Proposed features, however, must be completely implemented.

Q: Who should I get in touch with for questions regarding the competition?

For Non-Technical Questions: glc@globetel.com.ph

For Technical Questions: globelabs@globetel.com.ph

For more information on the competition, please visit the Globe Labs Challenge Page on the Globe Labs Portal

Globe Labs SMS/MMS API

Q: What is the SMS/MMS API?

The Globe SMS/MMS API allows third-party developers to integrate SMS and MMS messaging into their web-based or desktop applications via SOAP and XML. THE API allows developers to both send and receive messages. Message sending is done via SOAP over HTTP. Message receiving is done via XML messaging, a short-code number and a pre-assigned 4-digit suffix/code.

Q: How do I access the API?

The API is currently in private beta with a select group of developers testing its capabilities. Another way of accessing the API is to join the Globe Labs challenge. Developers who have submitted an acceptable proposal for the competition will be able to access the API. We are currently exploring opening up the API to the public in the future.

View our API page for more information

Q: What will the API be able to do?

Currently, the API is designed to send SMS and MMS messages as well as receive SMS and MMS messages. Multi-part SMS messages are supported.

Q: What do I need to use the API?

As a web-based API, you’ll need some working knowledge in web-based technologies such as SOAP, XML and HTTP. You’ll also need a web-server with a publicly accessible URL or IP address to receive messages and notifications from the API service.