Nokia Philippines Community Event 2013 Experience by TechPinas Writer Fellow, Nico Aguila

If companies were rated based on how well they take care of people who cherish their products, Nokia should definitely be at the number one spot.

Last week, I was graciously invited by Sir Mark of TP to go to a community event hosted by Nokia at the cinema area of Greenbelt 3 and I had a complete blast! Here's that happened.

Nokia Philippines, Nokia Community Event, Mark Milan Macanas, TechPinas, Nico Aguila
With Sir Mark of TechPinas

Going up the escalator to the Cinema area of Greenbelt 3, the venue was easy to find as standees of Nokia’s current Windows Phone flagship, the Lumia 1020 are placed on the other side of the rail guards of the escalator.

Nokia Philippines, Nokia Community Event

Inside the venue, I didn’t know what to expect; Will it a product launch? A product demonstration perhaps? As it turned out, the community event was exactly what it was for – an event for the Nokia community. There was no product launch, no display units, nothing about the Lumia or Asha line of phones. It was just Nokia treating you like their "barkada", asking you to hang out with them and relax for a while.

Nokia Philippines, Nokia Community Event

They served dinner and even rented the cinema just for the guests of the event where we got to know each other through an ice breaker game and later on watched the movie Ender's Game. Everyone in the event was using either a Lumia or an Asha unit, proudly showing off their love for Nokia while I was using my trusty Android (I wish I could eventually own and use a Lumia). Still, I felt welcome in the crowd.

Nokia Philippines, Nokia Community Event

Last but not the least, Nokia gave away some cute and powerful handsets before wrapping up the event. The giveaways were 2 units of the Nokia Asha 501, 1 unit of the Nokia Lumia 625, 1 unit of the Nokia Lumia 925 (via the #NokiaPHonInstagram #AppyDays photo contest - remember, Instagram is now available on WP8 Lumia handsets) and 1 unit of the Nokia Lumia 1020 - yes, the best cameraphone in the world! Nokia really cheered people up during the event. And with all the sharing that was going on, I really felt the true spirit of Christmas during the gathering.

Nokia Philippines, Nokia Community Event, Nico Aguila
Sir Mark and Me with our fellow Nokianatics, Reinard de Lima - who won the Nokia Lumia 1020, lucky him - and Gab Villanueva, Microsoft's Student Ambassador

At the end of the night, I still couldn’t believe how much effort Nokia exerts in taking care of its partners and community alike. I'm still a student studying at DLSU and once I'm making my own money, I will definitely continue supporting Nokia and buy their handsets as gifts for myself and my loved ones, remembering that I am loved by Nokia as much as Nokia loves its community all over the world. Now, TP Friends, I consider myself a certified Nokianatic!