Bell today launched its HSPA+ network and its first devices, including the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G. The network supports up to 21Mbps downstream on the Novatel Wireless U998 ($75) and future modems that support HSPA+ and should also supply as much as 7.2Mbps for the iPhone 3GS and other current smartphones.
Bell today confirmed that its promised HSPA+ 3G network will become available on November 4th. Supporting recent leaks, the 21Mbps network will launch just a day ahead of its Telus equivalent and should come with multiple phones and modems ready on the same day. Roaming deals will also be in effect immediately and should let Bell users roam on AT&T in the US as well as in most other countries.
Anonymous sources have leaked the iPhone plans of Canadian carriers Bell and Telus, a report claims. Bell is said to be launching on November 4th with three individual plans, beginning with one costing $55 per month. It includes 300 regular voice minutes, and free calling to local Fab 5 numbers as well as on evenings and weekends after 9PM. The plan also includes 1GB of data with tethering support, and unlimited Wi-Fi at Starbucks Coffee.
Bell on Friday said it will soon add the Samsung Omnia II to its lineup in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The announcement is significant as the first HSPA version of the handset for North America and for its use of Bell's upcoming HSPA network, scheduled for a November 5th launch. Reflecting Samsung's sponsorship of the event, Bell Omnia II owners will have access to a free Olympics app to keep track of events and a decal for the phone back.
Bell on Tuesday announced it will offer the U998 HSPA+ Turbo Stick and the MiFi 2372 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot from Novatel Wireless November 5th, to coincide with the launch of its HSPA network in November. Either of the two new products will allow notebook users to connect to the 21Mbps network from virtually anywhere a signal is present. The HSPA+ Turbo Stick will be exclusive to Bell in Canada and plugs into a USB port of notebook or netbook PCs, with a microSDHC card slot for as much as 32GB of storage.
OmniVision may have given signs of a large jump in iPhone 3GS production today through a leak of its production demands. Best known for making the 3.2-megapixel camera inside the Apple handset, the mini-camera designer is warning its other customers that supply will be tight until at least late November as Apple is consuming much of its stock. Other sources for DigiTimes add that iPhone 3GS orders for the holidays may have increased by as much as 17 to 20 percent.
Telus on Monday revealed that both its HSPA+ network and its iPhone launch will kick off on November 5th and has provided device pricing for its version of the Apple handset. Its pricing will match the Rogers version and see 16GB and 32GB iPhone 3GS units cost $200 and $300 respectively on three-year contracts. Contract-free versions will sell for $700 and $800. The 8GB iPhone 3G will sell for $100 on contract or $600 contract-free.
An FCC filing discovered late Friday has confirmed that the Motorola Droid won't be limited only to a CDMA version. The US agency's tests show it running WCDMA, the foundation for HSPA-based 3G access, on the 850MHz and 1,900MHz bands that are used both by AT&T in the US as well as Bell, Rogers and Telus in Canada. Many Latin American carriers also use the standards.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today set groundwork for net neutrality in the country through a ruling that discourages Internet providers from throttling traffic. The guidelines will encourage monetary practices first, such as bandwidth caps or metered Internet access, and will accept slowing down some or all service only when necessary. All providers will also have to clearly publicize any throttling practices and give customers at least 30 days' notice, or 60 days' notice for wholesalers dependent on another Internet provider's network.
The iPhone for Bell should arrive near the very start of November and will have very familiar device and plan pricing, according to Electronista sources. People familiar with the plans say the iPhone 3GS and 3G are both due to arrive on November 4th, which should also mark the formal start of the Canadian provider's HSPA-based 3G network. The news is corroborated by earlier word of Telus training ending at the same time and suggests Bell and Telus will have their networks and iPhone sales ready at the same time.
Novatel chose CTIA to launch its fastest Ovation USB modem so far. The MC998D (not yet shown) supports the current HSPA+ spec for 3G and will connect at up to 21Mbps downstream (5.76Mbps upstream) on supporting networks. It's also explicitly designed for North America's 850MHz and 1,900MHz HSPA frequiencies and will support the HSPA+ networks of Bell, Rogers and Telus in Canada as well as 7.2Mbps HSPA on AT&T in the US. The 2,100MHz band also gives it some support in Europe.
A Vietnamese site's access to a prototype has confirmed that Palm is developing a GSM version of the Pixi for use on carriers beyond Sprint and outside of the US. The dissection shows a superficially identical device but, apart from the choice of network, that the phone may carry just 4GB of internal storage instead of 8GB in the version first headed to the US. Its 2-megapixel camera and GPS should remain intact.
Canadian carriers Bell and Telus have announced separate deals with Apple, ones which will let them both carry the iPhone 3G and 3GS beginning in November. The companies have published no details of their agreements, such as phone prices, subscription plans or specific release dates. The two will however have to compete with Rogers, which until now has held exclusive rights to the Canadian iPhone.
Bell today confirmed its early HSPA launch and said it will launch the new network in November, about three months ahead of its self-imposed deadline of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. The network will also launch faster than expected and start off with HSPA+, which like the recent Rogers upgrade will give it a peak speed of 21Mbps downstream and about 5.76Mbps for uploads.
Two new BlackBerries have surfaced in Bell's system that not only hint at smartphone revisions but that the Canadian carrier will use one of them for its early HSPA network launch. Multiple shots from Bell's model number list tell BGR that the Bold 9700 will come specifically as an HSPA device where most others show only as 1X, or CDMA/EVDO devices. The 9700 is known to be a sequel to the original Bold 9000 with an optical trackpad, a smaller design and a larger 480x360 display.
O2 today finally committed to specific dates for launching the Palm Pre in Europe. The multi-touch smartphone should ship in the UK and Ireland on October 16th and Germany on October 13th. While prices vary by area, UK pricing notably matches the iPhone's and will give the phone away for free on any voice/data plan, which starts from £34 a month. Those who prefer shorter 18-month contracts can get the phone for free with a £44 or £73 monthly rate.
More than 15 phone manufacturers will release over 30 new smartphones running on Microsoft's upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system before the end of 2009, the copmany's GCR Mobile Team Unit senior director Benjamin Tan said recently. Tan was speaking to a group of reports at the time, according to a Wednesday Digitimes report. Among the phone manufacturers slated to introduce models are HTC, Acer, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and HP.
Microsoft today committed to a ship date for Windows Mobile 6.5, its last significant update to the current generation of its smartphone OS. The first devices to use the new platform should reach shops on October 6th. It's not said which evices will be the first, but HP, HTC, LG, Samsung and unusually Toshiba will be the first to have 6.5-equipped smartphones in North America. AT&T, Sprint and Verizon will be the first in the US, while Bell and Telus should do the same in Canada.
An anticipated BlackBerry Tour with Wi-Fi gained more support Monday with a leak of its name. Although no model number exists in the CrackBerry description, the Essex is likely to be a straightforward upgrade of the current smartphone with at most mild hardware updates. The current model melds elements of the Bold and Curve 8900 and is a world phone meant for CDMA networks but with GSM support for other areas.
Bell Canada today officially became the second provider anywhere to ship Palm's first webOS smartphone, the Pre. The Canadian wireless provider began carrying the phone in its retail locations and online. Like the Pre offered by provider Sprint in the US, which launched in June, there is a Synergy feature that combines information from a user's multiple calendars, contact, e-mail accounts and messaging applications into one location. This includes Outlook contact, Google and Facebook accounts, which will also bring profile pictures from Facebook tie to a particular contact.
Bell stirred a minor controversy in the past day through a new TV ad campaign for its version of the Palm Pre. The 30-second commercial follows Apple's ads for the iPhone 3G and 3GS very closely and focuses on a plain background with an unseen person navigating through some core features alongside uptempo music. In Bell's interpretation, the ad focuses on Pre advantages like multitasking and distinguishes itself by zooming out to show the supposed phone user from the bulk of the commercial.
A rumor from a purportedly certain source suggests RIM will have full, near desktop-grade Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight on the BlackBerry's web browser next year. Full details aren't given, but BGR understands that the update is primarily waiting on hardware. As either web plug-in demands both a strong processor and a fast Internet connection, RIM is said to only be launching the more advanced browser in summer 2010, when its phones will be faster and should have faster 3G and potentially 4G connections.
A pair of images of inventory screens from wireless provider AT&T and Canadian provider Bell reveal the BlackBerry Bold 9700 will arrive soon at either. The Bell leak is especially important as it hints that Bell is nearing the activation of its HSPA network, with the Bold 9700 becoming one of the first HSPA-capable 3G phones. Despite the inventory screens, launch dates for the 9700 at either provider remain unknown, as does the pricing.
Bell on Thursday said it had signed its first-ever roaming deal with AT&T and may have dropped further clues of an early launch for its HSPA-based 3G network. The agreement will let the Canadian provider's customers use AT&T's network when traveling to the US and, reciprocally, will let Americans use Bell's upcoming network. AT&T has until now been limited to roaming deals with Rogers due to the absence of any other compatible networks in the country.
Bell this morning finally committed to a ship date and price for its version of the Palm Pre that make it only the second carrier in the world after Sprint to offer the smartphone. It should ship on August 27th and will sell for $200 when paired with a typical-for-Canada three-year contract that includes at least a 500MB per month data plan. The new carrier's version doesn't vary sharply from the reference version reviewed here but, as a result, should have full HTML web browsing, multi-network instant messaging and deep integration with Facebook and Google services, including Google Maps.
The Palm Pre handset that's due at Canadian wireless provider Bell is likely very near its long-awaited launch, if a print ad is any indication. While in-store ads will still say coming soon, without a release date, customers will have the option of pre-ordering the handset.
While those on GSM carriers have had not one but two significantly new keyboard-equipped BlackBerries -- the Bold and Curve 8900 -- those on CDMA carriers like Bell, Sprint, Telus or Verizon have been forced to either try the touchscreen BlackBerry Storm or go with warmed over versions of older phones. As such, there's a mountain of pent-up demand, and the BlackBerry Tour appears poised to address this in style: it appears to have the best features of the GSM phones rolled into a single device. But is it actually the best of all worlds, or a signal that RIM needs to move on? We hope to answer this question with our complete BlackBerry Tour review.
An unofficial company document claims Canadian wireless provider Bell will be the exclusive provider of the Palm Pre handset in Canada for six months. Bell is also said to be the second provider anywhere to offer the handset, after Sprint added the Pre in June. While it's not clear when the six-month countdown begins, it is likely that Bell subsidiary Telus will be the second Canadian provider to get the device.
Canadian wireless provider Bell on Friday announced it is now offering the 3G BlackBerry Tour handset in its lineup. The smartphone can access both local EVDO and global HSPA 3G networks. The handset otherwise sports a 3.2-megapixel camera and a 480x360 resolution screen, and the prerequisite QWERTY keyboard.
Pacific Crest analyst James Faucette today said that Palm Pre sales are still healthy over a month after the phone launched. Referring to his own checks, he estimates that about 40,000 of the multi-touch phones are now shipping each week and that the numbers could hold through at least August. He also expects that sales could improve if Palm can improve its shipments to Best Buy and Radio Shack, which have had short supply ever since launch.
Vodafone's research director Professor Michael Walker today told the Wireless 2.0 conference that 4G cellular data based on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard is not only better at keeping speeds in the real world but has the potential to replace wired Internet access. The official explained that the average download bandwidth in a recent field trial was about 15Mbps, or several times faster than good 3G access. While well short of the 100Mbps theoretical peak, he added that it was much improved over 3G behavior, where actual speeds have often been further away from the 3.6Mbps and higher often promised for those networks.
A leaked image and some scarce information indicates Canadian wireless provider Bell will soon get a new handset from Samsung, so for only known by its Link nickname. A low-quality cropped photo of the handset found in a Thursday MobileSyrup report suggests it will be a vertical QWERTY slider. Some are comparing it to a European Samsung model, the C6620.
After today's earlier news of the BlackBerry Tour smartphone coming to Verizon, two more sources have reported the device will soon be offered at another US provider, Alltel, as well as Canada's Bell. While no specifics are known about the Alltel release other than the photos that reveal Alltel branding on the phone, the Bell release of the new BlackBerry has been supported with more specific pricing details.
Palm may have sold as many as 300,000 Pre phones in less than a month on sale, according to a investor's note by Charter Equity Research analyst Ed Snyder. He estimates that about 120,000 Pres were available on launch day but that these sold out within days and that about 15,000 examples of the multi-touch phone are being made every day, leading to the final estimate for the month. As many as 1 million phones could reach Sprint by the end of the first quarter of sales, which for Palm finishes at the end of August.
Telus could leap on the iPhone almost as soon as it has a network ready to support the device, a rumor floated today suggests. A historically reliable source of leaks on Howard Forums claims a Telus executive has said the carrier will pick up rights for the iPhone almost immediately after its HSPA-based network goes live in October and could support the handset. As Telus doesn't have a GSM network, the iPhone would have to use the new 3G service for both calling and data.
Bell Mobility on Monday announced it is now offering the Ovation U760 Micro Modem from Novatel Wireless, giving users access to the largest 3G data network in Canada. At just over two inches long, the U760 is the smallest EVDO USB modem and features a microSD memory card slot to hold up to 8GB of data and double as a USB flash drive.
Ending a degree of speculation, Research in Motion on Tuesday launched the BlackBerry Tour 9630. The smartphone is the first modern QWERTY keyboard device for CDMA networks and inherits the overall design of the Curve 8900, including its larger 2.44-inch 480x360 screen, but the keys of the Bold. It's also the second 3G world roaming phone for these networks in recent months and has both CDMA and EVDO Revision A for North American carriers but GSM and EDGE for the Americas as well as HSPA for European 3G services.
Palm's budget Eos smartphone is rumored today to be on hold due to worries over Pre sales. The Centro replacement, nicknamed "Pixie," is said by contacts in Asia to still be under development but that its actual launch is frozen until Palm has "better visibility" of how well the Pre and other existing phones are selling. Leaks have suggested the Eos would ship in the fall and thus have the delay coming a few months before launch.
Canadian wireless, Internet and cable provider Bell has recently announced it will be closing down its short-lived Bell Video Store, an online movie delivery service that lets users download movies to rent and watch over a 48-hour period or download to own. The company is e-mailing notices to users of the service and informing visitors to the website, notifying them of the service's shut-down on July 15th, though they will no longer be able to rent or download new content after June 15th.
RIM's BlackBerry Tour is now known to be headed to Canada and has had its specifications confirmed through a late leak. Now due for Bell, a brochure for the smartphone obtained by BGR has both CDMA and EVDO for the carrier's own network but also quad-band GSM and EDGE for basic use in the US; in a conscious decision to limit 3G roaming in the US, though, it would have just 2,100MHz HSPA and so would only support 3G on European networks like Vodafone's.
Telus' planned HSPA 3G network could go live on a national scale earlier than hinted earlier, an additional tip indicated today. Besides supporting the claim that the Canadian provider's new network should have an informal launch in Vancouver on September 2nd, the BGR source now has HSPA ready for the "majority" of the population in October. Previous unofficial timetables would have had the technology active only by early 2010.
The conversion of Bell and Telus to HSPA networks is likely to have started earlier than expected based on sources. An engineer within Telus tells BGR that both Bell and Telus will informally launch their networks in the fall, with Telus' at a minimum being ready for September 2nd. The initial rollout will focus on southern British Columbia and is meant to have the network ready by the time the Vancouver Olympics begin in February 2010.
Bell this morning became the first carrier anywhere to pick up the Samsung Vice messaging slider. The handset aims directly at the mid-range with a 2-megapixel camera, EVDO-based 3G, assisted GPS and an emphasis on quick access to social networking to take advantage of the QWERTY keyboard. Visual customization is also considered important, though Samsung unusually opts for decals instead of faceplates.
Bell on Thursday said it had bought up the remaining stakes in Virgin Mobile Canada, taking complete control of the prepay-heavy carrier. The takeover is mutual and is labeled by Bell as part of its attempt to take the lead in the Canadian cellphone market. The Virgin label will continue to exist separate from Bell but will reportedly have streamlined operations, including a shared network and the ability to get the same phones as Bell.
Bell on Wednesday became the first Canadian carrier to say it would offer the Palm Pre. The phone is identical to the American version and has the same 3.1-inch multi-touch display, 3-megapixel camera, 3G over EVDO Revision A, GPS and Wi-Fi as the model destined for Sprint. No mention has been made as to whether the phone will include any special apps or other unique features for the carrier.
Canadian carrier Rogers is likely to follow Bell and Telus in beginning to charge for incoming text messages outside of its normal plans. A tip sent to BGR says Rogers will start notifying customers today that, as of July 7th, it will charge 15 cents per incoming message for customers that aren't already signed up to a bundle that includes SMS. The changes don't affect Fido customers or incoming messages from Twitter, which were restored to the service today and are free until the end of the year.
The BlackBerry 9630 is likely to show up with a new name and slightly later than expected if a leak proves true. Originally codenamed the Niagra, the phone is now reported by BGR as poised to become the BlackBerry Tour and may be drawing its name from RIM's current sponsorship of the ongoing U2 tour. The same tip also points to an early summer release instead of the spring launch anticipated in the past.
First spotted last winter, Motorola's Hint QA30 slider phone with a full QWERTY keyboard is due to be offered exclusively in Canada by provider Bell Mobility starting on April 9th, says a Thursday MobileSyrup note. Pricing will be nearly $330 CAD (about $266) for the handset without a contract, or $280 ($226), $180 ($145) and $130 ($105) when purchased with 1-year, 2-year and 3-year contracts, respectively.
Bell should be the first Canadian provider to pick up the Samsung Omnia if a leak today from BGR comes to fruition. The touchscreen, Windows Mobile smartphone has been available for months through Verizon in the US but should arrive on its northern counterpart between April 9th and April 12th depending on timing. Whether or not features will change isn't known, though Bell may incorporate its custom interface with more touch-ready shortcuts and features. It's not certain how this would merge with Samsung's TouchWiz, however.
Bell may refuse to upgrade to next-generation networks if the Canadian government does not concede to demands, a statement from the company proposes. The country's telecommunications regulator, the CRTC, recently issued a ruling that would require the company to open up its next-generation networks to competitors. Bell is only one of two national Internet service providers in Canada however, and would likely gain no more than diminished profits if forced to cope with competition.
