Fresh details leaked Monday have an LTE iPad 3 shipping for at least two US carriers. AT&T and Verizon would both sell the tablet at 4G speeds, the Wall Street Journal said. Whether or not Sprint's upcoming LTE network wasn't mentioned, but the hardware would have the expected fallback to 3G in areas where LTE wasn't available.
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Internet access providers are not broadcasters. The ruling means that Canadian Internet providers such as Bell, Rogers, and Telus can't be forced to carry Canadian content on streams or downloads. It also means that they don't have to make payments into funds that subsidize the creation of local Canadian content.
Telus became the third Canadian carrier with an LTE-based 4G network on Thursday. Starting on February 10 in Halifax, the carrier will have the same 75Mbps peak download speeds and 12-25Mbps averages as the existing networks from rivals Bell and Rogers. It plans to kick off the network with the Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE, LG's Optimus LTE smartphone, and Novatel's Ovation MC679 modem; the Galaxy Note with LTE will be available on February 14.
Rogers has brought out a new One Number is a new service for the carrier's wireless customers who want to use their computers to talk, text, and video chat from their computers using their cellphone number. The service is free for subscribers and includes a unified inbox for e-mails, calls, and texts. Contacts from the phone are synced onto the website as well.
Unusual rumors on Monday had Apple negotiating for fabled TV set with Canadian telecom providers Bell and Rogers. The respective satellite and cable TV providers were said by the Globe and Mail to be Apple targets as they had "wireless and broadband capabilities" that could be used for launch partners. The two allegedly even had prototypes in their labs.
Canadian carrier Rogers set out to win speed claims with a set of upgraded LTE devices. The Sierra Wireless AirCard 330U and AirCard 763S hotspot both add the 2.6GHz frequency to the existing 1.7GHz and 2.1GHz bands, giving the 4G connection more real-world bandwidth. Where the existing LTE tops out at 12-25Mbps, Rogers expects the new hardware to achieve real speeds of as much as 40Mbps.
Both Americans and Canadians alike got the opportunity to preorder the Samsung Galaxy Note on Sunday. An AT&T listing lets Americans pick the 4G device and a matching plan ahead of the February 19 release. Contract-free purchases aren't available ahead of time on the $300 Android phone, although both the very dark carbon blue and ceramic white colors are options.
Canadian wireless provider Rogers on Friday announced it will stop throttling subscribers' Internet connections. In response to a government Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) cease and desist letter, the carrier wrote (PDF) that it will stop the practice in March. The original complaint that led to the move was filed by Jason Koblovsky on behalf of the Canadian Gamers Organization.
AT&T's launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note might be preempted by a very wide Canadian release. Bell, Rogers, and Telus have all committed early this week to carrying the LTE version of the 5.3-inch phone and tablet crossover. Although Bell and Telus have only listed it as "coming soon," Rogers has officially committed to a mid-February launch, making it probable that all three will launch at or near the same time.
LG took its second shot at tablets in an unusual post-CES launch with the Optimus Pad LTE. A direct sequel to the original we reviewed, it keeps the 8.9-inch, 1280x768 IPS screen and jumps to its namesake 4G for Internet access. Added speed comes through a platform switch, with LG moving from the dual-core 1GHz Tegra 2 to a similarly dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon.
Electronista had the chance to interview Nokia Canada's General Manager Richard White on Thursday with hints of future plans. Although careful not to commit to any particular launches, he noted that Nokia was willing to make sure LTE was in any Windows Phone if a carrier set a requirement for it. The strategy would leave room for Verizon Windows Phones from Nokia given the carrier's new refusal to pick up future 3G smartphones.
Motorola sought to raise the baseline on Android smartphones Thursday with a pair of new world models. The MOTOLUXE runs on a modest 800MHz processor but has a four-inch, 480x854 screen, eight-megapixel back and VGA front cameras, and a fairly healthy 1,400mAh battery good for 6.5 hours of talk. Borrowing a slight cue from the HTC Rhyme, the lanyard slot lights up for missed calls, mail, and text.
Canadian cellular carrier Rogers and its subsidiary, Fido, are reportedly preparing to launch Samsung's Galaxy Nexus handset next week. The company has yet to formally announce its launch plans, however a leaked screenshot posted on Mobile Syrup suggests the device is slated to arrive on Tuesday.
Bell Canada has backed off of plans to throttle peer-to-peer traffic on its network following a CRTC decision that could make it illegal. As of March 1, neither Bell itself nor wholesalers on its network will see connections slow down when BitTorrent or similar traffic goes through. The Internet provider spun the decision as a reflection of a "diminishing" ratio of peer-to-peer traffic in favor streaming and other means of getting the same content.
Canadian wireless carrier Globalive, which is better known by its subsidiary brand Wind Mobile, is reportedly in talks to acquire competing carrier Mobilicity. An unnamed person familiar with the negotiations told Bloomberg that Globalive is attempting to build its presence in the Canadian market to compete with dominant carriers Bell, Rogers and Telus.
The Galaxy Nexus is arguably the first official Google phone whose appeal isn't just confined to hardcore Android fans: even those who only know the iPhone by name are taking notice. With a massive 4.65-inch, 720p display, a near-instant camera, and most importantly Android 4.0, it promises not just to be a powerful phone but the most cohesive expression of what Android can be. But can it cross over into the mainstream in a way that previously only Apple could? Our Samsung Galaxy Nexus review settles that question.
In sync with the fall Xbox 360 Dashboard update, Microsoft has provided a listing of TV providers that will be ready to go this week. Along with existing access to ESPN, Hulu, and Netflix, the December 6 update will also bring EPIX authenticated video in the US, Lovefilm in the UK, MediaSet's Premium Play in Italy, Sky Go in Austria and Germany, Telefonica Espaņa's Movistar Imagenio, and MSNBC's Today in the US.
Acer started off the week by launching a new budget Android phone. The Liquid Express revives the 3.5-inch formula seen in the Liquid Metal and even shares its 800MHz Snapdragon and five-megapixel camera, but adds NFC for short-range payments and tag sharing. The company has teamed up with Cityzi to take advantage of tags both for virtual cash as well as for travel info and reviews.
Samsung has submitted a cellular-enabled Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus to the FCC for regulatory approval. This new seven-inch tablet features support for the HSPA+ 3G cellular data standard, like the T-Mobile version, but on the 850MHz and 1,900MHz bands used by AT&T and major Canadian carriers. As such, it might be destined either for AT&T or for Bell, Rogers, or Telus.
A previous report has now been confirmed, as Rogers confirmed getting the Samsung Galaxy S Glide on Thursday. The Canadian provider's Android 2.3-powered smartphone is a local exclusive and centers on a four-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with a 480x800 resolution and its namesake sliding QWERTY keyboard. The phone also connects to Rogers' HSPA+ network at a faster 21Mbps.
We were given a brief first opportunity to play with Samsung's Canadian variant of the Galaxy Nexus on Monday afternoon. The reps on hand included Ken Price, Samsung Canada's Director of Marketing for the Mobile Communications Division and Vlastimir Lalovic, Director of Wireless Product Realization. They gave us a quick run-through of some of the handset's unique features, while dropping hints that a more official announcement is coming a little later in the week. Hopefully, this includes pricing, but thus far, they kept mum. They were willing to say in advance that the Canadian model only supports HSPA+ networks, while the US version will support the higher-speed LTE, with this being the major and perhaps only difference between the devices.
Rogers on Monday afternoon revealed that it would be later than its peers to get the Galaxy Nexus. Where Bell and Virgin will get it in early December, Rogers will get Samsung's Android 4.0 flagship in January. It will show in the carrier's reservation system as of Tuesday.
The rule of thumb for 4G Android phones in 2011 has been that they must be tanks: bulky, rounded-off devices that show exactly what sacrifice you're making to get the faster speeds. Motorola with the reborn Droid RAZR (just RAZR elsewhere in the world) not only bucks that, but has what it claims is the world's thinnest smartphone. However, it's coming into especially fierce competition with the Galaxy Nexus, Rezound, and the iPhone 4S. We'll see in our Droid RAZR review if it's competitive enough to swim with the pack.
Canadian carrier Rogers gave signs of possible slowness in Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales by giving away the Android tablet for free with certain bundles. The 3G tablet ships for free to anyone who either gets a two-line, three-year family phone contract with data or those who agree to a two-year contract for at least a basic digital TV and Internet access bundle. Those who only need one new line on a family plan still get a discount down to $150.
HTC has been on a relentless tear through 2011, releasing new, faster (or bigger) phones seemingly every month, but it has never truly cracked AT&T: even phones like the Inspire 4G are outsold by the cheapest iPhones. With that in mind, the Vivid (known as the Raider elsewhere) is theoretically a powerhouse: 4G LTE, a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, and a massive 4.5-inch screen. But are sheer numbers enough to dislodge Apple and give AT&T a reputation as an Android carrier? With our HTC Vivid review, we'll not only look into whether it's worth getting over an iPhone but whether the Samsung Galaxy Nexus threatens to undo HTC's hard work.
We just received our review unit for the HTC Raider, better known to Americans as the Vivid. With HTC just passing Apple in the US smartphone market based on its successes at Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, it's this phone that's expected to take the crown at AT&T. But with LTE-based 4G and a giant 4.5-inch screen, is it enough to finally give Android the edge at the iPhone's main carrier? We'll give a quick opinion in a hands-on below.
Preempting the US event for the Rezound next week, HTC on Thursday planned to bring its international equivalent, the Raider, to North America first through Canada. Both Bell and Rogers are getting the LTE-based 4G version of the phone and can stream HD videos or otherwise get online faster still than either carrier's regular HSPA+ network. Accordingly, either version can tap into HTC's Watch movie store or use the 4G for a hotspot, although low LTE bandwidth caps may discourage using either feature often.
Rogers revealed that it's making good on its promise to ship the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE smartphone. A limited number of customers who reserved it should get the phone no later than next week with more shipments scheduled for next week. The carrier also said it plans to have enough devices to fulfill all pre-orders.
Newly discovered FCC documents for the Droid RAZR indicate a future version of the international version, known as the RAZR, with support for GSM 850/1900MHz and WCDMA 3G bands. This could mean the device may arrive at a number of new carriers other than just Verizon, including AT&T, Rogers, and a number of Australian and Canadian carriers. The FCC's documents mention of the unique model number for the battery, SNN5899A, that only the new smartphone uses.
RIM's new BlackBerry Torch line is a reboot for the company. After the Storm and Storm2 failed to stem the tide of the iPhone and later Android, the new Torch shows signs RIM has learned its lesson: a faster processor, a touch interface, and the death of its infamous click-down screen. But is it enough? Our review of the Torch 9850 and 9860 will see if RIM is back in form or if its rivals are still moving faster.
Samsung brought the Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE to North America for the first time with a launch in Canada. While no hint as to a ship date other than "coming soon" is visible, the mere presence of the page suggest the 4G-capable tablet could arrive in the country before the US. It's expected the tablet will arrive in both Canada and the US before year's end, however.
Many Canadian wireless providers have began offering the newly announced iPhone 4S for pre-orders. We've summarized the prices for the various capacity models at each. The device is available in either black or white at all, and the prices are in Canadian dollars.
On cue, the online Apple Store and numerous carriers including AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon have begun taking online preorders for the iPhone 4S. The picks include carrier-locked models as well as the full-price but unlocked GSM versions for those who want to switch carriers or avoid early cancellation fees.
New details of Samsung's Android 4 flagship may have surfaced in a late leak. The curved design, possibly called either the Nexus Prime or Galaxy Nexus, is expected by a reliable BGR source to be thicker than the Galaxy S II but thinner than the iPhone 4S, at about 9mm (0.35in) thick. As the banner phone for Google's new OS, nicknamed Ice Cream Sandwich, it's also now believed to carry the 1.2GHz TI OMAP 4460 processor that will be the reference chip for Android 4 phones.
Microsoft as repeatedly rumored has kicked off its Xbox 360 live TV option. Cable and fiber TV providers such as AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, as well as individual TV stations such as Bravo, Epix, HBO, and SyFy, are all promising apps for the new Xbox Dashboard to watch TV online. Most if not all of the services will require that viewers authenticate to get access and will still need to have traditional TV.
Sony late Friday brought the Xperia ray to the US without waiting. The Android 2.3 smartphone is officially available in the country for $425 through stores like Newegg, but without being locked into a any carrier. It carries AT&T-native 3G and should work in Canada as well; T-Mobile owners can use it if they don't mind losing 3G.
Rogers significantly expanded its LTE-based 4G service with three new cities and details of its tablet and smartphone plans. The once Ottawa-only service is now live in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, covering most of the Canadian population. The expansion is matched by a new, much stronger promo plan that lets users pay $53 per month for 10GB if they sign up for a three-year contract.
RIM's promises of cutting BlackBerry PlayBook prices to clear the slow-selling tablet have borne out as Canadian stores have started slashing prices. Best Buy and its sibling Future Shop, as well as Staples, have all dropped the price by $200 across the board to $300. The first two chains supply a gift card to get to the $300 price if bought in store, but all three give an immediate discount if the tablet is bought online.
The LG Optimus Hub that appeared in Europe recently is now undergoing FCC testing, likely for sale in the US. It could also be an international model, however. The FCC listing does reveal 850MHz and 1,900MHz 3G support, both of which are used by AT&T, Bell, Rogers and Telus.
The Samsung Galaxy S Glide may soon be coming to Rogers. MobileSyrup has gotten its hands on one of these elusive sliders and reports that the Canadian wireless provider may push the phone out to the market "just in time for the holiday." The phone will revolve around a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and run Android OS 2.3.
For much of 2011, many had counted RIM out: many 2010 BlackBerry phones were old as soon as you opened the box, and it wasn't clear that it would ever adopt features Android and iPhone users took for granted, like 3D gaming, HD video, or even just fast web browsing. The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is the vanguard of a complete overhaul that could prove the doomsayers wrong. But does it? We'll answer that in our BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 review.
Recently, many gamers on the Rogers network in Canada, frustrated that their play was being throttled by the service provider, filed complaints with the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission). Earlier this month, Rogers acknowledged that it's Internet traffic management practices (ITMPs) were indeed degrading delivery of time sensitive traffic such as World of Warcraft and other games. On Friday, the CRTC sent an e-mail to Rogers requesting that it fix the problem by September 27.
Bell on Wednesday will become the second Canadian carrier to formally launch an LTE-based 4G (link active soon) service. Going live first in the Golden Triangle area in and around Toronto, the service will echo the same 75Mbps peak, 12Mbps to 25Mbps real-world speeds seen on Rogers. Bell's edge will be its support for 42Mbps HSPA+ as a 'fallback' with Rogers' service at a more modest 21Mbps.
Two Canadian carriers on Thursday announced the arrival of the mobile broadband version of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android tablet. Both Rogers and Telus offer the device. On either network, the tablet can reach a maximum theoretical download speed of up to 21Mbps over HSPA+ 3G (branded as 4G).
In order to address the issue some users faced with its Voice Search feature, Google has released the Android 2.3.6 update starting with the Nexus S. The frustrating problem would have the feature active itself without any user input, making the devices unusable at times. The news broke on the Google Mobile Help Forum.
Canadian wireless provider Bell will soon launch a high-speed LTE service of its own soon, according to 'reliable' sources speaking to TekTok Canada. Bell will initially offer two LTE devices, both from Samsung and with the Galaxy S II LTE smartphone and Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE.
HTC launched itself back into Windows Phone support at its special event Thursday with two new models. Topping the group, the Titan (once codenamed the Eternity) is the biggest Windows Phone ever and has a 4.7-inch (albeit 480x800) touchscreen in a relatively slim 0.39-inch unibody frame. It confirms front camera support in the Mango update to the OS and has both a 1.3-megapixel front camera along with the rear eight-megapixel piece.
Motorola took a second shot at capturing the pro smartphone market away from RIM on Tuesday with the Pro+. Along with a sleeker and more BlackBerry Bold-like shape, it's the first work-level phone from Motorola with Android 2.3. Accordingly, it gets the latest version of the Blur interface and has seen its 3.1-inch display upgraded to a sharper 640x480, twice as dense as the older Droid Pro and XPRT.
Rogers on Tuesday revealed it will be the first to get the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE smartphone, along with four other LTE-capable hardware devices. The also include the LTE Rocket mobile hotspot, a new LTE Rocket Stick, an unnamed LTE tablet (likely the HTC Puccini) and an HTC smartphone. At the same time, the company's LTE network will launch in Toronto on September 28, following a release in Ottawa early in July.
RIM's BlackBerry Bold 9900 has already been dissected by parts distributor DirectFix. A YouTube video provides teardown instructions for a Rogers-branded Bold, showing the compact internals and typical modular construction. Although DIY servicing typically voids warranties, the design appears to lend itself to straightforward keyboard and display replacement with a few simple tools.
