July 3 - 3:30pm EDT   Telus today made a surprise announcement that it will be the first North American provider to carry the Touch Diamond, HTC's new flagship touchscreen phone. The news jumps Telus ahead of expected announcements from Sprint and Verizon and makes the Canadian firm the first known to get the CDMA version of the Diamond, which should have advanced 3G access through EVDO Revision A while keeping nearly all other features. [full story]

June 27 - 5:15pm EDT   Rogers Wireless is justified in its limited data plans as many other iPhone-carrying nations are doing the same or are more restrictive, a company spokeswoman tells Electronista. The Canadian company argues that a "majority" of international iPhone carriers have capped data and believes its plan to be better than these, citing as example Orange France plans that include a 500MB 'reasonable use' limit versus the 2GB maximum on Rogers' best iPhone plan. The company also tries to justify the caps by claiming that unlimited use would require customers pay for more than they need. [full story]

May 27 - 2:00pm EDT   The Canadian government today officially began its wireless auction for the 2GHz band, setting the groundwork for a potentially significant change in the country's cellular business. Similar to the recently completed 700MHz auction held by the FCC in the US, the auction will let a total of 27 companies bid on licenses to operate wireless networks in different regions. The Canadian auction differs by having the government dictate bidding increments for early stages and asking companies to match each bid. [full story]

May 19 - 4:45pm EDT   The Curve 8330 essentially paints the complete picture for the BlackBerry -- it's the last of RIM's current lineup to cross over to CDMA networks. It's also the first Curve to offer 3G networking and so promises to make a big splash among users wanting "real" Internet access and messaging in a small and relatively inexpensive smartphone. That it fills an important gap is undoubtable; the real question is whether it can appeal to more than its usual crowd and compete against both other messaging phones and a new wave of high-end feature phones. Click through for our full review of the phone available with Sprint, Telus, and Verizon. [full story]

May 8 - 2:30pm EDT   Verizon has released a second phone today with the final launch of the Moto Q 9c. Like the version already making its way to Sprint and Telus, the 9c is more business-oriented than the Q 9m already in service at Verizon and uses the standard Windows Mobile 6 front end rather than a custom media layer. The switch gives the device DocumentsToGo for editing most Office documents on the road. [full story]

May 7 - 2:30pm EDT   Although it won't be available until Friday on Verizon and is still absent from Sprint's shipping roster, the BlackBerry Curve 8330 has landed at Electronista in a near-identical Telus form and is being put through its paces. Much of the design will seem familiar to those already aware of the Curve, but there are important additions to this first CDMA version of RIM's QWERTY smartphone that are likely to factor heavily into our full review. [full story]

May 6 - 11:45am EDT   RIM's BlackBerry Niagra is actually representative of two different phones, according to a further scoop from BGR. The Niagra itself will reportedly be a data-focused version for CDMA networks such as Sprint in the US or Telus in Canada and will still support 3G access over EVDO, including RIM's first-ever EVDO Revision A support for faster connections. In return, Wi-Fi will be dropped while navigation is likely to be limited to assisted GPS. [full story]

April 16 - 5:00pm EDT   Telus announced on Wednesday that the LG Venus slider is coming to the Canadian provider. The phone features dual screens on its top portion, with the smaller one on the phone's lower half meant as a touch pad only, replacing up to 12 traditional keys, Telus says. The Venus will be able to play Telus' mobile radio and TV, as well as 50 channels of streaming satellite radio programming and offers the provider's audible and visual navigation service. The CDMA phone accesses the Internet via EVDO high-speed mobile broadband. Hailed as LG's first touch-screen phone in Canada, dialing numbers is accomplished via a traditional keypad revealed once the slider is opened. [full story]

April 14 - 5:15pm EDT   Motorola's Q line is finally receiving needed updates across the board, with attention now turning to CDMA carriers like Sprint and Telus through the launch of the Q 9c. The changes made turn the Q into a genuine (and cheaper) alternative to the BlackBerry line with an outstanding keyboard and a workhorse build quality, although some may find that phones above and below Motorola's newest Windows Mobile device are more cost-effective picks, especially for media playback. Read ahead for the full Moto Q 9c review. [full story]

April 7 - 1:30pm EDT   Motorola is wasting no time launching its Moto Q 9c smartphone to carriers in North America, including its first Canadian provider, Telus. We've just received our review unit and will start putting it through its paces in the near future, but we've already spent some time using the device and have had a chance to test the QWERTY keyboard smartphone, which is virtually identical to the version for Sprint. [full story]

April 2 - 3:50pm EDT   RIM's BlackBerry 8330, coming soon to Verizon and Sprint, will also be adopted by Canadian carrier Telus, an official listing shows. This will make Telus the first carrier in the country to carry the device, which is a CDMA version version of the Curve equipped with built-in GPS functions. Like the Verizon model, the Telus edition comes preloaded with a Facebook application; it is additionally confirmed to have access to app and news portals, provided by Pocket Express. [full story]

March 28 - 9:05am EDT   Telus late yesterday became the first North American provider outside of Verizon to offer the LG Venus. Called the Touch Venus by the Canadian provider, the slider remains unique in its replacement of the traditional directional pad in favor of a small touchscreen: while the main display is view-only, the input allows context-sensitive controls that reduce the need for a large number of single-purpose buttons. The phone is also more media-capable than most LG models with a microSDHC slot that holds up to 8GB and a 2-megapixel camera. [full story]

March 21 - 10:20am EDT   RIM is prepping an upgrade to the BlackBerry Curve tailored for at least two CDMA networks, according to separate discussions at Pinstack. The previously GSM-only Curve will reportedly switch to the networks of Sprint and Telus and will follow the same upgrade pattern set out by the Pearl 8130, which added native GPS to the original design. However, the new version may also receive a storage upgrade along with its network change, boosting the phone to 80MB and improving its ability to store third-party apps without resorting to a microSD card. [full story]

March 17 - 1:35pm EDT   The Canadian government today introduced a list of bidders in the upcoming wireless auction that is expected to determine the future of the country's cellular industry. The auction is now known to include several newcomers under different operating names, such as Videotron owner Quebecor Media, Manitoba's MTS, and western telecoms firm Shaw. However, large existing carriers such as Bell Canada, Rogers, and Telus are also joining the auction. [full story]

March 14 - 5:15pm EDT   Canada's wireless industry was set to expand on Friday when Quebecor said it would participate in an upcoming wireless auction, hoping to claim newly available frequencies for future cellular business. The company is best known for its Videotron cable and Internet services in its namesake Quebec but has placed a $317 million deposit to put itself into the auction citing the rare opportunity to expand outside of its native province with a new service. [full story]