Bell – Page 4 – rgbFilter

iPhone 4 to hit Canada (and elsewhere) July 30th

July 16, 2010 Doug Groves Bell, bumper, Death Grip, iPhone 4, press conference, Rogers, Telus5 Comments

In the iPhone 4 press conference, originally intended to address the Death Grip antenna issue some users are experiencing in the US, Apple also announced that the iPhone 4 will be coming to Canada on July 30th. We can only guess that Bell, Rogers and Telus will all have it launch day, unless Rogers is still the preferred carrier here. As of this writing, all three carriers were still reporting “Coming Soon”. On the antenna issue, when the phone is held ‘that way’, it causes a larger drop in signal…

Motorola BACKFLIP on Telus & QUENCH on Rogers

July 11, 2010July 12, 2010 Doug Groves Android, Android 2.1, Backflip, Bell, Dext, google, Motoblur, Motorola, Quench, Rogers, smartphone, Telus2 Comments

Unlike a good scotch, phone operating systems don’t age well, so writing a review for smartphones running Android 1.5 is a tough sell. This problem is exasperated when said phones are from the same manufacturer, have the same internals, same UI and same overall performance. That’s exactly the predicament in trying to discuss the Android based Backflip on Telus and Quench on Rogers. You see, I reviewed the Dext from Bell last month, and from a performance standpoint, they’re the same. The only real difference to an end user is…

Bell also releases the HTC Legend

June 22, 2010June 22, 2010 drsquid Android, Android 2.1, Bell, Bell Mobility, HTC, HTC Legend, Legend, Virgin Mobile4 Comments

While we are still waiting for our Virgin Legend to arrive, so we can post our review of the latest HTC Android phone to be released in Canada, we also want to (belatedly) report that Bell has also officially launched the Legend. As mentioned in the article about the Virgin Mobile Legend, the Bell version was released, as the leaks indicated, last week, on Wednesday June 16th, with much less fanfare than the Virgin version (who had Richard Branson on hand in Montreal to launch the phone). The Bell HTC…

Virgin Mobile launches their first Android phone, the HTC Legend

June 13, 2010June 22, 2010 drsquid Android, Android 2.1, Bell, event, google, HTC, HTC Legend, launch, Legend, Sense UI, smartphone, Virgin Mobile3 Comments

In a surprise move, Bell launched the HTC Legend Android smartphone this past Friday, on their Virgin Mobile MVNO. Up until last week it was thought that the flagship Android phone in Bell’s line-up would launch on the main brand. On Friday Best Buy’s website was even updated prematurely, to show to Legend as available on Bell. Later that day, however, it was Virgin Mobile who was the first carrier in North America to officially announce availability of the Legend. At an event on Friday, Virgin Group Chairman Sir Richard…

iPhone 4 announced, coming to Canada ‘in the coming weeks’

June 8, 2010June 22, 2010 drsquid Apple, Bell, canada, Fido, iPhone, iPhone 4, iPhone 4G, Rogers, Telus, Virgin Mobile1 Comment

Yesterday was Apple’s annual WWDC, where they have announced each new iPhone model since 2008. This year the worst kept secret in recent memory, the iPhone 4, was detailed in Steve Job’s keynote speech, and, unlike previous years, there weren’t that many surprises. Everything lined up with the leaked images and specs, and rather than repeat what most of you have already read, you can go to Apple’s iPhone 4 page here for more details. The keynote was notable, though, for what was not mentioned — the rumoured trackpad we…

Telus finally confirms their iPad plans, NOT offering unlimited data as originally thought

May 31, 2010May 31, 2010 drsquid Apple, Bell, canada, data, data plan, iPad, mobile data, plans, Rogers, Telus21 Comments

The image above, created earlier today, was based on some assumptions taken from Telus’ weekend announcement of their iPad plan. After some speculation on Friday, a press release was sent out on Saturday detailing their offering – a single plan of 500MB for $20, which at the low-end is a much better deal that what Bell and Rogers are offering, and unlike their plans, Telus’ is available post paid (sadly with a $35 activation fee). What was more intriguing though was that overage is charged at 5¢ per MB, ‘up…

Apple iPad Canadian launch, Rogers on-device data plans available, Bell plans available, and Telus is MIA

May 28, 2010May 29, 2010 Doug Groves 3G, Apple, Bell, data plan, iPad, Redboard, Rogers, Telus, WiFi5 Comments

Though you’re all probably aware, we wouldn’t be doing our jobs here if we didn’t mention something about the roll out of the iPad beyond US borders, including here in Canada. From the breathless coverage in the mainstream press, it appears that there were close to 200 people ready to get their hands on the iPad on opening day at the Apple store in the Eaton Centre. If there’s a certain lack of excitement to this article, it’s not born so much from cynicism of the whole circus, though there…

MOTOBLUR phones come to Canada on Telus, Bell, and Rogers

May 19, 2010May 19, 2010 drsquid Android, Backflip, Bell, canada, CLIQ, Cliq XT, Dext, google, Motoblur, Motorola, OS 1.5, Quench, RIM, Rogers, Social View, Telus4 Comments

The last in the trio of Motorola Android phones running their custom UI, MOTOBLUR, launched in Canada on Tuesday, with the release of the Motorola QUENCH on Rogers. The two other phones in the Motoblur line-up are the DEXT on Bell, and the BACKFLIP on Telus. The QUENCH is available now for $49.99 ($424.99 outright) on a three-year voice and data plan. It is a touch-screen only device, and has a 3.1” 320×480 screen, 5.0 MP camera, and uses Android OS 1.5, with the MOTOBLUR UI. To make up for…

Apple taking Canadian iPad pre-orders now, announces Rogers data plans

May 10, 2010May 10, 2010 drsquid Apple, Bell, canada, HSPA, iPad, Rogers, tablet, Telus0 comment

It’s 3am, and I just checked the Apple.ca store, and the iPad pre-order page is up! Apple has also pre-empted Rogers by posting the details of their iPad Data plans: To start 3G service on your iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G, you will need a micro-SIM card and a data plan. A range of data plans are available and most don’t require a contract. When you order your iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G from the Apple Online Store, you can add a micro-SIM card from the carrier listed below. You…

Apple announces Canadian iPad date, Bell joins Rogers in confirming ‘support’

May 8, 2010May 10, 2010 drsquid 3G, Apple, Bell, canada, HSPA, iPad, Rogers, Telus, WiFi0 comment

Apple finally announced on Friday exactly when the iPad will be available internationally. It will hit Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK on May 28th, and will be up for pre-order on May 10th. Both the Wi-Fi and 3G models will be available on that date, and the Canadian prices are as follows: Suggested retail price of $549 (CAN) for 16GB, $649 (CAN) for 32GB, $749 (CAN) for 64GB for Wi-Fi models and $679 (CAN) for 16GB, $779 (CAN) for 32GB and $879 (CAN) for…

Usage-based billing okayed by CRTC

May 6, 2010May 6, 2010 Doug Groves Acanac, Bell, canada, CRTC, Internet, online rights, Teksavvy2 Comments

The CRTC has unsurprisingly sided with Bell, and is allowing the big blue telco to go ahead with it’s usage-based billing scheme, and yes, scheme is the most appropriate word here. Not only does it mean that Bell gets to charge it’s own customers, who are already paying through the nose for parltry data caps, but now big blue can hit 3rd party suppliers, like TekSavvy and Acanac with fees that look downright preposterous. Bell has complained about traffic congestion, caused mostly by heavy file sharing, but as their own…

RIM announces Blackberry 9100 Pearl 3G, coming in May to Bell, Telus and Rogers

April 29, 2010April 29, 2010 drsquid 3G, Bell, Blackberry, Kin, Microsoft, Pearl, RIM, Rogers, smartphone, Telus0 comment

This week Research in Motion (RIM), is holding their annual WES event, in sunny Orlando, instead of Waterloo Ontario. On Tuesday they announced their new Blackberry OS 6, which we posted a video of a few posts below. OS 6 is coming later this year, and is RIM’s attempt to catch up to Android, iPhone and Windows Phone 7. Also announced were 2 new handsets, the new Bold 9650, a refresh of last years CDMA Tour, with the optical track-pad, and more RAM (in preparation for OS 6). More interestingly…