Canada’s third-largest mobile telecom today confirmed the company will further diversify its product line by offering tablet computers.
The confirmation came from David Fuller, the VP of product marketing today.
The comments raise speculation as to whether Telus will offer the Apple iPad. The iPad is slated for an April 3rd U.S. launch, with the device being available in Canada by the end of the same month, according to Apple.
Mr. Fuller confirmed the iPad is in fact compatible on the new Telus network, but did not further elaborate.
We can confirm Microsoft Corporation is working on its own iPad competitor, dubbed Microsoft Courier, but the company has yet to officially acknowledge it is working on such a device. Judging from recent leaks, the device seems more advanced and intuitive than the iPad, but the iPad still has a major competitive advantage, the app store. Microsoft Courier is reportedly to launch by the end of this year.
The top telecoms in Canada, including Bell, Telus, and Rogers, today completed testing a new video-calling service that will be compatible across all networks in Canada.
Video-calling in Canada is not as popular, or in the United States, for that matter, but in Canada, the feature requires both parties to be on the same telecom network to actually work.
The new system (3G-324M standard) that the big three telecoms today finished testing would allow users to video-call people across any of the networks, making it the largest video-calling network in North America.
No information relating to possible availability was released.
Canadian CDMA carriers Telus and Bell are set to launch the iPhone 3G S on Nov 5, and Nov 4, respectively. The companies have now announced pricing for the devices.
Telus will offer the 16GB (black/white) version for $199, the 32GB version will cost CND $299 and will be available in both black and white.
Both companies are not introducing exclusive monthly plans for the iPhone. Plans start at $50 per month at Telus, and at $55 per month at Bell.
At Telus, the most affordable plan will set you back $50 per month, and will give you 150 minutes with 500MB of data (with tethering included). All plans include unlimited messaging as well.
Telus’ expected to launch iPhone early Nov as new HSPA GSM network is expected to launch Nov 3rd
We are able today to report with a high degree of confidence that the new Telus HSPA 3G network will launch on November 3, 2009.
Telus previously announced only a few days ago that it would launch the iPhone 3GS sometime in November.
The new launch date for the network indicates the iPhone is poised to launch sometime very early in November, compared to a closer end of month launch date.
The new Telus network will allow the company to offer higher-end GSM handsets in the future, including the unannounced BlackBerry Bold 2 (expected to launch in the U.S. on November 11 and shortly after in Canada), and possibly the HTC Hero smartphone.
Bell and Telus will bring the iPhone to Canada in time for the holiday season on their new 4G GSM network with expected lower prices, ending the exclusivity agreement with Rogers
Bell Canada and Telus Wireless have confirmed (Bell press release, Telus press release) both companies would sell the iPhone in Canada starting in November, in time for the holiday season, ending the iPhone exclusivity agreement with Rogers.
The companies in a joint effort were able to upgrade their wireless infrastructure to 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) in order to support the GSM standard and hence the iPhone.
They will offer both the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS.
No pricing or exact availability was announced today. The new competition should help bring the price of the phone down. Prior to this news, the iPhone was offered by Rogers and Fido (owned by Rogers), so there was really no competition.
The BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) today officially announced the new BlackBerry Tour smartphone.
“BlackBerry continues to be the top selling smartphone brand in North America and we are proud to add this powerful new 3G world phone to our successful product portfolio,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion.
The BlackBerry Tour supports 3G EV-DO Rev. A networks in North America, as well as 3G UMTS/HSPA (2100Mhz) and quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks abroad.
The BlackBerry Tour features a chic black finish with chrome highlights (112mm x 62mm x 14.2mm and 130g). It includes a full-QWERTY keyboard. In addition, the large (2.44″), bright display (480×360 resolution at 245 ppi) delivers the highest resolution available on a BB smartphone.
The much anticipated Samsung Omnia 5MP Windows Mobile 6.5 powered device has now appeared on Samsungs Canadian site, indicating the phone is closer to launching on both Bell and Telus.
Update: It is now passed May and this BlackBerry has yet to launch. It is believed it will launch either late June or mid July 2009 on Telus, and therefore likely in the U.S. as well.
There are rumors that the BlackBerry 9630 World Edition is set to launch this May on Verizon. We can expect Telus in Canada to also launch this handset in May, bringing the first full physical QWERTY next-generation BlackBerry on Telus. Expect this BlackBerry to be highly aggressively priced.
Telus said, “This investment is expected to ensure a smooth transition to long-term evolution technology, the emerging worldwide standard for 4G wireless networks.” Read the full story
The BlackBerry Pearl Flip phone has now appeared on the Telus website and marked as coming soon. The device should be priced at $500 without a contract, or about $100 with a 3-year plan. There are rumors that Telus will offer discounted monthly pricing as part of its aggressively marketing campaign as the same phone is now available on Bell for as low as $29.95 on a 3-year plan. There is nothing different than the current GSM version already available on Rogers.
Canadian CDMA carriers Telus and Bell are set to launch the iPhone 3G S on Nov 5, and Nov 4, respectively. The companies have now announced pricing for the devices.
