Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung’s launch of the Galaxy S 4 hasn’t been as coordinated as the company would like, but it’s making some amends with today’s launch of its flagship phone in Canada. In one fell swoop, most of the larger Canadian carriers are now offering the 16GB model for a typical $200 on a 3-year contract. Bell, Rogers and Telus (as well as their sub-brands) are covering much of the country, while more region-specific carriers like Eastlink and Videotron are also joining in. Carriers like Mobilicity and Wind Mobile aren’t yet included, however, and supplies are known to be tight — we’d ask about stock before making a trip to the local store.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

Comments

Via: MobileSyrup

Source: Bell, Rogers, Telus

Americans like to tease Canadians about their colorful (and often animal-themed) money, but we think the tables might just have turned. When the Bank of Canada issues a new $5 polymer bill this November, one side will include both the Canadarm2 and Dextre manipulator robots in tribute to the nation’s work on both the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. Let that sink in for a moment: a country’s currency will reference space robots alongside the usual politicians. The only thing dampening the awesomeness is the irony of it all, as it’s an ode to technology in a format that’s being destroyed by technology. Still, we’ll consider the $5 note a victory for geeks everywhere when we’re buying a box of Timbits.

Filed under: Robots, Transportation

Comments

Source: Bank of Canada

The road to release for the BlackBerry Q10 has certainly been a long one as it was introduced alongside the Z10 back in January, but BlackBerry has since stayed pretty tight-lipped in regards to the device. A release in Canada was first said to be expected in the “coming weeks“ earlier this month with a rumor circulating possibly having the Q10 release on April 30. It looks like that rumored release date was pretty close as BlackBerry has announced they’ll be releasing the BlackBerry Q10 starting a day later, on May 1.

Bell, Rogers and Telus will have the BlackBerry Q10 available for C$199 with a three-year contract and are currently accepting pre-orders, while smaller wireless networks like Fido, Koodo, Sasktel and Virgin Mobile will also have the device. As of now, there’s no word as to when the U.S. market will be getting their dose of BlackBerry Q10 goodness, but hopefully its release in Canada means we’re closer to its actual release.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: BlackBerry Q10 Confirmed To Cost $249 On Contract, Swype 1.5 For Android Launched,

Amazon has big plans for its incredibly successful (we guess?) Appstore on Android, which include expansion to “nearly 200 countries,” — after rolling out in Europe and Japan — but it’s asking for developers to get on board first. So that its store shelves aren’t empty when they open up in places like Brazil, Canada and Papua New Guinea, it’s securing app submissions and making sure devs opt-in to international distribution. Peter Sleeman, Director of P2 Games, is quoted in the press release claiming his company saw 4-5x sales of a recent app on Kindle Fire compared to Google Play. That feat is echoed by several others quoted, citing Amazon’s in-app purchasing system and features like GameCircle. There’s no word whether this global rollout will be followed by wider distribution of its other media services and branded hardware, but given the predictable path it’s followed so far that seems like a safe bet.

Filed under: Mobile, Amazon

Comments

Source: Amazon

Facebook promised that other countries would be getting Home for Android sometime after the US rollout, but it didn’t have much more to offer in the way of specifics at its launch event earlier this month. It turns out the wait wasn’t too long for some countries, though, as the Home app is now available for download in at least Canada and the UK. Of course, you’ll still need one of the phones already approved for use to actually run it — namely, the Samsung Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S III, HTC One X+, One X or One. As for the one phone that Home actually ships pre-installed on, the HTC First, it remains a US-exclusive on AT&T; EE and Orange have confirmed that they’ll be carrying it across the pond, but there’s still no word on Canadian availability.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Facebook

Comments

Via: Financial Post, Android Central

Source: Google Play