Hasta La Gadget!

Canadians have been enjoying a minor renaissance in wireless competition since its AWS auction allowed a slew of smaller carriers to join the fray. Unfortunately, that diversity might be shrinking soon. The Globe and Mail reportedly has documents showing that Telus has been in active talks to buy Mobilicity through a share buyout deal. While the apparent leak doesn’t mention the exact motivations, it’s thought to be a spectrum grab when LTE on major Canadian carriers primarily leans on the very AWS frequencies that Mobilicity also uses for its 3G service. Neither Telus nor Mobilicity is commenting, although we’d note that there may be a few roadblocks (however temporary) if the scoop is accurate. Rules meant to preserve competition will prevent Telus from buying any newcomers’ spectrum until early 2014, and Mobilicity left the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association just this week while accusing the industry group of being a puppet for bigger networks like Telus. If negotiations are real and still in progress, there could be some very awkward meetings ahead.

[Image credit: Andrew Currie, Flickr]

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Via: MobileSyrup (1), (2)

Source: The Globe and Mail

BlackBerry fans waiting for an opportunity to blend the BlackBerry 10 OS with a more familiar QWERTY form factor may know exactly how long they have left, at least north of the border. MobileSyrup received this pic tonight of what is purported to be an internal Rogers document, which lists the launch date for the BlackBerry Q10 as April 30th. A few other phones appear on the list as well, revealing the Canadian carrier will be offering the Nokia Lumia 520 and a couple of Doro’s PhoneEasy models. If this date holds up it’s a lot more specific than what we’d heard before — hopefully we’re not left waiting much longer for US release information.

Update: Rogers is going on the record for many more Q10 details… except the ship date. It tells us that the smartphone will cost $200 on a 3-year contract, and that Rogers will be the first (but not only) Canadian carrier with the white edition. The Q10 will also be one of the few Rogers smartphones to supplement the usual AWS-based LTE frequencies with the 2,600MHz band, the other notable example being the LG Optimus G. The more eager among us can reserve the Q10 today.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry

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Source: Mobile Syrup, Rogers

See where an appropriate amount of public pressure will get you? As promised, Rogers’ long-due rational unlocking policy is in full effect. You can now pay $50 to have Rogers unlock a device bought on contract if it’s either fully paid off or has been on the network for 90 days, making it easier to take your phone on a vacation — or to a rival carrier, if you also pony up any relevant cancellation fees. Likewise, you won’t have to make a phone call now that retail staff have resources to unlock devices in-store. We can’t say that the gesture delivers more freedom than buying already unlocked hardware like the Nexus 4, but those lured into a contract by a sweet deal on an iPhone 5 or HTC One won’t have to feel completely fenced in for the whole three years.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Wireless, Mobile

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Source: Rogers RedBoard

Samsung has announced some of its launch partners for the Galaxy S 4 which will include some 327 carriers in 155 countries. According to JK Shin, it will include global LTE roaming, with 3G and LTE models in multiple bands (up to hexa band, according to the slide). Samsung’s PR reveals it will be on all four major US carriers, plus US Cellular and Cricket, while European carriers include Deutsche Telecom, EE, H3G, Orange, Telenor, Telia Sonera, Telefonica, and Vodafone.

Update: AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint have all issued official statements to along with the launch which are included after the break. Look below for links to early registration for launch details from Samsung and the various carriers.

Update 2: Mobile Syrup has obtained a list of confirmed Canadian carriers which includes Bell, Eastlink, Fido, Koodo, Mobilicity, Rogers, SaskTel, TELUS, Videotron, Virgin Mobile and Wind Mobile.

Check out our event hub for all the action from Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 event.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile

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Source: T-Mobile, AT&T, Samsung

While viewers in the US have had access to HBO Go streaming on a varying number of platforms over the last few years, the licensing situation in Canada has, until now, made it more complicated. That’s changing today, since Astral Media is bringing its The Movie Network Go app for iOS and PCs out of beta (an Android version is “in the works and launching shortly”) with access to movies from many studios, as well as TV shows from HBO, Cinemax and Showtime. In Canada, Astral airs content licensed from our US premium networks as well as some Canadian productions and airs them on its five multiplex channels, including HBO Canada.

Some providers have already been streaming content online with setups like Rogers On Demand Online and Videotron’s Illico, but hopefully this should make the feature more widespread. Currently it’s open to customers on Bell Fiber / Satellite TV and Cogeco Cable, with Rogers due “in the coming weeks.” Specific features announced include streaming over WiFi or 3G, playback state that syncs across devices, up to three simultaneous streams and five registered devices per account and more. Check out the press release after the break for all the details and a list of some of the available content.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Mobile

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Source: TMN Go.ca, App Store