Hasta La Gadget!

The Samsung Galaxy S II has yet to make its US debut, but it looks like our neighbors to the north will be getting it as early as next month. Yesterday, Canada’s SaskTel announced via Twitter that it would launch the phone “within the next month,” making it the first North American carrier to confirm the S II. Earlier this month, it looked as if Verizon would be the first to bring the device to the New World, but our hopes were crushed when the carrier debunked rumors of a July launch. It remains to be seen whether Sasktel’s announcement will pave the way for a wider North American release, but we’ll let you know as soon as we hear more.

Galaxy S II coming to SaskTel next month, we embark on northward migration originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 07:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Regardless of how you might feel about the potential dangers of electromagnetic radiation, it came in mighty handy today — identifying this brand-new Sony S2 tablet headed to the USA. The FCC recently got a glimpse at Sir Howard’s dual-screen Honeycomb clamshell, and thanks to the public portion of their reports, we’ve got some crucial specs: the Sony “SGPT211US” will sport 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, and most tellingly, 850MHz and 1900MHz 3G bands suggesting a launch on AT&T. Now, those frequencies are certainly also used by several prominent Canadian carriers, but it just so happens that this particular model tested is a US variant — with others designated for Canada and Japan — and this particular cellular module is the Ericsson F5521gw, which means we could even be looking at 21Mbps HSPA+ speeds. Before you start speculating, however, there’s one more crucial spec to share: the prototypes apparently have a removable 3080mAh lithium-ion battery pack. Swell.

Continue reading Sony’s dual-screen S2 tablet hits the FCC, boasting AT&T-ready cellular frequencies

Sony’s dual-screen S2 tablet hits the FCC, boasting AT&T-ready cellular frequencies originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Jun 2011 23:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thunderbolt (formerly known as Light Peak) may have been developed by Intel, but it’s Apple that’s been snatching up all the trademark glory. The company first filed in November of 2010 in Jamaica, then followed up in February of this year by securing the rights to the name in Canada, before registering similar claims in Europe, China, and now the US. This raised some interesting questions about Intel’s claim to be the exclusive trademark holder (see the more coverage link) and whether or not other companies would be able to use the Thunderbolt brand. Intrigued, we did a little digging and you’ll find what we uncovered after the break.

Continue reading Why Apple is trademarking Thunderbolt and why Sony might be left out

Why Apple is trademarking Thunderbolt and why Sony might be left out originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 May 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As even non-Canadians may recall, there was a big issue in the country a few years back over a so-called “iPod tax” (something that cropped up again in the recent election) and, while it still hasn’t come to pass, the Canadian Private Copying Collective is now pushing for a music tax of another sort. While there’s no iPods in danger of being taxed this time, the CPCC is asking for a new levy to be placed on memory cards (presumably all types, although that hasn’t been specified). That levy would vary depending on the capacity of the card, with those less than 1GB facing a $0.50 tax, while cards between 1GB and 8GB would have an additional dollar tacked on, and those over 8GB would cost a full $3 more. Needless to say, that would be a fairly sizable percentage of the price in most cases given the way memory card prices are dropping — and it would cast a fairly broad brush, as those memory cards obviously aren’t just used for music. Of course, it is also still just a proposal but, as the Excess Copyright blog notes, the peculiarities of the Canadian Copyright Board may well give the CPCC a leg up in this case. Head on past the break for its official announcement.

Continue reading Canadian copyright group pushes for levy on memory cards

Canadian copyright group pushes for levy on memory cards originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 13:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The FCC may be sticking with its target of 4Mbps broadband for everyone in the United States, but it looks like the CRTC thinks Canada can do one (megabit) better. The regulatory agency has just set its own target of 5Mbps download speeds and 1 Mbps upload speeds for all Canadians — a goal that it says must be met by 2015. Those speeds, the agency notes, must be actual speeds not advertised ones, although it’s not yet going as far as to declare internet access a basic service to ensure that happens. The CRTC says instead that it prefers to rely on “market forces” for the time being, rather than subsidies that would come with such a declaration. Of course, while 5Mbps is faster than the FCC’s target, it’s still well short of some of the more ambitious broadband goals of other countries around the world — Finland, for instance, has already declared that 1Mbps broadband a legal right and is promising to bring 100Mbps speeds to everyone by 2015.

CRTC sets target of 5Mbps broadband for all Canadians by 2015 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 18:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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