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Thoughts from CES 2012

MobileSyrup — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:27:57 +0000

The lights never seem to dim in Vegas. Even at 4am, when the sun is slowly rising in the east, the city itself seems to be emitting some sort of warble, an obsequious challenge to sleep less and spend more.

CES itself is much the same. This is not an event for the general public, but the place for companies to show off their upcoming flagship products, and make business deals that affect everyone. With three main halls, each of which take hours to navigate in a confused haze of caffeine and hunger pangs, there is no end to the potential for great news reporting.

But it was in this environment that we spent four days immersed in tech, scurrying around talking with various representatives soaking up the what’s new. The feeling is a little like being drunk: you exist on adrenaline, fawning over the few important device announcements and then, once exhausted, continuing to wander the expansive fluorescent hallways like a zombie. But the genius is in the scale: there is a sheer surplus of material to write about — some good, some famously bad — but yet all very promising that someday, hopefully, will help the industry move forward.

Two mobile devices that were crowd favourites from CES 2012: the Nokia Lumia 900 and the Sony Xperia S. Both handsets are conscious evolutions of their existing product lines, but make thoughtful changes in ways that consolidate the individual components into a cohesive and attractive fullness. Both companies are coming at their prospective markets as underdogs: Sony is rebranding, removing the Ericsson from its name, and with it comes the potential for an important brand re-recognition. Nokia has a harder job: it has completely shifted its operating platform, and has a lot more to lose if its Windows Phone commitment doesn’t pan out.

But it will. It’s clear from the company’s reception throughout the show that Nokia has made its name important again in North America, and with it the Windows Phone brand. Sony, too, has been playing the mass-market consumer card, focusing on creating attractive products that don’t compete on “techs and specs,” but on overall design and performance.

Neither company, like so many of the underdogs at this show, will have an easy 2012. The clear mindset winner of the show – Samsung – is coming into the calendar year high on life, profit and market share. But it’s also clear they are not going stop innovating. Expect huge things from the company this year, from the next Galaxy phone to tablets and, perhaps more impressively, cohesive device interoperability. Samsung showcased a TV prototype in which you could use hand gestures to change channels, or your voice to search for content.

For Canadians, the relevant news was slim but good: we are getting the LTE Galaxy Note; the Lumia 800 and 710; the Xperia S. Many devices, like the Lumia 900 and Xperia Ion, US-exclusives for now, will most likely come to Canada later this year.

LG held a press conference to announce the LG Spectrum (Bell Optimus LTE) was heading to Verizon; we’ll see their full upcoming product line at Mobile World Congress in February. Meanwhile, HTC only had a small booth for the US-only Titan II. RIM showed off its fantastic-looking Playbook OS 2.0, but nothing new on the handset front (which was expected). Lenovo, Asus, Acer were all completely AWOL for Canadians, though Motorola showed off its RAZR MAXX that, if we’re lucky, will find its way north.

Mainly the show was a testament to how far the industry has come in such a short time; everything, from fridges to stoves to windows, are connected somehow to the internet, and the smartphone is the source of their power. As the “cloud” becomes fuller and more accessible, easier to use and less expensive, the smartphone will continue to be our ears, eyes and perhaps even our touch.

Thanks for following our coverage of CES 2012, and we’ll be back next year!

Bell and Solo promote $150 credit “WIND Port-in offer”

MobileSyrup — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:53:06 +0000

A few weeks back WIND Mobile came out with a promotion that encouraged people to port over to them by March 31st and they’ll be given a $150 credit (five $30 monthly installments). News today as Bell/Solo have responded and came out with their own promotion called “WIND Port-in offer”.

The offer is for Bell and Solo clients located in Ontario and Alberta and the internal doc we received says that “Bell Mobility/Solo Mobile is offering WIND clients, who previously have left, a bill credit as an incentive to switch back…. an outbound telemarketing campaign, dedicated to contacting WIND clients to persuade them to switch back with Bell Mobility/Solo Mobile and offer $150 bill credit that will be applied on their first invoice… Bell Mobility is offering a one time $150 credit.”

Looks like competition is alive and well in Canada. For those WIND customers is this a tempting offer?

Rogers increasing 911 Fee to $0.75 April 12th

MobileSyrup — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:41:28 +0000

A heads up for the Rogers wireless customers out there who have yet to check out your most recent bill. A notice has been included (and now on their website) that “the price for 911 Emergency Access Fee will be changing to $0.75 per month, plus applicable taxes as of April 12th, 2010″.

No reason has been given for the increase, but it could be a trickle down from their recent CRTC mandated investment to improved 911 services.

More here at Rogers
(Thanks Michael!)

Ericsson shows love for West Coast developers by giving access to test apps on a 3G network

MobileSyrup — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:40:39 +0000

Ericsson Canada has announced they will supply Vancouver-based Wavefront with HSPA radio access equipment and also give them access to their Montreal Test Facility. This means that all the application developers in the West Coast now have the ability to test new wireless apps “on a 3G network, in real-world situations over robust networks, to help them ready their technology for market.”

Mark Henderson, president and CEO of Ericsson Canada said “The final piece of the puzzle for most wireless applications developers is testing their technology on a large-scale network. With this connection, developers now have convenient and affordable access to such a network as well as the support of our world-leading Montreal Testing Facilities.”

More here at CNW

Rogers CEO: “customers will not be buying products per se, but buying into brands”

MobileSyrup — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:57:42 +0000

A few weeks ago Rogers created an blog called Red Board, this is a place for their social media team to start a conversation with their customers. The topics are for all Rogers products, not just wireless. In the first video interview they went to the top and interviewed Rogers President and CEO, Nadir Mohamed.

The interview is just over 2 minutes and is about what 2010 will shape up to be. There’s not much said that’s different from what we’ve heard in the past, but what is really interesting is how Nadir stated 2010 “will be a very interesting time, we really have an industry that’s transforming… it’s a whole new world. The traditional products are starting to mature, we have a whole new set of products that people are going to buy. You’ll have new players coming into the market, competition is going to be more intense. The key for us at Rogers is to stay focused on where the customer is going and build on the brand and the reputation we have… Rogers is a brand that everybody understands, it’s the place to go where there’s new stuff… More and more customers will not be buying products per se, but buying into brands… what’s the underpinning of our brand? It’s Innovation for sure, but I think one of the things we’re looking to build up is this idea that Rogers being a company that’s easy to do business with. It’s frankly not a place that I feel we’re there yet”.

It’s interesting that Nadir said the traditional products are maturing and people will buy new products, but then states that eventually people will not be buying products but buying brands. Rogers is a big Canadian company and in all sorts of markets (telecom, media, sports) and what it sounds like for them is that it’s all about joining up their “information, communication and entertainment” into a great customer experience.

The real question to ponder is if Rogers wants to be a company/brand that’s easy to do business with… how long will it take to get there and will you as a customer wait?

LG pushes out Eve maintenance release, but not to 1.6

MobileSyrup — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:25:55 +0000

For all those owners who have the Android-powered Eve (GW620R) you can now update your device as LG has pushed out a “maintenance release”. Very small updates have been put into this but those wanting to get their hands on the promised upgrade to OS 1.6 will have to wait a couple more months.

Remember to back up your device before upgrading.

Download here at LG

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 gets unboxed by Sony Ericsson

MobileSyrup — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:17:07 +0000

We had an opportunity to play with the upcoming Rogers Sony Ericsson a few weeks ago, you can check out the video here. If you want more X10 goodness, the folks over at Sony Ericsson have taken the time to unbox the upcoming Android device.

We hear the X10 will be releasing in the “coming weeks” via Rogers and will coming in around the $199.99 on a 3-year mark.

Via: EngadgetMobile and Sony Ericsson

Rogers proposes cellphone tower in B.C. cemetery

MobileSyrup — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:05:07 +0000

There’s much speculation that shows cellphone use causes cancer and many other forms of health issues. The carriers continually have issues with the public when it comes to cellphone towers and their effects… finding real estate is getting more of an concern.

Rogers has possibly found a solution as they have proposed to build a semi-permanent, 40-metre-high tower in the Port Coquitlam Cemetery (located in B.C.). Where the tower would be placed are only trees today and City Council Brad West stated “it is anticipated that this part of the cemetery will not be required for development by the city in the next 20 years”.

In addition, Council Mike Forrest also stepped up and said the the money raised would be reinvested into the cemetery and “would be extra to our budget at this point. More here

Say Hello to the LG Shine Touch, destined for TELUS?

MobileSyrup — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:26:42 +0000

LG Canada has presented an nice gift today on their website… a lovely look at the upcoming Shine Touch (KM-555)!

Even though LG has this pegged on tehir site for TELUS, it’s actually going to Rogers. The specs look really good: 3-inch touchscreen with 5 megapixel camera, video capabilities and they highlight the enabled screen, 3MP camera, WiFi, FM Radio, holds up to 16GB with a microSD card, features the ability to blare your music with Dolby mobile sound. Overall dimensions are 105.9 X 53.4 X 11.9mm with a weight of 105 grams.

Here are the full spec sheet from LG:

More here at LG

Video: The Simpsons opening scene goes iPhone

MobileSyrup — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:02:16 +0000

The iPhone has made it to an opening episode of the Simpsons. Check out the video of how Homer programs his family all with the help of an iPhone app called “couch gag”. Pretty funny:

Via: IntoMobile