MobileSyrup.com » Fido

Fido BlackBerry Q10 and Samsung Galaxy S4 prices

Ian Hardy — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:23:38 +0000

Fido is one of the carriers that will be launching the BlackBerry Q10 and Samsung Galaxy S4 this week. Both vastly different devices and they’ve now been priced. According to Fido’s website, the Q10 will retail for $650 outright and $350 on a 2-year contract. As for the Galaxy S4, an internal doc we received reveals that Fido will match other carriers at $700 outright, but have this available to existing customers for $200 ona 3-year (same as other carriers), and $450 on a 2-year.

The Q10 will be available May 1st and the GS4 will hit stores on May 3rd.

Source: Fido
(Thanks tipster!)

Fido Motorola RAZR finally receiving the Jelly Bean update

Ian Hardy — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:26:50 +0000

Reports from readers today, plus this screenshot below, reveal that Android OS 4.1.2 Jelly Bean has arrived for Fido users who are rocking the original Motorola RAZR (XT910). The file size is about 250MB and it should be there waiting for you: press Menu >> Settings >> About phone >> System software updates >> Check now. Let us know in the comments below if you’ve received it.

(Thanks Barrie!)

Rogers and Fido customers can now reserve the Galaxy S 4

Ian Hardy — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:11:05 +0000

Most of the carriers started Galaxy S 4 ‘pre-registration’ this week. Eager Canadians could drop down their contact info and be updated on the latest info about its pending release. However, if you’re wanting to secure your GS4 on launch day – which is coming up at the end of this month – then Rogers and Fido have both gone live with pre-orders via their “online reservation systems.” So far this is only available for existing customers and you’ll have to put a deposit of $40 down. In addition, it looks like the 16GB version in “Black Mist” and “White Frost” are currently, but no word on the 32GB version.

Update: We’ve heard back from Rogers and they stated that “It’s only the 16GB version that’s available at this time.”

Go forth here at Rogers and Fido.

Fido sheds the 2-year contract, rebrands to a new Tab system

Ian Hardy — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:22:08 +0000

Fido has shifted their offering once again. Gone are the 2-year contracts and in its place is a new Tab system. This is similar to Koodo Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Eastlink. Fido states that the Fido Agreement is now the “Tab24″ and “Tab36.”

The fine print states that “Tab24/Tab36 corresponds to the Fido Agreement described in your agreement. Tab24/Tab36 balance corresponds to sum of Device savings recovery fee and/or service deactivation fee stated in your agreement.” Fido customers can “breathe easy” because your “balance reduces by the same amount every month and will be cleared in 24 months” – basically until the outright price is paid off in full. In addition, Fido notes that customers can “upgrade to a new phone whenever you want.”

The Tab 24 are for Android and BlackBerry devices, while the Tab 36 is solely reserved for the iPhone.

Update: Fido sent us a 3-step process on how the new Tab system works:

1. Choose a smartphone with an eligible term plan – the price and savings will depend on the device you choose, but we’ll spot the majority of the upfront full device cost. The remaining amount is your Fido Tab24 or Tab36 balance.

2. Every month into your term, the Tab24 balance automatically decreases

3. Want to upgrade your smartphone? Simply pay off the Tab24 or Tab 36 balance and you’ll be eligible to upgrade to the device you want

Source: Fido
(Thanks General Tao!)

Fido rolls out new “Device Protection” service

Ian Hardy — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:06:44 +0000

Following the footsteps of parent-company Rogers, sub-brand Fido has rolled out its “Device Protection” service. This comes at a monthly cost and “picks up where the manufacturer’s warranty leaves off.” There are 3-tiers of pricing and range from $8/month to $12/month (for the iPhone). This protects your device from damage, loss, theft and also includes the Fido “TechXpert” service – which is basically a Fido rep that can answer any device related question in-person, over the phone or online.

There’s a bunch of fine print that you should read over before signing up, such as the “service replacement fee” for device replacements, and that “Lost/stolen coverage not included in Saskatchewan, Québec and Newfoundland.”

Check it out here at Fido

You guessed it: Fido also doubles minutes and data in newest promo

Ian Hardy — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:00:28 +0000

In a push to increase Q1 subscriber numbers carriers have come out with several new promos. Last week Koodo Mobile doubled up the minutes and data in their plans. As expected, rival sub-brand Fido has come forward and done the same. Slightly different pricing, but the same theme of doubling down on minutes and data on their “Smart Plans.” The basic $40/month plan jumps to 300 minutes and 400MB data, then the $50/month plan sees the minutes increase to 500 with 1GB data. The top of the heap $60/month plan gives Unlimited minutes and 2GB data.

Check them out here at Fido
(Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)

Update: $22,000 roaming bill caused son to go “into a fetal position” and cry

Ian Hardy — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:28:55 +0000

Yet another wireless “bill shock” from roaming while on vacation has surfaced. We’ve seen this too many times – see here, here and here.

This time around it’s Matt Buie, a financial planner from Burnaby B.C., and his 11-year-old son Mike. Here’s the details of this soap opera: the family has an iPhone hooked onto Fido and took a trip down to Mexico. They decided not to purchase a roaming package and before arriving, by the advise from the Apple Store, put the iPhone on ‘airplane mode’ to ensure he won’t receive any roaming charges. While basking in the sun Mike gets sunburnt and his parents say he can chill in the hotel room to play video games on the iPhone. This apparently lasted 3 days. Beyond playing games, 11-year-old Mike turned off airplane mode and started to stream about 12-hours of YouTube videos. According to Rogers the bill quickly skyrocketed to 700 megabytes of data and a baffling $22,000 charge.

Buie said “When I heard $22,000 and my son happened to hear $22,000, he went into a fetal position and was crying. It was just mind boggling for him.”

Fido, owned by Rogers, has safe measures in place to alert customers of roaming overages. In this case Fido sent a text message to Buie and stated his account was going to be turned off “for security reasons” due to “excessively high” data charges. Buie said “I made a mistake here — as his father — and he made a mistake. He turned off the airplane mode and was watching YouTube videos. I should have taken the SIM card out… or not let him use the phone. That’s guilt that I have to live with. I clearly should have known better.”

Fido immediately reduced the amount down from $22,000 to a manageable $2,200. However, even though he acknowledged this massive charge is his error, Buie thinks Fido isn’t doing enough. “It is gouging. It is $20 in Mexico [for domestic customers] to get the same amount of data [700 MB] from their carrier and it is $40 to get the same amount of data while in Canada… I don’t think many Canadians would actually escalate this to the degree that I am doing here, but one of the reasons I am doing this is, this is just wrong and unfair business practices.”

Jennifer Kett, Rogers spokesperson, stated “It’s very unfortunate this customer had this experience. When this type of situation happens, we have internal processes in place to identify these customers and their usage prior to their bill being sent out and then we proactively work with them towards a resolution.”

Buie is willing to pay Fido a total of $200 for, again, his error. Surely as a wise financial planner Buie is prepared for life’s unexpected emergencies.

Update: Fido has surprisingly agreed to reduce the bill to $500. VERY nice of them.

Source: CBC

Fido changes rate plans around to include voicemail, call display and Canada-wide calling

Ian Hardy — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 01:15:31 +0000

To keep up with the competition, namely Koodo and Virgin, Fido seems to have revamped their plans today. According to their website they now show that all plans – still called Standard, Smart and Max – are priced between $25 and $80 and now include voicemail, call display and Canada wide calling. The downer is that they’ve also changed the “Evenings and weekends” calling from 5pm to 6pm.

Source: Fido
(Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)

Fido launches the Samsung Galaxy SII LTE and the Galaxy Ace IIx

Ian Hardy — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:08:50 +0000

Fido has added a couple more Android devices to their lineup today. As expected, the Samsung Galaxy SII LTE and the entry-level Galaxy Ace IIx. The price points are reasonable – GSII LTE comes in at $50 on a 2-year or $450 outright. As for the Ace IIx this bottoms out at $0 on a 2-year and $225 outright.

These are two very different devices. The GS II LTE has a 4.5-inch display, runs Ice Cream Sandwich, 1.5Ghz processor, 1GB RAM, 8MP camera that shoots 1080p HD videos. The Galaxy Ace IIx has a smaller display at 4-inches, a 1Ghz single-core processor, 5MP camera, Wi-Fi and 1GB RAM.

Check them out here at Fido

Nexus 4 back in stock at Fido, now available to all

Ian Hardy — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:11:05 +0000

Quick update regarding the Nexus 4 on Fido. When this pure Android device was released a few weeks ago it was apparently only available to current Fido customers to reserve through the online reservation system –
new customers would have to wait. Now a couple weeks later the Nexus 4 has once again arrived online and ready for all to activate – new and existing customers. The price is the same at $100 on a 2-year or $425 outright.

Source: Fido
(Thanks Jean Francois & Gurinder!)