The base price is $20/month and steadily increases to $50/month, but apart from the addition of unlimited text and picture messaging, Koodo’s cut the number of Anytime Minutes you have by up to 50%, depending on the plan. However, on the plus side the prices have slightly dropped. Here are the complete details of what to expect on Friday:

Canada-Wide Plans:
$20/month:
- 25 Anytime minutes (was previously 50 minutes)
- Canada-wide Calling and Unlimited Canada-wide Family Calling
- Unlimited Weekends (was not previously offered)
- Call Display, Voicemail, Call Waiting and Conference Calling
- Unlimited Text and Picture Messaging (was previously up to 50 Text Messages)
- Pay-per-Use data

$25/month:
- 50 Anytime minutes (was previously 100 minutes)
- Canada-wide Calling and Unlimited Canada-wide Family Calling
- 7PM Unlimited Evening and Weekends
- Call Display, Voicemail, Call Waiting and Conference Calling
- Unlimited Text and Picture Messaging (was previously up to 50 Text Messages)
- Pay-per-Use data

$28/month was previously $30/month):
- 100 Anytime minutes (was previously 150 minutes)
- Canada-wide Calling and Unlimited Canada-wide Family Calling
- 5PM Unlimited Evening and Weekends
- Call Display, Voicemail, Call Waiting and Conference Calling
- Unlimited Text and Picture Messaging (was previously up to 50 Text Messages)
- Pay-per-Use data

$38/month (was previously $40/month):
- 150 Anytime minutes (was previously 250 minutes)
- Canada-wide Calling and Unlimited Canada-wide Family Calling
- 7PM Unlimited Evening and Weekends
- Call Display, Voicemail, Call Waiting and Conference Calling
- Unlimited Text and Picture Messaging (was previously up to 50 Text Messages)
- Pay-per-Use data

$50/month:
- Unlimited Anytime minutes
- Canada-wide Calling and Unlimited Canada-wide Family Calling
- Unlimited Evening and Weekends
- Call Display, Voicemail, Call Waiting and Conference Calling
- Unlimited Text and Picture Messaging (was previously up to 50 Text Messages)
- Pay-per-Use data

Now for the Canada-Wide Promo Plans – basically they stay the same at the $30, $45 and $60/month rates, but have doubled the number of Anytime minutes and data each receives. So essentially a better deal all around as the $60/month plan tops out at Unlimited talk/text, VM, CD, and 2GB data.

Look for these to go live tomorrow.
(Thanks tipster!)

But with the Lumia 710, a much more powerful device in almost every regard, available for the same cost, is there room in Canada for the Lumia 610? And, judged on its own merit, does it make a splash? Available for $200 outright on Koodo and $229.99 on TELUS, let’s see if this Lumia lights the way.

Specs:

- Windows Phone Tango OS
- 800Mhz single-core processor
- 256MB RAM / 8GB internal storage
- 5MP camera with flash
- VGA video capture
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS
- 1300mAh battery
- 119 x 62 x 12 mm
- 131.5g

Build Quality and Screen

The Lumia 610 is solid and hefty in a way an increasing number of entry-level smartphones have managed to be. The HTC One V and Desire C come to mind, as well as the Lumia 710, and the 610 stands on its sibling’s shoulders. There’s an accomplished design sensibility to the phone that only Nokia could have earned. Its smooth corners and swooping-S battery door are modern-looking, and though the company saves some money by using “plain jane” plastic over the scratch-resistant polycarbonate of the Lumia 800, I never questioned the robustness of the phone.

The three main buttons are on the right side of the phone: volume near the top; power in the middle; camera shutter on the bottom. Below the display’s glass are three capactivite touch buttons that respond eagerly to presses. On the back is a 5MP camera with LED flash, but there is no front-facing camera to take advantage of the new Skype app.

The screen is deeply recessed and clearly does not match the fidelity of the 800 or even the ClearBlack LCD nature of the 710, and is the phone’s biggest weakness. Colours are muted, viewing angles are awful, and the phone suffers from glare even in the most forgiving of environments. But it’s also WVGA and therefore has a better pixel density than the majority of phones at the same price point.

Nokia’s newest and most inexpensive phone gives a great first impression.

Software & Performance

Despite being equipped with an 800Mhz processor and 256MB of RAM, the Lumia 610 did not perform demonstrably poorer than any Windows Phone I’ve used before. That’s because Microsoft spent a great deal of time optimizing the “Tango” code to be more conservative in its memory usage and disallowing apps that have yet to adhere to those alterations.

Windows Phone has always behaved extremely well, and the Lumia 610 is no exception. Apps load quickly, games play smoothly and home screen animations lose none of their alacrity. Indeed, were I to have not known that the Lumia 610 came with lower specs than many of its peers, I likely wouldn’t have been able to tell a difference.

Indeed, the only major issue with app compatibility on the Lumia 610 is in the Xbox Live category, where just under 25% of games are not compatible. That number shrinks to around 1.5% when you consider the entire Windows Phone catalogue, but be aware that 3D games such as The Sims 3 and NFS: Hot Pursuit will not install on the 610. Keep in mind, too, that due to the slower processor web pages in Internet Explorer take a few seconds longer to load than on the Lumia 710.

The Lumia 610 comes pre-installed with Windows Phone Tango, the not-so-sequel to Mango that adds (obviously) compatibility with lower-memory devices, but also augments a few features of the device. MMS improvements are on board; so too is a little icon in the notification bar when GPS is being used. These little things don’t change the overall look or feel of the OS but flesh out its completeness. Windows Phone is still very much an operating system in its infancy and suffers from an incomplete notification system, poor customization options and a lack of compelling apps.

It does, however, have a few advantages over its iOS and Android competitors. The Live Tile system is fantastic, and as more developers take advantage of the expanded APIs in Windows Phone 7.5, the more useful the information one can glean from an app without opening it. WP’s mail app is astoundingly powerful, too, and is an example of how austerity can triumph over features. Microsoft bundles Office Suite with Windows Phone, though it’s still quite limited and cannot compete with suites on iOS and Android such as QuickOffice.

Nokia’s suite of apps, including Drive, Maps, Transit, Camera Extras, Play To, Trailers and Creative Studio are among the best on the platform, and the Lumia 610 can take advantage of them all. Drive and Transit are, for me, reason alone to invest in Nokia over any other Windows Phone vendor.

Camera

The Lumia 610, like all Windows Phones, can shoot from sleep by holding down the camera shutter button. In fact, the camera experience on the 610 is identical (in a good way) to its more-expensive peers, though the same cannot be said about the quality of the photos themselves.

The 5MP sensor is another area in which Nokia cut costs. Details are washed out, shots are often overexposed, and though the shutter is impressively quick, photos are often blurry. Thankfully the low-cost device comes equipped with a flash, something that can’t be said for Android devices in the same price range.

You have all the requisite tweaks and settings such as White Balance, Exposure Values and ISO to play with, and there are preset Effects such as Black & White and Sepia. For video, you’re limited to VGA quality (640×480), something we’ve come to expect from devices with sub-1Ghz processors.

Battery Life

The Lumia 610 is not a powerhouse, nor is it particular power-hungry, and I found myself to be quite satisfied with the end results. On average, the device lasted between 16 and 24 hours with regular use (meaning I would use it the whole day and leave it on before I went to sleep. There was usually 5-10% battery remaining when I woke up).

The device comes with a removable 1300mAh cell, so if you’re a heavy user you can always order another one to have on hand. You’re unlikely to need one, though, as Windows Phone in general and Nokia devices in particular typically have excellent uptime.

Audio, Network Speed and Storage

Nokia’s Lumia 610 has excellent call quality over TELUS’ network, though its network performance is hampered by a slow baseband chip. This is neither a “faux-G” nor a LTE device, and is limited to speeds of 7.2Mbps down. As a result, web page rendering was considerably slower than on the Lumia 710 or 800 — remember, there’s a 600Mhz difference in processor speed, too.

There’s 8GB of internal storage in this Lumia, but only 6.5GB is available to the user. Still, it’s the same amount as the Lumia 710 and we have to give Nokia props for that.

Conclusions

As an entry-level smartphone, the $200 Lumia 610 is pretty competitive, especially when paired with a low-cost plan from Koodo. On TELUS it’s a bit more difficult a decision, as Rogers sells the 710 for the same $229.99 price outright. While there are certainly some benefits over the similarly-priced HTC One V, it’s hard to recommend a Windows Phone over an HTC device running the latest version of Android. Google’s OS may not be as consistently smooth but it’s considerably more versatile and has a much wider array of apps and media content.

Where Windows Phone excels is in its simplicity and user experience. The 610 feels, due to Microsoft’s lean operating system, like a phone double its price. That is until you attempt to load a webpage or download a 3D game. At $200 the Lumia 610 is an excellent deal, but it’s not cheap enough to make us forget about the far-superior Lumia 710.

In addition, our tipster let us know that Koodo will be doing something different for then but similar to Wind Mobile… for those customers who pay their monthly bill on time for 3 consecutive months Koodo will unlock your phone for you.

We’ll have more info soon.
Check out the Koodo SIM/HSPA inventory shot here
Check out the Koodo Nokia 3710 here

(Thanks B!)

When looking at the VE440 you would think it’s a cheap phone, granted it’s available at Koodo for $125 or $0.00 on the Tab, but it does come with some great features. More importantly the device is incredibly light at 95 grams and really thin, the overall dimensions are 49.4mm x 113mm x 14.4mm. You’ll see in the video that Motorola has occupied the device with quick access with dedicated buttons to the most important features such as the music, camera, speakerphone and voice commands.

It sound like it has it all, however using the phone with the small, non-QWERTY keypad might be frustrating as we’re all getting used to having these kinds of devices around. But if you’re looking for an entry-level phone that can do a little bit more then this is a good choice. The screen size fits the design of the phone well, comes in at 1.9 inch screen (resolution of 176 x 220). This does have a downside though… specifically viewing pictures & surfing the web.

The 1.3 megapixel camera gives the quality you would expect and has some great customizations available such as the slideshow options, editing and sending via your Text & Picture Messaging. The call quality was great – no dropped calls and we were heard loud and clear, but the batter life will only last you about 3 hours (talk time).

If you’re into music, this can hold up to 8GB with a microSD card so you can load up all your favourite songs. Overall the VE440 is a great entry phone, perfect for the Koodo Mobile lineup.

The Samsung Intensity (u450) really surprised me. From looking at the device you’d think it’s just another basic phone, however the slight curves adds a sense of style and the slide-out QWERTY keyboard adds a sense of ease.

The Intensity is available at Koodo Mobile and TELUS. We reviewed the Koodo Mobile version and was impressed. It honestly feels like you are getting more phone for the value. The display is 2.1 inches and has a resolution of 176 x 220, decent screen size for doing all your messaging. The most standout part of this messaging device is the full QWERTY keyboard. It’s well designed and your thumbs won’t get caught in between keys making many mistakes. There is a directional pad for assisting you in getting to the places you want to go faster, plus quick access button to the messaging.

Overall dimensions of Intensity are 108 x 53 x 16.5mm and it weighs in at only 113.7 grams. Other key features is the fact that this can hold up to 16GB with a microSD card and comes with an Mp3 player and has a 2.5mm headset jack. You’ll see in the video that I tested out the speakers and this little thing has some quality sound to it. For the camera, it only has a 1.3 megapixel camera. Nothing to go crazy over but great for taking quick pics and sending them to your buddies. Easy to view with either the directional pad or the directional keys.

The only downside I found about the Intensity was when I went to surf the web, not only was it frustrating using the direction pad/keys, but the display did not make it a fun experience, the pages loaded slow and text/images were a bit crammed in which makes it hard to read.

Call quality was high, never a muffled or distorted sound and the battery life was decent (960 mAh battery). I had to recharge after a couple days of occasional use.

You can get the Intensity at Koodo Mobile for $200 outright or $50 on the Tab.
In addition, this is available at TELUS on the following plans:
3-year contract: $29.99
2-year contract: $129.99
1-year contract: $179.99
No contract: $229.99

Koodo Mobile released 2 new devices a few days ago, the Samsung Intensity and Motorola VE440. We took a few moments to unbox these and show you what you can expect to get inside yours if/when you decide to purchase them.

The Intensity has a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard and really feels like a solid device. It comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera, can hold up to 16GB with a microSD card. The Motorola VE440 has an interesting shape to it, somewhat slanted and what I like about this phone are the keys, they are actually just the perfect size for teh overall shape of the device. The VE440 comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera, MP3 player (has dedicated music keys), can hold up to 8GB with a microSD card.

We’ll do a full review of both of these new additions to Koodo’s line-up. Check back soon!

Just as planned, Koodo has released a couple texting devices to their lineup – the Samsung Intensity & Motorola VE440.

You can get the Intensity, which Koodo says “Fingers love it” for $200 outright or $50 on the Tab. The “sporty looking device” Motorola VE440 is available for $125 outright or $0.00 on the Tab.

The Intensity has a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 2.1″ display (resolution of 176 x 220). In addition it has a 1.3 megapixel camera, Mp3 player, expandable microSD slot to store up to 16GB with overall dimensions of 108 x 53 x 16.5 mm and weighs in at 113.7 grams.

The Motorola VE440 has a 1.3 megapixel camera with a MP3 player (has dedicated music keys), can hold up to 8GB with a microSD card, Bluetooth compatible, speakerphone and Voice-activated dialing. The overall dimensions of
49.4mm x 113mm x 14.4mm and weighs in at 95 grams.

More here at Koodo

This didn’t take very long! It was only August 5th that TELUS released the Motorola Rival and just as predicted in our video review – Koodo Mobile has just made this available also.

The Motorola Rival A455 is a side slider with a full QWERTY keyboard and comes only in silver. This has a few touchscreen features, one-touch access to text messaging, emoticons buttons and IM, 2.2-inch screen and a 2 megapixel camera with video capabilities. Overall dimensions of the Rival are 50mm x 96.5mm x .100.3mm and weighs in at 124 grams.

The original price of this is $225, but has gone straight on sale to $200 outright. Or you can use the Tab and pay only $50.
More here at Koodo

Thanks Alec!

This has 2 two color displays: internal is 1.9 inches (176 x 220 pixels) and external is 96 x 80 pixels and also comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera (4x digital zoom) with video capabilities, MP3 Player with expandable microSD memory slot up to 4GB, Bluetooth and speakerphone. This weighs in at 3.8 ounces and has overall dimensions of 1.9 x 3.9 x 0.7 inches.

Check out our review from the TELUS version:

Koodo Mobile has released a basic flip phone to their line up, the LG 5500. This can be yours for $175 outright or $25 with the Tab.

This flip phone is only available in Black and barely has a camera (0.3 megapixels with digital zoom). The 5500 has a large keypad so you won’t get frustrated typing your text messages. In addition it has Bluetooth capabilities, Speakerphone with Voice dial and commands, a 500-entry phone book with the standard Calculator, alarm and world clock and has overall dimensions of 90.5 x 46.9 x 18.7 mm with a weight of 86.6 grams.

(FYI, the LG 5500 is also available at TELUS on prepaid for $99.99)

More here at Koodo Mobile