Not to be the last to the party, we are bringing you our picks for the best smartphones currently available on Telus. Until recently, Telus was thought to have a fairly underwhelming choice of smartphones but they’ve recently augmented that with a couple high-end bangers.

Check out our list below:

Winner: HTC Amaze 4G

The HTC Amaze is one of the best phones of the year, period. It’s fast, more so than the other Android smartphones that use the same chipset. It’s well-constructed without being cumbersome. It’s got a fantastic camera and dedicated shutter buttons for both still and video. It’s got a gorgeous qHD display that, while it doesn’t match the fidelity of HD screen like the Galaxy Nexus, holds its own.

It’s also running Sense 3.0 on top of Android 2.3.5, and without being coy about it, does the job about as well as any other device on the market. While we’ve cooled to HTC’s Sense UI overall, everyone on the Amaze just seems to gel together perfectly, and that’s more than we can say for the majority of smartphones today.

The HTC Amaze is available from Telus for $79.99 on a 3-year term and $599.99 outright.

This year Bell seems to have had more exclusive Android phones than any other company. They seem to get them first, and keep them longest. They are also currently the only carrier with the Galaxy Nexus, they were the first with the Galaxy S II and the only one with a HD-LTE device in the LG Optimus Eye. But there are a bunch of other devices we like, so read on to see which one we like the best.

Winner: Galaxy Nexus

If this isn’t the phone to get this winter season, I’m not sure what is. The first device running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, it is thin, attractive and fast. It has a 720×1280 Super AMOLED HD display, a 1.2Ghz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM and a 5MP instant-shutter camera.

It’s also Google’s flagship device, which means that you’re getting a pure Android experience, an unlocked device that can be used on practically any North American carrier, and an improved build quality over the Nexus S.

Check it out for $159.95/$649.95 at Bell. We also have a two-part review (1,2) for your perusing pleasure.

We continue our Stuff We Like series with an inexpensive portable speaker that actually sounds great. Nokia makes a lot of accessories and peripherals, including headphones and Bluetooth headsets. But one thing they aren’t necessarily known for are portable speakers.

The MD11 is a single — but stereo-capable — speaker that is completely portable and self-contained. Powered by three AAA batteries it can provide 30 hours of music; with its built-in 3.5mm stereo cable, it will take input from any compatible device. The concept is simple and powerful.

To honour the launch of Path 2.0, easily one of the most beautiful Android (and iOS) apps released to date, we’d like to give a shout-out to five beautifully-designed Android apps. While Android has always been me-too sibling in the mobile platform rivalry, especially when it comes to app design, there are a few fastidious developers who work hard to bring out the potential in Google’s popular OS.

Obviously this is not an exhaustive list, and if you have some great examples let us know in the comments and we’ll add them to our next round-up!

This winter, it’s going to be hard to choose from so many devices, so we’re breaking it down by network.

Rogers users have a lot of choice, but we’d recommend one device over all others:

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S II LTE

This phone has all the great things we want in a smartphone: a gorgeous Super AMOLED display, a fast dual-core processor and LTE speeds. It’s light and comfortable in the hand with better build quality than the rest of the Galaxy S II line.

Samsung’s TouchWIZ4 overlay is minimalistic and super-quick, and the 1.5Ghz processor is one of the fastest on the market. With an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade coming early next year, this phone is as futureproof as they come.

Learn more at Rogers

Runner-up: Motorola RAZR

This thin phone packs a heck of a punch. While not quite up to the same performance standards as set by the Galaxy S II LTE, the dual-core 1.2Ghz processor is fast, and Motorola’s Android skin is really attractive. It is made of aluminum and Kevlar, with a water-resistant Gorilla Glass front.

With cool features such as Smart Actions and MOTOCAST, the Motorola RAZR reinvents the brand for the smartphone age.

Learn more at Rogers

Can’t get better than free these days. Santa Dash was just made available in the BlackBerry App World. It’ll help pass the time this holiday season.

“Help guide Santa and his reindeer across the rooftops while avoiding chimneys or crashing into the buildings or the ground below, all while managing Santa’s speed. With the sugar-rush of candy canes and milk and cookies, Santa and his reindeer can reach break-neck speeds, or you can use snow piles and Christmas trees to slow down the sleigh’s acceleration. Too fast or too slow can end in a holiday mishap, so you’ll need to be careful!”

Grab it here from the App World
Via: CrackBerry

Well, this didn’t take long… the scaled down Sony Ericsson Xperia ray was only released a couple weeks ago. Future Shop has dropped it to free on a 3-year this week – a solid entry-level and incredibly thin Android smartphone. Something to consider. Read our full review here.

As the holiday season nears, we’re going to run an occasional series called Stuff We Like. In this edition, we look at extended batteries.

Everyone runs out of juice. Whether you’re taking too many photos or chatting away for hours, your smartphone battery has a finite life. Unless you want to constantly be near a wall outlet, you have to be prepared. Some people prefer to have an external battery back such as the ZAGGspark, while others like high-capacity replacement batteries for their devices.

Mugen Power is one of the top brands for extended batteries in the mobile industry. They not only supply high-capacity cells for specific devices, but custom-designed battery covers to keep everything together.

The company sent us three replacement batteries to try: a 3600mAh cell for the HTC Sensation; a 3200mAh cell for the Samsung Galaxy S II; and a 1500mAh “shell” for the iPhone 4(S).

The Sensation battery essentially triples the battery life of the existing 1520mAh battery, but doubles the thickness of the phone in the process. With the custom battery cover on, which is made of high-grade plastic instead of aluminum, the phone measures 23mm from the original 11.3mm. While it may seem like this would make the phone too heavy and uncomfortable to use, we found the extra weight and size extremely manageable.

In terms of battery life, we used the device almost constantly for two days and by the end of the second day we still had nearly 25% battery life left. If you’re used to your Android device dying by 6pm, this battery will be a lifesaver.

The iPhone battery pack, which resembles the Mophie Juicepack series in its design, is a little clunky, but its 1500mAh battery pack kept our iPhone 4S chugging along for nearly twice the length of its regular battery. Plugging in your iPhone to the Mugen Power case charges the phone battery first, and once it hits 100% will then power the phone from the pack itself. This ensures that even if the battery case depletes, your iPhone will still have sufficient charge to continue alone.

We depleted the iPhone 4S down to 0% and placed it into the Mugen Power battery case. After charging quite quickly, the pack died with the phone at 86% charge. While it doesn’t manage to literally double battery life, it does almost as well.

The Galaxy S II fares a little bit in terms of aesthetics, as the extended battery itself isn’t quite as big, nor is the phone thick in the first place. We could easily see ourselves using the Galaxy S II with the extended battery full time. In terms of overall battery performance, we found it gave us an extra 10-15 hours on a single charge over the stock 1650mAh battery.

Pick up your Mugen Power battery on their website. They have extremely reasonable, duty-free shipping to Canada and are a perfect present for the phone obsessed friend or family member in your life.

The holiday rush is happening and a new poll by RBC reminds us that there are only 32 shopping days left. Their new study shows that Canadians are planning to spend an average of $640 on gifts this year, up from $624 last year. RBC also states that some people will go over budget, causing headaches when it comes to paying of debt. From 2010 stats, one third of “holiday shoppers who went over budget spent an average of $429 more than they intended”. The survey was conducted to clearly promote their various Savings accounts, but to stay on track they gave some tips on how to save:

1. Curb your impulses. Count to 30 before impulse buying in a store, or wait 24 hours before making an online shopping decision.

2. Pay yourself first. Make your savings plan part of your bill paying routine, just like cable, utilities and mortgage payments.

3. Track your expenses. Make a list of all your expenditures over three months to see where there are opportunities to turn spending into saving.

4. Keep a separate savings account. Set up an account dedicated to savings; in this way, your savings won’t get mixed in with your day-to-day cash.

5. Set a target date for your savings goal. Having a deadline can help you decide how much to put away and how often.

6. Visualize your savings goal. Are you saving for a vacation? A big screen TV? Keep a photo of your dream on hand, to inspire you to continue saving.

Source: CNW

Probably one of the classic holiday stories is A Charlie Brown Christmas, this has been around for eons and is keeping its tradition alive by making it available on the iPad. Beyond just a book, the app has an interactive portion to it as you can get your kids to catch snowflakes, plus it has a fingerprint app built-in and music so you can sing-along. Good use of downtime and it’ll cost you $6.99.

More here via Apple’s App Store and the Android Market