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Corus Entertainment operates 52 radio stations across Canada and is proud to announce that they are the first broadcaster to develop a free iPhone app (and iPod touch).

If you are unfamiliar with Corus, you will be familiar with some of the radio stations: 102.1 the Edge, Q107, CKOI, 98,5 FM, 630 CHED, CJOB 68 and Country 105… they actually have some of the best DJ’s across Canada.

The app was developed in partnership with StreamTheWorld and you can search either by a specific Corus station, by call letters or by city. If you want to get a “buffett” of Corus stations you can use the “shake the shuffle” feature that allows you to get a random radio station. In addition, the app leverages the Dolby Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) which StreamThe World says it enhances “the listening experience at the lowest data consumption”.

David Huszar, Vice President and General Manager of Corus Radio’s interactive division said “Our radio stations need to be available wherever our listeners are, and on any device they choose to use. With the increasing popularity of the iPhone and iPod touch as the device of choice for portable entertainment, we’re thrilled to offer our listeners the convenience of accessing their favourite Corus radio station through them.”

To get this free app you can go the App Store, select Music Category and click on Corus Radio.

Via: Corus

The CRTC released an official statement that telling us consumers that our wireless service providers, current and upcoming, will have a firm deadline of 1-year to upgrade their 911 services. By February 1, 2010 the new 911 features will use GPS or “triangulation technology” where operators will be able to pinpoint a location within 10 to 300 metres.  Estimates that the cost of this will be $50-million.

Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C., Chairman of the CRTC said “With more than 20 million wireless subscribers in Canada, it is imperative that emergency responders can quickly and accurately locate those who use their cellphones to call 911. I am pleased that the industry has come forward with a technical solution, and that there is now nothing standing in the way of the implementation of enhanced 911 features. The safety and security of Canadians will be greatly improved as a result.”

Following up to the upcoming launch of the Fido Samsung f266… we have been tipped from a number of people today that have a possible launch date of February 10th.  In addition, estimated price plans $25 on a 2-year contract, or outright for $150.

As we revealed a couple weeks ago, Bell has officially released the Palm Centro. This is available in Midnight Black on the following plans with a minimum $45 voice and data:

Launch promo 3-year contract: $49.95
2-year contract: $249.95
1-year contract: $349.95
Month to Month: $399.95

The specs of the Centro are: weighs in at 119 grams with dimensions of 107 x 54 x 18.5 mm (smaller than previous Palm devices). It has full QWERTY keyboard (stylis for the touchscreen), 1.3 mega pixel camera with video capabilities, email, text, phone and Instant messenger, MP3 player and can hold up to extra 4GB of memory.

Our video review when it first launched with Rogers is here.

Brodie Keast, senior vice president of marketing for Palm, Inc said “Centro is the best example of a user-friendly smartphone that’s both fun and easy to use. Centro’s sleek and lightweight design makes it perfect for first-time smartphone users who want voice, text, email, web, contact and calendar capabilities all wrapped into one compact device.”

We say: BRING ON THE PALM PRE!
(until then… more here at Palm and Bell.ca)

If you’re a customer (prepaid or monthly) of Virgin Mobile before today you best be keeping your current plan and will not be effected by the massive average monthly rate increase of about 17%!

I must start off by stating that all plans come with Incoming Text Messages, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, Conference Calling, Monthly system access fee and the 911 Emergency Access fee. However you get pooched on some areas such as the $0.35 local and long distance charges and $0.15 outgoing text messages charges.

Majority of the monthly plans increased by about $5 per plan, plus the bundle options have also been increased. The worst part of this is the new “One-time account set up fee” that was not there before… will now cost you a $35. Their main competition is Koodo Mobile who has the same $35 fee but they state “if you activate your phone online or in-store, that fee is waived”… I wonder if Virgin will do this?

Added to the monthly plans is a new “Starter” plan for $25 per month will get a staggering 100 text messages, 100 minutes plus 1,000 evening and weekend minutes (free after 7pm).  The $30, $40 and $50 all used to all be $5 less a month with the $60 monthly plan staying the same. 

If you want to add another feature to your plan such as call display, voice mail… you will have to get a bundle package and you’ll be happy to know that the majority of these have also increased! Currently the $25 bundle stays the same. The $10 bundle will now cost you $11; $15 bundle will now cost you $18 and the $20 bundle will now cost you $22.

A few reasons we are told that the rates have increased:

1. Virgin has never been profitable since opening the doors back in March, 2005
2. New devices coming… touchscreen within the next month, more QWERTY style phones and a tip we received that seems way out in left field is the BlackBerry Storm by end of year.
3. They are looking to have more presence by building actual walk-in stores, not just kiosks in the mall.

Check them out at Virgin Mobile
(You can always join the conversation about this on our forum here)

Ever since the failed $52 billion takeover bid, Bell has had a new look on life. With their newest promo for Valentine’s Day creatively titled “Share the love” will give couple more reasons to talk on a daily basis.

When you buy a phone and build a Share plan, they are throwing in a second phone for free. The list of phones that are included are the LG Reveal, Samsung Instinict, Samsung Cleo, HTC Touch Dual, BlackBerry 8130. In addition, they will give you 3 months free when you sign up for the $10 per month Share plan.

The offer ends February 15, 2009 and as always make sure you read the fine print.

Via: Bell

Virgin Mobile will be launching the Samsung m320 by mid February – this addition will be replacing the Samsung m300, m510, LG Muziq and LG 160. Don’t worry, they’ll be adding other phones by the end of February… from what we are hearing it’s another touchscreen (probably Instinct) and a QWERTY.

The m320 is nothing new to Canada as PC Mobile has been offering this for a few months now. This is a flip phone that has a VGA camera, weight of 96 grams, Bluetooth enabled, dimensions of 94 x 47 x 19.1 mm, Internal display of 1.9″ (resolution 128 x 160), External display of 1″ (resolution 96 x 96) and speakerphone. More info soon on pricing…

Found this video online from Motorola Canada testing out the V750. This was launched by TELUS back in December and is part of their rugged line-up. The V750 meets U.S. Military specifications and Motorola tested it against heat, snow, batterly life and shock by throwing it on the ground

SpeakOut does make it easy to get a phone with them, especially if you are looking for a basic device.

They only have a limited selection of Nokia  phones (1208, 1680, 2760 and 5200) with the rates being about $0.20 per minute and $0.05 text messages. They give you free voice mail, caller ID, call waiting and 3-way calling… but the kicker comes in as they bank on you going over your minutes as they have don’t have free evenings or weekends. Going with Speak Out is honestly for those who don’t need a cell phone that much and will only use it in emergency cases… or those avoiding the police.

So they have this new promo going on called “Pay It Forward” where you can receive $10 in free airtime, this is about 50 minutes when you refer a friend to sign up a new account. If you’re a current customer all you have to do is call 1-866-310-1023 and get your referral code.

No word on when this offer expires. More info here at SpeakOut

Vancouver-based Chalk Media Corp announced that the all cash $23.1 million acquisition by RIM has been completed. Chalk Media developed the Mobile Chalkboard, an application that pushes media content (audio and video) to BlackBerry devices.

“The Arrangement was approved by Chalk securityholders at a meeting held on January 27, 2009 where holders voted in favor of the Arrangement. The Arrangement was approved by the Supreme Court of British Columbia on January 28, 2009. As a result of the Arrangement, Chalk, a member of the BlackBerry ISV Alliance Program since 2007, becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIM.”

Source: MocoNews