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Virgin Mobile has conducted another brilliant survey. This time is based all around Valentine’s Day. The survey shows that 56% of Canadians, aged 18 to 34, would rather hold their mobile phone than their partners hand.

And another staggering result is that 40% would give up their Valentine before their phone?? Whacked. Some more stats are recorded that 52% say their mobile phone is with them all day, every day. The survey was done between February 4th & 5th, 2009 of 1,000 randomly-selected Canadians.

Nathan Rosenberg, Virgin Mobile’s CMO said “Clearly, people have a deep love affair with their mobile phones, especially younger Canadians, and this survey shows just that… Virgin Mobile is happy to report that love is still alive, despite the deep bond that some people have with their mobile phone.”

Indigo Books & Music is almost set to launch the “Kindle Killer” Shortcovers by the end of February. We first wrote about them during CES this year and can be found here.

For those not familiar with Shortcovers, it’s app will be available free on iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices and basically turns your phone into a mobile bookstore. Users will be able to sample the first chapter for free, then have the option to purchase additional chapters for $0.99 if they want to continue reading.

With relationships with all major publishers the aim is to take on Amazon’s Kindle by coming in at a lower price point. CTO Michael Serbinis of Chapters Indigo said Shortcovers “won’t cost you $359 to start experiencing just how convenient it is to find your next great read”.  Seems like they will also have to take on Google as they have recently announced the availability of over 1.5 million out-of-copyright books.

Serbinis appeared on CBC The National and spoke about how Shortcovers is part of the growing e-book business that is estimated to be a $1 billion business a few years.

Update: Shortcovers has now put out a semi-tutorial of their upcoming product:

Public Mobile, formally BMV holdings, launched their brand last week and have an overall goal to offer “unlimited flat-rate talk and text package, with no term commitment, no credit checks, no fine print and no surprises” for around $40 a month. They are looking for a Q3 official launch and availability of several devices.

During the Wireless Auction last summer a total of $52.3-million was invested to win the “G-block” licence. They will compete directly with Fido, Solo, Koodo, Virgin and Globalive. We had a brief conversation with Brian O’Shaughnessy, Public Mobile CTO, about their next steps.

Have you been holding out for a more cost effective iPhone?

Good news from the rumour mill as Mike Abramsky at RBC Capital Markets has gone on record to say that Apple will most likely release a $99 iPhone this June or July… along with a revised set of data plans to meet the entry level pricing.

Abramsky said “Should Apple expand entry-level iPhone distribution beyond existing carriers and/or secure a higher subsidy, entry-level iPhone economics become more attractive. However, an entry-priced iPhone may make it difficult to sustain iPod momentum without lowering iPod pricing.”

In his 7-page report he did not give any insight into his sources but also stated that the iPhone 3G will get a “performance upgrade”. In regards to the nuts and bolts of the possible $99 iPhone, Abramsky said will be similar to the current design with the same screen size, lower resolution around 480×320. In addition, there will be no 3G, no GPS, and only a 2-megapixel camera… with no video.

Tim Cook, Apple CEO, said a few weeks ago about the iPhone Nano rumour: “You know us, we’re not going to play in the low-end voice phone business. That’s not who we are. That’s not why we’re here. We’ll let somebody do that, our goal is not to be the unit share leader in the phone industry. It is to build the best phone.”

Only time will tell…

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If you own a small business in Canada you might want to get involved in a new contest by Telus… it can be worth up to $20,000 “technology makeover” if you win the big prize! The contest goes until October 30, 2009. If you’re interested you can start playing at: http://playthegame.telus.com

To enter, all you have to do is register online and play the skill testing brain game, basically you fill out surveys. Apart from the big kahuna prize there are 9 monthly draws for $1,000. The technology makeover is redeemed at Staples for all your office needs.

The Certicom/RIM/VeriSign saga has been fun to watch and would make a great movie.

Certicom has issued a statement that they have received notice “that VeriSign will not exercise its right to match the offer by Research In Motion Limited”. This now means that Certicom will officially be purchased by RIM for a “Superior Proposal” of $3.00 a share (close to $131 million)… double from what they originally offered. Certicom’s Board of Directors are meeting later to today to officially approve the RIM offer. Under the VeriSign agreement, Certicom will pay them a $4 million termination fee.

Nokia Beta Labs release Nokia Maps 3.0 Beta app. This update adds map rotation and 2D/3D mode functions and the ability to view landmarks and buildings from over 200 cities in the world… this also syncs with Ovi Maps. Nokia provided a video demo of this in action.

As we noted a week ago, Fido has released the Samsung f266 slider to its line-up. This is available on the following price plans: $25 on a 2-year plan or outright for $150.

Some key features of this is that it has a 2 megapixel camera with 4x zoom, a whopping 37 MB internal memory but can hold up to 8 GB of memory, internal display of 2.1 inches (resolution of 176 x 240), built-in MP3 player, FM stereo, Bluetooth. Overall dimensions are 97 x 48 x 13 mm with a weight of 99 grams. Batterly life is standard with the standby time of 300 hours, talk time of 5 hours… plus this has the basic features like a calendar, alarm clock, to do list, tip calculator etc…

More here at Fido

Sony Ericsson has posted some new accessories that us Canadians will be able to use. Honestly these are nothing special but always good to keep updated on what’s new.

First up is the Stereo Portable Handsfree HPM-77. These are basically a set of earphones that allows you to listen to music and take calls handsfree. It has a built in call answering button, so it’s perfect to use while you’re on the go, driving etc. They look like ordinary earphones but are much sleeker in design.

The CBC-100 can save you when your phone battery runs out of juice.  This battery adapter has overall dimensions of 3.1 x 2.0 x 0.6 inches. It comes in black and can adjust to various battery sizes. Compatible batteries are Sony Ericsson BST-33, BST-38, BST-39 and BST-40.

On a high note for the CBC-100 the SE website says this was “Chosen by Greenpeace as a front runner in phasing out hazardous substances, efficient use of materials, reduced energy consumption and commitment to recycling.”

No dates on the official release of these accessories, our guess is that they will be available within the next couple months. More here at Sony Ericsson Canada

TELUS doesn’t want Quebec to seperate from the rest of Canada… they love Qubec and it shows with the ginormous collection of Quebec musicians they support. With a catalogue of over 25,000 songs, TELUS Mobile Music subscribers ($20 per month) can download songs and ringtones right to your mobile phone, starts off at $0.99 per song.

Éric Bourbeau, director of Digital Content at TELUS said “By expanding access to home-grown compositions, we are supporting Quebec’s music industry and catering to fans of local artists. With the largest selection of Quebec music for mobile phones, TELUS customers are able to find, download and listen to their favourite songs wherever they are and whenever they want.”