Latest News

If you’ve been frustrated that the Google Mobile App has only been available for iPhone and BlackBerry devices… those of you who are Windows Mobile user can rejoice as your searching will be easier as the app has now been made available to  you also.

According to Google it is a great deal faster as there is “no need to wait for a browser to open to begin a search, and with search history available to reduce typing, you can get your search results with fewer clicks than before”. In true Google fashion in their taking over the world approach they say using the Windows M0bile Google Mobile App is 50% faster that using the browser:

Checking out the Rogers website and found the BlackBerry Pearl 8220 went up in price since the $9.99 Valentine’s Day promo. What is it now you ask? Well, the little ad on the Rogers siteshows it available for $29.99/month on a 3-year contract.

My calculations work out to this being $1079.64… and then you need to add in the monthly voice and data plans! The good news is that when you go proceed to the actual product page everything is correct. Hopefully this will be fixed soon.

Following up to our story about RIM representing Canada at Mobile World Congress 2009 Global Mobile Awards. RIM raked in the Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough and GSMA Chairman’s Award.

The judges were pleased and said “RIM does it again, with a new twist to the touch screen. The SurePress screen incorporates touch with confirmation, taking interaction to a new level.”

GSMA Chairman Izosimov said: “In my opinion, the BlackBerry helped keep the mobile data flame alive with email everywhere, and it helped the industry justify investment in GPRS and 3G in the face of early scepticism. It’s hard to imagine life – especially in business – before the BlackBerry. Before the revolution of the “push email” service, finding a dial up and accessing email was a painful experience. It’s an extraordinary story.”

MySpace will be launching an updated version of MySpace Mobile. The new MySpace will be optimized for various screen sizes, the ability to configure email photo upload, supported in 13 languages and
localized for 29 countries, including Canada.

Dave Stevens, general manager of MySpace Canada. “It’s a tremendous opportunity, and mobile will play a significant part of the business strategy in Canada in the months ahead. We are actively working with all of the major Canadian wireless carriers right now. Our Mobile Website is an extension of MySpace Canada so users will be able to experience MySpace anywhere, anytime, from almost any device.”

I must say that Alan Horn, Chairman and acting CEO of Rogers Communications stepped up and did things right when he honoured Ted Rogers in his address with Q4 2008 results: “In December 2008, we mourned the passing of the Company’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ted Rogers. Ted Rogers was one of a kind who built this company from one FM radio station nearly 50 years ago into what is today Canada’s largest wireless, cable and media company. His absence has been felt deeply during this difficult time by everyone at Rogers and he will be sadly missed, but never forgotten.”

Highlights from Rogers Wireless Q4 2008 results:

Looks like we can expect some more devices to hit Rogers soon other than the LG Secret and Globus. This time it’s the Samsung “Gravity” and “Propel”. No dates are yet released but you can expect them most likely within the next 2 weeks.

The Samsung Gravity is a horizontal slider with a full QWERTY keyboard, so it will be wicked for texting and e-mail. The screen is 2.1-inches (176 x 220 pixels) with overall dimensions are 115 x 53 x 18 mm with a weight of 122 grams. Some features: 1.3 megapixel camera that can take video, music player, Bluetooth, internal storage of 60MB with microSD that can expand up to 4 GB, standard add-ons such as the calendar, calculator, currency converter, notepad, to-do list… From what we see it’ll come in Aqua with White or Lime with Gray. I’m guessing this will come in around $49.99 on a 3-year.

The Samsung Propel is another texters dream. This is another slider that has a full QWERTY keypad. Loaded with similar features such as a 1.3-megapixel camera with video capabilities, MP3 player, 2.2″ inch screen (220×176 pixels), GPS, dimensions of 98 x 59 x 15 mm with a weight of 107 grams. Also standard features are the Alarm, Calendar, Calculator, To-Do list, World Clock, Notes, Memo, Currency Converter. It looks like us Canadians can sport our colour as this will come in white with a red trim, and another being black with a blue trim.

More soon
(thanks serans1987)

Nokia Beta Labs has released a cool application that will help you get 20/20 vision. Nokia “Magnifier” uses your camera to “improve readability” such as the fine print in the cell phone contracts. The Magnifier comes with a built in stabilizer that reduces your shaky hands and also has a negative filter gives you the ability to switch from light to dark backgrounds for better reading.

As this is still in beta testing, Nokia says should work for any S60 3rd Edition with auto-focus camera support, N95, E90, N82 devices. But will not work yet for the E71, N85, N96. Check out this video of it in action

Nokia Beta Labs

Sony Ericsson is bring the Bluetooth Car Speakerphone AB900 to Canada shortly, their website says it’s “expected to be available within 3 months”.

This accessory give you the ability to listen to your favorite music while you make and receive calls. It works via Bluetooth and streams your playlist to the car speakers. No word on pricing yet.

VeriSign reports another record-breaking year for text messaging, their latest report says they delivered more than 224 billion messages in 2008, which is a 134% increase from 2007 statistics.

In addition, some highlighted dates for high volume are: 1.1 billion messages on Christmas Day and 1 billion on New Year’s Eve. The goal for 2009? VeriSign believes it will hit the 320 billion messages.

More here (PDF) at VeriSign

As we let you know last week the Palm Treo Pro will be launching with Bell soon… from what the leaked document showed it’s February 26th… but might actually be available on the 27th now. Want to know the pricing so you can start to budget accordingly?

This can be yours on the following pricing (with a minimum monthly Voice and Data plan of $45):
3-year: $99.95
2-year: $149.95
1-year: $249.95
30-Day/Prepaid: $549.95

The Treo Pro comes loaded with Windows Mobile 6.1, 320 x 320 touchscreen display, 2-megapixel camera (8x digital zoom and video capture), WiFi, built-in GPS, support for microSDHC card up to 16GB, 3.5mm headphone jack and is all snapped up with a weight of 4.69 oz (133 grams).

More soon!