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Effective January 1, 2009, Motorola has permanently put a freeze on its U.S. pension plans, temporarily suspended matching the 401(k) contributions and co-CEOs Greg Brown and Sanjay Jha have voluntarily reduced their 2009 base salary by 25%.

“The sustained downturn in the global economy requires that we take these difficult but necessary steps. While serving our customers remains a top priority, we are equally focused on our cost structure, and we will continue to implement appropriate measures to conserve cash and reduce expenses.”

A commonality is occurring that is simply whacked out… people are now requesting to be buried with their cellphone!?!  Pam Vetter, a Los Angeles funeral planner said “It’s comforting to think those things are still with them. I’ve seen people leave cell phones on and tell me they’re going to call their loved one later. Not that anyone will answer, but they want to have that connection. I’m sure the family gathers around the phone when they call. They feel connected with that person because it’s their phone, but at the same time it helps them realize that a death has occurred.”

Read the full story here. Is this something you would do? Let’s just hope the monthly fees are cancelled!

Quebec gets laced with terrible winters – but talk about droppin’ like it’s hot! There are about 20 handsets in total and from what I can tell the entire Vidéotron lineup has been price dropped.

For all those Quebec residents who are interested you can now score yourself a Sony Ericsson W580i “Just for Laughs” Edition for $39.95, this includes content from the JFL Festival. Also, you can get a Nokia 2630 for $9.95, a Nokia 2760 for $0.00 and Sony Ericsson Z310a for a massive $14.95.

Let’s hope they’re clearing house for a big 2009 where we might see some Smartphones!

Back in November J.D. Power gave out the “2008 Canadian Wireless Customer Satisfaction Study”… and suddenly over the past couple days both Virgin (first) then Koodo have been promoting how thankful they are to have your business with dedicated webpages. Virgin was ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Prepaid Wireless Service”, while Koodo was just ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Postpaid Wireless Service”. (Must be the big holiday push to bring on your family and friends)

For those who are eager to get a BlackBerry Storm from Bell you’ll be happy to know that a new shipment is coming in. Initially when they went into panic mode after Telus announced their launch, Bell followed suit and kicked the Storm into action… only to sell out within hours.

To help those who have wanted to get their hands RIM’s first touchscreen, Bell has posted “Limited quantities available to ship immediately” on their website with a link to reserve and order online. The price is $249.95 on a 3-year term with a minimum $45 voice and data plan. Move fast as I’m sure these will be gone soon…

Toronto-based QuickPlay Media has been named a 2008 Mobile Excellence Award winner in the “Best Mobile Video” category for its role in the Rogers Vision service. Wayne Purboo, president and CEO, QuickPlay Media said “To be recognized by a panel of mobile industry experts is an honor for our team and a compliment to the success of the Rogers Vision service”

Get ready Canada! Bell is ready to knock your socks off with the January 12th release of two entry level phones: the Sanyo PRO 200 & 700.

The Sanyo PRO 200 is a Bell exclusive and both devices offer 3G, 10-4 capability, Bluetooth, speakerphone, GPS.  The Sanyo PRO 700 provides more  durability as it meets military specifications 810F, which basically means it can withstand dust, shock, vibration and Canadian winters. The 200 weighs in at 96 grams and the 700 comes in at 108 grams.

Sanyo PRO 200 will be available on a 3-year contract for $149.95, 2-year contract for $199.95 and outright for $349.95.
Sanyo PRO 700 will be available on a 3-year contract for $199.95, 2-year contract for $249.95 and outright for $399.95.

More info soon

With all the rage being the iPhone and now the BlackBerry Storm, Sony Ericsson wants you to remember them and their full line-up of motion sensor games. An online movie has been created that shows a guy holding a phone and kinda pretending to play while a bunch of whacked out images flows from his phone. All we want is the XPERIA in Canada…

TELUS revised their 2009 targets and are expected to increase their wireless revenues by 8-10% which will take them to $5.1 billion.

In addition, they made a statement saying some aspects that will effect growth are the “wireless industry market penetration gain of approximately 4.5%; downward pressure on wireless average revenue per unit; new competitive wireless entry beginning in the fourth quarter of 2009 with most entrants starting in 2010; approximately $50 to $75 million restructuring and workforce reduction expenses”… huh, up to $75 million set aside for workforce reduction expenses?? What do they know that we don’t?

Also, Telus’s CFO Robert McFarlane told Reuters in an interview. “We’re not working on an acquisition of BCE.

The Hockey News Mobile edition has relaunched its app for BlackBerry (which has now seen over 18 000 downloads since it launched in mid-September).

The latest release has live scores while games are played (including scoring summaries), Skater and Goalie standings to track your Fantasy picks, Division and Conference standings. Check it out here.