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Rogers has released its Q2 2008 results. Here are the wireless highlights: “Wireless subscriber net additions totalled 239,000, with postpaid net additions of 191,000. Postpaid monthly ARPU (average revenue per user) increased 4% year-over-year to $78.46 driven in part by the 38% growth in data revenue to $253 million, representing 16.5% of network revenue.

- Wireless launched the Apple iPhone 3G in Canada on July 11, 2008 and activated approximately 255,000 of the devices during the quarter. Approximately one-third of these activations were to subscribers new to Wireless with the other two-thirds being to existing Rogers Wireless subscribers who upgraded to the iPhone and committed to new term contracts”.

Check out this link from Sony Ericsson as it promotes the upcoming W760 and some of its features. The site is actually an online Holiday Gift Guide that is a good resource if you are looking for phones or accessories from Sony Ericsson.

In total is promotes the W760, W350, W380, Bluetooth Car Speakerphone (HCB 105 & 120), Bluetooth Headset (HBH-PV703 & 720), Bluetooth “Executive Edition” Watch MBW-150 and the Portable Bluetooth Speaker MBS-100.

The W760 (will be available in Rocky Silver) should be launching very soon with an intro price point of $49.99 on a 3-year plan. In the meantime, check out our video review of the new Walkman phone here

For all of us Canadians who have a BlackBerry Bold, ColorWare has made it possible to Pimp out your sexy smartphone – but has made it even easier for customization because you don’t have to send in your device now. They ship you the parts. More info here on the steps involved.

The latest flyer from The Source (by Circuit City) shows the upcoming Rogers BlackBerry Pearl 8220 for $99.99** after a $50 in-store credit.  This is based on a 3-year voice and data plus activation totalling $45 or more.

The 8220 will be available before the end of the month (Oct 29th) and we’ve ve seen several leaked ads showing the price point at $49.99. Time will only tell… I guess they wanted to cut down on print costs as the flyer is effective October 23rd – November 5th and can be found here.

*Update – New pics from Treatz show Rogers is ready to launch the 8220. See them here*

According the HoFo and BGR the sales staff, assistant managers, store managers and District Managers are not to thrilled over at Rogers and Fido. They got word effective November 1st that their commissions will be cut by 30%!!

The reasoning for the cut is that their volume has increased but because their margins are so low (aka Killer Plan, iPhone), Rogers and Fido found out that they’re paying out too much in commission percentages. To make up for the difference in commission, Fido is supposed to be bringing in a new super low plan this week that will compete with Koodo and Yak… hence bring in more people to the stores and more sales.

Learn more here

File this one under the rumour section. We got word today from our SE rep that the Sony Ericsson C905 will be coming to Canada with a Q1 2009 targeted release date. That’s all he said, no word on who the carrier will be, price etc… With that said, a commercial out of Berlin has made its way online that promotes the capabilities of the 8.1 megapixel camera phone. See it here:

Google has released Google Earth as an app for your iPhone (and iPod Touch).  Since its official desktop launch back in 2005 it has now had over 400 million downloads. Product Manager Peter Birch posted the official release on the Google blog with a video to demonstrate how you can get the free app. “Even before we introduced Google Earth back in 2005, the team had long dreamed of being able to carry the Earth around in your pocket”. See the video here

Bell has responded to the Dealer lawsuit that was brought against them last week by saying it “is completely without merit and will be vigorously defended in court”.  Independent Communications Dealer Association of Canada (ICDAC) VP Rick Umbrio said “Carrying other brand names is one of the few options we have to maintain any degree of competitiveness, maintain revenues to pay our employees and maintain value in our businesses… It’s a shame that it’s come to this, but if Bell continues to renege on its agreements and make bad marketplace decisions, we’re left with few alternatives”.

Based on that comment… Imagine in the near future you could possibly walk in to your local Bell Store and find Rogers, Telus, Koodo and Fido phones for sale!!

No other carrier to our knowledge has offered “phone insurance” in Canada. Bell, with all its corporate changes, has released a new service (effective October 24th) that gives you protection from loss, theft and damage.

The service is called “Smart/Phone Care” and offers 2 plans to choose from:

1. Premium: for $7/month it covers failure due to defective parts and workmanship, Normal wear and tear, Accidental damage, power surge, loss and theft.

2. Plus: Covers failure due to defects in parts and workmanship.

To enroll in this service you either have to upgrade your current phone or purchase a new plan. There is a “replacement fee” though… $50 for a phone, $150 for a smartphone. The fine print says: “A non-refundable replacement service fee applies to each approved replacement. The replacement service fee does not apply to failures due to defects in parts or workmanship within 12 months of date of phone or smarphone purchase”.

We browsed through the info page fin print and found what is covered and not covered in this plan:

“6. What is Covered. If the Covered Equipment suffers a Failure, We will replace it with a device of comparable kind and quality. If the Replacement Equipment is a different model than the Covered Equipment or if a Failure affects a Battery and/or Charger in conjunction with the Failure of the Covered Equipment, We will also replace the Battery and/or Charger. If Your Covered Equipment utilizes a Bell SIM Card, we will also replace the SIM Card if it suffers a Failure in conjunction with the Failure of the Covered Equipment. THERE IS NO ASSURANCE, REPRESENTATION, OR WARRANTY THAT ANY REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT WILL BE IDENTICAL OR OFFER THE SAME FUNCTIONALITIES AS THE ITEM BEING REPLACED. REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT WILL BE NEW OR REFURBISHED, IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION. The Replacement Equipment immediately becomes the Covered Equipment. In addition to any applicable statutory warranties, Replacement Equipment will be warranted (see warranty provided with Replacement Equipment for details) to be free of defects in parts and workmanship for a period of 120 days from the date it is shipped to You, or for the remainder of the manufacturer’s warranty period for the device originally identified as the Covered Equipment on your Plan contract, whichever is greater (“Replacement Equipment Warranty Period”). If, during the Replacement Equipment Warranty Period, the Replacement Equipment fails to operate due to defects in parts or workmanship, it will be replaced with a device of comparable kind and quality and such replacement shall not be subject to a Replacement Service Fee, nor shall it be counted toward the Service Limits set out in Section 10.

7. What is not Covered. The Plan does not cover: (1) Incidental or consequential damages; (2) failures caused by war, revolution, acts of public enemy or terrorist, labour difficulties, including without limitation, strikes, slowdowns, picketing or boycotts, civil commotion, embargo, acts of government, or military authority; (3) abuse, misuse, or intentional acts; (4) pre-existing Failures of the Covered Equipment
occurring before the time it was established as the Covered Equipment; and (5) changes or enhancements in color, texture, finish, expansion, contraction, or any cosmetic damage to Covered Equipment however caused, including, but not limited to, scratches and marring, that do not affect the mechanical or electrical function of the Covered Equipment; (6) Failure of the Covered Equipment caused by computer viruses or similar unauthorized intrusive codes or programming. Further, Covered Equipment does not include and the Plan does not cover: (1) Contraband or property in the course of illegal transportation or trade; (2) Property in transit to You from anyone other than Us; (3) Routine maintenance and consumable items, such as batteries (one standard Battery will be provided with Replacement Equipment if the Replacement Equipment is a different model than the Covered Equipment or if the Battery has also failed); (4) Battery Chargers (one standard Charger will be provided with Replacement Equipment if the Replacement Equipment is a different model than the Covered Equipment or if the Charger has also failed); (5) Antennas, unless there is also a Failure of the Covered Equipment; or (6) Any accessories (except as otherwise provided with respect to the Battery and/or Charger), including but not limited to color face plates, personalized data, or customized software, such as personal information managers (PIMs), ring tones, games, or screen savers.”

This is certainly a step in the right direction. There is more info at Bell at this link here (PDF)

Bell recently announced a whack of new phones that will be available for purchase on Sunday, November 9th (weird date but hey… anything is possible). We got some good info when it comes to the prices plans of these phones… this will help you do some budgeting for the upcoming holiday season.

The phones from Bell: LG Voyager, HTC Touch Diamond, LG Reveal and the Samsung Cleo.

LG Voyager will come with a 2GB chip (store up to 350 songs) with expandable memory for up to 8GB. This will also come with intro promo of 1-month free of music (probably to a certain limit):
1-year: $349.95
2-year: $249.95
3-year: $199.95
Outright: $399.95

The HTC Touch Diamond dummy phones are starting to arrive in the Bell stores for their display. This will come with 4GB internal memory with no expansion. 3.2 megapixel camera, GPS, Built in WiFi. We have a flyer that said the price of a 3-year plan will be $149.95. But the latest info we saw had:
3-year: $199.95
2-year: $349.95
1-year: $449.95
No Contract: $449.95

LG Reveal has a 2.0 megapixel camera with expandable memory up to 8GB. It will come with the basic phone, or the promo “Shimmer Kit” which is an exclusive Swarovski Crystal Bluetooth headset (just add $49.95 to all the prices below).
1-year: $299.95
2-year: $199.95
3-year: $149.95
Outright: $349.95

Samsung Cleo has a 1.3 megapixel camera with expandable memory up to 8GB.
1-year: $249.95
2-year: $149.95
3-year: $99.95
Outright: $299.95

There is also a promotional offer for the Cleo – no extra charge though. It will be available in Pink and you will get a “new cake kiss mulberry sorbet lip butter, 15% off coupon for Cake Cosmetics, and a Cleo phone Charm”. The Cleo will also be available at Solo.

**in addition, we have confirmation that the Bell BlackBerry Storm will be available on November 21st … and will bring Roll-Over minutes starting in December**