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The much leaked and not-yet-released BlackBerry flip phone “Kickstart” gets reviewed

The long awaited and highly anticipated Sony Ericsson W760 is set for a August 4th, 2008 release date. This is the first HSDPA walkman phone that has a built-in GPS, 3.2 mega pixel camera, FM radio and 1GB Memory card . Still waiting on confirmation of who the Canadian carrier of choice – Rogers or Fido.

** UPDATE** This has been pushed back until September.

Fresh of making $4.2 billion for the recently completed wireless spectrum auction, Industry Minister, Jim Prentice has gone on record and said: “There is what I refer to as the 700-series bandwidth, there is an auction of that which will happen at some point in the future … as I recall, it’s about 18 months away.”

The 700-megahertz airwaves are more valuable and what Prentice calls “highly prized.”In March, Verizon spent $9.4 billion on 109 licenses and AT&T had 227 licenses for a total of $6.6 billion. Mongo cash for the top 2 players. Similar to Superman, the 700-megahertz airwaves can “cover long distances and more easily penetrate obstacles such as thick walls and buildings” Read the story

iPhone Game of the Day: Imangi – a word game that is part Scrabble and part Rubik’s Cube to challenge you to slide letters either horizontal or vertical in the 6×8 grid to form as many words as possible. Check out the video here

Qualcomm is spending more money on Nokia lawsuits than its probably making. They have filed 11 lawsuits on three continents claiming Nokia has infringed on its GSM technology patents. The German Federal Patent Court has ruled the case “invalid”. Nokia spokesperson said: “This is the third court to conclude that Qualcomm’s patent claims against Nokia are without merit, Today’s decision is further evidence that Qualcomm does not have relevant and valid GSM patents and that it overstates its role as a wireless innovator,”

Qik: real-time video streaming service for your mobile phone has officially gone into public beta.

Seems the BlackBerry Bold is making its way around – this gem has been spotted being used by Lindsay Lohan, John Mayer and now at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. With the potential release date this Friday, the Bold is proudly displayed for all eager tennis enthusiasts to touch and be educated on.

In addition to the booth, while in attendance we noticed back of the Rogers Cup Program that the Bold is being advertised with the heading “Getting the scores before they happen is only a slight exaggeration.”

Our initial thinking is that July 25th seems like a promising release date as the Rogers Cup ends on Sunday, July 27. Why else would they be promoting live scores on a devise that is not going to be released??  However we are getting insider tips of an August 4th release.

More pictures of the Rogers Wireless BlackBerry Bold Booth at CrackBerry.com

On April 1st, Quebec introduced a new law that bans cell phone use while driving. Originally given a verbal warning if you were caught, Quebec police have now ended the “grace period” and handed out 847 tickets worth a max of $115 each to those who have disobeyed the law

Although Canada is nowhere on the map, AdMob released some incredible statistics when it comes to Mobile Web growth:
- Traffic from the publishers grew 104% from July 2007 to June 2008, more than doubling in 12 months.
- This growth increase implies a 6.1% month over month compound growth rate
- The US and UK grew substantially faster than the worldwide rate

To celebrate their 3rd birthday, Sony Ericsson held a big press conference in London, England today to announce 3 new Walkman phones and 7 new music accessories.

Looking to gain the market it help create, the new Walkman additions are the W902, W595 and W302. No word on an official release date in Canada – majority will be available Q4 2008 and probably through Rogers Wireless.

Ben Padley, Head of the Music Category at Sony Ericsson said: “Since the launch of our first Walkman phone in 2005, Sony Ericsson has continued to pioneer a superior mobile music experience – and the 77 million Walkman phones sold to date are testament to this commitment. With this latest range of phones and accessories, we are offering high quality sound and a rich feature set that cements our position as a leader in the music phone category. We are pushing the boundaries of what people think is possible and are offering best-in-class sound quality and our most exciting Walkman phones to date.”

Here is the info straight from the press release of each new product:

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With the W902, users can listen to music the way it should be heard: true to original. It’s also a mobile phone for those that want it all, with a five megapixel camera and great video capturing and sharing capabilities, an 8GB Memory Stick Micro™ (M2) for storing more than 8,000 songs, the W902 is a top-of-the-range device that will make you the envy of your friends. The W902 Walkman™ is a UMTS/HSDPA 2100 and EDGE/GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 phone that will be available in selected markets in Volcanic Black, Wine Red and Earth Green in Q4 of 2008.

The W595 Walkman™ is perfect for those who want to share sounds with their friends. Store and play more than 1,900 songs** through the built in stereo speakers. Plug in the in-box sharing jack to listen silently to your tunes with a friend or Bluetooth™ your sounds to Sony Ericsson’s range of wireless speakers. The W595 Walkman™ is a UMTS/HSDPA 2100 and EDGE/GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 phone that will be available in selected markets in Active Blue, Cosmopolitan White, Jungle Grey and Lava Black in Q4 of 2008. The W595c Walkman™ is a GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 phone that will be available in selected markets in Active Blue, Cosmopolitan White and Jungle Grey in Q4 of 2008. The W595a Walkman™ is a GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 phone that will be available in selected markets in Active Blue, Cosmopolitan White, Jungle Grey and Lava Black in Q4 of 2008.

The new W302 Walkman™ is packed with impressive features in an affordable no-compromise slim handset. Targeting all audiences, the phone comes complete with an impressive two megapixel camera, FM radio, TrackID™ and 512MB Memory Stick Micro™ (M2). The W302 Walkman™ is an EDGE/GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 phone that will be available in selected markets in Midnight Black and Sparkling White in Q4 of 2008.

The next generation of accessories includes three new sets of speakers, the MBS-200, MBS-400 and MPS-100, to help music lovers go beyond the individual and play music directly from their mobile phone. Enhancing its music accessories collection Sony Ericsson has also introduced three new stereo headphones, HBH-IS800, HPM-88 and HPM-66 for the optimal listening experience (will be available in selected markets from Q4 2008.)