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In March 2012, TELUS launched a partnership with Vox Mobile to supply Managed Mobility Services for the enterprise, an all-encompassing solution for companies looking to administer a large number of smartphones over the operator’s business network.

Today, TELUS and Apperian are launching a partnership to supply Mobile Application Management (MAM), allowing BYOD (bring your own device) users to have corporate applications securely pushed, backed-up and updated to their devices. Apperian’s EASE platform installs on any iOS, Android or BlackBerry device and allows a user’s company to bifurcate personal apps and their data from corporate.

Samsung recently announced KNOX, a similar corporate offering with a larger scope than just MAM, that will operate on the Galaxy S4 and future devices, while BlackBerry offers Balance, a similar MAM solution for BB10 users.

According to a press release issued today, Apperian’s EASE platform allows “Canadian enterprises [to] manage all aspects of deploying apps in the enterprise in one secure location.” The idea is that, because users are familiar with the idea of an app store, they will feel comfortable entering a branded corporate store to oversee their corporate apps.

Canadian network operators are increasingly getting involved in the lucrative enterprise market, as BYOD is stemming the number of second devices companies are buying for their employees.

Via: Newswire

Samsung has paid nearly $48 million USD for a 10% stake in one of its competitors, Pantech Corp. The third-largest handset maker in South Korea behind Samsung and LG, Pantech is mainly known in North America for its low-cost carrier-branded feature- and smartphones.

Because Samsung is as self-reliant as possible for its own components, the investment is meant to further “bilateral cooperation” between it and Pantech, which itself is a fairly large manufacturer of internal smartphone components. Indeed, its single largest shareholder is Qualcomm at just under 12%.

So as Apple relinquishes some of its reliance on Samsung’s chips, the Korean company is furthering its own interests in ensuring future self-reliance.

Source: Yonhap News
Via: Android Central

Just in time for holiday season is Rogers with a slight refresh of their monthly international roaming passes. The prices are all the same, but they’ve included additional data. Rogers, like other carriers, have included real-time text alerts so you won’t get those “bill shock” charges.

Below is a list of the changes, plus you can check them out here at Rogers.

The BlackBerry Q10 went on sale a few weeks ago on various Canadian carriers. Some users who purchased the QWERTY/Touch BB10 device might have received OS 10.1.0.1483 when they first turned it on, but Rogers, Bell and TELUS users are now reporting an update to 10.1.0.1720 is available (127MB). Apparently there’s nothing different between the software versions, but it’s always a good idea to keep up with the latest OS. No word on if SaskTel customers have received this update.

Source: CrackBerry
(Thanks Todd!)

Nokia has updated its HERE Maps service for Windows Phone 8 users with a new augmented reality feature. LiveSight integrates into the core Maps app in a similar way to CityLens, another part of the company’s Lumia suite.

LiveSight overlays a list of memorable locations around you by using the camera lens on your Windows Phone device, along with its GPS sensor. The technology is not just integrated into Nokia apps, though: the new Foursquare for WP8 uses LiveSight to facilitate its context-based check-ins.

The feature also works offline, which is a bonus when you are in a foreign city with little access to data. Once you’ve downloaded that city’s map information, LiveSight will just work.

Download HERE Maps for Windows Phone 8.

Source: Nokia Conversations
Via: Engadget

When Sony’s latest high-end was announced earlier this year it was given a Q2 billing, with the expectation that it would debut sometime in the spring. Well, spring is here and the company has pushed back its original May 22nd ship date to June 3rd, despite the tablet shipping this week in the US.

Sony previously boasted about having the largest pre-order sales of any tablet in the company’s history, but without numbers there is very little substantive information to work with. We do know that the Z-series is easily Sony’s most accomplished line-up of smartphones and tablets to date, and will undoubtedly prove to be its most successful. We liked the Xperia ZL, though we had issues with its camera and battery life, and enjoyed using the waterproof Tablet Z earlier this year. It has a 1.5Ghz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC, 2GB RAM, an 8MP rear camera, a 1920×1200 pixel LCD display and is dustproof in addition to being waterproof.

While it’s disappointing to see the tablet pushed back, it will be here shortly. Did you pre-order a Tablet Z? Does it help that Sony is building a stock version of its software from AOSP?

The Xperia Tablet Z will be available for $499/$599 for the 16GB and 32GB versions respectively.

After what seems like an eternity, Amazon has finally launched its Cloud Drive service in Canada. Out of the box, this works like Dropbox, Sugarsync or any number of cloud storage service: you get 5GB that can be used to store and sync documents, music and photos. Paid accounts start at $10 for 20GB and increase to $250/year for 500GB. Compare to Google Drive’s $240/year for 400GB and that’s quite a deal.

Amazon doesn’t have mobile apps for Cloud Drive per se (unfortunately), but it does offer Cloud Drive Photos for Android and iOS, which gives users access to their photo collection in a nicely-designed app interface.

Adroit users can also access Amazon’s Music Locker service, too, but that isn’t officially available in Canada (and we’re not going to tell you how to access it).

Download Cloud Drive Photos for Android and iOS. More information at Amazon.

Via: BusinessWire

NewsBlur is one of the most fully-realized RSS feed consolidators in the wake of Google Reader’s impending shutdown. While the service has been around for a few years it was in March, when Google announced Reader’s death, that people really took notice.

Because it uses a freemium model like Evernote — non-paying users are limited to adding 64 sites to their feed list — there is a good chance NewsBlur will be around for a long, long time. With a $24/year fee for unlimited access and faster access, there is good reason to invest in the service, especially if it will something you’ll use daily. I’ve been using NewsBlur for the past few weeks and it has impressed me. There is a very fast, but simple, Android app, and today’s redesign for iOS cements it as a great alternative to Reeder (which has thrown in support for Feedbin in its latest update).

The iOS app has a bit more newness than just a visual redesign though: there is a new sharing workflow, which allows users to open articles in Instapaper, Pocket and Readability. The story layout is also more spacious, so you’re able to maximize the screen space of the iPhone or iPad. The app looks cleaner, performs faster and comes highly recommended.

Download NewsBlur for iOS (and Android).

Via: The Verge

Rogers, owners of the Toronto Blue Jays, has put together a promo that sees those who purchases a BlackBerry Q10 and BlackBerry Z10 on a 3-year term score a Jays jersey (home or away). The promo starts on Friday and goes until June 12th. Here’s some finer details:

- All consumer talk, text & internet 3 year plans are eligible for the promotion. Additionally, the offer is available with some small biz plans including SmartTeam Select 50 or 65 plans or any SmartTeam Sharing Plan;

- Customers eligible would receive a white or blue jersey in a large size at random. Unfortunately there isn’t choice available for sizing or colour.

In addition, for those interested in meeting Brandon Morrow, Blue Jays pitcher, he’ll be signing autographs this Friday from 12pm – 1pm at 10 Dundas St. East in Toronto.

LG is getting more serious about displays. It was revealed a few weeks ago that the company plans on launching a smartphone with a flexible display sometime in Q4. According to an LG press release they’ll be showing off an “unbreakable and flexible” 5-inch and 7-inch display this week at the SID Display Week 2013 in Vancouver. The 5-inch display will have a “1.0mm bezel allowing production of borderless smartphones,” plus the 7-inch is for tablets and sports an HD resolution “that exceeds 300 pixels per inch (PPI).”

“LG Display will also introduce 5-inch and 7-inch HD LCD panels based on Oxide TFT, seen as the next generation TFT technology as it offers high investment efficiency in producing thin, high transparency, and low power consumption displays. LG Display, which utilized this technology in its large-sized OLED displays for the first time in the world, will expand its expertise to LCD panel development thereby leading the market.

The 5-inch HD panel will feature 1.0mm bezel allowing production of borderless smartphones that are lightweight and emit significantly less heat. The 7-inch HD LCD panel is equipped with touch function-embedded technology enabling superior touch functionality in thin and lightweight mobile products.”

Dr. Sang-Deok Yeo, CTO and Executive Vice President of LG Display, said “With the resulting rapid need for new display advancements, LG Display, at the forefront of these trends, is well positioned to lead the market with its differentiated and cutting-edge technologies.”

No official word on what countries will be first graced with a smartphone with a flexible/unbreakable display.

Source: DisplayWeek
Via: Engadget