This week's top tech news: Early Boxing Week deals and the iMessage Wars

There was lots of news this week, ranging from early Boxing Week deals to blue bubble battles. Satellites also showed up in several ways.

Check out the top news below, or subscribe here to get Antenna delivered to your inbox every Friday.

December 15, 2023

View online

It's been another hectic week in Canadian tech, but Antenna is here with everything you need to know. Check it out:

🛍️ Early Boxing Week deals started popping up. Check out our carrier round-up for the best telco offers. (Our favourite? Freedom's $34/30GB 5G plan, now with Canada/U.S. usage!)

🛰️ Satellite spotlight: Canadians can now buy Starlink hardware at Best Buy and Costco. Meanwhile, Rogers' satellite-to-mobile service is coming in 2024.

iMessage Wars: Beeper is defying Apple with its Beeper Mini app. Read the whole saga.

🌫️ BONUS 🌫️ Valve to Steam Deck owners: please stop huffing your Steam Deck vent fumes.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown should be top of your radar in 2024

The latest game in the beloved Ubisoft series is incredibly promising -- and surprisingly inviting.

Read more

These are the best carrier Boxing Week deals so far

Canadian carriers have dropped some early Boxing Week deals. Check out our round-up of the best deals so far. Some highlights include Freedom's $34/30GB 5G Canada/U.S. plan, free Pixel 8s at Rogers and Telus, and more.
Read more

Your iPhone just got a new Journal app – here’s how it works

Apple is positioning this app as an anti-social media of sorts, and while that feels a little strange at first, now that I’ve used the Journal app for a few weeks, it’s surprisingly refreshing to have a private locker to store my thoughts, emotions and personal goals. Read more

The best early Boxing Week deals so far

Save nearly $150 on the Xbox Series X at various retailers in Canada

Both the standard and Diablo IV bundles are discounted.

Get it now

Paramount+ Canada is offering 50 percent off its annual plans

The promotion is available until February 1, 2024.

Get it now

TekSavvy’s 1Gbps unlimited internet plan is on sale for $68.95/month

Nick Offerman didn’t play The Last of Us because of a Banjo Kazooie addiction

Get it now

Win a Google Pixel 8 Pro with MobileSyrup

The winner will be selected on January 5th.

You could qualify for $150 from LifeLabs’ $9.8 million settlement

If you used LifeLabs for medical services on or before December 17th, 2019, you can now fill out a claim submission to receive up to $150 dollars as part of a class-action settlement.

Canadians can buy Starlink at more places, including Costco, Best Buy

There are now more ways for Canadians to buy Starlink hardware, potentially saving some from lengthy shipping waits.

	Best Buy: Standard \| High-performance
	Costco: High-perfomance

Rogers will offer satellite-to-mobile services in 2024

Rogers' announcement follows a successful satellite-to-mobile phone test call, in partnership with Lynk Global. Using Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphones, the two companies were able to connect Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey with a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Search and Rescue Association.

The iMessage Wars are here

DEC 5, 2023

A New Hope (for iMessage on Android )

Beeper launched the Beeper Mini app, enabling Android users to register their phone numbers with Apple's iPhone-exclusive iMessage and send and receive iMessages.

DEC 9, 2023

Apple Strikes Back

Apple couldn't allow rebels into its blue bubble empire and moved swiftly to break Beeper Mini.

DEC 11, 2023

Return of the Beeper

Beeper Mini got things fixed and resumed operation, defying Apple. However, phone number registration isn't working, and Apple is actively working to break Beeper.

Please add info@mobilesyrup to your address book to ensure our emails reach your inbox. If you received this email from a friend and would like to subscribe to our email list, click here.

If you’d like to stop getting emails, you can unsubscribe | Read our privacy policy ©2023 Mobile Syrup. 99 Atlantic Avenue, 4th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M6K 3J8. All rights reserved

View this email in your browser

MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.