Carriers worldwide  reel in consumers with the lure of ‘free’ smartphones but then tie-in customers into long-term service contracts.  Despite consumer clamoring for changes to the service plans… carriers remained steadfast to their service vs. price plans.  Finally Rogers has risen from the carrier masses and began to interpreted and act on the market sensing feedback provided by its customer and target audience base.  Rogers introduces major changes to their service plans.   After all, 4G LTE is not a necessity – it’s a luxury of speed.

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So, to save their customers and ensure mobile device sales of the up and coming 4G LTE capable smartphones, the Rogers has rolled out their Ultimate Unlimited Family plans. There are two options which include “extreme” text messaging and unlimited local talk time.

The company is touting the benefits of these plans with statements like “Overage is eliminated” and “Peace of mind that they won’t have a huge monthly bill.” Customers will also enjoy the ease of “One bill for their family’s wireless services” which is likely designed to capture some of the revenue of bringing these high speed wireless services into the home that is currently handed over to cable and satellite companies each month.

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Customers are consuming more and more data and streaming media in lieu of traditional television and media distribution channels. This will only grow as tablets, media devices (iPod), gaming consoles and other peripheral devices integrate operating system platforms like iOS, Android, and Windows.

In a move that is possibly designed to compete against growing popularity of unlocked smartphones, customers who sign up for these new unlimited plans will have Buy One, Get One deals (it actually translates into Buy One, Get Four devices).

In addition to the talk and texting benefits of the new Ultimate Unlimited Family plans, there will be adjusted LTE plan pricing on the horizon. There are details and plans of these changes that Rogers is touting that “Customers can truly say goodbye to those other cell phone providers.” Perhaps these major pricing changes will result in increased revenues from services and augmented smartphone and tablet sales.

Kudos to Rogers for scaling its LTE (Long Term Evolution) network to reach 11 million Canadians so quickly. As of today, that coverage has been expanded to include service in major Montreal and of island suburbs including Terrebonne, Brossard, Longueil, Laval, and Vaudreuil. At the moment, the LTE network is available to Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto and their environs.  Discover the latest LTE enabled unlocked cell phones.

According to today’s announcement, the mobile carrier will not stop there. The LTE expansion project intends to encompass twenty-five additional Canadian cities in 2012. The company has decided not to fill the public in on what those cities are, but the end game is to have LTE coverage for 20 million Canadian customers by the end of this year.

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As the company was first to market with an LTE launch for Canada, this continued growth spells competition for Bell Mobility, Telus, Fido, and other up and coming providers who would love to pair that kind of network coverage with the more costly data plans and schnazzy new LTE-enabled smartphones.  Consumer forums indicate that customers have yet to see a high value to this technology that matches the associated cost.

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Consequently, this Rogers network could potentially have peek download speeds of 150 Mbps and upload speeds of 70Mbps. Real-world usage is bound to be slower, but customers seemingly have no cap on their need for speed and new tech. The result is consumption of more data, faster which typically result in shocking cell phone bills.

The flip side is that the 4G LTE data plan costs can result in consumers choosing a 3G handset with a more attractive data plan. Once the major competitors like Bell Mobility, Telus and the others kick in – we should see a drop in resulting in an uptick in 4G LTE smartphones.

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Canadian Android fans rejoice! The company’s poster child, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, is no longer exclusive to Bell and Virgin. As of JANUARY 13,2012; the popular smartphone is available to TELUS, Rogers, and Fido. In addition to the end of this era of exclusivity, this change is heralding in the first Android 4.0 device to Canada as well. To this writer, it rings of a changing of the tides for the attitudes of unlocked phones.

At the various carriers and Best Buy, there are many promotions accompanying this release that vie for customers’ signatures on long-term service contracts. Individual carriers are making the device available for a price ranging from $99.99 to $159.99 for a three year contract. For those customers open to the potential high costs of such a long contract, Best Buy is the best bet as it will extend the $99.99 promotion to all carriers.  In addition to engaging in a price war, all vendors are luring customers with the latest innovative protective cases and skins.

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However, when taking the gleaming distractions of the Ice Cream Sandwich OS and the ever impressive Galaxy Nexus, customers should not blindly rush into such agreements without recognizing a few things. Smartphone technology is developed and released at a rapid rate. The cost of opting out of a contract if the next must-have phone is an exclusive with another carrier and takes some luster out of promotional deals. Last, by considering unlocked cell phones that are not tied to a contract, you hold the power deciding on which carrier provides the lowest priced service contract that best  meets your unique mobile lifestyle needs.

This gives you the ability to have both the device you crave and the ability to walk away from a contract or plan that does not suit your needs. Hence, allowing time to rationally decide how you truly use your phone (do you SMS or MMS a lot? How much data do you use? Are you a chatty Cathy?) Then, you look for the best deal from there.

Regardless of your choice, happy shopping and don’t forget to protect your investment with the proper case, screen skins, and hands free headsets!

The appeal of Apple and its iPhone, iPad, and other products has often been one of exclusivity.  In the spirit of a handsfree world, Visual Voicemail gives customers access to voicemail without dialing and has been one such feature iPhone users have been able to take advantage of.

Luckily for consumers with both unlocked cell phone or regular  handsets, they already have their pick of Bluetooth and headsets to up their convenience and safety abilities. And, the Visual Voicemail functionality may be coming their way shortly. Recently documents were leaked indicating that Visual Voicemail will become available on select Android phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S 2, the Motorola Droid RAZR as well as the BlackBerry Bold 9900 .

For Canadian customers on the Rogers’ network, they will have the benefit of an in-house developed application. Rumors noted that service should be available in February and will cost the same as the non-visual enhanced voicemail currently available with Rogers. For RIM,the launch will extend these new services to support BlackBerry 9700 and Blackberry 9790 devices.

The service will be named “Visual Voicemail Plus” and finally offers an edge on iPhone users: the capacity to save voicemail messages indefinitely. As ever, this kind of storage is exactly the kind of convenience that customers look for at every level of their experience which accounts for continued use of memory cards with smartphones.

Undoubtedly, additional platforms and devices will supported after the launch. The leaked documents noted that any phone with MMS functionality will have Visual Voicemail made available as well. This will include less popular mobile OS like legacy Symbian and Windows Mobile. The biggest question mark is whether the new Rogers Visual Voicemail Plus offering will require additional data plans as the product works through data usage in lieu of dialing.

Some things sound too good to be true. There is always a price to be paid. In the world of smartphones and contracts, the pipers are usually paid with hours of time, creative loopholes for promotional deals, and hidden costs with the long contacts signed to nab the desired handset of choice.

But, for those consumers who are in the market for a Samsung Galaxy Nexus and have avoided these long tied-in contracts or whose contract have come to term, there is a promotion that merits serious consideration.  As of January 13 , Best Buy has made this Android / Samsung poster child available for $99.99. This will require a three year contract, but the offer will extend to all carriers (apparently with the exception of Fido): Virgin Mobile, TELUS, Bell, and Rogers.

This is definitely an option to consider in comparison shopping as the official launch date of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus for Fido, TELUS, and Rogers is this Friday and three year contract deals are seeing handset costs around $160 or $600 outright. These carriers have began their sales of the Android 4.0 smartphone earlier than the announced release date, but TELUS will be releasing this device on Friday as well, but will match the Best Buy introductory price of $99.99 for signing a three year term.

With the number of carriers offering this kind of introductory offer, it isn’t likely to disappear any time soon. In the spirit of informed consumerism and seeing the true long term costs of both the new Galaxy Nexus handset and the contract terms, look at unlocked phone options and deals as well that will allow you to pick the best contract (and a more reasonable length!) for you.

Enhance your mobility and turn your device into a power tool!  Discover select accessories such as; stylus & pens, micro SD memory cards, batteries, docking stations, Bluetooth headsets, data cables and glider gloves all specifically designed to make your devices functionally efficient and performance rich.

Or, if the contract offering from Best Buy, TELUS, Rogers and all the like is your cup of tea, be sure to shop around for the protective cases and skins for your new smartphone and depending on the laws of your area, hands free accessories as well. No matter what route fits best, happy shopping and enjoy your new gadgets!

Consumers have long been ahead of the curve in regards to their mobile devices : how they use them, what features they want, how they enhance their mobility with accessories such as stylus & pens, SD micro cards, data cables, desktop chargers, car kits and special glider gloves to make the most of media features etc. The cell phone carriers are slow to innovate their service plans to reflect changed behavior. Instead customers are paying through the nose for not only high end smartphones, but for the outlandish fees assessed for SMS messages, sports updates, and browsing that a typical user does on a daily basis. The fact of the matter is that we do not primary use our phones to talk anymore.

Consumers have voted with certainty and banded with mobile device manufacturers that have made unlocked cell phones available for sale so customers are free to shop around and find the most competitive carrier offering the lowest priced service plan that best meets individual interactive lifestyle needs. Considering the hundreds of dollars spent a year by average consumers to make the most of their device purchase, this is a great alternative.

The carriers are finally responding in an effort to curb bill shocks that do nothing to win the love, affection, and constancy of customers. According to the company blog, Rogers is now providing a « $40 monthly subscription cap for premium SMS programs, so when your subscription to a premium SMS program reaches $40 you won’t receive any more texts or charges.” Going a step further, Rogers has indicated that they are implementing customer protection measures by denying thrid party premium SMS services that run confusing online contests designed to filch more funds from consumers.  Leaving your valuable mobile devices unprotected is risky!  Protect your devices from scratches and blemishes with the latest stylish top brand bag, sleeves and case accessories.

Straight from the horse’s mouth, Rogers explains :

« We’re the only Canadian carrier to offer several other ways to manage premium SMS services:

• The option to block all premium SMS so even if you accidentally submit your mobile number online to receive a ‘joke of the day’ you wouldn’t receive a text from a premium SMS service. This will also block SMS from other companies, like SMS flight updates. Don’t worry; you will still be able to receive texts from your friends and family.
• For premium SMS chat we now send our customers a reminder when they reach $100 for one program, and when they reach $500 we end the program.
• We provide detailed information on third party premium text message services on your bill, including contact information so if you have questions about a charge, you can easily contact the message provider. »

With newfound funds suddenly made available, now customers can up their game and start customizing their smartphones with the latest technology of Bluetooth Headsets from top brand manufacturers.  Hands free functionality is designed for the interactive ‘on the go’ lifestyle  and allows safe driving