By Aldo Paneesidi
Managing Customer churn as well acquiring new customers is an ongoing problem for all carriers... as such, they make it difficult for customers to switch providers. To this end, practically all carriers worldwide engage in 'false highly-persuasive' advertising. They will typically lure consumers with the offer of FREE smartphone and then hook, reel and lock them in with long term service plans that are designed to not only subsidize the cost of the cell phone but provide wireless voice & data services at premium prices. To further enforce customer loyalty, carriers lock their giveaway phones to only work within their network frequencies - thus making it difficult for consumers to leave them for another carrier.
In some cases, the programming may be easy to reverse, with the user simply reformatting the cell phone or removing the phone's memory card. In other instances, the phone [...]

By Adhurim Murtezai

Carriers are in business to make money on consumer service plans… not by selling cell phones.  All carriers subsidize the cost of a handset to entice people to buy a long-term service plan, and they "lock" the phone to make sure the customer can't easily switch to a competing carrier or use it on another company's network.
This is what is happening with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus which has seen a slight price drop from $159.99 to $99.99 on a 3-year term at Best Buy, this was for all carriers (Rogers, Fido, Bell and TELUS). However, now that the device has been out for a few weeks we’ll see the price continue to fall.  As evidenced by the above flyer that shows Rogers and Fido will sink to a new Canadian low of $49.99 on a 3 year locked term. We recommend you hold off on this deal as [...]

By Aldo Panessidi
The next-generation Samsung cell phone Galaxy S III is rumored as poised to impress. Due in part, that it will not be launched for a few months yet, reports are mainly unconfirmed. However, South Korea’s Electronic Times News cited unnamed sources in its headlines when the Galaxy 3 specs of the handset were outlined.

This upcoming smartphone is touted to be the thinnest yet – 7mm thick. To put it in perspective, the Samsung Galaxy S II is housed in handset that is 8.49mm. And they both have some impressive specs. The next-generation Galaxy will sport the latest Android 4.0 mobile platform, an 8 megapixel rear camera, a 2 megapixel front camera and a Super AMOLED Plus display to please the eye. There are whispers that this smartphone will include a quad-core processor under the hood that would add some oomph to the experience.
With the difference [...]

By Aldo Panessidi
Android. Apple. Apple. Android. The mobile OS brands and their respective handset manufacturers are in the grip of a fierce, cyclical competition to be the best and win global mindshare. Which is why we follow the momentum and progress of their sales and innovation so closely. So how did the vendors stack up against one another? The usual culprits are present: Apple’s iPhone 4S and Samsung’s Galaxy S 2.
OEM Market Share
For the three-month average period ending in December, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 25.3 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, followed by LG Mobile with 20 percent share and Motorola with 13.3 percent share. Apple continued to gain ground in the OEM market with 12.4 percent share of total mobile subscribers (up 2.2 percentage points), while RIM rounded out the top five [...]

By Aldo Panessidi
Ah the Super Bowl – the height of both gridiron and consumerism competition. The game pits the top two football teams in the United States against one another - while advertisers bring out the big guns and vie for the attention of the millions of congregated viewers.

While the  New York Giants battled it out with the New England Patriots, Samsung decided to take the offensive against Apple with a string of anti-Apple advertisements. The crowning moments was a 90-second commercial that cost a cool $10 million to snag the airtime.  The following video is the Samsung's actual Apple bashing commercial aired during the Super Bowl.

The ad series pitches Samsung as the “cool” alternative to Apple’s iPhone; the Super Bowl commercial promoted their upcoming smartphone launch, the Galaxy Note, which will available at AT&T later this month.   This device is also available as an unlocked cell phone, empower consumers [...]

By Aldo Panessidi
For those of you loyal readers who have been following and reading my blogs.... you no doubt noticed my propensity to provide you with industry and market statistics and information.

Keeping with this tradition, I came across a study - IT in the Toilet conducted by 11 Mark "View Infographic"... according to this report, we shouldn't be surprised if we hear a toilet flush in the background while on the phone with friends or colleagues; as a whopping 3 out 4 in America use their cell phones while in the bathroom.
Approximately the same number of men and women have used the phone in the bathroom, according to a survey of 1,000 Americans... although men seem more tethered to IT in the toilet: 30 percent of men versus 20 percent of women agreed with the statement, "I don't go to the bathroom without my mobile phone."
Since only 14% of respondents [...]

By Megan Fleet
Samsung is poised to unleash yet another addition of the Samsung  Galaxy cell phone line of business to a seemingly insatiable public. Canada will soon see the Galaxy Note released by Bell according to a recent announcement by the mobile carrier.   Discover the latest Samsung device accessories.
The LTE capable Galaxy Note is expected to be available to consumers mid-February and offer a North American mid-market handset to Canadians ready to adopt the Android darling.  While it will not initially have 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as its Android OS, it will have the reliable Gingerbread version out the gate. Based on the announcements, the upgrade to v4.0 is on the roadmap (and may allow other first-gen 4.0 Androids to help work out any kinks).

Leaving your valuable mobile devices unprotected is risky!  Discover the latest innovative protection solutions... stylish top brand bags, sleeves and cases specifically designed to protect your [...]

By Aldo Panessidi

At one point in time HTC was the crowned king of Android... releasing nearly a dozen different models in Canada last year.  From the HTC Amaze being like its namesake amazing, the HTC Desire being sleek and alluring to the HTC Raider having a big bold display .  However, HTC's market strategy to have a model to please everyone, in fact, ended pleasing a very small portion of the smartphone market space.

In a recent interview HTC's Phil Roberson made it clear that HTC was moving away from its strategy of flooding the market with devices in favour of focusing  on delivering 'hero' based technology and designs.   As Roberson indicated "HTC had tried to do too much in 2011 and oversaturated the field with devices.  This year would be about making something special or having fewer but more distinctive devices."
Leaving your valuable HTC mobile devices unprotected is risky!  [...]

By Megan Fleet
Remember the good ole feature phone days when your little Nokia cell phone or Motorola cell phone would hold a charge for two or even three days? Those battery expectancies have decreased with the adoption of unlocked smartphone handsets.  Not only are these powerful devices armed with incredible amounts of space and storage, but they have zippy quad-core processors to keep your experience as instantly gratifying as possible.

This means we can exchange email and all matter of SMS and MMS communications, play Angry Birds, stream videos, and play or stream music –all on a smartphone. There is plenty of additional functionality to put on the list, but the fact remains: our heightened use and amped up power of these devices means our batteries are lucky to last through the day without a little extra juice.  Discover an extensive selection of the latest lithium technology replacement cell phone and [...]

By Aldo Panessidi
Take inventory of your tech devices. You likely have a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, an iPod media player, and maybe an errant MP3 player lying around. That is a lot of devices to manage, juggle, and keep tidy – a huge concern for those who like clean décor and want to incorporate these devices. So as the newest offerings of technology were paraded out at CES, who are the winners for top accessory innovators at this year’s conference?

To start, Samsung had some wonderfully well designed speakers and docking stations for their Galaxy S 2 smartphones and Galaxy tablets that had a range of classic to contemporary. They looked to have dedicated woofers and tweeters to ensure a great sound as well as a great look.

Next we have iLuv which you likely know for its Apple accessories. This year they branched out to showcase their newest Android offerings [...]