By Aldo Panessidi

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.

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 devices from scratches and blemishes.  Tough on the outside, sweet on the inside these brand name protection accessories combine complete device coverage with sleek artistic expression.

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.

Did you know that accessories are designed to enhance your mobility?  Discover the 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.

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.

Join the movement and break free from long-term carrier service contracts.  Unlocked cell phone empower consumers to select their preferred carrier and negotiate a service plan the at best meets their mobile lifestyle at the right price.

By Megan Fleet

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.

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.

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!

By Megan Fleet

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.

By Megan Fleet

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!

Following the recent official announcement of the BlackBerry Pearl 3G Canadian carriers Telus and Rogers have announced that they will be carrying the Pearl 3G in the coming months.  The Telus announcement reads:
Starting in May, this smartphone will be available from TELUS in pink and in black for as little as $29.99 on a three-year plan. For more information about the new BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone, please visit www.blackberry.com/pearl3

While the Rogers announcement was a bit more non-committal as far as dates go:
Pricing and availability will be announced in the coming weeks. For additional information about Rogers’ lineup of BlackBerry smartphones, please visit www.rogers.com. For more information about the BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100, please visit www.blackberry.com/pearl3G
Also, in addition to these two networks Bell Canada has also announced that they will be carrying the new BlackBerry device:
Bell Mobility will carry the device is May and it will operate on our HSPA network.

All of this sounds like great news for Canadian BlackBerry fans.  The eagerness of these three wireless networks to carry the new Pearl 3G is a great sign for how popular they expect this device to become.  With the past success of older Pearl models it is no wonder that these three Canadian wireless networks are so eager to announce they will be carrying the device as soon as possible.  Undoubtedly this new Pearl 3G will bring new customers to their wireless networks and keep some of their old customers happy as well.  The Pearl 3G is expected to become one of BlackBerry’s most popular smartphones and has a line of specifications that are sure to rival many other mobile devices on the market today.

The new application for Blackberry mobile phones, known as Zoompass will allow Canadian users its first payment service to be used on their cellular phones.  This is also a project that Rogers, Bell and Telus have jointly entered into.  This payment application will also let users be able to send receive and ask for money.  You will also be a will to take a look at any of your transactions all through utilizing your Blackberry device.

It does not cost anything to download.  However, there will be some charges that you will have to take into consideration when you use the program.  There will be a $.50 charge in order to be able to send or withdraw money into a checking or savings account.  You will also be charged $10 for any overdrafts that occur.

For those Telus customers you will see the new Zoompass icon on your touchscreen.  If you do not see today, you will notice it within the next couple of days.  This will also include some of the other carriers such as Bell Mobility, Fido, PC Mobile, Solo Mobile and Virgin Mobile.  You will be able to add money to your Zoompass account quickly and easily the matter where you are and what the many security features you will not have to worry about security issues.

With the announcement that users will be able to start downloading the application, this starts a major portion for mobile banking, and we should be able to see many more uses in the near future.  The application will use real time and with the ability to quickly transfer funds as well as having access to your money will make this mobile feature extremely user-friendly.  So check out your Blackberry unlocked phone and keep an eye out for that new Zoompass icon and begin your free registration.

So after many years it looks like Rogers Communications is finally getting rid of the System Access Fee that is charge on all cell phone plans.  This is great news.  No more $6.95 charge on each plan.

Okay before everyone gets all excited they are not really losing the plan.  The are replacing the 6.95$ fee with another fee called GRFF.  Basically the new fee will be $2.46 to $3.46 depending on which province you are in.  Also according the The Star all plans will be going up $5.  So from what it seems like plans will be more expensive.

Granted Rogers Communications hasn’t made any official announcements yet, but look for one soon on their website.  Another thing is if you are currently under a contract with your cell phone or smartphone plan the old SAF will still apply until your contract runs out or you make a plan change.

That’s right Rogers Communications has just released their new high speed HSPA+ network.  The new network runs at 21Mbps.  This is good news for high speed downloading on wireless devices like laptops and cell phones.

Right now the 21Mbps HSPA+ network is only available in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver but Rogers Communications does plan on expand

Another downside is technically their are no cell phones on the network that take advantage of the 21Mbps HSPA+ network, but Rogers Communication has released a new Mobile Internet Stick that will.

If you’re interested in faster download speeds on your cell phone stay tuned.

So a few months back Rogers Communications announced that it would be change hardware upgrade policy for smartphones from every 12 months to every 24 months.  Well Rogers has not done the same for all phones.

This means that you need to wait 2 years before you can get a deal on a new phone.  If you want a new cell phone before hand you have to pay their full price.

This has angered a lot of people because now instead of getting a new phone every year they have to wait.  Rogers has been quoted at saying that the reason for the change in policy is because it allows them to bring better phones to more people and also because cell phone quality has improved a lot consumers don’t need to upgrade every year.

If you are looking for alternatives and arent’ happy with your current provider now may be the time to start looking at unlocked cell phones.

So over the past few days it has looked more and more like Rogers is planning on carrying the Apple iPhone 3GS in 8GB flavour.  Up until now Apple has been saying that the iPhone 3G would remain part of the line up and the iPhone 3GS would only come in 16GB and 32GB editions.

A couple of days last week it was reported that Rogers website had started posting things on the site that made it look like they were phasing out the iPhone 3G 8GB for a new Apple iPhone 3GS 8GB.  Well on thing that appeared was a comparison chart with a checkbox under 8GB 3GS

[image: BoyGeniusReport]

Gizmodo received a response from Rogers stating that it was an error on their part, that there is no iPhone 3Gs 8GB, and have since updated their site.