HSUPA

Retail
December 21, 2009
by

iPhone available from Vodafone UK on January 14th

By on December 21, 2009 at 9:41 AM.

iPhone available from Vodafone UK on January 14th

iphone-3gs

Already available from O2, Orange and even Tesco Mobile, the UK’s third largest carrier, Vodafone, finally announced this morning that it will begin selling the ubiquitous Apple smartphone on January 14th. Vodafone subs will be able to snag either the iPhone 3G or the iPhone 3GS for free on all tariffs over £35 and £45 respectively. Both of these prices assume a 24-month contract, but an extra £5 will shave off 6 months. Anyone interested in tethering should pencil an extra £5 into their monthly budget as that’s what Vodafone says will buy you the right to 500MB of data for tethering. One must pay to play, we suppose. More →

32 Comments
News
December 20, 2009
by

XPERIA X10 visits the FCC, gifts them with its operating manual

By on December 20, 2009 at 8:13 AM.

XPERIA X10 visits the FCC, gifts them with its operating manual

se-xperia-x10-fcc

Ordinarily, looking at FCC filings are about as fun as discussing the history of blotting paper, but we have a rare exception in the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10. While the standard fare external pictures offer nothing we haven’t already seen, the filing contains a wealth of teardown photos that are sure to please both phone junkies and anyone fascinated with design. But it gets better. Not only do we have a slew of test reports (exciting!), but the entire 40-page user manual which not only gives a great overview of the device itself, but Sony Ericsson’s custom Android overlay, Nexus. Of course we’ve already broken down Nexus for you when we went hands on, but let’s just keep that our little secret, okay? More →

18 Comments
General
October 5, 2009
by

Bell’s HSPA network to go live next month

By on October 5, 2009 at 5:40 PM.

Bell’s HSPA network to go live next month

bell-logoCanadians coast to coast rejoice, for next month Rogers’ HSPA monopoly will come crashing down at the hands of Bell as it officially launches its HSPA network overlay. Bell has been under increasing pressure to iron out any kinks in their upcoming HSPA roll-out as the upcoming 2010 Olympic Winters Games are fast approaching and Bell is the official network. They seem to be giddy with excitement, too, having finished the work ahead of schedule. Their new HSPA network which is an overlay on top of Bell’s 1XRTT/EV-DO Rev A. network, will offer speeds of up to 21Mbps. While that might be impressive enough, they’ve also managed to cover over 1,000,000 square kilometers including 20,000 cities and towns, reaching 93% of the entire Canadian population. Color us more than impressed.

Read

29 Comments
General
September 17, 2009
by

Samsung announces OmniaPRO B7330, WinMo 6.5 upgrade plans

By on September 17, 2009 at 8:00 AM.

Samsung announces OmniaPRO B7330, WinMo 6.5 upgrade plans

samsung-b7330

In the run up to the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5, manufacturers and carriers are trying to tantalize fan bases with new and exciting products. Unfortunately there really hasn’t been anything we would deem “wow worthy” up to this point (announced officially, that is), though Samsung seems to think its short-term strategy is all that. First off, Sammy finally got around to announcing the OmniaPRO B7330, a low-end full-QWERTY number with a 320×320 display, 3 megapixel camera, FM tuner and 7.2Mbps HSDPA/2Mbps HSUPA connectivity. Second, it announced that the OmniaLITE B7300 will ship with WinMo 6.5 as with all Omnia models shipped after 6.5 goes live. Third and lastly, Samsung announced that later on in the year at a time not specified, Samsung will release WinMo 6.5 upgrades for the Omnia II i800, OmniaPRO B7320, and OmniaPRO B7610 alongside “a set of customized strategies to differentiate and expand sales of each model by appealing to a broad spectrum of user groups.” We haven’t a clue what Samsung has in mind in terms of customization, but we do have this nagging feeling that it won’t exactly knock anyone’s socks off.

Read

8 Comments
News
July 2, 2009
by

Vobis Computer's HIGHSCREEN PP5420 has good specs, awful name

By on July 2, 2009 at 8:21 AM.

Vobis Computer's HIGHSCREEN PP5420 has good specs, awful name

For the past two weeks, the Android scene has been all Hero this, Sense that but apparently there are a few other players in the Google game trying to make a name for themselves. Enter Vobis Computer’s HIGHSCREEN PP5420, the newest Android handset to hit the street complete with an IRS tax form sounding name. In terms of specs, the PP5420 is not exactly cutting edge but it’s still sharp enough to go toe to toe with the majority of its competition: Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and dual-band 7.2Mbps HSPA connectivity, a 528MHz processor, 256MB ROM / 128MB RAM, 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen display, 3 megapixel auto-focus camera, Wi-Fi, aGPS, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR and a 1080 mAh battery. The cost? $500ish unlocked.

[Via Unwired View]

Read

 

10 Comments
News
June 18, 2009
by

Rogers to finally release Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

By on June 18, 2009 at 5:30 PM.

Rogers to finally release Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

Rogers subscribers who happen to be fans of Windows Mobile will be pleased to learn that Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X1 is now shipping to retail outlets across Canada and will be available within the next few days. Finally. With a price tag of $249.99 on a 3-year contract with a voice and data plan of $45 or more, it’s not exactly clear to us just who is going to want to snag a device that was announced on February 10th of last year — especially considering hot new WinMo devices like the HTC Touch Pro2 and the, umm, Xperia X2 are just around the corner. Then again, maybe we’re just too picky.

Thanks, Treatz!

14 Comments
Rumor
June 14, 2009
by

Is the Samsung Louvre really the Omnia Pro?

By on June 14, 2009 at 11:15 AM.

Is the Samsung Louvre really the Omnia Pro?

Excited about the upcoming Samsung B7610 Louvre? Well wait just a tick, because we’ve got some interesting news to report. Yesterday Samsung slipped up and pictures of the Louvre were briefly published to its press gallery. Apparently Sammy referred to the Louvre as we know it as the Omnia Pro, a device that we have been hearing about since late April. Truth be told, we wouldn’t be all too surprised if this were the case considering all of the known specs of the Louvre match up with the rumored specs of the Omnia Pro. And speaking of the devices specs, a more detailed list has surfaced that makes the device look even more promising:

  • 3.5-inch AMOLED resistive touchscreen display w/ WVGA resolution
  • 800MHz processor
  • 5.1 megapixel camera with auto-focus and LED flash
  • Sliding QWERTY keypad
  • 2 UIs (Pro & Media w/ dedicated button to switch between them)
  • TV-OUT
  • 3.5mm headphone jack
  • MicroUSB
  • Divx/WMV/H.264 accelerations
  • GPS/WIFI/HSDPA/HSUPA/Bluetooth
  • FM Radio
  • DNLA support
  • 1GB internal memory with microSDHC up to 32GB
  • 1500mAh battery

The Louvre/Omnia Pro is believed to be on track for September or October. There are some reports that the device is currently running quite slowly because of a very buggy ROM however, so rumor has it the launch might be pushed back a month. September is still quite a ways away though, so we’re hoping Samsung can sort any issues out in time. Until then, hit the jump for a few more press shots.

More →

26 Comments
News
June 4, 2009
by

Full specs of the BlackBerry Tour leak out

By on June 4, 2009 at 6:28 PM.

Full specs of the BlackBerry Tour leak out

We all know that Bell is prepping to launch the BlackBerry Tour 9630 sometime in the near future, and now for the first time a document detailing the full specs of the hotly anticipated smartphone has leaked out. While the majority of the specs have been known for quite some time, there are a still few things that can be learned from the document. So take a peek because this is the real deal, people:

Size (L x W x D): 112 x 62 x 14.2 mm
Weight: 130 grams
Memory: 256 MB internal Flash memory
Expandable Memory: microSD located under the battery door cover
Battery: 1400 mAh removable/rechargeable cryptographic lithium cell
Battery Life: TBD
Keyboard: 35 key backlit QWERTY
Display: High resolution HVGA 480×360 pixel
Camera: 3.2 MP camera, flash auto focus
GPS: Assisted, autonomous and simultaneous GPS enabled with preloaded BlackBerry Application for e911 capabilities
Media Player: Video format support MPEG4; Audio format support MP3, AAC AAC+ etc
Bluetooth: Bluetooth V2.0; mono/stereo headset, hands-free, PBAP
Headset: 3.5mm stereo headset capable
USB Port: Enables charging and high-spead data synchronization via USB “A” to micro USB “B” cable
Network Support:
Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900MHz
GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks
Single-band: 2100 MHz
UMTS/HSPA networks
Dual-Band: 800/1900 MHz
CDMA/EVDO Rev A networks

Excited? Well you should be (remember how much we love it?), especially with a mid-July launch on the Bell network in the works. Now hit the jump to check out the rest of the document.

More →

95 Comments
Retail
June 3, 2009
by

Sony Ericsson's incredibly sexy W995a available July 6th

By on June 3, 2009 at 10:39 AM.

Sony Ericsson's incredibly sexy W995a available July 6th

Having long since been given the green light for sale in the US by the FCC, Sony Ericsson announced today that the unlocked W995a Walkman will go on sale July 6th at Sony Style locations across the US. Identical to the W995 Walkman in every way save for the inclusion of a tri-band UMTS/HSPA (850/1800/1900MHz) radio, the W995a is the type of device that we’d like to see SE continue to push out alongside smartphones like the Satio. Here’s why: a 2.6-inch QVGA display, 8.1 megapixel camera with auto focus, image stabilization and face detection, video calling, Wi-Fi, aGPS, FM radio with RDS, Media Go, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support and a 3.5mm headphone jack can all be yours, unlocked, for around $600. Pretty appealing, is it not?

Read

21 Comments
News
June 1, 2009
by

Samsung announces the Pixon12, its contender for the 2009 Cameraphone Heavyweight Title

By on June 1, 2009 at 9:34 AM.

Samsung announces the Pixon12, its contender for the 2009 Cameraphone Heavyweight Title

We’ve been hearing about Samsung introducing a 12 megapixel camera phone since the beginning of this year and this morning the device that many of you have been praying for has been announced in the M8910 Pixon12. With specs that include a 3.1-inch AMOLED touchscreen display (Samsung claims it has a contrast ratio of 10,000:1), quad-band GSM/EDGE / dual-band HSPA (900/2100MHz), Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth 2.1, FM tuner with RDS and 150MB of internal memory that’s expandable to 16GB via microSD, it appears that the Pixon12 is by no means a one trick pony. It has pretty much all of the features that are expected from a high-end phone these days. Back to that 12 megapixel shooter…

If Samsung’s claims are right, it’s able to take a new pic after a 2 second respite while it saves the large image file and can shoot 720 x 480 videos at up to 30 fps. Other than that, features like Smart Auto and Touch Auto-Focus as well as easy uploading to Facebook, Picasa, Flickr, MySpace, Photobucket and Friendster through Samsung’s Share Pix make up the big selling points for the device. Pricing for the Pixon12 has yet to be announced, but we do know that it will be available in Europe come the end of June before it begins to make its way to other markets in August. Say what, Satio? Yeah, that’s right.

Read

9 Comments
Exclusive
May 27, 2009
by

TELUS' HSPA soft-launch on track for September 2nd, full rollout expected in October

By on May 27, 2009 at 1:40 PM.

TELUS' HSPA soft-launch on track for September 2nd, full rollout expected in October

Aaaaand we’re back with some more news regarding TELUS’ HSPA soft-launch. We’ve spoken to a few more people who have been able to confirm to us that TELUS is indeed going to be flipping the switch on parts of its HSPA network on September 2nd — though at this point in time we’ve been unable to get confirmation as to which markets this will occur in. All we know for now is that Vancouver will be one of the lucky markets and, if all goes to plan, the majority of the country will be able to bask in the glory of the new network by the end of October. In other TELUS network news, we know a lot of people have been complaining about a sudden uptake in network interuptions. We’ve been told this is to do with the fact that engineers at TELUS have had to reposition a lot of CDMA antennas to make room for the new HSPA equipment. Chalk it up to a case of no pain, no gain, we suppose.

24 Comments
Review
May 24, 2009
by

Rogers HTC Dream review

By on May 24, 2009 at 12:37 PM.

Rogers HTC Dream review

So by now you’ve probably seen that our Rogers HTC Dream demo unit recently arrived in a locked safe and are wondering why such a fuss has been made over a device that has been for sale in the US from T-Mobile since October of 2008. While the device is physically the same of course, there are quite a few differences compared to the stock Android OS and it really took us by surprise. Want to know more? Grab a coffee, slip on your spectacles and a hit the jump for the review.

More →

79 Comments
General
May 19, 2009
by

Ex-Globalive employee gets revenge by leaking the crap out of the upcoming carrier's plans

By on May 19, 2009 at 8:55 AM.

Ex-Globalive employee gets revenge by leaking the crap out of the upcoming carrier's plans

Okay, so get a load of this. Apparently (please note the emphasis) a former employee of Globalive aka Global Wireless, the next big Canadian wireless provider that is building a UMTS / HSPA network with service planned for all provinces and territories excluding Québec, recently got canned for “poor performance in marketing”. This of course led to him logging on to HoFo and leaking everything about the carrier’s plans except what the CEO ate for breakfast. There is tons of stuff to cover and the slides are pretty grainy at best, so we’ve taken the time to write it all out for our Canadian friends. Now hit the jump and prepare to mess yourself because if even half of this stuff is true, the Canadian wireless landscape is about to make a serious shift for the better starting in Q4. Just one question — why no BlackBerry love?

Thanks, “Ex-Global Wireless Employee”!

More →

59 Comments