FreshPhoneNews.com

Getting your hopes up ain’t a wise thing to do when it comes to HTC Dream or Magic from Rogers Wireless. Both these gadgets won’t be receiving an official OS update past Android 1.5, according to HTC’s website (Rogers Wireless has confirmed this as well). Android 1.6 upgrades for Rogers HTC Dream or Magic haven’t been planned as it was made only for “Google”- branded devices such as the G1. It isn’t available for the above two HTC-branded handsets that run Android 1.5, being considered a stable and reliable platform delivering an outstanding user experience. Bragging about the device, calling it an open-sourced “Revolution” and then turning down the customers is just plain sad. Did we mention that rival carriers offering Google supported devices have managed to tweak it up with some software upgrades?

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Bell is going to make you Canadians take a new BlackBerry whether you want it or not. As you can see in these leaked images of Bell’s inventory system the BlackBerry 8530 is headed your way. The price you see is the full retail price, $499, and doesn’t show what you’d be paying on a service agreement, but it sure will be less than $500. Also, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 is seen here too, quietly idling away the time till Bell sees it fit to announce to the world. Considering that the world knows already, that announcement may be soon too.

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Globalive Wireless Management Corp., the company that scored high at last year’s Canadian AWS auction (not to mention gives very nasty lip service to Bell, Rogers and TELUS) has announced that it will be offering its HSPA services in the Canadian marketplace as WIND. WIND is already a hit in Europe, particularly in Italy (motherland) and Greece. The Canadian brand owners are now hoping “not only leverage WIND’s challenger status, but also its operational intelligence and experience.”Expect to see WIND launch in key markets later this year with general availability (excluding Québec) in 2010. Looking to the furture, WIND will be making the transition from HSPA to LTE, although a time line for the move hasn’t been made public as yet.

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LG Canada has announced its two new handsets, the LGBliss and the Keybo2. LG also managed to leak its own handsets a few days prior to official launch, probably got tired of the blogs getting all the glory. The LGBliss, the handset on your left above, features a full 3-inch 240×400 pixel touchscreen, 2 megapixel camera, video capture capability, 4 1/2 hours of talk time and a UI that even the marketing people couldn’t make look good. Bell will be getting the LGBliss and you can get it for a cool $79.95 CAD on a 3-year contract. Now for the Keybo2, you’ll find a dual-keypad clamshell with a 2.6-inch 320×240 pixel internal display and a 1.56-inch 160×96 pixel external display. Other notable specs include a 3 megapixel camera with video capture, stereo Bluetooth support and up to 5 1/3 hours of talk time. TELUS will be hosting the Keybo2 and adding it to your list of possessions will cost you $129.99 CAD on a 3-year contract. LG is tight lipped so far about the possibility of these handsets coming to other parts of the world. Enjoy Canadians. LGBliss and here

Fresh up for grabs is the HTC Touch Pro2 and Snap on good ole TELUS. Both handsetsroar with Windows Mobile 6.1 and will cost you $0 and $249.99 respectively on 3-year deals with voice and data discount (that would be $399.99 and $649.99 retail). The devices are a sure win with features for everybody in both consumer and business users categories, you really cant go wrong with email support, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, speakerphone, visual voicemail, global GSM roaming and well over five hours of talk-time per device (apart from the other goodies you should know by heart by now. So which is it gonna be?

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Lately it’s all been about the BlackBerry Tour, and while some of you may be wincing at the very title of this post, there are plenty others who want a modern CDMA BlackBerry with a full QWERTY keypad. N Canada, TELUS will be offering the Tour along with Bell, but TELUS’ price point for the coveted handset as of July 15th is $249.99 on a three year contract. And this really is a tad too high, considering you just signed away three years of your life. Before heading on to TELUS, how about checking in with Best Buy, since they’re offering the Tour $20 cheaper. Not enough to pay for your next vacation, but a penny saved is still a penny earned.

Bell is sending dummies out, no it’s not shipping its HR people to remote locations all over Canada, the dummies I’m taking about are of the BlackBerry Tour 9630. And if unofficial official confirmation of the Tour coming out soon gets any better than this, than I’d sure like to see it. Not just that, but promotional stuff that is custom to new releases from Bell are also in motion so the Tour is coming, and coming real soon. But the question is will it drop in beside Verizon’s launch of the Tour? Are we looking at twins?

Confirmation for the BlackBerry Tour 9630 via Bell is here, not official but you know it’s true and we know it’s true so it’s true. Bell has yet to make official announcements but the Tour is expected in Canada on July 17th. And now for the ever so accurate and likely guess at the retail price. The Tour will be out at $699.99 full retail. So what will people looking to sign up for a 3 year contract have to pay? Add and subtract a few numbers and our guess is at a good $249.95 of course Bell might cut it even lower and we could end up seeing the Tour go for a $199.95 or wait maybe even lower? Price limbo anyone? How low can you go?

Effective date  July 17, 2009

Offer description

Go places with the newest global BlackBerry smartphone. The BlackBerry Tour 9630, features not only 3G technology, but also a 3.2MP camera, high resolution screen, GPS capability, and support for popular applications such as Facebook®. This next generation global smartphone gives you the power to do more of the things that matter to you.

The feature highlights and available services of the BlackBerry Tour 9630 are:

Global smartphone: Get voice coverage in over 200 countries and data functionality in over 150 countries.

High resolution screen: The HVGA (480×360) screen along with an integrated lens design offers a clear, brilliant view that stays bright and vivid over time.

View & edit attachments: Enjoy the flexibility of working on Microsoft® Word, Excel® and PowerPoint® files from just about anywhere.

Organizer: Integrated address book, calendar, memo pad and task list – Email, message and place phone calls directly from one centralized address book. Set up meetings using the calendar and easily add attendees through the address book.

GPS Nav & BlackBerry Maps: Access Turn by Turn Navigation and 3D moving maps. Locate nearby businesses and services using the Local Search feature.

Rich Multimedia: 3.2 MP camera with flash, auto focus & image stabilization. Surf the internet at 3G speeds and view the pages in full HTML format.

The BlackBerry Tour 9630 box includes:

3G BlackBerry® Tour™ 9630 global smartphone.

Travel charger.

Micro USB cable.

Removable battery.

Stereo headset.

Quick Start guide.

BlackBerry desktop software CD.

User guide.

SIM card.

BlackBerry holster.

The table below outlines the pricing and agreement rebates for the BlackBerry Tour 9630:

BlackBerry Tour 9630    36 Month / 24 Month / 12 Month / 30 Day

Suggested Retail Price     $699.95 / $699.95 / $699.95 / $699.95

Agreement Rebate ISPR   $200.00 / $150.00 / $50.00 / $0.00

Client Price    $499.95 / $549.95 / $649.95 / $699.95

Always refer to the latest Pricing Grid for complete and most up to date pricing information.

The table below shows the English and French description and the SKU of the BlackBerry Tour 9630:

Description     SKU

English French

RIM, BlackBerry, Tour, 9630, Black -HL  RIM, BlackBerry, Tour, 9630, noir -HL   68194

Key Dates:

SKU opening: ready for ordering on Product Zone on June 30, 2009.

Shipping date: will begin shipping to all stores week of July 13, 2009.

Dealer launch kits:  begin shipping the week of July 6, 2009.  If you have not received your launch kit by July 17, 2009, please contact your Regional Manager. Please ensure that mock mobile phones are displayed in time for July 17, 2009.

Stay connected almost anywhere in the world.

Communicate quickly and easily with a full QWERTY keyboard.

The Tour’s evolved form factor is sleek & equipped with the latest BlackBerry features and most recent software (4.7).

Enhanced browsing (improved web page rendering).

Faster attachment downloading.

Improved multimedia capabilities (more media formats supported).

Geo-tagging functionality (attach location to photos taken).

Reasons to buy the BlackBerry Tour 9630 smartphone:

The BlackBerry Tour is a global smartphone allowing clients to bring the full power of the industry’s leading mobile email and messaging solution in over 150 countries.

The BlackBerry Tour’s view & edit capabilities of attachments lets clients enjoy the flexibility of working on Microsoft® Word, Excel® and PowerPoint® files from just about anywhere.

The BlackBerry Tour allows clients to surf the internet at 3G speeds and view the pages in full HTML format.

Reasons to sell the BlackBerry Tour 9630 smartphone:

The high-resolution screen makes video playback sharp and smooth. These features make it easy to wow prospective clients by playing a video clip or by browsing through pictures.

The BlackBerry Tour’s rich multimedia including a 3.2 MP camera with flash, auto focus and image stabilization allows clients to take the perfect picture anywhere.

The BlackBerry Tour’s organizer allows clients to stay organized with an integrated address book, calendar, memo pad and task list. Clients can email, message and place phone calls directly from one centralized address book

Reader be warned. This is a rumor of little authenticity reported by a person of high integrity. Meaning, the news bit might be fake but the guy quoting just wouldn’t lie to us so we’re letting you in on the deal. But remember don’t go packing or anything just yet and hold on to your boot straps. Word on the wide WWW is that Rogers and Fido weren’t all in and exclusive with the iPhone deal as we were led to believe. Turns out that another Canadian carrier by the name of Telus will offer the iPhone3G S in October once it has its HSPA network up and running.  And of course, yet another dire warning of caution. The news that Telus will have the HSPA network up by October is good and the bit about the iPhone is even better but be warned, in the phone industry, the times they are a changin’. And while we aren’t totally dissing the rumor, it is still advised that  you believe with caution.

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Cell phone usage in Canada was never cheap, and if you had to make a few calls outside of the borders, well, that probably meant skipping on a lot of things inside the border. So it’s a release when major carriers actually come up with a plan that lets users save a buck or two. Rogers has just come up with some Travel Packages that aim to make your travel expenses on cellular calls a bit more bearable. Actually, the plans could save you cash in the regions of $15-$100 or more, sweet. The Travel Packages are good for one month once added to your account and require no contract. They’re also automatically removed from your account at the beginning of your next billing cycle. Here’s the rate list;

1. Africa

• $35 – 15 minutes
• $70 – 40 minutes
• $110 – 70 minutes

1. Asia, Mid-East & Oceania

• $30 – 15 minutes
• $70 – 40 minutes
• $110 – 70 minutes

1. Caribbean & Latin America

• $25 – 15 minutes
• $55 – 40 minutes
• $90 – 70 minutes

1. Europe

• $20 – 15 minutes
• $50 – 40 minutes
• $75 – 70 minutes

1. USA

• $15 – 15 minutes
• $25 – 40 minutes
• $40 – 70 minutes

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