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22 October 2009	B.C. tables ban on cell phone use while driving The B.C. government has introduced legislation to ban B.C. drivers from chatting on cellphones while they're behind the wheel. Six other provinces already have such legislation in place. The B.C. government promised in its throne speech last August to restrict cellphone use while driving to create a safer driving and pedestrian environment across the province. Solicitor General Kash Heed said Wednesday that the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act changes to crack down on cellphone use will save lives. "We have all seen near misses on the road because drivers were not paying attention," Heed told the legislature. "And some of us have seen the devastating consequences of driver distraction." If passed, the changes to the Motor Vehicle Act will take effect on Jan. 1, 2010. At that point, only hands-free cellphones and devices that require one touch to activate will be permitted. A new fine of $167 can be handed out as of Feb. 1, 2010. If drivers are caught texting or emailing they will also receive three penalty points on their driving record. New drivers in the province's graduated licensing program are not permitted to use hands-free phones and will receive the $167 fine and three penalty points for any violation of the amended legislation. The B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police passed a resolution earlier this year asking for a total ban on cellphone use by drivers, even with hands-free devices. The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General said independent research concludes that cellphone use while driving is the top cause of distracted driving. On average, about 117 people die each year in British Columbia and 1,400 are sent to hospital because of distraction behind the wheel said the ministry. Prepare now and get your Bluetooth Headset or Speaker Phone today... ORDER NOW Posted in: Wireless Industry
7 October 2009	Rogers Rocket Hub launching November 3rd! Intial training on this very exicting new Solution that gives you a wireless or voice connection where you cannot find one. This will be a great alternative solution for those currently on dial up or where cable or DSL is not accessible. Also great for Small/Home office or single office locations. The expected official launch is November 3rd. Voice and Data pricing: 2-year contract: $149.99 (there will be no 3-year contract) No contract: $399.99 $50.00 up to 3GB of data $60.00 3GB to 5GB $75.00 5GB to 10GB Data only (Flex Plan) $35.00 0 to 3GB $45.00 3GB to 5GB $60.00 5GB to 10GB - Data will also flex on your usage, voice won’t flex as it’s local UL - You get unlimited voice minutes for local calls - You can get unlimited Canadian Long Distance for $20.00 - The Sim card will be locked to the unit - International roaming and voice minutes are disabled on these accounts - The hub needs juice, so it’s a fixed installation. If the power goes out the net/phone does not work. - There will be a battery pack as an accessory coming - the hub is cellular voice, not VoIP or the next UMA - the Hub doesn’t require a cable / DSL connection - the Hub has standard network jack so you can hook up non WiFi devices directly to it to have data access - Device optimized for 4 but can and will take more as long as the connection and network can take it - average usages during the test period was 3GB - it’s a 7.2Meg device, 21Meg on Horizon for mid 2010 This is exciting, very exciting. More details to come! Posted in: Rogers Wireless
24 September 2009	Get the Gmail Plug-in for your Blackberry The Gmail™ plug-in is the first downloadable email client built by RIM, and it brings all the conveniences of this popular email service to your BlackBerry smartphone. Here, we look into some of the time-saving features you can take advantage of with the Gmail plug-in on your BlackBerry smartphone. Conversation View Unlike a traditional email client, the Gmail plug-in displays your emails in conversation view, which groups a message and all of its replies into a single thread. This makes keeping track of complicated exchanges easy and allows you to quickly find any earlier messages or attachments sent in a conversation. Labels and Stars The Gmail plug-in includes advanced features for organizing your messages, including labels and stars. The label feature allows you to attach one or more descriptive labels (which you can create using the Gmail web client) to your message, such as “Work”, “Finance”, “Football” or “Read later”. You can later filter your inbox or search results by label, allowing you to view only a certain category of emails. You can also “star” messages, which applies a special label that identifies particularly important emails. Search Searching your email inbox is faster than ever with the Gmail plug-in. It allows you to quickly search the messages saved locally on your BlackBerry smartphone or in your entire Gmail inbox for a term in any field, including From, To, Subject and Body. You can also filter search results by label, or by starred status. Initially, synchronization with the Gmail webmail client is only in the smartphone-to-webmail direction, meaning that changes made to messages (such as adding or editing a label) using the web client will not be reflected on the handheld, but two-way synchronization is expected to be implemented in the near future. Get it Now Already have Gmail integrated with your BlackBerry smartphone? Click here If not, you’ll first need to integrate your Gmail hosted account with your BlackBerry smartphone by following the instructions here. For more info visit blackberry.com/gmail. Posted in: BlackBerry
15 September 2009	Survey says most iPhone owners download 10+ apps. In the mobile world, it's been long established that applications are the key selling point for Apple's iPhone. At the end of June the company reported a record 5.2 million iPhones sold in its third quarter - a 600% increase over the same time frame a year earlier. Steve Jobs was proud to announce that more than 1.5 billion applications had been downloaded from the App Store. Unsurprisingly, according to a new survey released by Compete, 72% of iPhone owners have downloaded 10 or more applications to their devices. Meanwhile, in comparison only 27% of Blackberry owners have downloaded 5 or more applications. Said Nohe, "With the massive number of applications downloaded to date, the iPhone has taken an early lead in getting owners to adopt app functionality and make popular applications a part of their daily lives… Once users are hooked, they're very unlikely to give up their device - that makes mobile the next can't miss opportunity for marketers." The top free application in the App Store's social networking category is Facebook and 71% of those surveyed reported accessing the site from their mobile device. Nevertheless, Twitter usage appeared remarkably lower than expected. Posted in: iPhone
14 September 2009	Rogers Wireless Next Generation 21 Mbps HSPA+ Network Goes Live In Canada's Five Largest Cities FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TORONTO (ON) — September 14, 2009 — Rogers Wireless today announced the commercial availability of Rogers' next generation super-charged High Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+) network in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, clocking in at maximum speeds of 21 Megabits per second (Mbps). Millions of Canadians can access the fastest wireless speeds in North America through the new 21 Mbps HSPA+ Rocket Mobile Internet Stick, which customers can pre-order from me starting today. Just email darelle@cellcomwireless.com and I will add you to my waiting list! "With Rogers 21 Mbps HSPA+ network, customers in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal are the first in North America to experience the fastest world-class wireless speeds," said John Boynton, Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President, Rogers Wireless. "Rogers continues to remain at the forefront of offering Canadians the most innovative mobile technologies and first-to-market products, including the new Rogers Rocket Mobile Internet Stick that lets consumers enjoy mobile Internet access across Canada's fastest wireless network just as conveniently as you use your wireless phone.” Rogers began the Canada-wide deployment of a 21 Mbps HSPA+ wireless network earlier this year, tripling the current download speeds of Canada's fastest high-speed mobile network, making the Rogers network up to seven times faster than the Canadian competition. Rogers Wireless customers – who today already experience the fastest wireless data speeds in Canada – will experience even better performance with peak wireless download speeds that are as fast as any available in the world. The new 21 Mbps HSPA+ Rocket Mobile Internet Stick brings Canadians the freedom to enjoy mobile Web experiences at speeds that are as fast as those you would find at home or at the office. The HSPA+ Rocket Mobile Internet Stick features a USB connection to a laptop or a desktop PC, easy installation with no CD required for Windows or Mac Operating Systems, integrated antenna for maximized reception performance and data transmission and multi-colour LED indicating connection status. Starting today, Canadians can pre-order the new HSPA+ Rocket Mobile Internet Stick for as low as $74.99**. Please email darelle@cellcomwireless.com to pre-order yours today. Rogers plans to expand HSPA+ over the coming months to additional cities across the country. Rogers is the first wireless provider in North America to launch HSPA+ at peak download speeds of up to 21 Mbps, reinforcing Rogers and Canada as a North American market leader in telecommunications technology and innovation. Posted in: Rogers Wireless
8 September 2009	Apple iPhone 3GS vs. Palm Pre We took some time to take a look at each and compare these two highly desired devices, the Apple iPhone vs. the Palm Pre. They both weigh about the same, although the Pre is longer when open and in overall thickness. The iPhone has a bigger screen at 3.5 inches vs. The Pre 3.1 inch screen. Although the Pre has a LED flash, it is short on the auto-focus, video and editing capabilites of the iPhone. The Apple App Store truly is in a league of its own with its over 60,000 available apps at present vs. Palms App Catalogue of just 30 apps at this time. Both are great for music with stereo headphone jacks, but the Pre has just 8GB of memory vs. up to 32GB on the iPhone. Both devices handle your calendar, contacts and emails quite well, although depends on what you prefer, a touch touch screen or qwerty slidedown keypad. The iPhone has the auto-correct which comes in handy when typing, which is missing on the Pre. Lastly you would have to compare networks. With Rogers rolling out their updated HSPA Network to reach speeds up to 7.2mbps (2-3mpbs average), I found this a nicer browsing experience vs Bell's 3mbps network (1-1.5mbps average). Check out the Video below for more in depth comparison. Posted in: Wireless Industry