Hear that? That's the sound of dozens of Canadians rejoicing as they finally get a launch date for the Zune in Canada, a year and a half after Zune's debut in the US. As rumored, Canadians will have a slightly limited lineup on offer, with no 30GB or green versions to puzzle over, but the red Zune 80 will indeed be making an appearance, along with the rest of the players. Prices range from $140 to $250 Canadian Dollars, which sources tell us is a real currency akin to salt traded by the ancients or a Starbucks Card.

Get this: the first North American carrier to offer up Nokia's 8GB N95 isn't AT&T. Heck, it's not even a US-based operator. No friends, it's Canada's own Rogers Wireless. Just as we had heard late last month, the N95 8GB has officially landed in the Great North, and starting on May 6th, consumers up that way will be able to secure one for a hefty $399.99 with a three-year activation on the Rogers Vision Unlimited On-Device Mobile Browsing Plan. Don't weep too heavily, AT&T users -- your time should be coming soon.

It used to be if you signed up for a new checking account, a bank might throw off a toaster, alarm clock, or in extreme modern cases, a 1GB iPod shuffle. Well times, they are a'changing, and boy do we wish we lived in Canada right now. Up north, RBC Royal Bank is offering a free ASUS Eee PC when you switch to their checking account service. That's right, you get an actual computer after completing the move (and dealing with a lot of red tape). Sure, it's only the 7-inch, 2GB version, but it still runs Xandros way better than this solar calculator we got from our bank.

[Thanks, Matt]

Just hold on a little while longer, Canadian Zune-lovers -- it seems that your wait is almost over. A job listing just popped up on the Vancouver Craigslist, looking for a "Microsoft Zune Program Coordinator" who will "represent our client Microsoft on their launch of Zune in the Canadian marketplace." The job calls for applicants to be available between May 12 and June 20, so if it's legit -- and we hope it is, just because we prefer to believe no one is sad enough to fake this -- it looks like the Zune will finally roll into Canada in just a few weeks.

It might be in a slightly smaller posse, though: the crew over at ClicZune recently took a gander at Microsoft's Canadian Zune promo page and noticed that the Zune 30 and the green flash Zunes are conspicuously absent. (Also missing is the recently released red Zune 80, but that was announced after the pages in question were made.) It's hard to tell what this means -- do Canadians hate green things? Are the 30 and green on their way out in the US as well? -- but hopefully we'll get some answers in just a couple weeks.

[Via ClicZune, thx Penny]

Read - Craigslist ad
Read - Microsoft Canadian Zune promo page

It seemed like it would never happen, but the impossible has occurred: Apple's iPhone is coming to Canada. The news was quietly slipped into telecom giant Rogers' latest earnings report, with the simple statement that the company was "thrilled to announce" a "deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year." Apparently, lips are sealed on all other details, but we'll keep you posted as news gets our way.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

You totally thought that "Think" operation you heard about last summer was nothing more than yet another electric car dream that would never see reality, didn't you? Turns out, the endeavor could be more successful than anyone originally imagined, and if all goes to plan, the Think City should hit US shores later this year. Beyond that, the company is assuming that it "could be selling as many as 50,000 units in two or three years," and with pump prices soaring and a sticker of around $25,000, we don't have much reason to doubt that. The 110 miles-per-charge vehicle, which touts a top speed of 65MPH and reportedly meets all US / European safety standards, would likely be assembled in Southern California (at least, ones sold over here), but we've no idea if swarms of Think dealerships will start popping up after all this goes down.

[Via International Herald Tribune]

Yeah, you definitely have our permission to be incredibly envious of someone who is actually going to be motoring about in both Europe and North America on a frequent basis, but in all seriousness, we're betting Sneaker isn't the only chap out there looking for the best GPS for intercontinental travels.

"I'm headed to Europe in the near future and will be doing some extensive driving. Thus, I'm wondering which GPS units your readers have found to be effective for cruising on the back-roads of Europe, while still getting the job done in North America as well? Would appreciate some recommendations."

You'll notice a budget is glaringly absent here, so feel free to toss out your recommendations from low-end to princely. Meanwhile, you can beam in a burning question of your own by writing us at ask at engadget dawt com -- who knows, you might find your very own words in this space next week.

[Via Textually]

Slowly but surely, we're seeing retailer after retailer conjure up its own trade-in / exchange program to deal with the finality of the format war. Canada's Future Shop, however, has certainly put an interesting twist on things. First off, it'll accept standalone HD DVD players purchased from anywhere until April 3rd. In exchange, you'll receive $100 off the purchase of an LG or Samsung Blu-ray / HD DVD combo player, but not a standalone Blu-ray player of any kind. Unfortunately, that means your options are pretty limited, but we can certainly understand the retailer's desire to wash its hands of anything with an HD DVD logo on it. Better still, Future Shop will be donating all of the returned HD DVD players to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada "for use in their after-school and evening programs." Now if that's not a reason to trade-up, we don't know what is.

[Thanks, Josh]

While all those juicy Canadian money jokes are sadly behind us, the dropping US dollar does have one nice side effect, at least for those pesky squatters north of the border. That's right, Canadians are finally getting an Xbox 360 pricing scheme on par with us Americans, with the 360 Pro dropping from $399 to $349, the Elite dropping from $499 to $449, and the Arcade slouching from $299 down to $279. If it weren't for the fact that this price drop is long overdue and the exchange rate still has 'em forking over $5 extra, we'd almost be jealous of those hosers up north.

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Oh Canada, it's your lucky day, because a kind, cool wind is blowing down on you from your friends in Finland -- Nokia. That brisk breeze is carrying a new partner for the long and lonely Canuck winter nights: the N810 internet tablet, the all-singing, all-dancing sliver wonder. The handheld -- which your friends (namely, us) have been flaunting for months -- is finally making its way into the hands of Canadian consumers for the thrifty price of $485 (a downright bargain). The WiFi-and-GPS-equipped gadget should be just the thing to accompany you on a trip to Tim Hortons, a Maple Leafs game, or some other stereotypical regional activity.

[Via MobileInCanada]

According to a report from the market-mindful Bloomberg, old Jobsy could be dropping the iPhone on Canada come tomorrow's keynote. If you believe what RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky says (and that's a big if), Apple will unleash the phone via Rogers Communications -- the country's largest mobile service provider. "There's a very good chance that Apple will announce or discuss some kind of other carrier roll-outs, beyond the ones it has done in Europe and the U.S." He said, adding that, "There is definitely very strong demand and interest here." To which we say, "Duh," and, "Hey, we've heard this before." Though we're not sure Steve will have time for the Canadian launch in his keynote, what with all the algae-based hard drives, unicorn laptops, and rays of pure energy he'll be introducing.

[Thanks, Paolo]

Splendid news on the Canadian front -- it seems as if that proposed tax on digital recorders and storage devices (you know, like Apple's iPod for instance) will actually not come to pass. According to Judge Karen Sharlow, the board "had no legal authority to certify a tariff on digital audio recorders or on the memory permanently embedded in digital audio recorders." The ruling enables all music lovin' Canucks to breath a sigh of relief, as it makes tacking on fees ranging from C$5 ($4.95) to C$75 ($74) in order to "compensate the recording industry for music that was copied" illegal . From here, a decision still needs to be made to clarify the legality (or illegality) of copying music from discs to DAPs, but at least we're seeing a touch of levelheadedness in the music biz, regardless.

[Via ArsTechnica]

Canadian Zune hopefuls have the spring months of 2008 circled in marker on their calendars, but they're going to want to keep that marker out. Though the Zune hardware itself will be launching this Spring, the Zune Marketplace and the all-you-can-eat Zune Pass services won't be launching until later in 2008. Aww, don't look at them like that. It wasn't like the other guys had their offering up in running in Canada right away either.