Mobile Miscellany: week of October 8th, 2012
If you didn't get enough in mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This past week, Samsung confirmed its Canadian release date for the Galaxy Note II, Alcatel took the wraps off of its first Windows Phone and it was revealed that T-Mobile will no longer openly market the iPhone in conjunction with its BYOD value plans. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of October 8th, 2012.
Galaxy Note II confirmed for October 30th arrival in Canada
Shortly after Telus tipped the availability date of the Galaxy Note II for its network, Samsung circled back to confirm that its latest phablet would be available in Canada across all national and regional carriers on October 30th. In related news, a listing from Best Buy suggests the device will retail for $150 on a three-year contract with Bell and Telus. While a release date has yet to be established for the US, we expect to learn something definitive at Samsung's October 24th reveal in NYC. [Mobile Syrup 1, 2]
BBM tipped to join T-Mobile's unlimited messaging plan
Maybe you saw it in the same leak that suggested the Galaxy Note II would arrive at T-Mobile on October 24th, but on the off chance you missed it, the carrier's training docs suggest that, come October 21st, BlackBerry users will be able to use BBM without a data plan, as the service will be covered by the carrier's unlimited messaging plan. No action will be needed on the part of T-Mobile customers, as the service will be automatically added within 24 hours. [TmoNews]
Alcatel One Touch View with Windows Phone 7.8 revealed
Alcatel's Russian division took the wraps off of its first Windows Phone this week. In what will likely be known as the One Touch View, the handset will sport Windows Phone 7.8 and will offer a 4-inch IPS WVGA display that's accompanied by a 1GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of built-in storage and a 5-megapixel camera. Pricing is said to not exceed 7,990 rubles, which weighs in at roughly $258. [WMPoweruser, GSM Arena]
T-Mobile to curb its iPhone enthusiasm
Seeing that T-Mobile doesn't actually sell the iPhone, some may have viewed the the inclusion of Apple's handset in its marketing materials as a bit flagrant. While the carrier will no doubt be glad to continue providing subscribers with nano-SIMs and the like, T-Mobile issued a new edict this week that states neither the iPhone name or its image can be used in sales materials. Likewise, the carrier will shift the focus of its BYOi program to a more generic BYOD nomenclature, although the company will allow its sales associates to give demonstrations of the iPhone on T-Mobile's network. [TmoNews]
Garnet Red Galaxy S III makes its way to Canada
You already know our stance on the Garnet Red Galaxy S III: it's the smartphone for vampires. Now, however, AT&T's formerly exclusive handset has made its way up north to Bell Mobility and Virgin Mobile in Canada. The bloody beautiful creation is available at Bell for $160 on a three-year contract or $650 outright, whereas those wanting to save a few loonies should check out Virgin, which has priced the phone at $100 on a three-year contract and $600 outright. [MobileSyrup]
