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Refresh Roundup: week of May 21st, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Samsung phone lands on the FCC table, GS-three guesses which one
While we're no champions at "pin the tail on the donkey" we're pretty sure we're close to the mark with this one. An FCC report for a new Samsung phone bearing an SGH-I747 model number? Sporting HSPA+ and LTE bands that play nice with AT&T, Rogers, Telus and Bell? While it's not explicit, if this doesn't sound like the GSIII coming to town, we don't know what does. After all, it's not like we didn't know it was on its way.
ASUS Transformer Pad TF300TL hits the FCC with AT&T-friendly LTE
ASUS isn't known for offering its tablets to North American carriers with 3G or 4G; an FCC filing for a cellular-capable Transformer Pad TF300 could be a clue at a break in the WiFi-only trend. Along with the usual wireless, a TF300TL variant of the Android 4.0 slate has stopped by the agency with the 850MHz and 1,900MHz frequencies needed for HSPA 3G as well as, best of all, 700MHz and 1,700MHz support for LTE-based 4G. All four are what we'd look for in an AT&T-oriented tablet, so don't be surprised if Ma Bell carries a 4G Transformer Pad before long. All but the 700MHz band would be handy for Canadian networks as well. There's no surefire evidence of when the tablet might make a more formal appearance, nor hints of whether or not it will keep the quad-core Tegra 3, although the slight spin on the regular TF300 formula could keep the wait short.
Samsung Galaxy S III shows in Best Buy Canada leak due June 20th, maple syrup uncorked to celebrate
Jitters have persisted that the Canadian release of the Galaxy S III might face the customary weeks-long delays that those north of the border are used to. If we go by what looks to be an escaped Best Buy Canada flyer graphic, Samsung's Android 4.0 beast should be going up for pre-orders soon -- MobileSyrup hears May 30th -- with launches on at least Bell, Rogers, Telus and a Bell-owned Virgin Mobile around June 20th. We know that Samsung has publicly promised a US release in June, so there's a real chance that we could be seeing a simultaneous North American appearance that brings everyone together in TouchWiz harmony. There's still some big questions left open even if we're seeing an accurate snapshot, such as when Mobilicity, Wind and other LTE-less carriers will get their units as well as whether or not the LTE versions use Snapdragons instead of the Exynos 4 Quad. [Thanks, Imdad]
Samsung Galaxy S III gets a Canadian girlfriend as Bell, Rogers, Telus, Wind Mobile line up
If you live north of the 49th parallel, you're no doubt frustrated that Samsung teased a summer launch for the Galaxy S III in North America but made no initial mention of its Canadian plans. Don't fret, as virtually every Canadian carrier and its mother has now pledged to carry the giant Android 4.0 smartphone while you're on your summer vacation -- the first carrier commitments in North America that we've seen. Bell, Rogers, Telus, Virgin Mobile and Wind Mobile have all stepped up as national providers, while regional carriers such as SaskTel and Videotron have also signed on. The Galaxy S III is a special milestone for Virgin, as it's the first 4G LTE phone on the Bell-run budget network. We're still waiting for Mobilicity and other cellular services to hop on the Galaxy S III bandwagon, and details like pricing and exact ship dates are still elusive, but odds are that Canucks will have a wide choice of carriers when the 4.8-inch flagship hits stores. Update: Sure enough, Mobilicity is also onboard, which along with Wind Mobile makes it pretty clear that T-Mobile-friendly AWS frequencies are baked in.
Mobile Miscellany: week of April 30th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, we saw the first rollout of Verizon LTE from one of its rural partners, and both the Optimus L7 and Xperia U were spotted for Fido. 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 April 30th, 2012.
EnStream to bring mobile wallet to Canadians, make loonies obsolete (video)
A joint venture of Canadian carriers Rogers, Bell and Telus called EnStream is in final talks with the country's leading banks (likely CIBC, TD, RBC, Scotiabank and BMO) to bring a mobile wallet solution to the Great White North within six months. The system, which was demoed at the CWTA Wireless Showcase last September, enables mobile payments by storing a user's financial credentials on the SIM located inside their NFC-capable phone. It aims to replace credit and debit cards at first -- perhaps even driver's licenses and loyalty programs down the road. Carriers plan to charge banks a flat rate instead of a per-transaction fee. According to Almis Ledas, EnStream's COO, "banking machines will become the payphones of the future". While we command this attempt to standardize mobile payments in Canada, the time frame seems rather optimistic in light of the slow progress AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have made with Isis in the US so far. Different countries, different rules of course -- still, we think it's going to take quite a while to make loonies obsolete. Maybe this is the perfect window of opportunity for Google Wallet and Square to jump across the border, eh? Time will tell. Check out EnStream's mobile wallet in action on video after the break.
Bell Canada launches revamped push-to-talk service, now with added 4G
People have been pushing to talk for a good number of years, but it's a service that has largely remained untouched by the passing of time. Bell, however, thinks it's due a little lick of "next-generation" paint. What's new? Well, the firm boasts that it's the firs PTT service in North America to make use of 4G, which on Bell, means a slice of that "up to" 21Mb goodness. The service launches on a slew of devices that includes the BlackBerry Curve 9360, the Samsung Galaxy SII and the rugged Sonim XP5520 with a range of plans available. Want to know more? Push (the press release button) to find out more.
HTC One V coming to Canada on Bell, will reunite with One S
Canadians looking to hunt down the smallest addition to HTC's One series are in luck. According to a MobileSyrup tipster, it'll arrive on Bell next week, in all its aluminum unibody glory. While the One X looks to be confined to Rogers in the Land of the Maple Leaf, both the One S and One V are going to be offered by Bell Mobility. The mole also hinted at pricing below CND $300, matching those entry-level credentials we've explored just recently. Not a fan of Bell? Don't get disheartened -- the Android 4.0 minnow will also make an appearance on Telus, so 'chin' up.
Samsung Galaxy S II HD LTE listed as 'coming soon' on Bell Canada's site
Just a couple of days ago, Canadian carrier WIND quietly outed its soon-to-be Nokia Lumia 710, and now it's Bell's turn to follow suit by teasing an upcoming device of its own. Unlike WIND, however, Bell isn't flaunting a Mango-flavored handset, but instead a Gingerbread-loaded Samsung Galaxy S II HD LTE. As you may have guessed by the "LTE" stuffed in its relatively long dub, this Sammy slab will be able to surf through the Mobility network's Long Term Evolution waves. Sadly, the product page isn't showing us just how much cash you'll have to unleash, or how "soon" we can expect it to hit shelves around the True North. No worries, though, since Bell does have a signup page waiting for you to kindly place your name on it.
Refresh Roundup: week of April 2nd, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Is Samsung's white Galaxy Note coming to Canada on Telus tomorrow, Bell on April 10?
It's been nearly two months since Samsung's LTE Galaxy Note made its debut in the land of maple syrup Canada, and now Telus and Bell might finally begin stocking the white variant of the Gingerbread-loaded phablet. According to (supposed) internal memos leaked from both companies to Mobile Syrup, it appears as though Bell's planning to release the 5.3-inch device on April 10th, while Telus may let it loose as soon as tomorrow. Notably, the site also mentions that you'll be looking at an unchanged entry-fee of $200 with a three-year contract or $730 if you'd prefer the phone sans strings. It likely won't be long until this unicorn's northerly arrival gets confirmed for sure, but for now, drag your cursor over to the source links below for a shot of the Bell document and further insight.
Refresh Roundup: week of March 26th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Refresh Roundup: week of March 19th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Mobile Miscellany: week of March 12th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, we've seen T-Mobile expand its network coverage and take an argument to the FCC regarding interoperability requirements of the 700MHz band. 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 March 12th, 2012.
Virgin Mobile launches LTE for Canadian iPad users
Mr. Blurrycam snapped internal documents revealing that Virgin Mobile Canada will offer 4G to coincide with the launch of the (3rd Gen) iPad. Piggybacking on Bell's LTE network, it'll be available in "14 urban centers," presumably including Toronto, Montréal, Québec City, Ottawa, Edmonton and Vancouver. A free microSIM will arrive through your letterbox if you sign up for the Flexi-Data plan, where $35 a month buys you 5GB of data. The company's also taking the moment to push mobile TV: an extra $5 will buy you five hours of mobile TV straight to your iPad, great for that Murdoch Mysteries marathon you've been promising yourself.
Refresh Roundup: week of March 5th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Mobile Miscellany: week of March 5th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, one clever individual has repackaged HTC's Beats equalizer for use on any Android smartphone, and we've also come across news of additional language support for Siri that's set to arrive later this year. 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 March 5th, 2012.
Engadget Giveaway: win a Samsung Galaxy Note, courtesy of Bell Canada
To celebrate Bell Canada's improved Mobile TV service -- which is particularly nice on a large display -- we could think of no better way than to gift a Samsung Galaxy Note to some lucky Canadian. So how do you win the Note with its beautiful 5.3-inch Super AMOLED display and crazy fast LTE? All it takes to enter is a comment posted below, the ability to follow the rules outlined in this article and that you're a Canadian. Yeah, that's right, our first Canada-only contest -- and no we're not hating on anybody, them's just the rules this time. So apply northern friends and good luck! Leave a comment below. Any comment will do. Duplicate entries will be filtered out and discarded, so adding additional comments won't increase your likelihood of winning. Contest is open to all residents of Canada (excluding Quebec), 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad. Winners will be chosen randomly. One winner will receive one Bell Canada Samsung Galaxy Note. If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Bell Canada service will NOT be included. Also, Samsung, Bell and Engadget are not held liable to honor warranties or customer service. The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here. Entries can be submitted until March 10, 2012 at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Bell Canada Mobile TV service hands-on
Bell Canada's updated its Mobile TV service to introduce a bevy of new features and content. The mobile TV service now offers 26 channels of live programming and a pile of on demand content thrown in for good measure. The interface has been tidied up, a programming guide has made an appearance, alerts are now here so you won't miss shows and flipping to portrait mode from landscape lets you browse the new guide while your current show plays on. Bell's Mobile TV service is priced at $5 a month for five hours of content; overages -- measured in hours -- cost an additional $1 per hour, though using the service with WiFi is thankfully free. Is it worth the $5 on top of your already potentially pricey phone bill? Follow on through while we take Bell's TV offering for a quick spin with words and some pretty video, too.
