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Mobile Miscellany: week of April 8th, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, we were treated to a peek at the Lumia 928 in white, Canada's upstart carriers made waves, BlackBerry users got a new free calling option and the Lumia 520 spread its wings to more carriers in the UK. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of April 8th, 2013.
Huawei Ascend D Quad XL hits the FCC with North America-friendly 3G, 12MP camera mention
We'd been hoping that Huawei's flagship Ascend D Quad would roll by the FCC, hinting that the long-in-waiting hardware was soon to become a reality. It's here, and it looks to be the XL version we were promised back in Barcelona, with no mention of the LTE that some US carriers love so well. Like the Ascend D1, though, it's carrying pentaband HSPA+ that would let its 3G fly at full speed on any North American GSM carrier. There's a slight surprise in the camera. Schematics mention a 12-megapixel sensor as a possibility alongside the officially announced 8-megapixel shooter -- that said, whether it's a quiet upgrade, a regional variant or just a discarded dream isn't made obvious here. More certain references can confirm video out through HDMI and MHL as well as the increasingly de rigueur NFC. We don't need the FCC to confirm launches that start late this month in China and October in Europe, but the approval guarantees that there won't be rude surprises for the release or for any imports, whether they're unofficial or through a carrier deal.
Mobilicity gets the green light from CRTC, looks to launch in Toronto soon
Right on cue, the artist formerly known as DAVE Wireless has been given approval to begin operations in Canada. Just as we heard earlier in the year, Mobilicity is looking to add some much-needed competition in the mobile operator space up north, and as predicted, the CRTC has given the initial stamp of approval needed for it to move forward with business operations. The company has to make a few minor changes up the ladder in order to appease the Canadian overlords that regulate this stuff, but the outfit's top brass have stated that they have "no issues" whatsoever in complying. If all goes well, the carrier plans to start up service in Toronto before the summer swings in, with Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa to get covered later in the year. Here's hoping those blasted three-year contracts vanish for good, eh? [Thanks, Adam]
Public Mobile launching in mid-May: 'you're not going to see us at Yorkville'
Canada's Public Mobile -- one of the wireless start-ups to benefit from the country's AWS spectrum auction -- has started detailing its launch plans this week behind its contemporaries at WIND Mobile and Mobilicity. These guys are being totally forthcoming about the fact that they're targeting the lower end of the market, a segment they claim to be "underserved" by the big guys (we're sure Koodo, Fido, and Virgin would all disagree) -- even going so far as to make their launch announcement in an area of Toronto ominously described as "hardscrabble." So what's the deal? Stores are open immediately to the tune of 15 in Toronto and another 10 in Montreal, the only markets Public Mobile says it's going to target for now, with service launching in mid-May to the tune of CAD $40 (about $39) a month for unlimited talk and text. That's great pricing, but obviously, great pricing means nothing without a great network to go along with -- so we'll see how this shakes out in a few weeks' time.
