LG to Launch Windows Phone 7 Device by End of September

In 2009 at Mobile World Congress, LG Electronics made a big commitment to use Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system on the majority of their devices over the coming years. To date we haven’t seen much result from that announcement, but all that could change before the end of this year. According to an article from PCWorld, Ken Hong who is the LG representative for LG in Seoul, said “We have a deep relationship with Microsoft so expect to have a couple by the end of this year”.

Pictures of one of the LG smartphones has already been posted on a number of blogs – including MobileJaw. According to LG, this device is ready to be released. There was no indication when that particular device will be released, however LG did say that they will launch their first smartphone with Windows Phone 7 by the end of September.

Microsoft has been very reserved when it comes to dates for the release of Windows Phone 7. They’ve continued to stick with the “Holiday 2010” line that was used back in the Mobile World Congress announcement. A September release is a little before the holiday season by my standards, but I’m not going to complain.

New Canadian Carrier Launches Today – chatr

Back on June 30th, Rogers announced their intent to launch a new brand to focus on the unlimited talk and text segment of the market that has recently taken off.  This new brand will be the third cellular brand for Rogers, after acquiring Fido a number of years back and will be called chatr.

chatr wireless officially launches today – http://www.chatrwireless.com They currently have 4 phones listed on their site, all of which are of the non-smartphone variety. In regards to plans, it looks like chatr is directly aimed at the new carriers that have recently launched across Canada – Wind, Public Mobile, and Mobilicity. For $35 you get unlimited incoming calls, unlimited outgoing calls to anywhere in your province, unlimited incoming text messages, and 50 outgoing texts. Plus you get call display, call waiting, call forwarding, and group calling for free. The only other plan they offer is $45 and that plan raises the limitations of the smaller plan. So unlimited calls to anywhere in the province becomes unlimited to anywhere in Canada and the 50 outgoing text messages becomes unlimited. Currently, chatr doesn’t have any data plans. I’m sure they’ll be adding something in the future.

In much the same way as Wind, chatr has zones of coverage. You can be in the chatr zone and out of the zone. Extra charges apply for when you’re out of coverage, and the coverage maps look very much like those of Wind and Mobilicity.

It’s great to see the competition in Canada finally starting to heat up. Wind was the first to break ground with unlimited and it’s made the big guys take notice. It’s going to be an interesting year for mobile in Canada.

Full press release from Rogers about the launch of chatr is available after the break.

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WalMart to Sell Telus HTC Desire for $448

Some interesting news hit the web this morning – WalMart will be selling the Telus HTC Desire for $448.83 with out a contract. And, if you look closely at the screen shot, you will notice that WalMart’s cost for the Desire is $360. It’s nice to know the cost, but I don’t expect anyone at WalMart to be willing to negotiate on the price. If you’re more the contract type, the 3 year contract price is expected to be $79.99.

(Source = mobilesyrup.com)

Dell Getting Ready to Launch Streak in North America

It looks like Dell is getting ready to launch the Android based Streak. According to reports on Slashgear, earlier today the pre-sale ended abruptly and was then reinstated. You can currently sign up for an exclusive pre-sale opportunity on Dell’s website at http://www.dell.com/streak. Dell has also confirmed that the Streak will support AT&T’s 3G network in the US, which means support for Bell, Rogers, and Telus in Canada.

The Streak offers a large 5.0 inch screen with 800×480 resolution, 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 512MB RAM, 512MB ROM, 2GB internal storage, support for MicroSD cards, 5 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, GPS, Accelerometer, light and proximity sensor, Digital Compass, and a 1530mAh battery. There’s no word on price as of yet.

The Streak is a nice replacement for my aging HD2. My main concern is that the size of the device will be too much for an everyday use. Although, around the house and for travel, this could be the perfect device. If you’re looking for more information on Dell’s Streak while you’re waiting to place you’re order, check out the review at Slashgear.

Comparing Cameras: Samsung Captivate, SE X10 Mini, Palm Pre

Just a quick post to compare the same shot taken with three different phone cameras. Take a look and comment on your opinion of the shots.

Samsung Captivate, 5mp camera

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini, 5mp camera

Palm Pre, 3mp camera

Initial Thoughts: Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini

Has anyone made a name-is-longer-than-the-phone joke about the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini? Well, joke about the name all you want but this phone is no joke. The X10 Mini is a fantastic little Android phone.

The X10 Mini is a follow on to the Xperia X10 (previous posts here and here) in a very different format. While the X10 is a high-end device with a large 4 inch screen the X10 Mini is…well, mini. The display is 2.6 inches making it easily the smallest Android phone. The size overall is just 83 x 50 x 16 mm (3.3 x 2 x 0.6 inches), and it weighs just 88 grams (3.1 oz).

The X10 Mini is available from Rogers for just $29.99 on contract, or $324.99 outright. Good price!

Shrinking Android down to work on this device took a fair bit of work by Sony Ericsson, which is the reason this is only running on Android 1.6. But Sony has done a very good job of making Android work on such a small device.

[follow link for more impressions and pictures]

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Rogers Adds the X10 Mini to Their Device Line Up

Rogers has launched their latest addition to the Android family of phones – X10 Mini, and the smaller brother to the flagship X10 smartphone form Sony Ericsson. The claim is that the Mini is the smallest phone on the market today. I haven’t played with one personally, so I can’t say if that’s true or not. The pictures make the phone look thick – so it might smallest in terms of height and width, but I don’t think it’s the case in terms of depth.

The Mini features a quad-band GSM radio – 850/900/1800/1900, and a tri-band HSPA radio – 850/1900/2100. Which means you’ll have strong cellular reception and fast data on this small device. Everything else on the Mini has been reduced to follow with the theme of the phone – a 5.0 megapixel camera instead of the 8.1 found on the original X10. Same for the memory, the Mini sports a whopping 128MB compared to the 1GB found on it’s big brother. Keep in mind that the price follows the same trend – the X10 is $549.99 off contract, and the Mini is $374.99. When you add in a 3 year contract, the phone is just $29.99, which is a pretty reasonable price.

Sadly, much like the original X10, this device is also running the older Android 1.6 operating system. Google has released 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 is starting to make it’s way to devices. Sony Ericsson needs to get an update for these devices out the door quickly and get them on a newer version of Android.

Aside from the thickness of the device, it looks like a great little device. I’m interested in seeing how well Sony Ericson was able to take their customizations from the X10 and scale them down to the Mini. We have received a Mini for review and Darren will be sharing his thoughts on the device.

The full press release is available after the break.

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Windows Phone 7 Technical Preview Drops

Microsoft has begun to ship Windows Phone 7 hardware to developer partners loaded with the latest Technical Preview of the OS. This is the first real time that Windows Phone 7 has been left to it’s own in the wild. In the past, you may have had a chance to see and play with it, but always with a Microsoft rep along side and you never had much of a chance to really get into things. All that’s changed now.

Matt Miller from ZDNet, has posted an exhaustive 8 page review with 90 images, and 6 videos showing you the in’s and out’s of Microsoft’s latest mobile operating system. Engadget has also posted their thoughts on the new release, although it’s not nearly as in-depth, it’s still a great read with plenty of information about the platform.

Their has been a lot of mixed emotion over the design and styling of Windows Phone 7. I find the design to be a nice alternate from what we’ve seen for so long now. And seeing it populated with real user information, like the shot above with Matt Miller’s details spread throughout, helps to bring it all together. At a quick glance you can get all the details on what matters to you and drill down on the section you’re interested in. I’m looking forward to getting a hands on with Windows Phone 7 soon!

Grab yourself a drink and settle in. It’s going to take you a little time to read through all the details posted on Windows Phone 7.  Once you’ve gone over it all, let us know your thoughts.

Telus Brings HTC Desire to Canada

Telus and HTC have announced that the much loved Desire will be coming to Canada exclusively on the Telus network. The Desire was originally announced along with the Legend at Mobile World Congress back in February. The Android based phone has been available in the UK for a while now, is commonly referred to as HTC’s version of the Google’s flagship super-phone – the Nexus One.

The press release from Telus fails to offer any information about when the device might be available for purchase, or at what price. Although, I can’t really seem them charging more than the Motorola Milestone ($550 without contract). The full press release can be found after the break along with details on the specifications of the Desire.

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Going Hands on with the Android Based HTC Legend

HTC announced and started shipping the Legend in Europe earlier this year. Well, it’s finally arrived on North American shores and we have been putting it through the paces to see how it stacks up. The HTC Legend is current available in Canada from Bell and Virgin Mobile. While there’s no official word from HTC, it’ is expected that a US carrier will be adding the Legend to their line up. Bell and Virgin are selling the exact same phone – there are no external carrier markings on the device and the specs are identical. The only difference you will find between these two carriers is the price of the phone. Bell is asking $399 for the device without a contract, while Virgin (a discount carrier owned by Bell) is asking $349. I found the choice pretty easy to make and saved myself $50.

When it comes to hardware specifications, the HTC Legend is not considered one of these super-spec’ed devices that are currently hitting the market. However, the Legend has it where it counts, especially when you think about the price point of the device.

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