Sony Ericsson has quite a few new Android phones and are carrying along the XPERIA name.  Last year’s Mini and Mini Pro did fairly well for them, so they have updated them with a slightly larger screen and outfitted them with Android 2.3.  The XPERIA Pro is fairly well specced phone that includes an 8MP camera but comes in at a low cost.

Watch this video on YouTube.

The XPERIA Pro is available from FIDO for $50 on contract.  Details are here.

The XPERIA Mini Pro is available from ROGERS for $49.95 on contract.  More details here.

I’ll be the first to acknowledge that this kind of case won’t be for everyone, just those of us that can’t afford to replace our phones after every butter-fingers moment.  While there are a lot of simple cases out there Otterbox is well known for making great cases that are very robust.

The Commuter series is meant to give you some protection without adding too much bulk. It’s not meant to be a back-your-car-over-this type case, just one that will protect your phone from the daily knocks and bumps. It really is a nice compromise between size, style and protection. For $34.95 it’s a great investment.

Here’s a quick video review:

Thanks to Otterbox for sending the cases to us for review.

Maria B. from BC was able to, with my help, answer our skill testing question (2+1) and met all other requirements for the contest. The Palm Pre 2 was shipped to her and she will be enjoying it soon.

Congrats, Maria B!!!

Thanks go out to Palm for supplying the prize in this contest!

The Pre 2 is not just a reboot but…well, I suppose it is just a reboot, but a very welcome one! Anyone that has owned a previous Pre (oh brother…) has asked for a faster processor and higher res camera and the Pre 2 gives that and more. It’s actually a great phone to use, so let’s dig in and take a look.

Hardware
This new iteration of the Pre looks very much like the old at a quick glance but anyone that has used the original will spot the differences quickly.

The Original Pre(s) had a shiny plastic outer that looks great in PR shots but is covered in fingerprints within 20 seconds of use. Along with the aesthetic problem the shiny plastic makes you feel less secure holding the phone. With it’s river rock shape you feel at times it could squirt right out of your hand, mid call.

The Pre 2 has a rubberized feeling coating on it’s plastic and it feels MUCH better in the hand and you don’t have the same fingerprint problem. A much-welcomed change.

The screen on the Pre 2 has been changed as well to be all glass and flat. As well, the body of the phone creates a small bezel, ostensibly to protect the screen but I’m not sure that is needed. It is a Gorilla Glass screen, after all. It’s still a 3.1 inch TFT screen that works exceptionally well outdoors and has a resolution of 320×480. Yes, this is a much lower resolution that other phones but I don’t find it to be a problem at all; everything is very clear and easy to read.

The original Pre only had a 3MP camera but I have always liked how well images turned out. With the Pre 2 it’s been bumped up to 5MP and shots look great! There are still almost no settings you can change but for a quick and easy camera you can’t beat it.

Processor
The Pre 2 has a 1GHz processor, which is certainly standard fair with smartphones in general but it is very welcome in the Pre 2. Anyone that overclocked their original Pre knows how much of a drastic difference it made for everyday use. The Pre 2 is snappy enough that there is not much you have to wait for at all. Everything launches quickly and multitasking is wonderful with this beefier muscle.

Software
The Pre 2 comes with the long awaited WebOS 2 which is a real pleasure to use. I could go into a LOT of detail about the changes but I’m pretty sure I would lose most of you, so let me just summarize a few points.

WebOS has been one of my favourite mobile phone OS’ by far! It’s hard to properly describe how intuitive the multiple swiping gestures are and how well the card metaphor works for multitasking. You have to just spend time with it to understand. But it isn’t just these big points; Palm has done an excellent job of making WebOS very refined with a ton of little features that hides it’s complexity but really improves the user experience.

WebOS 2.0 builds on that experience very nicely. Added to the card metaphor is stacking, which will group apps and windows together to help keep things organized, especially with huge numbers of cards open. It’s a good way to keep cards organized if you have a lot of them open.

Palm has built on it’s original “Universal Search” and rebranded it “Just Type”. I have always liked this feature, and building on it is great. When you are at the main screen you can open the keyboard and start typing whatever it is you want to find; whether it’s a contact, an email or anything else. As you type any items that match are shown with additional, external sources for you to search such as Google, Wikipedia, the Palm App Catalog and more. You can also add to this list of services to search if that provider has added their own WebOS search hook. It all works VERY well and keeps you from having to launch an app first, find the search option and then look for something. MUCH easier.

There are a bunch of other changes, but these are the biggest ones.

Opinion
As mentioned, I have always liked WebOS and my Palm Pre. I didn’t really think there was going to be much about this new Palm Pre 2 that would make me want to upgrade, but I was wrong. With the speed increase, battery life improvements, better camera and feel of the phone it is a worthy successor. People seem to either love of hate the form factor of the Pre line-up but I happen to think it’s fantastic. While the screen is smaller than a lot of smartphones it just seems to work for WebOS.

The Palm Pre 2 is available from Rogers for $99 on a 3 year contract or $449 outright.

BTW, we are giving a Palm Pre 2 away!! Click here for details!

The winner will receive a brand new Palm Pre 2, a touchstone charger and a very nice leather case.

Be sure to follow our Palm Pre 2 coverage and reviews to learn more about this great little smartphone.  Detailed review will be coming soon and a video review shortly after.

This Palm Pre 2 is locked to the Rogers network and must be activated with them to use. The giveaway does not include any airtime. This contest is only open to Canadian residents and will only be shipped to a valid Canadian address.

This contest begins on December 25th, 2010 and will run until January 1st, 2011. A winner will be picked at random on January 2nd, 2011.

Rules: To qualify all you need to do is:

1. Follow us on twitter, @mobilejaw and RT the following:

I just entered to win a free Palm Pre 2 smartphone from @mobilejaw, open to all Canadians! http://bit.ly/gKbMOP

or…

2. Post on our facebook page wall at facebook.com/MobileJaw. Post the following:

Throwing my name into the hat for the Palm Pre 2 giveaway! [You can add anything else you want after this but keep it nice! ]

You can do either of these to be entered but doing both will enter your name twice! You can only enter once for this giveaway (from each of twitter and facebook), so don’t bother spamming it. If we suspect that the winner has acted fraudulently (posting multiple times from various accounts) we can, at our discretion choose a new winner. Before announcing the winner we will contact them either on twitter or facebook and they will have 48 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond in that time we will have to choose a new winner. If you have any questions about the contest please fill out our contact form here or simply reply to this thread and we’ll do our best to answer your questions.

We hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday Season. Stay safe, have fun and please share this giveaway with others.

Now, I know a lot of people wonder why Palm bothered with a phone that is so similar to the original. Like a father of twins I can see the difference easily but I get the point and agree somewhat. The iterations of the Pre haven’t exactly been barn burners, so why bother with another yet another?

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. – Albert Einstein

Well, it isn’t exactly insanity. The people that use the Pre variants have actually been very loyal and love the form, so why not give them a new version? Certainly, the Pre 2 is much better than previous version and begins to show off WebOS the way it should. I actually love this form. It fits in the hand much better than most smartphones and you don’t have to watch a screen rotation when sliding out the keyboard.

I’ll be posting a video review in the next day or two to show off the hardware and a bit of the software.

Anyway, let’s get to the more interesting part! The Palm Pre 2 will be available from Rogers. Yes, Rogers. It’s been rumoured for a while now but finally announced by Rogers themselves.

Are you surprised it wasn’t from Bell? You shouldn’t be. From the looks of it, the Pre has been a big failure for Bell. They have been trying to clear out their inventory for a looong time now. That really isn’t because it’s a bad phone, just very poorly marketed by Palm or Bell. The original Palm is all the way down to $149 without a contract! Crazy low price and worth it for this smartphone.

Having said that, the Pre 2 runs circles around the original. The body of the phone is no longer that slick and slippery plastic but a rubberized plastic that feels much better. The screen is now flat and glass rather than the original’s rounded plastic. It’s fast; MUCH faster than the original (sans overclocking).  Overall it is still very similar but feels much better in the hand.

More to come on the Palm Pre 2. Let me know if you have questions.

The Palm Pre 2 will be available from Rogers sometime soon. We are waiting to hear official date and pricing options.

You can see more info on the LG Optimus 7 at TELUS’ site. If you have questions feel free to comment below and we will get to them as quickly as possible.

Thanks very much to TELUS’ PR company, High Road Communications for sending the unit for review!

The first 200 people will get a free t-shirt (doors open at 6pm)
Free admission
Free food and drinks
Windows Phone 7 overview (by Joey DeVilla, Microsoft Canada)
Xbox Live Hub (by Anthony Bartolo, Microsoft Canada)
Zune Music Hub and Service (by Mike Temporale, MobileJaw.com)
Intro to becoming a developer for Windows Phone (by Mark Arteaga, Redbit Development)
Hands on time with Windows Phone 7
Time to ask questions

And the best part – two phones will be awarded to two lucky attendees**, but you have to be there to win!

Be sure to share this event news with friends and co-workers. Better yet, bring them along!

facebook page

**One phone will be awarded by Microsoft but will be shipped out after the show. Microsoft will need to know which carrier you would like the phone to come from (Bell, Rogers or TELUS) as these phones are locked to the carrier’s service. The second phone will be from HTC and comes with a couple conditions: you must have a TELUS account (as this phone will be locked to their service) and be willing to share your experiences within 30 day on MobileJaw.com either by answering questions or writing your own post and emailing it to MobileJaw.com

Our first event is at the Mississauga head office of Microsoft Canada on November 16th and it is shaping up to be an exciting launch for the group. In addition to giving away a Windows Phone we are handing out t-shirts to the first 200 people to arrive.

Windows Phone 7 is an all new and refreshing mobile experience that is simple and easy to use but powerful enough to accommodate the most demanding user. There is no mobile OS like Windows Phone, so you need to come and see it close up. We’ll have phones on hand and time during a food and drink break to give the phones a try.

At this first event we will be demonstrating the OS overall, the Xbox hub and integration, Zune (music) Hub and more. There will also be a time for you to ask questions to both enthusiasts and Microsoft representatives. Our aim is to give you all the information you need to help you in deciding whether Windows Phone 7 is for you.

Location and time:

Microsoft Canada Head Office:
1950 Meadowvale Blvd
Mississauga, ON

Doors open at 6:00pm and the event starts at 6:30pm. To win the phone you MUST arrive before 6:30 to get your draw ticket. Don’t be late!

For a map and to let us know you will attend click here.

We have a facebook page as well. Please “Like” us to be informed about future events: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Toronto-Windows-Phone-User-Group/141801522534902

Fun, Free Phone, Food and Freebies! Don’t miss out! Book November 16th. We’ll see you there!

Please help us spread the word by tweeting and sharing this post with your friends and co-workers.

Or is it??

From both email communications and doing some calling it looks like you won’t be able to get your hands on a new Windows Phone 7 unless the stars align just so.

The problem is short supply but I am not sure what the cause is. It could be that demand from in-store orders has been more brisk that forcasts had allowed for or late shipment of the OS to the manufacturers.

Your best bet for getting a new Windows Phone 7 in Canada anytime soon is to order one online as a new subscriber. Of course, that still means you won’t be getting your phone ON launch day. Stores probably won’t see stock for a week or two. Certainly not much of a launch, is it.

I’m still excited about Windows Phone 7 but wish we didn’t have this false-launch. It’s very anticlimactic.