A bit of an update on the Blackberry Bold in Canada. The more I search about this phone for a release date the more illusive it becomes. Some sources said today, at least for business customers and then August 8th for regular clients. I’ve also read other reports saying it may not come out until late August or even September, so the official release date is when Rogers tells us. Maybe some other cool phones will be announced by Rogers in the mean time. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Samsung i900 Omnia offered, this is another smartphone that’s looking nice, but I’m already having enough trouble deciding as it is.
Well, the new Blackberry Bold was supposed to be released on July 25. That didn’t happen, but Blackberry News has reported that it should be available at Rogers by the 29th. The Rogers Blackberry Bold web teaser has not been updated yet, but I’m sure it will be soon.
I’m still deciding which smartphone will be my first. Stories of a not so great battery life on the iPhone have held me back, of course having a good data plane here in Canada would have helped sway me. You can also find other country release dates on the Blackberry News website, but it looks as though Rogers will be the first to get it.
So many options just around the corner
The Blackberry Bold is one sweet looking phone, but then so is the iPhone and even Openmoko Neo FreeRunner has a lot of potential. Lets not forget RIM’s touch phone, the Blackberry Thunder which could really shake things up. Then there’s the new Android OS by Google which may show up on HTC phones later this year or early next year.
Update: Blackberry Bold in Canada soon
Now that the coveted iPhone has been released in Canada and the hype is dying down I find myself still unable to decide if I want one. Maybe decide is the wrong word, I absolutely know I want one, but I’m not sure if I want to break the bank doing so while locking into a long term agreement of 3 years with a big company I dislike. The big question is how practical the device is for me compared to other devices.
The other option I have been weighing in on is the Eee PC from Asus or one of the other emerging mini laptop or netbook solutions. This laptop is a little bit larger than a paperback and incredibly light. Although I would have no wireless 3G web experience I would have a super practical commuter computer and long term it would be a heck of a lot cheaper.
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So maybe all the protesting over at Ruined iPhone and other places on the web have paid off. The whole iPhone outrage even hit mainstream news media. Basically Rogers and Fido (which are the same company) will allow you to take a phone plan and add a $30 6 GB plan to it. This is a temporary “deal” you can buy into with a 3 year contract before Aug 31st. It is a much better deal, but a lot of people are asking why it’s only temporary?
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Wow, a lot of smart phone news lately. Yesterday another really interesting phone was released called the Neo FreeRunner for use with Openmoko. The actual phone is made by First International Computer a Taiwanese computer and components manufacturer. The Openmoko project was started by the founders of FIC. The about section of the site describes the project as:
Openmoko is open.
Open to life, desire, function, and simple beauty. Never closed, perfect, or complete. An empty vessel, ready to be filled with your ideas.
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After posting only yesterday A Canadian alternative to the iPhone, which was about the Samsung Instinct and the implications of a competitive pricing plan by Telus or Bell, news is out that Bell will be offering the Samsung Instinct with an Unlimited data plan. What does this mean for the much more expensive Rogers iPhone plan? If the instinct has a great web experience, I may be swayed. The Instinct also costs less to purchase than the iPhone and has two and three year plans. The Globe and Mail also says that an unlimited data plan will cost $10.
This really heats things up in the Canadian wireless space. Maybe Bell did not want to be lumped in with Rogers, or maybe someone is realizing that competition in Canada is coming and possibly even government regulation and now is the time to start impressing customers. Who knows, but this is definitely good news.
UPDATE: Telus will also be offering the Instinct and the HTC Touch Diamond with an unlimited data plan.
Canadians may soon have an alternative to the iPhone. The Samsung Instinct, sometimes referred to as an iPhone Killer. The big news for Canadians is that the Samsung Instinct while similar to the iPhone in features will be CDMA. This means that it will most likely be on the Telus and Bell networks.
My first thought was; with all the noise about Rogers iPhone prices this could be a real chance for the Samsung Instinct to shine. If Bell or Telus were to set competitive prices that beat Rogers then people may flock to the Instict—sadly, I doubt this will be the case. If Bell and Telus do set a similar price scheme I doubt people will care much about it. There is a prestige that goes with Apple products regardless of how similar other products are. If prices are the same as the iPhone I doubt we will see online petitions like ruinediphone.com. A more reasonable data plan may however lure some of us towards the Instinct. I want an iPhone, but at the end of the day I’ll settle for web access and a reasonable data plan.
One of the interesting features that the Instinct has is haptic technology. This allows the screen to actually vibrate once you have hit the keys. One of the things that has bothered me about touch technology to date is the lack of tactile feedback (and grimy screens). That’s why the phone that stands out the most for me right now is the HTC Touch Pro with Android.
The instinct should be available sometime this summer in Canada. For more details read Is Samsung Instinct really an iPhone killer?
Today Rogers announced no unlimited data plan and a ridiculous 3 year lock in for Apple’s highly anticipated iPhone. Rogers announces iPhone 3G plans, unlimited data isn’t one of them on Engadget has all the details. The official Rogers iPhone voice data packages are online too.
This is pretty disappointing, you have this really cool phone, but if you actually use it much you will pay through the teeth. No YouTube for you! I hope some day Rogers has some real competition, and I hope everyone remembers their monopoly and horrible prices. The rumours appear to be wrong, nothing is going to change up here in the north.
Now the question is do I give in and get one anyway? I’m not sure yet, but I’m leaning towards no.
I have a great Wordpress plugin called CyStats. This allows me to see in real time who is visiting or crawling my blog. I recently started posting my blog entries to Twitter and noticed two web crawlers called HTTP://TWITTURLS.COM and TWITTURLY/V0.5. Later a friend sent me a link to Twitturly and that led to finding Twitturls. These sites were the source of the crawlers.
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The Rogers website has the iPhone up now. I guess they figured out that the mysterious teaser wasn’t fooling anyone. No word on packages yet, but we can probably assume that they will be expensive with a really long contract. More details on costs can be found over at iPhone in Canada.ca.
