Tech Blog

Two of the latest Android smartphones, or ‘superphones’ as some have dubbed them, to come out in Canada are the HTC Amaze 4G and HTC Raider LTE.  While both phones are quite similar internally, running the same version of Android 2.3, using the same dual-core CPU and 8MP camera, and having the same qHD resolution screens, there are a couple of notable differences.  The Amaze runs on TELUS’s 42Mbps HSPA+ network, while the Raider, available on both Bell and Rogers, uses their new LTE networks for speeds of up to 75Mbps.  However, while the Raider boasts faster network speeds and a slightly bigger screen, the processor on the Amaze does run a bit faster (1.5 GHz vs. 1.2 GHz).  In the video you can see how both phones compare in more detail.  

You can check out the video after the break.

The router is one of those gadgets that you need, but tend to forget after you’ve set it up. The reason why is because it does its job quietly and in the background, but more importantly, it’s the type of product you rarely ever need to interact with. That can make it difficult to find the right one for your home network. You don’t want to break the bank because it’s not something you will ‘enjoy’ using, but you also want to ensure that it does what it’s supposed to do without fail.

UPDATE: Google has confirmed that the Galaxy Nexus IS coming to Canada in November!

"Starting in November, Galaxy Nexus will be available in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia." 

Google is about to announce their next version of Android, 4.0, AKA Ice Cream Sandwich, and also the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus superphone. While the Future Shop Blog doesn't have any way to properly live blog an event - and I am not actually there in Hong Kong anyways - I am going to attempt a reasonable facsimile of one by just constantly updating this post!

The event starts at 10 PM EST, and since I am not there I will have to resort to reposting some pictures from the awesome tech blog www.thisismynext.com (who soon will be www.theverge.com) instead of taking my own!

Remember the BlackBerry outage last week?  Well, RIM certainly does and after working to get service restored, they are now thanking their customers for their patience during that time by offering a number of premium apps (worth a total value of more than $100) for free.  The apps include some great utilities, games and music apps, including:

• SIMS 3

• Bejeweled
• N.O.V.A.
• Texas Hold’em Poker 2
• Bubble Bash 2
• Photo Editor Ultimate
• DriveSafe.ly Pro
• iSpeech Translator Pro
• Drive Safe.ly Enterprise
• Nobex Radio™ Premium

• Shazam Encore
• Vlingo Plus: Virtual Assistant

Plus, there may be more apps to come as well.  The apps will be available for download via BlackBerry App World over the next few weeks and will be available until December 31, 2011.

Read on for the full press release from RIM, and feel free to add your comments on what you think about this offer!

If you own a BlackBerry, you'll be happy to know that your BlackBerry services should be coming back online.  While services have been down for users in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for a couple of days already, service in Canada and the US started having issues a little over 24 hours ago.  Services are now returning in all areas with many users reporting considerable improvement from this morning.  Expect some delays to continue as the backlog is cleared, but users should now be getting emails, have browser access, and should be getting BBM access again (although there are reports of delays for some users still, myself included).

If your BlackBerry is still having problems, read on for some instructions that may help get you back up and running.

I realize the headline sounds a lot like an endorsement, and in some respects it is. I haven’t had a traditional landline in over a year now, mostly because I moved to a new place and used my cell phone and Skype to take care of calling needs, but with a netTalk Duo, I can have a landline for a full year at a cost of just $80 — with calls to all of Canada and the U.S. included.



APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE FOR THE FOCUS ISSUES IN THE VIDEO - I WAS USING A NEW CAMERA THAT I WASN'T USED TO YET.
 

Last week I had the privilege of being able to attend Samsung Canada’s Holiday media preview event. There they showed me some of the latest tech that they are bringing to the Canadian market, including a few products that had previously never been shown in public. While I didn’t have time to look at everything on display, I did shoot three videos of some of the coolest items, and will be posting them to the Tech Blog in three parts.

The first video, above, focuses on the new cellphones and tablets coming this fall. While they are all coming out before Christmas, they couldn’t provide exact release dates or pricing, and in the case of the new Tab they couldn’t even tell me which carrier it will be released on (but I have a good idea!). There were three phones - the Telus Samsung Galaxy S II X (what a mouthful!), the Rogers Samsung Galaxy S Glide, and the white Bell Samsung Galaxy S II. The lone tablet was the LTE version of the Galaxy Tab 8.9.

All these devices should be coming to Future Shop soon. Read on for some more details about them.

Good news for those who were hoping for more affordable BlackBerry devices to come out.  RIM has just announced their upcoming BlackBerry Curve 9350, 9360 and 9370 models!  Expect the new Curve 9360 be released by Canadian carriers this month, just in time for Back to School!

If you've been waiting for the new BlackBerry smartphones, the wait is finally over.  As of today, you can get the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and the BlackBerry Torch 9810 in store from all three major carriers.  Featuring a new, faster processor, the new BlackBerry 7 OS, Liquid Graphics, higher resolution screens and more, the new BlackBerry smartphones are definitely worth checking out.  Read on for more info.

Are you a BlackBerry owner? If so, you'll be happy to hear that RIM has finally released a major update to their Facebook app.  Along with an updated UI, BlackBerry users finally get Facebook Chat functionality and more.  And if you have a BlackBerry PlayBook, RIM has also released an update that brings a number of new features.  Read on for more info.

The idea behind this may seem a bit old, but in practice, ponying up cash from one mobile device to another is about to get a lot easier. Paypal unveiled a service that will do just that — tap two phones together that have Near Field Communications (NFC) chips built-in and the transaction is done.

The Bell HTC Sensation 4G is now available at Future Shop for $149.99 here.

When one thinks about industrial design, especially in tech, Apple always gets all the accolades for its products. While I admit that they do make some very pretty hardware I personally think, at least when it comes to phones, that HTC makes the best looking and best built devices. Unlike Apple, who only have to design one handset per product cycle, HTC makes a wide selection of phones for multiple OS’s, and by in large each one is a beautiful work of gadget engineering.

HTC has had a long history with Android – the first Android G1 phone, and Google’s flagship Nexus One (that really pushed the OS into the mainstream), were made by HTC. The new HTC Sensation 4G continues this long Android heritage. I have had the privilege of being able to test one out for a week. I have been very impressed with it so far – it’s certainly one of the best phones you can buy in Canada today. 

As Cersei said to Ned, "When you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." You can apply this quote to the Tablet Wars, and if King Robert Baratheon was the iPad, and Joffrey Baratheon the iPad 2, then is the Galaxy Tab 10.1 Robb Stark?

Perhaps that doesn’t work because Joffrey isn’t actually Robert’s son and…okay, as you can see I have been watching too much of HBO’s brilliant Game of Thrones TV series. Trying to find suitable analogies in a fantasy epic for the battle for dominance in the emerging tablet market might be a bit of stretch. But it’s true to say that the overwhelming market leader, Apple’s iPad 2, will soon have a real fight on its hands in the shape of the new Galaxy Tab 10.1.

The 16GB Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi is  $499.99 and can be pre-ordered from Future Shop here

It’s been a busy month so far for Telus. First they slashed data roaming fees, added SkypeOut credit to monthly statements and now — wait for it — they’ve apparently changed the device ownership rules to make it less expensive to buy out of a contract with them.

Those dreaded roaming charges have funneled a lot of money out of people’s pockets over the years. What a way to come back down to Earth after a vacation only to find a gigantic bill from your cell carrier. Telus seems to want to offer at least some relief to this by halving the amount Canadians have to pay when travelling. In addition, a deal the carrier made with Skype also makes it easier to manage Skype credits through Telus’s billing system.