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Bell nabs iPhone deal in Canada, ends Rogers' reign of terror

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 6th 2009 @ 8:25AM

It's official, Bell and Apple have agreed to sell the iPhone 3G and 3GS in Canada starting November. The move ends the Rogers exclusive in while christening Bell's new 3G network with Apple's darling. Hmm, first O2 lost it exclusivity then Rogers, we're sensing a trend.

[Thanks, Sean]

Instinct HD spotted with box, looking chubbier than ever

by Paul Miller posted Sep 23rd 2009 @ 9:38PM

Look, we enjoy a bit of excessive caloric intake now and again ourselves, but the much-leaked Instinct HD really seems to have let itself go. We just got pics of the device up against a box, and the word is it "feels like a bloated s30 in your hand... and that is not meant as a compliment." Ouch. The instructions apparently say that you can plug an HDMI cable into the phone somehow, but so far all that's been discovered is the standard proprietary power jack -- so that's odd, but at least we have our first hint at some sort of "HD" functionality.

Gallery: Instinct HD spotted with box, looking chubbier than ever

Video: Palm Pre jumps the border, now shipping on Bell

by Thomas Ricker posted Aug 27th 2009 @ 4:21AM

Right on schedule, the Palm Pre has started shipping to Bell Mobility customers. The Bell exclusive marks the first international launch of Palm's little savior and to celebrate, we've got commercials -- a pair of knee-slappers featuring real live Canadians. And you thought that the mirror on the back of the Pre was only for the ladies.

Continue reading Video: Palm Pre jumps the border, now shipping on Bell

T-Mobile UK sneakily offering iPhone 3G to moneyed customers

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 4th 2009 @ 4:59AM

We really couldn't make this stuff up -- it would seem that T-Mobile has been sneaking some hi-tech contraband into the UK in the form of unlocked iPhone 3G handsets, which it is now peddling to its most valued clientele. And by that, of course, we mean the piggies that pay up the most every month. Limited to an extremely select 150 units a week, the Apple devices are being used as incentives for high-rolling customers to renew their eye-gouging contracts of £75 per month and above, though we suspect only a few chums in corner offices know exactly how much T-Mob is charging for the handset itself.

We've done some digging, and while O2 has exclusivity on the iPhone 3G until September, that does not prevent T-Mobile from essentially functioning as a reseller of unlocked SIM-free units. Further distancing itself from legal action, the carrier is only offering the handsets to upgrading customers (as opposed to newcomers), thus the phones technically come sans a SIM. So, the suits at Magenta Towers must be feeling pretty smug right about now, having danced through a loophole and secured a wildly popular (albeit older generation) phone, all in the name of keeping high-brow customers from jumping ship. While you won't hear any PR from T-Mobile on the matter, we have a full statement from O2 on the subject of losing 3G exclusivity come September. You ready?

We have a multi-year agreement with Apple to sell iPhone in the UK. This relationship continues.

Man, those Britons keep it short and sweet, don't they?

AT&T CEO admits iPhone won't be exclusive forever

by Donald Melanson posted Jul 23rd 2009 @ 4:48PM

It may not be all that shocking from a common sense point of view, but AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson's statement that "there will be a day when you are not exclusive with the iPhone" is still quite a departure from anything he's said in the past and, given the stakes involved, pretty darn notable. That word came at Fortune's now happening Brainstorm: Tech conference, where Stephenson unsurprisingly didn't elaborate on any negotiations with Apple, and only went so far as to say that he thinks AT&T's partnership with Apple "works really, really well -- maybe as well as any strategic partnership we have." Of course, none of that means exclusivity is going away anytime soon, and you can pretty safely bet that AT&T will keep on pushing as long as it can.

Sprint affirms Palm Pre exclusivity "through 2009"

by Darren Murph posted May 29th 2009 @ 10:01AM

Ready for your daily dose of obvious? Good. After Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam proudly proclaimed that America's largest mobile operator would be painting the Palm Pre red "in about six months," Sprint has come forward to make sure we know that said statement is probably right on the money. According to Sprint spokesman James Fisher: "We have the Pre through 2009." Short, sweet and chock full of pent-up rage. 'Course, six months after the Pre's launch on Sprint lands us in December, giving VZW just enough time to cripple the phone's hottest features and push it out before Valentine's Day. Sounds pretty reasonable, no?

Exclusive BlackBerry Storm 2 shots!

by Jacob Schulman posted May 14th 2009 @ 11:44PM

What's this we have here? A trusted source just hit us with a slew of beauty shots of the Storm 2 that leaked a little bit ago. Not much else to say at this point until we can get one in our hands -- the photos really speak for themselves. But seriously, what are you still doing here? Get over to the gallery and see all the tasty (and frankly, familiar) shots!

[Thanks, BBninja1389]

Gallery: Exclusive BlackBerry Storm 2 shots!

AT&T purportedly looking to push iPhone exclusivity to 2011

by Darren Murph posted Apr 15th 2009 @ 11:39AM

It's a little silly just how hush-hush this whole iPhone-AT&T exclusivity agreement has been, but now it sounds like it just might be next century before any of you CDMA loyalists are able to indulge in the App Store. According to a fresh report in The Wall Street Journal, people "familiar with the matter" have suggested that AT&T is feverishly working to extend its exclusive agreement to carry the iPhone in America until 2011. Last we heard, the deal was stretched out through 2010, and considering just how many new subscribers are flocking over solely for this phone, can you really blame the guy for wanting another dozen months of bliss? Not surprisingly, an Apple spokeswoman had more to say about her personal life than on these rumors, but if you were really banking on snapping up a Verizon-branded iPhone at the end of next year, you should probably ask someone to blast you with a giant fire hose of reality.

[Via HotHardware]

Sprint to get a head start over Verizon on Treo 800w sales?

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 6th 2008 @ 10:42PM

Continuing a tradition observed by the 755p, it looks like Sprint has every intention of jumping out ahead of Verizon just a little bit on the imminent Treo 800w launch. It's no secret that Verizon will be picking it up, of course, but Sprint is flaunting in what appears to be some internal documentation that it'll be featuring the latest Palm device for a good 2-3 months ahead of time. What we don't know is whether Sprint knows this because it has signed up for a period of exclusivity, or because they've done a little... ahem, "research" on their CDMA rival and discovered that Big Red's network validation isn't as far along. The Spy vs. Spy lover in us hopes it's the latter.

Carphone Warehouse preps "Limited Collection" line of designer handsets

by Sean Cooper posted Sep 26th 2007 @ 4:04PM

Carphone Warehouse is prepping a line of devices for its new "Limited Collection" line, an all-designer showcase for all that's ~~rehashed~~ new in mobiles. The line will feature two handsets from designer Ted Baker, and one each from Mandarina Duck, Levi's, and Porsche. We're all for expensive, glossy new sets -- ok, we're sorta all for it -- but with the exception of the Porsche (Sagem) and Levi's (ModeLabs) sets, these are just same old, same old with expensive accessories and new color choices. Though, we have to hand it to one of the Ted Baker-branded devices, we dig its somewhat throwback name "needle" for its HTC Touch. The Levi's and Ted Baker Button should land in October with the rest of the collection arriving in November. Hopfully we'll see a pricing update soon.

[Via textually.org]

Pantech, UTStarcom ink deal for CDMA phones

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 27th 2006 @ 12:43PM

We know who gets the lion's share of Pantech's GSM love in the States, but that leaves a large portion of their product portfolio -- their CDMA handsets -- without a proper home. Sure, they've got the Nokia deal in full swing, but as far as we know that's only good for a grand total of two rebadged models, and Nokia's already indicated they ultimately plan to spread the wealth among several ODMs for their CDMA line. Enter perennial rebadger UTStarcom, a company known for getting cozy with a variety of manufacturers to keep their product line fully stocked. A new deal with Pantech will make UTStarcom the exclusive owner of Pantech's CDMA products in all of North and Latin America (Brazil curiously excluded) for the next three years, pretty much guaranteeing that the Nokia arrangement will end after the two phones they've already agreed upon. With Pantech's stock seemingly on the rise right now, the deal could be a hot one for UTStarcom -- though with the HTC Libra in the pipeline, we can only hope other ODM deals are unaffected.