Samsung just announced the Galaxy Note 8.0. It's a 8" tablet with 1280x800 display (169ppi), 1.6Ghz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 5MP camera and Android 4.1.

Since it's a Note it comes with Samsung's S-Pen. You also get a bunch of S-Pen apps plus multi-view and pop-up video.

Do you think it's a good alternative to the iPad Mini? ...

TELUS just released their Network Experience application for Android, iPhone and pre-OS10 Blackberries. It can be downloaded in each platform's respective app store. Just search for 'TELUS'

Sounds like a really cool idea but how do you report no service if there's no service?

Actually, I gave the Android version a try and the app is pretty easy to use. It automatically knows where you are. If you want, you can tap the map and select another spot. ...

HTC just announced their HTC One.

Hardware-wise it has a 4.7" 1920x1080 display with a mind blowing 468 PPI pixel density. 1.7Ghz Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor with 2GB of RAM, 32 or 64GB of RAM and a 2300mAh battery. It will be running Android Jellybean.

It will be coming to TELUS, Bell, Rogers, Virgin Mobile Canada, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Cincinnati Bell and Best Buy (in the US). North American availability is 'late March'. Both black and silver will be available in North America each with either 32GB of 64GB of storage. Exact configuration is up to the carrier.

It's wrapped in a beautiful aluminum unibody. The only fly in the ointment is the 2300mAh battery. What was HTC thinking? Unless the One is able to capture screen presses and turn them into energy 2300mAh will probably lag behind what everyone else is shipping. The trend is moving towards 3000ish mAh which for some people, means full day usage. 2300mAh will get you close but probably won't last the day.

HTC is trying to differentiate their product but emphasized 3 aspects of the One: HTC BlinkFeed, the Camera which has HTC Ultrapixel with HTC Zoe and the built-in speaker with HTC Boom Sound.

HTC BlinkFeed displays sources from your favourite content on the home screen. This includes sources like Associated press, Al Jazeera, Facebook, etc. You can choose from over 1400 content providers.

HTC Ultrapixel refers to the sensor. The sensor itself can capture 300% more light. It's able to do this because it has a larger pixels. According to HTC, many 8MP cameras contain 1.4x1.4um pixels. the One's sensor has 2x2um pixels. That means each pixel on the One's sensor is 2x the size of a standard 8MP sensor. The sensor itself is 1/3" in size.

Bigger pixels can mean less noise plus more dynamic range. A greater DR can mean better light sensitivity. Of course, bigger pixels can also mean lower resolution. The One's sensor has an effective resolution of 4 megapixels.

Now I think that Megapixels are one of the most misleading ways to measure image quality. My observation is that the public as a whole seems to realize this too now since the number of megapixels hasn't been changing much in recent years. Still, you get some who wonder why their point and shoot takes inferior pictures to a SLR because the P&S has more megapixels.

While 4 megapixels is probably sufficient most of the time, it will allow less flexibility if you need to crop. Since there's no zoom lens and you can't always get closer this is one of the downsides.

Like last year's One series the One comes with a f/2.0 lens.

When you snap a picture the One X takes 20 pictures plus a 3 second video clip.

There's a 8 frame per second burst mode. While 8 fps is plenty, part of me is a little disappointed it's not higher since the processor only has to chew on 4mp images. When you do the math, that's 32mp of imaging data per second. Last year's One X did 8MP at 5fps; that's 40mp of data. Still, it's a very minor complaint.

There's also optical image stabilization. This should be a huge advantage for video and also low-light photography and in my opinion is one of the best things about the camera.

Speaking of video, there's also video HDR feature which increases the dynamic range of video from ~54db to ~84db. This means better low light video. My only complaint is that the video HDR records 1080p at an oddball 28 frames per second. This might be hard to edit initially.

Lastly, HTC BoomSound addresses one of my biggest complaints about HTC phones with beats logos on them. When I see the beats logo I figure they'll be loud. While HTC has addressed the loudness of the headphone amp with their second crop of 2012 phones they still came with anaemic speakers that you can't hear in public. Now BoomSound means that there are dual, stereo speakers in front with a more powerful amplifier. I wasn't able to attend the event due to health problems so I'll have to try this feature out later.

Another feature is that there is a built-in infrared port for remote control. While most smartphones are able to control recent TV's and other devices via Wi-Fi, typically they're not able to turn them on which limits their usefulness. With an infrared port you should be able to control everything just like you do with a regular remote. Neat.

From a marketing perspective, I wonder whether too much stuff has too many names. I mean you need some marketing names that don't really mean anything - retina, touchwiz, etc but the One has HTC Zoe, HTC UltraPixel Camera, HTC BoomSound, HTC BlinkFeed, Sense Voice, HTC Sense and Beats. There might be too many names here to connect with consumers.

Part of me also wishes HTC would ditch the One name. While I'm really glad they've moved away from giving their phones real names (Raider, Amaze, Legend, etc) Simply calling their phones 'One' makes it harder for them to describe the positioning of their phones. Is the One X better than the One V? What about the S?

The 4 megapixel camera seems like a great idea. Megapixels mean almost nothing after all. Still, it's a risky move. There's a reason why everyone else is using more megapixels. But is it the right time now?

All, in all, the HTC One looks like a really strong entry. In typical HTC fashion, they screwed up one feature. Last year it was the One X's 16GB of storage. This time around will it be the 2300mAh? Still, Infrared and a more usable camera are pretty enticing upgrades. I'm also glad that while HTC includes Sense, they're introducing other new features.

Will it connect with consumers? Certainly, HTC has done a top-notch job. ...

Just got word that the Sony Xperia ZL is coming to Canada beginning in April.

It will be available on Rogers, Bell, Mobilicity, Wind, MTS and Videotron.

It's the first in what should be many phones from Android OEMs in 2013 with quad core (or more) processors, 5"+ screens with resolutions of 1920x1080, 13MP cameras and 2GB of RAM.

It will be available in black. No word on pricing. My guess would be that it will be priced at around the Galaxy Note 2's level. ...

Starting Feb 10, Bell will be aligning with Quebec and Manitoba (and the other carriers) with their launch of the Subsidy based cancellation fee model.

This will affect clients entering into an agreement on or after February 10, 2013.
This will affect Consumer - Personal and Corporate - EPP accounts only.
All other accounts (Corporate, Corporate-INDV (which many of you have), and Small Business) remain on the current model.

Take your total subsidy, divide it by the total of months in your term, and multiply it by the months remaining to calculate your cancellation fee.

E.G. Client receives a $500 subsidy when activating on a 36 month term. Client wants to cancel 20 months into their contract.
$500 / 36 = $13.89. $13.89 x 16 months remaining = $222.24 cancellation fee.

If a client does not receive a subsidy when activating, but still took a term, their cancellation fee is 10% of their monthly recurring charges, multiplied by the # of months remaining, to a maximum of $50.

Clients wishing to perform an early upgrade (not eligible for an upgrade) will pay their remaining subsidy and then be eligible for an upgrade. Clients that upgraded or activated before February 10 will be based on the old (current) early upgrade fee model. ...

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Just heard that Canadian stores are getting their Blackberry Z10 stock now ahead of the Feb 5th launch.

I've talked to a few stores and it sounds like while they're getting a lot of stock - 7 times as many Z10's as they got iPhone 5's - It sounds like most of the units are earmarked for pre-orders. So there's a chance that the Z10 may be scarce come launch day.

Anyone got a Z10 pre-order in or thinking of picking one up launch day? ...

It looks like starting today it's going to be illegal to unlock your phone in the US. Apparently, the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) prevents American from doing this.

Now you need to ask your carrier first before you can unlock.

Unlocking a phone has been part of the phone industry for years. I remember unlocking my Nokia 5190 around 10 years ago. So, it's a bit of a joke that it's now illegal.

Mind you, in the US there isn't a great deal of mobility between carriers because each carrier uses either a slightly different technology and or frequency. Still, it prevents you from moving to a carrier's MVNO.

So, if you unlock your phone now will some Jack Bauer type kick down your door?

If you think this is wrong/ridiculous/stupid/outrageous/etc make sure you sign the petition here.

May God help us all. Thoughts?

Thanks berry_lthird!
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