My Canadian Gift Guide

[howard]

It’s that time of year again. Family gatherings, time off, expanding waistlines and hopefully; phones, phones and more phones! People often ask me what to get, so here are my recommendations for each Canadian carrier.

TELUS

On TELUS it’s really a question of Samsung Galaxy S II X or HTC Amaze 4G. While it’s true the Samsung has a bigger better display you can’t go wrong with the HTC Amaze 4G. I reviewed one recently and called it one of my favourite Android phones of the year. It’s fast, has a decent camera, useful software and a great form factor.

If you’re on a budget or don’t want to spend too much each month consider the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray. The Ray combines great battery life, an extremely portable form factor with just enough power in a package that won’t break the bank.

Koodo

On Koodo consider the Blackberry Bold 9790. It has the power of the Bold 9900 in a smaller form factor and more importantly, a bigger battery. While it’s not cheap the 9790’s pricing is more palatable than the 9900’s.

The LG Optimus One is a no-brainer if you’re looking for a cheap phone with no strings attached. I’ve seen it as low as $80 with no Tabs or contracts. Interestingly, The LG Optimus 2x which came out roughly the same time as the Optimus One is still running Android 2.2 (at least up here in Canada) while the LG Optimus One received a Android 2.3 update earlier this year.

Rogers

While I’m tempted by the Galaxy S II LTE and HTC Raider I’d say the most interesting phone on Rogers right now is the Motorola RAZR. Yeah, it’s not an LTE phone but overall the RAZR is a more compelling package. It’s durable, has a nice display, a great camera and media enthusiasts will love the Motocast software.

While RIM’s been getting a lot of bad press lately it’s easy to forget that Blackberries are second-to-none when it comes messaging. On Rogers check out the Blackberry Curve 9360. It’s solid device with raised keys and Blackberry’s under-rated Blackberry OS 7.0.

Fido

On Fido it’s a no-brainer - get the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro. It’s got a great slide out keyboard, plus it’s easy to hold. Don’t let the lack of a dual-core processor hold you back. I showed the Xperia Pro to a lot of people and none of them thought it was slow.

Bell

On Bell it’s easy to get the latest and greatest with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. It’s the first Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.0 phone and it’s also one of the first phones to have a 720p display. I’ve been using one for a few weeks now and everyone who sees me use it wants to check it out. If you need/want LTE check out the LG Optimus LTE, it also has a 720p display.

Another Samsung to consider on Bell is the Galaxy GIO. Decent specs plus I’ve seen them on prepaid for as low as $100.

Like Bell, Virgin also carries the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. If that’s too much also check out the Galaxy S II. I own one and even though it’s been around for nearly half a year now it’s still a great phone that I love to use. I actually prefer it to the Galaxy S II X and LTE mostly because the regular S II has a better form factor.

Mobilicity

On Mobilicity I’d go with the HTC Amaze 4G. It’s not cheap but it’s worth it. I already talked about it in the TELUS section but another benefit of the Amaze 4G is that if you unlock it, it will work on virtually any Canadian wireless carrier. Bell, Rogers, TELUS, Wind, Mobilicity, etc. Plus, you can put some of the money you save on Mobilicity towards the Amaze.

Wind

Just like TELUS and Mobilicity I’d recommend the HTC Amaze 4G on Wind. If the ability to work on any Canadian HSPA carrier isn’t enough the Amaze also has NFC support. While you can’t do much with it now there will be a lot of uses for it next year.

Finding a less expensive Wind is a trickier task. I can’t really recommend any of their really inexpensive Android handsets.

Sitting between their entry level Android handsets and the HTC Amaze are LG Optimus 2x and the Samsung Nexus S. Software-wise the Nexus SE is a more up-to-date device plus it also has NFC. Still, on paper the Optimus 2x has the edge; a dual core processor, a higher megapixel camera, 1080p video recording and HDMI out. The big problem with the Optimus 2x is that it currently comes with Android 2.2 (FroYo). While it’s true the jump from 2.3 to 2.2 is not as dramatic as the jump from 2.1 to 2.2 was it’s still telling that the 2x has been out for almost a year and LG still hasn’t brought 2.3 to the Optimus 2x. Still, it’s worth pointing out that 2.3 is rolling out to some 2x’s in Europe. LG has also announced that the 2x will be getting Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0). Hopefully the Wind LG Optimus 2x variant will get these updates too.

Apple

Any Holiday gift guide has one wild card. The iPhone 3Gs, 4 and 4s. While the 3Gs is now 3 years old it has aged remarkably well. I still actually have one that I use from time to time and it still provides a good user experience. It’s not horribly slow, it runs most apps and it has the most recent version of iOS. The 4 has also aged very well. If you switched my 4s with a 4 I probably wouldn’t notice right away. It’s still a very capable device. It’s still fast, has a camera that is still among the best.

If you can afford it it’s hard not to recommend the iPhone 4s. It has a very consistent user interface. It’s great for gaming, it’s easy to user and there are tons and tons of accessories for it.

Tablets

To me, in Canada there are only 2 tablets with 3G/4G to buy: The Apple iPad 2 and to a much lesser extent the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. To be honest, I don’t advise anyone to buy an Android Tablet right now. First off they’re too expensive. While it’s true that their prices have been dropping a lot lately I feel there’s still a lot of room. Another problem is that most of them run Honeycomb. Honeycomb is a bit of a disaster. It has an inconsistent user interface, there aren't a lot of apps that are made for it (it can still run ‘regular’ Android apps too).

I do like that there is more hardware selection on Android but generally speaking, more hardware causes a weight penalty. Just look at the HTC Jetstream and Acer A501. While they’re actually not that much heavier than the Tab 10.1 they FEEL much less portable because they’re too thick and heavy.

One benefit to the dropping price of Android tablets is that it will create downward pressure on the iPad’s price so really it’s not a great time to buy a tablet period. There’s also talk of the next generation of tablets having quadruple the screen resolution.

Let’s not forget; Tablets are ideal for consuming media - but outside of the iPad there isn’t a Tablet that’s does this really well. So if you can, it’s better to sit back and see what happens.

[tendenzi]

not one windows phone Howard?

I'm no WP7 die-hard, but seeing all those androids up there reminded me what vomiting of the eyes feels like. WP7 deserved a mention, so I'm doing it now.

Also my only recommendation for WIND would have been a WP7. Much better on WIND than droid.

[bubble.tea]

Love your photos!

I've actually been looking for such a review of flagship devices across the Canadian Providers for awhile now. Great Timing!

[Mr Mystery]

not one windows phone Howard?

I'm no WP7 die-hard, but seeing all those androids up there reminded me what vomiting of the eyes feels like. WP7 deserved a mention, so I'm doing it now.

Also my only recommendation for WIND would have been a WP7. Much better on WIND than droid.

Are any of our carriers even selling the WP7.5 devices???? Seems to be no interest in it in Canada right now. I'd take a Lumia 800 if it was offered here but not paying $750+ to import one.

[ceredon]

...And you're getting one of each for me for Christmas? Awesome, thanks Howard!

[tendenzi]

Are any of our carriers even selling the WP7.5 devices???? Seems to be no interest in it in Canada right now. I'd take a Lumia 800 if it was offered here but not paying $750+ to import one.

that's very true. Not one carrier I think has brought out a new WP7 device since they launched 12 months ago, maybe TELUS but even then, it wasn't one of the more recent mango built-to-order ones.

[howard]

Any of the WP7 devices that were launched last year are 7.5 devices now. Still, they're quite old. I guess if I was to recommend one it would be the LG Optimus 7, Samsung Focus. Actually, outside of the HTC Surround 7 they're all decent handsets.