The Blackberry remote!

    Ok so the cell phone has enabled some of us to get rid of a lot of things we used to carry. No longer do we need to always carry a digital camera, an address book or agenda. Smart phones have made a lot of things obsolete. Now a new application from a Markham Ontario company wants to extend that even further.
     Unity4life has developed software so that Blackberry users can control entertainment devices from in their home. Ditch that remote. The software is downloaded to the Blackberry and then the infrared port sends commands to the TV to change the channel. Just like a universal remote. So you can turn on the TV or the stereo or the radio from your phone. In the future it hopes to permit controls of thermostats and intercoms and even lights. Not only will it power them for you but will act as an onscreen programmer as well. So load in that cd, look at the play list on your Blackberry and choose your song! Check out this picture from their web site!

     The picture on the left shows the hub station that would sit on top of the tv and the other pictures are of the different options that would show on your Blackberry device. A 2yr subscription will set you back $99US. So it is not cheap compared to a remote. But it is still very cool. I also worry about what happens if while you are watching a show your cell phone battery dies. Are you then stuck on that channel? For people who will not get up to change the channel on the TV, expecting them to get up to get their charger and go to where the phone is charging to turn off the TV maybe asking a bit. If you go to their web site you can order this now but it will not be delivered till September just in time for your favorite show to come back on after reruns.
And I must admit I love the idea of this being a Canadian company. The 2008 Wireless Enterprise Symposium thinks this maybe the thing to have in 2008. A big pat on the back that would be to Canadians!

http://northcentralcommunications.ca

Disposable $10 phone the anti-iphone

Today May 23 2008 exciting news came out. A fairly unknown company Hop-on out of California introduced what is being billed as the “Anti-iphone” it is very simplistic in nature. The Hop 1800 is the perfect GSM phone for traveling around and the best part of it all is it is not only unlocked but $10. Just $10! All you need to do is buy a sim card and away you go.
• Size: 96.6mm(D)x41.6mm(W)x14mm(H)
• Weight: 77g
• Bands: Dual-band 850/1900MHz or 900/1800MHz (2 different models)
• Battery: Standard Li-Ion 600mAh
• Battery Life: Talk time 4 hours; Standby time 150 hours
• Ringer: Polyphonic (16 Midi)
• Embedded Vibration: Yes
• SIM Lock: Yes
• Keypad Lock: Yes
The specs are nothing to get excited over but then what did you want for $10. My first concern about hearing this phone was how much it would contribute to waste in this already disposable society. The company thinks it has the answer with a $5 rebate to encourage recycling in an effort to go green. I am really not sure how that would work as how many people would just pocket the money and go? But I am sure they have worked that out somehow.
The other thing that jumped out at me was it is only dual band. Which limits the countries it can be used it but is set to work with T-mobile, Cingular and AT&T as well as Rogers in Canada. Because of the low cost of this phone though look for exciting co branding opportunities; you could have a phone with your favorite team’s logo on it. Or stores could put their own logo on it. Picture the 7-11 phones. Perhaps even car manufactures could put on in their cars for emergencies. Not sure if I like advertising for a company everytime I use my phone but it is $10.
The thing that I noticed as well is there is no display on this phone. So there is no stored contacts. If you don’t know that phone number off by heart you are in trouble. But one major use I can see for this phone is with the family vacation. Imagine mom and dad and the 2 kids going to Disneyland. Each has their own phone so nobody gets lost. To many parents that is priceless.

USA/Canada 1900
Europe 900/1800
Middle East 900/1800
Africa 900/1800
Asia 900/1800
Australia/New Zealand 900/1800
Caribbean 800/900

North Central Communications

Sony Ericsson w200 comes to rogers

Recently Rogers introduced the Sony Ericsson W200 to pay as you go. After rebate the phone should sell for $109.99. The phone is a very basic phone, but comes with some neat accessories in the package. Aside from the normal battery and charger, it comes with a stereo handsfree, USB cable, software, a 128mb memory stick. That is neat. Most phones just come with the basic charger and battery.
The phone itself is very basic. This is one of the few phones out there these days not to have Bluetooth ability. It does have an infrared port for basic data transfer but to not have Bluetooth is unusual. Almost archaic. The phone tri-band working on 850/1800 and 1900 with no 3g but not being a high end phone this is no surprise. It has a central joystick to navigate but the joystick has been known to break down and stick over time which could make playing games hard on it after time.

-General GSM 850 / 1800 / 1900 – W200a
-Size Dimensions 101 x 44 x 18 mm 85g
-Display Type UBC, 65K colors
-Size 128 x 160 pixels, 1.8 inches
-13 Wallpapers, 5 themes
-Ringtones Type Polyphonic (40 channels), 10 embedded ringtones
-Memory Phonebook Yes, Photo call
-Card slot Memory Stick Micro (M2) 27 MB internal memory
-USB Yes
-Software Adobe Photo Shop, Sony Ericcson file manager, Mobile Network wizard,photo dj and others
-Camera VGA, 640×480 pixels 4x zoom
- FM radio with RDS
- Walkman Media Player 1.0 mp3/aac/wav
-Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion
-Stand-by Up to 300 h
-Talk time Up to 7 h

The biggest selling point of this phone is the fact it is considered a walkman phone. Considering Sony started the whole walkman thing they know what they are doing. the sound quality is good for the price and having the stereo headphones is a nice touch. The sound quality has gotten good reviews. But the lack of Bluetooth and the camera are the biggest drawbacks of the phone.

http://northcentralcommunications.ca

GSM comes to Prince Rupert to Prince George corridor

Rogers Wireless comes to Prince Rupert.
March 13 of this year, Rogers GSM service officially launched in Prince Rupert. This is the first stage of a 10 million dollar investment by Rogers to give full GSM service between Prince George and Prince Rupert.
With the recent growth of Prince Rupert with the port and cruise industry bringing GSM in only makes sense. Gordon Nelson a Rogers Vice President is quoted as saying “You have a lot of activity going on in the city with the expansion of the port, the cruise ship industry growth ant it’s a great tourist destination. The Prince George corridor is very, very important to our customers. This level of expansion will enhance our connection to the world”
Currently there are four operational sites in Prince Rupert stretching to the Terrace area. It is hoped by June that this will increase to 17 including enhanced Terrace coverage. It is hoped that Smithers, Kitimat and Hazelton will be up next year.
This is a huge deal for Rogers as until now truckers hauling in this corridor leaving Prince George have not been able to use their phone outside of Vanderhoof and even then only if they are lucky. This has put Rogers at a huge disadvantage in Northern BC. It has been the primary reason Rogers has often been the last choice among consumers when looking to buy a cell phone in this area.
But the addition of Rogers GSM between Prince George and Prince Rupert will go a long way to changing that. It will mean that not only can people in Smithers for instance enjoy GSM data speeds but that people in Prince Rupert will be able to use the iphone when it hits the Canadian market. It means people in this area now have a choice of subscribers they did not have previously and more exciting a choice of phones as well as smart phones.
If Prince Rupert takes off and becomes the international hub everyone expects and people from all over come with their GSM phones in hand this can only help both Prince George and Prince Rupert in the long run gain on the international stage.
I think the big question will be in my mind can Rogers stick to their stated time table? All this was originally thought to be in place last year, while weather prevented the start they thought they would get surly poor weather on highway 16 should not come as any surprise in November when they were first looking at doing the work. I would also like to see them with the same commitment heading north beyond McKenzie. The mountains and the passes make getting coverage everywhere in this area difficult. As providing cell phone coverage to the Praries is much easier then through the Pine Pass or isolated areas out west however more can be done. And thankfully is.

http://northcentralcommunications.ca

Nokia 6086 comes to Rogers

Rogers has announced that starting Apr 25 it will be carrying the Nokia 6086 on a 3yr plan it will be $24.99 or $169.99 to buy out right. It is a very basic phone with 200 name address book, calendar, to do list, world time and alarm clock. It also has all the basic features a vga camera, video capablities, and mp3 capable. There has been some complaints about the sound quality of this phone but it is a basic entry level phone. What makes it interesting is that it is wifi capable making it great for internet usage.

Band GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz, UMA
Size 92mm x 46mm x 23mm
Weight 84g (2.96oz)
Battery Life 240 hours GSM, 96 hours UMA standby time
5 hours GSM, 6 hours UMA talk time
Main Display 262k color CSTN LCD, 128×160 pixel resolution
Sub-Display Black and white FSTN LCD, 96×68 pixel resolution
Camera Yes, VGA resolution
Video Video capture/playback at sub-QCIF (128×96 pixel) resolution
Messaging MMS/SMS
Email Yes
Bluetooth Yes
Memory Unknown on board memory, microSD memory expansion
Availability Q1 2007
Other 802.11b/g WLAN connectivity