Android in Canada Blog » Rogers/Fido

Bell, Rogers & Telus getting the Galaxy Note in February

Ryan Moore — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:16:40 +0000

Both Rogers and Telus are getting the Galaxy Note. Rogers has officially confirmed that it will be receiving it (and they have their pre-order page ready), Bell has it placed on its site already; whereas Telus it’s just a leaked tip thus far.

Now, no date or pricing have been confirmed — however, on the Samsung page their may be a clue…

[notice it says "Thu 02/23"... could that be a hint?]

I’m ever so intrigued by this device. It won’t be that much bigger than my Nexus, and I’ll get to relive the days of using a stylus again (I actually pulled out my TX the other day… sigh).

Bell, Rogers & Telus getting the Galaxy Note in February is a post from: Android in Canada Blog

Ryan’s Review: Samsung Galaxy Nexus [video]

Ryan Moore — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:29:18 +0000

Okay, so I’ve joined the Nexus rank, and recently been able to pick up my own Galaxy Nexus. Pretty sweet.

Now, this is a top-end phone. Just like a Ferrari, it’s not for everybody, but it’s pretty wicked none-the-less. As one friend described it (who’s an avid iUser), “this is a very clean interface, definitely looks very sexy and appealing, whereas the iOS is starting to get ‘clunky’.”

For those of you who aren’t in the know, the Nexus line of phones are the ‘flagship’ phones that Google collaborates with a manufacturer to build SPECIFICALLY to coincide with a new version of the Android OS. This phone is then built without any ‘top layer’ of a UI (like Sense, or TouchWiz etc…), it’s vanilla.

At this point in time, we’ve all seen plenty of Nexus videos. Tom’s reviewed his twice here (#1, #2), and even talked about some of the issues he’s seen.

So, what’s it like? Well, here’s a quick video covering some of my ‘takes’ on the phone:

Form factor

It’s a nice size… a little wide, so hard to reach everything with one hand. And it’s a little thin on the back, so it feels a little too light and you feel like it’s going to slip out of your hands.

The bezel is really nice, when you have a black screen on it’s hard to see the edge.

Display

This is probably the only real disappointment I’ve found. On ‘greys’ it’s very … hate to say pixellated, but you can make out a faint ‘linen’ look to the screen. This is especially noticed on whites where you have it on low brightness too. Blacks are VERY black, and it’s awesome.

I must say, I really do like the Roboto font. Really makes the letters easy to read. Looks so much better on the phone than on my computer.

Snappy-ness…

…really really snappy. I’ve bogged it down with just about every app I’ve downloaded and it hasn’t slowed. Sure enough exiting out to the home screen sometimes causes it to delay a refresh, but just barely noticeable.

I don’t like how it’s slow to rotate. That’s not cool.

Battery life

Not a big problem as I usually have chargers everywhere, but I haven’t noticed a super huge need to make use of them. So I can’t really comment on it.

Cool Stuff?

Data capabilities – being able to see what’s eating your data plan, just how you’re able to see what’s using up your battery. However, the numbers don’t seem to come close to each other compared to the data counter widget I’ve installed. Maybe I’ll give it some time and see.

ICS swipe to discard notifcations, same for discarding tabs on the browser or running apps.

Really good camera — fast! But there’s no changing the resolution of the photo. Here’ a sample shot, (it’s not as vibrant as I would like, but nothing a little photoshop can’t help with).

And so much other neat stuff in ICS as you’ve already seen (Google Voice Input, Panorama, face unlock, etc…)

Other than that? Issues…

Well, it’s new. I’ve had to get used to that. I’m not a fan of the stock dialer where it can’t look up people by dialing a number and it interpreting the letters.

There’s been big issue with the screenshot. I fumbled a few times trying to get it to work. But even after that, if you choose to “share” it, the end source is blurry. I’ve used blogger and G+ and they both show up blurry. I’ve gmail’d myself one and it was fine then. Backed up photos into a cloud storage (i.e. SugarSync) show them as fine… it just doesn’t make sense. I only noticed after a reader of our blog was complaining. And then funny enough, the conversation attracted the attention of a Googler (one Punit Soni) who has said that they have had an issue and are working on it.

I’ve had about 4 random reboots with it now. Now that’s about a week’s worth of use. With my Captivate I’d almost get one a day. So no complaints here.

No 4G only” switch. In my area, 2G is REALLY strong, as such it tends to want to hop back and forth. And sometimes when it hops to 2G it stays and won’t switch back. Most likely this is a cellular network issue, but I like telling the phone to STAY in 4G and not switch.

Camera is 5MP only. No option to go lower.

I REALLY miss the rich features of the Alarm Clock on my Captivate.

I got too used to GoLauncher/Launcher Pro, that I had to put on Nova Launcher to give myself a few more options.

What else?

Seriously, this is an excellent phone. And at $99 on a 3 year plan it’s a steal for a top level phone. I paid more than that for the HTC Magic AND the Captivate model I got. I bought this phone outright personally, however. You’ll have to just get your own to really feel how this thing works. How it’s snappy, the screen feels amazing… such a nice phone.

Now I have some ‘issues’, but most of them can be fixed with a 3rd party app… just wish I didn’t have to go that route.

How’s it compare to the rest? Well, below I’ve put down the list of how much it costs. Now compare that to the slew of other Androids and it fares well for cost’s sake, it’s about average, for an above average phone.. Heck, the s2 LTE is MORE expensive. It’s about average cost, but what you get is a true Android experience.

That being said, about the ‘true Android experience’, many folk’ll tell you that the Nexus is for ‘developers only’ and if you’re not going to tweak the crap out of it with ROMs and whatnot, just go with another phone. To that I say phooey. I may eventually mod it, but for now I’m enjoying what the Ice Cream Sandwich experience is supposed to feel like before some other manufacturers put their UI layer on top. It’s quite good on its own thus far, and as I’ve said, for the price it’s probably the best bang for your buck. So get it, mod it if you want, don’t if you don’t feel you need to.

So, where can you get it?

Rogers/Fido/tbaytel: $599 outright / $99 on a 3 year contract (Fido lists it as $160 on a 3 year plan)
Telus/Koodo: $649 outright / $159 on a 3 year contract (No Koodo listing yet)
Bell/Virgin: $649 outright / $159 on a 3 year contract
Wind: still coming soon - apparently just in time for Valentine’s day!
Mobilicity: Feb 6th.
SaskTel: $599 outright / $159 on a 3 year contract
Videotron: still coming soon

Ryan’s Review: Samsung Galaxy Nexus [video] is a post from: Android in Canada Blog

Future Shop offering a Galaxy S2 + Tab Deal [#deals]

Ryan Moore — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:39:53 +0000

Saw this tip from MobileSyup today, and thought EVERYBODY should know about it (I’m sure they have a much larger readership, but we may have a few they don’t).

So, you get the tablet included in a subsidy when you get the Galaxy S2 on a 3 year plan with Rogers. Heck of a deal I say!

Future Shop offering a Galaxy S2 + Tab Deal [#deals] is a post from: Android in Canada Blog

Galaxy Nexus Has 99 Problems, But A Glitch Ain’t One

Tom Gray — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:00:13 +0000

Since the official launch of the Galaxy Nexus on all our big carriers, I have seen quite a few posts popping up recently. A lot of ‘I love the Galaxy Nexus’ posts, but also a bunch of unsatisfied users. It seems the Galaxy Nexus has a number of issues that need to be worked out. Granted not every user has experienced these issues, but the signs are present that these issues exist.

As I’ve mentioned many times. The Galaxy Nexus suffers from a weak back speaker. To ‘fix’ this issue, users have been recommending an app called “Volume+” to boost the sound volume. On top of that, a few custom roms are including volume tweaking options.

The colors on the Galaxy Nexus are a little off too. If you have another phone, you can load up the google page and compare the white backgrounds to each other. For some reason the Galaxy Nexus has an off white tint and the colors just don’t seem to pop like on many other phones. There are a couple custom roms and kernels that are addressing this issue, or allowing users to tweak their own colors.

Random reboots and signal drops are being reported on many websites and forums. I too have suffered from them. I personally have had these fixed when I flashed the official 4.0.2 recovery image, but others say they still encounter them, just less frequently.

This one is unconfirmed, but I heard some of the Canadian carrier released models such as Telus and Rogers might have to rely on Samsung for their updates and not Google itself. Once again, that is only based on what I’ve read around, but it’s defiantly something to watch out for.

Poor battery life is also being reported from many users around the forums.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not an ‘I hate Galaxy Nexus speech’. It’s just to point out some of the issues that new users may encounter when choosing this phone. I’ve been asked numerous times on Google+ if the Galaxy Nexus is worth the 3 year contract, for these reasons I decided to post this up others that may be looking to see if there are existing problems. Sadly enough, I know quite a few people who are returning their Galaxy Nexus’ due to the fact it didn’t meet their expectations. We all know returning a phone to our big carriers is not always the easiest thing, they always lay down a lot of red tape you have to dance around.

Bottom line. The Galaxy Nexus is a great phone, but be aware of some of the existing issues that you might encounter like a bunch of others.

I know a lot of our readers may disagree with what I wrote here, feel free to rant and rave in the comments below. lol

Galaxy Nexus Has 99 Problems, But A Glitch Ain’t One is a post from: Android in Canada Blog

Galaxy Nexus Officially Released – Rogers / Fido / Telus

Tom Gray — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:44:02 +0000

The Galaxy Nexus officially releases on Rogers, Telus and Fido. Technically Fido released it on January 10th, but in a matter of speakings the Galaxy Nexus is available for our big 3.

As mentioned in my previous post, the Rogers/Fido and Telus Galaxy Nexus are all selling for $99 on a 3 year term and $599 Buyout. Some users have reported that if you buy your phone from a Rogers dealer, they pull that mail-in rebate nasty business. That being said, it might be in your best interest to stick with Futureshop and Bestbuy for your mobile phone needs.

It is said that this $99 price is a promo and won’t last forever. I probably don’t need to tell you, but if you’ve been waiting for the Galaxy Nexus now is the time. Stop reading this, grab your coat and run out the door to your nearest dealers! btw…. don’t forget pants.

Galaxy Nexus Officially Released – Rogers / Fido / Telus is a post from: Android in Canada Blog

Rogers and Fido Quietly Sell the Galaxy Nexus (Updated)

Tom Gray — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:30:57 +0000

Just a quick little update here for you guys.

A couple days ago I posted that Rogers and Fido were going to release the Galaxy Nexus on January 10th. You can find that article here.

It turns out I was half right. Fido let it slip out they were releasing the Galaxy Nexus January 10th, although they didn’t make a huge campaign about it. They quietly started selling the device in a number of Fido retailers, while some odd stragglers are holding out for January 13th.

Rogers on the other hand had officially announced January 13th release, but it’s switched around from Fido’s launch. Rogers is holding out for the 13th, but there are a few reports floating around the interent that some locations have begun selling them as of yesterday (January 10th).

The price is the same as Bell and Virgin. $159 on a 3-year term and $649 full price buyout. Telus on the other hand will also be releasing on the 13th, but will offer the device for $99 on a 3 year term and $599 full price buyout.

Update: I just wanted to set the record straight. Rogers/Fido is actually selling the Galaxy Nexus for $599 for a full price buyout, not the previous $649 mentioned above.

If you are waiting for the Galaxy Nexus, this should have you jumping for joy in your chair right about now. The Galaxy Nexus is literally days away, but if your willing to grind a little, you could potentially have it now by seek out those stragglers who are selling them early.

Are you gunning for Rogers/Fido or Telus? Let us know in the comments below.

Rogers and Fido Quietly Sell the Galaxy Nexus (Updated) is a post from: Android in Canada Blog

Rogers to Release Visual Voicemail for Android

Tom Gray — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:26:10 +0000

Visual Voicemail is a pretty fantastic way of managing your voicemail. No longer do you have do dial your voicemail number, enter your password and dial keys to access options and recordings.

Visual Voicemail makes it plain and simple for any users to just click and listen to a message. You are then able to delete you voicemail or save them right on to your device, all without dealing with automated recording to ‘help’ navigate you around.

As of today, visual voicemail is only available on the iphone, but Rogers has plans to release it for select Android phones. The service dubbed Visual Voicemail Plus will have one feature that Visual Voicemail for iPhone does not, the capability to save a voicemail message indefinitely.

The “select” Android phones supported are Sony Ericsson X10 and Samsung Galaxy Q, with more support for additional phones shortly after the initial launch.

It is unknown at this time how much Rogers will charge for this service, but knowing Rogers I would expect a $3 to $5 dollar add-0n.

[Source: Technapedia]

Rogers to Release Visual Voicemail for Android is a post from: Android in Canada Blog

SaskTel, Wind and Mobilicity are getting the Galaxy Nexus ‘soon’

Ryan Moore — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:05:49 +0000

3 more Canadian cellular carriers will ‘soon’ be getting the Galaxy Nexus.

More people are starting to whet their lips:

SaskTel | Wind | Mobilicity

thanks to MobileSyrup for the tip!

Still no word from Koodo. And I’m working all my contacts within tbaytel to find out when they’ll get the phone (they get phones through Rogers, just usually a week late)

So, here’s the Rundown:

Bell – already
Virgin – already
Rogers – Jan 10th?
Fido – Jan 10th?
Telus – Jan 13th
Videotron – soon
Wind – soon
SaskTel – soon
Mobilicity – soon
tbaytel – sometime after Jan 13th
Koodo – ??

Did I miss anybody?

SaskTel, Wind and Mobilicity are getting the Galaxy Nexus ‘soon’ is a post from: Android in Canada Blog

Rogers and Fido to Release Galaxy Nexus January 10th

Tom Gray — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:30:19 +0000

Great news for all of you who were holding out for Rogers to release the Galaxy Nexus. Rogers and Fido are reporting that they will be offering the Galaxy Nexus starting January 10th. Currently Bell and Virgin have exclusive rights to this phone, but it looks like other carriers will finally be joining in on the action in just a few days.

We have yet to hear any word from Telus. If they’re going to release this phone, surely they won’t wait to long to announce it, as they normally wouldn’t want Rogers to have all the spotlight’s attention.

Sadly to say, I have confirmed with my Rogers rep, as well as my Demo team that sends me phones from time to time. It turns out Rogers will only be releasing the GSM 16GB version. Unfortunately no Canadian carriers will carry the LTE version of the Galaxy Nexus. As expected, the price will be set at $159.99 on a 3-year term and $649.99 full price buyout.

Who’s grabbing this phone? Let us know in the comments below.

Rogers and Fido to Release Galaxy Nexus January 10th is a post from: Android in Canada Blog

Free Rogers Android Phones at BestBuy

Tom Gray — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:01:23 +0000

BestBuy has been doing an amazing job recently by slashing prices on all our favorite Android phones. It seems within a month or two, Bestbuy finds a way to offer the latest and greatest for just pocket change, if not free.

Galaxy S II LTE: Those who know me well, know I go gaga for this phone. I currently own it and have written a review, which can be found here

This one is the culprit that keeps my Galaxy Nexus sitting on the table all lonely most of the time. The specs are pretty amazing.

1.5Ghz dual core processor
1GB ram
16GB built-in storage
MicroSD expandable up to 32GB
4.5″ Super AMOLED+ screen at 480 x 800
8MP camera + LED flash
2MP front camera
Pre-loaded with Gingerbread 2.3.5
1850mAh battery

Everyday price at BestBuy is now free. If you are less than impressed with the upcoming Galaxy Nexus, this phone might be the one that fills that empty void in your mobile life.

Motorola RAZR: I personally have not use this phone, but my friend and fellow writer Ryan Moore has been using this phone for a little while and has been speaking pretty highly about it. You can find Ryan Moore’s review on this phone here.

1.2 Ghz dual core Cortex-A9 Processor
1GB Ram
16GB Internal Storage
MicroSD expandable up to 32GB
4.3? Super AMOLED Screen at 540 x 960
8MP Camera + LED Flash
2MP Front Camera
Video recording 1080P at 30FPS & 480P at 120FPS
Pre Loaded with Gingerbread OS 2.3.5
1780 mAh Battery

There you have it, two of Rogers greatest phones at zero money down on a 3 year term. Both have been reviewed my Ryan and myself with great things to say. Don’t just take our word for it, head down to your local BestBuy and check these incredible devices out for yourself.

Have you used either of these phones listed above? Feel free to give us your mini version of your own review, or just some general thoughts. I’m sure the community would appreciate it.

Free Rogers Android Phones at BestBuy is a post from: Android in Canada Blog