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December 21, 2009
This Week:
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WIND MOBILE LAUNCHES SERVICE IN TORONTO AND CALGARY
WIND Mobile, a subsidiary of Globalive Holdings, has officially launched its new wireless service in Toronto and Calgary. In addition to Wind Mobile stores in each city, the carrier has announced an alliance with Blockbuster that will see WIND stores-within-a-store in 13 Blockbuster locations in Toronto and three in Calgary. The new wireless carrier plans to roll out in Vancouver, Ottawa and Edmonton in the new year. Outside of its coverage areas, Wind will provide national coverage through a roaming agreement. The carrier is currently offering five wireless devices: BlackBerry Bold 9700; HTC Maple; Huawei U7519; Samsung Gravity 2; and the Huawei E181 data stick. The company sells its wireless devices “at cost”, and offers three voice packages at $15, $35 and $45, two BlackBerry add-on packages at $10 and $35, a wireless data package for mobile phones at $35, and a wireless data stick package at $55. Complete product and service information is available at: http://windmobile.ca.
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CANADIANS SENDING 100 MILLION TEXT MESSAGES A DAY
In the first nine months of 2009, Canadians sent more than 24.7 billion person-to-person text messages. In September alone, messages totalled almost 3 billion, or approximately 100 million per day. In addition to person-to-person text messages, the number of Short Code messages sent and received in the third quarter numbered more than 433 million, bringing the total number of Short Code messages sent and received to more than 1.1 billion in the first nine months of this year. More information about text messaging in Canada can be found at http://www.txt.ca.
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TELUS AND ACTI-MENU USE MOBILE PHONES TO HELP QUEBECERS QUIT SMOKING
As a sponsor of ACTI-MENU’s 2010 Quit to Win! Challenge health promotion campaign in Quebec, TELUS Health Solutions is providing its award-winning smoking cessation coaching service called “STOMP” (STop smoking Over Mobile Phones) free to the first 500 participants to register who are also TELUS Mobility clients. STOMP is a behavior-changing coaching program that uses mobile technology to empower and motivate individuals to face the demands of quitting smoking permanently. The solution offers 24/7 support with daily motivation tips along with automatic and individually prompted text messages that were developed by specialists in the psychology of smoking cessation. Throughout STOMP’s quitting process, which typically averages six months, short texts are sent to participants at specifically prescribed intervals with messages of encouragement. Additional messages of support can be prompted at any time by the participant. Participants can register for the STOMP pilot program when they register for the Challenge. Information and registration: http://www.QuitChallenge.ca
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NOKIA N97 MAKES NORTH AMERICAN DEBUT AT BELL
Nokia and Bell have announced the North American launch of the Nokia N97 smartphone. The N97 features Bell Video Calling, a new service available on Bell Mobility’s new HSPA network that lets clients make and take phone-to-phone video calls with other Bell Mobility clients, as well as receive video calls on their mobile phones from their Facebook friends through an exclusive application built on Facebook Platform. Key features include: a full touchscreen and a slide out QWERTY keyboard; e-mail for up to 10 e-mail accounts; pre-installed IM; Bluetooth connectivity with A2DP; a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics; video capture at 30 frames per second; 32 GB of memory on board and expandable memory of up to 16 GB; a complete out-of-the-box GPS navigation solution pre-loaded with maps for all of Canada, with access to free maps for more than 180 additional countries; and a built-in FM radio transmitter and stereo FM radio. The Nokia N97 smartphone is priced at $199.95 on a three-year contract with a minimum $50 voice and data plan, or $599.95 without a contract .
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SAMSUNG ADVANCE COMES TO TELUS
Samsung has announced the availability of the Samsung A885 touchscreen handset, available exclusively at TELUS. Also known as the Samsung Advance, the handset features the TouchWiz 1.0 touch-optimized User Interface and enhanced mobile browsing capabilities, including high speed access to the Web, e-mail and social networking sites. Advanced multimedia capabilities include: a 2.0 megapixel camera and video recorder; TELUS Mobile Music; built-in GPS; Stereo Bluetooth capabilities; and expandable memory up to 16 GB. Users can fully customize their home screen with downloadable drag and drop widgets. The Samsung Advance is priced beginning at $49.99 with a three-year plan.
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CANADA’S TWO TOP TEXTERS COMPETE IN LG MOBILE WORLD CUP
The LG Mobile World Cup will be held from January 13 to 15 in New York, and this year Canada’s top two texters will be competing for the $100,000 cash prize. As winner and runner-up in the LG Canadian Texting Championship, the two contestants will form Team Canada. Toronto’s Kathy Spence, 17, was crowned Canada’s Fastest Texter when she won the 2009 LG Canadian Texting Championship in June. Amy Konecnik, also 17, is a Saskatoon native and was a runner-up in the competition. The LG Mobile World Cup is an annual competition that pits the world’s top texters against each other. Information: http://www.lg.ca/texting. You can follow Team Canada at http://www.twitter.com/LGCanada starting January 13.
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PATIENTS AT MONTREAL HEART INSTITUTE RECEIVE PACEMAKERS WITH WIRELESS REMOTE TELEMONITORING
The electrophysiology team at the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) recently performed the first implantation of a new type of cardiac pacemaker in Canada. This landmark procedure was carried out on October 22, 2009 by Drs. Bernard Thibault and Peter Guerra. The Accent RF pacemaker uses wireless technology and is intended for people with bradycardia, an abnormally slow heart rate. The patient responded favourably to the procedure, and four additional implantations have since been performed, again with successful outcomes. Developed by St-Jude Medical, the Accent RF device provides electronic stimulation when the heart beats too slowly. It also makes it possible to monitor the patient’s condition remotely, which ensures more effective communication between the patient and the physician. This cardiac pacemaker is the first to offer automatic test results and complete diagnostics that can be accessed via wireless communication from the physician’s office or the patient’s home. This device has been approved by Health Canada.
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CONSULTATION ON FUTURE USE OF L-BAND SPECTRUM
Industry Canada has issued Canada Gazette Notice DGTP-010-09, announcing the publication of a consultation paper that initiates a review of the frequency range 1435-1525 MHz (L-Band). This band is currently assigned to, or in use for digital audio broadcasting (DAB), aeronautical mobile telemetry applications, and subscriber radio systems (SRS). Comments are due to the Department by February 19, 2010. Full text of the Notice is available at: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf09750.html.
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INDUSTRY CANADA DECISIONS ON TCDL
The Department has released Canada Gazette Notice DGTP-012-09, addressing the principal issues governing the implementation of Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL) systems by the Department of National Defence in the band 14.5-15.35 GHz band, including changes to the Canadian Table of Frequency Allocations and the associated transition policy, licensing fees and technical and service rules. The band 14.5-15.35 GHz is currently used by wireless service providers to provide data services, including cellular backhaul. Effective October 1, 2013, fixed station operators will no longer be afforded primary service allocation status, but may continue operation on a no-protection basis from TCDL stations. Effective October 1, 2017, fixed station operators must not cause harmful interference to TCDL operations, and may continue operation only if they are able to demonstrate that they will not adversely affect TCDL operations. Full text of the Notice is available at: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf09716.html.
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LG ELECTRONICS CANADA STRENGTHENS SPONSORSHIP OF CANADIAN SNOWBOARD TEAM
LG Electronics Canada has strengthened its existing relationship with Canada Snowboard by reconfirming its support of the team through a tier 1 national team partnership. As the highest level of sponsor, LG Electronics Canada is now the Official Consumer Electronics, Large Appliances, Mobile Handsets and Laptop Computers sponsor of the Canadian Snowboard Team for the 2009/2010 season. In addition to the sponsorship, LG Electronics Canada has also announced the availability of the “Life’s Good” athlete biography videos now accessible at: http://www.canadasnowboard.ca.
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