We don’t think we need to go over what an insanely huge day today is for Canada, but in case anyone is feeling particularly thick, we’re going to spell it out plan and simple — Rogers is no longer the only HSPA game in Canada. Bell’s 21Mbps HSPA network has at long last gone live. As with any network launch, a few awesome handsets, data cards and a few Canadian-style rip-off plans have come along for the ride. So hit the jump and check out what’s new.

Smartphones

• Apple iPhone 3G – $99.95 / 599.95 (3-year contract / no strings attached)
• Apple iPhone 3GS (16GB) – $199.95 / $699.95
• Apple iPhone 3GS (32GB) – $299.95 / $799.95
• BlackBerry Bold 9700 – $229.95 / $599.95
• BlackBerry Bold 9000 – $249.95 / $599.95
• Samsung Omnia II – $199.95 / $549.95

Non-Smartphones

• LG Xenon – $89.95 / $289.95
• Nokia 2730 – $27.95 / $119.95
• Nokia 6350 – $49.95 / $249.95
• Samsung Impact – $79.95 / $279.95

Data Sticks

• Novatel Wireless U950 – $24.95 / $174.95
• Novatel Wireless U998 – $74.95 / $174.95
• Novatel Wireless X950 – $24.95 / $174.95

SIM Cards

• $0 / $5

As for price plans, not all that much has changed (the $6.95 SAF is staying for now), but Bell did introduce some iPhone specific plans which are as follows:

Combo 45 for iPhone

• 100 anytime local minutes plus 50 bonus local minutes
• Local Fab Five: Unlimited calling & text to and from five local numbers of your choice
• 500 MB of data for personal email, Internet browsing
• Unlimited local nights & weekends (9 p.m. – 7 a.m.)

Combo 55 for iPhone

• 300 anytime local minutes
• Local Fab Five
• 1 GB of data for personal email, Internet browsing
• Unlimited local nights & weekends (9 p.m. – 7 a.m.)

Combo 75 for iPhone

• 400 anytime local minutes
• Nationwide Fab Five: Unlimited calling & text to and from five local numbers of your choice nationwide
• 2 GB of data for personal email, Internet browsing
• Unlimited local nights & weekends (9 p.m. – 7 a.m.)

Combo 95 for iPhone

• 500 anytime local minutes
• Nationwide Fab Five
• 2 GB of data for personal email, Internet browsing
• Unlimited local nights & weekends (9 p.m. – 7 a.m.)

Now to sit and wait for TELUS’ day in the sun to see what, if any, surprises it has in store beyond what we already know.

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As Bell and TELUS put the finishing touches on their Canada-wide 21Mbps HSPA network that is set to launch next week, press releases announcing their HSPA handsets are coming across the wire at a feverish pace. The latest to be announced is the Windows Mobile 6.5-powered Omnia II which is to be exclusive to Bell. Featuring a 3.7″ AMOLED WVGA display, 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, GPS and 7.2Mbps UMTS/HSPA connectivity, the Omnia II is definitely a nice device that will make many a Canadian happy. And so it should, as Canadian’s patriotism will be tested when they see it in shops as it has been designated the “Official Mobile Device of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.” Why? Because Bell sure earned that right after it spent an insane $200mm for the right to be the official communications sponsor of the games. Pricing and a specific release date have not yet been announced, but the Omnia II will be available starting next month. Oh, and just for the record, no, we did not edit in the photo of the curling rock. Bell actually seems to be under the delusion that people in Canada enjoy curling. Tsk, tsk.Read

It’s always a lot of fun for us — and hopefully for you, the readers — any time we can run wild with pictures, news, and even reviews of an unannounced handset. Today, however, RIM spoiled our fun and formally announced the BlackBerry Bold 9700. Things like carriers, release dates and pricing have been withheld for the time being, but RIM has made a statement saying that we should all expect to see the BlackBerry 9700 go on sale “around the world beginning in November.” Spec wise, nothing has changed since our pre-release review, but just in case some of you forgot or weren’t paying a whole lot of attention, here’s a quick refresher on the critical specs:

• BlackBerry OS 5.0
• 624MHz CPU
• 256MB flash memory and support for microSD cards up to 32GB
• Quad-band UMTS/HSDPA (800/850/1900/2100 MHz) or tri-band UMTS/HSDPA (900/1700/2100 MHz)
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g with UMA support (carrier dependent)
• A-GPS
• 2.44″ HVGA+ display
• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash
• Optical trackpad
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP/AVCRP
• 1500 mAh battery
• 6 hours of talk time and 17 days of standby (3G)
• 109mm x 60mm x 14.1mm, 122g

In short, this is the BlackBerry device of your dreams. We’re expecting pretty much every single major GSM carrier on the planet to pick up the 9700 sooner or later, so we’ll be sure to keep the updates coming. As always, high res pics and a few other odds and ends are available after the jump.

UPDATE: AT&T, Rogers and T-Mobile have announced they will be carrying the Bold 9700 in the weeks ahead. AT&T and T-Mobile’s 9700 will go for $199.99 after a $100 MIR on 2-year deals while Rogers will be asking for $299.99 on a 3-year contract with a monthly minimum voice and data plan of $45. Bell and TELUS have yet to come forward with pricing but have confirmed they will be carrying the device.

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We just got a heads up from one of our Northern connects that has to do with Bell, and let’s just say we think Bell subscribers are going to be thrilled with what we have to report. How does Bell’s entire lineup of devices for their HSPA network launch sound? We also grabbed pricing for y’all, too! The following prices are prices with 36 month contracts following by full retail pricing.

Thanks, J!

LG Xenon: $89.95, $289.95

Samsung Impact: $79.95, $279.95

Samsung Omnia 2: $349.95, $549.95

Apple iPhone 3G 8GB $399.95, $599.95 — probably $149 after in store rebates

Apple iPhone 3GS 16GB: $499.95, $699.95 — probably $199 after in store rebates

Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB: $599.95, $799.95 — probably $299 after in store rebates

BlackBerry Bold 9000: $399.95, $599.95 — probably $149-$199 after in store rebates

BlackBerry 9700: $399.95, $599.95 — probably $249 after in store rebates

Nokia 2730: $29.95, $119.95

Nokia 6350: $49.95, $249.95

There’s also 3 Novatel HSPA data cards launching, two will be HSPA+ 21Mbps compatible and one will be HSPA 7.2Mbps compatible.

In case you thought you were imagining things before, Bell Canada will definitely be adding the iPhone to its lineup following on the heels of the Palm Pre and BlackBerry Bold. Canada’s largest network has a splash page in place but no release dates have been leaked just yet. Where are our Canadian connects at? We’ll keep you updated as usual when there’s more to report.

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Even though we here at BGR think that the BlackBerry Bold 9000 is so Summer/Fall 2008 (and even that’s one hell of a stretch considering it was announced that May), it seems that RIM and its partner carriers don’t. Best Buy Canada’s internal inventory system shows that both Bell and Rogers still have plans for the 3G device even though the new hotness is but a few weeks away. From Bell we have the Bold 9000, a rather strange offering considering that it is going to be selling the BlackBerry 9700. Still, we must concede that it makes a bit of sense in that Bell can offer up the 9000 as its mid-end BlackBerry while Rogers is already stuck with positioning EDGE-only devices like the Curve 8900 and Curve 8520 as its more affordable devices. Speaking of Rogers, it is going to be picking up the white BlackBerry Bold — the very same one we’ve been going on about for months — although we’re not entirely clear when it will go on sale. That is to say we don’t know if, just like AT&T, the white Bold will be released to select markets on the 18th of this month. If you’d like to relish in what is surely straight up BlackBerry Bold fire, larger screenshots after the breakage.

Thanks, REMS!

As if there weren’t already enough reasons to get excited for the arrival of Bell’s HSPA network and the amazing handsets that it will bring with it, one of our Bell connects stepped up to the mound and delivered us this slider of a tip. It seems that Bell is really serious about having its customers love them, because it is going to issue unlock codes for its branded devices. Of course caveats apply, but they’re not all that out of the ordinary: your account must be active for at least one month, only phones purchased from Bell need apply, you won’t be able to ditch your contract, and you will be charged a fee. We’re not exactly clear on what the feel will be, but we’ve heard it might be as high as $250 dollars per handset. Obviously the cost of the official unlock doesn’t even begin to compete with third-party unlockers, but at least it will keep your warranty in tact. And no, we’re awfully sorry, but we’re not 100% sure Bell will unlock your iPhone. Hit the jump for a larger pic.

P.S. Yes, we did notice that it looks like Bell will be carrying an HSPA-flavored Omnia II.

After receiving approximately 100 emails on the subject, we obviously obliged. Like we said yesterday, the iPhone is coming to both Bell and TELUS next month. The price of the handsets, the plans that they require and specific release dates have not been mentioned. Those partial to TELUS can click here to sign up for an emailing list that we’re sure will be neither prompt nor informative, while those who are all about Bell will have to wait until Bell updates its website. For one stupid reason or another they’re still hyping up the Palm Pre. Smooth.

Thanks to everyone that sent this in!

Read – Bell

Read – TELUS

Not super excited about the November launch of Bell’s HSPA network? Fair enough, but we think you’ll change your mind once we tell you what The Globe and Mail is reporting: both Bell and TELUS are going to be selling the Apple iPhone next month. Apple, Bell and TELUS declined to speak to the matter when asked, but the fact remains that not only does this make sense considering the fact exclusivity deals are already starting to fizzle out in the UK, but for the simple fact that if The Globe and Mail says its going to happen you can confidently bet your bottom dollar that it will happen 99 times out of 100. If not, we’re going cancel our subscription for our Canadian office. Rogers, we are awaiting emails from your PR people.

Thanks, Scott, and everyone else who sent this one in!

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Love your Bell service in Canada? Don’t really want to spring for a brand new BlackBerry Tour? Well, it seems as if Bell is gearing up to launch the BlackBerry 8530 pretty soon. Full retail price is showing up at $499 without a service agreement, but don’t let that scare you off too much — it should be pretty reasonable once a contract is factored in. We also have shots of the BlackBerry 9700 making its way into Bell’s system meaning that it’s likely we’ll see Bell’s HSPA network overlay launch with it in tow. As always, hit the jump for some bigger and better shots.

A day we thought would never come is upon us as the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, whose members include all of the major Canadian telcos and their subsidiaries (including all new entrants other than DAVE Wireless), have agreed to a code of conduct that benefits not themselves but their customers. Just like in the US, Canadians will now be able to walk away from their contracts penalty free if a carrier makes material changes to the terms of the contract. If the customer doesn’t wish to leave their carrier, he or she will have the option of staying on board at a grandfathered rate. Other new rules state that charges and contracts must be more clearly explained, privacy must be more fiercely protected (remember a few years ago when hundreds of pages of Rogers subscribers’ personal information were found in a dumpster?) and customer service must, well, be of service. All in all the new rules sound amazing, but only time will tell whether or not they actually have an impact on the Canadian wireless market.

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You’ve waited long enough Canada, and now your time in the sun has finally arrived — the Palm Pre is now available in Canada from Bell. Palm’s first webOS-powered handset is now on sale for $199.95 on a 3-year contact (seriously, Bell, what the hell is the deal with this nickel fetish?). Bell is also willing to sell the Pre to those who fear contracts for $599.95, although contract-free purchasers will still be forced to subscribe to a data plan that has a minimum data bucket of 500MB. So what are you waiting for? Head on over to your nearest Bell dealership, Future Shop, Best Buy, WIRELESS etc., T Booth, Wireless Wave or just hit the read link and get your webOS freak on. You know you wanna.

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Behold, ladies and gentlemen: Bell’s new iPhone! No wait, it’s a pPhone. No… The Palm PrePhone? At this point, we’re wondering if there’s a worldwide (or at least North America-wide) conspiracy amongst creative agencies to ensure that each and every Palm Pre commercial to hit the airwaves is absolute garbage. The good news is that Bell’s commercial at least shows off the phone and its features rather than a painfully odd woman mumbling about walking in the park. The bad news is that it shamelessly and blatantly rips off iPhone commercials. In fact, it rips them off to the point where the agency that put this ad together simply shouldn’t be allowed to work anymore. Ever. The bottom line is that the Palm Pre is a great little phone and it deserves better than this. A little side note: Palm, Bell, buddies… When you’re rocking an App Catalog that currently offers less than 50 apps, you might not want to rip off Apple’s “there’s an app for that” run. Yeah, right now on the Pre there really isn’t an app for anything. Hit the jump for the commercial.

[Via PreThinking]

It’s Saturday and we’re in the midst of a company picnic that involves copious amounts of alcohol and plenty of good old fashioned debauchery, but we thought we’d take the time to let all the BlackBerry lovers out there know that Canada’s Bell now allegedly has the BlackBerry Bold 9700 in its system. Upon seeing the handset in inventory, it’s easy to jump to conclusions and assume that the new Bold is about to ship to dealers (and that Bell’s HSPA network overlay is about to have its switch flicked). We should caution you though, that it’s pretty standard for all Bell devices to show up in the inventory system as many as four months ahead of launch. Translation: sit tight and keep the faith.

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Oops. While neither handset is due for launch until this Friday, apparently LG just couldn’t wait to take the wraps off either of these puppies. Both handsets are now fully detailed on LG’s Canadian site and, despite their humdrum specs, we just can’t resist it when a company leaks its own handsets. Beginning with the LGBliss, pictured above left, we’re looking at an August 7th launch from Bell with pricing coming in at $79.95 CAD on a 3-year contract. In terms of specs you’ve got a full 3-inch 240×400 pixel touchscreen, 2 megapixel camera, video capture capability, 4 1/2 hours of talk time and a UI that even looks terrible in the marketing renders. TELUS’ Keybo2 will also launch on August 7th and will be priced at $129.99 CAD on a 3-year contract. Here we’ve got a dual-keypad clamshell with a 2.6-inch 320×240 pixel internal display and a 1.56-inch 160×96 pixel external display. Other notable specs include a 3 megapixel camera with video capture, stereo Bluetooth support and up to 5 1/3 hours of talk time. There’s still no word on whether or not we can expect either handset to launch elsewhere in the near future, not that you care.

[Via MobileSyrup]

Read (LGBliss)
Read (Keybo2)

The last time we heard anything having to do with a release time frame for Bell’s Palm Pre, early August appeared to be the target — pending adequate levels of inventory of course. With sales of the Pre having peaked long ago south of the border, it looked as if Canadians could indeed be looking at an imminent launch. But then along comes big box electronic retailer Future Shop to spoil the hopes and dreams of many by posting up a pre-order teaser site for the Pre which lists August 27th as the release date. There’s no way to say for sure whether or not this date is just for Future Shop or all Bell dealerships and retailers, but something tells us it’ll be a few weeks yet until Canadians get their first taste of webOS.

UPDATE: And now it’s official. The Palm Pre will launch on August 27th for $199.95 on a 3-year contract or $599.95 off contract “with a minimum 500 MB data plan.”

[Via Mobile Syrup]

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So you read part 1 of our BlackBerry Tour review and then our impressions of Verizon’s BlackBerry Tour, but you’re still too scared to go out and buy one because you live in Canada and aren’t sure how the newest BlackBerry handles life above the 49th. Well it’s time to put your neuroses aside, Canadians, because Bell recently sent a Tour our way just so you crazy Canucks wouldn’t feel left out. So site back, relax and hit the jump to see what’s up with the Bell BlackBerry Tour 9630.

Before we begin, we think it appropriate to clarify just exactly what one gets when he/she purchases a Tour from Bell: The device itself (which was made in Mexico, for those of you who fawn over Canadian-made devices), a leather holster, stereo headset, travel charger, microUSB cable, Bell SIM card, Desktop Manager installation CD and instruction manuals. Unfortunately, Bell does not ship the Tour with a microSD card. Okay, that’s out of the way so let’s move on.

Seeing as we’ve covered the Tour’s hardware and software so many times before, we hope that you’ll forgive us if we skip over all that and focus on the things that make the Bell Tour different from all other Tours. There are two physical differences and although they’re both pretty minor, one makes us really smile and makes us scratch our heads. The positive is that Bell has decided against putting its logo on the device, meaning that those of you who have a coronary out of anger when seeing a physically branded device are safe and won’t have to hit up cnn.cn. The negative is the battery door. While Verizon opted for a soft-touch rubber coating on the areas surrounding the faux carbon fiber, Bell has chosen to leave a glossy black finish in its place just as we saw on our pre-release unit. Why do we take issue with this? Two reasons. The first being that it’s summer; perspiring hands and slick-finished smartphones don’t mix well. The second reason is that it just looks half-assed because it doesn’t match.

Moving on to the OS, the Bell Tour ships with the same OS as every other Tour on the market from various carriers — OS 4.7.1.40. We’re a bit shocked that this is the OS that shipped on all devices seeing as there are quite a few annoying bugs in it, the worst of which seems to be radio issues. Our Canadian office is located a few hundred meters from several Bell towers yet we haven’t managed to get over three bars of EV-DO. The strangest thing however, is that our Tour seems to love to sit at zero bars when not in use. Once we pick it up to use data however, we always get an incredibly fast connection. Whether we were downloading attachments, surfing the web, using GPS Nav by Telenav (yes, GPS is unlocked) or using the awesome Bell TV & Radio streaming app, everything worked fine despite only showing about two bars of service. Guess it goes to show you that bars aren’t everything and CDMA does provide a digital connection regardless of bars most of the time.

Despite a few issues here and there, the Tour is a solid performer and overall it handles itself very well in its infancy. In fact, we’d go as far as to say that it’s the best device Bell has in its catalog. If you don’t already have one, it’s definitely one to check out.

Ready for some good news and some bad news, Canadians? The good is that Bell has pulled an ace out of its sleeve and announced it will begin selling the BlackBerry Tour tomorrow, July 11th, for $249.95 CAD on a 3-year contract ($699.95 contract-free). The bad news? Supplies are likely to be somewhat limited for the first few days and many dealers won’t have a single device on hand. The launch had been scheduled for the 17th as per Bell’s announcement, but apparently sticking it to TELUS where the sun (and its Tour) don’t shine is a bit more important than actually having phones on hand to sell to customers. Isn’t spite exciting?

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These days it’s pretty much a given that whenever a new smartphone is launched, its carriers will give a few away in hopes of drumming up every last little bit of buzz head of release. Everyone knows the odds of winning one of these contests are horrible but the truth is we’re all winners thanks to those glorious contest laws that dictate the full-retail price of prizes be made clear. In the case of the Bell Palm Pre, the MSRP looks as if it will be $650 CAD (or $649.95 in Bell’s crazy world where its CFO seems to have something of a fetish for five-cent coins), which is about the same as Sprint. It might seem a bit pricey but hey, the money that will be paid out to the genius who put a picture of the Treo Pro on the Palm Pre contest literature has to come from somewhere.

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Well then. It looks like we’re now able to confirm that the BlackBerry Tour 9630 — which Bell has yet to officially announce — will touch down in Canada on the 17th of July. Beyond that, we’re also able to confirm that the full retail price will be $699.95. So what does this mean for those who are willing to take on a new 3-year contract? The standard numbers add up to $249.95 out the door but we wouldn’t be surprised if Bell gets sexy with it and we see the Tour launch at $199.95 or maaaaaybe even a little lower. Hit the jump for all the details.

Thanks, KEUSS!

Effective date  July 17, 2009

Offer description

Go places with the newest global BlackBerry smartphone. The BlackBerry Tour 9630, features not only 3G technology, but also a 3.2MP camera, high resolution screen, GPS capability, and support for popular applications such as Facebook®. This next generation global smartphone gives you the power to do more of the things that matter to you.

The feature highlights and available services of the BlackBerry Tour 9630 are:

• Global smartphone: Get voice coverage in over 200 countries and data functionality in over 150 countries.
• High resolution screen: The HVGA (480×360) screen along with an integrated lens design offers a clear, brilliant view that stays bright and vivid over time.
• View & edit attachments: Enjoy the flexibility of working on Microsoft® Word, Excel® and PowerPoint® files from just about anywhere.
• Organizer: Integrated address book, calendar, memo pad and task list – Email, message and place phone calls directly from one centralized address book. Set up meetings using the calendar and easily add attendees through the address book.
• GPS Nav & BlackBerry Maps: Access Turn by Turn Navigation and 3D moving maps. Locate nearby businesses and services using the Local Search feature.
• Rich Multimedia: 3.2 MP camera with flash, auto focus & image stabilization. Surf the internet at 3G speeds and view the pages in full HTML format.

The BlackBerry Tour 9630 box includes:

• 3G BlackBerry® Tour™ 9630 global smartphone.
• Travel charger.
• Micro USB cable.
• Removable battery.
• Stereo headset.
• Quick Start guide.
• BlackBerry desktop software CD.
• User guide.
• SIM card.
• BlackBerry holster.

The table below outlines the pricing and agreement rebates for the BlackBerry Tour 9630:

BlackBerry Tour 9630    36 Month / 24 Month / 12 Month / 30 Day
Suggested Retail Price     $699.95 / $699.95 / $699.95 / $699.95
Agreement Rebate ISPR   $200.00 / $150.00 / $50.00 / $0.00
Client Price    $499.95 / $549.95 / $649.95 / $699.95

Always refer to the latest Pricing Grid for complete and most up to date pricing information.

The table below shows the English and French description and the SKU of the BlackBerry Tour 9630:

Description     SKU
English French
RIM, BlackBerry, Tour, 9630, Black -HL  RIM, BlackBerry, Tour, 9630, noir -HL   68194

Key Dates:

• SKU opening: ready for ordering on Product Zone on June 30, 2009.
• Shipping date: will begin shipping to all stores week of July 13, 2009.
• Dealer launch kits:  begin shipping the week of July 6, 2009.  If you have not received your launch kit by July 17, 2009, please contact your Regional Manager. Please ensure that mock mobile phones are displayed in time for July 17, 2009.

• Stay connected almost anywhere in the world.
• Communicate quickly and easily with a full QWERTY keyboard.
• The Tour’s evolved form factor is sleek & equipped with the latest BlackBerry features and most recent software (4.7).
  • Enhanced browsing (improved web page rendering).
  • Faster attachment downloading.
  • Improved multimedia capabilities (more media formats supported).
  • Geo-tagging functionality (attach location to photos taken).

Reasons to buy the BlackBerry Tour 9630 smartphone:

• The BlackBerry Tour is a global smartphone allowing clients to bring the full power of the industry’s leading mobile email and messaging solution in over 150 countries.
• The BlackBerry Tour’s view & edit capabilities of attachments lets clients enjoy the flexibility of working on Microsoft® Word, Excel® and PowerPoint® files from just about anywhere.
• The BlackBerry Tour allows clients to surf the internet at 3G speeds and view the pages in full HTML format.

Reasons to sell the BlackBerry Tour 9630 smartphone:

• The high-resolution screen makes video playback sharp and smooth. These features make it easy to wow prospective clients by playing a video clip or by browsing through pictures.
• The BlackBerry Tour’s rich multimedia including a 3.2 MP camera with flash, auto focus and image stabilization allows clients to take the perfect picture anywhere.
• The BlackBerry Tour’s organizer allows clients to stay organized with an integrated address book, calendar, memo pad and task list. Clients can email, message and place phone calls directly from one centralized address book.

Huh, what’s this? Bell has begun shipping out dummy units of the highly anticipated BlackBerry Tour 9630? Yes indeed it has, alongside the typical promotional materials which, as per Bell’s general practice, which means the launch is likely just a few weeks away. Does this mean we could see the Tour hit Bell the same week it drops on Verizon? It’s looking that way, folks — in fact our ninjas pin the date as Friday, July 17th. Excited? Yeah, we are too. Hit the jump for a few more pics.

Thanks, Carbs!

If the thought of browsing the internet on your laptop while hurtling down the Trans-Canada Highway at speeds in excess of 90 km/h gets you all excited (while someone else is driving, of course), perhaps it’s time you head on over to your nearest Bell dealer and take a look at the newly released Novatel Wireless U760 USB Modem. Free on a 3-year contract or $174.95 contract-free, the EV-DO Rev. A-capable U760 is meant to be used in conjunction with Bell’s Mobile Internet plans starting at $30 for 500MB and topping out at $85 for up to 5GB. Just a warning, however: if you plan to take a trip south of the border you might want to leave your U760 at home as roaming will set you back $3 per MB.

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We all know that Bell is prepping to launch the BlackBerry Tour 9630 sometime in the near future, and now for the first time a document detailing the full specs of the hotly anticipated smartphone has leaked out. While the majority of the specs have been known for quite some time, there are a still few things that can be learned from the document. So take a peek because this is the real deal, people:

Size (L x W x D): 112 x 62 x 14.2 mm
Weight: 130 grams
Memory: 256 MB internal Flash memory
Expandable Memory: microSD located under the battery door cover
Battery: 1400 mAh removable/rechargeable cryptographic lithium cell
Battery Life: TBD
Keyboard: 35 key backlit QWERTY
Display: High resolution HVGA 480×360 pixel
Camera: 3.2 MP camera, flash auto focus
GPS: Assisted, autonomous and simultaneous GPS enabled with preloaded BlackBerry Application for e911 capabilities
Media Player: Video format support MPEG4; Audio format support MP3, AAC AAC+ etc
Bluetooth: Bluetooth V2.0; mono/stereo headset, hands-free, PBAP
Headset: 3.5mm stereo headset capable
USB Port: Enables charging and high-spead data synchronization via USB “A” to micro USB “B” cable
Network Support:
Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900MHz
GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks
Single-band: 2100 MHz
UMTS/HSPA networks
Dual-Band: 800/1900 MHz
CDMA/EVDO Rev A networks

Excited? Well you should be (remember how much we love it?), especially with a mid-July launch on the Bell network in the works. Now hit the jump to check out the rest of the document.

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We just got these lovely photo snaps from one of our Bell ninjas. It’s official promo material from Bell, and big surprise, no release date listed. However, these do list the specs (which we’re all very, very aware of), but we’ll post them up for those of you wishing June 6th never comes:

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS/HSDPA 2100MHz band only
• GPS
• 480×360 display
• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, flash, image stabilization
• Video recording
• QWERTY keyboard
• OS 4.7.1 but possibly OS 5.0 at launch

Couple more shots after the jump!

A week ago, Canada’s Bell announced that it has the exclusive rights to get the Pre party started in Canada. With an ETA as vague as 2H09 however, it’s a bit hard to get excited just yet — not that those South of the 49th parallel have had a fun time with their 1H09 launch window. Thankfully we’ve received a little nugget of information from one of our ninjas who is now able to confirm that Bell is working feverishly to get the Palm Pre in time for an early August release, with the only real variable to this launch window being the number of devices Bell is able to score from Palm. You see, Bell doesn’t want to repeat the whole BlackBerry Storm launch fiasco in which Bell “launched” the Storm on December 10th with well under a thousand devices in its possession. The good news however, is that if Bell is able to snag enough handsets then the launch could happen at an earlier date. Then again, it’s more than likely that demand for the device in the US will throw a wrench into Bell’s plans. Again.

Thanks, D!

And there we have it, folks. One of our ninjas just dropped off this shot of the BlackBerry Tour 9630 in Bell’s inventory with an MSRP of $599.95 CDN ($510 USD). So what does this mean for those who are hoping to pick up a Tour on contract from Bell? As of now we don’t have a confirmed contract price but if Bell follows its normal pricing scheme including a data plan discount, the 9630 could be in the hands of many a Canadian for about $199.95 on a three-year contract with some wiggle room for promotions and price adjustments based on project sales volumes. Not bad at all, Bell, not bad at all. Let’s just hope that it launches the Tour on or around the same time as Verizon. We’re getting antsy up here.

Good news for Canadians who have been so patiently waiting for news as to which carrier will be offering the Palm Pre — Bell has announced that it will be offering Palm’s first WebOS powered device some time in the second half of 2009. As one would expect, both Bell and Palm are not offering up any specific pricing details or a release time-frame other than 2H. Of particular interest in the press release is the language that Bell used as it noted that the Pre “will debut in Canada exclusively on Bell”, language that could indicate it will not be the sole carrier. Could it be that TELUS will eventually be offering the Pre as well? Or is the mysterious GSM version of the Pre headed to Rogers? Time will tell, but for now we’re content enough with the fact that Canadians finally know where they need to be to get their Pre fix asap.

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Motorola’s Hint QA30 is a device that we aren’t afraid to say that we’re not too fond of. A short, fat QWERTY slider whether open or closed, the Hint just doesn’t feel quite right (in our minds, not our hands) no matter how hard we try. But then perhaps we shouldn’t be slinging too much criticism as low-end QWERTY devices are primarily snapped up by youths who don’t quite have the finances to procure something with a little more kick. It doesn’t have the worst specs with EV-DO Rev. 0, a 2.5″ QVGA display, 2 megapixel camera with video capabilities, GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack, Bluetooth 2.0 and support for microSD/microSDHC cards of up to 32GB, but it’s certainly no must-have for those who are looking for the next best thing to smartphone. So what is this going to cost the Canadian consumer? Bell has apparently set the pricing for the Hint at $129.95 on a three-year contract and $329.95 off contract which seems to indicate that Bell’s is betting that the Hint will be able to offset some of the damage done to their bottom line by the recent introduction of three low-end QWERTY devices from Rogers, the LG Neon and the Samsung Propel and Gravity.

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It looks like all you Canadian touchscreen lovers out there are going to have one more decision to make as we’ve been informed Bell is set to launch the Samsung Omnia between April 9th and 12th. Popular and well received on the Verizon network in the US, the Omnia is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional handset with a 3.2″ 240×400 touchscreen display, GPS, Wi-Fi and EV-DO Rev. 0 / Rev. A. Of particular note with the Omnia is its 5 megapixel camera with auto focus, image stabilization, face detection, smile detection, LED flash and finally DivX/XviD video playback. No word yet as far as pricing goes but we figure it can’t be all that bad since the most Bell is currently charging for a smartphone is $199.95.

Thanks, BrownGuy!