Canadians have long craved for a new wireless carrier to bust onto the scene and break up what is often described as the anti-competitive practices of incumbents Bell, Rogers and TELUS (aka “The Big Three”). Following Industry Canada’s 2008 auction of Advanced Wireless Services, the majority of hope was placed in a swaggering upstart which recently announced it would operate under the WIND brand name. But this Thursday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission informed WIND that it that it couldn’t go live with its HSPA network. The reasoning behind the CRTC’s decision was that if felt WIND’s parent company, Globalive Wireless, did not meet the criteria set forth in the Telecommunications Act which stipulates all carriers must be majority owned and controlled by Canadians. To meet these requirements, at least 80% of the board of directors and voting shares must be controlled by Canadians and the company cannot be “otherwise controlled by persons that are not Canadian.” What the CRTC found was that Oracsom, Globalive’s Egyptian financiers, controlled 65.1% of WINDs equity, the Canadian rights to the WIND brand, carried the majority of the company’s debt and that liquidity rights were “inconsistent with the relative voting interests of the shareholders.” The situation is complex, but all is not lost for WIND. With this in mind, we sat down with WIND’s CEO Ken Campbell and asked him what the future holds.

Mike: Prior to the ruling, you were quite optimistic that the CRTC would approve WINDs launch given that Industry Canada had previously ruled that your ownership structure complied with the Telecommunications Act. What do you think caused the CRTC to rule differently?

Ken: What we do know is that Industry Canada approved us back in March, on March 13th, and the frame of reference that they used was pretty much the same as the CRTC. The two groups came to different conclusions, obviously, and right now what we are doing is reviewing what’s come out and assessing what our options could be. It’s a pretty sad day for Canadian consumers. It’s unfortunate, Canada needs competition and needs a new national wireless operator and this is a setback.

Mike: There has been a lot of talk about having Industry Minister Tony Clement and the Cabinet overturn the CRTCs ruling, something they are legally permitted to do. Are you actively exploring this option, and if so, are you fearful of any backlash?

Ken: I am not sure what you are referring to, but no, for our part, we are just looking at what our options might be and reviewing what the CRTC has come out with. I am not aware of what Minister Clement might have commented on today.

[Ed. Prior to our interview, Industry Minister Tony Clement publically stated that he and Industry Canada will be investigating the CRTC’s decision. Said Clement: “We are examining the CRTC decision very closely, and certainly we are still very much in favour of more competition in the telecom space for Canadian consumers. That’s why we opened up these contracts to other new entrants.”

Mike: What are some of your options as you understand it? Certainly there is talk of WIND aligning itself with…

Ken: At this time all of those things are just media speculation. As I said, we are looking at all of our alternatives. We are going to assess all of them very seriously and will determine what sort of action we can take. We have to review the CRTC ruling – there is a lot to it – and we are going to look at what our options which include many.

BG: Not being Canadian and looking at the Canadian landscape in terms of wireless carriers, the premise of what you set out to do seems so great. There have been rumors, and much of them have been confirmed, that there was to be a simple 3-tier price plan, great handsets, a great retail experience, etc. How important do you think the whole retail experience is to the customer and providing a great service?

Ken: I think the customer experience is absolutely important. Here we’ve got a situation where we pay twice as much as they do in the US, our minutes of use are half of what they are in the US, and wireless penetration is at 65%. Clearly it is a market that is under-developed and where customers simply overpay. The other thing is that in Canada our customer saturation numbers are extremely low. We’ve got a very disenfranchised and very frustrated customer base that is really ripe and in need of competition. The other thing you should know is that this country is dominated by three carriers, but if you look regionally, it is typically two carriers that dominate regional markets. Canada is effectively an oligopoly and in many regions pretty much a duopoly. There is definitely an opportunity with consumers and the numbers speak for themselves.

BG: Going forward, you were really hopeful from everything that we read…

Ken: We’ve got 800 employees. We’ve got retail staff, we’ve hired call centers, we have a brand, we have a great experience, and definitely, as you mentioned, we have some good price plans and a very solid proposition that will resonate with consumers. We’re definitely teed up and ready to go.

BG: Have you announced the price plans at all?

Ken: No, we haven’t announced them. We did announce that we have a few, three, and I think that customers will find them simple and easy to understand and, frankly, a great value.

BG: So, like you said, everyone is hired and things are read to go. Can you continue those operations in the mean time until you get approval, or does all of that have to stop now?

Ken: Well, we are assessing what our options are. But the network has been being built in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa and our coverage was being deployed. What we are going to continue to focus in on is our operation and assessing what our options are with this unfortunate ruling.

Mike: Are you still allowed to continue the development of the network , or are you abandoning this work until you can get things sorted out?

Ken: We’re really assessing and evaluating our options right now.

Mike: So it sounds as if you are more focused on the legal matter at hand as opposed to continuing to develop the network.

Ken: Yes, it’s just prudent that we evaluate the situation and the ruling. Obviously to run our business we need the CRTC to approve it, so we will see what our options might be. Canada definitely deserves some competition here and so for our part we just have to focus in on the ruling and see what, if anything, can be done.

Mike: How confident are you that a compromise will be reached in the near future that would allow you to continue the development of your network and eventually launch?

Ken: It’s just not clear right now. It’s too early to say.

BG: Well, Ken, thank you so much for your time we really appreciate it.

Ken: Thanks very much for reaching out to us. I like your site.

We’ve been getting an enormous response to the news that Best Buy’s Palm Pres will go for $100 less (well, basically) and we hit up Best Buy to try and get some answers on various questions you guys have been asking. Straight Talk Express style. Hit the jump for some possibly valuable info that could save your ass from going home without webOS in your pants.

Scott Anderson, director of merchandising at Best Buy Mobile took some time out to clarify the following for us:

Q: First off, what’s up with the stock situation? Forget rumors, Dan Hesse himself has said there’s probably a greater chance of getting a nice Sprint customer service rep than nailing a Pre on launch day. How’s Best Buy’s stock going to be?

A: Like most of the significant handset launches, we expect inventory to be in limited supply for the first 4-8 weeks.

Q: What about preorders? A lot of people are incredibly excited over the Palm Pre and that the device will be available at Best Buy with an “instant” mail-in-rebate. Will you guys be doing any preorders, reservations, etc? How will you deal with long lines if there are some?

A: The addition of the Palm Pre expands our already large assortment of smartphones. We are excited about the opportunity to present consumers with many choices and solutions as they look to meet their individual mobile technology needs. Best Buy Mobile is initiating a “ticketing process” beginning on June 6.  Meaning, if any store were to sell through all of its inventory, the store would begin to log customer names in an effort to prioritize them for the next shipment’s arrival.

Q: Ok, cool. Will every Best Buy location be selling the Pre or is there a “limited” launch like we reported a little while back?

A: Every Best Buy Mobile store that offers Sprint phones, which is nearly 1,000 stores, will have the Pre.

So there you have it folks. If you have any additional questions hit us in the comments and we’ll try and pass them on. You can also stop by Best Buy Mobile for free upgrade checks to see if you’re eligible for a new smartphone. That will help to speed things up on launch day, you know, if you’re the nice person type.

While we were at WES, we had the opportunity to sit down with RIM’s Antoine Boucher, Vice President, Accessories Integration. During our meeting, we were briefed on some upcoming BlackBerry accessories so we thought that we would share the goods with everyone. Hit the jump to read about what everyone’s favorite Waterloo-based smartphone company has in the pipeline. We promise you won’t be let down.

New Bluetooth headset

• Codenamed “Alpha 1″
• Black with chrome BlackBerry logo (text is omitted)
• Dedicated on / off switch
• Dial / hangup button
• Over the ear loop design with ergonomically molded in-ear bud, slightly smaller than both the Jawbone PRIME and barely larger than the BlueAnt Q1
• Noise cancellation technology
• Emphasis on ease of use and simplistic design
• microUSB charging port (the new standard for all RIM devices)
• Ability to listen to music (mono) and listen to voice command-enabled GPS navigation apps
• Possibility of text to speech and speech to text sometime in the future
• “Competitively priced”

When discussing how well the Alpha 1 fits in the ears compared to competitors, Boucher told us that the Alpha 1 is as good if not better than any headset currently on the market but was careful to note the reality which is that it’s impossible to design a headset that will fit everyone perfectly. In fact according to Boucher, who worked closely with a company who specializes in all things audio, there are 30 distinct shapes of human ear and means a lot of work went into designing a headset that can accommodate the most common shapes within the population.

Bluetooth Vehicle Visor Mount

• Referred to as Bluetooth Vehicle Visor Mount
• First seen at CES 2009
• Attaches to sun visor in automobiles
• Built-in FM transmitter to allow MP3s stored on BlackBerry to be beamed from Bluetooth Vehicle Visor Mount to automobiles’ radio
• Simple, sleek design with all black color scheme and subtle gray BlackBerry logo
• Targeted for June / July release

*Possible* Bluetooth watch

The next one is quite interesting. While sitting down with Boucher we noticed that he was wearing a Sony Ericsson Bluetooth watch, something which does not work with any BlackBerry. When we brought it up, Boucher winked and said he could not discuss that matter. But when we continued to ask questions about it, it was revealed that yes, it is indeed possible to modify the SE Bluetooth watches to display when a new emails, BlackBerry Messenger messages, texts, IMs, Tweets, Facebook messages, etc arrive on the device — something that could be very beneficial for those situations when it would be considered very rude to pull out ones BlackBerry. When we asked whether or not RIM was looking into developing such an accessory, Boucher simply said that “we are exploring many accessories that would surprise people.” Hmm.

*Possible* TV-out gateway

As our meeting with Boucher was nearing an end, he asked us what we look for in an accessory and what sort of accessories we would like to see that would help us better use our device. We mentioned that we would love to see a way to get TV-out on our devices especially considering that microSD cards now reach 32GB and are hot-swappable. Boucher asked what we envisioned such an accessory would be like, and not wanting to sound overly demanding, we said that we’d be fine with a simple cable that hooks into a TV or computer. Boucher then smirked and asked why we wouldn’t prefer such a device to be an updated BlackBerry Music Gateway…

Strategy

Halfway through our talks, we asked Boucher what his thoughts were on the growing amount of third-party accessory companies that have products for BlackBerry. We also asked if RIM would ever try to move in on companies that make the most popular accessories. Furthermore, we wondered about companies such as OtterBox whose rugged cases and skins were seen in the hands of a surprising number of the 5,000 plus BlackBerry users in attendance at WES. Boucher said that RIM is more than open to collaboration (a buzzword that came up a lot during our meeting), but for niche products such as OtterBox who make “great products, but ones that most people don’t have a use for” there is very little sense for RIM to lend a hand. Boucher added however, that RIM would not rule out working with accessory companies “if it makes business sense to us. If it doesn’t make business sense, then there is no point for us.”

Also of note was Boucher’s vision of what a good accessory should do. In his view, which is essentially that of RIM, a good BlackBerry accessory should make you use the product more and in more beneficial ways. For example, there is a set of BlackBerry headphones that feature multimedia controls for audio and video which, in combination with a high-capacity microSD card, means that BlackBerry users can leave their iPod at home and travel with one device. And when they do return home, they can sit at their desks and beam music to their stereo systems with the BlackBerry Music Gateway. In short, it’s all about encouraging more and more BlackBerry use in daily life with the goal of making life much more simple and convenient.

Well there you have it. The first two are definitely coming alongside a new accessory push slated for June / July, but the last two are just things that we’d be willing to bet some serious money are being tested pretty thoroughly right now. After all, what good is a feature-rich smartphone with “dumb” accessories?

If you’re one of the lucky ones that I’ve let follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that yesterday the BGR team hit Fat Joe and Akon’s music video shoot for “One”. Fat Joe’s a BGR buddy, but Akon has eluded our HD camcorders until now. Check out our brief interviews with both of them on the tour bus. Quick takeaways? Joe uses a Boost Mobile i880, Akon uses a BlackBerry Bold, and RIM, AT&T and Colorware need to start cutting us some checks.

Steve Wozniak took the time out of his busy schedule to sit down with a Bay Area affiliate of NBC to discuss his take on the current situation over at Apple now that Steve Jobs won’t be gracing the hallways of 1 Infinite Loop until June. The discussion was in typical Woz style (though somewhat un-Woz in that he was mindful not to say anything bad about jobs) and provided a more rational look at Apple’s current and future situation than any analyst we’ve heard from to date. With Jobs gone until June, a lot of analysts and investors are panicking, fearing that Apple has automatically lost the innovation that it is famous for; an absurd notion to say the least. To this point Woz made sure to stress that with any tech company, products are in development for 12 to 18 months before they hit the street. Because of this, future products from Apple are “not going to be disturbed.” In fact, Woz made an excellent point that having Jobs away from Apple will allow him “rest and peacefulness”, something which could ultimately benefit Apple as it would give Jobs lots of time to think up “better concepts and products and ways the future could be…” Video after the jump.

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Well look who decided to come back and poke its head out again. The Motorola i9 we first showed you live images of back in October is making news again as official pics begin to scatter across the internet. This sweet-looking love child of a rambunctious RAZR and ROKR is apparently gearing up for a release soon and it will likely be well received among the dumbphone crowd, assuming the price is right. A 3 megapixel camera with auto focus and flash, ModeShift and integrated GPS are among the features that might draw in Sprint customers. So, iDEN people, first the 8350i is made official and now this – you guys feeling the love or are both the handsets already old news?

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Granted, The Boston Globe basically tossed up a bunch of softballs but it still gives us a warm and fuzzy feeling any time Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, or OPK as he is affectionately nicknamed, simply utters the words “US market”. It lets us know that somewhere, somehow, Nokia does in fact still remember that Americans use cell phones. Yes, Nokia’s track record with supporting the US 3G spectra (AT&T’s at least) in high-end phones is most definitely improving. We still aren’t seeing Nokia actively push S60 devices to market here however, and Nokia’s US market share sits in the mid-single digits as a result. S60 fans here in the US are hoping that the recent release of the Nokia 6650 via AT&T is the start of a trend but we’re skeptical at best. Enthusiasts hoped the same thing when the E62 was released, and then the N75. OPK was pretty direct while speaking to the Globe however:

We are investing more in the US market. We are expanding our research and development activity in San Diego. We’ve got lots of people there designing phones now that are specific to the US needs and the US market.

Kallasvuo went on to say that Nokia’s approach will cover all market segments here in the US, not just smartphones, and that LTE will be the technology of choice for Nokia when it comes to 4G. Nokia will still dabble in WiMax as we’ve seen with the N810, but LTE is the way to go for the Finnish giant. Oh well, there’s plenty more fish in the sea, Sprint. Hit the read link for the full yet brief interview with OPK.

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Well hello there Mr. Shen. If anyone was wondering what Asus had up its collective sleeve in the coming months (through 2010 actually), CEO Jerry Shen just sat down with Laptop and seriously broke it down. He wasn’t shy at all in talking about where the company is now and where it’s headed. Here are some highlights from the hour-long interview:

• First and foremost among the interesting morsels taken from the Shen interview, Asus will be skipping Vista entirely and jumping right from XP to Windows 7. Burn!
• Asus has currently sold about 4 million Eee PCs and it’s hoping to hit the 5 million mark before 2009 rolls around. Ambitious.
• The all-in-one Eee Top will start shipping very soon. Ok, well we already knew that.
• The Eee Stick gaming controller will soon be released along with compatible games. It will be offered as part of a bundle and as a stand alone accessory at a price point south of $100.
• Next year, Asus will offer an Eee PC that hits the $250 price mark – in the first half of 2009 in fact. Two new models will be announced at CES this coming January.
• Last but most certainly not least, Shen claims that Asus will release a touchscreen Eee PC rocking Windows 7 sometime in 2H 2009! You hear that Microsoft? Time to get the lead out…

[Via Engadget]

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We just met up with Pharrell at the studio for a quick interview and we covered a wide variety of topics. From his gold iPhones and BlackBerrys, to this new online art gallery he put us onto, to world-traveling, we got it on camera! We also drop a few hints at the end about what we’re working on…It’s going to be war out there on the streets!

We caught up with recording artist Sean Kingston here at CES who was performing for a Sony Corporate showcase. He’s definitely on the ball when it comes to gadgets; an iPod Touch, Sidekick LX, Sony Ericsson phones, and a home recording studio. Now, where are all those "Beautiful Girls" he talks about…

We got a chance to sit down, so to speak, with HTC America’s VP, Jason Mackenzie Monday evening. There was this little, tiny announcement you might have missed, and we wanted to pry in a little deeper with one of the new partners of the new Open Handset Alliance. Known for their superior Windows Mobile devices (let’s face it, that WinMo device in your hand is most likely made by HTC), they are diving in to Android-based devices to expand their portfolio. How does this play out with their Windows Mobile line-up? Is HTC going in a new direction? Better yet, when will we actually see an Android-based device? All the answers, friends, are after the jump in our interview!

Q: HTC is the #1 Windows Mobile manufacturer in the world. You guys basically set the bar for other smaller Windows Mobile manufacturers to follow. How do you think this will affect Android-based devices and what sort of split do you see between research and development of Windows mobile devices, and Android devices?

A: Windows Mobile will always be a big part of HTC. We have a significant share of 75% worldwide and expect that to grow. Android will be complimentary to Windows Mobile and we’ll focus on a new market share with the Android platform.

Q: You have manufactured devices for Palm and done other white label work in the past before, so how comfortable are you working with over 34 partners and possibly sharing some of the secret know-how that keeps you, HTC, as a company above the competition, to the whole alliance now?

A: We will continue to innovate in this space just as in Windows Mobile, and we’ll share some innovations with Android. TouchFLO example will be kept proprietary, and they appreciate the openness of that.

Q: There is a ton of talk over this “Dream” phone, and ever since the first Google phone rumor emerged it seems that HTC was always thrown in the middle. Is there anything specific you can tell us about the device you promised would ship by the middle of 2008?

A: Only thing to share, is that we will be the first manufacturer to launch a product built on the Android platform. In terms of specifics, it is too early.

Q: How do you feel about leaks in your company? There are 2 sides of the argument, and one is that leaks let competitors know your next move, and the other side is that if you have a great product, it generates an unbelievable amount of hype that simply couldn’t’t be obtained through a traditional marketing campaign. We have the guilty pleasure here at The Boy Genius Report of obtaining HTC devices long before most other sites, and the enthusiasm of our readers and commenters for some of these handsets has been unbelievable.

A: It’s a double-edged sword. We don’t sponsor them or advocate them, but on the other hand, it is also a little bit flattering. We build devices that people are passionate about, and because of that it is difficult to avoid leaks.

Q: It sometimes seems that HTC Europe and HTC America might not communicate as effectively as they need to. Do you see the HTC America market less important than say, Europe?
 
A: It is different in the sense that in the America region, we have the operators who are the core of the wireless business in the US. Almost 90% operators. In Europe, it is 50%, but you also have the unlocked retail channel. It is that facet that contributes to the feeling that it is disjointed. In the US, everything we are doing is through the operator, and we have to be respectful of their product announcements.

Q: Do you have any plans to do direct distribution in the US?

A: Definitely something we would consider. We already started doing it with Amazon and CompUSA with the Advantage, and the upcoming HTC Shift. We’d also like to sell handsets through HTC.com.

Q: There is no marketing here in the US for HTC directly. We might maybe see a carrier-supported campaign, though that is rare. Do you have any plans to concentrate on establishing and expanding the HTC brand here a little more than you might have done in the past?

We’re moving in that direction. You’ll see us now trying to focus more on the brand. For instance, HTC is now prominently featured on the Sprint Touch, and the T-Mobile Shadow. We haven’t been as aggressive since we work closely with the operators but we’re looking to be more front and center.

Q: Thanks for your time, Jason.

A: Thank you.

We were on Power 105.1 FM last night with DJ Clue, and went over everything from the hottest holiday gadgets, to the new BlackBerry 9000 series, and even took listeners calls! To everyone that called in, thanks! We had such a tremendous overload of callers that we were only able to get to one person! The whole audio from last night is below. Let us know what you think!

We were supposed to be on last Friday, but some things came up, which ultimately delayed us from going on air. Well, we’re ready to rock tonight at 7PM with DJ Clue on Power 105.1, and we’ll be on the radio for the first time ever! Make sure you tune in, and even hit us up, ‘cuz we’re taking calls! If you want to be on live with yours truly and the world-famous DJ Clue, call up Power 105.1 starting at 6:30 PM at 1-800-585-1051. If you live outside the NY / NJ / CT area, you can stream it live at the link below! Also drop some comments if you’ve got any questions you’d like answered on air.

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Yeah, you heard right! We’re going to be on Power105.1FM in New York City tonight at 7PM with DJ Clue. We’ll be going over the hottest new phones for the holiday season, talkin’ trash, and best of all, taking listener’s calls! If you got a question or just want to hit us up live on the radio, call Power 105.1 at 1-800-585-1051! If you’re not in the NY / NJ / CT area, you can stream it live by clicking over to Power 105.1 below, and hitting the "stream live" button!

UPDATE: Due to some unforseen issues, we’re rescheduling our Power 105.1 appearance! Stay tuned!

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We recently had a chance to speak with TeleNav’s Communications Manager and self-proclaimed "best publicist in the world," MaryBeth Lowell. The conversation moved from TeleNav’s software (and it’s rapidly expanding features) to their plans to support the iPhone.

Additionally it seems that the have added a Quasi-Helio Buddy Beacon feature that enables users to broadcast their location to friends and even supply directions on how to get there. Our big question was in regards to the BlackBerry 8820 GPS locking and if TeleNav played a role in that. TeleNav agreed to give us (5) 3-month licenses for any device for 5 of our lucky readers, so if you would like to be included just leave a comment on which feature you would like included in a future version of TeleNav and we’ll pick the 5 people with the best ideas. Hit the jump for some highlights of our conversation!

• Did TeleNav know that the BlackBerry 8820 would be GPS-locked to only TeleNav ? We were advised to contact AT&T, which we did, but for the most part, TeleNav had no knowledge of this. 
• They’ve added a new feature that allows users to broadcast their location to friends and provide directions as on how to get there as well.
• TeleNav is making a big push to bolster and create additional features instead of just straight real-time GPS navigation. One such feature is Biz Finder which provides a search feature to find nearby restaurants, movie theatres and more. The "Reviews" feature is one of the coolest components of the technology….Say you’re in Los Angeles and search for "sushi". When the results come back with the nearest restaurants, you will have access to reviews for the specified restaurant, and can even add a review right there from your phone.
• We asked TeleNav what they thought of InfoSpace’s FindIt! program. We were told the difference is that FindIt! doesn’t provide turn-by-turn directions and real-time navigation. (They do, however, provide turn-by-turn directions by voice)
• TeleNav would love to support the iPhone, but obviously at this time there is no internal GPS, and an external Bluetooth device won’t work either. They’re hoping an upcoming iPhone will sport internal GPS and therefore make compatibility and integration more feasible.
• TeleNav offers software on every national wireless carrier in North America except for Verizon (due to Verizon’s notorious stranglehold on GPS and other features). However, strangely enough TeleNav does function on some BlackBerry devices on Verizon as long as you buy the software directly from TeleNav.

Want to get your real-time GPS on? Hit us with some ideas to improve TeleNav, and we’ll pick 5 winners!

That’s what we’ve been told! You remember the Sprint BlackBerry Pearl 2, right? It should have integrated GPS, but apparently WiFi won’t make its way into the mix. Since the date we were given was more like a timeframe, please consider it such. Anyways, you just might be able to pick one up before you have to go see those people you see once a year. You know, the ones called family? If this helps lighten your day, I guess we can reveal it…In addition to the news on Sprint’s BlackBerry Pearl 2, we got word that the CDMA Curve is planned for release early in Q1 of ‘08. Possibly on Sprint.

Yeah guys, it’s that same HTC Kaiser we’re talking about. The intel from our always-reliable-super-excellent-slightly-demanding HTC source, is that the HTC Kaiser is now delayed from July, to August. Not much is known at this point just why HTC has made that decision, but it could be because of some carrier pressure to not give up on their current HTC TyTN variants quite yet. Also you can best believe their trying to get a really solid OS ready for such an impressive device. Viva la HTC!

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Here’s yet another RAZR variant just in time for your weekend trip to the club. This tricked out Motorola V3i is designed by Peter Aloissen, the diamond-encrusted-phone-master, and features a gold-plated stainless steel case covered in 855 hand set diamonds, amounting to 3.8 carats of total weight. Nothing else has been altered, so once the luster of the outer case wears off you’ll find yourself left with a regular, run-of-the-mill Motorola V3i, a revelation sure to cause a bit of pain and soul searching. This handset is a relative steal among custom fashion phones, setting you back a mere $10,000.

[Via Luxist]

Check out the latest interview that I did with BlackBerry Cool. At the least, it has some exclusive BlackBerry info…

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There’s luxury, and then there’s Luxury. Raymarine’s new HDTV antenna system is firmly aiming for the latter. Trying to bring Hi-Def television to your yacht, this system employs DMB (Dynamic Beam Tilting) and WRS (Wide Range Search) to ensure that you’ll receive this week’s episode of Desperate Housewives, in even the most bleak and choppy seas. This amenity, including antenna, control unit, and DirectTV should run you between $7,000-$9,000.

[Via newlaunches]

Wanted to give everyone a heads up on an interview I did on BlackBerry Cool. Talked about the Apple iPhone, upcoming devices from RIM and carrier marketing strategies for these new products. It’s a good read.

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Check out this new interview I did with Just Blaze last night. Filmed again at the famous Baseline Recording studios Just jumps into his favorite device and a not so hot one. Watch the interview to find out!

We also answered a ton of questions that were left in the comments and that part of the interview should be up before the weekend