NorthGeek

The BlackBerry Bold Unboxing - not today!

Today Rogers launched the Blackberry Bold. Yipee! But to actually get your hands on one, you’ll need to either find one of the four stores across Canada that actually have them in stock, or you’ll need to order it from Rogers online or over the phone and wait for the package to arrive.

LAME.

Also a minor disappointment, the Bold will cost me $399 on a 3-year term. Even with my corporate account and upgrade discount of $100, it will cost $399 - very steep. The 3G speeds better be… uh… 3G-esque, and the GPS better be useful, or I’m going to be one unhappy camper.

I have a great idea for how I’m going to reveal the Bold to NorthGeek readers - stay tuned!!

And now the Nokia E71

We at NorthGeek aren’t just about iPhones and BlackBerries. Have you seen the new E series E71 from Nokia? It’s the E61 but boosted with GPS, camera, and a delicious chrome build. For those who love Symbian, this is one hot iPhone competitor. It’s doubtful that Nokia will once again strip out WiFi for the Canadian crowd.

Canada gets bold on Sept 19

The Blackberry Bold is already being sold worldwide. France Telecom’s Orange started selling it this past weekend, before AT&T in the US. Who else? Carphone Warehouse in the UK, Movistar in Chile, Germany, Austria… Canada’s Rogers will begin selling it Sept 19.

Make another difference in Canadian wireless pricing

Did you sign that petition against Rogers’ iPhone package pricing in Canada? If yes, are you proud that it actually made a difference and resulted in a better offering from the Canadian GSM monster? If no, do you now realize that it could have actually made a difference?

Well, now’s your chance to sign another petition and keep the momentum going. This bill was unveiled by David McGuinty, Member of Parliament for Ottawa South, back in June and should be up for debate in Parliament in October. It’s not too late. Make your voice heard!

I touched it! I played with it!

That’s right ladies and gents and more gents, I played with the BB Bold last night, at the Rogers Cup here in Montreal.

It is sweet. Absolutely cool. A little big, but really sexy. The guy from Rogers said it is coming out August 6, but immediately following that statement, someone in the background (another Rogers person) said “ha, no way!”

Not too promising, to say the least.

In other news, I upgraded to the 6GB plan for $30 - awesome deal. I highly recommend getting on that bandwagon before August 31, when the offer expires.

Good luck to all of us BB Bold NorthGeeks.

StartupDrinks tonight in Montreal

Heri and Montreal Tech Watch are having another StartupDrinks tonight, Wednesday July 30. It’s at Café des Éclusiers starting at 6pm. It’s a great event for the local entrepreneur and tech scene.

Rogers strikes again

And Rogers takes another step backwards in reaching parity with other mobile telcos. Below are the price plans for the iPhone 3G when it hits Canada. Don’t forget the mandatory 3 year contract!

World Wide Web Wide Open

According to CBC News:

Internet regulators voted to loosen restrictions on internet names, a move that could allow thousands of variations of suffixes beyond the basic .com or .ca…

…The new guidelines could allow for domain names that have been requested, and denied by ICANN, for years, such as .xxx for adult websites and .post for postal service websites.

Companies with well-known names like eBay, Apple or Google could also end up requesting domain names if the new rules are approved, snatching up names like .ebay, .mac and .goog.

In theory, this sounds like a great idea.  In theory, communism was a great idea.  We’ll see it in action to determine the results…

Laptops outselling Desktops in 2008

For the first time in history, it looks as though 2008 will be the year of laptop dominance over the desktop in Canada. According to Canwest:

The thinnovation is paying off as Canadians ditch their comparatively obese desktops for leaner notebooks, which IDC predicts will account for fully 60 per cent of all consumer computer shipments (home and student use) and 55 per cent of the total Canadian market (including corporate use) by the end of the year.

“From here on in, laptops will represent the majority,” said George Bulat, a director at IDC Canada.

“More and more people, especially with wireless networks, are expecting to be able to go to Starbucks and fire up their computer. They’re not rooted to a home base anymore.”

What does this mean for gamers and guys (or girls) who like to custom build their machines? I predict an upward swing in prices and a paradigm shift for parts manufacturers who will be focusing on the growing market segment.

Either way, laptops FTW!

Blackberry Bold Delayed!

Condolences to fellow NorthGeek Blackberry fanboys, but it looks like the Bold is delayed until August. Blame it on AT&T in the US, as they were supposed to get the device first but supposedly need more time to stabilize the device on their HSPA network. So it looks like AT&T will have it in August for $300, and other operators in September.