It looks like Bell won’t be the only Canadian carrier to offer the Samsung Wave. According to MobileSyrup, Rogers dealerships from coast to coast have begun receiving display units. So far pricing and a release date have not been communicated to employees, but with Bell expected to launch the Bada smartphone on July 8th, we can’t imagine that Rogers will be wanting to take its time.

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According to tips sent in to Electronista, the reason that Apple’s planned iTunes streaming service yet to be released is due to the fact that the Cupertino-based company has yet to finalize licensing deals with major record labels. Apple currently has licensing deals which allow customers to stream music from their own computers to their devices, but streaming music directly from Apple’s servers — one of the features we mentioned in our exclusive on the service — would require a new deal be inked. Although Apple would like to get the deal finalized as soon as possible, allegations that many  record label executives have not have the service detailed to them indicates we may still have a ways to go.

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As with any leak, we suggest you approach this with a healthy amount of skepticism, but if a post made to PConline is to be believed, this upcoming Windows Phone 7 handset from HTC — the HD3 — is going to be an absolute beast. We mean, take a look at the purported specs:

• 4.5″ WXGA Super AMOLED multi-touch display
• 8 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash
• 720p HD video recording
• 1080p HD playback
• Wi-Fi / Bluetooth
• 3G / 4G connectivity
• 32GB microSD support
• 1GB RAM / 1GB ROM
• 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor
• 1800 mAh battery
• 115mm x 65mm x 10mm

Like we said, this is strictly a rumor, but how great would it be if it all came true?

[Via Gizmodo]

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According to Israeli newspaper Calcalist, Google VP of Engineer Gaurav Jain has gone on the record as stating that his company will launch its oft-rumored music service before the year’s end. Set to debut in Q4, Jain went on to say that the music service will be predominantly featured in the next version of its mobile OS, Android 3.0 (aka Gingerbread). The timing of Jain’s statements — not to mention the fact he made them at all — are curious, as rumors are heating up that Apple is gearing up to launch a cloud-based version of iTunes that will allow customers to stream their music library directly to their device; meaning that on-device storage can be freed up for things such as apps. While it remains to be seen exactly how similar the two services will be, one thing is for sure: the battle between Apple and its iOS and Google and its Android is about to get even more nasty.

[Via Know Your Cell]

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A California appeals court has ruled that Verizon Wireless is to pay some 175,000 customers current and former customers $21 million as a settlement in a class action lawsuit over early termination fees. The class action suit was filed in California on the behalf of customers who were upset that Verizon asked they pay a flat ETF of $175 regardless of how many months were left on their contract. Each customer is expected to receive $87.50 as a result of the ruling. Too bad history is bound to repeat itself now that Verizon’s ETF for “advanced devices” (i.e. smartphones) is set at $350.

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Even though most schools are now shut down for summer, that doesn’t mean that companies have given up trying to selling products to students. Amazon today announced that it has refreshed its Kindle DX. Now featuring an even better 9.7″ E Ink display that boasts a 50% increase in contrast ratio, the next-gen Kindle DX also received a price drop and now stands at an attractive $379. The only other major difference is that the Kindle DX is now graphite as opposed to white. The Kindle DX is available now for pre-order and is set to ship on July 7th.

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Thanks to a new law that comes into effect today, every single citizen of Finland now has a legal right to a wired broadband connection with a minimum speed of 1Mbps. According to communication minister Suvi Linden, the reason for the law is due to the fact that “internet services are no longer just for entertainment” and that it is a necessary to have to live in their “information society.” In Finland, all but 4% of households currently have broadband connections. This, says the government, equates to about 4,000 households, all of which should be compliant with the new law in short order. And just in case you’re curious, no, the Finnish government isn’t going to go totally ape if people who benefit from this law get into piracy. According to Linden, the most the Finnish government will do if someone is illegally downloading copyrighted material is send them letters.

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We don’t think there will be too many tears shed over this news, but T-Mobile today announced that it will be halting sales of both the Sidekick LX and Sidekick 2008 as of tomorrow, July 2nd (we called it.) There’s no bug, defect or data loss SNAFU to blame; just the cold realization that there’s no room for such a product in a smartphone obsessed nation. Here’s how T-Mobile is spinning it.

As T-Mobile looks to further innovate and raise the bar for the next iteration of the T-Mobile Sidekick, as of July 2, the Sidekick LX and Sidekick 2008 will no longer be available through T-Mobile, including retail stores, care, telesales and online. While we work on the next chapter of our storied Sidekick franchise, T-Mobile will continue to provide our loyal Sidekick customers with product service and support. Stay tuned for exciting updates in the months ahead, which we expect will provide customers with a new and fresh experience.

Two Microsoft feature phones killed off in two days? Not looking too good for the Redmond Boys, now is it? Let’s hope Windows Phone 7 will step up to the plate and knock one out of the park.

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Today, The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple wrote an interesting article that should give a lot of confused people some perspective on this whole Verizon iPhone business. Not surprisingly, Dalrymple reports that Apple already has a fully functional CDMA iPhones, lurking in the shadows of 1 Infinite Loop, that is ready to go into production at a moment’s notice. The problem, according  Dalrymple, is that Apple and Verizon have yet to finalize a deal. Having the iPhone hardware lying on a shelf waiting to be mass produced is beneficial for both companies; as it won’t have to scramble to make up for lost time once the deal is struck. Apple also has a long history of developing products well in advance — a good example of this was its Intel-compatible version of OS X. So why then did Bloomberg so confidently report that Verizon will have the iPhone in January? That could simply be a negotiating tactic, something which would not at all be out of the ordinary.

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Lost in the hubbub surrounding smartphone powerhouses like the DROID X and iPhone 4 is the fact that the average person simply wants a phone that makes calls. To satiate this need, and throw in a few extra feature for good measure, T-Mobile today announced the immediate availability of the LG Sentio. An affordable device that brings to the table a 3″ touchscreen, 3 megapixel camera, visual voicemail and 3G connectivity. A UI with a set of customizable widgets as well as Social Buzz, an application that will not only handle your social media needs, but email as well. The LG Sentio from T-Mobile is available for $69.99 with an Even More plan, or $9 per month with Even More Plus.

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Did we nail it or what? Today Rogers announced the creation of chatr, the low-cost wireless brand we exclusively told you about last week. Created to serve what Rogers calls a “niche” market that is not currently served by its flagship and value brands Rogers Wireless and Fido, chatr will offer no contract voice and text plans as well as unlimited talk and text plans. Data is not a part of chatr’s game plan. According to Rogers, the big draw of chatr is not only its great plans, but that for the first time it gives urbanites who simply want to make calls and send texts affordable service from a “network they can trust.” We were pretty curious about the timing of this launch, what with WIND Mobile now being half a year old and Mobilicity having only been on the scene for six weeks, so we asked Rogers about it. Surprisingly, they were adamant that they could not care less what their competitors are doing or where it is they are operating. They were quick to point out that chatr has been one year in the making and that it actually designed to mimic business model that allowed MetroPCS to go from a small time carrier to the 5th largest in the United States. Sadly this was about as much extra information as we could squeeze out of Rogers. As much as they want to get chatr up and running today, they’ve still got a few more things to do behind the scenes before it launches by the end of summer. This means that they can’t get into specifics about when the network will launch. But as we have said before, thanks to our connects we know that Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, and Ottawa are a lock. Anyone planning to wait with baited breath?

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Apparently Microsoft has come to the realization that, much like the hipsters it was targeting with the device, no one wants to be caught dead with a KIN. Microsoft has confirmed that the two devices are toast. Here is what their PR people said.

We have made the decision to focus exclusively on Windows Phone 7 and we will not ship KIN in Europe this fall as planned. Additionally, we are integrating our KIN team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from KIN into future Windows Phone releases. We will continue to work with Verizon in the U.S. to sell current KIN phones.”

Good riddance, we say.

Apparently Motorola thinks the antenna issues that are plaguing the iPhone 4 are a laughing matter. Based upon this full page ad that was published in today’s New York Times, we’d have to agree.

“[...] And most importantly, it comes with a double antenna design. The kind that allows you to hold the phone any way you like and use it just about anywhere to make crystal clear calls. You have a voice. And you deserve to be heard.“

That’s gotta sting a bit, no? Hit the bounce to check out the ad in full-sized glory!

Thanks, A.!

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Thanks to a partnership with Bell, Starbucks Canada has announced that it will be joining its American brethren in offering free Wi-Fi to all customers come July 1st. A one-click login system means that passwords and users names are not required. Anyone planning to waste away Canada Day holed up in a Starbucks with an iPad and Frappuccino in hand?

P.S. Are we the only ones that find it odd that Starbucks would take the time to mention that its free Wi-Fi is perfect for people who are unemployed?

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Say it ain’t so! There’s a rumor going around this afternoon that Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile were forced to abruptly end all pre-orders of the Motorola DROID X. As we understand it, the problem is that the number of units requested by Android-crazed customers greatly exceeded the number of handsets that will be on-hand come launch day. We’ve not been able to independantly confirm this, so does anyone have first hand knowledge of what’s going on?

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