Canadians check your data plan rate!

Our readers in Canada should be aware that data rates are changing dramatically. You can't blame them, but you'll need to reach out to your wireless carrier to learn about the newest data plan rates.

Not only are rates dropping like a stone off a cliff, but the amount of data allowed is also increasing exponentially! My own plan with Rogers went from $90 a month for 250 minutes of voice and 25 MB of data...to 550 minutes of voice and 1 GB of data...for only $70 a month.

Telus just announced an "unlimited personal email, text and web" plan for only $30 per month.

No more overages in data will save you a fortune. When's the last time you checked on updating your wireless data plan?

Where's your BlackBerry?

Have you ever misplaced your BlackBerry? You might know it's safe, but where did you leave it? Is it in your closet? At the office? In the car (fallen between the seats)?

Would you like to be able to log on to the Internet and see exactly where your BB is using the built in GPS and BlackBerry Maps? How cool would that be?

Would you like to have a contact list of friends or colleagues and be able to "see" where they are at any given time? Would you then like to have an application create a map, with detailed turn by turn directions on how to GO TO where your contact might be? It's a whole new world of context based social networking and it's available RIGHT NOW!

What would you be willing to pay for a service that made finding your lost or misplaced BB as easy as connecting to the web? $100? $200? How about NOTHING?

If any of this sounds interesting, check out Blackline GPS and their FREE service called BLIP.

BlackBerry radio signal strength - good trick!

Did you know you can change the signal strength icon on your BB from bars to actual numbers with this keyboard short cut?

Try clicking ALT "NMLL" on your BB and watch the relatively uninformative bars change to real signal strength numbers. You should know a BB will stop synchronizing when the radio signal strength drops below about -106 to -108 dB. Anything below (well technically above) -85 dB is an indication of excellent radio reception.

More tricks can be found HERE

Rogers quietly extends 6GB data plan for iPhone

That's right, industry spies tell us that although this plan has been removed from the product offering on the company website, customer's can still subscribe to the plan at their Rogers dealer.

Don't miss this opportunity Canadians! You already have the highest data rates in the entire world...even with this "great plan", so don't miss out on your chance to download all that data.

iPhone users tell me that surfing as much as possible with full image download, they were barely able to consume 250 MB of data. 6GB should take you a long way.

The five most popular phones in the US

RCR Wireless published an article indicating the five most popular phones being sold in the US.

1. Motorola Razr - The Razr still maintains “great mind share” among consumers who still find value in a voice-centric phone in a slim form factor, NPD's Ross Rubin said. The Razr generally sells for free at all the top carriers.
2. iPhone 3G - The iPhone 3G represents the touchscreen smartphone at its best: a browsing monster with a fun user interface that has alerted Americans to the possibilities of a mobile, desktop-like experience that has reshaped the market. The iPhone sells for around $200 at AT&T Mobility.
3. BlackBerry Curve - As for RIM, its success in transitioning from an enterprise-only approach to embracing more consumer-friendly designs and form factors, and its ubiquity among carriers, is well represented by the Curve, said NPD's Ross Rubin.The Curve sells for around $100 at most of the top carriers.
4. LG Chocolate - NPD's Ross Rubin attributed the success of the LG Chocolate — an exclusive at Verizon Wireless — in part to canny promotion from the carrier around the device’s music capabilities. The Chocolate sells at Verizon Wireless for around $130.
5. BlackBerry Pearl - RIM's successes in the consumer market are well represented by the Pearl.The Pearl sells for around $100 at most of the top carriers.

“The voice, browsing and music features represented on this list speak to the diversity of portfolios the carriers must maintain for a diverse consumer base,” said Ross Rubin, analyst with NPD Group.

Each one of the top-selling handsets says a little bit about Americans’ shifting preferences, too, according to Rubin. The Razr still maintains “great mind share” among consumers who still find value in a voice-centric phone in a slim form factor, Rubin said. But the once-premium handset has become emblematic of carriers’ popular offerings of inexpensive, often “free” handsets that entice subscribers.

The Razr V3, in one form or another, sells at all four of the top-tier U.S. carriers as well as many regional carriers and independent dealers. The downside, Rubin said: As the company spread the product far and wide, racking up enormous volumes, the Razr’s profit margin shrank, hurting Moto’s bottom line. Its presence at the top of the list — a position unchanged since NPD began tracking in 2005 — also is a reminder that Motorola continues to search for a follow-on handset platform.

The iPhone 3G, of course, represents the touchscreen smartphone at its best: a browsing monster with a fun user interface that has alerted Americans to the possibilities of a mobile, desktop-like experience that has reshaped the market. Rubin said that the 3G model’s pull on subscribers outside its perch at AT&T Mobility — some 30% of iPhone 3G buyers switched to AT&T Mobility from their original carrier to get the device, according to NPD — is actually less than the original iPhone’s pull.

“Verizon Wireless emerged unscathed upon the launch of the first iPhone (last year),” Rubin said, “but Verizon gave up more customers this time.” It may be those customers, Rubin speculated, that were louder in their complaints about 3G connectivity on AT&T Mobility’s less mature 3G network, due to a more mature performance on Verizon Wireless’ 3G network.

As for RIM, its success in transitioning from an enterprise-only approach to embracing more consumer-friendly designs and form factors, and its ubiquity among carriers, is well represented by the Curve and Pearl handsets, the analyst said.

Rubin attributed the success of the LG Chocolate — an exclusive at Verizon Wireless — in part to canny promotion from the carrier around the device’s music capabilities.

So, are Americans’ tastes really shifting and embracing these myriad features and forms? Or are carriers’ subsidies (and thus retail pricing) and marketing really driving the bus?

“Is it carrier push or consumer pull?” Rubin asked, rhetorically. “It’s a little of both. Put another way: Are devices changing or are consumers changing? It’s both.”

“It’s a little more consumer pull than carrier push,” the analyst added. “With the iPhone, you don’t have a wide array of network-based revenue streams that typically get pushed into high-end feature phones. The iPhone puts greater emphasis on browsing the Web — the most compelling aspect of the desktop experience. And that has opened consumers’ eyes to the possibilities.”

Mobile Net - predicting the future

Don't you just love being proven right? What can be more rewarding and spirtitually uplifting than being proven right?

Two years ago, a colleague asked me what direction they should take regarding development of their application for "mobile delivery". At that time, I indicated that I thought their best approach would be to use a "browser centric" approach and that most likely the mobile browser to do that, was not yet available. My previous post seems to bear out my own prediction...and possibly my lack of research into what Nokia were up to...

In 2008 we are starting to see the "rumblings" of paradigm shift. 2009 should bring this shift into full swing as more and more companies begin to understand how prospects for their goods and services, find information and make buying decisions.

If you dug into the link to the Nielsen report mentioned in the Nokia article, you would see that for 86% of technology buyers, the Internet is where they shop. Where they buy is another story for another day, but that tells me that if you're in technology and you're not making it easy for your prospects to find information about your product...in the manner that THEY choose...then you are missing an opportunity.

Specifically, users are staying "connected" when they leave their ethernet tethered world. More and more they are carrying devices that will connect to the Internet from anywhere they receive a signal. To make it easier, new and faster signal choices are popping up on a regular basis as we all move from GSM and Wi-Fi to 3G, 4G, Wi-Max and beyond.

Add a persons "context" as Anssi Vanjoki from Nokia coins the phrase, using GPS and you've got a whole new way to offer your goods and services. The catch is that you need to think like the person on the other end of your information delivery tools...what are they using to view what you are presenting? Will it fit into a screen that is only 480x320 pixels? Are the images optimized and do they have alt tags in place if the users has chosen not to download images?

Lot's to consider...will you be ready?