Our hockey-playing, pot-growing neighbors to the north have got a new MVNO in town and the content it’s packing is looking pretty tight. Amp’d Mobile will be leeching off TELUS’ EVDO network to launch in Canada with plenty of content in store. Some of the features Canadian Amp’d customers will receive include streaming TV, 20 Amp’d video channels, Amp’d radio, partnerships with MuchMusic and the NHL for exclusive content, user content, and a hockey puck to the face. Now take a minute and digest that. Done? Good, because there’s more. Like the US, Amp’d Canada will offer users packages featuring unlimited calls and texting — one of the bigger turn-ons of Amp’d Mobile. Other partnerships include Adult Swim, UFC, Break.com, Fox Sports, MTV Canada, and a bunch of other Canadian-based channels. The initial phone selection hasn’t been revealed, but it’s probably no different than the US lineup of Helio phones. Oh and did we mention $.99 music downloads until September? Rockage, but Amp’d has yet to say if the classic 1980s hit “Don’t Forget Me” by Canadian act Glass Tiger will be available. Our lipstick and eyeliner are praying. Amp’d Mobile launches in Canada [Slashphone] Update: Johnathan let us know that Amp’d Canada is selling a custom RAZR V3M with a black and red paint scheme and 256MB microSD card included. It costs $300 CAN with no contract. Thanks! → Read More
There’s some fun stuff coming out of the 2006 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) trade show today, but this UVIA M100 mobile infotainment device from Unwired Vehicles is one of the sweetest. The box uses EV-DO mobile broadband from Verizon or Sprint to deliver rear-seat passengers in your vehicle a selection of entertainment apps along with broadband Internet access so you can check your e-mail, IM, check your fantasy teams and stream music and video. And speaking of video, the company says it works with SlingMedia’s SlingBoxes, letting you control and watch your home TV in your ride. It’s an aftermarket install, but it’s modeled after other current entertainment systems. The UVIA M100 utilizes vehicle optimized hardware with Unwired Vehicles’ own infotainment control software pre-installed. High quality displays are installed in either the headliner or seat headrests. A 3G wireless broadband antenna is mounted externally to increase reception quality and bandwidth throughput. The UVIA M100 will be available in Arizona, California and Nevada in December 2006 and will be available nationally in early 2007 for $3,499. (Well, we didn’t say it was gonna be cheap.) Unwired Vehicles UVIA M100 [press release] → Read More
Now that Sprint is rolling out its badass EV-DO Revision A network, with its mobile Internet access at broadband speeds, many people are going to want to pick up one of those fancy new Rev A compatible PCMCIA or Express Cards for their laptops. But what if they’re one of the millions who own laptops without said card slots? Don’t worry, Novatel has them covered. Its offering up a USB solution in the Ovation 720. They can dd this dongle to their laptop or desktop, and they’re set to cruise at 400-800kbps down. Not bad wireless, no matter how you cut it. Novatel Wireless Ovation U720 USB Broadband Doogle [Slashphone] → Read More
Good news, San Diego. You’re the first city in the nation to get a taste of Sprint’s Revision A EV-DO. That is, if you’re a subscriber and have a Pantech PX-500, Sierra Wireless Aircard 595, or one of the Novatel data cards, in which case you have to do nothing, as your upgraded automagically, and for free. This gives Sprint’s customers even faster access to its mobile broadband network, and you can expect speeds of 450-850 down, and 400-700 up, depending on your proximity to its towers. In addition to the cards, Sprint has some Rev A phones undoubtedly in its queue, you can expect the phones to roll out nationally with its network upgrades, which should be done in about a year. For now, look for the network to light up in Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Denver, Detroit, Hartford, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York City, Newark/Trenton, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., all by the end of the year, though not necessarily in alphabetical order. Sprint Launches Nation’s First EV-DO Revision A Mobile Broadband Network [Press Release] → Read More
More news from CTIA. HTC, purveyors of all things Windows Mobile 5, has announced yet another smartphone. This one, called the Libra, is similar to HTC’s familiar sliding-keyboard smartphones (T-Mobile’s MDA, for example), except that it’s closer in size to their candybar-style phones. Indeed, next to the 4:3 screen (320 x 240?) on the face is a regular cellphone-style keypad, T9 and function buttons. Turn the unit sideways, however, and a Wizard-style keyboard slides out. While it offers full QWERTY, there are only three rows, so the space bar has been shifted to the right of the M key. It might take some getting used to, but it’s a novel approach to usability. No other specs are available now. The phone, for CDMA networks (Spring and Verizon), also features EVDO Rev. A, which means it’s fast, data-wise. It should be available next year, and a GSM/UMTS version is sure to follow later. HTC Libra To Support EVDO Rev. A [Phonescoop] → Read More
If you have an ExpressCard port in your laptop rather than the good old workhorse PC Card, you might be wondering if all the various hardware makers are going wake up and create cards for your early-adopting self. Now some have jumped into the fray, including Verizon Wireless, providing a Novatel V-640 ExpressCard for its EVDO connectivity, and the GearLive crew tested one for our reading pleasure. The verdict? The reviewers dug the card in their MacBook Pro, lauding its easy setup and real-world download speed of 370kbps which increased to 448kbps as they got closer to downtown Seattle. While not at its theoretical maximum speed of 500kbps, it was still not bad considering that reception wasn’t perfect (no surprise when dealing with Verizon Wireless). Upload speed was somewhat slower at 114kkbps but still acceptable. Looks like quite a bargain at $99 with a two-year contract, but then there’s that $59.99 for unlimited broadband access that might be a bit of a burden. Even so, Gear Live laid a 9/10 rating on the Verizon V640. Looking good. Verizon V640 EVDO ExpressCard Review: MacBook Pro [Gear Live] → Read More
