Could this be it, could this be it, could this be IT? Canadians have been waiting ever so patiently for the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre, it isn’t even funny. We seem to cling to the news and rumors surrounding the device with wide eyes and anticipation, much like a child waiting to open presents on Christmas morning. Bell has began an in-store, online and magazine ad campaign, which means, the Pre will be in Canadians’ hands sooner than later… at least that’s what we surmise.

Today, more good news to perk up the Palm-hungry Canadian. Future Shop has gone ahead and posted on their website that the Palm Pre will be ‘Available August 27th‘. You’d have to consider that kinda-sorta official, right? Yeeehaw! Not too much longer to wait… In the meantime, if you want to pre-order you best head down to a Future Shop, Best Buy or Bell location. Many more details will be available in-store I’m sure, well, at least I’m hoping the staff on-hand has been trained. Could be completely wrong there!

[Via: MobileSyrup]

Rogers (NYSE: RCI) is promising 21 Mbps to Toronto at the end of the month, and spreading to the rest of Canada in due time, but internally-released counterpoints bring up some valid facts:

Key reasons why Bell is not concerned:
1. Rogers deployment of HSPA+ will start in August with a progressive roll out of the pocket coverage in the Greater Toronto Area ONLY
- Expansion timing and locations are unknown at this time since Rogers is very vague with roll out plans

2. Canada-wide rollout of Rogers HSPA+ netowrk will follow over time
- Bell plans to offer a national HSPA network at launch
- It has taken Rogers over 3 years to deploy 3G (HSPA) coverage to 78% of the Canadian population
- Bell offers 3G (EVDO) coverage to 89% of the Canadian population – the largest 3G coverage in Canada

3. Rogers plans to offer (1) Mobile Internet Stick at time of initial HSPA+ launch
- There are no HSPA+ phones and smartphones available commercially in the world today
- None of Rogers 3G devices today will be able to take advantage of 21Mbps speeds
- Most of Rogers devices are 2G (they only have one 3G BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) whereas ALL of Bell’s BlackBerry devices are 3G)

There’s certainly something to be said about the lack of devices available, a situation we’re seeing south of the border as well. I’d certainly like to see 21 Mbps on phones and not just just internet sticks, but that ball is squarely in manufacturers’ corners. In fact, Rogers deserves a high five for proving some pull pressure for OEMs to get some HSPA+ handsets out the door before LTE rolls around. It’s true that Rogers will likely take its sweet time getting HSPA+ out there, especially to the more sparsely-populated areas, and they’ll need the head start before Bell and Telus flip the switch to GSM.

[via MobileSyrup]

For all of the Canadians out there that have been waiting… and waiting… and waiting for the Palm Pre… here’s another great sign that the device will be arriving sooner than later. I just finished reading a post by my bud John over at MobileSyrup, detailing the fact that Bell has started to ramp-up their in-store advertising for the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) pre. All of the ads features a prominent ‘Coming Soon’ line, however, there is a notable ‘Order yours today’ mention. Awesome. Pre-orders anyone?

Oddly enough, after reading this report, I went back to my usual morning ’surf session’ where I noticed on more than one occasion online ads from Bell with the Pre in-tow. Looks like Bell have topped up the tank of the PR machine and are getting ready to roll.

Still no word on pricing or a hard release date, but still… it’s gotta be soon. Stay tuned for more.

So much for the rumor of Bell launching the Samsung Link on the 30th all by their lonesome. Virgin Mobile Canada has jumped the gun and launched the Samsung Link in Grey. You can head over to Virgin Mobile Canada right now for full details or to pick one up for yourself. Pricing on the Samsung Link at Virgin goes like this:

• 3-year: $29.99
• 2-year: $49.99
• 1-year: $99.99
• No contract: $99.99

The Samsung Link packs a large QWERTY keyboard, 1.3MP camera, Bluetooth, speakerphone, memory expansion to 16GB, 3.5mm headset jack, mp3 player and 220×176 TFT display.

Full details at Virgin Mobile Canada.

[Via: MobileSyrup]

Bell and Virgin Mobile up in Canada are all set to launch the Samsung Link in the very near future. Last I heard, Bell was set to launch the Link on July 30th… No details have been available on a Virgin Mobile launch… until now. A live link has appeared on the Virgin Mobile website, showing off the new Samsung Link in a bold blue color.

With a live page up-and-running, one can only speculate the device will be launched in the near future… probably the 30th as well. No details on pricing yet, but stay tuned for more on the Bell (and Virgin Mobile) Samsung Link.

[Via: MobileSyrup]

Canadian mobile aficionados have no doubt been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre. It has long been known that the webOS-powered device will arrive on Bell, but the exact launch date has been up in the air for some time now. Recently, an internal memo leaked out that noted Bell staff training dates for the Pre, a sure sign that the device would be launching sooner than later… but if a snippet from a document leaked by MobileSyrup is valid, it looks like Bell will be the exclusive carrier for at least the first 6-months (we already knew that Bell was going to be the exclusive carrier… the timeframe is the news here).

The leaked document contains information on ‘The Bell Strategy’, and touches on the exclusivity deal:

The Palm Pre will expand and strengthen Bell’s smartphone category and will break new ground in the fiercely competitive smartphone market. Bell will be the second carrier worldwide (after Sprint (NYSE: S)) to sell the Palm Pre, with exclusivity for 6 months. Bell anticipates the Canadian market will strongly embrace this product with strong interest, which will boost overall smartphone sales.

Very cool, but if you’re a Canadian that happens to live in an area not served by Bell, you’re still going to be SOL. I happen to live in such an area… Color me unimpressed! Looks like I may have to wait-out the rumored 6-month exclusivity deal in order to nab the Pre on another carrier.

[Via: PreCentral]

You may recall a leaked document via our friends at MobileSyrup, which showed training dates and locations for Bell employees to learn all about the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre. This was awesome news, as it clearly meant the Pre would be making an appearance on the Canadian carrier sooner than later, right? Let’s hope so…

Latest rumor and hub-bub around the HowardForums seem to put the Pre up for a late July early August launch on Bell. Awesome. I’ve read everything from a July 29/July 31 launch, through a July 31/August 1 launch. The one thing that seems to be consistent, is the launch should take place at the end of this month, or early August. You can read more of the discussion over at HowardForums.

By the way, if you haven’t already… hit up Bell’s Palm Pre contest page. Might as well enter… That is, if you’re Canadian.

[Via: PreCentral]

If there was any doubt whether the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre was coming to the great white north via Bell, doubt no more. An internal document received by my good friends over at MobileSyrup clearly (ok, maybe not so clearly… Mr. Blurrycam makes an appearance again) shows that Bell employees have already begun training via an internal ‘What is Pre?’ course. Training will take place in Calgary today, then Vancouver on the 21st, Toronto on the 23, and Montreal on the 27th. Of course, the training locations have been blocked out to prevent any unnecessary and unwanted onlookers/gawkers.

Very cool news for sure… Palm Pre’s are in the country and Bell staffers are being trained. Shouldn’t be long now! No details yet on pricing or launch date, but expect more soon.

One more quick tidbit of Canadian mobile news coming your way via MobileSyrup yet again. The Samsung ‘Link’ is now tapped to be arriving on Bell near the end of this month (July 30th, a little later than expected!). The Samsung Link will be a Bell exclusive, and will come with a full QWERTY keyboard, 2.2″ LCD display, 1.3MP camera with a microSD card slot for expansion to 16GB. Bluetooth, IM, e-mail and all of the standard text messaging goodness will be built-in. Also, the first 10,000 customers will receive a free decal from Decal Girl (a promo Bell has ran before). Kinda cool.

Look for the Bell Samsung ‘Link’ to arrive at $19.95 on the 3-year contract, $69.95 on the 2-year, $169.95 on the 1-year and $219.95 outright.

More to come on the Bell Samsung ‘Link’ before the end of the month!

Looks like Mr. Blurrycam was hard at work on this one. MobileSyrup has reported that the LG ‘Bliss’ will become available August 7th on Bell. Details on the device are just about as blurry as the image seen here. Looks to be a full QWERTY touchscreen with 2MP camera (with video capabilities and 2x zoom). A microSD card slot will be on board for up to 16GB in extra space as well. Look for Bluetooth, speakerphone and all of the standard apps to be on-board as well. I’m sure we’ll hear more on this one as launch draws near.

Pricing for the LG ‘Bliss’  at Bell is said to hit the following price points:

• 3-year: $79.95
• 2-year: $129.95
• 1-year: $229.95
• Outright: $279.95

Stay tuned for more on the LG Bliss.