That’s right, earlier this afternoon, and ahead of the rumors, Bell launched the BlackBerry Tour 9630 ahead of rival Canadian CDMA carrier Telus (NYSE: TU). Last I checked, the Bell BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Tour 9630 is only available via the Bell website, but expect the device to start showing up in stores real soon (perhaps the July 17th launch rumor will reflect in-store availability?). In fact, Tours for all Bell locations have been ordered and are on the way.
So what are the purchase options? Bell is offering a 3-year contract for $249.95, a 2-year for $549.95, a 1-year for $649.95… or you can purchase it outright for $699.95 (as expected).
I’m not sure if this is sad or funny. You tell me.
We’ve known for awhile now that Bell will be the exclusive carrier of the Palm Pre in Canada. Earlier today, my bud John over at MobileSyrup pointed out to me that Bell has launched a new contest involving a Pre. The contest will give away a Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre to one lucky entrant. This isn’t the sad/funny thing, in fact, the contest is cool overall… but here’s the funny part (ok, I’ve decided it is funny, not sad). If you look at the entry rules PDF (link at the bottom of the page here), you’ll notice, what’s that? No, that’s not the Pre, that’s a Palm Treo Pro at the top of that document! Haha, that’s right, at the top of an official Bell document that details the rules of the contest, no one happened to notice that a Palm Treo Pro is gracing the header instead of the actual prize, the Palm Pre.
Hilarious?
Also worth noting in said contest rules is the ‘approximate retail value’ of the Pre. Within the rules, Bell details the value to be $650 CDN. Not surprising. So, when the device does go live on Bell, we can expect the device to go for $649.95 outright if you’d rather not be locked down to a contract.
That’s it for now, thought this was mildly amusing. For more information or to sign up, you can check out the contest here. Contest is running now through August 31st.
A quickie here for the BlackBerry Storm users on Bell. The Canadian CDMA carrier has officially launched the latest version of the Storm OS, version 4.7.0.148. If you’ve been waiting for an official version to launch, now is your chance to update to the latest and greatest.
You can go ahead and grab OS 4.7.0.148 for the BlackBerry Storm 9530right here via the Bell downloads site… But as always, be sure to backup your device and take all necessary precautions before you proceed.
Here’s the latest rumor from the land of Canadian mobile. Word has it that Samsung lovers in the Great White North are in for a treat. Samsung is set to release the ‘Link’ via Bell on July 15th. Not much else is known at this point (no pricing or device specs), but as you can see from the amazing image above (can you feel the sarcasm?), the Link will at the very least feature a full QWERTY keyboard. No slider here.
Stay tuned for more on the Samsung Link… I’m very interested to learn more about this one!
Here she is, a video look at the promo kit Bell stores have received for the BlackBerry Tour 9630. All sorts of Tour goodness is contained within, including the much requested beach ball (really, I have no idea why a beach ball is in there). But seriously, all sorts of promo materials are found inside. I’d LOVE to get my hands on the dummy phone, for some reason I get a kick out of ‘em.
The last time we heard about Bell and Telus (NYSE: TU)’ plans to jump over to HSPA (3G) before moving to LTE (4G), the two Canadian carriers were eyeballing a 2010 switch, but rumour has it they’re trying to get onto the GSM bus this fall in order to support the iPhone as soon as possible. A Telus spokesperson stuck to their guns for 2010, and given it’s generally prudent to adopt a “later than sooner” outlook for release dates of this magnitude, I’d tend to agree with the date. Still, wishful thinking and Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)’s ability to light a fire under a carrier’s ass dictates the sooner Telus and Bell can pick up the iPhone, the better. We had heard Rogers (NYSE: RCI) and Apple weren’t on what you’d call friendly terms lately, so it’s entirely possible that the iPhone is looking to spread out its wings a little bit, even if it’s only out of spite.
Looks like BGR has managed to get his hands on an internal document/memo from Bell. Yesterday it was dummy devices and promo materials, today we have this! You can check out full details of the document after the jump… But for now a confirmed launch of the Bell BlackBerry Tour will come July 17th, with full retail set at $699.95. Expensive for sure, but keep in mind that’s full retail. If you’re willing to sign your life away for three years, you may be able to get the Tour for somewhere in the $200 – $250 region. We’ll see.
It’s only a matter of time now… You know, when you start hearing about dummy units and promo materials shipping to stores… it’s only a matter of weeks before the device pops up in-store. This time around I’m talking about the Bell BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Tour 9630, and thanks to BGR’s ‘ninjas’, we’ve got some pictures to backup the claim.
Dummy devices have arrived and promotional materials are all set to go at Bell. Mark your calendars, as the same ninjas put the Bell BlackBerry Tour 9630 available for general consumption on Friday, July 17th.
It’s looking to be a very interesting (and busy) summer surrounding the BlackBerry Tour. The Sprint version could be hitting us by July 20th… Plus, I’ve read rumors that the Verizon edition could be launching the device around the same time as Bell. Finally, Telus is squaring up to launch the Tour on the 15th… Yikes… Did I miss any carriers here?
Canadians should now be able to send and receive money securely with their mobile devices. How? With a new money transfer service called Zoompass of course! The new service has been launched by mobile payment vendor EnStream.
EnStream is jointly owned by the ‘big 3′ in Canada; Rogers (NYSE: RCI), Bell and Telus (NYSE: TU). The companies wanted to collaborate to bring together a money transfer solution for customers on all networks (it will work on all sub-branded networks as well… I’m talking Fido, Solo and PC Mobile here).
President of EnStream Robin Dua commented:
The launch of Zoompass represents an important milestone in financial services that makes the mobile phone the central device consumers use to transfer money and make purchases. The Zoompass mobile service ushers in a new era in electronic payments that addresses a growing desire to move money quickly and easily between friends, family, and merchants. Zoompass makes it easy to split a lunch bill, request money from parents, collect sports team fees, solicit money for a co-worker’s gift, or even pay a babysitter – right from a mobile phone. With the groundbreaking launch of Zoompass, Canadians nationwide can expect to hear more people ask one another “Do you want me to Zoom you the money?”
Every Zoompass transaction will be PIN protected, and all sensitive information is stored on secure servers… so even if you’ve lost your mobile device, there is no need to worry about your critical financial info getting into the wrong hands.
Zoompass will be officially unveiled at the 2009 Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto this week.
Could it be? Oh, could it be? I know many a Canadian mobile junkie (like myself) have been pining for the Palm Pre, if for nothing more than to hold one in the hand to see what it’s like. The true north strong and free know that the Pre will eventually make its way north from our American friends, but the question is, as always… when and on what carrier?
The latest rumor via that comes to us via MobileSyrup has the Palm Pre hitting us via Bell Canada. A Bell customer service representative reportedly commented that the Pre ‘will come within this month for sure’. Hmmmm. OK.
Also, over at HowardForums similar rumblings seem to be about. User Johnny5Walker noted that a live chat with a customer service rep told him pretty much the same thing…
Other rumors I’ve heard have the Pre coming to Bell either late June or early July.
Take these rumors for what they are… rumors. I find it hard to believe the Pre would become available up in Canada in the midst of such high-demand and low-stock of the Pre in the US. I could be wrong, but let’s see what happens.
A quickie here for the 
The last time we heard about Bell and Telus (
Canadians should now be able to send and receive money securely with their mobile devices. How? With a new money transfer service called Zoompass of course! The new service has been launched by mobile payment vendor EnStream.
Could it be? Oh, could it be? I know many a Canadian mobile junkie (like myself) have been pining for the 
