Rogers has done a little price-chopping on the HTC Dream and Magic… much sooner than I ever could have guessed. The Rogers HTC Dream and HTC Magic can now be picked up for only $99.99 on a 3-year contract, a drop of $50 from the original $149.99 price tag.

Is this a sign of weak sales and poor performance for the 2 first Android-powered handsets in Canada? Out of curiosity, I popped into a Rogers (NYSE: RCI) store yesterday, and asked how the Magic and Dream devices were selling… the answer from everyone in the store was a clear and concise ‘Terrible… we’re not selling many’. When questioned further, staffers pointed out to me that the current ‘hot’ device was clearly the iPhone 3GS. In fact, at this particular Rogers location, when the iPhone 3GS went on sale, a lineup ‘larger than we’ve ever seen’ formed outside of the store in hopes of nabbing a 3GS.

Hopefully for Rogers’ sake the price drop will lure in a few more customers. $99.99 seems like a great price to me (of course, I’d prefer FREE). Might be tough though… Living and working in Canada as I do, I can tell you this… Canada is clearly BlackBerry country… With the iPhone making gains fast and furious.

[Via: BGR]

Earlier today a few reports noted that T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) USA was offering the G1 for only $49.99. While a price drop makes sense, I thought a drop from $149.99 to $49.99 seemed just a little bit drastic. Sure enough, later this evening it seems as though initial reports may have jumped the gun. The $49.99 pricing must have been a blip or error via the T-Mobile site. Or something. Perhaps someone hit the ‘price drop’ button over at T-Mobile by mistake. I bet it was Catherine Zeta-Jones snooping around headquarters.

Whatever the case at the moment, I think it would be safe to assume we’ll see a price drop on the G1 once the myTouch 3G drops. A price drop to $49.99?… I kind of doubt that, but I’ve been wrong before. I guess my question is this… When the myTouch 3G is finally released, how much do you think you’ll be able to snap up a G1 for? Free? $49.99? $99.99? Speculation is fun. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Here it is. The T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) announcement we were all waiting for today. It’s official. The T-Mobile myTouch 3G is coming to us via an August release date, with pre-orders starting on July 8th. The device will run you $199.99 on a 2-year term, and will be available in white, merlot (red), and black. You can check out the myTouch 3G mini site for more information and a countdown timer that ticks down the time until pre-orders begin.

The myTouch 3G is the second Android-powered device to hit T-Mobile. It features an improved form factor in comparison to the G1 (in my opinion), a full QWERTY touchscreen keyboard (yep, Android 1.5 is on board), a 3.2 MP camera, plus tight integration with a bunch of Google (NSDQ: GOOG) apps including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail and more. This is all to be expected considering the device is a ‘Google Experience’ unit.

One important note about the myTouch 3G on T-Mo… is fact that it appears to have Exchange support as well. This is a first for Android in the US, and definitely a first for a ‘Google Experience’ device. Very interesting.

Again, for more information hit up the myTouch 3G mini-site and poke around.

[Via: Engadget]

Rumours abound as always - and this one says that the Huawei U8230 will be launching later this year on T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) UK, and will be called the G1 Touch - so says Talk Android.

It would appear to be a great bit of kit, with a 3.5″ display, 3.2MP camera, and running on a Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) chipset. If the information is correct, then a 1500mAH battery will be on board, which should give is a decent runtime (for comparison, the iPhone battery weighs in around 1300mAH).

I have to say I really like the look of this phone - and if it ends up coming out, I might strongly consider getting a T-Mobile contract to get a lil’ Android-gadget love!

[Story and Image via: Talk Android]

Latest in the rumor mill surrounding the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G is a leak on the announcement date. The WSJ has reported that T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) will make the announcement next week, with the device becoming available sometime ‘this summer’. But we already knew that, right? All we can hope for is clear detail on pricing and launch date… Keep your fingers crossed.

Earlier in the month we had heard that the MyTouch 3G may be coming to us before the end of June. Looks like that was all smoke and mirrors.

In the meantime, you can always check out the MyTouch 3G Box Art or the leaked photos of the MyTouch 3G with T-Mobile branding. That might tide you over for a few minutes, right?

[Via: AndroidCentral]

We all know the T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) myTouch 3G is coming… But here’s a little more fuel to throw on the fire. The first T-Mobile branded images of the upcoming myTouch 3G have leaked out. The images come via AndroidForums where a user posted them. Apparently the snaps were taken by someone that was handed the phone by someone at Google (NSDQ: GOOG).

In case you missed it, box shots had leaked out earlier that revealed 3 colors for the upcoming myTouch 3G (merlot, white and black). Rumors that the myTouch 3G may launch before the end of the month are certainly looking more and more feasible.

Thanks David!

Getting back to some Android news, remember those leaked box shots of the T-Mobile myTouch 3G? We speculated that we should hear more details about launch date… because when leaked shots of either a branded device or packaging comes out, you know the device has got to be prepped and ready to go… at least in most cases.

True to form, TmoNews is reporting that the myTouch 3G will launch sometime this month. That’s right, we’re almost half way through the month of June, so that leaves a little over 15 days before the latest Android entry is due to hit us. The quick launch could very well be due to the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre and iPhone 3GS launches. T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) no doubt wants to get involved in this fray sooner than later.

If you had the choice, what would YOU pick? The Palm Pre, the iPhone 3GS, or the T-Mobile myTouch 3G?

A tasty tidbit of Canadian Android news for you all this morning. Seems as though the HTC Magic and Dream will both come out-of-the-box with Exchange support. How come? Well, the story is a little long-winded but I’ll try and condense it down for you.

The Dream and Magic on Rogers (NYSE: RCI) will not feature the Google (NSDQ: GOOG) logo on the back and become a ‘Google Experience’ phone. Such devices (the G1) with Google branding on the back must to adhere to a certain set of standards. Such standards currently do not allow for Exchange support. Others Android devices with no Google branding are free to tweak up Android as they choose. Hopefully that makes some sense

Long story short, no Google branding on the upcoming Android devices from Rogers… But there will be Exchange support. If you were really hoping to see the Google logo on the back of your device, you may want to check eBay for an unlocked Dream or Magic. Might be one of the few ways you can get Google logo goodness north of the border

[AndroidCentral via Engadget]

T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) G1 owners have been patiently waiting for T-Mobile to roll-out the Android OS 1.5 update, known as “Cupcake,” through over-the-air installations. Alas, we’ll all be waiting until at least next month before T-Mo gets the eagerly-anticipated Android OS 1.5 “Cupcake” update to the entire US. But, that doesn’t mean you have to wait on T-Mobile to get your hands on the new Android OS. The Android OS 1.5 ROM is now available through the Android Code website as a free download - and with a little elbow-grease, anyone can force-update their G1 without T-Mobile’s help.

With video-recording, homescreen widget support, stereo bluetooth and an on-screen keyboard, the Android Cupcake update is worth getting your hands on. For those of you already familiar with force-updating your G1, go ahead and do your thing (the steps are the same as we’ve outlined previously). Follow these instructions to force-update your G1 to Android OS 1.5 “Cupcake” -

1. Download the signed-kila-ota-xxxx.xxxx.zip update file
2. Rename “signed-kila-ota-xxxx.xxxx.zip” to “update.zip”
3. Copy update.zip to a freshly formatted microSD card (copy it to root)
4. Reboot and flash your G1 with the new Cupcake firmware
   • Disconnect your T-Mobile G1 from your computer if you used the data cable to access the microSD card
   • Turn off the handset by holding down the “Power” button
   • Turn it back on while holding down the “Power” (End Call) and “Home” buttons
   • When you see “Triangle” icon, open the keyboard and press “Alt” and “L” simultaneously
   • When you see some yellow text, press “Alt” and “S” simultaneously
   • Follow the on-screen instructions
   • Press “Home” and “Back” buttons simultaneously when you’re done and ready to reboot
   • The G1 will reboot as it does its thing - let it do so.
5. Enjoy Cupcake with on-screen keyboard and stereo Bluetooth support!

[Via: Phandroid]

Canadians are no doubt excited (well, some of us anyway) about the upcoming launch of the Android-Powered HTC Dream and Magic on June 2nd. As expected, news is now coming out that the Android Market should be available via Rogers (NYSE: RCI) Wireless as well. Groovy… This means once all of my Canadian friends have their Dream or Magic in-hand, the Android Market will be open and waiting for them.

No official launch dates for the Android Market were released by Rogers, all that I’ve read so far is the following statement from Rogers Senior VP and CMO John Boynton:

“Exclusively available through Rogers Wireless in Canada, the leading-edge Android-powered HTC Dream and HTC Magic will allow consumers to fully personalize their handsets with an expansive choice of apps in Android Market, when they launch in June.”

Reading that, one could only conclude the App Market will be good to go June 2nd. We’ll see. Rogers is due to release more details in the near future. I’ll stay on top of this one.

[Via: Cellular-News]