Bell’s Powerful HSPA network arrives in Manitoba

Bell is now available to the Manitoba market!  Customers are now able to activate on Bell’s powerful HSPA (4G) network, with access to exclusive and popular devices from the best brands in the world and amazing on device content.

Phase 1 - In phase 1 of the Manitoba network launch, Bell Mobility will offer clients the best HSPA products and services in more than 69% of the Manitoba market. 

Phase 2 - Bell is currently planning the phase 2 of the network expansion, which will increase coverage to over 74% of the Manitoba market by expanding coverage to Brandon, Manitoba.

There are some markets outside of the HSPA Coverage in Manitoba where Bell is not yet able to sell or activate HSPA devices, or port-in clients from other carriers.

·         At launch, it is critical that you refer to all of the sales tools and maps that are provided to ensure an excellent client experience.

·         Bell has plans to continue to expand the HSPA network over time, and strives to provide the largest wireless network in the province.

·         While a Bell client will enjoy access to a powerful network offering 4G speeds while in the Bell network coverage, service outside of the network will cease until the client returns to the Bell network.  As a result :

o    Calls will not be connected;

o    Data & SMS will not be available. 

o    911 will continue to be available as long as the client is in coverage of other wireless providers.

·         At present, roaming outside of the Bell HSPA network in Manitoba is not available to Bell clients.  This means that wireless service is limited to the network coverage area as defined in the map shown below. 

·         Always refer to www.bell.ca/coverage for details and updates to coverage.

If a client comes into your store and wants to activate a Manitoba number; before processing an activation, ensure that the customer is eligible to activate with a local Manitoba number

Important:

·         Do not begin processing orders before checking Prairies HSPA Markets - REF1103 list list in order to avoid unnecessary credit checks for the client and the loss of the client’s original phone number if ported in error.

·         Mobile Number Selection will offer both CDMA and HSPA numbers as displayed below.  Only select HSPA numbers for Bell activations.

·         NEVER use CDMA numbers for Bell activations in Manitoba. 

Bell launched 4G LTE speeds of up to 150 Mbps now in Toronto

Bell launched an enhanced 4G LTE network capable of peak speeds up to 150 Mbps in the Kitchener-Cambridge area in Ontario. On July 31, these speeds will be available in Toronto, ON.

This LTE network enhancement provides the fastest network download speeds, and is the world’s most advanced network technology available.

Compatible devices:

This enhanced network is available on the:

·         4G LTE Sierra Wireless U330 Turbo Stick, and the

·         4G LTE Sierra Wireless 763 Turbo Hotspot, launching July 31.

Customers on all other 4G LTE devices are unable to access the enhanced 4G LTE network.  However, they can still access 4G LTE speeds of up to 75 Mbps.

Speeds on compatible devices:

Future devices: This enhancement allows for peak speeds of up to 150 Mbps on future devices that are capable of reaching these speeds.

Current devices: Devices compatible with the enhanced 4G LTE network offer peak speeds of up to 100 Mbps (with expected average speeds of 18-40 Mbps) while in an enhanced coverage area.

·         Outside the enhanced 4G LTE coverage area, devices will “fall back” to 4G LTE speeds of up to 75 Mbps. 

·         Where 4G LTE is unavailable, devices “fall back” to 4G HSPA+ speeds of up to 42 Mbps or 21 Mbps (depending on device specifications).

As devices evolve to support peak speeds of up to 150 Mbps, customers will be able to take advantage of the full potential of this network enhancement.

·         This enhanced 4G LTE network is available in Toronto and  the Kitchener-Cambridge area of Southern Ontario.

·         For a full list of 4G LTE coverage areas, see the communications titled “4G LTE network coverage”.

·         Check bell.ca/coverage for the most up-to-date coverage details. 

Apple buys Samsung's mobile security supplier AuthenTec for $356m

Apple Inc has agreed to buy AuthenTec Inc for $8.00 per share, the maker of fingerprint sensor chips used in personal computers said, in a deal valued at about $356 million.

AuthenTec makes security software and chips for mobile phones that it licenses to companies such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. It also produces chips for fingerprint recognition and near-field communication (NFC).

Melbourne, Florida-based Authentec disclosed the deal in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Based on Thursday's closing price $5.07, the offer represents a premium of 58 percent for AuthenTec's shares.

AuthenTec, which also counts Lenovo Group Ltd, Fujitsu Ltd and Dell Inc as customers, has annual revenue of about $70 million.

Piper Jaffray advised in the deal, the company said.

Bell launched new text message feature

New $5 unlimited international text messaging feature 
Bell clients can now text anywhere in the world from Canada for just $5 per month. 

Apple iPhone 5 Launch

Sales of the Apple’s iPhone 4S are winding down: with the coming of the iPhone 5 and Samsung hits iPhone sales

Get ready for the mother of all product launches.

That was the message earlier this week from the top brass at Apple. Sales of the iPhone 4S are winding down: with the coming of the iPhone 5, Steve Jobs’ heirs are about to face their first real test.

Even by Apple’s own vaunted standards, this is shaping up to be a product launch for the ages. It is hard to overstate the significance of this single gadget to the world’s most valuable company. If sales in the fourth quarter of this year manage even the relatively modest 20 per cent growth that passes for a down quarter at Apple these days then the iPhone 5, which is expected to debut in the autumn, would notch up nearly $30bn in sales in the final three months of this year.

To put things in perspective: that is as much as the entire portfolio of IBM, one of the biggest tech companies in the world, generated in sales during last year’s fourth quarter, which is always Big Blue’s strongest period of the year.

The volatility that has crept into the iPhone sales cycle, revealed in the company’s latest quarterly figures on Tuesday, shows just how challenging it has become to manage the world’s most successful consumer product. iPhone revenues jumped by 120 per cent in the final months of last year after the device was launched, eased back 7 per cent in the next quarter, and have now slumped nearly 30 per cent. That the latest sales drop equates to more than $6bn gives a sense of how much of a rollercoaster the iPhone product cycle has become.

The iPhone’s main selling point has never lain in having industry-leading tech specs, but by making relatively few changes to the last iPhone, there is now a risk that Apple will be perceived to be playing catch-up. Smartphone screen sizes have crept up and Samsung has consciously positioned itself as the tech leader in the category.

The inbuilt advantage that comes with the App Store is still significant, but Apple faces a challenge in turning heads by inventing new things to do with each new generation of the iPhone. The supposed “killer apps” shown with the past two versions – FaceTime video conferencing and the Siri question-and-answer function – have failed to make the leap from gimmick to essential utility. The new Apple maps service will be an essential ingredient of future iPhones, but this will hardly be seen as a differentiator.

Pulling off the company’s biggest-ever product launch is only one part of the balancing act that Tim Cook and the rest of the tech industry’s highest rated management team face this autumn.

The second challenge will be to prove that they can expand the market for both the iPhone and iPad and are not destined to be caught in the trap of high prices. That will mean hitting lower price points without crushing their company’s profit margins.

This is starting to make Wall Street uneasy. From 47.4 per cent in the first three months of this year, Apple is now predicting that its gross margin will drop to 38.5 per cent in the current quarter, about the level it hit two years ago. Average selling prices for both the iPhone and iPad edged down by about 4 per cent in the latest quarter. As growth shifts to the emerging markets and to new opportunities in the developed world, such as the education market, pricing decisions are starting to loom large.

The strategy Apple has chosen is very different from the one it pursued with the iPod. That device became a textbook case of effective market segmentation, as the Mini and Nano enabled it to dominate all parts of the market.

With the iPhone and iPad it has taken a different tack, holding out against diluting the products: instead, it has shaved something off the price of older models. Meanwhile, it is locked in a power battle with the real customers for the iPhone – the mobile carriers who subsidise the device in most parts of the world – to prevent a faster erosion of its prices.

The challenge for Apple has been to manage all this without leaving a pricing umbrella that allows rivals to steal in and take a large slice of the expanding market. Enter the latest challenger: Google’s new 7-inch tablet, the Nexus 7. While the device has drawn glowing reviews for its impressive hardware, the real disruption lies in its price; at $199 in the US, it costs only half as much as the cut-price version of the older iPad.

The time is fast approaching for Mr Cook to prove that his company deserves its place at the head of the new touchscreen computing and smartphone industry. As always with Apple, the hyperbole is likely to be deafening.