Rogers Wireless announced today that they will be selling the HTC Shift in Canada, starting immediately. At $1,599 with a three year contract, it doesn’t come cheap, but this thing is a beast. You can check out a review of the GSM version’s CDMA brother over at Crunchgear.

In an additional announcement that was oddly obscured within the availability announcement, HTC and Rogers announced that they’ll be pushing a software update to customers within three months which will enable GPS connectivity and Telenav navigation. No word yet if the update will be made available for Shift owners outside of the Rogers network.

Via Mobilecrunch

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While I love having food delivered, I can’t stand the ordering process. If I somehow have the number handy, chances are I threw away misplaced the menu at some point. Even if I have the menu and ordering seems to go smoothly, I always wonder if the person on the other end actually wrote down my request to hold the mushrooms. (Mushrooms make me die, and no - they usually don’t write it down.)

CityMint is aiming to do away with all of the annoyances of having food delivered by moving the entire process on the web. You use CityMint’s easy online interface to order from their selection of local restaurants, and they pass on your delivery request. They’re not the first to try on the internet food ordering, but they’re the first to put an emphasis on mobile users.

The service launched this morning with an iPhone web app, and pages optimized for Blackberry/Palm users. You can browse menus, place orders, set special requests for each item (e.g no mushrooms), and review/reorder past orders.

Unfortunately, CityMint’s services are currently only available in San Francisco, offering food from around 80 different restaurants. Hopefully it expands soon - I envision it’d be incredibly popular in major cities and college towns, where food delivery is massive business.

Check it out at m.citymint.com

Via Mobilecrunch

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Some people out there are under the impression that they’re the only ones using text messages in the US. Turns out it’s become more popular than you might think, with 301 billion texts forecasted total for 2008. But the SMS’s time in the sun might be over before the zenith, as mobile IM is set to overtake it, or so the analysts state.

I don’t think that’s going to happen this year, and you can find out why on CrunchGear.

Via Mobilecrunch

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We just got official word that Samsung’s Instinct will hit the shelves at Sprint’s retail stores on June 20th.

Be sure to check out all of the Instinct coverage over at CrunchGear.

Via Mobilecrunch

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After the banners were unfurled at January’s Macworld with their “There’s something in the air” teaser, many hoped Apple would be announcing the addition of WiMax to their laptop line up. When it turned out that the “air” bit was referring to Apple’s Macbook Air, the Apple/WiMax rumor mill grinded to a stop, presumably because everyone was busy checking if they could squeeze their laptop into a manilla envelope.

The rumor milled started a’churnin again after word got out about Intel’s WiMax/WiFi combo card last week, and this job post the guys from 9to5Mac dug up will certainly add to the grind.

From the job post:

3. Knowledge about Bluetooth, 3G, UWB, WiMAX, GPS, Mobile TV and similar wireless technologies and/or experience with wireless module integration into PC system or consumer products is a strong plus

As it’s incredibly unlikely that the 3G iPhone will come rocking WiMax, it looks like Apple’s laptop lineup may be getting the treatment sometime in the near feature, possibly bring Ultra-Wideband and other goodies with it. With WiMax (hopefully) taking off sometime this year, now is the perfect time to get the line up prepped.

Via Mobilecrunch

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AT&T announced this day that it has beat it text messaging record of 64.5 million by generating more than 78 million messages dedicated to this year’s season of American Idol. By texting their votes this season, AT&T’s wireless customers helped crown the new American Idol winner, David Cook.

AT&T introduced text message voting in season 2 of Fox’s hit television show. AT&T’s sponsorship helped put text messaging into the American culture. Back in 2003, when the text messaging voting component was first introduced to American Idol, text messaging was a relatively new technology used almost exclusively by the youth market. Today, test messaging has spread to older people and is almost as popular as voice communication.

“There’s no question that Idol fans are texting in large numbers,” stated David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T’s wireless operations. “We rolled out a lot of great Idol-themed content this season that kept fans engaged and connected. From ‘American Idol’ trivia, special sweepstakes, TXT chats, vote number reminders and, of course, voting, there were plenty
of opportunities for AT&T customers to enhance their favorite Idol moments.”

Via Mobilecrunch

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The Sony Ericsson S500 is a quad-band EDGE slider phone and is a compact 14mm thin. Visual effects are key part of the phone’s design; themes change as time passes, hidden illumination appears to highlight an event and the keypad glows when the slider is opened. The S500 has the full range of mobile entertainment and business features including impressive music and video players, 2 Meg…

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According to the research firm Millward Brown, global awareness of Bluetooth technology is at an all time high. Of those surveyed, 85% recognized that Bluetooth sells wireless items. 65% of consumers in China, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, the U.S and U.K. were aware of the Bluetooth logo and products that use Bluetooth technology.

The items recognized were: Mobile phones (79%); headsets (61%); and personal (56%). In four out of six countries polled, at least 60% claimed to own a Bluetooth device. Of those polled, 78% stated they were willing to pay more for products that include the technology. 57% of respondents stated Bluetooth “makes their lives easier.”

“The rise in popularity of Bluetooth technology over its ten year existence has been breathtaking,” stated Michael Foley, Ph.D., executive director of the Bluetooth SIG, the trade association for Bluetooth technology made up of over 10,000 companies. “There are 2 billion devices with Bluetooth technology in the marketplace now. What started with mobile phones and headsets has spilled over into nearly each industry from gaming and automobiles to clothing and toys. Bluetooth technology is now an expected part of the average consumer’s lifestyle.”

Millward Brown polled around 2,500 consumers in the counties mention above. Ages ranged between 18 and 70. Those polled were heads of households who make the decision on what type of mobile technology to buy.

Millward Brown
Bluetooth

Via Mobilecrunch

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