Posts Tagged ‘telus’

I purchased the Motrola Milestone (Android Phone) from Telus pretty much the day it was available in Canada. Why? Well, I get a big kick out of being different. Practically everyone I know owns an iPhone and so frankly, it’s become old – past it’s prime.

It’s a great phone and I love the Android Operating system. I’m not going to talk about why you should choose Android over the iPhone… there are lots of blog posts on that. However, what I will say is that I have yet to find one unique point about Android that is noteworthy. Sure, it’s an open source operating system and Apple is all about closed systems – but, does the average consumer really care? When the iPhone first came out, it was different – really different – people talked about it.

As an early adopter that loves to talk to others about new gadgets, I can’t think of a single major differentiating factor to sell Android to my friends. In Seth Godin terminology, I can’t point out the Purple Cow. I am still stuck with the old 2.01 version of Android, and I hear that there are some cool things coming out in the next version but I really hope that the Android guys are thinking about building that one major differentiating factor that the iPhone won’t have. In order to help the concept become truly viral, early adopters need something to talk about, plain and simple.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) was developed by the United States Department of Defence and is now managed by the US Air Force and is readily available for anyone to use free of charge. Yes, free of charge. As a matter of fact, just about anyone could buy a GPS receiver and build a primitive navigation system to tell them where they are in the world (especially with cool services such as Google Maps that have an API). Did you know, for example, that when you buy a handheld GPS navigation system that you don’t have to pay a monthly/yearly fee to continue to make use of the Global Positioning System that the US Air Force so kindly maintains? Interesting indeed.

I have a Blackberry Curve from Telus that conveniently comes with a GPS chip that can be enabled with extra software. In other words, there is a lock of sorts on the use of GPS until you get Telus to unlock the service for you (based on my understanding). Somewhat dissapointing since the last Blackberry device that I owned did not have such a lock (the World Edition). After doing a quick search on the topic, it seems that people have discovered some ways around this unfair lock [keeping in mind that iPhones come with GPS  navigation out of the box]:  http://supportforums.blackberry.com/rim/board/message?board.id=8300&message.id=2119

Telus Logo

I’ve been considering switching to Rogers to be able to get the new iPhone. I called Telus to see what it would cost if I canceled my plan. I’m only 1 year into my 3 year contract and so it’ll cost me $500. In other words, getting the new iPhone would cost me $200 (cost of iPhone) + $500 (cancellation fee from Telus) = $700. I’ll be honest, I did consider it for a split second…

Also, it seems that Telus will not be getting the Blackberry Bold. But, the representative who I spoke to did tell me that the HTC Diamond and the Blackberry Thunder will be coming to Telus (but then again, who knows…).

Aydin.

After hearing all of the ads on the radio from Telus, I called them to see what all the commotion was about and ended up upgrading my plan… yes, yes, I know, again
So, what did I get?

$30/month Calling Plan:
150 daytime minutes + unlimited incoming calls + unlimited nights& weekends.
150 minutes is really all I need since I use http://www.bOKnow.com to get as many extra minutes I want to anywhere in North America for about 3 cent/minute. bOKnow also covers my calling needs to Europe with their international rates.

Unlimited Data Plan – $45
Unlimited Web Surfing (which also means unlimited Facebook ) + Unlimited Text Messaging + VoiceMail + CallerID + Unlimited Email

What’s the Catch?
Well, apparently, when they say “unlimited web surfing”, that doesn’t include “over-the-air downloads”… in other words, if you want to download the facebook/gmail application onto your blackberry, you’ll be charged… or at least that’s what the customer rep told me on the phone… if I’m wrong about this one, let me know After I hung up the phone with the customer rep, I also started wondering if this “unlimited email” actually included downloading attachments… not sure about this… if anyone does know, please leave a comment…

Does Unlimited Data mean the iPhone is coming?
According to Alec, Ottawa’s celebrity blogger, no

Here is the Table from Telus: (click on image to see it in full)

Aydin.

Posted By: Aydin Mirzaee

Telus sent me a text message saying that they would be giving me free local calling on my birthday. For the first split second I was really happy. Then I remembered that my birthday was on a Saturday this year… because I already had unlimited calling on weekends, their “generous” offer wasn’t really all that generous.

Telus, if you’d like to impress me for my next birthday, give me free local and long distance calls… this way, weekend or not, I’ll benefit from the offer…
In the meanwhile, I’ll continue using bOK to save on long distance and international calls

Aydin.

Posted By: Aydin Mirzaee