TORONTO – Rogers’ “mobile revolution” arrived in Canada in dramatic fashion on Tuesday.
The HTC Dream and Magic smart phones, ensconced in a silver briefcase carefully carried and unlocked by Canadian actor Joshua Jackson, made their debut amidst theatrical lighting, music, and camera flashes from the media types in attendance at the Rogers campus in downtown Toronto.
"The revolution is here – with Rogers being the first and only wireless carrier to bring the Android experience to Canada," said Rogers Wireless SVP and CMO John Boyton, after being handed the phones by Jackson on stage.
Both Android powered smart phones, which are available in stores immediately, will retail for $149.99 on a three year voice and data plan with a minimum combined monthly service fee of $45. Rogers is offering introductory pricing of $30 for 6GB data plan for these devices through July 1, 2009.
Calling 2009 “a landmark year for wireless”, Boynton said that the launch makes Rogers the “first and only wireless carrier” in the world to offer both devices at the same time.
The HTC Dream and HTC Magic feature built-in integration with many of Google’s popular mobile services, such as Google Search, Google Maps, Google Latitude and Gmail.
At a product demo after the announcement, the phones appeared relatively comparable. The Dream features a touch sensitive screen navigation and a slide-out, five-row QWERTY keyboard, and video capabilities including MP4 SP, H.263, H.264, video capture, and video and/or audio streaming capabilities.
The Magic has a touchscreen with vibe feedback on a QWERTY keyboard, and its video capabilities include MP4, 3GP, video capture, and streaming of video and/or audio.
Both are WiFi and Bluetooth compliant with a built-in GPS device, contain a 3.2 MP camera, offer Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, direct push e-mail and five external POP3/IMAP accounts. The Dream has power for up to 400 minutes of talk-time for GSM, while the Magic will power up to 450 minutes.
Using Rogers’ 3.5G, 7.2 Mbps high-speed packet access network, users can also access the Android Market, an open marketplace for applications which currently features more than 3,200 different apps available for download.
Boynton said that the demand for “a true mobile Internet experience, when and where a consumer wants it” has been growing steadily in Canada, and Rogers Wireless had about 30,000 visitors to its Android microsite since announcing the launch of the phones last month.
And as for Jackson’s role in the day’s proceedings? The affable star of television’s Fringe and the Canadian movie One Week is a self professed “technology geek”. While politely deflecting questions about his love life from the likes of ET Canada, Jackson confessed to being a fan of both phones, calling them “cutting edge” and that they offer “the functionality of a desk top in my hand” while allowing him to keep up with friends during his busy shooting schedule.
But don’t expect to follow the Vancouver-born actor on Twitter anytime soon. Jackson said that e-mail and text are enough for him.
“There has to be a time in your life when you turn off”, he said, under the watchful eye of Boynton at the media scrum. “Otherwise (technology) just becomes an electronic leash”.
