My friend Hugo Miller, over at Bloomberg wrote this well-balanced article on RIM. The crux of the article is that RIM can't claim the top vendor status for smartphones in Canada anymore. According to IDC and Bloomberg data, Apple shipped 2.85 million units in Canada last year, while RIM shipped only 2.08 million units.

I have to admit that I love reading Hugo's articles because he's one of the journalists that works hard to get a good story. He presents the facts without kicking a company while they're down, as so many others seem to do.

While the headline of the story is clearly about RIM's loss of the top spot in Canada, there are some interesting data points that surprised me. For example, according to Interbrand's October 2011 ranking, RIM ranks 54th in a study of the world's top 100 brands. They're down only two positions from the year before. Only two positions? You'd think from all the horrible press RIM is getting that they wouldn't even make the top 100 anymore. Apparently that's not the case. Perhaps the fact that RIM is still growing its subscriber base (at a decent clip, too) is helping them remain one of the world's top brands.

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The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has a requirement to procure 500 RIM's "Playbook" tablets with the option to procure an additional 500 units. It is proposed to issue a contract to Research In Motion (RIM) or its designated reseller.

It's always nice to see a bit of positive news for Research In Motion and the BlackBerry PlayBook, since the majority of it these days seems to be all doom and gloom. While 500 or 1000 PlayBooks isn't a huge number, it's still a step in the right direction. You can read all of the fine details about the purchase at the source link below, and thanks to everyone that sent this in!

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Source: Merx

If you happen to live in one of the areas covered by WIND Mobile in Canada and are looking for a new BlackBerry -- you'll soon have quite a bit of selection to choose from. The above roadmap lays out plans for the BlackBerry Bold 9900, BlackBerry Torch 9810 and the yet to be officially announced BlackBerry Bold 9790. If you look carefully though, the Bold 9790 is the only device listed that lacks the full specs. The roadmap doesn't offer any details of when or what they'll cost upon arrival but we're expecting an official announcement soon.

Source: The Cellular Guru

What's that you say? RIM voted the most attractive employer in Canada by the folks at Randstad? Yes, it's true -- the people in Canada agree that RIM is the most attractive employer and would love to get their hands on a job at RIM. Sure, you can take the Negative Nancy approach on this topic and say "Oh, great. I would definitely want to work for an employer that just laid a whole bunch of people off!", or you can understand that change can lead to good things, and many of us have wanted to see change for quite some time.

Randstad Canada, a provider of human-resources services, said RIM was ranked No. 1 for its work atmosphere, career advancement, training, management, salary and job content.

I'm not sure about you, but to me those are some pretty important characteristics in a job that I am looking to rely on to support my family. Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments, then and jump into the forums for further discussion.

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Just the other day we covered WIND Mobile and gave the run down of their services. Today, launch day for WIND Mobile, we have learned even more about how they plan on operating and the changes they are gonna bring to the Canadian wireless market. Rate plans are now available for all to see and well, they are quite impressive when placed alongside those of the big 3 in Canada.

Starting at $15 and going up to $45 for Unlimited Nationwide calling WIND seems poised nicely to make their mark against others. Of course, we cannot forget data plans either considering WIND has launched with the BlackBerry Bold 9700 ($450 vs Rogers $599 no contract price), Data Cards and Windows Mobile devices. Data plans start at $15 and go all the way up to $55 for Unlimted Data card usage (BlackBerry Plans stop at $35 for Unlimited) WIND does have a fair usage statement as well, they have a 5GB cap but will NOT cut you off or charge you more for exceeding that 5GB they just claim they will throttle your speeds so as to not interfere with their quality of service for others. Not bad, glad to see they were upfront about it.

All in all, things are already looking great for WIND. Take under consideration the fact the influx of traffic after launch to their site took some parts offline. I think it's safe to say there is a great interest in WIND Mobile. No contracts, First month of service free, Nationwide calling and cheaper non contracted devices then other carriers. Yes, we think WIND Mobile will be just fine. Congrats go out to them on their launch.

• View More Rate Plans, Devices And Information Via The WIND Mobile Site >>
• Check Out The WIND Mobile Launch Announcement Video On Youtube>>
  

The BlackBerry Curve 8530 is making its way across to all the CDMA carriers out there. This time, the folks over at MobileSyrup got the goods on the Bell Mobility in Canada release of the latest curve generation. No pricing or details at this time but according to the post Bell customers will be able to grab the BlackBerry Curve 8530 smartphone on December 26th. Odd day for a launch, boxing day and all but hey I do know a lot of people who wait till right after Christmas to buy their goodies simply based on the deals you can get.

• Read The CrackBerry Hands On Review Of The BlackBerry Curve 8530 >>

WIND Mobile has been stirring up quite a fuss in the wireless market for Canada as of late. From their initial announcement of spending $442 Million in the wireless spectrum (1700mHz) auction to the most recent troubles they have had with the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission WIND Mobile and their parent company Globalive Wireless Management Corp. has customers excited.

After having the federal government overrule the CRTC, WIND Mobile is getting the last little bits in place for their launch, which is rumored to be today (we'll see if that pans out). Store locations have been set up and they have a recently announced deal with BlockBuster to sell service through in-store kiosks. Rate plans are still not fully available (although, previously leaked) but devices are ready to roll out, including what we all care about... BlackBerry smartphones. Heading up the pack in that area will be the BlackBerry Bold 9700. When it comes to device pricing, we already know WIND will be offering no contracts but that comes at the cost of higher then what were are used to paying for equipment. Sure, they will be discounted a little but it'll be similar to buying a device off contract from any of the big three carriers.

WIND Mobile will be available in Calgary and Toronto first going off and has their own 3G network but makes use of Rogers EDGE services for a "fallback" option. Something Bell and TELUS cannot do which does give WIND a slight advantage when it launches, which is rumored to be tomorrow. WIND of course will be expanding to other areas but one sour point at this time is Quebec. Currently, no service is being offered in Quebec due to fact WIND was beat out on spectrum pricing there. A partner would be needed to reach that area, which will at some point hopefully change. Exciting times for the Canadian wireless market as we welcome a new carrier and hopefully some great changes ahead for consumers.

• To Learn More About WIND Mobile Check Out Their Site >>