Press Release

CIBC and Rogers Unveil the Future of Mobile Payments in Canada

TORONTO, May 15, 2012 - CIBC and Rogers Communications today announced an agreement to launch Canada's first joint mobile payment solution, allowing Canadians to pay with their CIBC credit card at the checkout counter using their Rogers "Near Field Communications" (NFC) enabled smartphone. Beginning later this year, customers will be able to use this payment capability at merchants across Canada where contactless credit card payments are accepted.

This announcement represents the first time a bank and a wireless carrier have joined forces to offer a commercially available mobile payments solution to Canadians that leverages the secure SIM card inside an NFC-enabled Rogers smartphone. This new solution aligns to guidelines announced yesterday by the Canadian Bankers Association for mobile payments in Canada, as well as those developed by respected international associations such as the GSM Association (GSMA), the association of mobile operators and related companies dedicated to standardizing and supporting GSM technology.

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Rogers Wireless has officially released OS 7.1.0.391 for the BlackBerry Bold 9900. While this is an official release, remember to use caution when updating your device. If you need help along the way, you can head into our help forums or check out some of our BlackBerry 101 articles including How to Install or Upgrade to a new OS. If you do install this OS, hit up the forums thread below for findings, fixes and more discussion.

Download OS 7.1.0.391 for the Bold 9900
Discuss more in the forums

If you're looking to pick up a new BlackBerry on the cheap but don't really want to grab a basic black version, the Curve 9360 on Rogers now comes in red. Previously, Rogers released the white and black versions but at some point recently they went ahead and added the red version to the mix. Personally, I go out of my way to not buy black devices any more so having a choice in colors is always great.

We reviewed the BlackBerry Curve 9360 when it first came out, and came away pleasantly surprised with its offerings. Right now, Rogers has the BlackBerry Curve 9360 available for only $.01 with a new three-year contract, nice price if you're looking for a cost effective device.

Learn more at Rogers

Since the release of BBM Music we've not really heard a whole lot from RIM on how the uptake of the service has gone but they're still moving forward with promotions to get it out to a wider audience it seems. A new promotion for the service is happening right now for current Rogers customers where if you download BBM Music from February 1st up until March 30th, you'll get 6 months of the service for free.

A few caveats to keep in mind, the promo is for new and existing users but only if you're still under your trial term -- if you're beyond that, it won't work. Basically, you're just extending the trial. With that cleared up, if you've yet to try out BBM Music and are on Rogers, now is a great time to give it a go. Thanks, John!

More information/download of BBM Music

If you have a BlackBerry or Android device on Rogers, and felt left out of the convenience that is visual voice mail, you can now join the ranks of iPhone users that have had it for quite some time now on the same carrier. Yes, that's right. Rogers is going to be offering the service to its customers with BlackBerry smartphones -- except, only the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and Torch 9800 will be supported at launch. It is rumored that more devices will be added after the launch, but seeing how long it took for Rogers to release visual voice mail for BlackBerry in the first place, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting.

The service will be accessible through an app called Visual Voicemail Plus, and features an extra function that the iPhone version does not: the ability to save your messages indefinitely. The service is said to cost the same as non-visual enhanced voicemail and is set to launch in February.

Source: Technapedia via Android Central

It looks like Rogers is the first out of the gate as the BlackBerry Bold 9790 is now available for purchase from their site. The Bold 9790 is sporting a 5MP camera, 1GHz processor, QWERTY keyboard and touchscreen. While the big seller is the BlackBerry Bold 9900, some may prefer the smaller size of the Bold 9790. You can pick one up now for $99.99 on a 3-year plan, $349.99 2-year, $399 1-year or $449.99 off-term. We're not sure if the device is available in stores just yet, so if you come across one (or pick on up online) be sure to let us know in the comments!

Buy the BlackBerry Bold 9790 from Rogers

The BlackBerry Bold 9790 should be hitting Rogers in the next week or two (if all goes as planned). Rogers has made no official mention of the release or the pricing, but this launch flyer has all the details. The Bold 9790 will run you $399 on a 1-year term, $349.99 2-year, $299.99 3-year and $449.99 outright. There is also a 3-year promo price of $99.99 which could make for some great sales. Expect more on the Bold 9790 from Rogers in the next few days.

Source: MobileSyrup

Joining the few other carriers that already have the device, Rogers has put the White BlackBerry Bold 9900 up for sale on their website. As expected, no price change came along with the new color so it's still set at $170 on a new 3-year contract but if you prefer your BlackBerry in white, then by all means -- go get yourself one, before Kevin buys them all.Plus, if the Bold 9900 isn't your thing -- the Curve 9360 is also available now in white.

More information available at Rogers

Carriers across Canada are starting to announce when they'll be releasing the newly announced BlackBerry Bold 9790. Yesterday Rogers and TELUS both dropped some information, with Rogers being a bit cryptic and only saying it will be out "just in time for the holiday gift-giving season". TELUS went ahead and posted their pricing info for the Bold, but no date for release yet. You'll be able to buy the 9790 with no contract for $479, or as low as $129 on a 3-year contract with a plan of at least $50.

As for the all touchscreen BlackBerry Curve 9380, TELUS announced pricing coming in at $369.99 off contract or as low as $49.99 with a 3-year contract. Bell threw out that they will be releasing the 9380 on November 28th, but hasn't let any pricing info out as of yet. I'm sure in the near future we'll be finding out a lot more specific information regarding the availability of these new BlackBerry smartphones. Are you planning on picking up either the Bold 9790 or Curve 9380? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: TELUS, Rogers and MobileSyrup

Looks as though Rogers is gearing up on devices for the holidays. As shown in the image above they're getting set to release the BlackBerry Bold 9900 in white along with the BlackBerry Bold 9790 that has already been leaked oh so many times now. No word on pricing for the Bold 9790 as of yet but the white Bold 9900 should remain the same as it is now -- if not further discounted for some holidays sales.

Source: MobileSyrup

It looks like Rogers is ready to go with the release of the BlackBerry Curve 9360 in white. These dummy units have started arriving in stores and are looking mighty fine. I'm sure many will be happy to get their hands on this one when it hits stores. The release is said to be scheduled for November 15th and carry a $49.99 price tag with 3-year contract (or $349.99 outright). Are you a Rogers customer that plans to pick up the Curve 9360 in white? Let us know in the comments -- keep reading for more images.

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Rogers seems to this every year as we get closer to Christmas. So much so that it almost feels like a tradition. RIM releases some new devices, then as the snow starts to fly -- Rogers begins rolling them out in white. This year doesn't appear to be any exception to that as the BlackBerry Curve 9360, in the image above will be landing at Rogers in white soon. No exact date has been pegged as of yet, and pricing isn't expected to see a change but it is coming. Now, one has to wonder if the white BlackBerry Bold 9900 will be making an appearance as well.

Source: Mobile Syrup

Rogers launched LTE service in Ottawa back in July, and today they rolled it out in three more cities including Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Of course, there are no LTE BlackBerry Smartphones available yet, but earlier this week I did post an article suggesting the first QNX BlackBerry SuperPhone will support LTE. Now I just need RIM to follow through with that and for Rogers to add Winnipeg to the list of cities with LTE service and I'll be a happy CrackBerry addict. And if you're reading this and scratching your head asking yourself what is LTE? be sure to check out this post in the CrackBerry forums which explains it well.

Question of the Day: How important a roll will LTE support play to you in your next smartphone purchase assuming you live in an arera/are on a carrier where it's supported? 

Source: Rogers via Android Central

Much in the same fashion as Staples business customers, Rogers employees can now grab a BlackBerry PlayBook at a pretty sweet discount. Emails were sent out earlier to employees letting them know that they can now grab a new PlayBook for as little as $249.99 for the 16GB version. The 32GB and 64GB versions are $349 and $399 respectively. If you work for Rogers and don't have a PlayBook, this is really too good of a deal to pass up. Unfortunately is doesn't look like the average Joe can grab one at this price (that we can see anyway), but here's to hoping we seem some other discounts/sales soon for those looking to pickup a new PlayBook.

left: Rogers Bold 9900 - $549.99; right: Telus Bold 9900 - $629.99 - same phone, different price

I'm going to be honest here. When it comes to smartphone pricing, I've never been one to pay close attention. I just assume I'm always getting ripped off and paying too much for the damn phone. And when signing a contract, it seems a bit silly to me to worry about the up front cost as where the carrier is making their big $$ is through the following 12/24/36 months as I pay my stupidly expensive bills. Whether it's a free phone or $199 phone up front, I'm still paying thousands over the life of the contract - the up front cost is almost insignificant. I'd rather pay a bit more now to get the phone I want rather than save $50 or $100 and still be stuck paying a big bill each month for some phone I don't like nearly as much.

So for the most part, and because I buy so many phones as I'm switching devices all the time, I pretty much buy all my BlackBerry Smartphones off contract. And while I think people buying on-contract phones are pretty concious of pricing and how it may differ between carriers, I'm not sure the same is always true for people when they buy phones at full cost. And people should pay attention to this, as it can and does vary. When it comes to something like a tablet, RIM set the PlayBook's MSRP at $499.99 for the 16GB version. You know that's the full price. If you find it for less, you know you're getting a deal. But for something like that the BlackBerry Bold 9900, RIM doesn't set an MSRP. The carriers do.

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