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The Samsung Instinct has been a hot selling handset here in the US, and it would seem that it would only be smart to take advantage of that, and do it quickly. Bell Mobility and Samsung have just announced that the Instinct will be available in Canada beginning August 8.

The features are expected to be the same as the currently available Sprint version, of course, the UI will most likely be just a little less Sprint like. The Instinct is expected to retail for $149.95 with a three-year agreement and also be available for a no commitment price of $449.95.

Also in non-Canadian specific Instinct related news, it seems you can also now follow along with the Instinct on Twitter.

Via [mobilesyrup]

While Rogers has still not officially stated when consumers will be able to purchase a BlackBerry Bold, they have officially announced a series of “by-invitation-only” launch party dates. One would begin to assume that the handset would be available following those events, but we also know what happens when we assume, so we are going to sit back and wait until Rogers is kind enough to make a new announcement.

The special events are taking place across Canada and run from July 8 and end on July 17. The first event is in Toronto on July 8, then Montreal a day later, with about a week in between they pick up on July 15 in Calgary and finish up in Vancouver on July 17.

While we here in the US are still awaiting more information from AT&T, at least Canadian Rogers users have something, albeit little to look forward to as far as a potential release date.

Via [CrackBerry]

Canadians can now rejoice, well maybe that is a little bit much, but they can now get business listing information by calling 1-800-GOOG-411. The free information service has been available in the US for some time now, and while it is still listed as experimental for those in Canada it does still offer the same features, which include the ability to find and be connected with a local business. When GOOG-411 is called from Canada users will be promoted for their “city and province.”

As of this posting the GOOG-411 service is still just in English, so any French speaking Canadians may have to wait a little longer, however Google has been “working hard to make it disponible en Français dans un proche avenir.” Google has also “incorporated some Canadianisms such as “eh,” “Traw-na,” “Cal-gry,” and, of course, “aboot.” into the service, which should hopefully take any such accents into consideration.

Via [Official Google Mobile Blog]

Give the Canadian Parliament credit for at least attempting to drag its copyright laws into the 21st century. But one gets the feeling that a digital hornets’ nest has been stirred up by new legislation introduced by Industry Minister Jim Prentice.

Canada’s government tried to find the right balance between personal freedom and protection of artists’ rights with its amendments to the Copyright Act. Yet judging from the coverage, critics will no doubt point to similarities to the U.S.’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which digital rights advocates accuse of favoring Big Media, Inc. More personal use is authorized with the pending Canadian legislation; consumers can download legally-acquired music for use on iPods, and fines for illegally downloading that music for personal use have been drastically reduced. Anyone caught selling those illegally-acquired copies on the open market, however, is still subject to large monetary penalties, as is anyone trying to break digital rights management (DRM) locks on music or movies.

As with any effort to apply 20th century copyright concepts to the digital world, enforcement remains a big question mark. It’s almost as if the Canadian Parliament is throwing in the maple-leaf-emblazoned towel on this issue: for example, ISP’s don’t face any sanctions for illegally-copied materials going over their networks. Also, the new bill allows time-shifting of TV programs on digital video recorders, but bans keeping those programs forever in a personal library. Yet there’s no mention of how the government plans to check each and every DVR in the Great White North to make sure no one is illegally stashing away final-season episodes of “Royal Canadian Air Farce.”

Read [Reuters]

With little fanfare, Rogers Wireless in Canada has announced the availability of the pink BlackBerry Curve 8310. The handset which retains the same specs that we have come to either love or hate (personally we love) about the Curve includes built-in GPS, a 240 x 320 display resolution, 2-megapixel camera with built-in flash, full QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth, speakerphone and EDGE support. The newly released pink BlackBerry Curve 8310 will set you back $199 with a 3-year agreement.

Product [Rogers] Via [BlackBerrySync]

Google, how we love you, but must we see you everywhere we go? Well, it sure seems that way, and now Canadians get to join in on the fun. If you’re a Canadian with a mobile website for cell phones, you can now use Google AdSense Mobile on your site to make some extra money. By simply inserting a piece of code into their website, mobile website owners can continue the wonderful browsing experience that is Google AdSense onto your WAP-enabled phone, because we all want to see “Buy Gadgetell and other products” with its relevance. Google AdSense Mobile launched in September 2007 originally and has expanded the number of countries to 14 including the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Russia, Netherlands, Australia, India, China, Japan along with the recent addition of Canada.

Via [IntoMobile]

As announced earlier, Canadian wireless carrier Rogers Wireless has brought the LG Vu TU915 to our Canadian friends to play with. Users can either opt to get the phone with a 3-year contract for CA$279, with a 2-year contract for CA$329, with a 1-year contract for CA$379 or pay $429 and not have any service agreement.

Whichever they decide to choose, users will be treated with some pretty good features with the LG Vu TU915. These features include a 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen display with virtual QWERTY keyboard, 2-megapixel camera with auto focus, zoom, and brightness controls, music player with 4GB of storage, HTML browser and HSDPA network support. Of course, this is in addition to the ultra sleek and slim body design of the LG Vu TU915 which measures only 13mm in thickness.

And since it is released under Rogers, that means users would have access to Rogers MusicStore where they can play, purchase and manage their favorite digital music even while on the go.

Via [IntoMobile]

Well it only took about 18 months but the Zune is finally making its way into Canada. Beginning June 13 Canadians will be able to grab the Zune of their choosing. Well, except for a few small details, namely the lineup is not quite as complete as it is here in the US.

There will not be any 30GB model or green models. Do our friendly neighbors to the north have something against green? Anyway, up for grabs will be the Zune 80 in black or red for $249.99, the Zune 8 in black, red or pink for $189.99 and the Zune 4 in black, red or pink for $139.99.

Via [Engadget]

Its been a while since I last heard of any free offer for signing up for a checking account, and personally have never received any freebee, but RBC Royal Bank in Canada has begun offering an Eee PC. Sure its the lower priced 2G Surf edition, but its still a free notebook.

Simply open a Signature No Limit Banking or VIP Banking account you can have your very own Eee PC. A tempting offer indeed, of course living very far away from and not being from Canada, its not one I can take advantage of. So while we here in the US are not still waiting on the iPhone, at least Canadians can rejoice in getting a free Eee PC.

Read [RBC Royal Bank] Via [Engadget]

Rogers Wireless has officially confirmed that the iPhone will finally be headed into Canada. In a simple announcement, CEO Ted Rogers stated that the iPhone will be available on Rogers “later this year,” and sadly left it at that.

“We can’t tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned.”

It’s nice to have the confirmation, but there are some major details left out, such as an availability date and any plan details. While here in the US we are eagerly awaiting the launch of the rumored 3G iPhone, our Northern neighbors are finally going to land a iPhone. While a date has not been confirmed, the rumor has it becoming available during the summer months.

Via [thestar.com]