The new Android 3.2 Honeycomb powered tablet has appeared on the Future Shop website in Canada, being offered up for pre-order. The product page is showing an “estimated” release date of February 29th. Much like its predecessors, this tablet will also be shipping in 16GB and 32GB flavors.

The rest of the specs sound like they’re par for last year’s course, coming with a 10.1-inch (1280×800) display, a 1.2GHz processor, 2MP front camera, and a 5MP rear camera. Given the push toward more cores, faster clock speeds, better cameras, and ICS, the Excite X10 doesn’t exactly get me excited. The pricing doesn’t help either with 16GB and 32GB models listing for $550 and $600, respectively. You can get a Sony Tablet S or Eee Pad Transformer for much less than that.

The post Toshiba Excite X10 Android Tablet Launches This Month? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

If 2010 was the year of the Android smartphone, 2011 is going to be the year of the tablet… but it’s not just about the iPad vs. Android when it comes to tablets. Some people may say they’re a little late to the party, but Research in Motion is finally ready to join the fight with its BlackBerry PlayBook.

After all sorts of vague mentions regarding pricing and availability, the Waterloo-based firm has finally come forth with something firm. First, they’re saying that the PlayBook will be available through Best Buy and Future Shop stores starting on April 19. That’s a little less than a month away and should be able to compete quite nicely against Honeycomb offerings.

Second, as expected, the Wi-Fi only PlayBook will ship in three different capacities. The 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models will sell for $499, $599, and $699 respectively (at least in the United States). This puts it right on par with the iPad equivalents, as well as the recently announced pricing of the WiFi-only Motorola Xoom.

I think I like the new QNX-based operating system, but I’m not sure that I would choose it over iOS or Honeycomb just yet. It’s also a bit of a shame that the PlayBook doesn’t have its own cellular connection, relying instead on a tethered connection through a BlackBerry (or a Wi-Fi hotspot).

You can start placing your pre-orders right now through Best Buy and Future Shop, but in the meantime, you can check out the preview video posted by Miranda of Rogers RedBoard.

The post BlackBerry PlayBook to Ship April 19, Pre-Orders Now appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Blackberry Bold 9700 $0 on Virgin Mobile

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 that I took a good look at last year has headed North.   Rogers Wireless is far from being the only Canadian carrier to sell the phone. Telus, Bell, and Wind all have it, but as it turns out you can get it even cheaper somewhere else, with strings attached of course.

Being one of the newest and most advanced BlackBerry devices to date, getting it without laying down a single penny (at least for the device itself) seems pretty good.  The current promotion via Future Shop and Virgin Mobile is the Bold 9700 priced at $0 when you agree to a new three-year contract. You probably need a qualifying voice and data plan too.

By comparison, Telus is selling the 9700 for $150 with a three-year contract, which is the same price being asked by Rogers and Bell. If you go directly to the Virgin Mobile Canada site, they have it at $150 too.  I suspect it won’t be long before the other carriers drop their price down to $0 as well.

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