Mobilicity CEO Dave Dobbin (remember when it was going to be called DAVE Wireless?) has officially confirmed that the Gingerbread-flavored Android phone will indeed be crossing the 49th parallel and joining the shelves at Mobilicity in March. This sounds easy enough, since the current Nexus S is already of the AWS variety that plays nice with Mobilicity’s network.

What about the folks rocking WCDMA 850/1900? Interestingly enough, Dave also mentioned that the Nexus S is also coming to Canada via Bell, Telus, and Rogers. This means that a more typical “NAM” version of the Nexus S is also in the works, but no precise timeline was provided for this variant. For Americans, this means that they may soon have Nexus S with AT&T too.

Curiously left out of the mix is the juggernaut among new Canadian entrants, Wind Mobile. It’s possible that this other AWS Canadian carrier is picking up the Nexus S too, but they’re also just as happy if you buy an unlocked model to go their way too. After all, they never officially carried the Nexus One either.

[Mobile Crunch via Howard Forums]

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Facebook wants to follow you everywhere, regardless of the kind of phone you have, and that’s why it has just announced a new mobile application for feature phones. Interestingly enough, it’s almost as full-featured (pun intended) as its smartphone counterparts. You can write on walls, check messages, view pictures, read profiles, and so on.

The app can apparently be used without incurring any data charges, so I’m not exactly sure how the carriers are going to be billing you for your usage. They surely want their nickels and dimes as part of this package, right?

The other kicker is that the initial release of the Facebook feature phone app does not include any North American carriers. Instead, it’s being launched on guys like Dialog (Sri Lanka), Play (Poland), Viva (Dominican Republic) and Three (Hong Kong). Mobilicity (Canada) should get it soon, though, as will Telcel (Mexico).

Those coming from Nokia smartphones may recognize some of the visual cues on the Facebook feature phone app. That’s because the social network worked closely with Snaptu to develop it. I don’t think this is any real replacement for a true smartphone, but the feature phone folks will likely enjoy the “no data charges” part. No news yet on a US release or if it will make it that far, Mobilicity in Canada is “coming soon.”

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Orascom Telecom Holdings of Egypt happens to be one of the biggest investors in Wind Mobile and Naguib Sawiris is the company’s executive chairman. In a recent interview with the Globe and Mail, he says that Bell, Telus and Rogers are “a joke” and that they’re not worth investing in because they’re “too big” and “too slow.” That’s why he wanted to invest in Wind instead.

Interestingly, Sawiris says that he has been “offered by two of them to buy me out at a very significant profit, but that means I’m a broker, not an industrialist. It’s against my saga, against my history. I’m not the kind of guy who goes out for the money. It’s about success. And this, I would consider it as a bribe.”

He doesn’t want to be bought out, but he’s not opposed to doing some buying out of his own. IN fact, he says that it is inevetible that Wind will acquire other newcomers Public Mobile and Mobilicity. He views Wind as the “consolidator of all the smaller players.”

Wow. Bold words.

Canada is a telecom backwater, says bold backer of Wind Mobile [CTV News]

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The conversation was moderated by Marlow and attended by Wind Mobile CEO Ken Campbell, Rogers EVP of Marketing John Boynton, and Mobilicity President and CEO Dave Dobbin. They talk about unlocking phones, spectrum caps, customer loyalty, bundling, and the recent spectrum auction.

In the video clip below, you can see how they responded when asked about how Canada can (or cannot) support multiple carriers with a smaller population compared to larger markets like the United States. Wind appeared to be the most optimistic of the three.

[Mobile Syrup]

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You can find more details about the plans on their website. Even the $15 starter plan has unlimited text and unlimited in-network calling. Bump up to $25 for unlimited minutes or $35 for unlimited talk and text. Want unlimited everything? The $65 plan has you covered with global talk, text, data, and other features.  Even the long distance is cheap. For an extra $20 a month, you can have unlimited long distance to East and Southeast Asia, including places like China and India.

In terms of hardware, the Mobilicity offerings are similar to those at Wind Mobile. They don’t do contracts, so the phones are at full retail. Choose from the Bold 9700 ($500), Nokia 5230 ($170), Nokia Totem ($100), Sony Ericsson TM506 ($100), Huawei U7519 ($110), or HTC Snap ($200).  If this wasn’t aggressive enough, we could be expecting Public Mobile to launch some time this year too. Adding Wind Mobile and Mobilicity to the picture, the existing “big three” may need to rethink their business strategies.

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The company that you once knew as DAVE Wireless has since been rebranded as Mobilicity and the CRTC will be going through their paperwork to determine if it is compliant with Canadian ownership and control requirements. That’s all a part of the Canadian Telecommunications Act, which could be changing soon too.

The CRTC issued a letter to Mobilicity on March 5th saying that it will undertake a “Type 2 review of the ownership and control of DAVE Wireless in order to determine its eligibility to operate as a Canadian telecommunications common carrier.”

The current plan has Mobilicity rolling out its initial launch in Toronto some time this spring and then they will continue with the rollout through to Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Ottawa a little later on this year.

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Data & Audio Visual Enterprises Wireless Inc, aka Dave Wireless, will be a low-cost carrier similar to Virgin Mobile and Wind Mobile offering wireless services throughout Canada. They plan to launch in Toronto this spring and market services under their new name: Mobilicity – incorporating their focus on simplicity for the city.

Mobilicity will offer wireless services in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa later this year. The low-cost carriers have been chipping away at Canada’s big three mobile firms: Telus, Bell and Rogers. With another player spreading the wireless waves, Mobilicity should fare well in a competitive market that thrives on undercutting the competition and no contracts.

“Mobilicity will kick the value equation up a notch this spring,” said President Dave Dobbin. “If you live and work in one of our cities and you’re looking for the best wireless deal around, you’re going to love Mobilicity.”

Dave Wireless is a Canadian holding company of Obelysk and New York private investment firm Quadrangle Capital Partners.

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