The pilot program involved 54 iPads for members of the city council, as well as the leadership team and police department. They switched from a $71 plan for the BlackBerry devices to $43 for unlimited data on the iPads. I don’t think this is a completely fair comparison, as the iPads aren’t going to make regular voice calls and the city employees will still need a phone. Even so, they say that works out to $336 annual savings per device.

Perhaps the bigger story here has to do with the savings on printing. The meeting packets at council meetings, orientation sessions, and so on were no longer printed, being sent to members via email instead. This way, they could view them on their iPad. This brought about a 40 percent reduction in printing, going from 5,371 pages to 3,182 pages in the two months of the pilot project.

Of course, this savings isn’t really specific to the iPad. Tablets in general are saving the planet in their own little way and this is just one more example of that.

The post City of Vancouver Switches to iPads, Cuts Printing by 40 Percent appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

I got an email in my inbox from Best Buy, informing me that Alex Burrows will be making an appearance at the Cambie Best Buy on Sunday, March 21st between 2pm and 4pm. Presumably, he’ll be there for autographs and photo ops.

If you’re over in the Tri-Cities, then you can meet with Mason Raymond at the Coquitlam Best Buy during the same time that Burrows will be at the Cambie Best Buy. Yeah, this means that you likely won’t be able to hit up both events.

What does this have to do with mobile phones and portable technology? Not surprisingly, Best Buy has an ulterior motive. They’ve partnered up with Bell and the NHL for these events.

After meeting with Burrows or Raymond, you can waltz into the Best Buy Mobile location to sign up for a 36-month Bell contract. In doing so, you’ll receive a $100 gift card. That promo is effective between March 19 and 25 in the Vancouver area. If you get a new BlackBerry before the end of the month, they’ll give you free unlimited NHL at least until the playoffs end.

To give a further incentive to show up early, the first five people who activate a new BlackBerry with Bell on the day of the event will get an exclusive Stanley Cup NHL jersey.

Best Buy Vancouver Canucks email newsletter

The post Meet some Canucks, get free Best Buy gift cards with a BlackBerry appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Apparently, Rogers Communications wants to erect a new cell tower in the middle of the Port Coquitlam Cemetary. This tower will be forty meters in height and will provide better coverage to people living in the Port Coquitlam area, which is about half an hour from Vancouver proper.

Rogers says that the wireless service has “grown weak” in certain parts of Port Coquitlam due to the increased customer demand. Rogers would have to pay to lease the land, of course, and the funds would then be reinvested into the cemetary. This revenue is said to be above and beyond the cemetery’s regular budget.

They say that any “significant trees” will not be affected, but how about all the loved ones that are buried close to the loved one? I don’t know about you, but this creeps me out a little. Could there be haunted calls?

Not surprisingly, Rogers will need to negotiate a draft agreement and undergo a public consultation process to see how PoCo residents feel. If they don’t get the tower in the graveyard, where will Rogers turn for an alternate location?

The post Vancouver area graveyard getting a Rogers cell tower? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Nissan announced earlier today that the Canadian launch of the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle will start out in British Columbia and eventually expand from there. Even though the car is fully electric, the Leaf is said to provide performance equivalent to a V6 family car.

You won’t be able to beat the GT-R in any kind of race, but the Nissan Leaf isn’t exactly anything to sneeze at either. In fact, the Leaf represents one of the first all-electric vehicles capable of reaching highway speeds. It tops out at 140 km/h, which is higher than any speed limit (as far as I know) in BC.

British Columbia won’t have first dibs on the Leaf, since it’ll launch in other international markets in 2010, but it’ll be the first to have it in Canada. Nissan has worked with the City of Vancouver and BC Hydro to provide charging facilities for the Leaf and other EVs like it.

The plug-in charging stations are planned for at least 20% of parking stalls in new condo developments and apartment buildings, as well as some city-owned parking lots.

Source: CBC.ca

The post BC to Get Nissan Leaf Electric Car in 2011 appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

However, not everyone wanted to take the trip into Downtown Vancouver to visit the Apple Store. As with the downtown cores of so many major metropolitan areas, parking in Downtown Vancouver is less than pleasant and it can oftentimes get quite pricey. Vancouverites yearned for a more convenient location.

Well, this weekend, the great people of Vancouver are finally getting their wish. We knew this day was coming, but now we have a firm date. The second Apple Store in Vancouver will be opening its doors at Oakridge Centre this Saturday, September 26. This is the 13th location in Canada, joining the ranks of other locations in Winnipeg, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Laval, Mississauga, and Montreal.

In addition to the ability to check out the new camera-touting iPod nano and the aluminum unibodies of the MacBook Pro, you can also get some free swag at the grand opening. Be at the Oakridge Centre location, on the corner of Cambie and 41st Avenue in Vancouver, when they open the doors at 9:30am on Saturday and you’ll get a free Apple t-shirt… if you’re one of the first 1,000 people through the door.

Source: MobileSyrup

The post Vancouver Gets Second Apple Store This Weekend appeared first on Mobile Magazine.