I felt like Rogers was simply ripping me off. I was paying about $12 dollars with their "Value Pack" = "Take my money Pack".

Anyways I did something unique. I cancelled Rogers voicemail and i did a conditional forwarding on my Rogers number.

What conditional forwarding is, it doesn't forward all the calls it simply forwards a call based on certain number of times your phone rings or if you don't pick up or send a busy signal to it.

For a full list of forwarding codes for rogers refeer here:

Call Forwarding

Or simply google your network to find out. I simply did a call forwarding on Busy/No Answer and left the default amount of rings.

Here are the steps to get you going.

1. Go to Youmail.com and create a free account

2. Verify your phone. If you are in Toronto the Youmail voicemail access number is simple 416-800-1111.

3. Now setup your Forwarding to this number by doing *004* 4168001111 # and dial this number. (You should get a forwarding on return message)

4. You are not setup, you can have custom greeting in Youmail and I have tested it works perfect, if you do not have a caller ID - Youmail will even tell you what phone number the call came from. Why pay $12 dollars when all this functionality is free.

Note: I tried Virgin/Bell it doesn't work with Virgin not sure if it works with bell. My girlfriend is with virgin mobile so it didn't work for her. Youmail stated that they don't support this network when I tried to create an account.

If you want Voicemail transcribing you can purchase the Youmail premium account which comes out to like 3 dollars per month if you buy an annual plan and use the following coupon code to get 10% off:

COUPON CODE: Summer

I didn't buy it, because I didn't find a need for it.

Note: Call Forwarding will use your local minutes, what I did I added 4168001111 (YouMail.com number to my Rogers top 10.) - but the usage of minutes should not that much it's only when people leave you voicemail's

Cheers!

Now there is a lens for Galaxy SII to zoom in with your camera phone. This zoom offers capability to zoom in 10X.

It is manufactured by a Japanese company called Thanko costs about 1980 yen which is about 25 dollars USD.

They also mention on their site that this lens is capable of zooming in while doing an HD movie.

You can also install this nifty cool docking station that looks like a NASA project

Now more pics how this nifty thing looks like:

Many of you must wonder if they can use Skype Vide on their device. Well I have a Sony Arc android phone it does not have a front facing camera only back camera and there is no skype video for it at this time. (which for me is not a huge disappoitment)

Many of you out there may be wondering does Skype video work on my Android device?

Skype officially released a list of supported Android devices with video calling and the list can be found here:

http://blogs.skype.com/en/2011/08/skype_21_for_android.html

Skype says, do not worry if your device is not on the list simply go to Skype settings and select "Video Calling" and then they turn around and say:

"Unfortunately, if you cannot see the video calling settings, it means your Android phone does not meet the minimum requirements needed to make Skype video calls. Please be aware that video call quality may not be as good as on a certified Android device and only the back camera of the device will work if your device is running on Android 2.2 (Froyo)."

In my opinion the Skype support for video calling is not that great at this time. I think the Android community is not too happy, with Skype's turtle decision to support Android devices.

This could be one of the reasons for me to switch to an iphone 4G device, what have been your experiences with Skype?

Mine has been great until I couldn't use Skype properly on my Android. I am also on the Rogers network using the Sony Arc device and let me tell you there is tons of dropped calls quality sucks and I would rate the Skype experience on my device 6/10.

Nettalk is offering a service where you can make Free calls in USA and Canada from your smartphone.

Nettalk works on the following devices:

• iPhone
• iPod Touch
• iPad
• Android
• Blackberry
• Windows Mobile

I installed on my Sony Arc and it works great.

The interface looks simple to use and soon as you install the app you are ready to use it. Works on 3G or Wi-Fi!.

Check out nettalk at http://www.nettalk.com

Well Google Nexus S is not out in Canada yet at this time. But if you live in bordering cities like Windsor-Detroit, or Toronto-Buffalo you can just drive across the border and pick one up with no-contract from any BestBuy for $529.

Allot of scalpers have been popping up on eBay and selling them for $700 a pop.

I think this phone is pretty sweet. I called and confirmed with Best buy that Canadians can buy this phone without any terms or contracts or they do not need any plan with any US carrier.  Phone comes locked to T-mobile but I am sure it can be unlocked and used with carriers in Canada since it supports these frequencies.

• ·Band and Mode

EDGE/GPRS/HSUPA

• ·Band and Mode

EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900MHz|HSUPA 5.76/7.2 900/1700/2100MHz|HSUPA 5.76/7.2 900/1700/2100

If you are thinking Skype support, forget about it only with Verizon. But Skype has stated they will release an Android Skype App soon (maybe out already, I am talking about using 3G not wi-fi). You can use alternative software called NimBuzz, but it will only allow you to call Skype contact.

Anyways, here are the specs directly from BestBuy:

• Android 2.3
  Packed with the latest Google features.
• 16GB of built-in memory
  Lets you store contact information, phone numbers and more.
• Contour display
  With a comfortable, smooth grip provides maximized visibility and usability.
• Built-in hotspot capability
  Share an Internet connection with others.
• The latest Google features
  Including YouTube 2.0, Gmail and more.
• Built-in Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n network
  For Internet capability (additional fees may apply).
• Virtual QWERTY keyboard
  For quick and easy text messaging.
• 4" WVGA display with 480 x 800 resolution
  For clear viewing of your text messages, photos and videos.
• 5.0MP digital camera with autofocus and flash
  Lets you snap photos to share with friends and family.
• Google Maps and Google Mobile services
  For improved phone functionality and navigation.
• Built-in MP3 player
  Lets you enjoy your favorite tunes.
• Built-in video player
  Lets you watch movies, TV shows and home videos.
• Easy scroll
  Makes Web browsing simple.
• * Phone activation required before use.

This concludes,  my short and sweet quick review of using Nexus S in Canada, I haven't really tested in Canada yet with providers like Wind, Rogers, Fido, or Mobilicity if anyone has used Skype using data plan on these providers not wi-fi let me know.

This con

So , I decided to do a review on this little monster called "Samsung Galaxy S". The phone supports the following bands:

GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100

The phone is really thin I should say and is the only device that is certified as a "Wi-fi direct". What this means is that you can connect to other Wi-fi devices without a access point, so instead of the old annoying bluetooth you can just do a direct Wi-fi connections.

In theory you will be able to share you photos and videos, with users using Wi-fi direct! but that means the other device must be also wi-fi direct compatible but the Samsung Galaxy S is the first one on the list to be Wi-fi direct, even the Apple 4G doesn't cut it here.

The phone has a front facing and back facing camera as well, it comes packed with Android and is really quick!

This is definitely a hit by Samsung you can check out more specs on the phone at, http://galaxys.samsungmobile.com/

The phone packs a 1Ghz processor, comes with Grey and Black sorry no pretty white iPhone here.

If you ever get lost in the woods the phone has a digital compass, TV-out, comes with fully packed with flash.

Check out the videos of the phone below if you want to see, how this little guy looks like. It's just bigger than an iphone and the screen is very bright on this phone!.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOisYZeFiTQ

Ok, Mobilicity is offering the best deal in Canada. We have the $35/ month promotion plan until Nov 7.

This plan includes everything you need unlimited

- Unlimited Data (But remember data on their network not roaming data!)
-Unlimited Voice (North America also on their network)
-Caller ID/Voicemail
-Global Text!

For a whooping price of $35 dollars per month, this is a great deal but one disadvantage is that their coverage is not that great yet. It is essentially their $65 dollar plan found here http://mobilicity.ca/plans/ at $35 dollars, just walk in any Mobilicity location in Canada and ask for the Business and Family and Friends plan and your wish shall be granted for the $35 dollar plan.

Let's not forget Mobilicity coverage area right now covers around Oakville to Pickering going from (West to East in Toronto). I had some friends try them out and they say they still get two bars in Markham so it's not that bad after all the coverage.

This is available only until Nov 7 so get the word out there!

Let's also not forget you may need one of their phones or a UMTS handsets which are used by T-Mobile, Wind Mobile.

So it looks like the third competitor has entered the market!. Remember a few months ago i was talking about http://mobilicity.com

and now they launched their plans, take a look at the plan chart it doesn't look so bad!. But the coverage is still only in Toronto other cities to come include:

• Vancouver
• Calgary
• Edmonton
• Ottawa

Here is the look at their plans:

I think Mobilicity has a good competitive edge compared to Wind Mobile. But in comparison to Public Mobile, I don't see Public mobile being able to compete, we are going to wait and see where this unfolds

Check out bu.mp!. Just type http://www.bu.mp. This little app for iPhones is cool basically you pump your hands together holding you iPhone and can exchange contact information very quickly.

Here are some videos on how this technology works:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCJ5dyNDfkE

Right now bump is supported by Android and iPhone sorry Blackberry people like me!

Ok, so Google has launched a Nexus One version that will finally have full speeds in Canada

The price still is sitting at $529USD but this is a unlocked phone, and now it's capable of getting 3G speeds on the following carriers:

• Fido
• Rogers
• Bell
• Telus
• Wind Mobile (If you want Wind Mobile full speeds you need to grab the other US version of the phone)

Wind Mobile has the cheapest data plans as of now. The Nexus One comes unlocked

All the Canadians can grab their Nexus One freely now without having to ship it to USA at http://www.google.com/phone

The Nexus One supports three 3G/UMTS bands 850/1900/2100mhz and the following GSM frequencies (850/900/1800/1900).

When you order online now you can have a custom message engraved on the back of your phone:

If you are still wondering why I should get Nexus One, here is the simple answerw.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMxd0Kvb42o

Here is a quick specification of the phone. Google is refusing to have wireless carriers in Canada to carry the phone in the retail stores, so far they only have done this in the states with T-Mobile. If anyone is to reach a deal with google to carry the phone in it's retail stores it probably would be Rogers Wireless.

A good website to grab some apps for the Nexus One is at: http://www.nexusapps.org/.

Here is a list of  top 25 Nexus One apps you should grab:

1. Speed Test (for 3G speed testing)
2. Translate (for english to chinese dict)
3. Twidroid (heard the best twitter app)
4. Sogou Pinyin (for chinese input)
5. Google Pinyin IME (for chinese input)
6. Taskiller (for freeing memory)
7. eBuddy (for MSN messenger chat)
8. Live Scores (for live updates to sports scores - name Sportacular in iPhone)
9. Shopsavvy (for barcode scanning and price compare when shopping)
10. Google Sky Map (to find planets and stars on your Android phone)
11. Wikitude (World browser... not sure what it is yet)
12. gTasks (good task app that will sync with google tasks)
13. Flashlight (use your phone like flashlight when it dark)
14. Amazon (Amazon shopping place)
15. Pandora (Internet radio streaming)
16. Open Table (for online restaurant reservations)
17. Flickr/Photostream (for photo streaming off Yahoo Flickr)
18. MyBookmarks (for importing bookmark to Android phone)
19. Yelp (for restaurant guides and reviews)
20. Google Goggles (Amazing.. u gotta check it out yourself)
21. Fring (For Skype or VOIP calls)
22. T-Mobile My Account (For T-mobile Account information check)
23. Skype Lite (For Skype access)
24. NubiNews (For news reading)
24. Barcode Scanner (For QR code scanning)
25. RSS (For Google reader, RSS)

I bolded Shopsavvy because this is where we can save money!

Is anyone using the Nexus One phone yet in Canada let me know, I would like to use it on Wind Mobile because they are the cheapest so far for data plans in Canada. I hope Rogers Wireless can finally lower their plans and stock killing us with the high data costs.