I'm quite frustrated by the lack of availability of Blue Tooth technology phones in Canada.

Can other Canadian TLers using Blue Tooth phones let me know model, provider and experience with their phone.

Thanks.

 

what provider are you with?

Rogers has the Sony Ericsson T616 with Bluetooth.

you can buy any number of amazing unlocked GSM phones with bluetooth.

As far as Telus and Bell are concerned, I don't believe they offer any headsets with integrated bluetooth.

hope this helps, even tho to you out west, with likely telus, it sucks...

 

Thanks Astroboy. I am in fact currently with Telus but may switch to Rogers.
Do you use the Sony Erikson T616? If so...........what has your experience been?

 

i don't, but a very good friend uses his, with a Jabra BT250 headset and he really likes the phone, it's features, and it's bluetooth functionality...it also does work in the new TL, i know several owners here in the states are using that phone

 

I have contacted Telus............and they will not reveal any plans that may involve introducing Bluetooth technology phones in Canada. Very frustrating. Hate to change my cell number but may have to.

 

I'm using a T616 with Fido (Microcell). No consistent problems with Bluetooth but sometimes the person on the other end has a very difficult time hearing me. A call back usually corrects the problem. As for the phone itself, I don't think I'd buy it again (camera sucks, calls don't always connect, short on memory). I was thinking of switching to the V600 but there are lots of reports of problems and issues on other threads in this forum.

 

The T616 is an amazing phone BUT the K700 just came out.

 

I have a V600 from Rogers/AT&T.

I currently use the phone open trick to capture incoming calls without problems. Other than keeping the phone open in the armrest, I have no complaints.

 

i totally forgot about the V600.

 

Cesci, did you ever pick up a Bluetooth phone for your TL? I also live in Calgary, have been with Telus for years, and have been looking around for a device that works. Ideally, I'd like it integrated into a PDA ala Treo, but so far, no luck with CDMA.

xeno

 

Rogers (GSM) offers Moto v551, v600 and a few others. Check their website.
Telus has the only CDMA Bluetooth phone in Canada - it is the Moto v710.
Primus is offering cell phone in Candian major cities. You can check there website for details as I do not know whether they have bluetooth phone.

 

Cesci, I have been using Motorola v551 (Rogers) for a month and it works nicely.
Sound is great, it automatically connects even when I am 4-5m away from my TL.
No call display or battery strength, only signal strength shows up on a display.
Battery life is much shorter when often used in the car.
Overall v551 is a very good phone.
Hope this helps.

 

I guess Rogers must turn off some of the features in the Moto V551. According to other TL in US, Moto v551 has no battery strength and no signal indication only. Other features like call number display is OK.

 

I have a V551 from Rogers and the caller ID and signal strength work fine.

I have an '04 TL.

 

I have Sony Ericsson T637 from rogers. Works without any major problems, although the display shows PHONE sometimes. The best thing about this phone is the reception. Best phone I ever had. Two levels of underground garage and I still can make a call. I guess it has something to do with class 5 receiver.

 

Spoke with Telus today. They want $299.99 on a three year contract for the Moto v710 but the Telus dealer suggested I call direct to Telus Mobility. They have offered at $199.99 plus 3 mos unlimited local calls. However in talking with their rep I got the impression that they'll likely bring in a few more Bluetooth phones within the next while. I may just hold off for a little while still. Would change providers but would rather not give up my number (not a problem in the US like it is here).

 

I am hearing the same thing from Bell. According to Bell, Bluetooth phone is coming but the rep haas no idea when that will be. For all I know, it may be 2006.
If you are planning to stay with CDMA (ie. Bell, Telus, SaskTel, MTS or Aliant), only Telus has the Moto v710.
I think there is only one other CDMA Bluetooth phone, it is the LG 325 but it is only available in Sprint US.

 

Fido (Rogers) also has the Sony Ericsson Z600 which is what I use and it's bluetooth performance in the TL is next to flawless. Very impressed with it.

 

I agree that phone selection in Canada is terrible at best. I ended up getting a Nokia 6630 on a recent trip abroad and I am with FIDO/Rogers here. The phone works well with the TL (however it does not show battery level/signal strength on display)....you might want to have a look at cnetasia.com and some of the manufacturers websites just to give you an idea at some of the many phones that are out there but not made available here....but keep in mind not all bluetooth phones are compatible with the TL so do my best advice would be to do your homework. Best of luck.

 

Bell just lists Blackberry 7250 on their website.

 

Good thing about GSM technology is that you don't have to get the phones your provider has...there are so many other phones out there that support 850/1900...

 

Rogers is offering Moto V3 Razr. Quite a bit of money though.

 

I was told there was another phone coming in about a month or two, on telus. I was looking at the v710 but I think it's a bit too big.

 

Canadian Mike,
Are you referring to LG325 (slider style)? I am reading that from the Howard Forum.

 

They wouldn't tell me the model.

 

It's probably wise to wait; in the recent Fed budget the CRTC will compel mobile phone co's to make phone numbers portable between carriers (turns out this is not too technically difficult, but a ploy to keep customers locked in). This is good news for consumers, as it will hopefully make mobile co's more competitive on hardware, including bluetooth.

xeno

 

Another thing to think of when changing providers just to get bluetooth is that number portability isnt available for cellular service yet. I don't know of any legistaltion yet to make this available but I'm sure it will be soon.

BTW... a good place to check out some cool bluetooth phones is wirelessimports.com - only bad thing - they dont have 1 CDMA with bluetooth !! Don't go if your one to who loves gagdets cuz you'll end up spending $3000 american


EDIT: Prolly shoulda read the msg rite on top of this one :P d'oh

and it will help with competition because i know i would have switched months ago if I could have taken my number ... down with bell ... whos with me

 

Wow! some of their prices are a complete rip in the jeans...I'm sure they're real proud of their products. Website and html code looks clean though.

 

For Bell Mobility users,

I was told that Bell should have Bluetooth enabled phone within a 2 to 3 months timeframe after I called they customer service centre.

As a soon to be Abyss Blue Pearl TL (taking delivery on April 18) I am giving Bell till June 1st to catch up with technolodgy. After that time, it looks like Telus is my best choice for coverage in my area of travel (From Kingston/Ontario to the end of Atlantic Canada).

Best regards from Montreal

frenchnew

 

Every bell person will tell you a different story. Earlier this year I was told second quarter, then i was told postponed to fourth quarter there is a bell does carry the blackberry with bluetooth now, but its a bit too expensive at 400 after rebate.

mobilezen - I agree that most of those prices are rip offs ... but at the same time they just so cooooool check out the spy phone on page 6 of the new products

 

i heard that around june you may be able to keep your phone number and switch your phone company like in US. That's why actually the price are very agressiv and they try to sign long term contract before june because they know after the customer would like to change or compare because they won't have the problem of changing they phone number.

 

didn't read the replies so this might be redundant but I just stopped using my t616, the OS is terribly slow and it's just a crap phone all around. With the bluetooth, it was okay. Sometimes it wouldn't want to disconnect from the car which was annoying.

I'm currently using a Nokia 6310i which doesn't show signal strength or battery life but it's just a better phone. I like how there's an audible beep when it connects disconnects from the bluetooth.

My wife has a v551 which shows battery life and signal strength. Only problem with the phone is that the battery life sucks ass.

 

guys, we have a Cell phone vendor on the forum, with great prices on any phone.

he's got pretty much every GSM BT phone there is. if you are in the market, check it out

https://acurazine.com/forums/technology-16/%2A%2Aimported-phones-specials-june-cell-u-phone-wireless%2A%2A-302007/

btw, i just got the Nokia 6630 thru him, what an amazing phone!

 

I'm using SE T637 with Rogers. Bluetooth works great, I see batt. and signal strength in the MID, but no Caller ID (only "Incoming Call"). Sound quality over HFL is excellent. Battery life is quite acceptable. Cost $179 as an upgrade from my previous phone (Nokia 3360) renewed on a 2 year contract (company phone supplied by my employer)

 

I wish Roger's coverage would be better in my area (From Kingston Ontario East, including all Quebec & Maritimes Provinces).

The GSM band has alot more Bluetooth enabled phones then CDMA and with the SIM card, you can buy other phones then the one supplied by Roger's.

Roger's coverage in Quebec is really lacking and in some areas of the Maritimes it is non-existent. It looks like they have not expanded at all since they bought Cantel.

I guess that Rogers is aiming it's market at the mass, 20% of the areas that offers 80 % of the population services in their area (Major Cities).

Maybe one day, Rodgers will remove their hands from their b*tts and expand coverage, until then it's CDMA if you want the most complete coverage in Eastern Canada.

 

frenchnew where in Québec do you live? When I drive from Toronto to Montréal I have no problems with reception even from Kingston east to Montréal and no problems in Montréal and the South Shore (Rive-Sud).

Cantel was always owned by Rogers, now they just use the parent company's name.

And now Rogers has the Fido Coverage as well.

Rogers Québec Coverage

 

I live in Prevost (50Km North of Montreal) and Rodgers has coverage in my immediate area.

The problem is that rodgers has no coverage in La Verendry Park (Between Mt-Laurier & Val-D'Or), No Coverage towards Ville Marie (South of Rouyn), No Coverage in Baie Comeau or Sept-Iles and Nothing East of Rimouski.

I use my phone for my job and these are areas I travel to in Quebec.

I also travel frequently in Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Newfoundland, PEI, Nova Scotia) where I spend about 2 months per year on average.

Also Rodgers only covers from St-John's to Clarenville in Newfoundland and I need coverage from St. John's to Corner Brook.

I would expect Rodgers to have the same coverage as Bell or it's affiliates before I even consider switching over to them.


Best regards

frenchnew

 

most the time i dont buy phones off our canadian providers, they techically sux, just check those website which has new phones updated every week, then read their feedback and buy them off ebay, i have been with fido rogers for a long time, all those phones i bought works in canada, just make sure they are international supported.

btw i am using Siemens SK65.

 

Unfortunately, there will be a delay, because the fox is guarding the henhouse.

When the CRTC mandated local number portabillity (LNP), it did not assign a deadline. On 21 April, the wireless industry trade group, the CWTA, said it will "take the lead" in the process, but first needs to study this "massive and complex undertaking," to "ensure that Canadians are not burdened with the significant implementation challenges that were faced by customers in other countries." (In the US, there were a grand total of 7K informal complaints in > 2 million changes of carrier, an enviably low complaint rate of 0.35%.)

That trade group plans to hire a consultant, who will complete a "project plan" by Sep 05. Once the carriers agree on the plan, they will implement it (you can guess how long that will take.) According to an analyst cited in the Globe and Mail, consumers won't see any change until 2006 "at the earliest."

I think this is ridiculous, and predict the trade group will delay implemenation to maintain its very low churn rate (of about 1.3%). In the US, carriers fought portability thru the courts for years, and finally had to have a deadline imposed by the FCC. Once it happened, consumers noted a positive change in customer service and product availability.

For me, the issue is not so much that I want to change carriers, but a desire for better customer service and products. Absent portable numbers, there is little incentive for carriers to upgrade their performance (except for 1st-time buyers, who then become "customers for life.")

I'm p.o'd enuff to wrtie my MP and folks at the CRTC to see what can be done to move this implementation along.

xeno

 

I'm not sure if this has been posted elsewhere (I tried searching)...

Bell Mobility now has a bluetooth phone - the LG325. I just bought it the other day and so far it seems to be working well.

Thanks to others on this forum, you guys and gals are great. I did a search for LG325 and everyone's comments were pretty much bang on. Your feedback is very helpful when trying to make a buying decision.

Anyways, in my limited time with the phone, I have noticed the following: no battery/signal strength indicator on the MID, but good reception for both myself and the person on the other end.

Klampy