Canadians Getting Android Phones and Palm Pre

Two of the most sought after smartphones by Canadians are set to arrive in the Great White North. Google's Android will make it's Canadian debut on two phones on the Rogers Wireless network. The HTC Dream, sold in the United States as the G1 and the upcoming Magic also made by HTC will go on sale on June 2nd. That other got to have smartphone the Palm Pre will also be coming to Canada on Bell Mobility some time in the second half of 2009. The Pre has yet to launch in the United States but it is expected within the month.

The agreement that brings the Palm Pre to Canada is an exclusive agreement with Bell which means that for Western Canadians most of which cannot subscribe to Bell mobility the Palm Pre will still be out of reach. Rogers bringing Android based phones to Canada comes to a surprise to many because none of the Canadian cell phone carriers are members of the Open Handset alliance but with new competition coming within the year and a half it really isn't surprizing that the existing carriers are going to snap up the most popular phones in advance of the launch of any new competitors.

Is The Palm Pre The Saviour Phone for Bell or Telus?

The most talked about cell phone at the most recent CES that just wrapped up, wasn't powered by Google's Android like so many were expecting. Instead it was from a company that was left for dead by much of the media that covers technology. The Pre captured attention that Palm hasn't seen in practically a decade. The Pre will launch on the Sprint network sometime in the first half of 2009. With subscribers switching to AT&T to get an iPhone or to T-Mobile for the Android based G1, Sprint has needed a smartphone like the pre for a very long time.

Speculation about which Canadian carrier will offer the Pre to their subscribers has already begun. A killer smartphone like the Pre will be essential to help the big Canadian CDMA carriers Bell Mobility and Telus to meet the challenge from Rogers with the iPhone and any potential new cell carriers expecting to start to offer service in the end of 2009 or sometime in 2010 with the G1 or some other Android based smartphone.

Telus needs to be the exclusive carrier of the Pre simply because it will one of the biggest things that will help them expand market share outside Alberta and BC. Palm needs Telus because Telus is truly a national carrier since Bell has very little coverage in BC and Alberta and no coverage in Saskatchewan or Manitoba.