Godammit. First the stock market drops lower than Amy Winehouse looking for her imaginary crack rock in the shag carpeting, and now Halle Berry is pulling up stakes from America because her model boyfriend is a mama’s boy. The Montreal Gazette reports:

A small town in the Laurentians just got a little more beautiful. Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry and her Montreal partner, model Gabriel Aubry, have bought a house in St. Hippolyte, Que.

The million-dollar home, which the Hollywood star and her boyfriend reportedly bought several weeks ago, sits on 63 acres of land overlooking Molson Lake.

Aubry, who is the father of Berry’s daughter, grew up near Montreal and his parents still live in the suburb of Laval.

“It feels great, Aubry said. “Anything we can do in our own hometown is always a good feeling.

Enjoy that good feeling while it lasts, Aubry. First you compromise the integrity of Halle Berry’s vagina by getting her pregnant. Then you try to rob America of one of its most precious natural resources altogether. We’ve invaded countries for way less than this, and if you think we won’t resort to biological warfare, you’re sadly mistaken. That’s right—we’re not above stuffing Pamela Anderson full of Ecstasy and shipping her right back across the border. Try us.

Filed under: Cellphones

The Foundations said it best in their 1968 classic, but seriously, why let us down like this? Nokia didn’t mind busting out a litany of press shots and all the specifications one could need to get amped up about the 5800 XpressMusic, but it obviously has something holding it back from launching in “mature markets” before 2009. In an announcement that’s just as disappointing to the suits in Espoo as it is to those in North America and Down Under (just to name a couple), we’ve now learned that the touchscreen-dominated handset will only be available in seven countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe before 2009 dawns. Even worse? Not knowing how deep into next year we’ll have to wait for this thing here in the US of A. Catch our feelings spelled out in video form after the break.

Continue reading Nokia’s 5800 XpressMusic to mature markets: see you in 2009

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

You already witnessed our unboxing and hands-on with Sling Media’s Slingbox PRO-HD, and if you’re anxious to know when you can grab one of your own, how’s about right now? Sling has revealed that its $299.99 high-def box can be purchased this very instant from its website and other B&M retailers, and for Canadians feeling a touch left out, take heart — you all will be able to purchase the unit “in the coming weeks” for $329.99.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Peripherals, Wireless, Storage

Frustrated by somewhat sluggish transfers from your otherwise spectacular Eye-Fi card? Fret not, as the company has just announced a forthcoming update at Photokina that will reportedly enable new and existing Eye-Fi owners to make “the upload of digital photos from camera to computer twice as fast.” Also of note, as of October 5th, users can even add features that aren’t already included on their card and renew annual services by tapping into the updated Eye-Fi Manager Web application. In related news, the outfit will be pushing its wares to Japan and Canada by the year’s end, and in even more related news, Eye-Fi now supports direct photo uploads to Apple’s MobileMe and the AdoramaPix service.

Read - Eye-Fi getting 2x faster
Read - Eye-Fi going international

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Look, we know there’s some kind of good explanation for these things existing, but Apple, don’t you think it’s a little weird how they keep cropping up in stores even though you never, ever mentioned them? That’s right, those 4GB iPod nano 4Gs we saw at Dutch retailers last week have now made their way onto Best Buy’s Canadian website. Over in North America, the players will apparently sell for $139, and will be available tomorrow… or so they say.

[Thanks, Robert]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Wireless

Check it, Canucks — Air Canada is following in the footsteps of several other airlines by finally taking the plunge on in-flight WiFi. Similar to American Airlines, it has landed a deal with Aircell in order to bring the intarwebz to the friendly skies on select flights. Starting next spring, certain transborder flights from the Great North to the West Coast of America will give passengers the option of hopping online for C$12.95, and Charles McKee, the airline’s vice-president of marketing, has asserted that it has every intention of rolling the service out “across its North American fleet” in the future. Now, if only every other airline would follow suit…

[Via Jaunted]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

We can’t verify the claim, but we have no reason to doubt the authenticity of this picture taken of Microsoft’s new 16GB flash-based Zune 16 and FCC approved, 120GB Zune 120. It’s not the backstory we find so solid, it’s more the thought that some lonely soul is busy Photoshopping Zune rumor images on a Friday night — an ennui so black we could not possibly fathom. Oh and the French? Zune’s in Canada remember, blown-up international and the source country of this photo.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

We can’t verify the claim, but we have no reason to doubt the authenticity of this picture taken of Microsoft’s new 16GB flash-based Zune 16 and FCC approved, 120GB Zune 120. It’s not the backstory we find so solid, it’s more the thought that some lonely soul is busy Photoshopping Zune rumor images on a Friday night — an ennui so black we could not possibly fathom. Oh and the French? Zune’s in Canada remember, blown-up international and the source country of this photo.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Gaming

Well, color us surprised! Here we have yet another “limited edition” PlayStation 3 bundle, this time with Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune packed in alongside a PlayStation Network voucher for PAIN, a DualShock 3 wireless controller and… a 160GB PS3 console? Yep, Sony’s formally introducing us to the new king, which will start shipping to North America this November in the aforementioned kit for $499.99. Curiously, there’s no word as to whether it’ll be released separate from the bundle (we’re guessing yes), and there’s no mention of PS2 backwards compatibility (so don’t count on it). In related news, the “new” $399.99 80GB version is finally shipping to retailers, so you should be able to snap one up in the very, very near future.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Cellphones

While Sprint and Verizon consider final monikers for the HTC Touch Diamond, some North Americans are already enjoying the thing up in the Great North. The ecstatic folks over at Mobile Syrup were able to snap up Telus’ version of the WinMo 6.1-packin’ handset, and of course, they put together a video review for us Americans to drool over. The 7:15 clip includes a few comparison angles with other mobiles and a full walk-through of the user interface. Reviewers found the web browsing on Opera Mobile to be a real treat, and of course, they couldn’t deny the awesomeness of the 640 x 480 resolution display. You can check the review in full just after the jump, but if you’re easily made envious, we’d suggest you not.

Continue reading Telus’ HTC Touch Diamond gets video review

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

When Westinghouse launched its 40-inch LCD HDTV / DVD combo unit earlier this year, we really began to think of just how nice it’d be to broaden Blu-ray’s appeal by shoving a drive into a new set for those looking for simplicity. Enter Funai — the company currently responsible for the lowest priced standalone BD deck on the market — which is reportedly aiming to loose an LCD HDTV with built-in Blu-ray player on the North American market next summer. The company typically brands its wares with names like Sylvania, Symphonic and Emerson, so we wouldn’t expect the highest-end stuff here. That said, we’re glad to see someone taking this very necessary step, even though you won’t catch us recommending ‘em to anyone but the technologically challenged. [Warning: read link requires subscription]

[Via CrunchGear]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Cellphones

We understand the need to catch eyes these days, and while Rogers will certainly not be the first nor last to promote a new piece of kit with an obscenely large version of said kit, this one just takes brobdingnagian marketing to a new plateau. The absolutely gigantic Rogers Bold launch kit includes a plethora of Bold flyers, informational pamphlets and all sorts of other goodies that’ll be handed out to prospective buyers shortly. The real question is: who gets to take this thing home once the buzz dies down?

[Thanks, Michael]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Though the Sprint version is the most well-scooped CDMA variant thus far, Telus is actually becoming the first carrier ’round these parts to announce the Touch Diamond imbued with a little EV-DO for your data-consumption pleasure. The phone will run $149.99 CAD (which is just about a wash in US dollars) on a three-year contract, accompanied by data plans ranging from $15 for email and instant messaging to $30 for email, IM, and web browsing. Sprint, Verizon, we anxiously await your press releases.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Cellphones

Fired up to capitalize on some of the hype Sprint has managed to drum up for the Instinct down in the States, Samsung’s taking its iPhone fighter north of the border for a promised intro later this summer. Bell Mobility is the lucky partner (seriously, Telus, you probably should’ve hustled Samsung a little harder for this one), launching at price points ranging from $149.95 up to $449.95 for a three-year contract all the way down to zero commitment. Features and software look like they’re all carrying over from their stateside cousin, although the UI’s looking just a little bit less Sprint-ified (read: no yellow tinge). Nice.

[Via MobileSyrup]

Update: There are rumors that Telus is slated to pick it up, too, but we haven’t seen anything solid just yet. We’ll let you know.

Update 2: Yep, Telus is down with it — exclusivity be damned! Thanks, howi!

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Portable Audio, Portable Video

var digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/OFFICIAL_Rogers_announces_iPhone_3G_plans’; Here we have it, iPhone 3G pricing for our better mannered, gun-toting friends up north. All the plans from Rogers Wireless require that lovely, three-year contract and include visual voicemail, free evenings and weekends, and unlimited WiFi at all Rogers and Fido hotspots. The plans start at $60/month for 150 minutes of voice and just 400MB of data before topping out at $115/month for 800 minutes voice and up to 2GB of data. None of these plans offer unlimited data as previously rumored. See the details after the break.

Continue reading Rogers announces iPhone 3G plans, unlimited data isn’t one of them

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Just like we said, the Zune has made its first retail appearance in Canada. Come June 13th, our friends to the north will be able to get their hands on Microsoft’s media players, starting at $139.99 (for the 4GB flash variety), up to $249.99 for the big-daddy 80GB version. Pre-orders are being taken now, but something tells us you’ll be able to get one on launch day regardless.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Robots

Though it’s certainly not the first time a robotic surgeon has made news after joining the staff at a Canadian hospital, history has just been made in Calgary. Doctors (the human kind) were able to use remote controls, an imaging screen and the neuroArm in order to successfully remove a brain tumor from a 21-year old woman. Hailed as the first procedure of its kind, the team already has a line of patients waiting to receive similar surgeries, and the mechanical hand is being praised for its precise movements and delicate nature. Unfortunately for the arm, no pay raise (or extended vacation) is in sight.

[Via Slashdot]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Hear that? That’s the sound of dozens of Canadians rejoicing as they finally get a launch date for the Zune in Canada, a year and a half after Zune’s debut in the US. As rumored, Canadians will have a slightly limited lineup on offer, with no 30GB or green versions to puzzle over, but the red Zune 80 will indeed be making an appearance, along with the rest of the players. Prices range from $140 to $250 Canadian Dollars, which sources tell us is a real currency akin to salt traded by the ancients or a Starbucks Card.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Cellphones

Get this: the first North American carrier to offer up Nokia’s 8GB N95 isn’t AT&T. Heck, it’s not even a US-based operator. No friends, it’s Canada’s own Rogers Wireless. Just as we had heard late last month, the N95 8GB has officially landed in the Great North, and starting on May 6th, consumers up that way will be able to secure one for a hefty $399.99 with a three-year activation on the Rogers Vision Unlimited On-Device Mobile Browsing Plan. Don’t weep too heavily, AT&T users — your time should be coming soon.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Just hold on a little while longer, Canadian Zune-lovers — it seems that your wait is almost over. A job listing just popped up on the Vancouver Craigslist, looking for a “Microsoft Zune Program Coordinator” who will “represent our client Microsoft on their launch of Zune in the Canadian marketplace.” The job calls for applicants to be available between May 12 and June 20, so if it’s legit — and we hope it is, just because we prefer to believe no one is sad enough to fake this — it looks like the Zune will finally roll into Canada in just a few weeks.

It might be in a slightly smaller posse, though: the crew over at ClicZune recently took a gander at Microsoft’s Candian Zune promo page and noticed that the Zune 30 and the green flash Zunes are conspicuously absent. (Also missing is the recently released red Zune 80, but that was announced after the pages in question were made.) It’s hard to tell what this means — do Canadians hate green things? Are the 30 and green on their way out in the US as well? — but hopefully we’ll get some answers in just a couple weeks.

[Via ClicZune, thx Penny]

Read - Craigslist ad
Read - Microsoft Canadian Zune promo page

Permalink | Email this | Comments