BlackBerry Passport available today from TELUS for $200 on 2-year plans

It seems like TELUS has scored another coup with the BlackBerry Passport. The new device is available starting today on TELUS for $200 on select two-year plans. The BlackBerry Passport will be available in other carriers after Septemeber 30th and is expected to cross over to 30 countries by the end of the year. The not so good news, if you want a contract free Passport, be prepared to pay Canadian $700 for this new device. No surprising since it is an enterprise focused device but I think may consumers will take a shine to this new BlackBerry. 

Update on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 at 10:56AM by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Rogers will be carrying the Blackberry Passport at a price of $249.99 on select two year Share Everything plans. Starting today, customers can also reserve their device on our reservation system – it will be available in retail stores and at Rogers.com starting on Wednesday, October 1^st.

Live from the BlackBerry Passport launch in Toronto

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

We're on hand the the big BlackBerry Passport launch event in Toronto where CEO John Chen has been spotted and is likely going to take the stage in a few minutes. The location is Real Sports bar and they're currently playing some dramatic music while streaming tweets on various screens stating how awesome the new Passport is going to be. Looks like we will be getting the 'bigger picture' soon, we're 15 minutes away from the keynote. Hit jump for our coverage of the event.

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OLAF morphs from scooter to suitcase and trolley in 30 seconds flat

This looks like a promising solution for when you need to rush to catch a connecting flight. The OLAF is a new Kickstarter project that integrates carry one luggage, trolley and kick-scooter in one.

For travel enthusiasts, OLAF Business version is a 3-in-1 hybrid of a carry-on airline approved suitcase, a trolley, and a kick-scooter. The engineering team has maximized allowed luggage volume, reduced weight and improved practicality: “It’s time to upgrade your luggage too!”

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BlackBerry Passport launch event to be live-streamed tomorrow

As we wind down one of the most event-packed Septembers in smartphone launch history, BlackBerry is taking its turn tomorrow to launch their new Passport smartphone in an event that will run concurrently in Dubai, London and Toronto. We couldn't make it to Dubai, but we will definitely be covering the event in Toronto as early as 8:00 am Eastern time. It has been a while since BlackBerry hosted a huge launch event like this (last time was the BB10 launch with the Z10 and Alicia Keys). It also feels like forever since I've attended a huge product launch in my hometown. For anyone who wants to catch the proceedings, Blackberry is streaming the event live from http://live.blackberry.events/.

Post launch, expect to get your my first impressions on the new device as well as some hands on video and possible review to follow. Stay tuned for what we hope is a great comeback event from the company that started it all back in the day.