Apple hosting an event on October 16 in Cupertino campus

Apple has confirmed its October 16 special event at the Apple Campus in One Infinite Loop. October has historically been iPad and Mac related launches and it is likely we will see new iPad Airs and iPad minis with the addition of Touch ID and Apple Pay capability plus a refresh in design to reflect the rounded look and feel of the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Judging from the invitation, some other product lines are due for a refresh and while Mac mini and Apple TV come to mind, we wouldn't be surprised to see new iPods as well as maybe some sweet 5K Retina Display monitors.

Apple has been hard to predict of late, there are always some surprises and If you consider Eddie Cue's statement about seeing the 'best product pipeline in 25 years,' plus the fact that Apple hasn't had any Beats-related product launches, maybe more Apple Watch reveals, and it's easy to see how this could be a packed event. Since the event is being held at the Apple Campus, it will likely be an intimate gathering although possibly livestreamed.

Canadian Reviewer will be on site at the Apple Campus next week to bring you the goods from the launch event as well as some hands on time with whatever new products or services come from Tim Cook & Co.

Review: BlackBerry Passport

Text and photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

A lot of credit goes to BlackBerry for not scrimping on build and materials, not that they ever did. But by including top tier specs and boosting battery life, they've made the Passport a viable contender to many popular devices out there, specially in terms of speed and performance.

After lukewarm sales of earlier BB10 devices, BlackBerry went into restructuring mode and decided to focus on the enterprise market, which was slowly slipping away. With this in mind, they created the third device launched under CEO John Chen (the first being the Z3 and the second the super posh Porsche Design P'9983). The result is one of the most unusual smartphones ever to come to market. The big, bold and audacious Passport may just be BlackBerry’s ticket back into the mobile market.

Click to read more ...

The Apple Beat: Why Apple Pay is sending shockwaves through the payments industry

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

 Apple Pay is actually a very big deal. More than just enabling mobile payments in a handful of partner retailers, the entire system is designed to ‘just work’ once the switch is flipped. Apple Pay will hope to become as prevalent a payment option as Visa, MasterCard or any debit card that people are already using. 

The first public Apple Pay transaction is still a few weeks away from happening, but news that Apple’s solution to mobile payments is coming, is sending shockwaves through the payments sector.

A key feature of the new iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch, Apple Pay has the backing of major credit card companies, over 800 million ready-to-go credit cards on iTunes, various debit cards plus 220,000 retailers and businesses have already signed up or, at the very least, already have the necessary infrastructure to accept Apple Pay without any large investment in hardware or training.

Click to read more ...

BlackBerry Passport now available across major Canadian carriers

Powerful, exciting, unusual and disruptive; the BlackBerry Passport is finally avaiable from more Canadian carriers today. You an get the Passport at TELUS Mobility, Rogers Wireless, Bell Mobility, MTS Wireless and SaskTel Wireless. Please see the carriers’ websites for up-to-date pricing information. 

The BlackBerry Passport’s innovative touch-enabled keyboard, unique 4.5” square screen and long battery life are built for mobile professionals who want a smartphone that empowers them to accomplish more.

It’s also the first BlackBerry device to come preloaded with BlackBerry 10.3. This new OS release includes BlackBerry Blend, a new app that seamlessly and securely brings messaging and content that’s on your BlackBerry smartphone to your computer and tablet. Here are our first impressions of this new chapter for Canada's mobile company.