HP TouchPad is available in Canada today for $449

Palm, HP and webOS enthuiasts waiting to get on the 10" inch bandwagon will be happy to know that they can run out and get HP's TouchPad tablet (or Russell Brand's 'li'l robot butler'). Now retailing for $449 (16GB) and $549 (32GB) from Best Buy Canada and Future Shop, this is the first of many non-smartphone webOS devices from HP which promised big things for the mobile platform including shipping it on every PC in the coming year and even on its printers.

Read our full on HP TouchPad review to see our impressions. Feel free to shoot us any questions about the device or its accessories as we have one in house to test.

Samsung Galaxy S II 4G launches on Bell, Virgin Mobile and Sasktel

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Here's some video taken from Samsung Galaxy S II 4G launch event at the Thompson Hotel in downtown Toronto. Samsung officially welcomed the new super smartphone (1.2GHz dual core processor, a 4.3" Super AMOLED plus screen and Android Gingerbread) to Canada. The Galaxy S II 4G ships later this month to Bell, Virgin Mobile and Sakstel and has already shipped 3.5 milion units overseas. Stay tuned for our full review of this impressive and spec-packed device. The Samsung Galaxy S II 4G comes to Bell on July 21!

Motorola XOOM zips down in price, now $499 for a 32GB Honeycomb tablet

Our friends from MobileSyrup.com reported that Motorola's XOOM tablet is now $100 cheaper in Future Shop and Best Buy. The dual-core 1GHz tablet comes with 32Gb memory as well as a great assortment of features. We've had a lab unit for testing apps and there are a number of things we like about it like the quick recharge time, quick response and slick metal body, we also love the video quality on the XOOM although the slow adoption of apps has kept us from spending a lot of time with it.

At $499, this is a really great price for a 32GB 10.1" tablet, specially since Android 3.1 and 3.2 are on their way and should refine the experience. This makes other $499 16GB tablets seem expensive now, and the 16GB 7" inch tablets now just look exorbitant. How will competition react?

Why the price drop?

It is hard to speculate or guess what Motorola is thinking but they are either clearing the way for an updated model or sales are far below their expectations and slashing prices is one sure way to get people's interest.

Sources: MobileSyrup.com

              Future Shop

Review: HP Pivot on TouchPad

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

One of the more interesting components of the HP TouchPad is an app-specific tablet-zine that helps users learn more about available applications and also gives an insight on the developer community. Accessible through the TouchPad's HP Touch Catalog, Pivot is a novel way to promote the new ecosystem.

Click to read more ...