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Smartphones in bed
December 21st, 2011 a 10:15am
I’ll admit it. I’m promiscuous when it comes to my wireless devices. I switch back and forth between my BlackBerry Torch and my iPhone. And I use an Android tablet.
I couldn’t live without my gadgets and I’m not alone.
According to research we released yesterday in the first Rogers Innovation Report, Canadians love their cell phones.The vast majority of Canadian smartphone and tablet owners (85%) say they’re attached to their devices.
How attached? Well, one in 10 (11%) say they wouldn’t want to live without them. And four in 10 (39%) Canadians say they sleep with their devices within arm’s reach – either beside them on the nightstand or in their beds.
Younger Canadians are even more attached to their devices. Among Canadians aged 18 to 24, three-quarters (76%) sleep with their phones within arm’s reach and one in four (23%) snuggle up with their devices in bed.
And we want to use them everywhere. One in four Canadians (23%) want to use their devices in the bathroom, with a minority (3%) even wanting to use their devices while taking a bath or shower.
Canadian smartphone and tablet users are also optimistic that new wireless technologies will keep making their lives better. Some 68% of Canadians surveyed said voice interaction with devices, such as Apple’s Siri, will make their lives better, while 61% feel using their devices for purchases will do the same.
What about you? How attached are you to your device? What’s the most unusual place you’ve ever used your cell?
Keith McArthur is Vice President of Social Media at Rogers
Tags: Samsung Galaxy S II LTE smartphone to ship as early as next week
October 25th, 2011 a 10:37am
Rogers customer, Brian Javier, right, activates Canada's 1st LTE smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE, at Rogers Plus location in Toronto.
At Rogers we pride ourselves on bringing you the newest technologies first.
We were the first carrier in Canada to launch an LTE network. We’ve quickly expanded that network to become the first carrier to offer LTE in four of Canada’s largest cities. And we were the first Canadian carrier to sell an LTE stick and LTE tablet.
It’s this commitment to being first that has allowed us to secure a very limited number of Samsung Galaxy S II LTE smartphones that we’re shipping to a handful of customers on the Rogers Reservations System today.
While we wish we could get this device to everyone who has reserved the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE on the reservations system today, we’re thrilled to be able to deliver on our first-to-market commitment by shipping Canada’s first LTE smartphones.
We’re also excited to confirm that we’ll continue to fulfill orders for the device as early as next week and expect to have enough devices for everyone in the reservations system.
UPDATE (November 3, 2011, 4:26 p.m): We are pleased to confirm that the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE devices have arrived and we will begin shipping tomorrow to all customers on the Rogers Reservation System. Please note, as we are trying to get the devices to customers as quickly as possible, delivery status on the Rogers Reservation System will say “in progress” today and remain that way until Monday. The majority of devices will arrive next Monday with the potential for some to arrive as early as Saturday.
Keith is Vice President of Social Media at Rogers
Tags: Steve Jobs: “One of the greatest innovators of our time”
October 5th, 2011 a 10:59pm
Like so many of you, we were shocked and saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ passing tonight.
Here’s what our president and chief executive officer, Nadir Mohamed, had to say about his life and legacy:
Steve Jobs was one of the greatest innovators of our time. He revolutionized how we consume entertainment, access information and stay in touch by making iconic devices that are brilliantly designed, intuitive and easy to use. He had a clear vision for what technology should deliver to consumers and his focus on the customer was relentless. He will be sorely missed. Our deepest condolences go out to his family, his friends and to all the employees at Apple.
How will you remember Steve Jobs? What did his company, his vision and his products mean to you?
Tags: Do you want your LTE? You can make a difference
July 21st, 2011 a 2:39pm
Here at Rogers, we’re doing everything we can to bring LTE to Rogers customers first. Earlier this month we launched Canada’s first LTE network in Ottawa and we’re lighting up LTE networks in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver this fall, with 21 more markets on track for 2012.
But there are some who want to put up a roadblock on your digital fast lane. They are proposing that the Federal Government limit who can have access to the 700 MHz spectrum in a public auction that will be held as early as next year. The outcome of this auction will have a major impact on deploying LTE across Canada. If a decision is made that prevents certain companies, including Rogers, from participating in the spectrum auction, it would be a recipe for leaving Canada behind the rest of the world, stalling Canadian innovation and limiting your access to LTE.
LTE can unlock the awesome digital potential of Canadians like you – in areas rural and urban – if deployed on the 700 MHz spectrum band. The 700 MHz band will allow for the fastest and strongest LTE network. This spectrum allows for coverage to reach rural areas and move underground and through buildings in urban areas, providing for a more consistent high-speed experience.
The government’s decision will have a major impact on bringing LTE across Canada. Policies that slow wireless advances harm our growing digital economy.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can make the difference. Visit Iwantmylte.ca to learn more. Take action by sending an e-mail to the Industry Minister and your local Member of Parliament to let them know that you want your LTE, and you don’t think anything should slow Canada down.
Keith McArthur is Vice President of Social Media at Rogers
: Tags: Our take on 4G and LTE
April 28th, 2011 a 11:09am
For several weeks, our largest competitors have been using the term 4G to refer to HSPA+ technology that Rogers first introduced back in 2009.
We’ve been trying to stay out of the name game. Our belief all along has been that what matters to our customers isn’t what we call today’s technology but what comes next. That’s why we announced yesterday that we’ll be launching Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver this year and bringing it to 21 more markets by the end of 2012.
Meanwhile, our customers are telling us they’re confused because different carriers are using different names to refer to the same technologies. So while we initially thought we wouldn’t need to follow suit, we will begin referring to our HSPA+ network as 4G over the next few days. This change will provide consistency for our customers and also aligns with the most recent definition of 4G from the International Telecommunications Union, which says 4G is any technology that shows a substantial level of improvement to previous 3G networks.
But there’s no comparison between HSPA and LTE, which we’re calling “beyond 4G.” Thousands of you have already visited iwantmylte.ca to express your excitement about LTE and to enter for a chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get behind the wheel of a professional race car.
Visit the site for a chance to win and to let us know where you want your LTE!
Keith McArthur is Senior Director of Social Media at Rogers
Tags: Thanks for #winning with us
April 12th, 2011 a 1:23pm
Thanks to you, RedBoard has become more than just a great place for two way dialogue between a brand and its customers: Now it’s also award winning.
We’re humbled to learn that the International Association of Business Communicators has found RedBoard deserving of a prestigious International Gold Quill award.
We’re also excited to share that the Next Is Now video has been selected as an Official Honoree for the Technology category in the 15th annual Webby awards.
We dedicate both awards to you – our readers.
If you haven’t seen the video yet, you can check it out below.
Keith McArthur is Senior Director of Social Media at Rogers
Tags: Rogers confirms LTE deployment; invests in Canada’s “Digital Fast Lane”
February 16th, 2011 a 3:40pm
Back in October, we announced Canada’s first comprehensive technical trial of Long Term Evolution (LTE) on our wireless network. Well today, we took a major step forward with the announcement that we are beginning a multi-year deployment of LTE wireless technology in 2011.
It’s clear that the world’s wireless products and networks are evolving to LTE and we’re pleased to lead in bringing this technology to Canadians.
LTE is fourth generation “4G” wireless technology that allows significantly more data to pass through a wireless network at faster broadband speeds. For our customers, LTE will truly enable a world defined by data, providing a true broadband experience for HD video streaming, gaming, communications, transactions and other connected experiences through mobile Internet. LTE will drive Canadian innovation and fuel what Nadir Mohamed, our president and chief executive officer, calls the “Digital Fast Lane.”
We’re excited about this news so we wanted to provide an update as soon as we could, but that also means we can’t share specific details yet about when LTE will be commercially available, which devices will be LTE-ready and which cities will get LTE first. We’ll be sure to update you here on RedBoard when more details are available.
Finally, a note on 4G: While there is confusion about what constitutes 4G technology, we won’t use that term to refer to the HSPA+ technology that Rogers first introduced in North America in 2009. When Rogers says 4G, we mean LTE.
Keith McArthur is Senior Director of Social Media at Rogers
Tags: Rogers High-Speed Internet customers not impacted by CRTC decision
February 2nd, 2011 a 3:31pm
Over the past couple of weeks, there’s been a lot of talk about Usage Based Billing and a recent CRTC decision involving Bell Canada.
You – our Rogers High Speed Internet customer – want to know how you will be affected by this decision. The short answer: you won’t. Your rates and the amount of Internet bandwidth you’re provided each month remain unchanged. And we offer a number of plans that provide the vast majority of our customers with more than enough bandwidth to suit their needs.
The CRTC decision relates to a very specific question about the economics of how larger Internet Service Providers (ISPs) sell bandwidth to smaller providers. More on that later.
I’m writing here because there is considerable confusion around the issue. Our customers are asking us questions about Usage Based Billing in forums, blogs and Twitter. In these online discussions, a very specific CRTC ruling about wholesale billing rates has led to a broader philosophical debate about how customers should be charged for Internet services.
Some people say you should pay the same no matter what you use – that casual Internet users should pay as much as those who download movies and music around the clock. (According to one study the top one per cent of Internet connections is responsible for more than 20 per cent of Internet traffic.)
Others say it’s more fair for customers to pay for the amount of bandwidth they actually use. We agree with this approach. It’s in line with the way other services are billed including heat, electricity and water. We use a similar model in selling long distance minutes because we think a customer who doesn’t make long distance calls shouldn’t have to pay extra to subsidize the heavy business user who spends hours on long distance calls each day.
Rogers invests approximately $2-billion each year on capital investments. This includes a significant investment in our broadband networks to accommodate Internet traffic that is growing at 40 per cent each year. In order to maintain fast reliable service and prepare for ever increasing demands for bandwidth, we are continually laying new fibre and rolling out new innovations such as DOCSIS 3.0.
That’s why we think it’s more fair to charge customers for the amount of Internet bandwidth they actually use.
For years, we’ve offered a variety of Internet tiers to meet the needs of all our customers. For a casual customer, our Ultra-Lite plan offers 2 GB of Internet bandwidth each month. That’s enough to send and receive approximately 50,000 e-mails, download 100 songs from iTunes (5MB each) and upload/download 500 photographs (2 MB each).
On the opposite end of the spectrum, our premium tier provides you so much bandwidth (175 GB) that you could watch streaming video on YouTube every day from 7 a.m. in the morning until midnight without reaching your cap. Customers who go over on this highest tier pay just 50 cents more for each additional GB.
And while business customers pay a little more, their bandwidth entitlements are higher – allowing them to drive innovation without having to worry about overage charges.
Not only are customers using far more bandwidth than they did a few short years ago, they’re expecting faster speeds. And we’re delivering. Here’s one example. In 2006, customers on our premium Extreme Plus tier paid $99.95 per month for top download speeds of 18 Mbps. Today, they get top download speeds of 25 Mbps for just $69.99. We offer tools on Rogers.com to help pick the plan that’s right for you. And you can check your usage by logging into the MyRogers section of the site.
Now back to the CRTC decision, which related to the question of how larger ISPs sell their services to smaller ones. The CRTC said ISPs can bill according to the same usage based billing principles they use to charge their own customers but with a 15 per cent discount.
The CRTC decision continues to generate debate with Industry Minister Tony Clement saying he’s going to look into the decision. What’s important for us is that regardless of what happens, we want our Rogers High Speed Internet customers to know they will not be impacted by this decision.
Keith McArthur is Senior Director of Social Media at Rogers
: Tags: Live from Rogers TabLife TO: CMO declares tablets dashboards of tomorrow
December 3rd, 2010 a 9:55am
We’re big believers in the future of tablets.
Today at Rogers TabLife TO, we unveiled a series of initiatives to help our tablet customers get the most out of their devices, including a Remote PVR designed for tablets.
We’ve also developed data sharing plans for tablets and will introduce a tablet-friendly version of Rogers on Demand Online early next year, John Boynton, Rogers executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said this morning in a keynote speech.
Boynton told the conference:
“Tablets are the dashboards for the highways of tomorrow. They are the command centres of the future…I can tell you about a service we’re working on that allows you to remotely control your home devices. Starting in 2011, you will be able to set your home PVR using your tablet. This means that while sitting in a restaurant you can choose what movie you want to watch. You’ll never have to worry about missing the first period of a Leafs game.”
He added that Rogers is committed to data plans that allow our customers to move between their devices easily, seamlessly and reliably.
“Instead of separate plans, people can buy a combined plan that is less expensive and now share their data across the devices they want. Data sharing is important because tablets will not replace smartphones. Tablets will be companion devices to smartphones providing instantaneous connections on a bigger screen wherever you are.”
We created Rogers TabLife TO to explore ways tablets are changing how we live, work and play. You can learn more about today’s event at tablife.ca. And, we’ll have full coverage of Rogers TabLife TO here on RedBoard early next week.
Rogers Tablet Touchpoint 2010
Alongside the event, we worked with The Strategic Counsel on research related to attitudes, behaviours and impacts of tablet use in Canada. Key findings of the Rogers Tablet Touchpoint 2010 include:
- 69 per cent of tablet users take their tablet everywhere they go
- 58 per cent of tablet users say their tablet is typically the first device they turn on in the morning
- 44 per cent of tablet users say they would rather give up their desktop or PC than their tablet.
- 63 per cent of owners use their tablets for work at least some of the time
- Almost 60 per cent of those do not own a tablet agree that tablets will transform the way we live, work and play
- 42 per cent say they plan to purchase a tablet within the next year.
You can see the detailed survey results here:
Want to win a tablet?
Coinciding with Rogers TabLife TO, we’re running a national contest where we’ll be giving away a Dell Streak and Samsung Galaxy Tab. To enter, all you have to do is tweet how a tablet could change your life for the better along with the hashtag #TabLife. For more details, check out @RogersBuzz on Twitter.
Keith McArthur is senior director of Social Media at Rogers
Update (December 3, 6:00 PM): As a preview of next week’s wrap-up post, below you’ll find photos from Rogers TabLife TO as well as the keynote speech from John Boynton entitled “Tablets in a Connected World.” We’ll have more videos here on RedBoard soon, including the sneak-preview demo of the new BlackBerry Playbook tablet with RIM’s David Neale.
Update (December 6, 10:20 AM): Below Research In Motion’s David Neale talks to Marc Saltzman about the soon-to-launch BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and what’s next for the tablet space in 2011. Neale demos a prototype device, including a hands-on with the user interface, HD video and camera functionality.
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RedBoard celebrates one-year anniversary
In our introductory post on March 2, 2010 we told you that the name RedBoard is a metaphor for whiteboards used for collaboration and asked for your participation.
You took up this invitation with a passion that exceeded our wildest expectations.
You’ve shown us you care deeply about Rogers, our products and our policies. You haven’t been shy about sharing your feedback – good or bad.
Based on our research of engagement on other company blogs, we were expecting about five to ten comments per post. Instead, an average RedBoard post receives close to 100 comments. We’ve had more than one million site visits to RedBoard and more than 10,000 comments.
To thank you for making RedBoard a thriving community of two-way dialogue, we’d like to invite you to celebrate with us.
There are two options:
Check back on this post next week for pictures from the event.
UPDATE (March 3, 2011, 12:12 p.m.): Thanks to everyone who attended our Tweetup last night. It was great to get together and celebrate the thriving community that RedBoard has become. We’re looking forward to the year ahead. To check out some pictures from last night’s event, go here.
Keith McArthur is Senior Director of Social Media at Rogers
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