More than one in four young wirelessly connected Canadians browse the web
from their mobile phones everyday, driving the 'online, anytime'
revolutionTORONTO, May 14 /CNW/ - Canadians are becoming captivated by "mobile
surfing" - increasingly accessing the web from their cellphones and
smartphones daily. Polling conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of Rogers
Wireless showed that 26 per cent of wirelessly connected Canadians aged 18-34
are accessing the web from their mobile devices everyday, and of that, 65 per
cent are browsing from their mobiles multiple times a day.
The study found that 70 per cent of wirelessly connected Canadians are
accessing the mobile internet for personal email, compared with just 11 per
cent in 2008(1). Thirty-six per cent of respondents used their mobile devices
to search for information, up from just seven per cent in 2008.
In addition, more than one quarter are browsing the web from their
mobiles at least once a day, with half of those accessing popular social
networking sites like Facebook and Twitter directly from their mobile devices.
The HTC Dream™ and HTC Magic™ smartphones will soon debut in
Canada, the first cellphones in Canada powered by the Android platform,
providing Canadian mobile surfers with two high-powered options to keep them
surfing anytime, anywhere. With full HTML browsing and 3.2 inch HVGA
touchscreens, both smartphones are built to let you get the most out of your
mobile browsing experience. These phones will build on Rogers Wireless'
leading line-up of 3G mobile devices.
"The Internet is a huge part of our everyday lives - especially younger
Canadians who want the web all the time," says John Boynton, Senior Vice
President and Chief Marketing Officer, Rogers Wireless. "With must-have
handsets like the HTC Dream and HTC Magic, running on Canada's fastest mobile
network, Canadian consumers now have an unmatched selection of mobile devices
delivering them a true web experience when and where they want it."
Research conducted by Ipsos-Reid showed that 70 per cent of wirelessly
connected Canadians surfing the web on their mobile phones are checking
personal email, and nearly one in three mobile surfers are using popular tools
like maps and search. Android's integration with a wide range of Google™
mobile services, including Google Search™, Google Maps™, Gmail™ and
more, means Canadians can enjoy their favourite web programs when and where
they want.
The HTC Magic features a 3.2 inch LCD HVGA (480x320) touchscreen with a
virtual touch keyboard. The HTC Dream features both a 3.2 LCD HVGA touchscreen
as well as full five-row QWERTY keyboard, making it simple for users to surf
and text however they prefer.
Both handsets feature a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and camcorder
mode, which allows users to film video and upload directly from their handset
to YouTube. Both handsets also feature an accelerometer for sensing movement
and a digital compass for complete orientation data, as well as microSD
storage that's expandable up to 16GB.
Both the HTC Dream and HTC Magic run on Rogers' 3.5G, 7.2 Mbps High-Speed
Packet Access (HSPA) network, twice as fast as any other network in Canada. On
the 7.2 HSPA network users achieve wireless download speeds similar to
standard broadband connections, giving them the only true mobile broadband
experience in the country today.
Full survey information is available at www.ipsos-na.com/news.
Rogers will release additional details of the launch soon. In the
meantime, customers can join the revolution by signing up for more information
at rogers.com/revolution.
About Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless provides wireless voice and data communications services
across Canada to more than 8 million customers under both the Rogers Wireless
and Fido brands. Proven to operate Canada's fastest mobile data network as
well as the most reliable network for voice with the clearest reception and
fewest dropped calls, Rogers Wireless is Canada's largest wireless provider
and the only carrier operating on the global standard GSM and highly advanced
HSPA technology platforms. In addition to providing seamless roaming in more
than 200 countries/areas with its GSM based services, Rogers Wireless also
provides wireless broadband services across Canada utilizing its 2.5GHz fixed
wireless spectrum. Rogers Wireless is a subsidiary of Rogers Communications
Inc. (TSX: RCI; NYSE: RCI), a diversified Canadian communications and media
company. For further information, please visit www.rogers.com.
Google, Google Search, Google Maps, and Gmail are trademarks of Google
Inc. HTC Dream and HTC Magic are trade names of HTC Corporation in Canada and
other countries. Rogers and the Rogers logo are trademarks of Rogers
Communications Inc., used under licence.
(1) Harris/decima CWTA Attitudes Towards Wireless Study 2008