Author: Mobile Syrup

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Mobile Syrup

Kanye West to acquire Parler following Twitter, Instagram ban

Rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has entered into an agreement to acquire American microblogging and social networking service Parler.

The platform, which is primarily popular with Donald Trump supporters, conservatives, conspiracy theorists and far-right extremists, has been downloaded 6.2 million times in the United States and 8.5 million times worldwide across iOS and Google Play store, as of October 16th, according to data from data.ai.

The platform had roughly 983,000 global monthly active users in the first half of 2022.

“The acquisition ensures Parler a future role in creating an uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome,” wrote Parler in its Twitter post announcing the agreement. This comes soon after Ye was banned from Twitter and Instagram over antisemitic posts.

“This deal will change the world, and change the way the world thinks about free speech. Ye is making a groundbreaking move into the free speech media space and will never have to fear being removed from social media again,” said Parler CEO George Farmer.

It’s worth noting that the platform was removed from the App Store and Google Play Store following the U.S. Capitol riots in January 2021. The platform was subsequently reinstated under then-interim CEO, Mark Meckle.

West recently also came under fire for wearing a ‘White Lives Matter’ T-Shirt to his daughter’s basketball game, which is widely considered a white supremacist phrase.

Ye’s acquisition comes soon after he terminated his partnership with apparel retailer Gap, while Adidas has put the rapper’s Yeezy brand “under review.”

The deal is expected to close by the end of 2022.

Image credit: Revolt

Source: @parler_app

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Mobile Syrup

Ookla’s Q3 2022 market report says Telus is the fastest mobile provider

Ookla, the company behind the popular Speedtest app, published its Q3 2022 report on speeds in Canada and other regions. Per the report, Telus topped median download speeds for mobile, while Rogers claimed the top spot for fixed broadband.

It’s worth noting that the data in the reports comes from Speedtest.

Mobile download speeds

Starting with mobile speeds, Ookla’s report lists Telus as the fastest, with a median download speed of 76.03Mbps. Bell was a close second at 73.30Mbps, while Rogers trailed with a median 59.86Mbps. With uploads, the story flips — Rogers leads with a median 9.19Mbps, followed by Telus and Bell and 7.56 and 7Mbps, respectively.

Mobile upload speeds

Ookla’s report also includes a ‘Multi-Server Latency’ measurement. A help page on the Speedtest website notes that multi-server latency is intended to represent the latency users can expect when a network isn’t under heavy load. According to Ookla, Rogers lead the results for mobile with a media multi-server latency of 43ms, followed by Telus at 45 and Bell at 46.

Rogers also topped Ookla’s consistency test with a score of 79.9 percent. However, Telus and Bell were close behind at 78.5 and 77.8 percent, respectively.

5G Performance

Ookla’s report included details about 5G performance as well. Bell topped this with the highest median download speed of 144.73Mbps, followed by Telus at 136.29Mbps and Rogers at 97.55Mbps.

Regional speeds

Looking at regional details, B.C. posted the highest median download speed at 69.48Mbps, followed by Alberta and Manitoba. Zooming into Canada’s most populous cities, St. John’s has the highest median download at 129.74Mbps, followed by Halifax and Calgary.

City speeds

You can view the full report here.

Fixed broadband – Rogers tops download speeds

Fixed broadband median download speeds

Moving onto fixed broadband, Rogers leads the way with a median download speed of 223.89Mbps. Shaw is the only other provider to crack 200Mbps with a median 206.05Mbps download. Bell claims third at 157.05Mbps.

Fixed broadband media upload speeds

Upload speed tells a different story, with Rogers landing in sixth with a median 21.75Mbps. Bell tops this category with 120.76Mbps median upload, followed by Telus at 112.37Mbps. Shaw takes third at 61.26Mbps.

Similarly, Bell, Telus and Shaw take the top three spots for multi-server latency at 11, 12, and 20ms, respectively. Rogers lands in fifth at 21ms.

Rogers landed back at the top of the chart with an 89.7 percent consistency score, followed by Shaw at 87.3 percent and Cogeco at 86.1 percent.

Fixed broadband regional speeds

For fixed broadband, B.C. once again topped the regional chart with a median 151.81Mbps download speed. New Brunswick and Alberta round out the top three. For cities, Fredericton topped at 208.69Mbps, followed by Edmonton and St. John’s.

Fixed broadband city speeds

You can view the full report here.

Ookla’s Q2 2022 results can be found here.

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Mobile Syrup

Elon Musk sold $2 million worth of ‘Burnt Hair’ cologne in 24 hours

Elon Musk is now entering the fragrance industry with an “Omnigender” cologne name ‘Burnt Hair,’ proving yet again that his fanboys will buy anything with his name on it.

“The finest fragrance on Earth!” and “The Essence of Repugnant Desire” is what Musk and his Boring Company describe the cologne as.

The cologne is available for $141 in Canada, with a $50 shipping charge, bringing the total to $191. The amount can be paid with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Ethereum and stablecoins such as Dai, USDC, BUSD and more.

“Please buy my perfume, so I can buy Twitter,” Tweeted Musk. According to VanityFair, the world’s richest man sold over $2 Million worth of ‘Burnt Hair’ within the first 24 hours of its release, which is pocket change considering his massive $44 billion USD bid to acquire Twitter.

Since the cologne hasn’t shipped yet (ships in Q1 2023), we don’t really know if it actually smells like burnt hair. It would be funny if it actually does, because the bottles would live on as collector’s item as I doubt anyone would want to spray that on themselves

This isn’t the first time Musk is selling products that he has no business selling. Back in 2018, Musk’s Boring Company started selling a flamethrower, whereas more recently, in 2020, Musk’s Tesla listed short shorts for $69.420 with the Tesla logo in front with “S3XY” across the back.

Source: Vanity Fair

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Mobile Syrup

Uber Eats can now bring Torontonians weed and munchies

We’ve come a long way from buying weed from a guy in a 1994 Honda Civic in the parking lot of No Frills.

Toronto residents can now order cannabis products directly to their door via Uber Eats. This is the first time marijuana has been available to order in the province through a third-party delivery service. At launch, three cannabis retailers will be available on Uber Eats: Hidden Leaf Cannabis, Minerva Cannabis and Shivaa’s Rose.

“We are partnering with industry leaders like Leafly to help retailers offer safe, convenient options for people in Toronto to purchase legal cannabis for delivery to their homes, which will help combat the illegal market and help reduce impaired driving,” said Lola Kassim, the general manager of Uber Eats Canada in a statement.

To make the order, Uber Eats app users need to select the ‘Cannabis’ category. After selecting a retailer, a warning that you must be of legal age appears, followed by a menu of different marijuana products. After selecting your weed, the process is similar to a standard Uber Eats order. You’re notified when the retailer accepts your order and are given an estimated delivery time. And, of course, when the order arrives, the delivery person verifies the buyer’s age.

It’s unclear how much of a cut Uber takes of cannabis sales made through its app. The service typically earns a 20 to 30 percent commission on restaurant orders. The app also offers deliveries of products from Indigo Books, Dollarama, the Body Shop and several grocery stores.

According to a press release focused on the announcement, nearly 57 percent of cannabis purchases in Ontario between the start of January and the end of March were purchased through legal channels, leaving a large swath of weed still coming from the black market.

However, the results of this Statistics Canada survey are likely a little skewed given that those who purchase weed from illicit sources probably aren’t fond of telling the government about their illegal weed-purchasing habits.

This partnership with Uber Eats is an attempt by Ontario’s government to push back against the illicit marijuana market with a faster and more convenient delivery option than what the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) currently offers.

Uber Eats is available on iOS and Android.

Source: PR Newswire

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Mobile Syrup

CRTC may need until December to issue decision on Telus credit card fee

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) says it may take until December to complete its review of Telus’ application to add a credit card surcharge to customer bills.

The CRTC detailed the delay in a letter to Telus last Thursday after the commission’s previous 45 business-day deadline had passed. However, the letter does not appear to be available on the CRTC website yet, with details only made available via a Globe and Mail report so far.

Specifically, the CRTC said it may need until December 6th to complete its analysis in part due to the high number of public comments. There are currently over 4,300 interventions, many of which raise concerns about affordability and high prices.

Telus first filed the application in August and has since filed a response with the CRTC defending its decision to add a credit card surcharge, calling the fee “just and reasonable.”

It’s also worth noting that the application only applies to a small subset of Telus customers and that the provider doesn’t need approval to apply the fee to the majority of its customers. Last month, Telus emailed customers about the incoming change with ‘Lorem ipsum’ filler text, sparking an angry (and humourous) outcry on social media.

The credit card fee debacle traces back to the result of a lawsuit against credit card companies. Credit card companies previously included clauses in agreements with merchants to prevent this, but the lawsuit enables businesses to pass these fees on to customers.

So far, Telus seems to be the only one of the Big Three Canadian carriers planning to implement credit card processing fees. Rogers told MobileSyrup that it has no plans to add a fee “at this time,” while Bell hasn’t indicated one way or another.

Source: The Globe and Mail

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Mobile Syrup

OnePlus might be dropping the ‘Pro’ moniker for OnePlus 11

Since the release of the OnePlus 7 Pro in 2019, OnePlus has followed the ‘Pro’ naming convention for its higher-end flagship device. Some of the devices would later be followed with a ‘T-edition’ devices.

Now, it seems that OnePlus is ready to drop the ‘Pro’ model altogether (at least during launch) and release only a OnePlus 11.

The information comes via tech leaker Max Jambor on Twitter, and was shared by Android Police. Trusted industry leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer doubled down on the leak.

It is currently unclear whether OnePlus has completely dropped the ‘Pro’ branding, or if it has been pushed to a later exclusive release. Additionally, in reply to a Twitter user who asked if there would be no more Pro devices, Jambor said, “Not for Q1 2023 at least. The device we are going to see is pro-speced but they just skip the Pro name this time.”

From what we know so far, the OnePlus 11 Pro will reportedly feature a different design than its predecessor, including a revamped camera housing wrapped around its edges with a quadruple cutout for the cameras. Further, the phone is expected to launch sometime in early 2023 and sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor.

Source: @MaxJmb, @OnLeaks Via: Android Police

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Mobile Syrup

Apple will likely reveal its rumoured M2-powered iPad Pro this week

Apple’s upcoming M2-powered iPad Pro will likely be revealed in “a matter of days,” according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

This will be the first new version of Apple’s high-end tablet since the release of the M1-powered 12.9-inch and 11-inch iPad Pro in May of last year. Apple’s more powerful M2 chip will reportedly offer a 20 percent speed boost over the M1 processor featured in last year’s iPad Pros.

Gurman also mentions that Apple plans to launch a new iPad Dock with an integrated speaker and new Macs later this year. The dock will reportedly turn the iPad into a Nest-Hub-like device and sounds very similar to Google’s plans for its Pixel Tablet. Apple’s new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models will feature more powerful versions of its M2 chip called the M2 Pro and the M2 Max. Gurman says that an M2-powered Mac Mini is also on the way.

Apple’s new 2022 iPad Pro will likely feature the same design as last year’s models, including 11-inch and 12.9-inch displays. On the other hand, Gurman says that Apple is also preparing to launch a new entry-level iPad that features USB-C, 5G and an A14 chip. It’s unclear if Apple will announce its new entry-level iPad and iPad Pro tablets simultaneously, but both reveals will likely appear via press releases instead of a dedicated event.

Finally, the report mentions that Apple is working on an updated Apple TV that features its A14 chip and 4GB of RAM, offering a notable power boost over the current A12-powered/4GB of RAM version of the streaming device.

If Gurman’s report is accurate, we won’t have long to wait before Apple refreshes the iPad Pro and its entry-level iPad, with an announcement likely coming later this week.

Source: Bloomberg

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Mobile Syrup

Nokia partners with Canada, Ontario, Ottawa governments to fund 5G research hub

NEW YORK, USA, 25. MAY 2020: Nokia a Finnish telecommunications, technology, and electronics company Young boy chat on mobile phone. Company logo on screen in background

Finnish telecom company Nokia has announced plans to tear down its Canadian facility in Ottawa and build a new, 26-acre 5G research and development centre in suburban Kanata, roughly 20km outside the National Capital Region.

More specifically, the facility will be located at the Kanata North Business Park, one of Canada’s largest technology parks with other companies, including BlackBerry, Cisco, Siemens and Ciena.

Nokia reached a funding agreement with the federal government, as well as Ontario’s provincial government and the City of Ottawa, for the project. Nokia will invest $340 million in the project, while $72 million in total funding will come from the three levels of government.

That includes up to $40 million from the Strategic Innovation fund (although the Globe and Mail noted that the federal government provided Nokia with a separate $40 million from the same fund in 2019). The Ontario provincial government will continue $30 million through Invest Ontario, while the City of Ottawa will contribute $2 million through Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc.

Construction on the research hub will start next year, and the hub is expected to open in 2026. The facility will include residential towers and commercial spaces and aims to help extend Nokia’s 5G wireless network, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) portfolios.

The project will create at least 340 new jobs in Ottawa, expanding Nokia’s total staff in the city to about 2,160 (and about 2,500 total in Ontario).

Header image credit: Shutterstock

Source: CPAC Via: The Globe and Mail

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Mobile Syrup

Koodo, Fido, Virgin roll out another $65/20GB promo plan

Over the weekend, the Big Three flanker brands added new $65/20GB promotional plans after removing similar limited-time plans earlier this month.

Telus’ Koodo, Rogers’ Fido and Bell’s Virgin Plus now offer some form of a 20GB plan that costs $65/mo. Koodo and Virgin both just have a $65/20GB plan in place of the $65/15GB plan they had before. Fido, on the other hand, adjusted its $65/15GB plan to include a bonus 5GB of data, bringing the total monthly data up to 20GB. Interestingly, Fido’s website notes that the data bonus will be applied automatically and won’t show up until customer’s second or third invoice.

Moreover, both Koodo and Fido note that the $65/20GB plan is only available for a limited time, but neither displays an end date on their websites. Virgin Plus makes no specifications about its version of the plan.

Koodo also has its $60/mo 10GB plan listed as a promotional offer despite it being identical to the non-promotional $60/10GB plan it offered before.

Beyond that, there’s not much that’s special about these plans. They all include unlimited Canada-wide calling and texting, 4G data speeds, and other features like voicemail and call display (although some features vary from provider to provider).

If you missed out on the last $65/20GB offer from these providers, now’s your chance to take advantage.

You can check out Koodo’s plans here, Fido’s plans here, or Virgin’s plans here.

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Mobile Syrup

Apple AirPods (2nd Gen) drops to $148

If you’re looking for a great deal on 2nd-gen Apple AirPods, then best you head over to Amazon as the online retailer has significantly reduced the price today.

While not the newest pair of earbuds on the market, these AirPods are now 17 percent off its regular price at $148. At its original launch in 2019, the AirPods were priced at $$219.

The Bluetooth earbuds feature the company’s H1 chip and hands-free ‘Hey Siri’ support.

Check them out here at Amazon Canada.