What a difference one year makes.
US smartphone ownership is up from 38% in 2011 to 50% today, according to Nielsen, while Canadian smartphone ownership is up to 54% from 36%, according to J.D. Power.
88% of mobile device owners who have downloaded an app in the past month are Android or iOS users. And we now average 41 apps on our smartphones, up from 32 last year.
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Bruce Croxon says that Canadian entrepreneurs are "as smart, or smarter, than anywhere in the world."
The Lavalife founder and star of Dragons' Den told the CBC this week that he finds it "ridiculous" that Canadian tech startups feel forced to move to Silicon Valley to grow: "Canadian companies go to the States to get their money or languish on the shelf because there isn't the support here," he fumed.
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Bad news for RIM's BlackBerry today. Vancouver's Absolute Software, a provider of firmware-embedded, endpoint security and management solutions, has released Absolute Manage 6.1, which includes expanded Bring Your Own Device support for smartphones and laptops.
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Telus-owned Koodo Mobile has once again been crowned by Canadian consumers as Canada's best wireless company.
According to the J.D Power and Associates 2012 Canadian Wireless Total Ownership Experience Study, Canadians rated Koodo higher than any other stand-alone cellphone carrier, ranking "exceptionally well" in cost of service and offerings and promotions.
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Lloyed Lobo is right in saying that Nokia’s Lumia 900 is getting some pretty solid reviews. Pulled videos aside, Nokia’s goal is to be the premier provider of smartphones that run on Microsoft’s Mango operating system here in North America.
You could say that Nokia has basically built a competitive minimum viable product with a few basic features added in an attempt to re-capture some of the mobile market. The phone is only available at Rogers in Canada but is selling well worldwide.
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GRAND NCE, or Graphics, Animation and New Media/Design, is a mostly academic network of technology, computing, gaming, design and social studies experts who seek to promote excellence and collaboration amongst diverging disciplines and research projects. In a nutshell, they’re a group of people researching in different fields related to technology and trying to work together to form well-rounded and unique research about the way we currently relate to technology, the ways in which it can be improved and the forms it will likely take in the future.
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Toronto-based accelerator (not an incubator, like some misinformed people suggest) Extreme Startups has selected five companies for the inaugurual round of its program.
The organization saw applications from companies in 18 countries spanning five continents, according to TechCrunch—but ultimately settled with an all-Canadian lineup. Three startups are based in Extreme's hometown of Toronto, while one is from Edmonton and one is from Ottawa.
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Today, Toronto-based startup Wave Accounting, a free cloud-based accounting software platform designed specifically for small businesses and solo entrepreneurs, announced that they have secured $12 million (USD) in Series B funding from the Social+Capital Partnership, a Palo Alto-based investor group aimed at turning venture capital into a socially progressive and constructive force that creates progress on a global scale, with participation from existing investors Charles River Ventures and OMERS Ventures.
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40% computer users in Canada admit they have acquired pirated software, the Business Software Alliance reported today. According to the 2011 BSA Global Software Piracy Study, 27% of all copies of software were unlicensed last year in Canada. The BSA pegs the commercial value of this priacy at more than $1.1 billion.
“If 40% of consumers admitted they shoplift—even rarely—authorities would react by increasing police patrols and penalties. Software piracy demands a similar response: concerted public education and vigorous law enforcement,” affirms Jacquie Famulak, Chairman of the BSA Canada Committee.
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Last month Tim Hortons launched