*** Update *** December 31, 2009

The new Bell/Telus GSM network is online and you can use an unlocked GSM (Rogers, Fido, AT&T, T-Mobile) cell phone with them provided that it is compatible. Read more here.

To unlock your Rogers, Fido, or other compatible GSM phone, click here.

*** Original Article Follows ***

Remember the VHS vs. Betamax wars?  Way back in the 80s there were competing technologies for the home video market.  Betamax was arguably better and won the battle for adoption by broadcasters due to higher quality, while VHS won the war because of wider market acceptance and lower price. Recently we had the HD-DVD and BluRay war that waged over the course of a few years with BluRay coming out on top.

Now it would appear that the three way battle for cellular technology is over and the clear winner is GSM in Canada. There are three predominant technologies out there when it comes to cell phones:

• CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) – If you have a Bell, Telus, PC Mobile, Petro Canada, Virgin Mobile, or virtually any other private label pay-as-you-go brand phone in Canada, this is likely the technology that you’ve been using.
• TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) – If you had a Rogers/Cantel phone back in the 90s, you likely used TDMA technology.  Phones on the Mike network in the early 2000s were also TDMA.
• GSM (Global Standard for Mobiles) – If you use a Rogers or Fido phone today, this is the technology that you use.  If your cell phone has a SIM card in it, this is the technology you use.  Current Mike subscribers use a type of GSM.

Here’s what you need to know

If you’re currently in a contract with Bell or Telus and it’s coming to an end shortly, or if you’re looking for a pre-paid cell phone to use in Canada over the next year, think carefully before buying.  While handsets have come way down in price, cellular carriers generally subsidize the price of your phone (quite heavily) by banking on the fact that you will spend more over the length of your contract on air-time than the actual value of the phone.

Signing a new contract at this point with either Bell or Telus will lock you in with whatever handset you get or currently have.  Bell and Telus are engaging in a switchover to GSM service which is supposed to begin this fall and while the general speculation is that they will operate both GSM and CDMA networks for a while, CDMA service will eventually be switched off.

You may want to continue without a contract for the next few months until the new networks are launched, which will then give you the opportunity to get a phone that can be supported by Bell, Telus and Rogers.

Apple has been touting its newer Mac Books as being leaner and greener but what about the iPhone?

With the latest iPhone released on the market, you may be considering an upgrade but please remember to recycle the old one.

A video produced by Greenpeace reveals that the crowd pleaser is not green at all.  Containing chemicals that are all potentially toxic including Bromine, Chlorine, and Phthalates, it is more important than ever to remember to recycle your iPhone and other cell phones if you want to preserve the planet.

Lithium-Ion and Lithium-Polymer batteries are another part of the problem.  Lithium-Ion batteries are prone to explode or ignite when exposed to sunlight or high temperatures.

Here is the exceptional video that Greenpeace demonstrating what’s inside an iPhone.

I’ve long been an advocate for deposit-refund programs when it comes to recycling. Through my work at my old company Thriftopia.com, I was adamant that  the eventual downfall of all current government endorsed electronic recycling initiatives in Canada would be the lack of incentives for the general public to participate.

With a 98% recycling and recovery rate spanning over 70 years, I’ve always admired the system that Brewer’s Retail (aka The Beer Store in Ontario) has put in place.  To date, less than 12% of the 21,000,000 cell phones in Canada are recycled which leads me to believe that a deposit refund system for mobile phones would improve the situation.

I’ve been told by members of both OES and WDO that deposit-refund systems would be too difficult to administer, too costly to set up, and generally unattractive to electronic manufacturers.  While all of these objections are probably true, it cannot be disputed that when there is a financial incentive in place for the public to recycle, recycling gets done by the public.

A study about Ontario’s Blue Box program authored by David McRobert of Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, October 1994 showed that where well executed and promoted, deposit refund systems generally result in more than 95% redemption.

So the question remains, why aren’t we doing something similar with cell phones and other electronics?

Perhaps I’m simple but it would seem to me that a fee of $25 at the time of purchase for a device like a TV or cell phone and then a refund of $5 to $10 when the device is returned for recycling would encourage much more recycling in this province and elsewhere.

Keep your eyes open for our new bins at both Canadian Tire stores in Barrie.

These bins feature enhanced security to protect your privacy when you donate your old phone for recycling.

We’re working on replacing the rest of the bins in the community however it will take time as the bins are a little pricey.

Bell Mobility announced the completion of its takeover of Virgin Mobile Canada yesterday, having acquired the portion of the venture it had not already owned for a paltry $142 Million.

So what does this mean for Virgin Mobile subscribers?

Not much, so far, except that it should now be easier to buy new Virgin phones as Bell also completed its purchase of The Source by Circuit City and as part of the deal, Virgin and other Bell brands will be available in those stores.

Not everyone is impressed by this, however, as scans of blogs reveal that many subscribers feel that fees will likely go up.  Time will tell if Bell will maintain the level of service and satisfaction that has long been a key element to the Virgin brand.

I for one am a little saddened that Sir Branson will have less influence in our competitive landscape.  One of Virgin Mobile’s biggest contributions to our marketplace was advocacy for Local Number Portability – giving consumers the right to keep our phone numbers when we switch wireless or local phone carriers.

Did you know?

Cell phones contain tantalum, which is made from coltan, a resource mined out of the Congo in Africa. Mining coltan can destroy gorilla habitats, further endangering the species.

By recycling your cell phone, you can help protect gorillas!