Nintendo’s Wii Mini is $100 and only available in Canada

Nintendo confirmed the existence of its rumored Wii Mini on Tuesday, but the new version of the famous game console will only be released in Canada. Nintendo is mum on if and when the console will be released in the US.

The Wii is dead, long live the Wii. The Monday rumor that Nintendo is planning to release a brand new model of its six year old console has turned out to be entirely true. Nintendo officially announced the Wii Mini on Tuesday morning. As expected its smaller than current models of Wii and sports a very different look to boot. Rather than the glossy black plastic of the last Wii redesign, the Wii Mini has matte finish with a bright red border for a color scheme similar to models of the Nintendo 3DS XL. Like the first Wii redesign, Wii Mini doesn’t support Gamecube games or have ports for Gamecube controllers. Strangely it also doesn’t support Internet connectivity, meaning no Virtual Console or WiiWare games.

That’s not the only thing strange about Wii Mini, though. The budget priced console is only releasing in Canada on December 7. Digital Trends contacted Nintendo representatives in both the US and Canada to try and find out whether Wii Mini would be releasing in other territories.

“The Wii Mini is available exclusively in Canada during the holiday season,” said Nintendo of America’s representative, “We currently have no information about its potential availability in other territories (such as the U.S.) in the future.”

The question then is: Why Canada? Is that market in particular open to an ultra cheap Wii? Nintendo’s representatives in Canada said that they have no comment at this time as to why the console is exclusive to the region.

As mentioned in our Monday report, what makes the release of this new Wii model so strange is that Nintendo has officially stated that it’s no longer making new Wii games. When Nintendo released hardware revisions at the tail end of a console’s lifecycle in the past, it was always supported with new games. The top-loading NES for example was released in 1993, two years after the Super Nintendo, but it was supported with new games published by Nintendo through 1994. The Super Nintendo and Game Boy Advance followed similar patterns.

Wii Mini is part of what seems to be a trend in the game industry. Sony also released a cheap model of PlayStation 3 with only 12GB of flash memory outside the US that doesn’t focus on downloadable content.

The Wii Mini will be released in Canada on Dec. 7 and retail for $100.

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Sony Xperia Go arriving in Canada this November

The mid-range waterproof Sony Xperia Go will be coming to Canada by way of Rogers-owned Fido this November.  Sony also announced that a snazzy exclusive yellow model available if you're picking one up unlocked from Sony stores, while Fido will have black and white versions available.  

The Xperia Go was originally announced running Gingerbread, but an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich was rolled out a few weeks ago. Who knows if it'll be lucky enough to get Jelly Bean, but it seems like the real selling point for the Xperia Go is its ruggedness. We've seen this thing take a fair bit of punishment, and if it can keep the pricetag relatively low, there may be a lot of value there. Unfortunately, Sony stayed mum on how much it would cost either on Fido or unlocked, but the UK launch over the summer should provide a good idea of what to expect. 

Specs and additional details are in the press release below. Any Fido customers considering picking this one up? 

Smart, sleek and durable smartphone made to resist life’s challenges without compromising on design or functionalityReality Display for razor-sharp clarity and fast capture camera to go from sleep to snap in just over a second

October 24, 2012, Toronto, ON – Sony Mobile Communications today announced the Xperia™ go, the latest Android smartphone for consumers who desire premium specifications and beautiful design with extra durability and water resistance. As Sony’s most durable, water-resistant smartphone, the Xperia™ go is built to handle life’s unexpected moments. It has a scratch resistant mineral glass display and meets the IP67 ratings for protection against dust and water immersion between 15cm and 1m for up to 30 minutes. The Xperia™ go will be available in November through Fido and exclusively at Sony Stores in a limited edition yellow.

Industry research demonstrates that consumers consider durability and water resistance as important features when purchasing a smartphone. In a 2012 poll on Sony Mobile’s Facebook community, more than a third of global participants identified durability as the most important feature when choosing a smartphone. Not only can it go from sleep to snap in just over a second, the Xperia™ go is also scratch- and water-resistant, making it an ideal phone for users who want a phone they can rely on without the worry of easily damaging it. Wet screen control lets you operate the device even when standing in the rain, lounging by the pool or on the beach.

“The Xperia™ go is the ideal smartphone for the everyday user looking for a device that can keep up with their lifestyle regardless of whether it rains or shines,” said Peter Farmer, VP Marketing for Sony Mobile Communications. “This phone has the highest level of dust and water resistance in its category and we feel many consumers will appreciate its durability and uncompromised performance.1”

This powerful device conceals its rugged nature in a slim and attractive design, and, at only 9.8mm thick, users can enjoy its lightweight feel and easily transport it in a pocket or bag among keys, change and other items with reduced susceptibility to marks or scratches. The Xperia™ go’s sleek and stylish design means durable no longer has to look bulky and ruggedized.

The Xperia™ go has a 3.5-inch display that provides a visually brilliant viewing experience with razor-sharp clarity and brightness. The 5-megapixel fast capture camera, quick launch feature, and 720p HD video recording capabilities help to catch life’s unexpected moments in crystal clear quality.

Providing premium entertainment, the Xperia™ go will come preloaded with Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited apps from Sony Entertainment Network. Consumers can access Hollywood blockbusters, TV series and millions of music tracks. With so much entertainment to be enjoyed, this device comes with up to 8GB internal memory and the option to add up to 32GB external (microSD™) memory. As an added benefit, simply sign-up or access Box** from your Xperia™ go to grab 50GB of file storage from the cloud – free, for life!

Key Features for Xperia™ go:

3.5” Reality display powered Mobile BRAVIA® Engine gives razor-sharp clarity5MP fast capture camera goes from sleep to snap in just over a secondScratch resistant mineral glass display with wet screen controlHighest level of dust and water resistance in a smartphone (IP67 rating)1, 21 GHz dual core processor gives consumers super-fast performanceLaunching on Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream SandwichAvailable in black and white through FidoAvailable unlocked in a limited edition yellow exclusively at Sony Stores across Canada

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Square mobile payment service comes to Canada

Square's mobile point of purchase system has expanded beyond the U.S. into Canada today, marking their first step into international markets. Though Square didn't advertise any particular launch partners up north, they do have free headphone jack fobs available for small businesses to start accepting credit card payments on whatever Android devices they happen to be using. Transaction fees are 2.75% per MasterCard or Visa swipe, which is apparently pretty competitive. 

Unfortunately, Square Wallet isn't available to Canada just yet, but will be arriving in 2013. The app will enable users to pay for goods, use loyalty cards, get receipts, and leave reviews for businesses.  Although Square tends to be lumped in with iOS, their Android app has been available for a couple of years now. I'm interested in seeing if Square hops on the NFC bandwagon at some point, but for the time being, I'm sure they do reasonably well just dealing with Visa and Mastercard. It would be great to see some Interac support eventually, too.

Hey Americans, how often do you see Square in use in businesses? Should we feel screwed that Square Wallet isn't available right out of the gate? Keep in mind that we still don't have Google Wallet up here, or even anything like Isis, so this may be the best thing we can get for mobile payments for the immediate future. Any Canadian business owners interested in giving this a shot? You can sign up over here. 

Soruce: Square

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Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 now available in Canada

After a few hints of an impending launch, Samsung has announced that the Wi-Fi version of the Galaxy Note 10.1 is now available at a variety of retailers across Canada starting at $499. The Android tablet includes all of the good stuff you'd expect, like the dual-screen multitasking, the S Pen accessory, and 50 GB of DropBox storage.

Online stores like Best Buy and Future Shop are still showing preorder status and an expected release in five days, but with any luck that may change before the end of the day. Pop in to your local store to see if they have stock, and let us know in the comments. An LTE model for Rogers, Bell, and TELUS may find its way to shelves before the end of the year, but no official word on that just yet. 

Full specs for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 are tucked away below in the press release. Any Canadians considering getting one of these? Our review had a few criticisms of the tablet, some of which may be deal-breakers for you. 

SAMSUNG INTRODUCES A WHOLE NEW LEVEL OF INNOVATION TO THE CANADIAN MARKETPLACE
The Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 Inspires a Culture of Active Content Creation, Productivity, and Learning

MISSISSAUGA, ON, September 21, 2012 – Samsung Canada, today announced that the highly anticipated GALAXY Note 10.1 is now available in the Canadian marketplace. The device is available for purchase at authorized retail partners across Canada.

The GALAXY Note 10.1 extends the GALAXY Note category, building on the success of last year’s worldwide hit smartphone – and delivering the functionality and precision of a pen and paper by combining the S Pen with a 10.1-inch large display.  Featuring an advanced S Pen with 1,024 levels of sensitivity, GALAXY Note 10.1 is designed for natural and intuitive content creation.

“The Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 enables users to create content anytime, anywhere with the value added S-Pen,” said Paul Brannen, Vice President, Enterprise Business Solutions, Samsung Canada. “The S Pen offers active content creation and productivity, while the Note 10.1 is the ideal screen size to consume multimedia – whether watching videos or looking at files on-the-go. This truly provides Canadians with a unique and true multitasking experience.”

True Multitasking with Multiscreen Feature

With GALAXY Note 10.1’s Multiscreen feature, users can effortlessly utilize two different applications side-by-side simultaneously for true and easy multitasking. Users can view Web pages or videos, or launch other applications while writing or sketching ideas with the S Pen on the other half of the screen – no need to toggle back and forth between apps.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 features applications to meet the increasing needs of a growing mobile workforce, from interfacing with customers to creative sharing. Featured applications include: S Note, Internet Browser, Video Player, Email, Gallery and Polaris Office.

S Pen & S Note -  Make it Personal

The S Note application is a unique tool that gives users the ability to combine notes and sketches with other digital content in ready-to-use templates. Shape Match converts hand-drawn shapes such a square and lines into clean and perfect versions – perfect for creating charts and formula Match can actually solve formulas hand-written with the S Pen.

The S Pen is embedded directly into a slot in the device and when removed, activates a taskbar with quick access to optimized S Pen apps such as S Note, Adobe® Photoshop® Touch and Polaris Office Alternatively, users can easily set their preferred application to be launched instantly.

S Note is also integrated with knowledge search engines so that users can search for content, obtain information, and easily drag and drop content onto S Notes without having to switch between screens.

Adobe Photoshop Touch – Edit Photos Like Never Before

Adobe® Photoshop® Touch, is preloaded on the GALAXY Note 10.1 and is optimized for S Pen, enabling users to control brush size and opacity by just adjusting the pressure of the pen on the screen.

Users can also use popular Photoshop features such as layers, selection tools, adjustments, and filters to create mind-blowing images, or use the high quality GALAXY Note 10.1 camera to fill an area on a layer with the unique camera fill feature. With Photoshop Touch, it’s also a snap to add or remove people or objects from a photo, or blend two photos together.

Photoshop Touch is integrated with Adobe Creative Cloud providing users free access to powerful file syncing and sharing features and 2GB of storage space. Files can be synched to the Creative Cloud and opened in Photoshop on the desktop or laptop for further refinement.

The Ultimate Experience

Samsung is adding even more value to the Note 10.1 through a range of partners with featured applications on the device:

To allow seamless collaboration with others, the GALAXY Note 10.1 offers a free two-year subscription to Dropbox, giving users 50 GB of storage space – a $100 value.**Samsung Smart Remote, powered by Peel, utilizes the built-in IR emitter in the GALAXY Note 10.1 to transform the device into a sophisticated universal remote control that can control an entire home entertainment system and even recommend programs.Finally, Polaris Office lets provides robust word processing, spreadsheet and presentation capabilities, while S Pen support makes it a snap to mark up and annotate documents.

Pricing and Availability

GALAXY Note 10.1 will be available for $499 MSRP at major Canadian retail partners beginning September 21st, 2012.

For additional information, please visit www.samsung.com.

Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 Product Specifications

Processor: 1.4 GHz quad-core processor with 2 GB RAMDisplay: 255.8mm (10.1”) WXGA(1280x800) LCD + DigitizerOS: Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)Multimedia:Camera: Main (Rear): 5 Megapixel Auto Focus Camera with LED Flash and Sub (Front): 1.9 Megapixel VT CameraVideo: Full HD(1080p) Playback & HD RecordingAudio: Music Player with SoundAlive and a 3.5mm Ear JackMemory: 32GB User Memory + MicroSD Expansion Slot (up to 32 GB)Dimensions: 262 x 180 x 8.9, 597gBattery: Standard battery, Li-ion 7,000mAh

* All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.

* *See www.dropbox.com/help/338 for terms and conditions of Dropbox offer.

Adobe and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries

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