PayPal Here Launches in Canada, Google Earth for Android and iOS Reaches Version 6.2 & Sparrow Launches Email Client for iOS With Gorgeous UI

PayPal Here Launches in Canada, Brings Mobile Payments to the Forefront For the last couple years we've been saying that what's really missing in Canada is something like the Square payment system. This product was created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and has experienced massive success in the United States. Square is a dongle that merchants can attach to their smartphone and start immediately accepting customer payments. There has been a couple Canadian companies offer a similar service, not as cool, such as Payfirma and Moneris'"PAYD". MobileSyrup Hey HTC Vivid Owners, Go Download Your Ice Cream Sandwich Update Despite launching last October, the Ice Cream Sandwich club is still a pretty exclusive one, and even moreso in the United States. Let's see, there's the Galaxy Nexus... and, yeah, that's really it. Surprisingly though, while HTC mentioned earlier this week that the Vivid would be among the devices to get the Ice Cream Sandwich update, the new software is already available to anyone who knows how to push the right buttons. Literally. TechCrunch Sparrow Launches Email Client for iOS With Gorgeous UI, No Push Notifications Sparrow's desktop email client for OS X includes a great UI and a number of great features such as multiple accounts, a unified inbox and a user-friendly layout. The company on Thursday brought those same attributes to Apple's iPhone, iPod touch and iPad with the release of its much anticipated iOS app. Much like the desktop version, Sparrow's mobile app features a simple, Facebook-like design that is light, responsive and easy on the eyes. BGR Google Earth for Android and iOS Reaches Version 6.2, Supports Custom KML Overlays and More Good news for fans of the iOS and Android ports of Google Earth: the apps are getting updated to version 6.2, which brings more customizable experience with it. Just like the browser and desktop variants, Keyhole Markup Language files are now accessible, meaning you'll be able to open up information overlays you find on websites, or from the app itself now that Google Earth Gallery's been added. Engadget

Motorola DROID Fighter shows up on camera

We've heard of the DROID Fighter in the past, with the phone's name making an appearance on a list of upcoming Verizon devices and over the weekend it looks like the phone has finally surfaced. The folks over at Phone HK recently posted a picture of a phone allegedly called the Motorola DROID Fighter. Looking very similar to the Motorola DROID RAZR, it features the same form factor of the latter the only difference being a larger display and the lack of capacitive buttons at the bottom of the phone. The DROID Fighter is said to feature a 4.6″ HD display, and it could have the 3,300mAh battery of the RAZR MAXX. The phone should also pack Android Ice Cream Sandwich at launch, as evident by the lack of buttons on it. No word on the phone's other specs, but we'll fill you in as soon as we learn anything. The DROID Fighter is slated to arrive on April 12th 2012.

Every HTC One S case gets blasted with 10,000 Volts

The great thing about dumbphones is that the majority of them are way more durable than your average smartphone. However, HTC is hoping its HTC One S is a little sturdier than rival devices. Announced at Mobile World Congress last month, HTC boasted about the phone's sleek AMOLED display, dual-core Snapdragon CPU, and sexily slim design. However, the company also bragged that this phone's ultra-matte black ceramic metal surface was the result of a microarc oxidation (MAO) process originally developed for use in satellites. “It transforms the surface of the aluminum unibody into a ceramic, super-dense crystalline structure that is four times harder than anodized aluminum, enabling the HTC One S to look great over time,” the company said at the time.

Nokia Lumia 719 spotted

Yes, we do know that the Nokia Lumia 610 comes with WiFi hotspot capability, in addition to the Lumia 710, 800 and 900 receiving tethering capability as well. Having said that, here is the Nokia Lumia 719 which was captured as a spy shot, where the smartphone is said to make its way to the Asian and American markets. Using the powers of deduction, the model number itself places it higher than the current Nokia Lumia 710 in the smartphone hierarchy from Nokia. Sporting a seemingly basic design, the Nokia Lumia 719 does seem to be thinner compared to the Lumia 710, and the physical keys remain right below the display. Word on the street has it that the smartphone will feature a 3.7″ AMOLED display complete with Nokia's Clear Black technology, and a 5-megapixel shooter that is capable of capturing video in High Definition. No idea on pricing, but it is tipped that the Nokia Lumia 719 will be announced in China officially this coming March 28th.

MasDroid Dual SIM Android Smartphone

Chinavasion is offering you their latest dual SIM Android smartphone, the MasDroid. The handset packs a 4.0-inch 800 x 480 capacitive multi-touch display, a 640MHz processor, a 256MB RAM, a 512MB of internal memory, a microSD card slot (up to 16GB), two GSM SIM card slots, a 0.3MP front-facing camera, a 3MP rear-facing camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, a 1500mAh battery and runs on Android 2.3 OS. The MasDroid can be yours for just $181.40 unlocked. [Product Page]

Samsung Galaxy 3 PR slide leak (unconfirmed)

This photo is supposed to show what the new Samsung Galaxy S3 will look like. It's a rendering, and if we are to believe that this image is real (let's stretch our imagination for a moment), it seems to have come from a public relations PowerPoint file (WeberShandwick is a PR agency). It's very unusual because a PR company wouldn't normally put its logo on there… According to the leak, Samsung will unveil this new device in London on May 22nd at a Samsung Unpacked event. These “unpacked” have become quite a tradition, so this could very well be true, and a European launch seem plausible as it was the case with the Galaxy S2, and yes, despite its reputation for being gloomy, London could be the place. In terms of design, the phone seems extremely thin (7.89mm, according to the street), and it seems like a very nice device, even if the white version looks like it has a “bumper” (a reference to Apple's rubber case) around it. On the image, you can also see that the bezel around the display is becoming ever thinner. It's hard to believe that Samsung would go for this black ring around the white phone. It seems like a design faux-pas, and this undermines the credibility of this leak, in my view. 7.89mm thin? Image from Netbooknews.de In any case, note that this is yet different from an earlier leak, that didn't feature the “Home” button on the phone. The lack of home button would be consistent with what was started by the Galaxy Nexus. I am personally in favor of a button-less phone (except for volume and power). This is another detail that seems inconsistent with a next-gen Galaxy S handset. Unfortunately, the launch date is potentially the most interesting thing in this rumor. The Samsung Galaxy S3 is about to attain “mythical” status by getting as high on the rumor mill as the iPhone itself. If you remember, the Galaxy S2 was announced at mobile world congress and launched in May. Is it time to prepare for impact? What's your take and what do you expect from a Galaxy S3?

UK customers can now pre-order their HTC One X and One S devices

HTC has changed its strategy this year. The refreshed idea is that the Taiwanese manufacturer will have fewer, better devices. And Mobile World Congress was the take off point, with HTC announcing the HTC One X, One S and One V. Said smartphones were among the most important highlights in Barcelona, and UK customers are now able to pre-order two of them. The UK popular retailer phones4u has recently updated its website. It now has pre-orders available for the HTC One X and One S with the carrier and plan of your choice (Orange, O2 and Vodafone). If pre-ordering devices is not your thing, you might be lured by the fact that they are throwing in and HTC Medialink with every pre-order. This nifty device will allow users to stream their content to their TV. And for free, this is a no-brainer if you were planning on getting one of these devices already. If interested, our UK readers might want to go over to phones4u to pre-order their HTC One X or HTC One S. It might also be important to note that Best Buy US already has the HTC One XL (AT&T variant of HTC One X) for pre-order. Is anyone signing up for an HTC One device?

CyanogenMod 7.2 Release Candidate 1 now available for 69 devices

If you are a custom ROM user and CyanogenMod fan, we have good news for you. The CyanogenMod 7.2 RC1 (Release Candidate) has just been released, and is available for 69 devices. If you are new to this, a Release Candidate is a ROM version that is considered mostly ready for use. There will be a few bugs and issues here and there, but the ROM is at its final stages and should be stable enough to use as a daily driver. No, this is not based on Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich. The CyanogenMod team has added some improvements and fixes from the Android 4.0 software, though. Aside from this, there are many bug fixes and new features included. One of the most important fixed issues is the vanishing ringtones from the SD-card. As it goes with such topics, there is the usual disclaimer. Flashing a ROM requires root access and may harm your device and/or void your warranty. Please be careful and do your research before performing any of these tasks, as the responsibility will fall on your hands if anything goes wrong. With that said, head over to CyanogenMod's site to see the list of supported devices, as well as the equally long changelog. If you are still ready to enjoy CM 7.2 RC1, head over to their mirror network to download the files. Happy flashing!

MetroPCS offering the ZTE Score M as an affordable smartphone

ZTE is not necessarily your Android manufacturer of choice, but they offer affordable devices. Those not willing to pocket out many Benjamins for a smartphone now have another option – the ZTE Score M from MetroPCS. It is the same low-end ZTE Score that Cricket released last year. The device comes with 600 MHz processor, a 3.5-inch display, Android 2.3 and a 3.2 MP camera. The device didn’t manage to get any great reactions last year, and it definitely won’t in today’s market. But the $50 price point (after mail-in rebate) might be enough to convince new smartphone adopters and pocket-conscious individuals. It could also be a good device to give to your children. “There is an increasing number of consumers that see how the functionality of a smartphone will enhance their lives, but still may not be prepared to commit fully to a costly device. Working with MetroPCS to offer these customers the ZTE Score M will allow them to have the smartphone experience at an incredible value.” – Lixin Cheng, ZTE USA CEO Considering the options, even within MetroPCS, we don’t see many of these flying off the shelves. But another option is always good. Would any of you consider a device like this?

The Zopo ZP200 is an affordable 3D phone from China

In terms of glasses-free 3D smartphones, we have the HTC EVO 3D and the LG Optimus 3D, both of which were released last year although the LG is currently the only one with a successor. We guess the novelty of a glasses-free 3D experience on your smartphone did not really take off, but that has not stopped a Chinese company from releasing a 3D phone of their own in the form of the Zopo ZP200. The device sports a 4.3x960×540 display, soft keys, a rear-facing 8MP camera, a 0.3MP front-facing camera, dual-SIM card slots and is running on the MTK MT6575 chip and will come with Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread preloaded, although it seems that the manufacturer has promised that an update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich will be made available at a later date. The Zopo ZP200 is expected to go on sale come mid-April for a somewhat affordable $299, although we're guessing that you'll be hard pressed to find it on sale outside of China.

SIM-free HTC One X and One S get priced in UK, Germany

The carrier-subsidized prices of the HTC One X and One S in the UK were revealed last week, but now we also got news of the SIM-free pricing of the two ultra-sleek smartphones in both Britain and Germany. If you live in the UK and are looking to experience the quad-core prowess of the One X without committing your next two years to a single carrier you'll have to part with about f £479.95. Getting to own the ceramic-coated unibody of the One S will cost the slightly cheaper £429.95. Both prices come from the Expansys database and while it's possible that there will be retailers to offer the smartphones for less, the differences shouldn't be dramatic. In Germany the HTC One X is currently on pre-order for €599 at the Saturn website, while some other online retailers are willing to go down to €577.15 (plus €7.90 shipping charges). Switching to the One S lets you save up to €100 - the more compact member of the One duo will go for €499. Are you getting either of the new HTC smartphones? Their market availability is just a few weeks away, so now looks like a good moment to make up your mind and start saving if you are.

Is this the Nokia Lumia 719c?

China is getting even closer to its first taste of Nokia Windows Phone and it might include a new phone entirely. While we're still two weeks away from Mr. Elop's proposed March 28th launch, the leaked shot above is purported to be the Lumia 719c - a previously unseen Windows Phone that could arrive in time for Nokia's latest smartphone push. It has that familiar curved shape and plastic build, but there's some slight design riffs to set it apart from both the Lumia 710 and 610 - one of which it'll likely replace in Chinese stores. We only have Mr. Blurrycam's one-shot portrait to go on so far, but expect to see some price-constrained specs like those seen on Nokia's other entry-level smartphone when (or if) it gets an official reveal.