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Create a US iTunes Store Account in Canada Without a Credit Card

By Darren MakSun, 04/04/2010 - 12:10

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App Store Error So after walking out of the Apple Store with my brand new iPad yesterday, the first thing I tried to do after joining the free Wi-Fi network at the Apple Store was to sign into the App Store and start downloading things to my new iPad!

Early adopter problem # 1 - as I have a Canadian iTunes Store Account, and the App Store for the iPad is not yet enabled in Canada, I could not open the app to download anything new on the device such as the iBooks app from the device.

No problem I thought, I will just fire up my laptop, download the iBooks app on it, and sync it over to my iPad.

Early adopter problem # 2 - the iBooks app is not yet available in the Canadian iTunes App Store. No problem, I will just create an iTunes store account with a US address, and download the app that way.

Early adopter problem # 3 - you need a credit card to create an iTunes Store account in the US, and it verifies that it is indeed a US issued credit card...

So I was out of luck, I could not access the app store on the iPad, and I could not download the iBooks app...

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Review of the Starwood Hotels SPG iPhone App

By Darren MakFri, 07/10/2009 - 15:17

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SPG iPhone App ReviewAs a big Starwood Hotels and iPhone fan, you might think that I would have blogged about the new SPG iPhone app that was released about a month ago already, but there were a few issues with it, that I wanted to see fixed before I reviewed it here.

Those fixes have not appeared yet, but I thought I should continue with my review at this point anyway.

I have used the SPG mobile site from my iPhone for the past couple of years while traveling, mainly to see if there was last minute availability at a previously sold-out hotel, or to check and see if a suite was available before I check in, so I can remind the hotel that I should be upgraded as a Platinum Preferred Guest. When I saw that there was a native iPhone app available from SPG, I went out with excitement to download it right away.

Download and install of the app went quick. At first glance I was pretty impressed, it allowed you to enter your SPG website login info once, and it would be saved for future use if you wished.

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AT&T Responds to Embarrassing iPhone 3G S Launch at WWDC

By Darren MakMon, 06/08/2009 - 23:34

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AT&T Was booed at 2009 WWDCUsually when Apple releases iPhones, their US network partner gets things first, and the rest of us have to wait. This time around however, AT&T was booed and laughed at when new features for the iPhone 3G S were announced at the WWDC keynote, and it was mentioned that these new features that rely on the carrier would not immediately be available on AT&T.

An interesting article in the LA Times and interview with an AT&T spoken appeared today, which provides excuses, I mean answers as to why they are lagging behind the rest of the world.

Apple iPhone 3G S Rogers Plan & Pricing Info

By Darren MakMon, 06/08/2009 - 22:43

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Rogers Will Carry the iPhone 3GS on June 19, 2009Assuming that everyone reading this has already heard that Apple today announced the new and improved iPhone 3G S, I will only give a brief rundown of the new functionality. Although much the same look as the existing iPhone 3G, the new hardware is faster, the battery lasts longer, has a 3 MegaPixel Autofocus camera with Video support, and built-in GPS with compass among other features. Although this new hardware will be a vast improvement, The iPhone OS 3.0 software that will run on the new device will also be able to be installed on previous versions of the iPhone, and the iPhone Touch will be available June 17th, and will give users many of the cool features that were demonstrated at todays WWDC Keynote Address, such as copy and paste, voice dialing, MMS messaging etc...

During the keynote, Canadian viewers were excited to see that not only would Rogers make the device available on June 19th, but they would also be offering Tethering to use your iPhone as a Modem for your laptop computer immediately as well, unlike AT&T. Many questions remained however in regards to pricing, plans, and if there would be a cost for the new features.

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