Telus this morning became only the second North American carrier to adopt the Motorola Rival on its network. The QWERTY slider is built for messaging with quick access to e-mail, Facebook and IM across Windows Live and Yahoo. It occupies the entry- to mid-range category among non-smartphones with a 2-megapixel camera, 3G data, a 3.5mm headphone jack and microSDHC support up to 8GB.

The Canadian carrier's edition hooks into Telus' Navigator service for assisted GPS and its mobile music store. Pricing starts at a relatively high $100 when the Rival is joined to a three-year plan but tops out at $300 for a contract-free version. Units should be in stock today.