iPhone officially dated for Canada
June 16th, 2008 at 08:45am madgunde
Back at the end of April, I mentioned that Rogers had announced that they would be bringing the iPhone to Canada “later this year”. For those who maybe missed the news, “Later this year” means July 11. Yep, after just over a very long year of waiting, us Canadians will be able to walk into our local Rogers or Fido store and buy the new iPhone 3G!
Rogers, in what seems like a feeble attempt to instill suspense, is advertising that “Something really big is coming July 11th”, as though we’re all supposed to be in the dark about what that something is. Someone should ring up Ted Rogers and let him know that mystery teaser ads are much less effective if everyone already knows what it is. OK, ribbing aside, clicking “Learn more” brings you to the Rogers press release archive, and if you scroll down to June 9, you just might find this press release which confirms the mystery device is the iPhone 3G. Pricing is listed as $199 and $299 for the 8GB and 16GB models respectively, with a 3 year contract.
No plan pricing details are provided, so looks like we’ll have to wait a bit to find out how much they’re charging for data and if you have to sign a 3 year data contract in order to purchase the iPhone 3G at the discounted price.
Fido’s website on the other hand, is being ultra-original by announcing “Something really cool is coming July 11th”. See what they did there? They used the word “cool” in place of “big”, and suddenly they have a completely original advertising campaign. Somebody worked overtime to come up with that I’m sure. Clicking the ad on Fido’s website links to this press release which details the same handset prices as Rogers, but no additional details.
Now the question that I’m sure many of my readers really want to know: Once the iPhone officially comes to Canada, will owners of unlocked 1st gen iPhones be able to use their devices on Rogers or Fido without having to hack them anymore? In other words, will we be able to install the firmware 2.0 update, plug in our SIM card and activate our iPhones through iTunes or will we have to keep playing the firmware update hack game? I will be sure to update you all once I find out, but we probably won’t know for sure until shortly after July 11.
So, are you planning on buying the iPhone 3G once it comes out in Canada? If so, are you new to iPhone or will you be upgrading from a hacked iPhone? Let us know in the comments below.
Entry Filed under: Apple, Gadgets, News, iPhone
5 Comments Add your own
1. abe | June 17th, 2008 at 12:27 am
I will be the first one in line, depending on Rogers plans and pricing.
They have stated they are not fans of unlimited plans like AT&T had for the iphone; for me that is a deal breaker for the iPhone. Not that I would be using it 24/7 or even 8/5, but without that kind of plan the iphone is just an ipod (and as I already have an iPod touch…). The pricing of their plans will also make my mind up for me. If it’s not equivalent to or better than AT&T’s pricing that we’ve been reading about for a year, again it won’t make it worth it to me.
As I said, I’ve been wanting/drooling for one for a year, but it all depends on what Rogers/fido does with the ball in their court. I want one but it’s their decisions that will determine whether I will get one.
2. madgunde | June 17th, 2008 at 9:46 am
@abe
I agree, especially if you’re forced to sign a long term data contract. If like their existing policy, you only need to have a voice contract, then there’s nothing stopping you from forgoing a data plan altogether and only use it with WiFi. At $199, if you’re in the market for a new cell phone, it’s still your best bet, even if you can’t utilize all of it’s features all of the time. Just as a phone/PDA/WiFi internet device, its still worth every penny in my opinion.
3. will | June 20th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
I am still unsure whether i will be upgrading or not…. the deciding factor will be: A) what the data prices are… and B) if they will allow me to add the new data plans to my existing iPhone…
I would rather not sign a 3 year contract with anyone right now since early in 2009 we should see a new national wireless provider enter the market as a result of the wireless spectrum auction currently underway, this could be a big motivator for rogers to lock up everyone into three years before we have a viable option for wireless service
another thing to consider is weather the speculated “unlimited” data for $30 is true, and if so will it limiit the unlimted portion of the deal to browsing and email, and shun all the cool 3rd party apps that will be available that will rely on a network connection…
only time will tell, but until then lets speculate some more….
4. Shleppinstein | June 29th, 2008 at 1:34 am
So how does everyone feel about Rogers’ plans? Pretty much screwing us over it seems. 3 year contract and no unlimited data plan.
5. madgunde | June 29th, 2008 at 9:45 am
@Shelppinstein
Depends on how you look at it. Compared to the U.S., it’s definitely not as good a value, and the lack of an affordable consumer unlimited plan is a big disappointment. But compared to Rogers previous data plans, these iPhone plans are a MAJOR improvement, not only in the amount of data you get included, but also in the overage charges. Accidentally racking up a $1,000 data bill, which was easy to do if you weren’t careful on the old plans is now next to impossible.
At least we’re making progress. We’re probably trailing the U.S. by about 2-3 years, which has always been the situation with telecommunications here in Canada, whether cell phone, long distance or mobile data.
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