A year after apple released it’s 1st generation Iphone in the US, it finally arrived in Canada on July 11th. Rogers is the exclusive carrier for the IPhone in Canada (right now the only carrier with GSM network), it offers the phone for $199 (8GB) and $299 (16GB) with a 3 year contract. I must give credit to the marketing team at Apple, they have done a tremendous job in marketing the product and releasing it world wide on the same date was a very clever marketing strategy and has paid off very well.
iPhone 3G
Many people were caught up in the hype that they didn’t even bother to take a closer look at the phone and the commitment it needed. Taking a close look at the iPhone 3g and Rogers plan I have come to the conclusion that the iPhone is not worth the cost.
Rogers contract
3 year contract with a minimum $30 data plan TOP UP. If you choose to cancel your contract you may have to pay a hefty $400 cancellation fee, if you choose to downgrade your data plan there is a $50 fee if you cancel the data plan $200 fee (notice all the fees yet?).
Yea the iPhone is a nice phone to have if you make use of the features that come with it.
GPS—uses google map and is fairly good at pinpointing your location if you are outdoor. It’s fast and reliable as long as you have 3G coverage, it does use your data plan. It obviously can not be compared to a full GPS system you can buy for $99 these days.
Web surfing—The 3G technology does provide you with very fast internet access however not WiFi speed yet. How much web browsing could you possibly do on a phone?
Camera—Not the best phone camera, it still has the same 2mp camera as the first generation.
Email—If you have your email set up correctly this can be a very neat feature if you use your email often, like I do.
Appstore—gives you direct access to Apple store to download 3rd party applications to enhance the iPhone. There are many neat applications, however you have to PAY for them.
The limited time offer $30/mth data plan gives you 6GB which is more than enough for most users, however the plan will cost you an ADDITIOINAL $1080 over 3 years.
I personally don’t think it’s worth buying the 3g phone from Rogers, if you really want the iPhone I suggest get the 1st generation unlocked and jailbroken from the US and use it on Rogers network. There is no long term commitment and since it’s jailbroken you can get the applications for free. The 3g version has been jailbroken, however it will VOID your warranty.
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