The iPhone 3G
14 July 2008, early evening
I went to Dufferin Mall to get contacts. I haven’t worn contacts in ages. They feel weird in my eyes, but I can see again, so that’s all that matters. While there I stopped by the Fido shop to see if they could add Visual Voicemail to my current iPhone — I hate normal voicemail, and the rates are the same. They told me, politely, no. I had already been told this on the phone — twice — but I like to ask around. Talking to various Fido reps I got the feeling my dreams of an iPhone first generation amnesty plan weren’t going to come true anytime soon. So I did what anyone would do: I bought the new iPhone. (It’s worth re-reading my last post on this topic, where I make fun of all the rich kids and yuppies I predicted would buy them. I guess I’m a yuppie.)
For those curious, I dropped my current value pack, which I added when I got EDGE working on my old iPhone, and added the new iPhone value pack — which is basically the same thing but with Visual Voicemail instead of normal voicemail, and no data rates whatsoever. On top of that I added what I really wanted, which was the 6gb/month data plan. All in all, that’s $27 more a month on my cell phone bill. I also sold my soul for 3 years, which is the part that really hurts. The thing is, I really wanted that 6 gig data plan. Rogers/Fido totally have my number.
I’ll have more to say later, but the GPS works, browsing is quick, and my headphones finally fit in the damn phone.
Update: Saturday I was sitting in M0851 with Dave talking about the iPhone and how expensive they were in Canada. Dave had been crunching numbers that morning, and decided it wasn’t worth getting. I was pretty much in agreement. Who wants to spend $90 a month on their cellphone? I’m not sure when I changed my mind on this.
I’m basically betting on the Rogers/Fido plans getting worse over time, not better. In most industries this is a stupid bet to make, but in Canada when it comes to cellphones you’re probably on safe ground. I’m willing to bet most people reading this post are on grandfathered plans. My voice plan costs $5 more than it did when I bought it. The value-pack I used to have included 12 megs of data you could use with any phone. This was replaced with a value-pack you can only use with select Fido phones, though it includes “unlimited” data. (The cellphone industry in Canada likes to define unlimited as limited.) I think that the 6 gig data plan is going to disappear never to be seen again as soon as Rogers and Fido are done with their iPhone promo.
Angry Robot sums up my feelings nicely:
Rogers is buying the nerds off. The early adopters get the iPhone as it’s meant to be enjoyed, but everyone else gets stiffed with the sucky plans. Rogers avoids the iPhone becoming horribly uncool – “you bought the iPhone? What are you, stupid?†– and avoids bad nerd of mouth. It also avoids bad press re: weak launch sales of iPhone, Bell and Telus kicking their ass with the Instinct, etc. Yet after a scant two months, it gets to keep the plans that everyone hated, the plans that virtually guarantee expensive data overages. — Daragh, Rogers iPhone Debriefing
The rumours going around are that different contract terms will be announced on the 24th of June. (So you may be able to get a phone with a 1-year contract, 2-year contract, or no contract at that time. My guess is that the phone prices will be outrageous.) We’ll all have to wait and see if the iPhone actually does shake up the cellphone industry here in Canada.
WHY!!! Why would you give into those bastards at Rogers…I was on the Rogers site looking over the plans..3 year contracts! Service fees! Completely crap service!!…The service fees always get me, it’s like on that SEinfeld episode when Jerry goes to buy a car from Putty, and he charges him the “Finders fee”…same shit..my work mate is going to ebay my touch and i’ll just buy the iPhone straight up, I don’t need to change my plan that much…I’m filled with rage that you gave into Rogers…our family hates Rogers!!! I don’t even associate with people named Roger here, and if I do I punch them in the face first
by ahilan on July 15 2008, 3:42 am #
Did you end up with the 8gb or the 16gb? With all these apps to install (but never use beyond the first trial) plus music, it seems like it’s going to be pretty easy to fill either model.
by stashuk on July 15 2008, 6:04 am #
What have I been saying all along? Ram is a yuppie! (That doesn’t bother me one bit though, since now I also have an iPhone.)
by sh!ma on July 15 2008, 7:07 am #
i think i remember what it’s like to have disposable income…sigh.
by matthew on July 15 2008, 9:08 am #
Ali — who is buying a house and having a baby — made the same joke. I’ve updated the post with some more thoughts.
by ramanan on July 15 2008, 10:29 am #
Aren’t there a bunch of new providers coming to the market next year? More competition should force some of the rates down.
by Ananthan on July 15 2008, 3:11 pm #
I think it’s certainly possible, depending on who enters the market. It’s also quite possible companies see Canada as a market where they too can gouge consumers.
Rogers, Bell, and Telus bought up most of the spectrum that was being auctioned. Quebecor apparently bought up all the Quebec licenses. Outside of Quebec, Globalive is the only new contender of note, as far as I can tell. And there are some people who think they are going to be deemed invalid because of all their foreign investment.
by ramanan on July 15 2008, 3:35 pm #
These are the rates for us in London, as you can see they are far more gangster than the crap Canadian companies dish out.
Also, our unlimited evenings don’t start at 9, and don’t require $5 to get it back to 6 lol
by ahilan on July 16 2008, 3:27 am #
Damn. So you got one. I’m making the same move, so I’m not going to argue with your decision obviously. But yeah the contract length is a bitter pill.
It’s still really hard to find a 16.
by D on July 16 2008, 1:34 pm #