Jobs bars 3G Jesus Phone sales at Canuck Apple Stores On Friday, the 3G Jesus Phone makes its debut in 22 countries across the globe, including Canada. But you can't buy one from a Canadian Apple Store. "[The 3G iPhone] will not be sold in [Canadian] Apple retail stores, but we will have the product to demo, and all our specialists will be trained on the 3G iPhone as well," is …
All the more chance that I can get one — as an iPhone-focussed freelance developer, I'll be in a world of hurt if I can't lay hands on the hardware come Friday & the release of the App Store. And while I abhor the pricing, I do have enough money to pay for it, so I can weather those plans until they get lowered (as I sincerely hope they will be).
...is that these prices are actually *good* compared to the data plans Rogers and Fido offered before.
K, it's aboot the fact that Canada's cellphone market stinks. When I visit back to the U.K. I notice that cellphones (and plans) are about the *only* thing that are cheaper than here.
The Canadian market is basically a cartel. There's two GSM operators - Fido and Rogers. Only problem is, Rogers now owns Fido, so there's really only one. So if you need a GSM phone because you travel to Europe, you're basically in a monopoly.
There's two CDMA operators - Telus and Bell. They tend to offer amazingly similar products and prices, all substantially higher than in Europe, Asia, or even the States (and often fairly outdated hardware).
Telus has some okay data plans - I think something like $99 for essentially unlimited data (there's an AUP limit at 2GB or 4GB or something, but apparently people who use more than that haven't actually been picked up so far). But EVDO coverage is pretty limited to major metropolitan areas, and rev A coverage is even worse. GSM 3G coverage is frankly a joke, and didn't even exist until earlier this year.
It's easy to tell how much profiteering goes on, because if you call up your provider, threaten to cancel, and get transferred to the 'save' people and give them a hard time, you can get some absurd discounts. I pay around $38 a month (after tax and 'system access fee') for my service, which isn't actually terrible, although it's still more than I'd pay for the same (with a bit of data thrown in) in the U.K. If I was paying the list price, though, it'd be somewhere north of $60.
I don't think either invented the name, it's in wide-spread use and even appears in the urban dictionary. And all the time there are people like you to get peeved it will remain funny.
On the subject of teeth, I presume you mean 'are all Brits NOT image-obsessed vacuous 2 dimensional idiots?'. The blatantly obvious veneers (not teeth – they are what you are grow naturally and choose to rip up in favour of a TV inspired sham) sported in the North America are sooo funny to the rest of the world.
*Paris because she typifies your fixation with image, hope you succeed in becoming just like her!
We don't have any official Apple Stores in NZ. But if we did I'd hope Mr Jobs wouldn't sell them from there either. Why? Well you Canadians have one thing to be happy about at least, you are no longer the bottom of the shitty data plans pile. Frankly the Vodafone NZ plans make you look good. $80 a month for 200mb and $250 for 1GB (over 2 years). In CAD thats $65 a month and $195 a month.
NZ only has one GSM network - Vodafones. The other network (Telecom) is CDMA. Telecom have just realised they are in a tech dead end with CDMA, and are now moving to GSM. In 10 years instead of a monopoly, we might have a duopoly. Yay!
From TVNZ site:
The iPhone 250MB plan will cost $80 a month, the 500MB plan will cost $130 and the 1GB plan will cost $250. The plans all include 600 texts and between 120 and 600 minutes of voice calls. There will be an additional cost per MB of 10cents for the 250 and 500 MB plan and 3 cents for the 1GB plan.
These are two-year contracts, details at:
http://www.vodafone.co.nz/iphone/plans.jsp
Iphone and rogers / Cantel were made for each other. now I am not a huge fan of any wireless service in Canada, but rogers tops the list of companies that treat thier customers with total contempt. They would promise thier phone works in the middle of the praries 400 KM's from any cell tower and when you get home they would say your locked in for 3 years, then promise the same thing to your uncle that lives next door, except knock off $10 / month because of the stories you told him. If Jesus lived in Canada he would have a land line!
The Carphone Whorehouse I went into today told me they are only receiving 15 phones come Friday (that's one in the centre of London, so I'd imagine people will be disappointed). It did make me wonder if, after the less than stellar reaction to the original iPhone launch, Apple were trying to artificially great a demand... Lot's of people complaining no 3g iPhone==Lots of publicity (and apparently even the bad stuff is seen as good by these marketing types).
Adam's comments pretty much nail the situation. I was an old Telus customer from back when analog ruled (er, was the only option). When Fido reached national coverage I switched, for three reasons: GSM, unlocked phones, and reasonable rates. I needed a GSM phone I could travel with, and stuff with prepaid SIMs on a per-country basis. They let me connect an unlocked phone with no hassle. In fact, they promoted and sold unlocked phones on their website. CAD$30/month got me 300 anytime minutes and an unknown amount of SMS I didn't use back then. There was also a data option, but again I didn't need it at the time. Oh, and long distance was 9 cents/minute (no plan required) at a time when the ILECs were still billing upwards of 40 cents/minute. A sweet package I've carried since 2002.
Then Rogers bought out Fido. Eeep. Unlocked phones? Never heard of 'em. No contract packages? WTF are you talking about. Long distance charges? 35 cents a fscking minute!!! And the real pisser: if I travel 20 miles up the road from Vancouver and leave the "local" Fido coverage area, I get to pay 25 cents/minute in roaming charges to the exact same carrier I have my contract with. (Fuck you, Ted!)
The online petitions are nice, but what we need are protest lines in front of all the Rogers stores in this country. Given the insane things we protest in Vancouver as it is, we can surly (that's not a typo) shut down these thieving bastards for the duration of the weekend.
They won't pay attention, but ever since the yahoo's stopped marching in front of the KFC on Davie St. the west end has been way too mellow.
Clutching at his chest, poor Arkwright falls to the floor and spasms once whilst quietly moaning "Ow much?"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/openallhours/index.shtml
Nice shiney toy - but bugger the cost - its not that important that I spend the same as a reasonable 2nd hand car over the next two years.
CAD $60 is only the sticker price, you then have to add (small print):
$6.95 Access Fee, $0.50 911 fee, and Tax - which varies province to province, but is typically around 12% (Except in oil rich Alberta).
That makes a bare minimum of around $75 - but that price does not include caller ID (I kid you not) which you either add by itself for another $7+tax (now $83.50) or as part of a 'value pack' which also adds a useable number of SMS's for $15+tax. (now around $92)
But it does not stop there - if you over shoot your 400Mb of data you then switch to the 'punishment rates' for data of $0.50 per Mb for the next 60Mb (another $30+tax), before being let off onto the 'You have served your time' rate of $0.03 for additional Mb's.
That $60 sticker price quickly becomes $90...$110... $130 and that's the low end package, nobody really knows how much data the phone will actually eat, for instance, is the push email really push, or just system level 10 second polling? Google Maps? App store apps? etc. etc. etc.
Imagine what Vodafone might charge if they were allowed to buy up all the other GSM providers in the UK - and while the UK gov would never allow such a monopoly that's exactly what the Canadian government waived through a couple of years ago when Rogers bought Fido. The only real choice we have to fight it, is just to not buy an iPhone.
Which can't please Saint Steven one little bit.
This site lays out the numbers a little better: http://getthefactsonrogersiphone.com/
Have you ever noticed that the only time you ever actually see anyone in the vicinity of that KFC is when they're protesting something? I've never seen anyone actually *eat* there...they'd be much better off trying to sell fat-slathered saturated fat sticks in Surrey, let's face it.
Ooh, yeah, on topic...er...oh, yes, just to give the rest of the world another good laugh at Canada's expense, Bell and Telus announced today that they would be charging people for incoming text messages. Sigh.
And now the latest kick in the crotch by Canadian Cell phone companies... Telus and Bell are starting to charge for INCOMING text messages. I'm sure they will sell you a plan that includes them a certain number for a nominal fee.
So far Rogers and MTS (the other provider in Manitoba, likely soon to go national) "_currently_ have no plans to charge for incoming text messages".
Oh, and if you want caller id on your shiny new Roger's JebusPhone, it'll be an extra charge of $15 or $20 for the so called "Value Pack".
Just wait until they start to try and recoup the billions they are spending on the auction for more frequencies. That is going to be a laugh riot.
They will drop their prices. Shit, I thought Apple put SOME value on what customers thought, obviously not.
If this is the way operators are going to treat their customers, this iPhone will flop just like the last one did (outside of America). Purses are being tightened and people know what extortion is when they see it.
I was going to buy one but I am off to get an N95 instead... better phone too.
You think thats bad? wait till you see what Vodacom will force us poor Antipodeans into. Easily more expensive than Canada and we'll have to wait till December for the privalige of being ripped off. I suspect we're looking in the ball park of NZ but I bet more expensive. No details have yet been released till they work out how much they can skin us for
Jobs being one! Its like saying to a friend:
Jobs : Can I screw your wife ?
Friend : No, you kiddin? (with expletives)
Jobs : But she's really beautiful.
Friend : So what ? No way ! She's my fu**ing wife.
Jobs : Pl let me screw once only !
Friend : Go find sombody else. There's loads.
Jobs : No thanks. I was just joking. Testing your wifes fidelity and your morals.
I wouldnt even dream of doing that. Shes not even beautiful and I
couldnt be seen to be doing it. See I am a good boy. Keep it up mate.
Friend : Thanks Jobs. (Winks). Now let me get on with my conjugal duties. You
go try this on others.
Jesu lives. Hallellujah
>>>the cheapest plan is £30 for 75 mins and 125 texts
ie $60 canadian.
Ok its only for 18months, but still!<<
Christ-in-shitty-nappies!
Here in Finland I got a Vodafone USB 3G modem (made by huwei) - totally free, and I pay €10/month. All the data I can eat. OK, it's only 384kb, - €20 for 2Megs but for my eeepc when I'm out and about, it's fine.
(Oh, that's only when I can't access the totally free 10Mb city PanOULU wifi network...)
for fuc*k's sake, why do you put up with that crap???
I see the usual order of events has been preserved:
1 Apple makes new product/releases new version of existing product.
2 El Reg slams it before they even see it.
3 Apple fanboys come to the rescue.
4 Apple haters respond.
It makes one wonder whether all these people (the Apple haters in the Reg, the Apple fanboys and the Apple haters that read Reg) really have no personal lifes and can only get satisfaction by loving/hating an electronic product...
I don't think it's a case of having no lives (I think a lot of people post on here during work/study hours...), but i do think it is a form of the incresingly abundant my camp vs your camp thing, like sports teams really. If for whatever reason you group yourself with Team A, then all Team B does must be criticized and is inheretly crap. It actually is something void of impartiality.
The funny part is the Apple haters are the same people who were riding the Microsoft gravy train when Microsoft's marketing was centred around hype too and now bitching because Apple's doing what Microsoft previously did, and for that it makes Apple baaadddddd...
The fanboys will however exist for all significant products/technology giant. People invest a lot of money/time/etc into what they use and therefore often know the systems better than those who own other products. FUD/misinformation is commonly spread by the 'haters' who wish to discredit it, so the feverish vigor demonstrated by those who are fans will usually come to the 'rescue' to try and dispell such things.
The problem then with fanboys and haters is they are so buried in their own system they lack impartiality or a bigger picture, thus resulting in a situation which is equivalent to two deaf men shouting at each other and getting pissed off when the other side isn't won over by their argument.
And then there is also just the fact it is the interweb, people get bored, and will stir people up just for shits n giggles, regardless of whether they believe it really or not.
As for this situation re article, Telcos in general screw the consumer, have for a long time now, this happened pre-iPhone days and will happen with other phones in the future too, unless people actually do something to change the racket most countries have to deal with!
Don't you think apple should have had the fine print of the details and pricing down before they went with Rogers. What did they just say, you want to carry the iphone. cool. we'll give you some in july. no talks of prices, plans, nothing? If apples so upset, they should have a deal in place like they did with at&t before they gave them the exclusive contract to it.
The fact that you decided to weigh in on the subject shows you aren't so different :)
I for one have a satisfactory personal life thanks but read the reg during working hours (when there is no work to be done) to keep up to date on the rapid pace of change.
I too share your hatred of the fanboys whom seem to have nothing else to do other than to defend Apple (the cult of jobs)
Whatever the product though I do have a problem with people being ripped off and frankly what is being charged for this product is a rip off but if you are happy to turn over a large portion of your hard earned to a greedy corporation I shall not be the one to stand in your way.
Love the Arkwright reference, Rubber Chicken, if only they'd updated Open All Hours in later years to show Arkwright running a mobile phone shop!
'twas top comedy was that
Most North Americans don't have to have their teeth capped/"veneered" (here on the left side of the Pond, "veneer" is something that goes on plywood) - fluoridated drinking water and daily sessions with toothpaste and a toothbrush are good enough, thanks very much.
And as far as eating fifty cheeseburgers and being overweight, I've noticed that the new version of "Doctor Who" has a "cougar" as a female companion - a British one. BBC must be paying attention to their audience demographics.
(ethnographer's note: "Cougar" = "older woman with a butt you could balance a teacup and saucer on while she's standing up")
Boost Mobile (CDMA - they're basically the "HipHop Marketing Division of Sprint" in the US) just decided to lay an incoming text charge on us, too. But yes, if we want to, we can get one of several "limited Unlimited Time Plans" for an exorbitant monthly charge ($40 - $90 US) and text all we want. Makes no difference to me, my cell is my "if my car breaks or I have a case of Ebola while at the steering wheel call help" device - I chose Boost because the local Target store had them for sale for $10 apiece during a closeout sale.
AT&T are pushing their GSM laptop modem line hard, and if I went across the Atlantic more than once every ten years, I'd think about it. Otherwise, GSM coverage here in the States is so sporadic that it's not even a selling point here. Even Sprint's coverage map down New Mexico way is spotty enough that finding a location say, around Taos with decent signal strength is like geocaching.
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