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It's official: Rogers to bring iPhone to Canada this year

appleinsider.com — Canadian wireless carrier Rogers Wireless said Tuesday it has reached an agreement with Apple to begin offering the iPhone later this year. "We're thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year," the carrier said in a statement. "We can't tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned."

Who dugg this? Made popular Apr 29, 2008

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174 Comments

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  • Senturion, on 04/29/2008, -2/+66If any company has the ability to screw this up it's Rogers.
    I wouldn't get too excited yet.
  • n8to, on 04/29/2008, -3/+51This news rocks although I also have that sinking feeling that somehow Rogers will royally screw this up. As I type this I am looking at a banner ad next to this comment advertising $99 for "everything" from Sprint in the States. In Canada we can only dream of having a competitive mobile industry. Here in Canada your data plan is $25 for 5 MB, (yes, MB) of data.

    Whoa, check that...I just found this

    http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/02/05/roge ...

    Unlimited data for $20? Oh look, its raining donuts.
  • stinkypyper, on 04/29/2008, -6/+43LOL, Hey Rogers, everyone in Canada is already sporting unlocked iPhones, and their all on your network since you are the only one using GSM(Fido does too, but they resell for you).

    How ***** stupid is your marketing department, it has to be them, their the only ones stupid enough to delay something like this for this long. Great strategy, lets wait forever to release new technology. I hate cell phone service in this country, we need a good European carrier to come over and set up shop so we can get some proper prices.
  • mlostracco, on 04/29/2008, -0/+23Rogers owns Fido, and has a GSM monopoly in Canada. And they wield that over their customers like a club.
  • mlostracco, on 04/29/2008, -0/+23Here's some more analysis on how notorious Canadian telco Rogers could dick it up royally with their historically atrocious prices: http://torontoist.com/2008/04/iphone_appears.php

    Rogers has said that they are a "premium brand" and that they're not fans of unlimited data plans—audaciously saying that unlimited data plans are A BARRIER TO ADOPTION for new customers! WTF!
  • Senturion, on 04/29/2008, -0/+23Rogers: "Introducing the brand new iPhone, 4 Gb, EDGE data, only $799! Add the Ultimate Rogers pack to add unlimited web browsing for only $99. Disclaimer: unlimited does not actually mean unlimited but in reality 25 Mb, overage charged at $1 per Mb. 3 year contract required."
  • dasmonki, on 04/29/2008, -2/+20Great, the iPhone is being released in Canada by the worst company possible.
  • inactive, on 04/29/2008, -0/+18WE NEED UNLIMITED DATA!!!!
  • zointax, on 04/29/2008, -0/+18That's all fine and dandy, Rogers, but quit throttling my Internets! ( http://www.azureuswiki.com/index.php/Bad_ISPs#Cana ... )
  • rdolishny, on 04/29/2008, -1/+17Meh. I can see it now. Rogers logo plastered all over it, and on the startup wallpaper. Plus it will be 1st gen EDGE not the rumoured latest and greatest.

    And the data plan will require personal lubricant.

    I wouldn't get too excited yet.
  • inactive, on 04/29/2008, -0/+16you think AT&T sucks in the US. Rogers has brought sucking to an art form.
  • Raian, on 04/29/2008, -0/+15That's because the people at Rogers are a bunch of bozos.
  • tehnico, on 04/29/2008, -0/+14Update from that: Unfortunately, Rogers' new $20 Communication Value Pack is presently limited to just web browsing on cell phones with only those browsers authorized by Rogers for the plan. Browsing through other means, as well as use of email clients over the network, will continue to incur a 5 cents/KB charge.
  • melak, on 04/29/2008, -1/+14finally, unlimited wireless data in Canada, let this be the start of something beautiful
  • qbify, on 04/29/2008, -2/+14Grand Theft Auto IV, now this.
    This is the best day ever.
  • IanPatterson, on 04/29/2008, -0/+11It's probably cheaper and easier to buy it from the sates and unlock it and not have to have a a 3 year plan to go hand-in-hand with it.
  • ChrisWickenscom, on 04/29/2008, -0/+11Maybe if Canada had even somewhat decent rates on data plans, it would be something I would think about.
  • nogami, on 04/29/2008, -0/+10Thanks again to the CRTC that allowed Rogers to buy-out Fido. At least before the buyout, there used to be some decent competition between Rogers and Fido. The CRTC has done nothing in Canada except ***** up both the broadcast and the wireless industries by listening to their management instead of customers.
  • betadan, on 04/29/2008, -4/+14As nice as it is that the iPhone is being released in Canada.
    I (as a Canadian) believe that it will be met with truly little fan fare. the first factor will be the price i am sure, and as there are already touch screen smart phones offered by Rogers.
    Also Like the article says there is still no real good-value data plans on the rogers network, and as we have all seen one of the major selling points is the Web based features of the iPhone.

    Sure people will buy them, but not as many as they hope, and those that do will really be using it as a status symbol.

    Just my 2 cents.
  • mlostracco, on 04/29/2008, -1/+11Plus it's only for browsing the few Rogers-vetted WAP sites. So you can visit Google under the plan, but if you follow a link, you get charged for that data. Stuff like Google Maps and your non-Rogers webmail gets charged, and the unlimited data plans is only for a few phones, and NONE OF THEIR SMARTPHONES.
  • mykotron, on 04/29/2008, -1/+10man I remember being on Sprint in the US 4 years ago and unlimited data was $5.00!!!!!!

    Rogers is such a rip off. Canada in general sucks in so many regards to monopolizing companies and lack of competition. Rogers / Telus, Air Canada / West Jet

    Rogers has doubled it's profit in the first quarter of this year. They don't do that by being "FAIR" to their customers: http://technology.canoe.ca/2008/04/29/5418281-cp.h ...



    www.ihaterogers.ca
  • galvanize, on 04/29/2008, -0/+9My prediction is that people will still buy grey market unlocked iPhones as an alternative to Rogers exorbitant prices.. just like it always has been and always will be.. until the CRTC (Canadian communications regulator) opens up the gates for more competition..
  • cmer, on 04/29/2008, -0/+9Later this year = June, when the 3g iPhone is announced.
  • mlostracco, on 04/29/2008, -0/+8Rogers has been checking IMEI numbers for some of their plans and charging extra for a phone you didn't buy from Rogers. That's the Canadian wireless market for ya. Sigh.
  • steveiskfc, on 04/29/2008, -0/+7I agree. REAL unlimited data. As in youtube on the iphone, or laptop tethering. The carriers need to get with the times.
  • ChrisWickenscom, on 04/29/2008, -0/+7Try google. Not that difficult.
  • ofathens, on 04/29/2008, -0/+7The "unlimited data" will in fact be restricted to web browsing, and only for those phones that Rogers wants you to be browsing with. The same goes for Bell; the unlimited data plan is only available for the HTC Touch.
  • mlostracco, on 04/29/2008, -0/+6They also allowed Telus to buy their competitor, Clearnet, and they don't feel that Rogers having a GSM monopoly is a competition issue since customers can still buy CMDA phones from Bell and Telus. Duh.
  • jsauter, on 04/29/2008, -0/+6Get ready to grab your ankles.
  • LilJimmyNordin, on 04/29/2008, -0/+5Rogers can eat a thousand *****. They promised me - PROMISED ME - that my iPhone would have access to the unlimited data plan. I asked the stupid bitch to REPEAT to me that I wouldn't be additionally charged or lose my service for using it. She did. Then, a month later, I can't get Edge anymore. So I called them and they said that the service was "upgraded", and the "upgrade" would no longer allow non-Rogers phones to get Edge access under the unlimited plan. They also said there was "nothing they could do".

    WHAT A BUNCH OF *****. I'm ditching Fido/Rogers the MINUTE I see an out. ***** bait-and-switch artists.

    Just you wait, phone companies. Your ***** day is coming, just like it did for the music industry.
  • Sweigh, on 04/29/2008, -0/+5Update: Unfortunately, Rogers' new $20 Communication Value Pack is presently limited to just web browsing on cell phones with only those browsers authorized by Rogers for the plan. Browsing through other means, as well as use of email clients over the network, will continue to incur a 5 cents/KB charge.
  • danwallace, on 04/29/2008, -1/+6For years, eh?
  • mlostracco, on 04/29/2008, -0/+5It's the name of the founder, Ted Rogers, Sr.—who actually played a large part in radio history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_S._Rogers%2C_S ...
  • amcnamar, on 04/29/2008, -0/+5I already brought the iPhone to Rogers in Canada.
    Now if the ***** will sell a decent data plan.

    I actually spoke with a Rogers rep and he said that all of their current data offerings are locked until August 2008. That might give some hint as to what's going down.
  • everfresh59, on 04/29/2008, -4/+9Won't believe it till I see it....
  • Reci, on 04/29/2008, -0/+4Cheap and data plans do not mix too well.
  • giveer, on 04/29/2008, -0/+4If you hate living in canada because of a single handheld item, your loyalty is rather *****. Travel somewhere on the globe or break your leg for a good-points reminder.
  • inactive, on 04/29/2008, -1/+5Yeah rogers pretty much sucks. Want to drop your call? walk under a tree, or into your house. Need to phone someone on the highway when your car breaks down? Too bad. Want a half decent plan for your phone? Not a chance.

    Most of the time its just better to go with Telus or a Crown Corp (if you have one). This is just my experience in central Canada to this point. I havent been to eastern Canada so i have no idea for there.
  • xerexes1, on 04/29/2008, -1/+5I feel for you but this happens to a lot of us. There is no use in being bitter, just know that you picked a topic of interest and move on.
  • crowbar77, on 04/29/2008, -0/+4Same kind of name as Bell, a dudes last name...
  • nogami, on 04/29/2008, -0/+4Basically they only offer the unlimited data on PoS phones. Believe me, if you have a Windows Mobile phone, or anything with a keyboard that would actually let you USE the data plan, they won't give it to you (if the IMEI of your phone isn't an authorized one on their list, the billing is $0.05/kb).
  • inactive, on 04/29/2008, -0/+4Nobody needs more than 640k ~ Rogers.
  • pell, on 04/29/2008, -0/+4Do they offer a SIM card?
  • CountSessine, on 04/29/2008, -0/+4What you're going to find is that your experience is self-selecting and almost no one will walk into your store to get an IPhone - much like AT&T stores in the US. Saying that most people want a cheap phone or an expensive unlocked phone based on your experience at a Rogers store is like a Walmart cashier saying that no will buy a shirt from Ralph Lauren because no one has ever paid more than $10 for a shirt at your till. IPhone users will completely bypass you and your Rogers store because most people don't like salespeople and cell phone stores and upsells and the SAF bait-and-switch and all the other cell phone store BS. We hold our noses, we walk through your door, we get our phone, and we're gone. And if I can buy my phone online at the Apple store and activate it without ever seeing you, so much the better.

    As for the money, more likely Rogers caved in to Apple's demands - the AWS auction is coming up and if their don't sew-up a deal with Apple now, Apple's going to have GSM alternatives a year from now.
  • steveiskfc, on 04/29/2008, -0/+4Yea I already have my iPhone on the rogers network, but having limited data really reduced the greatness of the phone. I want my youtube!!!
  • evil-doer, on 04/29/2008, -0/+3rogers wireless used to be called at&t..
  • CountSessine, on 04/29/2008, -0/+31) The Steve will never allow the iPhone to be carrier-branded. His antipathy to cell phone companies is well known. If Rogers insisted on that Apple just wouldn't release it in Canada at all.
    2) It will almost certainly be the 3G model. Rogers views themselves as a technology leader (their 3G rollout is well ahead of AT&T's in the US) and they probably didn't want to see a flood of new EDGE users on their network.
    3) The data plan will probably be similar to the one in Ireland. Not great, but much better than what we have now.
  • wellyuk, on 04/29/2008, -0/+3I've been using Rogers since December and have never experienced any of the problems you're talking about. It's always been an absolutely solid connection, even at the top of Whistler mountain.
  • worldchanger, on 04/30/2008, -0/+3I love how you assume that the people who hate Rogers are either irrational or work for Telus or Bell. You must work for Rogers.
  • mrhaines, on 04/29/2008, -4/+7Too bad it wasb't with Bell. Their unlimited data is only 7 bucks!
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