I’m watching the macrumours.com coverage of Steve Job’s keynote, and I want one of everything he’s demoed so far, especially the internet communicator thing. This is, to quote a friend, “the sci-fi phone”.
4 thoughts on “Technolust”
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I agree, its now right at the top of my “Gotta have it” list..but a few things concern me.
– Will a carrier in Canada even carry it? Both Rogers and Bell (the only realistic carriers) are notorious for not wanting any competition for the Blackberry. The iPhone certainly represents that.
– If they do carry it, will it be even remotely affordable? I wouldn’t expect to see it for anything less then $1K here even with the customary 3 year contract.
– Unless Apple forces otherwise, as is typical for mobile data here in Canada, an associated data account would cost at least $100 per month (based on what’s out there now) for a paltry 200 megs of data. That won’t go very far on such a media rich device. If Apple contractually obligates cheaper data as part of the carriers ability to sell and support the device, I wouldn’t be one bit surprised to never see the iPhone even enter the market in Canada. All as the big carriers simply find data too much of a cash cow in Canada, and its been seen before that they will protect that at the expense of the consumer.
– Last but not least….will it be durable? That huge touchscreen worries me – I’ve been known to drop my phone before, and since there’s no aftermarket warranties available here like there is in the US, you get what the manufacturer offers…and that’s it. If the mfg warranty is 1 year and I should happen to crack that screen, or the touchpad goes wonky…or anything happened beyond the one year point, I’d effectively have a real expensive aquarium ornament, and a few years of contract service left to pay off.
I’m sure I’d love the device, but with our cellular industry being such a rediculous farce in Canada, I don’t know if it will ever see the light of day here, and if it does, whether it will be realistic for the average consumer.
Addressing your first couple of points, the keynote speech mentioned Cingular, and they were looking for carriers for Europe and Asia. As usual, Canada wasn’t mentioned. It’s hard to believe how expensive data is in the country that invented the Blackberry. Until data comes to the sort of prices it is in the US (where I get unlimited data for an additional $25/month on top of my regular phone plan), I would say this phone is not going to happen there.
As for durability, you know how durable my Treo is, and if I get an iPhone you can bet that I’m going to buy a strong case for it like the one I’ve got my Treo in now. This case is magnesium and it feels like I could stand on it without bending it.
I’m pretty sure you could [i]drive[/i] over that case you have on your Treo. 😉
My current mobile data handheld does have unlimited data for $20/Month in Canada, but its now a legacy device that Rogers killed after taking over Microcell (Fido).
Unsurprisingly Rogers had little interest supporting a cheap data option that was in direct competition with the Blackberry.
If you think $100 for 200 megs is rediculous, it was only a few months ago that $100 only got 20 (!) megs on the Blackberry or Treo – and Rogers had the cajones to call that “Unlimited”, claiming any usage beyond that was “abusive”.
Bell and Telus (the only other national carriers for all intents and purposes) were the same.
Only recently did all of the major carriers get their heads out of their collective asses and realize that they weren’t going to attract the average consumer with those prices.
Its utterly rediculous that they think that their “new improved” data pricing is much better, though.
Suffice to say that I’ll be holding onto my legacy device and enjoying my grandfathered data plan as long as the hardware holds out.
I’d consider a Blackberry or (more likely) a Treo myself if it wouln’t cost me $100 per month for the Data, not to mention a minute plan.
Sadly I suspect if the iPhone does ever make it here it’ll end in the same boat.
Apparently, Rogers will be carrying iPhones. As for competition with Blackberrys (Blackberries?), the Nokia E62 supports Blackberry Connect.