My very first iPhone post and why I won't get one for a long time.

Anyone hear about this iPhone?

It is this new phone from Apple that apparently is all the rage with the kids..........well I for one have no interest in getting one because of the extremely high cell phone rates in Canada. For a Country as developed as ours (indoor plumbing, cable TV, schools etc) you would think the rates for cellular data plans would/should be around the same as our friends the US or at least less then Africa (nothing against Africa.....I am using them because....well you will see in a second).

I could rant about this for much longer but I am now going to turn you over to Micheal Geist, a columnist from the Toronto Star who rants much more eloquently then me and he has numbers to back up the facts.

My favorite part of the article is this:

For example, Rogers offers a starter data plan that provides 1.5 megabytes of
data per month for $15. Since that is not even enough data to download a single
high-resolution photograph, most consumers presumably opt for more. The
company's biggest data plan provides 500 MB, yet costs $210 per month – far
beyond the reach of most consumers.

This pricing, which is comparable to plans found with Bell and Telus, is not close to competitive internationally. The introduction of the Apple iPhone in the U.S. has placed the spotlight on the difference between the Canadian and U.S. market, where AT&T, the sole iPhone provider, offers unlimited data for only $20 (U.S.) per month.

While it is tempting to believe that the AT&T offer is an anomalous product of pressure from Apple, the reality is that unlimited data plans are becoming commonplace around the world (see Data). Even in those countries without unlimited data plans, the pricing is often far better than what is found in Canada. Italians can purchase one gigabyte – double the largest Rogers plan – for $29 per month, while a 500MB monthly plan is $45 in South Africa, $79 in Mozambique and $103 in Tanzania.

I am a Rogers customer and have been for 17 years. I was one of those guys with the crazy big brick phones when they came out and I shudder to think how much money they have made off of me (my bill this month was $476 due to some roaming fees).

I would love to hear from the company as to why the fees are as they are but I doubt it will happen.

saul

p.s. Man I am punchy today......gotta get back to the fun here on the blog :)