I bit ago I wrote a quick post about why I wasn’t so sure about getting the new 3G iPhone here in Canada as I have been using a hacked 2G US model for some time and all I was really missing was a data plan.

Well lots has changed since the last post… Rogers caved-in to some degree and is now offering iPhones on your old plan available at the subsidized pricing but you have to renew with a three year contract, I have even heard that some people are able to get iPhones at the $199 and $299 pricing without even getting a data plan? Rogers has also introduced a limited time offer 6GB for $30 per month data plan available for most Smart Phones including the iPhone.

So what does that mean to me? I’m sticking with my old 2G iPhone and grabbing the new 6GB data plan!! Ya I know I won’t have the built in GPS ( I already have a great turn by turn Magellan GPS in the car). And ya I know I’ll be waiting for my web pages to load up with my slow Edge based data connection. The truth is I  really am not using my data as much as I thought I would, in the past 20 days I have only used just over 20MB of data. part of this is because I was in California for four days doing the Mac Video Training Tour. I guess I must do the bulk of my iPhone browsing from home based WiFi? Read the rest of this entry »

I haven’t really said too much about the new 3G iPhones coming out in a few days from now (July 11th). Originally I was very excited about the thought of being able to legitimately purchase and use an iPhone in Canada (along with 21 other countries) on July 11th. Unfortunately I live in Canada where we have the absolute worst Cell and Data plans in the world (Thanks Rogers/Fido!), I won’t go into the details, it’s much too depressing. In short the top end $115 plan doesn’t even get you unlimited data or even Call Display and all plans lock you into a 3 year term.

So I thought I already have an iPhone so maybe I could get onto the iPhone plan in Canada without the 3 year term in case I didn’t like it, no can do! If I want to get on the iPhone plan I have to sign a three year contract even if I don’t want the new 3G iPhone. No way I say!

Lucky for me Rogers recently announced some raw Data plans that are not too over the top compared to what we here in Canada are used to. I am trying out a 300MB for $30 plan that I simply add to my existing voice plan and I don’t have to lock into a 3 year contract. My only concern was that Rogers would pull the “Sorry your phone is not supported” card out and in the end my $30 data plan would not cover the data my non-supported iPhone used costing me 8 bazillion dollars for data. I have been monitoring my usage and I will have no problem keeping to under the 300MB cap (Going from non data to 300MB is easy to keep a leash on). I have had to pull a few teeth over at Rogers in order to find out if I am actually getting charged for my iPhone Data usage and it looks like my $30 plan is in fact working with my iPhone. For the record Rogers policy is you have to wait till the end of your billing cycle to find out how much data you have used and what you are getting charged for, that’s very convenient for them but not for us… I will keep you posted on how this plan works in the long run, I really hope Rogers makes some amendments to their iPhone plan so more people can get on board the Apple Train.

Here are some relevant links:

• Rogers iPhone Plans
• Canadian iPhone 3G plans lack unlimited data
• Early iPhone adopter on fence about new one
• www.ruinediphone.com

The new 3G iPhone is going to make its debut in 70 countries this year and 22 of them by July the 11th (Canada being one of them - yippee!).

So what’s different about the new 3G iPhone? It comes in Black and White (plastic backing), it sports a 2.5x faster 3G radio over its edge based predecessor, it now has a built in GPS and it costs about half the price of the existing iPhone.

It’s all good news but I really want to point out the part that makes the most sense here… it’s being launched in 70 countries! Who really cares what the iPhone does if you can’t get one! Getting the price down will also make this little Apple gem not only a must have but a can have device. Apple is playing their cards very well here, by getting an iPhone into the hands of as many people as possible. Apple is effectively cramming Mac OS X and all it’s sexiness down the throats of of millions and millions of previous non-Mac users. Combine this with Apple’s new “me.com” dot-mac replacement and all of it’s push services and web based iApplications and it’s going to be really hard for the PC iPhone user to go back to that Windows based PC everyday. No matter what you thought about Apple, when an iPhone is staring you in the face day after day with all of its glory you are going to cave in at some time and take that first baby step into an Apple store even if it’s only the online one.

There was a lot more discussed at the (WWDC) today, Apple spent a lot of time talking about the new iPhone 2.0 software as well as the Software Development Kit (SDK) for developing Apple iPhone supported application. This only supports what Apple is doing by getting as many iPhones out their as possible and making sure the software is as good as it can be.

It kind of reminds me of what Apple did with the iPod, they turned the Walkman concept into something new that everyone wanted even though at the end of the day they both played your music. Could this be the future of the iPhone? Will the iPhone be the new iCon of the smart phone?

Well it’s now official, we just don’t know exactly when but “some time” later this year Rogers “will” be bringing the iPhone to Canada and “has” worked out a deal with Apple.

President and Chief Executive Officer of Rogers Communications Inc. today issued the following statement:

“We’re thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year. We can’t tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned.”

So now we wait…

I’m a bit late getting this one out, the coverage has been really good so I thought it would be best to simply link to the Apple and MacRumors information on it:

• Apple March 6th Event - iPhone Software Roadmap
• iPhone SDK Details, First Look
• Apple Releases iPhone SDK, Demos Spore, Instant Messaging
• iPhone Enterprise Features: ActiveSync, Exchange, WPA2, Push Services
• iFund to Offer $100 Million in Seed Money to iPhone Developers
• iPhone Spore to be Released by EA in September
• Apple Will Allow Voice Over IP (VOIP) on Wifi
• iPhone Enterprise Beta Application
• Mass Email Move and Delete in 2.0, PowerPoint

A while back after waiting for the iPhone to come to Canada, I finally broke down and got a 16GB iPod Touch, you can read about it here. A few of my reasons for getting the iPod Touch or should I say justifying the purchase as opposed to waiting on the iPhone went something like this and not necessarily in order of importance:

• I need to own one so I can support my Clients with iPhones and/or an iPod Touch.
• The iPod Touch is more compact.
• The Touch has more physical memory.
• The iPod Touch is less expensive by about $100.
• Last but not least, using a separate phone gave me the ability to use an inexpensive phone for times when an expensive iPhone could be subject to an increased risk of becoming damaged, as in doing laborious work or sports.

All of this all still holds true…

Unfortunately an iPod Touch is still not an iPhone, a device that does it all or at least most of it! The phone part being the major component in the equation. Other key benefits of the iPhone over the iPod Touch are:

• Bluetooth.
• Camera.
• Speaker/Mic.
• Stronger Battery.

Some things that can get overlooked are included accessories. An iPod Touch comes with the bare minimum, a USB cable and a pair of headphones where as the iPhone includes a USB Power adapter (a must have for a phone) as well as a Docking station and of course the Headphones with built in Microphone. The Docking Station and Power Adapter retail for around $60 narrowing the gap in the price difference significantly! Read the rest of this entry »

Enough is enough! I just can’t wait forever for an iPhone to finally come to Canada… So I guess the iPod Touch is the next best thing and since an iPhone only comes in a maximum size of 8GB it only makes sense to one up it by getting the 16GB iPod Touch. Take that iPhone!!

Where I live in Canada there are a lot of electronics stores competing with each other and because I also live very close to the border the US pricing seems to be bringing down the cost even more. All things considering with the January Software Upgrade of $19.99 I was able to get an iPod Touch 16GB for $379 without the upgrade bringing the total to $399 with the purchased Software Upgrade for the 5 new Applications. So the same as the US Price and about $20 less then the actual Canadian price.

First impressions… Amazing screen, very bright excellent color. The OS Interface is like nothing else, it almost makes me think Apple sent someone in a time machine to the future to make this product, I can’t help playing with it even if I have no reason at all to be on it, I just have to pick it up and navigate all around! Read the rest of this entry »

Before you click the Buy-Now link from one of the iPhone Unlocking sites selling iPhone unlocking solutions for $50 and up… Go to freeiphoneunlock.com and unlocked your iPhone for free. Thtas’s right - FREE!

There are a few options available out right now to Unlock your iPhone for free, I haven’t tried any myself since I don’t have an iPhone, but with the latest iPhone unlocking news I might just have to go down and get one…

Here are some Free iPhone unlocking Links:

• www.freeiphoneunlock.com
• iphone.unlock.no
• johnbiehler.com/2007/09/11/full-iphone-software-unlock-released-for-free

For about $50 US you can now buy an individual iPhone unlocking software licence from www.iPhoneSimFree.com that will turn your AT&T only iPhone into a world wide GSM network iPhone.

iPhoneSimFree has made their iPhone unlocking solution software based so you won’t have to open or solder your iPhone in any way.

Checkout a video of their iPhone Unlocking software in action…

What took two years to do with the iPod only took 74 days to do with the iPhone, that is sell 1 million units. Apple set this goal of selling one million iPhones for the end of September and achieved it 3 weeks ahead of schedule.

Apple recently dropped the price of the iPhone by $200 to make it more affordable and gain even more market-share coming into the Back to School and Christmas buying seasons.

Read Apple’s one millionth iPhone sale News Release