Ridiculous Data Plans from Rogers (and others) Keep iPhone out of Canada

Fresh off the wire over at AppleInsider is speculation from Michael Geist, quoted in the National Post saying that it’s not contract negotiations keeping the iPhone out of Canada, but instead our completely obscene and unreasonable mobile data plans. I don’t doubt it for a second.

Geist compares the $60 AT&T plan in the USA with 450 minute and unlimited data to how much you’d pay for a similar setup in Canada, and it ends up being about $300 here. Even then, you don’t get truly unlimited data (Rogers doesn’t even offer this at all!), you just get 500MB.

I worried a while back that my initial usage of my BlackBerry Pearl would rack me up a steep bill, and boy was I right to worry. My first few days of usage with Rogers, using only 1.5MB of data, I went 1MB over my 500KB plan and ended up with close to a $300 bill in the mail. After this, I immediately deactivated all e-mail accounts and stopped Web browsing on the phone, which essentially eliminates any of the functionality the BlackBerry has over a regular phone beyond the keypad.

So how’s an iPhone any good to you if all you can do is place calls and send text messages? Maybe a more important question; How much longer are Canadians willing to tolerate our worse-than-third-world-country wireless data plans?

July 10, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments 

Canadian telcos are (officially) ripping you off

You thought I was being dramatic when I commented on how archaic our wireless telecommunications providers are in Canada? Joey deVilla points to a study done of Canadian, US, and other telcos to compare how much it costs to send 500 MB of data:

Canadian mobile data rates

This just days after the CWTA boasted results of a survey that claims that 82% of wireless users polled believe there “is enough or more than enough choice in the number of wireless service providers.” Sure, there’s enough choice, but all the choices are terrible, so what’s the point in having choices at all? Needless to say, I’m not looking forward to my first bill with Rogers after going a little crazy with my new Pearl this week. That’s it, I’m moving to New Zealand…

April 10, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 

Helio Ocean does it all

Helio OceanThe Helio Ocean is another example of how much catching up we have to do in Canada for mobile technology, even with our neighbours to the South. Helio is a “Lifestyle” MVNO operating in the US that caters to the younger, potentially MySpace-using, web-savvy crowd, and its catch line in marketing its phones is, “don’t call it a cell phone.” Now I can see why. The Ocean, which will launch this Spring, offers just about every feature you can think of, including:

Normally I’m skeptical of convergence devices that claim to do so much at once, especially in terms of usability, battery life, and cost, but this device looks like it’s got just about all the bases covered. I can almost forgive it for the MySpace integration. Helio Ocean [via NOTCOT]

Update: Engadget managed to get a hands-on (including photos and impressions) with the Ocean at the currently ongoing CTIA conference in Orlando, and it seems like it’s living up to the hype.

March 26, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments