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Molson backtracks on iPhone

CATHERINE MCLEAN

Globe and Mail Update

Latest comment posted at 8:12 PM EST 25/10/07

Online contest included hyped devices as a prize — but beer company pulls it after snafu ...Read the full article

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  1. K Kennedy from Toronto, Canada writes: Rogers is probably the most expensive carrier in Canada right now for not only it's data rates but also it's per minute rates. For that reason I won't be buying an iPhone until there is some competition out there in this market. It's ridiculous that Rogers is the only GSM network in Canada and that Apple doesn't make CDMA phones as well. Much like the complaint in the U.S. over AT
  2. M Clarke from Canada writes: Whoopie...
  3. David C from the world that is, Canada writes: Canadian cell phone and data rates are some of the highest in the world. I make no wonder Rogers has so much money for acquisitions and branding (the Rogers center anyone)... They are acting like Bell did in the 70's and 80's, the only cell phone company that does GSM phones that work on other continents. Monopoly anyone? I would have hoped that the cell phone number portability would have reduced prices, but alas, we are still paying ten times what they pay south of the border. Rogers suks, but then again there is no viable alternative for us canadians, I guess I have to just suck it up and pay it. Signed a loyal rogers customer...
  4. Yes No from Canada writes: For Apple fans it's not about buying a smartphone. It's about buying the iPhone. Get that straight, consulting firm.

    And yes, Rogers does have a monopoly and it's infuriating. Customer service is awful ("Hm, I think you said in-ter-net"), the plans rip us off and they want to fund religious schools in Ontario.

    I wish I weren't such an Apple fan...
  5. Alan Pater from Vancouver, Canada writes: Too bad Fido discontinued their $20/month unlimited data plan that used to be offered with the Hiptop. They never bothered with the new-improved Hiptop 3. All of which has nothing to do with free market competition to the expensive data service offered by their parent company, Rogers.

    In other news, the iPhone/iPod Touch are said to be the worst iPod ever in reviews, so no big loss.
  6. J K GALBRAITH from Canada writes: It is amazing how much free advertising the Globe and Mail gives Apple and the IPhone. First, you send Ian Brown to the States to write a front page story on its debut in the U.S. and now you are doing their promotion work for them. When it is actually available in Canada, it will be a news story. Until then it is a marketing event for Molson's and Apple.
  7. Cham Leck from Canada writes: This sucks. I've gotten so used to and so good at talking on my new iTouch iPod pretending it to be and iPhone.

    Anyone else think this was a deliberate slip by Molson and by extention, Apple/Rogers?
  8. Ian Marsman from St. Catharines, Canada writes: Just got off the phone with Rogers. I can't believe how blatantly they structure their plans to gouge you as much as possible for the privilege of using a cellphone on their network. I am terrified of using the data part of my plan, since they charge astronomical overage fees. Of course, it would be great if I could log onto their site and check on how many minutes or megabytes I've used so far in the month. Of course, I can't. Their service has always been fine, it's the gouging that gets me. It should cost me fifty dollars maximum per month to talk and use their data service. As it stands, if I used both as much as I would like to comfortably, this would cost me about triple as it stands now. I am making a prediction now; if and when Rogers carries the iPhone they'll have an iPhone-only data plan that is expensive but way better and less costly than anything else they offer.
  9. King West Dude from Toronto, Canada writes: how is the iphone valued at $800?

    An 8GB model is $399 USD.....
  10. Mike Charters from Calgary, Canada writes: who cares???????????????
  11. globefan EH from Canada writes: Something else to have in your car while negotiating left hand turns at busy intersections?
  12. andy c from Canada writes: King West Dude from Toronto: i did a double take when i saw that as well. A 50 or even a 100 price diffrence i can swallow, $400 price diffrence before taxes??? you might as well roll the dice buying in the states and hacking it.
  13. Not right or left from Canada writes: Why is it valued at $800? I don't expect sales to be brisk at that price point.
  14. Thumb Sucker from Toronto, Canada writes: I know lots of people who have bought and hacked iPhones quite successfully. You can buy them at sketchy stores in Canada, or just buy one in the states and hack it yourself, it's quite easy.

    Only a fool would pay $800 for something that can be had (legally) at half the price.
  15. Keiffer Michaels from Toronto, Canada writes: Whoa, this is not journalism. There was a contest by a Canadian company called Freshbooks earlier this month for an iphone - but that doesn't mean it's here. They admittedly picked up the unit in the US.
    Surprise! You can buy a US iphone on ebay and activate it on the Rogers network here.
  16. Jimmy K from Toronto, Canada writes: Get a blackberry instead, seriously. That iPhone is kinda cool, it's neat, but it's also incredibly annoying in many ways. Tried typing anything on it's touch keyboard? Wow is that ever bad.

    I'd say get an iPod touch and couple that with a Blackberry. Only reason for an iPhone is if you NEEEEEEEEEEEED the all-in-one factor and are willing to pay for it, both in terms of money and funtionality.
  17. andy c from Canada writes: Jimmy K: the only reason i've stayed away from blackberry's is because of the lack of wifi. i'll admit i've tried typing on a iphone and was not comfortable at all. i have a nokia e61i
  18. King West Dude from Toronto, Canada writes: andy c from Canada writes: King West Dude from Toronto: i did a double take when i saw that as well. A 50 or even a 100 price diffrence i can swallow, $400 price diffrence before taxes??? you might as well roll the dice buying in the states and hacking it.

    I guess they used some ebay transactions as comps
  19. Brian Alexic from Scarborough, Canada writes: This was a very well organized mistake... if it was one. How could Molsons be so sloppy? It's most likely Apple or Rogers informed Molsons, and they published it too soon. I think the iPhone story coming to Canada in January 2008 is true.

    Everyone knows that Steve Jobs presents at the annual Mac conference shortly after the new year (on the first Tuesday after New Years day). I bet you any money that an iPhone for Canada will be announced then.

    I'll also make a guess and say that it will be a 3G phone too! Apple always likes to introduce new products in January.

    Think about it... Rogers has a new country wide 3G network. Apple has hinted it's working on new 3G chips in it's phones (that are not power hogs). It all makes sense. If Apple brought a 3G phone to Canada before Christmas, it would have made EDGE iPhone customers in the U.S. and Europe very mad. Apple has to wait half a year past the first EDGE iPhones to bring out a new 3G ones.

    Besides (unlike iPods), cell phones have to be updated quite often (competition is fierce). I'm sure Apple knows this. So a new'ish type of iPhone six months after the first one makes sense.
  20. AT iphone agent from Canada writes: so it's not available here in canada yet...SO WHAT...it's just alot of hype anyway....wait for Google to come out with the Gphone, it's supposed to be better then the iphone anyway.
  21. Alan Williams from Calgary, Canada writes: At $800 it had better be a CDMA iPhone 2.0 with 3G speed and 32 GB of flash memory. If that's the case it will be on Bell or Telus and the bidding between the two will give us much lower data rates.

    If it's a GSM iPhone with 2G speed and 8 GB of flash memory on an expensive Rogers plan, after a couple of hundred Toronto Fashionistas buy it, will anyone else?

    This is the second rumor of an $800 iPhone in Canada. The dollar is at par. It must be the iPhone 2.0 that's behind the rumors.
  22. E Campbell from Chicago, United States writes: Brian Alexic - I'll take that bet. I highly doubt that an announcement like that would come from SF. For one thing, Apple usually makes high-profile announcements from MacWorld. I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I doubt Apple considers an iPhone launch in Canada high-profile, even though it might be in Canada. Secondly, it would be much more effective for them to make the announcement locally, much like they did when they announced the iPhone for the UK in London.
  23. Tony Bennett from Canada writes: I want an iPhone. The fact that it's going to be available in Europe before us Canadians can get one tells us so much about what needs to change here if we are to prosper in the competitive world. We have a free trade deal with the US and still things like this go on. HELP!!!
  24. Jason Thorne from Vancouver, Canada writes: Alan Williams from Calgary, Canada, keep dreaming and learn to read. The first paragraph says that in the contest it states the phone would only work with Rogers.
    Tony Bennett, free trade is only a one-way deal and that is when it benefits the US.
  25. Angus S Miskers from Victoria, Canada writes: I'm Canadian, so I always settle for 2nd best. I bought a BB Curve.
  26. B to the A to the R to the T from a better world is possible, Canada writes: I saw a dude at Tim Horton's this morning talk on an iPhone. It was a long line and I got a good look. Looked very nice. But I'm waiting for Rogers to offer a plan that does not require me to grab my ankles, you know decently priced like elsewhere in the world. The cell phone industry is a prime example of how regulation in the name of nationalist instincts actually work to gouge the general public.
  27. Armageddon Myass from Canada writes: So, again, why is Molson having a contest??? Hmm~
  28. G. MacPherson from Canada writes: Just readimg the comments on this thread would cost you $40 on a Rogers mobile data plan. Does Apple want the bad press of people screaming about $1500/month cell phone bill after 1 month on the market? ... Which would bring the total bend-over to $2300 after purchasing the phone itself... Not to mention the 3-year handcuff contract... There would be a huge backlash if things don't change and I can't believe Apple would be stupid enough to let Rogers destroy its brand in Canada.
  29. edward prior from Canada writes: folks, get a grip: the iphone will never cost $800 here...just do comparative pricing between the US, the EU and canada on ipods and you can guess it will probably retail for $499 or $549. and the data plan will be reasonable...apple has ensured unlimited data plans for reasonable cost in the US and the UK....canada won't be that different. i have a feeling that rogers and apple have been negotiating this for a long time now. we'll definitely pay more that AT&T customers in the US, that's for sure, but make no mistake, apple is setting the rules of the game with this one, not the service providers.
  30. Midtown Bob from Toronto, Canada writes: iThis iThat maybe I'll go for an iDrink, possibly an iBeer. If I (no pun intended) went to the iZanzibar I could get an iLapdance maybe even an i... hmmm better not go there.
  31. Ziad Fazel from Calgary, Canada writes: Funny that Molson Export made the flub. Maybe they can brew Molson Import, with an iPhone in every case.
  32. Jimmy K from Toronto, Canada writes: andy c, the new blackberries DO have wi-fi (the 8820). The data plans that come with them are great too, and I think they'll switch to wi-fi when you are near a hotspot. It's very cool.

    The only problem, you have to be American to get them (just like the iPhone, only AT&T). Our little oligopoly is having none of that, they don't want wi-fi to cannibalize their highest data rates in the industrialized world policy.

    On another tired, since I was tired of Rogers making me grab my ankles, I bought their stock. I figured if they are going to gouge and the government is going to let them in the name of nationalism, I might as well profit from it. I recommend you all do the same.
  33. Mister Fartleberry from Toronto, Canada writes: Apple Canada need to come clean and make a statement on their website. Pretending the product doesn't exist is just ridiculous. I'm sure the CRTC will push us back a few years as well. We are after all a third world county. Look at satellite TV introduction and HDTV. I'm sooooo sick of the Canadian media promoting those lame butt-ugly Blackberries for free.
  34. J S from Toronto, Canada writes: Until the iPhone I didn't know that phone manufacturers install chips so they are only good on one network. This is absolutely preposterous!! If I buy an iPhone I want to use it on the network of my choosing. Thank Goodness I don't own a cell phone - I don't want to encourage the act of creating monopolies or oligopolies. I don't understand why the government hasn't stepped in to legislate this - the whole concept takes away any meaningful competition in the cell phone market. For that matter - why do cell phone companies even market their products - why not leave it to the phone networks to advertise their products for them. Someday, when I can buy a phone or handheld computer and use it on the network of my choice, I might consider buying one. Until them they can all go to HE double hockey sticks.
  35. Aloha Eric from Toronto, Canada writes: I have the iphone which is ridiculously easy to unlock following instructions on the internet. Don't even think about using EDGE though for data as you'll be quickly bankrupt. Still, wifi is great where there is access.
  36. Patrick Star from Toronto, Canada writes: Why don't we just wait for the next version of the iPhone to come out and buy that? Or perhaps the version after that? Knowing Apple, it won't be too long of a wait.

    Or we can just do what everyone seems to be doing. That is, giving into their advertising campaigns and buying every iteration of every one of their products thereby making them billions of dollars.
  37. Yes No from Canada writes: MOLSON SUCKS. Who's going to enter that contest now?

    Seriously. I thought we voted in a Conservative government. Why aren't the regulated industries being blown to smithereens? Get rid of Rogers' monopoly on GSM. Get rid of the five big banks that still have so many manual processes in place that it rips off consumers (aka people who don't work for a bank) and drives costs up.

    It's not like we're facing an employment or currency crisis.
  38. Mark armstrong from writes: Surely someone should be relieved of their job for such a stupid move. You don't "speculate" on prizes...you find out before going to press.

    "Rogers spokeswoman Liz Hamilton wouldn't say whether Rogers will bring the iPhone to Canada. She said Rogers wasn't involved in the contest and that Molson was speculating on a launch date."
  39. Brit . from Canada writes: Fido should sell the Iphone to young people in Canada and Rogers should continue selling the Blackberry to the older conservative people. Fido and Rogers are two different markets. The Iphone would replace the Hiptop that Fido used to sell.
  40. Geo Perdis from Canada writes: Just a couple of links for some context about the Apple iPhone delay: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aBd8PQzBQW4g and more recently http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/10/11/tech-iphone-trademark.html
  41. Walter Piovesan from writes: So John Ruffolo, says "BlackBerry has such a strong brand here"... so much for that expert. i just saw a graph giving iphone an 81% apporval rating vs 51% for Blackberry. Which smart phone do you suppose old john is using?
    http://counternotions.com/2007/10/25/motorola-on-iphone/
  42. Walter Piovesan from writes: we went acrosss the line. bought iphones for $400us = $410cdn. unlocked it and are using with our fido palns. forget rogers! (we unlocked it to work with 1.1.1 on monday)

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