iPhone 4 Canada
After scouring the internet to try and find information on a Canadian release date I have come up with just speculation that July 23rd is the scheduled release date. However other media outlets point to a delay saying that due to higher sales in the US the Canadian date may get postponed like the iPad's launch date did.
Anyone have any solid information on this? Also anyone else notice the Facetime video that is on the US Apple site is not on apple.ca ?
Anyone have any solid information on this? Also anyone else notice the Facetime video that is on the US Apple site is not on apple.ca ?
Comments
However other media outlets point to a delay saying that due to higher sales in the US the Canadian date may get postponed like the iPad's launch date did.
Point #1: Stocks for US do not affect other countries
- If it does, US will not have a 3-week order backlog as seen today - it will have diverted stocks meant for other countries to the States. The fact that you don't see this happening is proof that stocks are strictly allocated on a per country basis.
Point #2: Apple continues to maintain "end July" for the 18 countries- As late as 28 Jun 2010, Apple, in its official PR, continues to maintain a release date of "end July" for the 18 countries, no "sorry-we'll-be-late-1-month" announcement like that for iPad.
Point #3: The 18 countries will launch together on the same day- The orchestration of Apple's product launches are legendary. I've absolutely no doubt the launch will happen on the same day {subject to local timezone differences}, with all the media watching, showing the long queues, and the hysteria of the 1st guy in the line.
Point #4: Multiple "23 Jul" rumorsAs I understand it, I can buy the phone for $299. from Bell or Rogers, if I sign a two or three year contract.
Or I can buy it for something like $699. unlocked.
My question is, how does this 'unlocked' business work in real life?
1. Will Bell or Rogers be willing to just sell me time on a month-to-month basis at the same monthly price as a contract, or do I pay a premium for being able to cancel at any time?
2. How do I buy Airtime/SIM cards when I visit Chicago or Buffalo, or the Caribbean? Am I saving real money doing this or is the cost comparable to the International Roaming deals that Bell and Rogers offer?
Thanks for sharing whatever you know.
Point #1: Stocks for US do not affect other countries
- If it does, US will not have a 3-week order backlog as seen today - it will have diverted stocks meant for other countries to the States. The fact that you don't see this happening is proof that stocks are strictly allocated on a per country basis.
Point #2: Apple continues to maintain "end July" for the 18 countries- As late as 28 Jun 2010, Apple, in its official PR, continues to maintain a release date of "end July" for the 18 countries, no "sorry-we'll-be-late-1-month" announcement like that for iPad.
Point #3: The 18 countries will launch together on the same day- The orchestration of Apple's product launches are legendary. I've absolutely no doubt the launch will happen on the same day {subject to local timezone differences}, with all the media watching, showing the long queues, and the hysteria of the 1st guy in the line.
Point #4: Multiple "23 Jul" rumors1) While generally true, Apple has been know to divert stock from other countries in order to meet US demand. The iPad launch in Canada being delayed is the most recent example. IIRC, the Canadian launch was pushed 2-3 weeks and the US demand was explicitly mentioned as the reason.
2) I don't recall Apple ever saying end of July. Just July was mentioned in the keynote. Their PR on their website only ever said 'Coming soon'. I could be mistaken in my recollection, but I don't remember seeing 'end' of July anywhere.
I'm wondering about the new option to buy the phone in Canada unlocked.
As I understand it, I can buy the phone for $299. from Bell or Rogers, if I sign a two or three year contract.
Or I can buy it for something like $699. unlocked.
My question is, how does this 'unlocked' business work in real life?
1. Will Bell or Rogers be willing to just sell me time on a month-to-month basis at the same monthly price as a contract, or do I pay a premium for being able to cancel at any time?
2. How do I buy Airtime/SIM cards when I visit Chicago or Buffalo, or the Caribbean? Am I saving real money doing this or is the cost comparable to the International Roaming deals that Bell and Rogers offer?
Thanks for sharing whatever you know.
Try visiting howardforums.com for more details. They are the largest mobile community boards and happen to be Canadian. They have sub forums for all of the Canadian and US carriers. If you post your questions in the Bell, Rogers, telus, etc boards, there are a lot of staff from those companies and customers, that will answer your questions in more detail. There is an iPhone specific sub forum for iPhone questions and the Rogers and Fido forums also have iPhone subforum for iPhone specific questions on those carriers.
As to your questions, from my understanding:
1) As long as your carrier allows third party phones, you shouldn't have any problems. The whole point of going non-contract is so that you can cancel anytime. There shouldn't be a premium. You will end up paying exactly the same monthly fees that you would if you were under contract
2) You problem here might be finding a local carrier that uses the microSim. But assuming you do (and it shouldn't be that hard, as most of these countries will have carriers that will sell the iPhone 4) you should find the local data rates are far cheaper than using your Canadian carriers international roaming agreements. That is assuming the carrier in the country you are visiting allows you to buy a non-contract or prepaid data plan. For voice, it should be pretty easy to get a prepaid or non-contract plan in the country you are visiting.
I am really debating buying the unlocked version from Apple. I have enough reward dollars from Fido to cover about half the subsidized cost of the phone, so it should only cost me about $100 plus tax. If I buy the full price, unlocked phone from Apple, I will likley pay ~ $600, but in a year or two I could likely sell if for more than the subsidy that I received from Fido. If I can get $400 for it, then it cost me $200 and I kept my $100 in reward dollars. It would also mean that I avoid having Fido add an addition 3 years to the 1 year I have remaining on my contract (don't mind contracts but a 4 year contract to get the iPhone 4 seems unreasonable excessive).
The unfront cost is more than I want to spend, but the long term benefits are better. The additional benefit of not having to jailbreak and unlock in order to use it internationally or to switch Canadian carriers when I choose also weighs in favour of the unlocked.
Thank you for taking the time to write to us, we appreciate your use of online customer service.
In your recent email, you were inquiring about the new iphone 4.
I would like to inform you that we presently are unaware of specific pricing options, upgrades or waiting list for the iphone 4 at this time.
We are also unaware of a specific release date, however are expecting a July release date.
I would ask that you visit www.rogers.com/iphone which will allow you to receive up to the minute information on the iphone 4 as information becomes available.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to email me again at www.rogers.com/contactus. Alternatively, you may also contact Customer Service by phone at 1-888-764-3771. Their hours are of operation are from 7am to 2am, Eastern Standard Time, 7 days a week.
You are a valued customer and we thank you for your business.
For future email correspondence with respect to this e-mail, please quote reference number xxxxxxx
Regards,
David W
Rogers Online Customer Service
http://www.rogers.com
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Hello, Like thousands of other Canadians I am patiently awaiting news on the iPhone 4's release date. Details have been far and few. A few questions that I have are as follows. Is late July still a probable release date or should we expect delays. Also once a release date is determined will Rogers be offering pre-orders or will it be first come first served. I am hoping for pre-orders as I am scheduled to work on the 23rd (rumoured release date) If you could provide any insight I would greatly appreciate it.