Apple Store

[299 bloor call control.]

Well Eaton Centre is probably the most successful downtown mall.. and moving into there was logical for Apple until an appropriate streetfront location is found.. 1BE! I hope we don't have to wait THAT long though and if Gap ever goes under on Bloor, that would also be a great location... or the RBC branch at Yonge and Bloor.

 

[Edward Skira]

On another note... wow: Spat with Rogers leaves Canadian Apple stores without iPhones

Amazing. I hope Rogers goes down it flames.

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Wow. I'd think a company like Apple would have known what Rogers was going to charge before they signed the deal. I'm hoping Rogers backs down. Want an iPhone but not at the price they want to charge.

 

[syn]

Why is Apple so upset? The prices aren't far off the AT&T US price plans:

http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/specials/iphone-info.jsp

Besides, it's not like Apple exactly offers very affordable price points for their products either.

To be honest, Rogers pricing plans didn't surprise me. Plans with all carriers have been getting more expensive, and it's not really far off (and cheaper in some case) what other carriers are charging around the world.

 

[interchange42]

What? Rogers is charging far more than AT&T. For the starter packages AT&T is offering for virtually the same price as Rogers 450 minutes a month anytime (3 times more than Rogers) + unlimited web use (400 MB from Rogers), all on a 2 year, not 3 year contract.

And what makes an $199 iPhone sound overpriced from Apple?

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[GraphicMatt]

Why is Apple so upset? The prices aren't far off the AT&T US price plans:

http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/specials/iphone-info.jsp

Besides, it's not like Apple exactly offers very affordable price points for their products either.

To be honest, Rogers pricing plans didn't surprise me. Plans with all carriers have been getting more expensive, and it's not really far off (and cheaper in some case) what other carriers are charging around the world.

The comparison between the ATT and Rogers prices can be deceptive, since the lowest Rogers price plan is actually cheaper than the U.S equivalent. But the AT&T plan:

-Includes three time the number of daytime minutes
-Has Evenings & Weekends that do not start at 9 p.m.
-Includes Call Display for free
-Includes unlimited incoming calls
-Includes Unlimited data
-Includes Rollover Minutes
-Includes free mobile-to-mobile calling

But, anyway, in reality the negative reaction isn't so much due to these specific iPhone plans (which, indeed, are a damn slight better than anything Rogers has ever offered before publicly) as much as it is people finally coming to grips with the ridiculous prices Rogers has been charging for years. The iPhone was just a catalyst.

 

[299 bloor call control.]

Not to mention Steve Jobs unveiled the 3G iPhone as "an iPhone affordable for everyone"... and then having Ted Rogers kick that aside and offer overpriced service plans and the only 3-year lock-in in the iPhone world.

 

[waterloowarrior]

also we have the systems access fee of $7 or so

 

[syn]

What? Rogers is charging far more than AT&T. For the starter packages AT&T is offering for virtually the same price as Rogers 450 minutes a month anytime (3 times more than Rogers) + unlimited web use (400 MB from Rogers), all on a 2 year, not 3 year contract.

And what makes an $199 iPhone sound overpriced from Apple?

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But it doesn't have unlimited evenings and weekends. You also have to buy a separate text plan since the AT &T plan apparently doesn't cover text messages. Minutes above your plan are $0.10 cheaper too. Add it all up and are the price plans really that far off?

Really, Canada, US...all these minimum price points just to have an iPhone are ridiculous. There's no way I'd spend $60/month minimum just so I'd be able to use it.

As for Apple product pricing, I was referring to Apple products in general. $200 for a phone when you have to get a plan for it is pretty pricey.

 

[syn]

Not to mention Steve Jobs unveiled the 3G iPhone as "an iPhone affordable for everyone"... and then having Ted Rogers kick that aside and offer overpriced service plans and the only 3-year lock-in in the iPhone world.

That isn't the case anywhere, even in the US. When you have to pay $70/month minimum for a phone, it definitely isn't affordable for everyone.

 

[interchange42]

But it doesn't have unlimited evenings and weekends.

AT&T has 5000 minutes per month of evenings and weekends. I'd say that's pretty close to unlimited.

You also have to buy a separate text plan since the AT&T plan apparently doesn't cover text messages. Minutes above your plan are $0.10 cheaper too. Add it all up and are the price plans really that far off?

With 5000 minutes of evening and weekends along with 3 times the daytime minutes, are you really going to need many of those $.45 minutes from AT&T? Nope, not compared to the $.35 minutes you'll be buying if you average over 5 minutes a day with Rogers.

Really, Canada, US...all these minimum price points just to have an iPhone are ridiculous. There's no way I'd spend $60/month minimum just so I'd be able to use it.

As for Apple product pricing, I was referring to Apple products in general. $200 for a phone when you have to get a plan for it is pretty pricey.

iPhone is not just a phone. You don't really know what else is built into it, do you? http://www.apple.com/ca/iphone/

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[syn]

AT&T has 5000 minutes per month of evenings and weekends. I'd say that's pretty close to unlimited.

Close for some. Far for others.

With 5000 minutes of evening and weekends along with 3 times the daytime minutes, are you really going to need many of those $.45 minutes from AT&T? Nope, not compared to the $.35 minutes you'll be buying if you average over 5 minutes a day with Rogers.

But what if you won't be using your phone much in the day? What if you pay the $5-$10 extra to have your evenings and weekends start at 6:00pm? Or pay $10 extra for 100 more minutes?

The point is that these plans aren't nearly as far off as people are making them out to be.

iPhone is not just a phone. You don't really know what else is built into it, do you? http://www.apple.com/ca/iphone/

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I know exactly what else is built into it. I've used the iPhone on several occasions, which is why I say these plans are all pretty ridiculous if they expect it to be a true mass market device. It's a great interface and more slick Apple marketing. Believe it or not, 3G phones have been around for a little while now, as have phones that allow you to do comparable things. The functionality isn't ground breaking by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[adma]

In the US most of their downtown stores are not in malls but the suburban ones are. Is the Eaton Centre an anomaly in that most US cities don't have major malls downtown?

No, it's an anomaly in that it didn't follow its inner-city US counterparts into deadmalls dot com...

 

[Edward Skira]

Rogers caves to complaints, unveils new 3G data rates
MATT HARTLEY
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Bowing to public pressure, Rogers Wireless Inc. has opted to slash its data fees as the launch of the iPhone draws near.

Customers who purchase an iPhone and sign up for a three-year contract any time between July 11 – when the device goes on sale – and the end of August will be eligible for a $30-per-month data plan giving them access to 6-Gigabytes of data. Rogers previously had charged $100 for a 6-GB plan.

Rogers also announced that it would hold special launch day events to welcome the iPhone to Canada on Friday. Six Rogers Plus locations and one Fido store will open at 8 a.m. on Friday with special promotions and free breakfast.

A Rogers spokeswoman said the decision to offer the new plan was based on “customer feedback.â€

The special plan is available not just to iPhone customers, but any Rogers customer with a 3G next-generation smart phone.

“We listened to our customers, everybody from those who are very tech savvy to those who just knew they wanted this device and were really enthusiastic and didn't know how they were going to use the data but knew it was a data device,†Rogers spokeswoman Liz Hamilton said.

“So this will give them a great opportunity.â€

According to Rogers' calculations, with 6 GB of data users will be able to visit 35,952 Web pages, or send and receive 157,286 e-mails or watch 6,292 minutes of YouTube videos in a month.

Rogers has faced intensifying criticism for its iPhone pricing plans over the past few weeks. More than 50,000 potential customers have signed an online petition at ruinediphone.com protesting Rogers voice and data plans as well as the company's decision to force all iPhone buyers to sign three-year contracts.

Other international carriers, such as AT&T Inc. in the U.S., have opted to offer the iPhone for sale without a contract, albeit at a significantly higher price.

In recent days, rumours have swirled online about a widening rift between Apple and Rogers, with the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer company reportedly upset over the negative reactions coming from customers over Rogers' plans.

One blog posting on AppleInsider.com, a popular Apple rumour site, stated that Apple would divert some iPhone shipments that had been earmarked for Rogers to Europe for punishment over the negative publicity, leaving some Rogers outlets with as few as 10 iPhones to sell.

A separate posting on another site stated that Apple's decision not to sell the iPhone through its own Canadian Apple Store retail outlets was motivated by its displeasure over Rogers pricing plans.

Rogers has vehemently denied those rumours, saying that its planned inventory levels have not changed and that its allocation and distribution of iPhones remains the same.

“It's rumour and it's false,†Ms. Hamilton said.

A spokesman for Apple in Canada refused to answer questions relating to the company's decision not to sell the iPhone in its own retail store the way it does in the U.S. and some other markets.

Customers interested in picking up an iPhone on Friday should check the Rogers website for information and availability at http://your.rogers.com/mq/mqlocator.asp.

Customers will be permitted to purchase a maximum of two iPhones.

The Rogers Plus locations that will open early on Friday are:

112-10 Dundas Street East in Toronto

1015 St. Catherine Street West in Montreal

690 Bank Street in Ottawa

7001 Mumford Road unit 265 in Halifax

5244 Falsbridge Gate NE in Calgary

20971 West Broadway in Vancouver More to come

 

[ShonTron]

This is a limited-time offer, good to August 31. I'm on the tail end of a 2-year Fido contract (I've been with them before they got bought out; before that I was with Clearnet before they got bought out). I would give this due and deliberate consideration, though it still isn't at all wonderful. Still, a bit surprised to see the sudden back-pedalling.

No, it's an anomaly in that it didn't follow its inner-city US counterparts into deadmalls dot com...

The only vibrant downtown malls in the US I found were in San Francisco and Providence. I'm not counting tourist Queen's Quay Terminal type malls like ones in Baltimore.

Then again, pretty much all the downtown malls in Canada, except those in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Chatham, Calgary, Vancouver, and Victoria are worthy of deadmalls.com. Hamilton and Winnipeg have okay, functioning downtown malls, but failed to live up to their promise. Then there's all those old Eaton Centres.

 

[interchange42]

That's still quite a bit more expensive than AT&T, and still more restrictive. I hope the boycott holds.

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