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iPhone Coming to Holt Renfrew?
This is to be taken with as many grains of salt as you typically handle Apple-related rumours with, but here's a quick addendum to my earlier post on how the iPod Touch lacks relative to the iPhone.
DigitalJournal.com is saying that they have inside information that Holt Renfrew will be carrying the iPhone in Canada in as little as two weeks.
No one at Holt Renfrew or Apple would otherwise confirm the claims, so the best info otherwise available is the story so far:
iPhones can make their way to Canada and be unlocked, Rogers' infrastructure has the GSM capability to support such phones, and the photo to the right is an example of an unlocked iPhone operating on Fido, which shares Rogers' network.
However, Rogers recently told retailers to stop activating unlocked iPhones and publicly claimed that a deal with Apple is not coming any time soon.
To the skeptic, these signs all point to "no such luck," while to the eager fanboy types, these are no doubt all sure signs that something is up and Rogers is doing their best to maintain Apple's usual cloak of secrecy.
Like most such predictions, we'll probably just have to wait the two weeks and see.
Photo: Unlocked iPhone by dylanparker on Flickr.
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* Unlocking voids the warranty, so you'll be out of luck if it breaks.
* Apple frequently releases updates for the iPhone, and these have been known to convert unlocked iPhones into bricks.
* Unless Rogers of Fido officially carries the phone, they won't help you if you run into trouble.
You've got to be pretty brave to spend $799 for a unlocked iPhone right now, but I can think of a few more words that can describe that behaviour...
... And by the way, Apple has a record of sending cease and desist letters when rumours that are too close to the truth are posted online. No guarantees, but if this post gets ordered removed, its safe to call this confirmed.
Rogers currently charges a fortune for data plans while in the U.S., AT&T charges a flat $20 for the iPhone data plan. I heard that in Canada, a 5MB monthly download could cost $500.
The iPhone looks VERY cool, tho. I had the opportunity to see a demo before it was officially released and I was drooling.
http://tinyurl.com/2u736a
Probably not, but I don't think most bloggers can afford to find out.
@ Thomas
The rate for an unlocked iPhone in Canada is between $600 and $700 @ Bongo Wireless up in Markham. They are reporting that all phones are now shipping with the latest software, which has no unlocking solution right now - making this whole rumour moot. There's nothing legally stopping Holt Renfrew from selling it, but I agree with you - I wouldn't bet the farm on this one.
<a href="http://www.thestar.com/article/238678";>Time to revamp mobile Internet pricing</a> (Toronto Star)
Launch of the iPhone in the U.S. market was a long planning process that, for Apple, involved negotiating with and working out a data plan with their mobile partner, AT&T.
I think we can expect that, should Canada become the second country worldwide in which the iPhone is launched, Apple will do so only after having worked out a launch strategy with a Canadian partner, too.
In other words, a carrier's pricing for data plans that do not contemplate the iPhone is not directly relevant to the likely cost of a carrier's iPhone offering.
I don't know whether the hype is justified or not, but an interesting aspect to the iPhone roll-out is the way that is not just a hardware release, but a wholesale new service offering. Coordination between manufacturers and service providers is how Japan and South Korea zoomed so far ahead of everyone else in mobile data usage. Whatever else one can say about Apple, it's certainly interesting to see them bringing that model to the States and, soon, to other countries.
Disparishun, they've already announced Germany, France, Italy, and UK... Canada would have to settle for at least fifth country world wide with an iPhone.
I mentioned the Holt Renfrew rumour to a friend of mine (who is keen on getting an iPhone). His reply:
"Well, I suppose it's possible -- I Googled another story from a few weeks ago suggesting an early October announcement based on a person's conversation with Apple in California. But I'm *highly* skeptical.
The main issue is the cost of data plans on Canadian cell networks, which is ridiculously high. Apple simply won't let anyone offer the iPhone in Canada until they change their pricing for data plans, and if they do they'll have to offer similar plans to all their customers. So it's going to require a complete change in the way the carriers bill for data which I don't think they are interested in doing, at least not any time soon.
I also question the quoted price of $799 which is TWICE the cost in the US ($399). I'm sure it will be more expensive here, but that just seems way too high. People would just go across the border to buy their phones, and then activate them back here with Rogers. Quoting such a high price makes the entire claim suspect.
And finally, I seriously doubt that Apple will sell iPhone's through Holt Renfrew. They have no such deals in the US and it makes no sense."
But yeah, I've deactivated EDGE on my iPhone. I'd like to use the mobile data features, but as it stands, the phone + iPod while mobile, and WiFi data when in an urban area is good enough for the time being.
Holt's does sell other mobile manufacturers' high-end phones in their stores (see the display case on the lower level of the Bloor Street store), but I'd also be inclined to agree that this rumour is complete BS.
Apple hasn't made any deal to sell the iPhone without a carrier backing them; In order to do so, they'd need to sell an unlocked phone, which they're not going to do right now.
I'm sure Rogers will be the official exclusive wireless carrier in Canada for the iPhone. But that doesn't mean non-wireless carriers will carry it too. When it's finally officially released in Canada it'll likely cost about the same, or slightly more than in the U.S.
Only HR (as in Holt Renfrew) can charge so much more for the same product. They'll probably sell it with a Swarovski-encrusted carrying case or something.
i already have an iphone and would consider paying the premium just so i can stay current with the newest firmware, particularly with OS 10.5 Leopard just around the corner (but only if i can install apps)
Welcome to 1998.
Some great discussion here, and indeed this was shocking even to us. We'll have to see if the rumours pan out.
We just left an updated message on our coverage of this issue in the comment thread of our original report, but I thought I would publish it here for the interest of Blog T.O.'s readership:
As we mentioned in this story, it's purely speculation right now and a two week window does seem short even to us. We've done more follow-ups since yesterday and we have had more Holt Renfrew insiders turn to us to say this is very likely going to happen. We'll now have to wait to see if it actually happens.
Another source inside Holt Renfrew told us yesterday that the company is trying to be the first in Canada to bring out the iPhone. They say the phone will be unlocked to work on a GSM network, theoretically meaning you could pop out your SIM card and put it in the iPhone.
This goes entirely against Apple's stance with AT&T in the U.S. and is arguably unlikely (this is what caught us off guard most). But after publishing this report we have heard more and more people from within Holt Renfrew call us to say it's not as far-fetched as it sounds.
I will also clarify, that after publishing this, we got a second message from Holt Renfrew's PR team to say this has NOT been confirmed. My guess is that people inside Holt Renfrew have spoken early and the management there does not want to confirm this yet.
Other insiders at Holt Renfrew (outside of the publicity department), however, are standing by this story saying it's very likely to happen. They also say Rogers will bring the iPhone to market in January. I don't know how they know that, or if it's accurate, but the rumour mill is in full swing in Canada.
Christopher Hogg
Editor-in-Chief
DigitalJournal.com
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/10/11/tech-iphone-trademark.html