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Apple Punishing Rogers for Steep iPhone Rate Plans?

Posted by Tim / July 7, 2008

16 Comments

rogers iphoneA number of sources including Apple Insider are reporting that Apple is punishing Rogers for its steep iPhone rate plans by cutting down on the number of devices it will be sending north of the border.

According to sources close to the situation, Rogers' stores may now be getting just 10 to 20 iPhones each and are being told to exercise caution not to promise ample stock on launch day

Rumours are also circulating that Rogers has begun promptly firing the part-time staff that had been hired to handle an expected deluge of customers at some stores.

More info at Apple Insider

Related: Sign the petition at RuinediPhone.com.

Photo by da-to on Flickr

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16 Comments

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Marko / July 7, 2008 at 02:26 pm
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This doesn't really seem like "punishing" by Apple. Apple and Rogers have to have some sort of contract in this deal that obviously doesn't include the numbers of devices Rogers is supposedly getting.

After seeing how easily Rogers shot themselves in the foot with pricing and the uproar that it caused by consumers, Apple is just diverting stock from Rogers stores where they won't sell, to other countries where the phones will be taken off shelves. They're giving Rogers enough phones to satisfy the rich and "OMG IPHONEZ" crowds but not as many as they would have needed to satisfy consumers if data plans were priced normally.

Seems more like good business sense rather than punishment.
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apetimberlake / July 7, 2008 at 02:44 pm
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Who the fuck gives a toss.
WIFI is still free.

A friend of mine said tha tthe rogers reps will push hard for a data plan as they don't get commision on the voice only plan for the iphone.
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Niconico / July 7, 2008 at 02:52 pm
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Personally I'd like to see Apple completely pull out of the Canadian market until there is a change in cell phone (data rate) plans to a more fair and affordable (acceptable) cost.
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jack / July 7, 2008 at 02:58 pm
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lol, sure creating a shortage is a way to punish rogers.. as if they care
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Adam / July 7, 2008 at 03:03 pm
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Niconico, I totally agree. You can be sure there'd be more than 40,000 signing a petition if even the suckers can't buy it on July 11.

Imagine that: iPhone 3G released on July 11 in 70+ countries, *not including Canada*.
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guy lafleur / July 7, 2008 at 03:23 pm
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i dont think this was a punitive decision, but a business decision re: supply

i like the end result, anyway: fewer iphones in Canada. Maybe we can dodge the international fanboyism and support the iphone along with its (very worthy) competitors (blackberry, samsung's instinct, nokia n series)... competition is a good thing!
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Tabish Bhimani / July 7, 2008 at 03:35 pm
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well it could be either/or. iPhone didn't launch earlier because of the Rogers rates gig. But if they're launching now, it's because they've come to an agreement. I don't think 40,000 signatures to a petition will count. It should be ATLEAST 100,000. And what's the credibility of it all anyway? I mean there could be duplicates too.

Http://ruinediphone.com is where you should sign the petition nonetheless.
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ramanan / July 7, 2008 at 04:14 pm
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Daniel Smith seems to be the <b>only</b> source for this rumour. A bunch of other blogs, including this one, talking about the same rumour don't constitute "a number of sources".
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chris / July 7, 2008 at 04:33 pm
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If you can live with ordinary, and you don't want to spend so much, you can just get a samsung instinct:

"Bell said Thursday it would offer the Samsung Instinct, which includes many of the features found on Apple Inc.'s iPhone, on Aug. 8. The phone would be available with a range of data and voice plans, including a $10 add-on data plan offering unlimited internet access"

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/07/03/bell-instinct.html
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Tommy boy / July 7, 2008 at 04:34 pm
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Free advertising for a non-Toronto-based product. Nice.
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miguel / July 7, 2008 at 04:35 pm
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as powerful as rogers is in its market, the consumer is still king. there will be a limited number of people willing to fork the money over to them and subscribe to these plans, but i think the bad press (combined with the already increasing gas prices and the like) will force a majority of people to think twice about locking themselves in to the absurd rogers contracts.
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miles / July 7, 2008 at 06:15 pm
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I can't believe that Rogers' contract with Apple doesn't include detailed arrangements for supply, it would be ridiculous for it not to, it's contracts 101, just as Apple reportedly includes details of tariff charges in their contracts with providers. If Apple are restricting supply it must be based on clauses within the contract.

Rogers suck, I'm sure Apple was well aware of that when they got into bed with them.
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yammymyyammy / July 7, 2008 at 06:37 pm
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Hmmm...The real problem is that once again Canada remains a market monopolized by Bell & Rogers. For those of you who don't know, Bell is an essential service. Which means it is in part government regulated, and can not be removed without appropriate channels agreeing to changes...CDMA networks will destroy Canada. Rogers...destroying the market with terrible pricing along with world class crap service...just like their competitor...Bell.. If there is a petition to sign...It's the one removes Bell's grasp on Canadian Telecommunication...
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yellowman / July 7, 2008 at 10:45 pm
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this news means absolutely nothing because Apple is not punishing Rogers for not having low rates, most&#12288;people who are going to buy an iphone are already customers of rogers.

most of the stupid people who signed the petition are going to go out and buy the iphone and sign up for one of those stupid plans anyways. the petition is complete crap just like the ones that are done when gas prices go up. the ONLY way to actually hurt rogers is to NOT buy any of their products (which is almost impossible since they own everything). instead of signing a stupid petition, just dont buy the iphone.

petitions, that are against commericial giants like rogers, are full of crap and waste everybodys time. dont sign it, just dont buy it!
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serotonin / July 8, 2008 at 09:07 am
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I was always more surprised by how much demand there was for such a small-capacity device.

But then, I'm also surprised at how upset people get over this stuff as if the price of milk, bread and eggs quadrupled over night.

How many of those 40,000 even need an iPhone for any practical purpose? I'm pissed I can't afford a vacation right now or a motorcycle, so should I go sign some petition about it?
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Greg J. Smith / July 8, 2008 at 02:58 pm
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@serotonin

Needs? What do "needs" have to do with consumer electronics?
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