Friday, May 16,2008 @ 12:10pm
Tips: Canadian iPhone in June with $7 data
The Canadian iPhone is set to be launched in June and will potentially have the least expensive data plan of any carrier announced to date, Electronista has heard. Sources from inside Rogers claim that the device should be available the same month as an expected US release of an updated, 3G-capable model rather than as part of any possible staggered launch. Pricing is still unavailable, though currency values are likely to place the cost of the phone itself closer to the eventual US figure.
Data, however, is expected to cost less than for American customers, those same tips indicate. The sources claim that the iPhone will qualify for Rogers' $7 on-device browsing plan, which currently allows all phones offered by Rogers (excepting BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices) to access the web as much as they like through the carrier's officially-sanctioned browser. Whether Rogers will allow YouTube, the App Store, and other official but non-web devices to fall into the unlimited plan is unknown, though unlike with other phones Rogers will not have the choice of installing or customizing the web browser or other applications.
While Electronista is still working to confirm the alleged details, the reports corroborate earlier claims regarding other non-US carriers about to receive the iPhone, which are widely believed to be receiving Apple's handsets for a simultaneous or near-simultaneous release. A Telecom Italia executive recently told journalists that the 3G iPhone will be available in June for his company's network despite deliberately non-specific claims by other carriers that the phone will arrive later this year.
In addition to the launch window and plan details, reports have also surfaced of some smaller Rogers stores beginning expansion plans in recent weeks to help service more customers by late spring.