Lunch Bag Letdown…

Rogers announced their voice/data plans for the iPhone last week and to say I am disappointed is an understatement.

I will need to get an iPhone in the near future, my business and clients will demand it, but these plans are completely insane.

I have no idea what the folks at Rogers were thinking, but obviously none of it was good. You can find plenty of analysis of the plans on the web so I won’t go into that here, but for me the plans make no sense.

They are bundles of voice and data at arbitrary points without any of the flexibility that I require. What happens if I want more than the base level of voice minutes (150 minutes?!?) but without increasing my data? Where is the network calling? Where is the long-distance options?

The only thing that I can think of is that these plans are intentionally simplified to reduce the load on the CSRs for the initial launch of the phone. No options equals less questions and less time activating the phone. I’d like to think there is a reason beyond pure stupidity and greed, but maybe I’m being too generous…

Anyways, I am now left with this decision:

Do I buy the phone, lock in at the lowest plan, because I’m going to need to start developing on it soon anyway, and hope for things to get better?

Or do I say FU Rogers and wait. The spectrum auction is coming, maybe we’ll get a new GSM carrier without their collective heads wedged up one of Ted Rogers’ orifices. Maybe voting with my dollars will join the others that are feeling the same way and give Rogers a wake up call.

Regardless, I am conflicted and saddened…

iPhone coming to Canada… soon…

From 680News Radio (yeah radio how quaint):

“We’re thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year. We can’t tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned,” said Ted Rogers, president and CEO of Rogers Communications Inc., in a statement issued today.

That’s just great. Potentially 8 more months to wait…