iPhone rage boils over

Opinion

Barry Artiste. Now Public Contributor

The old Bell Canada motto "Reach Out and Touch Someone" is certainly a Motto virtually every Cell Phone carrier in Canada adhere to, in figuring Canadians are an easy Touch, with all their mumbo, jumbo, legalise on how, who, what, when, why when it comes to a myriad of conditions on using your Iphone or any phone for that matter.  

Trying to understand the legalise even confuses the hell out of  Retail clerks trying to explain all this legalise to an eager public jumping up and down with a bad case of the "Gimmes", who Rogers feels just want to get their phone and get out of the store Pronto so they can start using it, ultimately suffering Buyers Remorse when cell phone bill arrives.  Consumer outrage over limited service, but additional fees and conditions seems to be reaching a breaking point.

Canada's Minister of Industry Jim Prentice is calling Cell Carriers on the carpet to explain all these fees and conditions.  One can be sure these Cell Carrier execs will be just as clueless about explaining all the nickel and dime ploys as the Retail Clerk.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/National/2008/07/10/6114871-sun.html

iPhone rage boils over

Rogers bows to public pressure, introduces better rate plan

By STEVE TILLEY, SUN MEDIA

Apple's iPhone makes its long-awaited Canadian debut tomorrow, but the firestorm of controversy surrounding its release has threatened to become a bigger story than the hi-tech gizmo itself.

From online petitions generating tens of thousands of signatures to calls for a boycott of exclusive provider Rogers Communications Inc. and its Fido subsidiary, iPhone rage has reached a boiling point.

But Rogers bowed to public pressure yesterday and threw water on the fires of discontent, introducing a new iPhone rate plan which -- depending on who you ask -- is either a great deal or too little, too late.

LISTENED TO CUSTOMERS

"It's kind of comforting to know that a big corporation can listen to customer reactions," said Amit Kaminer, an analyst with Toronto-based telecommunications consulting and research firm SeaBoard Group.

A combination of a mobile phone, multimedia iPod and Internet-surfing device, the iPhone has been the hottest gadget in the U.S. since it launched there just over a year ago. Tomorrow marks the debut of the second iteration of the iPhone -- the first to be officially offered in Canada -- capable of running on faster, next-generation wireless networks.

Rogers' rate plans for the iPhone began at $60 per month with a relatively meagre 400 MB of data transfer capacity for things like Internet surfing and music downloads. The plans were blasted by thousands of potential buyers in Canada and met with clucks of sympathy from iPhone owners in the U.S. and abroad, who enjoy more favourable rates and perks.

The new offer, which customers must sign up for by Aug. 31, will allow users to combine any Rogers voice plan with a $30 monthly fee that grants up to 6 GB of data downloads, enough to watch more than 6,000 minutes of YouTube video clips per month.