Tag: Rogers Posts

Yes sports fans, it’s almost that time. On Friday the highly anticipated successor to the iPhone 3GS is released. My experience so far with Rogers wireless this last week, as well as on launch days in the past, seems to indicate that Friday is going to be a complete gong show for everyone involved. Unlike the previous launches, we now have an interesting option in Canada: we can purchase an unlocked phone from the Apple store. Unless I’m mistaken, I don’t believe we’ve ever had that luxury in Canada, at least not with Rogers. I remember getting my first Motorola phone back in 2000 – the guy at the counter had to punch in the 6 digit subsidy code simply to activate it. Of course, without that code it is impossible to change carriers, which is one of the ways carriers try to keep you locked to their service. My […]

Well, to say that today was a complete clusterfuck would be a gross understatement. I arrived at the Rogers store around 9am, and spent the next five hours watching Roger’s employees desperately try and activate my iPhone for me. I actually ended up at a hold-in-the-wall Rogers store, which was great because there wasn’t a huge line-up. Ironically, I ended up right behind my plastic surgeon in line, which was actually pretty cool because I got to spend 90 minutes just chatting with him and getting to know him. They had 14 units at the store I went to, and only 4 at the Yaletown Rogers store. I heard that the fools at the Broadway store waited in a line 100 deep for hours on end and most of them didn’t even get iPhones. After spending most of the day there, I managed to walk out around 2pm with a […]

Yes, today is July 11th, and that means today is the day most of use techno geeks have been waiting for patiently for the last few months. Today Roger’s releases the iPhone 3G in Canada. As most of you know, I’ve been pretty harsh (justifiable so) against their iPhone rate plans. The last entry I posted basically said that if Rogers didn’t cave before Friday, they were going to seriously hurt their credibility, not just amongst their wireless users, but also for the hoards of people that were exposed to the negative press. The good news is that Rogers finally caved and offered a decent data plan for $30/mo. When coupled with a normal Roger’s voice plan, that’ll bring the monthly cost of a new iPhone down from around $100 to more like $60, which is in line with what my old cell phone used to cost me. So, while […]

Tonight I was pointed at a link, courtesy of John, that basically detailed a rumour that Apple is diverting iPhone shipments away from Canada next week. The reason for this, according to the rumour, is that Apple is not pleased with the grassroots backlash that Roger’s and the iPhone have received in Canada. The thing is, it really doesn’t matter if the rumour is true (and in my mind, I doubt it is — it’s more likely in my mind that they have general manufacturing problems and can’t meet the demand) – either way, it’s a huge PR nightmare for Rogers. There was one site earlier that posted the rumor, and already I’ve found four or five that are regurgitating it, and adding their own spin on it. By tomorrow, that rumour will basically be fact, and will have propagated to Digg and all the other big tech sites. As […]

Most of us have been waiting patiently for Rogers to finally release their data rates for the iPhone 3G that is coming to Canada on July 11th. The good news is that the wait is finally over — Rogers just released full information about their plans. Unfortunately, Rogers completely missed the boat on this one. They had the chance to bring Canada to the forefront of the wireless world, but instead felt compelled to keep us locked up in our draconian past. There are no unlimited data rates for the new plans, and anything approaching 1GB will cost you $100 or more per month (plus, I’m sure, the 9/11 fee and the system access fee, bringing your bill to $120 or more). To be honest, it’s exactly what I expected, but I can’t honestly say I didn’t dare to hope that things might be better. On my recent trip down […]

Dave summed up the sentiment behind this post with one of his recent Flickr photos: While most of Canada is ecstatic for the release of the iPhone in Canada, one company seems rather mute about the whole event. Ironically, that company is Rogers, the only company that has the technology to actually bring the iPhone to Canada. As Dave pointed out, the Apple website has been updated to reflect all the available information regarding the iPhone in Canada. Roger’s unfortunate marketing campaign involves what exactly? A simple teaser, like we’ve all been living in a cave and have absolutely no idea what’s coming out next month. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m fairly certain Roger’s data plan will be overpriced, which is why I suspect they are holding out as long as possible before revealing it to Canadians.

My mom used to always say that somethings in life seem to happen for a reason. Surprisingly, she’s been right most of my life, and the strangest things sometimes happen to me that end up pushing me down a path that turns out to be a good one. While camping this weekend, my Samsung A880 phone went into a spiral of death, and started complaining about not being able to find service. I figured that I maybe forgot to pay my bill or something stupid, and called up Bell Mobility yesterday. After spending two days on the phone with them, they are all of the opinion that my phone has just gone the way of the Dodo. So, the question right now is just what do I do with myself. I currently have no phone, so I could probably break my contract and be done with it. The iPhone is […]

I stopped by the new Vancouver Apple store on my way to work to hang out with John Biehler and watch a bit of Steve Job’s keynote. Obviously the question on everyones’ mind basically revolved around the 3G iPhone that was rumoured to be announced. The good news is that the release date for the iPhone in Canada has been officially set for July 11th. The bad news is that not only is the jury is still out on just what type of data plans Rogers and Fido are going to be offering with the plan, but also most of the Rogers and Fido people seem completely clueless about the offerings. The first comment I have to make is that the new price for the 3G iPhone is $199, which is significantly less than I paid for my iPod touch. The rumours in the last couple of days alluded to […]

Jay from Giant Ant Media just emailed me a few awesome YouTube videos they did with regards to Roger’s customer service. I thought I’d share them with everyone, because they’re a riot. Given the content of my last post, I think these are particularly relevant. Now, I’ve been a Bell Mobility customer for a long time, and I can honestly say that they’re not very good either. I suspect the grass is always greener, but I’m fairly certain most wireless users in Canada would agree that we need some new blood in the market to help keep the current breed of wireless providers honest and competitive.

I missed the boat on the first round of Canadian iPhone action last year mainly because I was (quite stupidly) locked into a crazy Bell Mobility contract. The current consensus of the rumour mill is that Apple is gearing up to announce the 3G version of the iPhone on June 9th, which would hopefully put that model into Canadian stores sometime in the near future. I have been patiently awaiting it’s arrival so I can call up Bell and tell them where they can shove my phone and my crappy contract. The only problem is that Roger’s has been completely silent on what type of plan will be available for the Canadian iPhone here in Vancouver. As most people know, the data rates in Canada are fairly atrocious. I want to point out a graph that Boris did last year that highlighted just some of the craziness: And while data […]