Kasper JadeAs a result, Canadian Apple Retail stores won't be selling the new 3G touchscreen phones come Friday, representatives for the Cupertino-based company said during a private conference call on Monday evening. Instead, it will be up to Rogers and its partner Fido to lock subscribers into steep 3-year contracts that require a minimum monthly payment of $60 for just 150 minutes, 75 text messages, and 400MB of data.
Calls to Canadian Apple retail stores early Tuesday confirmed the move once over. Although the majority of the of stores contacted by AppleInsider said they were still unsure whether they'd be selling the new iPhone, one representative ultimately confirmed that Rogers and its partner stores will be the only place to buy iPhone 3G come Friday. Canadian Apple retail stores will, however, have demo units on hand the same day.
Asked whether the decision not to sell the iPhone was a result of Rogers' poor service offerings, the representative would only say that: "We have nothing to do with the service plans. Those are Rogers' plans."
Word of Apple's abandonment of in-store sales comes just days after the company was reported to have sanctioned Rogers by diverting a significant amount of Canada's iPhone 3G shipments to Europe as initial retribution. As a result, the Canadian carrier will likely receive only about 10 to 20 units per store, and therefore should "exercise caution" not to promise ample stock on launch day, people familiar with the matter have said.
Apple's knee-jerk reaction is believed to have been further stimulated by public outrage on the part of Canadian consumers following the release of the local pricing plans. Always concerned with its image, the iPhone maker has watched nearly 50,000 of its loyal customers sign an anti-Rogers petition at ruinediphone.com, which has in turn sparked hundreds of potentially damaging reports on the matter by bloggers and members of the mainstream media.
For its part, Rogers in official statements has attempted to justify the cost of its service and data plans by arguing that the "majority" of international iPhone carriers have capped data. As such, a spokesperson said Rogers believes its plans to be better than those of Orange France, for example, which include a 500MB 'reasonable use' limit versus the 2GB maximum on the top-tier Canadian iPhone plan that fetches $115 per month.
"Unlimited plans could end up costing customers more for what they don't use," the spokesperson said. "Our iPhone plans more than accommodate the vast majority of customers."
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177 Comments
I don't see why Apple's reaction is being presented as a an act of emotion, power play and punishment.
If Apple expects to sell less iPhones in Canada because of Canada's tarif plans, to customers who will be relatively unsatisfied, it's only natural for Apple to move the first 3G iPhones over to other countries where more will be sold under more positive conditions.
Typical greed.
The thing that kills me about all of the cell phone data plans and the broadband prices out there is that they are pretty much making pure profit off of all of these things. It's not like they have to "manufacture and distribute" an actual physical commodity. They just have to make sure that the network is open and up and running.
It would be like me charging someone to get onto my WiFi network at home. Once I covered all my expenses of the hardware and service that I have to pay, it is all profit and I don't have to lift a finger to do anything.... ANYTHING!
I don't see why Apple's reaction is being presented as a an act of power play and punishment.
If Apple expects to sell only a few iPhones in Canada because of Canada's tarif plans, to customers who will be relatively unsatisfied, it's only natural for Apple to move the first 3G iPhones over to other countries where more will be sold under more positive conditions.
If this were just the original report of low initial supplies to Rogers stores, then I might agree with you. But to not be selling them at all in their own Apple Stores? That, I think, is a pretty clear message. Store employees will be explaining to disappointed customers all day long (all weekend long) that they have no iPhones to sell them.
Sure, there is some cold, hard business decisions about were they will sell the most units. But they would have sold at least some, even with Rogers poor service plan options. And Apple loves to have supply shortages and queued up customers waiting for their latest gadgets. It's the best way to get on the evening news for free publicity. Any guess now what the media is going to be saying about the iPhone launch in Canada? Rogers may very well be in for a cold slap in the face.
If Apple really cared, they simply would have sold all the iPhones as unlocked devices everywhere, at the same time. The decision to create exclusivity contracts with particular carriers got them into the mess, and now they have to deal with it.
Bell don't seem to have a problem offering decent monthly rates along with unlimited Internet...
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