For that much money I should be able to show off...
How many times you are connected to a wi-fi network, how many times you really need to get connected on 3G. Come on, get real... Unless you want to impress people by showing a youtube clip at the beach. The 75$+tx+activation+911 is pretty close from 100$ and I still need the early 6 pm night unlimited. I had the 25$ for 4MB last month, some improvment here.
Realistically, this phone is half and half. Half hype. Half luxury. 100% necessary with unlimited data. I don't think it's fair to say because a phone has wifi access you should be restricted to curtailing your usage based on the hardware.
I know tonnes of people who choose not to use a laptop on the fly, and only at a desk. Just because it's able to be moved, does that mean you have to use it the way it's designed? Steve Jobs said it himself, all these devices are computers. So what!? It's how a user chooses to use the device is of consequence. (paraphrasing).
The phone costs a lot. The phone should be something you should be able to 'show off' if it's in your interest to do so. I don't searching for wifi hot spots is something you want to do in a sketchy part of town, when you may be trying to get directions home, or get your bearings about yourself. So if it means I'm restricted to work, home, and Starbucks (which uses Bell Hot Spot), does that mean I am relegated to those places, and not the beach?
I honestly would use it on these places only. But a late night coming home? I'd love to check the news, while driving back from dinner (while not driving of course), and avoid doing that when I get home.
To each his own. And yeah, I guess Rogers has a right to charge what they want, but quite honestly, it's not fair that they're being so vicious in their approach to customers who are going to sign a 3-year contract (although I haven't heard much about this "likelihood").
I simply don't think that these costs will be appropriate for a market that has current CDMA competitors offering unlimited data for $15. I think Rogers charging $20-$25 (in addition to current plans) would be a fair deal. But because they're insisting on changing consumer usage, there will be a large aversion towards this product in Canada.
Expect a good deal of people waiting for the phone rates to drop, not committing to a data plan with Rogers/Fido just yet. People have been waiting a year for a phone that's going to be useless on the network 3G (HSDPA) != 2.5G (EDGE). I think it's also unlikely that Apple will allow 1st Gen AT&T iPhones onto the Rogers/Fido network without a revenue agreement providing some revenue to AT&T.
Basically this is the same problem that Merlin Mann speaks about but doesn't get much airtime for: "Understand the user's needs, and you will make money. Ignore the behaviour, and you will get a lot less."
I think Rogers/Apple can make a TONNE of money on this phone provided they realize that the phone is nothing without good data service (something that Apple gets 'i'-Phone? hUh? See what I did there?), customer service, billing, and an easy experience getting issues resolved (namely data issues which will be rampant going forward).
Rogers can barely manage 10 digits heading from one tower to your phone, so what gives me comfort with variable data ? Hmm? Do I really trust Rogers to handle web pages? Data packets on 2 radios? ReallY!? I doubt it. Expect overages, expect them frequently, but don't be surprised, because Rogers has a poor system of managing their billing records.
