By Diana Mendes
Will November be iMonth?
That’s the question that has set technology blogs abuzz these last few weeks with rumours that Apple’s iPhone is making the long awaited trek north of the 49th parallel.
Fuelling the speculation are a series of suspicious leaks leading observers to suspect the iPhone will be coming to Canada just in time for Christmas.
First, in October, a Holt Renfrew insider reported the high-class clothing store would be selling the phone, but after intense media attention, the store denied the rumour.
Then later in the month, Molson Canada ran an ad for a contest offering the iPhone – and a Rogers Wireless contract – as a prize. Days later, Molson issued a terse statement denying any links between Rogers and the iPhone, and pulled the ad.
Hype is nothing new for the product dubbed by some as the “Jesus phone.” Since it hit stores south of the border last June, it has been a sensation, selling over one million units.
Meanwhile, Canadians have been patiently watching and waiting. Rogers won’t even confirm that it will carry the phone. This despite the fact that it is the only Canadian carrier with a Global System Mobile (GSM) network – the only type of network the phone works on – and that it already carries other brands of phone that are bought in the U.S. and activated in Canada.
That’s why when Rogers alerted reporters to a major announcement in late October, the blogs went into overdrive. Rogers Wireless big wigs were rounded up for a press conference. But in an astonishing disappointment, the “news” was simply the launch of a trial high speed network in two Canadian cities, an announcement some analysts said was actually old news. Could it be that an iPhone announcement was forthcoming but scrapped at the last minute?
This fuelled further speculation and made the faux announcement one of the top stories on Google News. Blogs that carried it logged almost 10,000 hits. Clearly, the hype machine was in full swing.
But when it comes down to it, what’s all the fuss about? It’s just a phone.
First of all, it’s not really a revolutionary invention. The iPhone bears a striking similarity to other smartphones out there: RIM’s BlackBerry Curve or Palm’s Treo. Each combines phone, e-mail, web browsing and music in some format, giving you the power of a laptop in the palm of your hand.
And as if you need another player, Google is set to jump into the ring with its Android platform that will allow it to operate on various phones and carriers.
Secondly, if the “Jesus phone” is on your wish list, get ready to perform miracles to pay for it. Stateside, the phone retails for $400 for the eight gigabyte version plus the purchase of a service plan that ranges from $60 to $100 a month for 1,000 minutes and unlimited data transfer (needed for surfing the Web).
But tech-savvy Canadians who snapped up the phone during jaunts south of the border, pay three times that much when they connect to the Rogers network back home. This is due to the exorbitant data transfer rates charged by Rogers. So to actually use your phone to its full potential, it’ll cost you.
David Kawai says this is the weakness of the phone. A newsroom colleague and freelance photographer, he bought his iPhone in the U.S., and stores his portfolio on it. He only connects to the Internet at home or at free hotspots. He loves his iPhone, but admits it’s expensive.
“It’s so freaking cool,” he says, “that you want to use it more than you probably should — or can afford.”
It’s this “cool factor” that seems to be the biggest attraction. Just like the iPod and iTouch, which is a music player similar to the iPhone but without the phone application, people simply want the cachet of having one. Right now, Apple as a brand is so trendy any product it releases is instantly successful, whether it deserves to be or not.
Kawai admits he sometimes doesn’t want to use his phone in public because it gets him so much attention. And who can blame them with its sleek design and cool graphics, the iPhone is by far the prettiest smartphone out there. But in business, like in life, looks won’t get you everywhere.