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No 3GS for me. Ah, Rogers.


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No 3GS for me. Ah, Rogers.
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Bryson
Rocket Surgeon
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The Canadark
 
2009-10-24, 15:01

So lovely old Rogers have quietly changed the upgrade eligibility requirement from 12 months to 24 months. So now you have to hang on to your handset for 2 years before you can get a different one. That means that I don't become eligible for an upgrade until June 2010, by which time there will be a new one out.

The irritating part is that my fiancee, who currently has a Blackberry was planning on getting an iPhone, but now she also has to wait until 2010 to get one.

In the UK, I'm pretty sure this would count as material breach of contract, but it seems that Canadian law doesn't work that way....

Grrr.
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PKIDelirium
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
 
2009-10-24, 15:15

Can't you still buy it at a higher price rather than the upgrade price, before the two years is up?
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PB PM
Sneaky Punk
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
Send a message via Skype™ to PB PM 
2009-10-24, 15:38

Then don't get one through Rogers. I left Rogers earlier this year because I was tired of the service, or lack there of. I was glad to hear that all the major carries in Canada will have the iPhone by the end of the year. Sure the price will be the same, but at least you will have a choice in terms of who you go with.
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Bryson
Rocket Surgeon
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The Canadark
 
2009-10-24, 16:54

It's like they don't understand who the people who buy smartphones actually are - ie: early adopters and people who have to have the latest and greatest.

I don't mind most of the stuff about Rogers - but a 2 year vs 1 year upgrade policy is a significant problem for me.
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PB PM
Sneaky Punk
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
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2009-10-25, 01:44

The thing that bugged me the most about Rogers was, a) a website that hardly works for paying bills, and b) overall poor costumer service. After dealing with Rogers on an off for 5-7 years, that was enough. Fido may be a branch of Rogers, but it has better customer service, a website that works, and decent phone plans for people who don't need a ton of minutes.
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-10-28, 22:42

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryson View Post
So lovely old Rogers have quietly changed the upgrade eligibility requirement from 12 months to 24 months. So now you have to hang on to your handset for 2 years before you can get a different one. That means that I don't become eligible for an upgrade until June 2010, by which time there will be a new one out.
This confuses me. In the US, it's always been 24 months (OK, on some carriers it's 22) - the same length as the standard US cell phone contract. Are you saying that in Canada, you used to be able to upgrade after a year, even though you'd still be on contract for, like, two more years?

That's so weird. I mean, in theory, the reason you're on a contract is to "repay" the phone subsidy, so it seems odd to have you be able to get another subsidy a third of the way through the contract. In fact, I'm surprised you can upgrade after "just" 24 months, since aren't your carrier contracts typically 36 months?

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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PB PM
Sneaky Punk
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
Send a message via Skype™ to PB PM 
2009-10-29, 00:10

There are two year contracts in Canada, although 3 year contracts are more common.
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-10-29, 00:41

Quote:
Originally Posted by PB PM View Post
There are two year contracts in Canada, although 3 year contracts are more common.
Yeah, I know. And it's not like the phones are cheaper. You guys get screwed like that.

The problem is Canada's lower population density. In the US our population is less dense than in Europe or Asia, but in Canada it's even "worse." I've always thought that if any of the US carriers expanded into Canada that would be like the Best Thing Ever, because then the larger US population could effectively subsidize the network for the smaller Canadian one, and you would all stop getting such a raw deal.

Some things about Canadian carriers, like 3-year contracts, just astound me. I was poking around on fido.ca, and apparently you guys have to pay for "features" like voicemail or caller ID? That's rough. In the US those are included on every carrier, except the absolute cheapest Cricket and metroPCS plans, the token "$30!" ones that nobody gets. (Fido's rates are otherwise okay, but I don't know if I could stomach looking at Rogers'...)

But then again, people in Europe are sometimes astounded that we USians have to pay for received texts, so it's not like our carriers are awesome, either.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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PB PM
Sneaky Punk
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
Send a message via Skype™ to PB PM 
2009-10-29, 01:13

Yeah, it is silly, and I don't like it, which is why I just have a basic cell phone plan. I'm hoping things improve before my contract ends in February 2011, because I really want to have an iPhone, but I'm not counting on it.
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Chinney
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ottawa, ON
 
2009-11-28, 15:38

The approach of Canada's telcoms is one of the reasons why I still carry no cell phone or any other telcom device (I do enjoy my Apple Touch though).

It's only part of the reason - the other is that I get more than enough phone calls and e-mail messages without being further permanently wired in when I am away from the desk. I am not sure how much longer I can resist various pressures to be always available, but up until now I have resisted. Actually, I am not alone in this. I understand that Canada has the lowest cell phone market penetration of any western country, by a significant margin.

For those Canadians who do want to, or are required to carry a device though, there are few bargains (which may be one of the reasons for the limited market penetration). I must say though, that I have never entirely bought the argument on these forums - which I have seen a few times from non-Canadians - that our higher rates are justified by our low population density. Canada's low density is deceptive. Canada is an overwhelmingly urban country, and its population is almost entirely in a fairly small band in the south of the country. Cell phone companies do not serve - and will never serve - the vast empty expanses of the north. I think that the real reason for our high rates is the lack of competition.

When there's an eel in the lake that's as long as a snake that's a moray.

Last edited by Chinney : 2009-11-28 at 20:32.
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PB PM
Sneaky Punk
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
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2009-11-28, 15:56

Lack of competition and greed are the primary reasons. The three companies have no reasons to lower their rates, they know the Canadian government will never allow one of the big American companies to move in, well sort of, Rogers/Fido is owned by AT&T.
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Boomerangmacuser
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
 
2009-11-30, 01:31

My cheapo solution for an iPhone; buy one from Craigslist for about $350. Make sure it's locked to Rogers not Fido (you'll find out why later). Go to your nearest 7-11 and buy $100 of airtime on their SpeakOut pay as you go plan. They throw an extra $30 worth of airtime in and also throw in a cheapo phone. Pop out the SIM card from the 7-11 phone and put it in your iPhone. Voila! Basic phone with no data but all the apps and Wifi.

SpeakOut actually runs on the Rogers network so you don't even have to unlock the phone. Their minutes don't expire for a year and carry forward if you top up within a year.

Granted you lose the anywhere data that a full featured phone has, but I can survive without email until I walk by one of my local coffee shops. As I walk into range, Wifi connects, downloads my email and sends, then disconnects as I pass by. When I get to the train station I find a couple of emails waiting for me. Nice...
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Chinney
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ottawa, ON
 
2009-11-30, 19:47

Interesting solution, Boomer. Not sure that it would be for me though, if I decided on an iPhone, since the area in and around where I work has little free wi-fi.

Incidentally, one thing I've found interesting about the carrier debate in Canada is that there does not seem to be the same intense argument about the quality of coverage (i.e., the endless debate by those the U.S. as between AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc. - and especially the endless slagging of AT&T). I get the impression that in Canada there is relatively little to choose between the carriers as to the quality of the service. Unfortunately, there is also relatively little to choose from on price.

When there's an eel in the lake that's as long as a snake that's a moray.
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Boomerangmacuser
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
 
2009-12-08, 23:56

Agreed. Since Fido and Rogers share the same towers and Telus and Bell share each others towers, and the two have pretty much the same coverage; what are you left with? Price and Service. Price is equally sucky on all fronts when you compare plans globally. The real only differentiator is now service once again, equally sucky. Rogers/Fido used to have a lock on the Number of available handsets but now Bell and Telus aren't restricted to CDMA phones.

Just go with whatever provider's signal sis strongest at your house and run with it.
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Frank777
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Toronto
 
2009-12-09, 00:06

Anyone have any idea whether any of the new 2010 startups in Canada will have the iPhone?

I know Windmobile may be grounded, but there are two more providers coming down the line right?
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PB PM
Sneaky Punk
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
Send a message via Skype™ to PB PM 
2009-12-09, 02:44

All the new providers are a joke anyway, they just borrow Tell/Bell or Rogers/Fido's towers. Meaning, in the end they die or get added to the big 3.
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