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TOTA Mobile/Wireless/Celluar/VOIP Thread (pg. 78)
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| dEsidEL |
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The iPhone's cross-border price clash
SIMON AVERY AND MATT HARTLEY
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
July 2, 2008 at 9:29 PM EDT
The summer launch of the iPhone in Canada was supposed to be a time for Rogers Wireless Communications Inc. to celebrate. Instead, the company with exclusive rights to the hottest new tech gadget finds itself on the defensive, stung by public criticism over pricing.
Rogers should be basking in the glory, riding the Apple Inc. wave of wireless hipness, in addition to readying itself to enjoy a profit windfall from customers who get hooked on new services, such as Web browsing, e-mail and video streaming.
But some consumers who are looking at annual fees that could easily exceed $1,000 are crying foul, noting that Rogers' pricing plans are more complex and expensive than those offered in the U.S. and many other parts of the world.
For example, for $75 a month, Rogers provides 300 weekday voice minutes, 750 megabytes of data and 100 text messages. In the United States, a customer gets 450 weekday voice minutes, unlimited data and 200 text messages for the same price.
Rogers is one of a few phone companies that does not offer unlimited data plans on the iPhone. That means customers may get a shock on their monthly bill if they exceed their quota of Web pages, e-mails and other information.
The complaints about Rogers have stoked old memories of how the media giant once ran roughshod over subscribers.
Consumers need to familiarize themselves with the value of a megabyte, the unit Rogers uses to define its plans. Pricing plans are different in the United States than in Canada for a variety of reasons, and the launch here of Apple's biggest invention since the iPod puts the whole price comparison under the microscope.
"Whenever anything Apple-related happens, it brings out passion in everybody," said marketing consultant Luke Sklar of Sklar Wilton & Associates.
In less than a week, more than 20,000 names were gathered on an online petition protesting against Rogers' pricing plans before the website went down on Wednesday owing to technical difficulties. The cost of the Canadian iPhone has also been a favourite gripe subject on tech sites.
"Rogers hasn't had the greatest history of being truly customer driven. But I can tell you that they have made some remarkable improvements in the past few years," said Mr. Sklar, whose clients include both Rogers and The Globe and Mail.
"It's just not a responsible business decision for Rogers to blow up all its data pricing. But it has sharpened its pencil. It is watching this very closely. If this starts to truly negatively affect significant opinion — and you have to be careful about 5,000 on a blog versus what's really meaningful — we will be on top of this thing to ensure that we manage that tension between responsible pricing and not [upsetting] customers."
Rogers has outflanked its rivals, Bell Mobility Inc. and Telus Corp., by bringing the newest technology to market first and by canny investments in network upgrades. It's not going to give away the farm to satisfy some Apple diehards, he said.
Rogers is using the iPhone as a flagship product, and one that, when combined with the company's promotion of Facebook applications and other teen-friendly services, helps position the telecom giant as "hip and cool" in the eyes of consumers, said Michelle Warren, a senior analyst with Info-Tech Research Group in London, Ont.
Years ago, Rogers' cable division provoked a consumer revolt when it introduced negative option billing, a process that charged subscribers for new specialty services unless they opted out. The message from the company today is very different.
"We take customer feedback very seriously," said Liz Hamilton, a Rogers spokeswoman. The company says it stands behind its pricing plans, which have been developed based on how the company thinks its customers will use the device.
To help customers, Rogers will send them a message when they are at 80 per cent of capacity and again when they have used up their purchased capacity. That is similar to how Rogers Cable Inc. notifies its Internet subscribers when they are approaching their bandwidth caps. Customers will also be free to change their plans for either more or less data, without incurring a penalty or resetting their three-year contract, she said.
Rogers also scoffs at criticism that it has a monopoly on the iPhone. The company has built its network on a technology that has made it the only carrier in Canada capable of running the phone. "That's no accident," Ms. Hamilton said. "It was a visionary move."
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source:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/serv...tory/Technology
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| dEsidEL |
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Bell undercuts iPhone plans with unlimited Instinct
JACK KAPICA
Globe and Mail Update
* E-mail Jack Kapica
* | Read Bio
* | Latest Columns
July 3, 2008 at 12:06 PM EDT
The smartphone that has been hailed as "the iPhone killer" by online pundits is coming to Canada on Aug. 8.
The Samsung Instinct, which has many of the same features as the Apple iPhone, differs from the iPhone in one major way: Its monthly price plan, which will dramatically undercut the iPhone plan announced last week by Rogers Wireless.
A subscriber can buy the Instinct for as low as $149.95 and then pay less than $40 a month for a modest voice plan accompanied by an unlimited data plan on Bell's high-speed data network.
* Is it the phone or the plan? Answer the poll question at Globetechnology.com
In contrast, Rogers Wireless's cheapest iPhone plan costs $60 per month, and includes only 400 megabytes of data.
Like Rogers, Bell Mobility offers a variety of voice plans, but asks $10 a month for the unlimited data plan, applicable to the Instuinct alone. The plan includes unlimited Web browsing and Internet e-mail (including Hotmail and Gmail accounts), as well as attachments. Features such as the global positioning system as well as live and on-demand TV are treated as separate expenses, such as the optional $15 per month streaming music plan. The lowest price plan for the Instinct includes 100 minutes of local calls for $20; 1,000 minutes of voice calls from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. and weekends (Fridays from 9 p.m. to Mondays at 7 a.m.); an $8.95 monthly system access fee; 75 cents for 911 emergency calls, and the $10 unlimited data plan. The monthly total comes to $39.70 before taxes.
There is also one-time activation fee of $35.
The only feature the Instinct does not support is the use of the Instinct as a "tethered" device offering roaming wireless data access for laptops.
The Instinct offers touch or stylus navigation on a QWERTY-style touch-screen keyboard. It also offers a global positioning system GPS with traffic updates, Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Hotmail; mobile television, SIRIUS Satellite Radio, and a 2.0 MP camera/camcorder. The phone also has a slot for a Micro SD card, which can handle 8 gigabytes of data.
Bell is also offering access to its Full Track Music service, which has 2 million songs in its catalogue, for an extra $15 a month.
The Instinct will be available for $149.95 on a three-year contract, $249.95 on a two-year contract or $399.95 on a one-year contract. Without a contract, the phone will be available for $449.95.
In more technical details, the Instinct has a full-touch screen with haptic feedback, meaning it responds when keys are pressed, and connects to the EV-DO Rev A high-speed data network.
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source:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/serv...wgtinstinct0703
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| VERTiG0 |
Also Telus is getting the Touch Diamond.
http://www.wmexperts.com/articles/cdmaflavored_htc_diamond_to_hi.html |
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| malek |
you have to pay to get GPS?!?!?!?! |
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| Dr. Z |
| quote: | Originally posted by Orko
They (Palm) had the best philosophy: get to any option, part of the OS within 3 clicks from the desktop. It made life so easy. I miss my old Palm Zire 71. *tear* |
BlackBerry, same philosophy. |
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| VERTiG0 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dr. Z
BlackBerry, same philosophy. |
Hahah, I often toy around with my a friend's 8703 and let me tell you there's no goddamn way they had that philosophy when that model was made. Most confusing ever, even worse than WinMo. |
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| barbina |
Anyone have a hookup at rogers?
My phone spent the night in a cup of water and is obviously ed..
ugh. :(
pm me if you can help <3 id really appreciate it |
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| Dr. Z |
| quote: | Originally posted by VERTiG0
Hahah, I often toy around with my a friend's 8703 and let me tell you there's no goddamn way they had that philosophy when that model was made. Most confusing ever, even worse than WinMo. |
The problem with the BBs is that they didn't plan the settings menu too well originally, so now they're stuck with it. Like if you have BB with GPS, you have GPS menu under Settings -> GPS, and you have GPS advanced options under Settings -> Advanced Options -> GPS
wtf?
it should be, Settings -> GPS -> Advanced Options
also, some of the advanced options should be in regular options, and some regular in the advanced
but other then that, there really aren't more than 3 different layers on the tree |
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| VERTiG0 |
| I'm trading my Touch for a Sony Ericsson K850i. |
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| Jem_hadar |
| quote: | Originally posted by Chris Allen
"Practically speaking, signing an internet petition is the adult equivalent of writing a letter to Santa Claus." |
:haha: |
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| VERTiG0 |
Just checked my Rogers account summary after getting an email that my bill for this month is available.
$602.58.
What.
It says I used over 400MB of data. On their super slowass EDGE network. HAHAHAHHAHAH. SPB GPRS Monitor reports that I have used 168.4KB of data this month so far.
400MB. Hahahhahahhahha, oh Rogers. Someone's getting a nice phonecall tomorrow. |
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| Chris Allen |
| quote: | Apple allegedly sanctioning Rogers for iPhone rates
After raising the ire of its customers with what are believed to be overly expensive iPhone 3G plans, Canadian provider Rogers Wireless is allegedly being punished by Apple with fewer shipments.
Blogger Daniel Smith claims multiple sources, including a senior Rogers representative, claim that Apple has diverted a significant amount of its initial iPhone 3G Canadian deliveries to Europe in retribution for the carrier's steep rate plans, which at similar prices offer a third fewer minutes and limited data compared to AT&T.
Stores may be getting just 10 to 20 iPhones each and are being told to "exercise caution" not to promise ample stock on launch day, according to the rumors.
At the same time, Rogers is also claimed to be promptly firing the part-time staff that had been hired to handle an expected deluge of customers at some stores.
With the story breaking on the weekend, neither Apple nor Rogers officials have commented on the allegations. However, the provider in recent days has faced a steadily mounting backlash against its planned rates with approximately 42,000 would-be iPhone buyers signing a highly-publicized petition for lower rates that they plan to deliver to Rogers in person.
Rogers itself has already made an about-face regarding some of its plans. A statement issued to the press clarified that customers will now be able to pick and choose from separate voice and data plans as well as to order extras such as caller ID a la carte rather than as part of mandatory $15 and $20 value packs.
A separate statement from Rogers has also alluded to "tweaking" data plan sizes, although it stops short of offering the unlimited data demanded by some of the company's critics.
While readers should take caution in accepting the rumor at face value, at least one other carrier has been forced to loosen its Internet access restrictions after facing similar criticism: TeliaSonera has been pushed into extending its Swedish iPhone plans with an unlimited data option after previously giving even its highest-end iPhone plan just 1GB of data per month. |
Source: AppleInsider |
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