iPhone 3G Will Tie Canadian Users for Three Years

Although initially announced to be available in Canada only via Rogers Wireless, Apple's iPhone 3G will also be offered to Canadian mobile users by Fido. Well, Fido is, in fact, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers, so it's not like the new iPhone will be sold by two different carriers that don't have anything in common. Still, the double offer is a good thing, as some customers might prefer Rogers and its services, while others could be Fido fans.

Both Rogers and Fido will be offering the handset starting July 11, and they're among the four North American carriers to do so, besides AT&T in the US, and Telcel (América Móvil) in Mexico.

Also, both Canadian operators will sell the iPhone 3G for the same price and under the same conditions. The 8GB version of the touchscreen device will cost 199 Canadian dollars, while customers will have to pay 299 CAD for the 16GB one. These prices are similar to the ones AT&T is offering the iPhone 3G for in the US (since Canadian dollars have about the same value as US ones). The "tiny" difference is that the prices of Rogers and Fido only go with the signing of a contract agreement for no less than 3 years, while AT&T requires only a 2-year contract. This could be an impediment for Canadian users who consider buying an iPhone 3G but, if they really want it, the 3-year contract will probably not matter that much.

An interesting aspect is how Rogers and Fido are presenting the coming of the iPhone 3G. Rogers says about it that it's "something really big," while Fido refers to the Mac smartphone as "something really cool." If we didn't know it's the iPhone 3G they're talking about, we could easily think it's Santa Clause who's coming on July 11, as he's both big and cool. Anyway, Canadians will have to settle only for the new and improved iPhone. Not as improved as everyone had hoped, but still.