14 DAY TRIAL // Mobile phone users in Canada who would like to purchase an Android handset from Rogers will probably rejoice at learning that the company has dropped the prices of both HTC Dream and HTC Magic to $99.99 on a 3-year contract. The two mobile phones reached the carrier only a few weeks ago, yet it seems that their performance is rather poor, which determined Rogers to work a little on their price tag.
Originally, the two handsets were priced at $149.99 each and now they are $50 cheaper. While these are the first Android devices to ever reach Canada, it seems that users in the country are not as attracted by the Google operating system as one would have expected. On the other hand, the new iteration of Apple's handset, the iPhone 3GS, also reached the country last month, and it seems that this phone is what customers are currently after.
At the same time, it is highly probable that mobile phone users in Canada are rather fond of the Research In Motion's BlackBerry devices, and that they prefer handsets they are already accustomed with instead of those featuring a new OS that they know very little about. Given the new price of HTC Dream and HTC Magic, users might consider their acquisition a better deal than that offered by other solutions, so the sales should rise a little in the future.
When announcing the launch of the Android-powered phones in the country, Rogers hoped that they would make a 'Revolution' on the Canadian market. However, although the devices see little traction on the market, not all is lost, and they could easily prove successful even in the BlackBerry's country. Although they will have to face strong competition from Apple's iPhone, the handsets have enough features to offer in their turn, so things might change in the near future.