B. Mann Consulting

I'm going to be doing a short interview with Global TV with my thoughts on the Blackberry Bold, which "launches" today on Rogers (apparently, reports say that the product isn't actually available in stores).

Of course, this is currently a GSM phone, so it's one more piece in Roger's arsenal vs. Telus and Bell, which both have the same set of CDMA phones. The newest phones are released on GSM first, and the CDMA versions lag by months, if they are available at all.

I've never been a huge fan of the Blackberry… as a consumer phone. I think that's still the case. This is definitely a great upgrade, but unless your company is paying for it, you're more likely to get an iPhone for home use. In addition, the Bold is more expensive with Rogers - $600 without contract, $400 with 3 year contract, vs. $200 (8GB) or $300 (16GB) for the iPhone.

If you're a current Blackberry users that loves the keyboard and scroll wheel, then you'll like this upgrade. Otherwise, we're waiting for the Blackberry Thunder (the touchscreen version) to potentially be "more like the iPhone".

Related links:

• Boy Genius Report: Blackberry Bold review - we've been rockin' it for a month
• Mobile Computer UK: RIM Blackberry Bold Review
• iPhone Blog: YouTube Video Review of iPhone vs. Blackberry Bold
• Boy Genius Report: Blackberry thunder, touchscreen

I'm glad I waited in posting any sort of "the iPhone with Rogers will suck" commentary, as it seems they have somewhat come to their senses. As usual, John Biehler was my iPhone news source, and here's the link to the Roger's press release.

A new "promotional" data plan is going to be available until August 31st (and I actually believe they'll extend it...), where you can bring your own voice plan, and add a 6GB data plan for only $30 / month. Hmm, maybe over 50K signatures at ruinediphone.com changed their mind? No, it's not unlimited ... but in talking to Roland -- who is the heaviest mobile app user I know -- he's never gone over 500MB. I think I used a couple of GBs when I was at the Olympics in Torino, and large megapixel camera phones and the fast 3G speeds could certainly eat bandwidth, but 6GB seems fair.

So...am I getting an iPhone? Nope. I don't really like contracts, and I don't like locked phones. I imagine we'll be able to get an unlocked iPhone at some point, where I'll be able to swap out SIM cards when traveling as I do now.

Meanwhile, looks like I'll be on CTV Newsnet talking about the other Canadian wireless barons -- Bell and Telus. They are going to start charging for incoming text messages. Well, this should be a fun ride ... Rogers isn't charging for incoming, it has the iPhone and the latest Nokia phones, and now -- decent data plans. Really, what are Bell and Telus thinking?

Update: Looks like this is not just for iPhone -- you can add this plan to *any* phone, as long as you sign a 3 year contract, and it does apply to Fido as well. See the post on howard forums for reference.

Looks like I'll be on CTV Newsnet at 12:15pm today, talking about Rogers bringing the iPhone to Canada.

Of course, the funny thing here is that there are many many people in Canada who already have the iPhone, in its "unlocked" edition. John Biehler's iPhone category is my source for all the latest in unlocking and cool applications.

The rumour seems to think that part of the delay and secrecy is because of the possibility that we might get the "new" version of the iPhone, with 3G (which is a faster data network connection). The other rumours about the new model (or models? maybe a "business" version to compete with RIM's BlackBerry?) are things like a much upgraded camera, or even a front mounted camera for video calling.

I'm genuinely happy that we're getting the iPhone "for real" in Canada, but I'm worried about a) the price of the contract and b) the length of any contract from Rogers. We're in a monopoly situation here, since there aren't any other GSM providers in Canada. Expect Telus and Bell to start heavily pushing the HTC Touch and various consumer BlackBerry devices like the Pearl.

Update: here's a direct link to my video clip.

Since I've written about how expensive mobile data plans in Canada are, I should probably praise Rogers for finally getting some sane(r) pricing.

I saw via John Biehler that Engadget had posted rates from Rogers as low as $65 / month for 1GB (recall that in comparison the chart in the previous link which shows 1GB at $4000 / month). Well, as Engadget mentions in the title, my jaw did drop, but it quickly snapped shut again when I looked closer and saw that this applies to PC Cards only ... not to the GSM or 3G phones we've been toting around for years.

Per device pricing for data rates seems....well, it seems underhanded if not down right illegal. I wonder what the rules around pricing of telecommunications services have to say about this? Paging Michael Geist!

Still...this hints that Rogers *could* offer prices like this for, say, the iPhone?

Thanks to the TorCamp Swarm on Skype for discussion around this.

My usage of Facebook has dropped. At the same time, people messaging me / contacting me through there has increased. At least the message shows in email now.

What I am still using quite a bit is the SMS integration for status messages. I know that updating my status sends out SMS notifications to a bunch of my friends, and vice versa. Yes, this is not new -- it's microblogging / Twitter / Jaiku, etc.

The mobile integration grounds the social in the "real world". There is an element of serendipity in sending a ping out to the world, and wondering who might respond back, who else is wandering the streets, cellphone in hand, ready to go for a drink or join an activity.

I imagine when Jaiku gets their US / Canadian mobile integration up and running, I'll use that more.

What SMS services are you using in Canada? Travis' description of SpinVox sounds great -- except for the whole Rogers is the devil and expense of it :P

For future reference, I found a Palm article that mentions the Rogers SMS message center number. The number is +17057969300 for Rogers, and +15149931123 for Fido. You'll need to change this in Messaging > Settings > Text Message > Message centres (on Series 60 phones), as well as set the Message centre in use. A reboot is required, and any messages in the Outbox won't work...they'll still have the old message center number in it.

Yes, I do have a new phone. But just use the listed contact number -- it rings at home and my phone.

Rogers Cable offers a VoIP phone package they call "Home Phone". The basic plans don't include any long distance, so you need to choose a long distance plan separately.

Mossberg has posted his review of the iPhone, calling it a "breakthrough handheld computer". What caught my eye was this statement:

But the iPhone has a major drawback: the cellphone network it uses. It only works with AT&T (formerly Cingular), won't come in models that use Verizon or Sprint and can't use the digital cards (called SIM cards) that would allow it to run on T-Mobile's network. So, the phone can be a poor choice unless you are in areas where AT&T's coverage is good. It does work overseas, but only via an AT&T roaming plan.

Uh....what? Somehow, we had always assumed that this would be a GSM phone. The confusion about the AT&T vs. Cingular brand heightens this. I was under the impression that AT&T was moving to GSM...but Cingular's network was/is CDMA based.

If the iPhone is, indeed, a CDMA phone, then the whole will the iPhone be locked to Cingular question is a bit moot: without SIM cards, you can't take it to another network.

What does this mean for the timeline of a Canadian iPhone provider? Well, Rogers is a GSM network, not CDMA. So...Bell or Telus? Well, just a bit more time and some more of this should be revealed.

Update: ok, I'm pretty sure iPhone as CDMA phone is incorrect, here's another review from USA Today:

In techie terms, iPhone is a "quad-band GSM" phone, meaning you can operate it overseas. (You'll have to tell AT&T to turn on international roaming.)

So. We know that iPhone *is* a GSM phone. But no SIM card. Our best guess now is that this is all done in software / firmware...hence the iTunes activation step. So, unless you know how to re-program the iPhone's firmware to make it emulate another carrier's SIM....the iPhone is locked to only the networks that Apple chooses to support. Which, however, they can update through iTunes.

Wow. Apple iTunes as gateway to buying cellphone services. I'm still shaking my head at how they managed to put the carriers in a headlock...and still sad that they took away user choice by not just having a user-accessible SIM card.

Update 2: OK, last update on this (and boy, this blog post now is completely wrong). The iPhone *does* have a SIM card slot, which we can see thanks to David Pogue's graphic about it. The comment says:

If you insert a pin or an unfolded paperclip into the pinhole and push hard, the pre-installed SIM card tray pops out. Any recent AT&T SIM card should work, although only after iPhone activitation in the iTunes software.

Thanks to Scott Langevin for pointing this out in the comments.

So, final final conclusion -- the iPhone is a GSM phone (duh!), it *does* have a SIM card (yay!), and it is somehow locked and/or tied into iTunes activation. Next challenge: unlock the iPhone....

Alec Saunders reposted a chart and some data from Seaboard Group's report on Canadian cell phone pricing -- Lament for a Wireless Nation. The summary is

• Canada has lower cell phone usage than small African nations like Botswana
• Pricing, bundles, and market growth were much better when there was competition (before Clearnet and Microcell aka Fido got bought)
• First hand experience in buying a pay as you go SIM card in Mexico has lower rates for local and long distance than Rogers regular pricing back in Canada 

Of course, this is at the same time that we now have wireless number portability -- as of yesterday, March 14th to be exact. But since there is no competition, it will really only let highly pissed off consumers switch from their current bad provider to one of the other bad choices. Maybe at least we'll see a flood to Rogers/Fido where GSM phones and SIM cards rule...but it's not like I'm overly happy with the service either.

I'm currently still in Torino, Italy, although I'm heading out to Milan, then Bologna tomorrow, and will be in Brussels by the end of the week in time for FOSDEM.

I'm writing a bit about mobile technologies here in Italy over on 2010.dailyvancouver.com (check the Tech Talk section). I've got a Vodaphone SIM for my Nokia 6630 with UMTS-based 3G service (around 350kbps) and the experience has been fantastic.

So, while we had our symposium, the relative maturity of the European vs. Canadian mobile technologies certainly did come up. One example I used was how there is a mobile data plan here that gives you 9GB of transfer for 40EU. On Fido, which is my provider back home, this would cost $270,000 based on the listed per MB charges of $30. Actually, I did the calculation in my head initially and everyone was shocked/amused by the figure of $27,000...and then we figured out we were still an order of magnitude off!