I’m indifferent on my feeling towards the announcement.  It’s cool yeah, I’ve had requests from non-techies asking me “where do I get one?!” of which my reply is to direct them towards a $500 unlocked phone in the U.S.  Some say that the iPhone in the U.S. is in part responsible for the data rates becoming affordable, I wonder if the same will hold true in Canada?  I would think Apple wants us to believe that because it all goes towards a positive reflection on their brand.

The fact is, HTC and Bell have already beaten them to the punch but I don’t think their marketing to date has been successful.  I currently have an HTC Touch from Bell on a $7/mth unlimited data plan and am loving it.  Web, gmail, twitter, google maps, texting, camera.. it’s got it all.  However, It seems as though I’m the only person in my town that knows about it!  My only beef is they charge me roaming data when I travel to Vancouver.  I suppose they gotta mess with you one way or another.

In any case, I don’t think I’ll be switching just for the sake of having one.  Monthly data rates mean more to me than saying “I have an iPhone”.  So dear Telus and Rogers:  I’ll consider switching if you change your pricing, $15/MB is ridiculous.  It’s not just about having an iPhone, the monthly costs have to be justifiable as well. </rant>

I look forward to the day where data rates are no longer the dealbreaker.  Just like broadband cable did back in the day.  Wow, was that only last decade?