I’ve received word from all the major carriers in Canada that yes, Rogers, Telus, and Bell will be offering the iPhone 4. No word on pricing or dates from any of them, but odds are we’ll be seeing prices around AT&T’s $199 and $299 on contract, and likely being available shortly after the U.S. launch on June 24. As much as we Canadians whinge about three-year contracts, $500 ETFs, and expensive data overage charges, I think we’re getting better on the competition front considering that in the U.S., AT&T seems to have the lock-down on the iPhone 4.
Ever since Bell and Telus launched their HSPA networks at the end of last year, there haven’t been any especially tiresome exclusives, particularly with the iPhone. As far as service goes, we’ve got three spunky little underdogs, Wind, Public, and Mobilicity who are willing to get aggressive, though they’re unlikely to offer the iPhone for awhile.
If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, Apple’s latest smartphone was announced yesterday, and included a 5 megapixel camera with flash, forward-facing VGA video camera, 3.5″ 960 x 640 touchscreen, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G, Bluetooth, and iOS 4. Video calling will be a hard sell, especially if it’s only Wi-Fi to start, but if anyone can build demand high enough to push through the obvious strain it would be on cellular networks, it’s Apple.
You can sign up iPhone 4 availability notifications at Rogers, but it doesn’t seem like the other carriers have pages up just yet. At the tail end of the key note, Steve Jobs said we would see the iPhone 4 in Canada come July, so stay tuned!