Maybe I Should Move to Mexico

Straight wireless data is very expensive in Canada. In fact, it’s among the most expensive in the world. If you just take a quick jaunt over to the United States, you’ll find that you can get a lot more for a lot less money. The starting plan from AT&T for the iPhone 3G is $70, but you get 450 anytime minutes, 5000 evening and weekend minutes, visual voicemail, unlimited mobile to mobile, caller ID, nationwide long distance, call forwarding, call waiting, and — oh yeah — unlimited data.

So you might be thinking that’s just in the US? Wrong! I did a little poking around and it turns out that even Mexico gets better iPhone plans than Canada. It hasn’t been confirmed yet (the official page still has a “coming soon” sign), but we hear that the Mexico iPhone plans from Telcel will range from $41 to $91 including tax. The cheap plan only gets you 200 minutes, 100 SMS, and 100MB of data, but I hear that the $91 plan has unlimited data. That plan effectively costs the same as the entry-level plan from Rogers.

In much the same way, plans from Telstra of Australia will range from $30 to $80 a month. That sounds cheaper than Canada for sure.

Telus and Bell Fight Back with HTC Touch Diamond and Samsung Instinct

Although Rogers Wireless has the Canadian exclusive on the Apple iPhone 3G, it will not have a stranglehold on the touchscreen smartphone market. Canada’s two other major national carriers are coming forward with a couple of touchy-feely toys of their own and it appears that their plans are going to be a fair bit more affordable as well.

Telus Mobility has announced that it will be getting a CDMA version of the HTC Touch Diamond. This is the hottest and most attractive entry into the Touch series of smartphones from HTC to date. Featuring the cool TouchFlo 3D user interface and Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, the Touch Diamond can easily compete against the iPhone. Sign a three-year contract and get the Diamond for just $149. Data plans for the HTC Touch Diamond are the same as the rest of the smartphones from Telus. You can have unlimited email, instant messaging, and web browsing for $30.

Bell Mobility is taking on the iPhone 3G with the Samsung Instinct, the same hot touchscreen phone that is being offered through Sprint in the United States. You get a multimedia player, camera, web browser, and all that other good stuff. The phone itself is $150 with a three-year contract and unlimited data goes for $10 a month. Factor in a voice plan, some basics, and the system access fee, and you’re looking at about $50 a month. And that’s with unlimited data. Naturally, premium services like mobile TV cost extra.

Saving Money on iPhone 3G in Canada

Between the massive petition and the growing number of disgruntled Canadians complaining through Canadian iPhone forums online, it’s clear that Canada is not exactly happy with how much the iPhone 3G is going to cost them through Rogers.

You could opt for one of the alternatives described above or even opt for a non-touchscreen, non-smartphone from Rogers and do the $7 unlimited browsing thing. Ultimately, they’re just not the same eye candy as the iPhone 3G. In this way, the best way for you to save money on an iPhone 3G in Canada is to not buy one.

If you live in a city with plentiful Wi-Fi access points, you may be better off getting an unlocked first-generation iPhone. You may not have lots of wireless data (Rogers does have a $30 for 300MB option now if you want), but your wallet will thank you. Until Rogers gets their act together and offers plans that are in-sync with the rest of the iPhone wielding providers, then iPhone Fan Boys seem justified in their outcry. I mean, Mexico of all places gets better plans than Canada. Well, I guess beer and tequila is cheaper. Why not iPhone plans?

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