Bell Mobility has just announced that their new GSM/HSPA network, shared with previously-CDMA frenemy Telus, has gone live! What does that mean? Yesterday, Rogers and their Fido subsidiary were the only place to go for Apple’s iPhone (or a BlackBerry Bold if that’s how you roll). Today — technically as soon as Telus announces — you have your choice of 3.5 carriers (Fido is still Rogers).

So this means massive competition, price wars, and a huge win for consumers, right?

Eh… not so much. Like Orange UK, multiple carriers seems only to mean multiple non-competitive pricing plans, as each one wants as much as they can get, and don’t feel any pressure to compete — yet.

Hardware prices are the same, up to $299 for the iPhone 3GS on a 3-year contract, with service plans ranging from $45 for 100 minutes, Fab Five, 500MB, night/weekends 9pm-7am to $95 for 500 min, Fab Five, 2GB, nights/weekends.

(Along with $6.95 system access fee, monthly e911 fee, $2 paper billing option, $35 activation fee, and other nickel and diming…)

If you’re planning to hook your iPhone up to Ma (Canadian) Bell, let us know what you think of the pricing, and what you choose!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Bell Mobility Canada GSM/HSPA Network Goes Live, Brings iPhone With It!

Orange UK is set to break O2’s iPhone exclusivity… if not their price points with the announcement of their pay monthly, pay as you go, and for business plans.

What did we notice off the top? Depending on how much you pay on contract or up front, your iPhone hardware cost can go down to as little as free or climb to as much as £539 for an iPhone 3GS on PAYG. (Also, PAYG plans named Monkey, Dolphin, Canary, Racoon, and Camel? Where’s John Cleese to “spokesperson” that when you need him…)

Unlimited internet and Wi-Fi, however, carry a “fair usage policy of 750MB/month” proviso, which looks rather pathetic next to unofficial US caps of 5GB. Good on them for not hiding it, but placing that paltry figure anywhere close to “unlimited” probably means they shouldn’t use “unlimited” to begin with.

Not much in terms of cutting O2’s pricing though. Maybe Vodafone will feel a bit more daring?

If you’re thinking of going Orange, check out the full pricing info and let us know if it’s what you expected, better, or worse?

[via 9to5mac]

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Orange UK iPhone Pricing Plans Just Say No to Price War

Telus looks to be launching the iPhone along with their new GSM/HSPA network on November 5, 2009, with BGR reporting pricing that’s pretty much spot on standard:

same as it is for Rogers (and Bell, for that matter) with the 3G going for $99.99/$599.99 and the 16 and 32GB 3GS going for $199.99/$699.99 and $299.99/$799.99.

And Telus has dropped their presser to make it all nice and official like.

So, any Canadians been waiting for their iPhone on Telus?

[via BGR, and congrats on the new site look!]

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iPhone on Telus Canada Come November 5

TiPb, among others, has been hearing rumors for months now that Bell and Telus’ new GSM-based HSPA+ network would be up and running by November, and that the iPhone would follow along immediately there after. Nice to see some confirmation via Canadian stalwart, the Globe and Mail, however:

Bell announced Monday that it will launch national service in November on the $1-billion next-generation wireless network it has been building with Telus, months ahead of schedule. The project extends the two companies’ existing third-generation (3G) networks to include the same technology standard employed by Rogers, the nation’s largest cellphone company.

No comments from any of the carriers or Apple, of course, and it remains to be seen what if any downward pressure competition in Canada — like in the UK — would put on iPhone pricing for consumers.

Our question: Bell and Telus will have HSPA+ but no EDGE (to our knowledge), so if an iPhone on Bell or Telus couldn’t get a 3G signal, what exactly would it fall back on? EVDO/CDMA is not an option…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Bell and Telus to Launch the iPhone in Canada Next Month?

The PSPgo is Sony’s answer to the iPhone in a post-App Store world, but unfortunately it looks like charging more for poorly ported games is the question. Gizmodo explains the obvious — to everyone but Sony — problem:

You see, PSP Minis can’t have any network or online features. Nor can they support camera peripherals (a major focus of DSiWare innovation) or DLC. Kotaku just reviewed iPhone port Hero of Sparta. On the PSP it costs triple what you’ll pay at the App Store. Their review? “Simplistic controls, muddled graphics and abysmal sounds turn what was a fantastic iPhone game into a oddly disjointed Playstation Portable experience.” Kotaku’s review of Tetris was much better. But you know what? Tetris costs twice as much on the PSP as it does the iPhone.

Just like ATRAC and rootkits (ouch, we know), we’re beginning to wonder if anyone at Sony will ever get this brave, new, post-iPhone world?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone Games Ported to PSPgo Play Worse, Cost More

TomTom has finally gotten around to revealing the price point for their much anticipated iPhone car kit, which provides its own GPS as well as iPhone charger, loud speaker, and hands-free dialing.

TomTom car kit for the iPhone will have a recommended retail price of EUR 99.99 or USD 119.95.

The TomTom car kit will be available this October and will be sold separately from the TomTom app. It will be compatible with the iPhone 2G, 3G and 3GS.

When you add in the price of the TomTom iPhone app, that more than $200 for the combo, not exactly a bargain compared to a stand-alone GPS device. Then again, this saves you having to carry around a second device just for GPS, so does convenience trump cost, or does TomTom need to rethink their business model here?

Could they offer a second version of the TomTom app — one that only works with the car kit — at a greatly discounted price for those who shell out for the car kit? More importantly, should they?

[Via GPSTracklog via TUAW]

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TomTom iPhone Car Kit Pricing Revealed

Will the third generation iPod touch, widely expected to be released at Apple’s next Music Event in September, weigh in at 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB, and be position at $199/$299/$399?

Whether Daring Fireball is making the logical assumption based on Apple’s previous behavior and iPod touch price points, or they’re privy to something a little more concrete, that’s what Gruber is saying in response to the Zune HD’s pricing of 16GB/32GB for $219/$289.

(Though currently the second gen 8GB iPod touch is $229, not $199…?)

Since the iPod touch has two NAND Flash slots for the iPhone’s one, it typically gets double the upper-range of storage for the same year’s iPhone. Thus, the 32GB iPhone 3GS almost certainly means a 64GB iPod touch this September.

If accurate, then, there goes Microsoft’s purported pricing advantage, storage-wise. (If the iPod touch does indeed have built in camera and video capability, or other so-far-unleaked features, it could again be a case of Microsoft shipping a spectacular Zune, 1 or 2 years too late…)

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Third Generation iPod touch Pricing at 16GB/32GB/64GB for $199/$299/$399?

WMExperts (via Crunchgear and Gizmodo) rounds up the latest on Zune HD, linking up the above hands-on video, and news that it might just drop at $100 lower than the iPod touch. In other words, Microsoft to Apple: “it’s broughtn’ed”.

Now, there’s no getting around the Zune HD being an OLED iPod touch two years too late, much as the original Zune was a Wi-Fi squirting iPod classic two years too late. At even $100 discount, can Microsoft compete with a 3rd generation iPod touch, rumored to include a camera, perhaps video recording and sharing, and a 65,000+ strong App Store?

Meh. They’ll get some iPod rebels and budget conscious adaption, no doubt, and that’s probably all they intend. A strong #2 in the music player market, much like they’re going for against Google in the search/advertising space, is likely enough for them now. Understandable, to be sure, but we’d still rather see a mind-blowing Windows Mobile Phone with Zune-like interface and hardware specs, Mobile Xbox gaming, and awesome Windows integration.

But we’ve been wanting that for years…

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The Competition: Zune HD to be Priced $100 Less than iPod touch?

Yeah. Ouch. But that’s what BGR’s Canadian ninja are reporting. These are Best Buy inventory prices, but it’s hard to imagine Rogers/Fido stores charging less what with the exchange rate and typically Canadian shipping overages added.

Any Canadians (besides me) lining up for an off-contract iPhone 3G S this Friday? Does the price change things? How about those of you getting the full subsidy? Happier now?

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Best Buy Canada Rogers/Fido Off-Contract iPhone 3G S Pricing — $699/$799

There’s a “budget” smartphone category that has so far revolved around devices like the Palm Centro, BlackBerry Pearl, and a host of Windows Mobile devices like the Samsung Jack — basically scads of devices aimed below the fat wallets of enterprise.

Typically these devices are small to the point of being cramped, with tiny keyboards or work-arounds like T9 or SureType, and are low-margin for manufacturers — sold more to grab new users, bolster market share, and create brand awareness than to serve as mobile computers for the internet age.

Well, Apple has just shot a cannonball through the heart of that smartphone category — the iPhone 3G at $99.

At least that was our editor-in-chief, Dieter Bohn’s reaction when we spoke following the big WWDC 2009 Keynote. And I think he’s right. Here’s why:

Come next week on AT&T (and Rogers and other carriers that match the price point), for $99 you’ll be able to get a full-on 8GB iPhone 3G running iPhone 3.0 software.

That’s not an iPhone nano or mini, not a stripped down, poorly built, cramped, barely functional budget smartphone, mind you, that’s the same phone that until last Monday’s WWDC Keynote was arguably one of the most advanced mobile computers on the planet. It’s the lower storage version of the hardware that shipped over 10 million units and has 50,000 apps ready to run. Never mind Apple branding and a super-slick user experience.

For $99.

Whether or not the price point remains, or it lasts only as long as current supplies, this has to send Palm, RIM, HTC, and others into panic mode. Palm, for example, has show quarter after quarter losses on the Centro even in the budget category, and Apple will still be making margins on the iPhone 3G.

Will this put downward pricing pressure on next generation devices like the Centro-replacement, webOS-powered Palm Eos? Will it force RIM to offer BlackBerry Tour-like features at Pearl-sized prices? And even if they do, with multiple form-factors and networks at play, can they achieve the economies of scale and maintain realistic margins at that price point? For companies like Palm, whose financials are still shaky at best, these become critical questions.

Which brings us to the elephant in the budget smartphone room:

If Apple is selling the iPhone 3G at $99, what does that do to premium devices like the Palm Pre, BlackBerry Bold, HTC Touch Pro 2, etc.?

Certainly not everyone, but just as certainly some budget-conscious people who were considering a new premium smartphone might just decide to save themselves a hundred — or several hundred — dollars and get an iPhone 3G at $99 instead…

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iPhone 3G: Apple Re-Invents the $99 Budget Smartphone