iPhone launch "won't threaten" BlackBerry in Canada

Rogers Communications is set to release Apple's iPhone in the Canadian market. But security issues and high data transmission rates are significant barriers to widespread adoption here, according to analysts.
5/1/2008 5:00:00 AM By: Nestor E. Arellano

Rogers Communications Inc. whet the appetites of Canadians coveting the iPhone with the company's recent announcement that it is poised to release Apple's ultimate handheld eye candy into the local market.

But it's highly unlikely that Canadian companies will rush to dump their BlackBerries for the sleek and sexy import, industry observers say.

BlackBerry's lock on the corporate smart phone market is assured until security issues and data transmission rates are sorted out, say local technology experts.

Rogers' short announcement earlier this week about its "deal with Apple Inc. to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year," raised more questions than it answered.

The company, however, refused to comment further but just told people to "stay tuned."

The company was widely viewed as the most likely provider to offer the iPhone in Canada ever since the device was developed. This is largely because Rogers is currently the only carrier in the country with a GSM-friendly network.

But despite the hype surrounding the device, analysts say the pace of adoption by Canadian businesses and consumers will depend a lot on two factors: cost and security,

Canadian iPhone users are likely to fork out $80 to $100 a month for voice and data packages, said Michelle Warren, senior research analyst for Info-Tech Research Group, based in London, Ont.

That, she noted, is significantly higher than the $72.39 a month that Rogers' customers pay, on average, under their existing cell phone plans.

But the costs can be considerably more when the "per kilobit" charges are added once the user starts downloading data or surfing the Internet, cautioned Lawrence Surtees, vice-president and principal analyst, communications research for IDC Canada.

"Current data packages are becoming a major expense item for many companies," he said.

Surtees said a friend who recently used a GPS-enabled 8038 BlackBerry to navigate a trip from Toronto to Aurora using Google maps was surprised to get a bill for $350 the next month from Rogers.

"The monthly fee for GPS access apparently did not include charges for kilobits of data that the map views ate up."

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