iPhone 3GS: Better to get from Fido or Rogers?

[hugh]

Wow, some great responses in less than a day!

I can now review the Rogers and Fido sites knowing what to look for and what things I need to consider.

Thanks guys.

[rileyparrish]

Yes I totally forgot about that (since I'm in the west). Not sure what the discount is now if it changed but before if you got a 5% discount on every extra Rogers service I believe up to 15%.

Yes it is 15%, details here:
http://www.your.rogers.com/store/bundles/main.asp

Combine 2 services for a 5% discount, 3 services for 10% and 4 services for 15%.

[cooper83]

Another factor, for those who are otherwise eligible, is whether Fido services count towards the total for Rogers bundling discounts. Anyone reading this know?

Found this on Fido's site:

http://www.fido.ca/web/content/whyfi...rchoicebundles

[Limech]

I'm also on Pay as you Go with next to no need for voice. Last year, I topped my phone up with $100 and a year later there was still $70 on it.

But I want plenty of data.

So I'm thinking $25/month voice plan (the one with 1000 text messages), skip the $12 pack thing and the $30/month 6GB data plan.

My biggest concern.. how big will the lineups be at the Rogers stores on the 19th?

Maybe with this economy the line will be shorter.

[rileyparrish]

I've had TONS of people asking about the new phones...I expect a large turnout.

[99semaj]

AT&T has already announced the available launch-day stock is pre-sold.

[hugh]

I'm happy to wait. The promo deals last a while so no need to rush out on day one. Also waiting a few weeks allows me to be sure that the 3GS is working as advertised and lets me check out the Pre (I have a feeling Bell will release it next week)

[profets]

Yeah, definitely no need to rush out. I'm excited to see the Pre as well... from inside Bell it sounds like it'll be launching "in July"

[North_of_Calgary]

Looks like Fido is the better option - great thread.

But where does Fido sell these out of? Their website store location shows Walmart as my closest dealer but I doubt that they're activating iPhones out of the local Walmart. Do I need to go to a "Fido Store & Kiosk"? There doesn't even seem to be any of these in downtown Calgary - I'd have to go to Market Mall or Marlborough Mall. Or does Fido sell iphones out of 3rd party/generalist phone stores like "The Telephone Booth"?

Thanks

[Nuje]

I got my iPhone activate at a wireless kiosk (Wireless Wave or Wireless, etc.) in a Costco; it was with Rogers, but I'm pretty sure they handled Fido there as well...(?).

[rileyparrish]

Anywhere Fido sells post-paid you should be able to get one so maybe not Wal-Mart but BB,FS come to mind. Don't you guys have an Eaton Centre or the like in downtown Calgary? Gotta be at least 2 or 3 Fido dealers there...

[oilerjet]

In Edmonton I called a kiosk last Friday and was told that they haven't heard anything yet about launch day. He advised I called one of the 3 full Fido stores. The one store said they are not expecting near the demand of last year.

For me, Fido seems like the best deal, I will probably go with the $25 voice plan and add the 6 GB for $30. No need for voice mail/call display for $10/month extra.

[outinthornhill]

You can always order Fido on--line or by telephone and have it couriered. If you order by telephone, there is a good chance you can get the CSR to reimburse the $35 activation fee. Since we all know how the phone looks and feels in our hands, there is less reason to want to handle the unit in a store.

When you are on the phone, tell the CSR you are only thinking about it and you will likely get asked "what would it take for you to make a decision now?' If you haven't been offered the activation reimbursement, ask - or for something else.

[hugh]

Man, I just spent 30 minutes on the Rogers and Fido websites trying to figure out what an iPhone would cost. A lot of the links by Riley require you to enter province and city (so I did) but I still couldn't find any definitive pricing info.

On the Rogers site, I couldn't get to a shopping cart and find the 6gb plan or anything. Fido site was equally useless.

Honestly, I gave up. Now I am rethinking my whole idea of buying an iPhone!

[EmmEff]

Originally Posted by hugh

Honestly, I gave up. Now I am rethinking my whole idea of buying an iPhone!

Myself included... love the technology and everything about the iPhone but absolutely abhor Rogers and everything about them. I think I'll stick with my BlackBerry from Telus for the time being.

Great thread, BTW. Thanks to the other posters for clarifying. Having an iPhone and a decent data plan ain't cheap