Wow, what a difference a couple of weeks make. On April 24th I complained that the iPhone was only available in 6 countries and even accused Apple of being xenophobic. Today, get this, there are agreements to launch the iPhone in 35 countries. Granted, that still means the iPhone is only available in 6 countries, but that could literally change any minute.
By the way, all 35 countries are democratic. I'm just saying. Hey, maybe Putin will have to retire before Apple formally introduces the iPhone to Russia. :-P (Please don't poison me).
Now, the iPhone is a GSM/GPRS soon to be GSM/HSPA cell phone. They work with SIM cards. So in theory, having an agreement is of dubious value. Innovative network features, such as "visual" voice mail, have been abandoned along the way. So for the consumer, there is no problem to use and unlocked iPhone in any country with a GSM/GPRS network, agreement or not.
However, in Canada, you might wish to consider a second mortgage. If you use 90GB per month, dropping your fixed line Internet connection for a mobile one would cost you $45,165 in stead of the $50 you are currently paying. And that is with a data plan. Without, it would cost you $4,500,000 (four million, five hundred thousand dollars) !!!!!!!!!!!
Now, granted, even if you are an avid fan of NBC programming, you probably won't be downloading 90GB per month on your iPhone (although those pictures your Mom sends you do add up), but watching Youtube takes on a whole new dimension when you realise it is costing you hundreds of dollars per hour.
So for Canadians, a agreement with price reductions is vital. Unfortunately, $665 for the fist gigabyte (only $500 per GB thereafter) is the new data plan reduced price, enacted 4 days ago, after the agreement was reached! Lucky for Apple CEO Steve Jobs, he can roam in Canada and download 120 terabytes before depleting his 6 billion dollar fortune...
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