Rogers has now officially opened up the iPhone 3G pricing plan to other 3G handsets, including the Samsung Jack, Palm Treo, Motorola Q9, Nokia N95 and HTC TyTN. The plan is the $30/6GB ‘limited promotional offer’, and is available on a 3-year contract. One can only hope this offer will apply to the upcoming release of the BlackBerry BOLD as well… and I certainly hope this isn’t a ‘limited time’ offer, they should really put something more permanent into place.

For more details on 3G price plans from Rogers, click here.

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: BlackBerry BOLD, HTC TyTN, iPhone Data Plans, Nokia N95, Palm Treo, Rogers Wireless, Samsung Jack

In the first 3 days since the release of the iPhone 3G, over 1 million units have been sold…. But that’s not all… With the launch of the App Store to complement the new iPhone, over 10 Million Apps have been downloaded as well! I’d say that’s a fantastic opening weekend, wouldn’t you!?

“The App Store is a grand slam, with a staggering 10 million applications downloaded in just three days,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Developers have created some extraordinary applications, and the App Store can wirelessly deliver them to every iPhone and iPod touch user instantly.”

The App Store launched with over 500 apps, and to date more than 800 are now available, with more than 200 as ‘free’ applications. What I’ve found so promising about the App Store so far is the quality of applications found within. There are some really solid apps out there… Developers have done their homework and are producing some great titles. Kudos has to go to the Developers AND Apple for providing a fantastic SDK and support for developers around the world.

[via Yahoo! News and iPhoneFreak]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: App Store, iPhone 3G

According to numerous reports around the web, the iPhone 3G’s battery life outpaces all other competing devices. PC World took a look at several 3G smartphone handsets, and proved that the iPhone 3G beats the Instinct, HTC Touch Dual and the LG EnV with 5 hours and 38 minutes of talk time. Only 3 other devices in the test achieved over 5 hours of talk time.

The same test also featured results from the AT&T Tilt, Motorola Q9 Global, Palm Centro, Pantech Dueo and Palm Treo 750. The worst of the lot was indeed the Palm Treo 750, checking in at just under 4 hours of talk time.

3G phones will use up a battery charge faster because 3G networks are more complex, giving voice calls an enhanced voice quality. Thankfully for iPhone 3G users, you can disable 3G connectivity to enhance battery life.

I’m pleased to read about these tests, as the one complaint I have about my 2G iPhone is… ever-decreasing battery life.

[via electronista]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: iPhone 3G Battery Life, iPhone Battery

In my first adventure at Rogers on launch day, nothing seemed to go right. In the spirit of fairness, I thought I should report on day two. When we last left off, I had signed a three-year contract but had to leave the store without my iPhone as they were unable to activate it due to network issues. So, the next day I called at roughly 11 am to see what the status on my order was. The girl on the phone was very informative and told me it would be a couple of hours before my phone would be ready to go. They brought in an assistant to help with the activations and had planned to have all orders processed by the end of the day.

I received a follow-up call within the hour stating my phone was ready to activate. I went down to the Rogers dealer and it was a stark contrast to the day previous. There was only one other customer in the store and it was just a very casual atmosphere. I met with the same sales rep from the day previous who had my phone out and was preparing the paperwork. He apologized for the day previous and was overall very pleasant. I was concerned that I had signed up for the wrong value pack but he made sure I had what I wanted before he input it into the system. Throughout the process, he explained my contract to me and had my number ported from another carrier within a matter of minutes. Another sales rep came over to explain the basic operation procedures to me so the first guy could keep working on the activation, to get me out of there sooner. She seemed very knowledgeable and answered all of my questions.

In the end, I was up and running in about fifteen minutes. The only issue I had was with my voicemail. We couldn’t seem to get it activated. (A problem I later rectified by simply powering the phone down.) It’s a day later and everything is working fine. I’ve had a chance to use my phone over WIFI and the Rogers network. I’ve set up my voicemail. I’ve added some apps. I’ve used the GPS. Everything is working just as I had hoped. This is the experience I wanted. It took an unpleasant launch day to get there, but I’ll give credit where it is due. The staff at Rogers were very apologetic and and helped to erase what was a less than stellar first impression. My monthly bill is a little more money than I would ideally like to pay but I feel the 6 gig data plan at least makes the cost reasonable. Viva la iPhone!

written by Jarrod Tully \\ tags: iPhone 3G, iPhone Canada, Rogers Wireless

Before I get started… In all fairness to Rogers, Friday was an insane day up in Canada with the iPhone launch. From all accounts I heard, they were having major troubles with their systems going down, in-store systems needing rebooting, etc… it was a mad-house.

On the morning of July 11, I had half a dozen friends emailing me from a lineup at a Rogers store, or from directly in the store. Each account was different. A few said the process was flawless. Most said it was chaotic and unorganized. Others yet complained that their computer systems kept crashing and couldn’t process or activate new phones fast enough… often times as slow as 1 new iPhone per hour. Seems as though the situation was a patchwork of similar experiences across the country.

That said, I certainly hope Rogers has learned from this. Overall the customer service rating has to be horrible for all of those that braved the lineups on Friday. 75% of the folks I talked to were either disappointed or disgusted with the whole process. Frustration levels were high.

On the positive side, it seems as though they’ve turned things around. Over the last few days more and more people are coming to me telling me how Rogers delivered on their promises to deliver iPhones, activate new accounts, etc… Initial delays and frustrations were wiped out with better customer service in the following days (no doubt because of the less chaotic atmosphere in which to work).

You do have to somewhat feel for the lowly Rogers (or any other providers) sales people. Most of the time these staffers receive limited training, and are paid horribly with a huge focus on sales commission. Sell, sell, sell… and get that 3-year contract signed. That’s what it boils down too. I’m not sure how it works in other countries, but in Canada that seems to be the norm. Rogers would appear to be happy with their model. Go into any Rogers store in Canada and I’ll bet you that you find an 18 year old kid with spiky hair pushing phones as fast as you can. Just hope he or she knows what he’s talking about. Half the time he/she does not, and things get a little tricky.

I’d better stop this ‘rant’ here before I get too carried away. All I can say is I sincerely hope Rogers better prepares for events like this in the future. Rogers needs more competition. They’re getting complacent and it really does show. Can anyone out there hear me? Jump in the market against these guys, and guaranteed rates will go down, customer service will improve, and overall, EVERYONE will be the winner!

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: iPhone 3G, iPhone Canada, Rogers Wireless

It’s Sunday… lets take ‘er easy and look at some photos shall we? I’d like to thank MacNN for these photos, they’re great. Take a gander below at some of the snaps, and click on them for a larger version.

[via MacNN]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: iPhone 3G, iPhone 3G Photos, iPhone 3G Pictures, iPhone 3G Unboxing