iPhone in Canada? Really? Seriously?

Turns out Rogers Communications and Apple have finally come to an agreement. The iPhone will be released sometime in '08 in Canada!

The main reason it took so long for the iPhone to be released in Canada, is the three major cell providers up in the great white north, have such a stranglehold on the market, they are charging and arm and a leg (and kidney) for bandwidth rates. AT&T in the states is the sole provider for the iPhone, which uses a GSM network. The only GSM cell network up here is Rogers, meaning the only network the iPhone would be possible on, is Rogers.

The iPhone was released how long ago? And they just released it now in Canada? Wow. With Apple's announcement that the second generation of the iPhone will be 3G and feature a built in GPS plus a larger storage capacity, it's making me wonder which iPhone we'll get up in Canada. I'm hoping it's the second generation version.

AT&T has also said the second generation phone will be $200 (for the smaller capacity version) with a two year contract with AT&T. Up in Canada, the majority of plans are contracts, and I don't mind paying the (equivalent) $200. Hell, I'd even consider $300. My personal contract runs out mid-November of this year, and the rumours state that the iPhone will be out in September, so I could probably time it just right to get my next contract with an iPhone.

All I know is that when I read the news stating that the iPhone was going to be (finally) released in Canada, I nearly fell off my chair.