iPhone Watch: D-Day

Well, today's the day . . . for the usual sort of breathless enthusiasm:

The mobile phone that lets users play music, watch video, surf the Internet and check email rolls out across Canada on Friday after a lot of hype and a controversy over price.

Apparently this reporter had never heard of the Blackberry or the Treo, as they've offered some or all of the noteworthy features (music, email, web browsing) for some time now.

But though the Apple iPhone may be the smartphone consumers long to have, analysts say spending on the phone may not live up to its buzz. Exclusive Canadian carrier Rogers Wireless hasn't said how many iPhones it has received to sell in Canada or would like to sell here, but has said it has sufficient inventory.

The price is still controversial, even after the bone Rogers threw to potential customers earlier this week. I have to agree with this:

Analysts said that while there's pent-up demand for the high-end, touch-screen phone, only a small segment of consumers will buy it because of the costs associated with running it.

"The average person is going to look at this thing and say 'Very cool, very nice phone,' but am I willing to spend the money for a three-year contract at probably $70 to $80 a month minimum when you talk about voice and data," said U.S. telecom analyst Jack Gold.

You'll notice, for example, that I'm not busy lining up in front of the Toronto location for iPhone sales, unlike several dozen people gathered outside a Halifax store:

A crowd of several dozen people gathered outside a Halifax store Friday morning waiting to buy the first Apple iPhones to be sold in Canada.

The East Coast city is the first of six cities where select Rogers Wireless stores will be opening their doors at 8 a.m. local time to sell the much-hyped smart phones Friday. Other stores are located in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa and Calgary.

About 30 people waited outside a store in a Halifax mall early Friday morning, while in Toronto a string of people sat in lawn chairs outside a downtown store near the Eaton Centre.

Only in the media does a crowd of "several dozen" become the equivalent of "about 30".

Some in Halifax said they'd arrived as early as 2 a.m. to beat an expected rush.

Store officials, who were handing out numbered tickets, said they expect crowds to grow throughout the day.

You can bet that the store officials are praying that the crowds will materialize, never mind grow. If this doesn't turn into the anticipated feeding frenzy, Rogers will be quite embarassed (especially after their widely reported "climbdown"):

But when Canadians open their wallets to buy the popular device, they will be paying almost the highest overall price of all countries.

Canadians who buy the device before the end of August will fork out $2,176 US over the course of the three-year contract they must sign with Rogers Communications Inc., the sole provider in the country. That amount includes the up-front fee for the phone, plus monthly service charge.

Italy comes in first with $2,554 for a two-year service agreement. The amounts are in American dollars for the purpose of comparison.