A few days ago I let my fellow Canucks know what kind of prices they could expect on May 28th for the iPad – the newest world changer, and magical – let’s not forget magical, cool toy from Apple. Unfortunately that was only the one shoe that we were all waiting to drop with the second being what it was going to cost us to be able to actually use the thing.
Right off the bat the bad news is that Rogers will once again be responsible for spreading the Apple goodness to the citizens of Canada, not that any other carrier would have been any better news really. So it was just now a matter of waiting on Rogers to just how badly they would put the screws to us and thankfully, I guess, we didn’t have to wait too long.
Word came out yesterday via fellow Canadian blogger Kris Abel that unlike the US there would be no unlimited plan even though at first they said there would be. As well there would be no sharing plans which means that even if you already had a plan with Rogers you would have to sign up for a new one if you wanted the iPad.
So what are we getting for this shafting?
Well as Kris posted:
The Wi-Fi models can access the internet , but only if there is a wireless hotspot nearby. To be able to connect to the internet everywhere you go, you’ll need to opt for one of the more expensive “Wi-Fi + 3G” models. This gives you the option to add a data plan from a wireless carrier. The Apple Canada store lists data plans from Rogers Wireless as follows:
250 MB of data per month will cost $15
5 GB of data per month will cost $35
Rogers explains its pricing on the fact that the iPad is a new category and they highly doubt that anyone will use anywhere near the 5GB cap in a month.
But isn’t this the magical device that will encourage us all to become massive consumers of rich media, you know .. things like video and music and books – lots of books. All of which usually mean very large files.
Thanks Rogers. If I was ever sitting on the fence about getting an iPad for my wife you just convinced me not to.
