Rogers And Fido Release iPhone 3G Voice And Data Pricing…Apple Fanbois Get Angry [UPDATED x7]

Rogers Wireless and Fido released the voice and data pricing for the iPhone 3G today (click here for the Rogers press release and click here for the Fido one).

Plans start at $60 for 150 minutes of voice (free evenings and weekends), 400MB of data, and 75 sent text messages. You do get unlimited received voices mails and text messages as well as free access to Fido and Rogers hotspots. But there’s more:

“Rogers Wireless will also offer two voice value packs for popular wireless features: a $15 monthly value pack including Caller ID, Who Called, Caller Ring Trax, 2,500 Sent Text Messages and 2,500 Call Forwarding Minutes; and a $20 monthly value pack including Caller ID, Who Called, Caller Ring Trax, 10,000 Sent Text Messages and 6:00 p.m. Early Evening Calling and 2,500 Call Forwarding Minutes”

The plans are meeting with universal anger from the Mac Fanboi community in Canada. This thread over at ehMac.ca is just one example of how ticked off the Fanbois are. I encourage you to scroll through it as some of the posts are very entertaining.

Here’s the bottom line: Rogers/Fido has just ticked off the one community of people who they need to buy the iPhone, and who will be the biggest advocates for the product. The rabid group of Mac users known as Apple Fanbois. I think the reason that Rogers has completely misjudged this is that they don’t get that the iPhone is not just another phone, and Apple users are not just another bunch of computer users. Because of this, Rogers are in for a rude awakening. Of course, if they care or not is another issue altogether.

UPDATE: Apple Fanbois on the ehMac.ca site have started this post suggesting that people send feedback to Apple and Rogers telling them how much the pricing sucks. Not a bad idea if you ask me. Rogers isn’t likely to care, but Apple is much more likely to care seeing as they have more to lose IMHO. Still there’s value if both parties hear the wrath of the Apple Fanboi community. Also of note, there’s a new protest site referenced in the thread. Take a surf over to www.ruinediphone.com and join the protest.

UPDATE #2: The Joy Of Tech have picked up on this story with their latest comic. Forbes/CNN and Reuters have picked up on this as well. Even Fake Steve Ballmer has picked up the story. Rogers really has a PR problem on its hands.

UPDATE #3: The Globe And Mail’s Jack Kapica weighs into this debate with a rather balanced blog entry. Although that blog entry does say some things that will earn him the wrath of the Apple Fanboi community. Meanwhile Matt Harley reports on the online petition that I mentioned earlier. Curiously, a Rogers sock puppet spokesperson was unavailable for comment. Perhaps they were either away for the Canada Day Weekend or they’re holed up someplace trying to figure out how to make the bad press stop?

UPDATE #4: CBC has picked up on the story. Of Interest, they note that the Apple Store in Toronto (I’m not sure which one as Toronto has three of them) is has told customers who complain to “call Apple’s customer service phone line in the United States, which is keeping a tally of grievances.” (Something that Apple denies doing BTW. Yeah, right.) I wonder if “The Steve” will be calling Ted Rogers on this if the number of ticked off Apple Fanbois get high enough?

UPDATE #5: Ruinediphone.com is down. No word as to why at this time.

UPDATE #6: Runiediphone.com is up. Seems like they brought their previous hosting company to their knees and have since moved to a new hosting company. There’s over 22 thousand signatures (and counting) as I write this. Plus it seems that Rogers has sent the guy who runs the site a note trying to spin their absolutely horrible rate plans (check the blog entry called “Is Rogers Caving?”).

UPDATE #7: Runiediphone.com is up and down due to ongoing DNS issues (although there is a rumor circulating that Rogers is behind their issues). If you use OpenDNS it is accessible. I am guessing that it will be 48 hours or less before they are back to normal.