Currently, there is a monopoly on the iPhone sales in Canada. Apple has teamed up with Rogers Wireless and Fido (the same company) to exclusively offer iPhones to be sold through these companies. But what if you don't want to buy an iPhone through Rogers/Fido because you want freedom of where you purchase - or you just know of a better deal?

 

Well, you can buy an iPhone from the US store, but you will have to pay duty when crossing the border as it is a taxable item. But to get it to work in Canada you'll have to UNLOCK it and it needs to have a firmware version 1.1.2 to be able to unlock it. If not, you're out of luck and buying a US iPhone will give you more headaches then fun entertainment.

 

There are many used iPhones on the market that are Canadian. Because iPhones are fully solid state - ie they have no moving parts, you can bet that they will give you a long lasting life. Laptops on the other hand have many moving parts and thus break more often. Hard-drives are the worst offenders! So yes, buying a used iPhone isn't such a bad idea. Plus it won't lock you into those annoying 3 year contracts Rogers/Fido wants to sell you.

Craigslist.org is a great site for buying local used iPhones, there are always a few available in major cities - sorry small towners! Always ALWAYS see the iPhone before you buy it used. Especially off of craigslist, the return policies on there don't really protect you like Ebay does. Check out the iPhone, see how it holds its battery charge and make sure it's fully functional.

 

Ebay.ca is a great way to buy an iPhone if you don't want to check it out in real life and you just want it shipped to you. The seller must state the details of the iPhone truthfully - and if there is a difference between what they told you and what you got in the mail you can certainly send it back without worry. Ebay and PayPal will protect the consumer fully over the seller. You can ask how long it holds it's charge while playing music or other details that will give you an idea of how it was cared for. Battery life is going to be your biggest concern again. You can't just put a new battery in these things. There are places that will do it for you, but it's just another cost you'll need to endure.

 

Buying from a friend is a great way to get a deal and to know who the seller is. Make sure they are someone you know and trust, not a friend of a friend of a friend. The further removed you are from the seller, the less likely the facts of the iPhone will be truthful or backed up. Buy from someone you know or just ask around, people are always trying to get rid of their older models - you just have to ask.

If you really can't find yourself a good used one then you'll be stuck with buying from Rogers/Telus. Currently (June 2009) they are offering the iPhones 8G/16G for $199/$299 with a 3 year contract that ties you into service provided by them. Ask yourself if it's going to be something you're going to want to buy into for that long before you sign. I know so many people who love the idea at first, but that novelty feeling will wear off in 6 months and you'll be stuck in a plan for another year and a half!

 

Plans: expect to pay a base fee of $60 a month, this will get you some talk time (not much) and 500 megs of bandwidth. Careful with that bandwidth cuz it will go quick! Use it ONLY to check your e-mail or the weather - never download movies - movies can be upwards of 500 megs for a single flick and poof, there goes your bill through the roof! I personally just stick to an iPod Touch - long battery life and FREE WiFi. If you live in a city you can find networks just about anywhere. You can use your iPhone's WiFi to find networks as well, but then what's the point of having the data plan. Can't you just wait til you get home? It's nice to be able to check e-mail from anywhere, but surfing the web on a data plan will get pricy - only do it if you REALLY need it or your job depends on it.

 

So that's the scoop on iPhones and the ways in which you can buy them and the plans in which you'll need to get them activated. They are great little gadgets for people that are on the road all the time. Let's see if Apple releases the new iPhone 3GS today! It will take some time for these to trickle down to Rogers/Fido but it might be worth the wait if you like to have the latest!  It looks like it's only being offered via AT&T in the US for now.  But at the $99 price ticket it makes the 8 gig iPhone rogers is offering a rip!  I hope they update their site soon and offer the new iPhone 3GS.