I got up very early yesterday morning after being up quite late. It was July 24th and I had hope that I would be able to upgrade my Fido account to get the iPhone 3G. The first thing I did was check the forums to see if the July 24th announcement had been made yet. It had. I was not impressed but I guess I wasn’t surprised. I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t be eligible but I decided to call in anyway. I wasn’t eligible and there was no other way to get it for me besides cancelling my contract and paying the fee.
I had a decision to make. Should I get the iPhone now or should I wait until December when I would be eligible? Well, December is light years away when it comes to getting any gadget that you have been waiting for months in anticipation to get. If I were to get it, it would cost me $400 for the ECF plus $299 for the iPhone. Only $700 and you get a 3 year contract! What a deal that is. What a joke that is.
Well, I made my decision. I had to get it. I know the ECF is stupid and paying it is even more so but I had no other choice. I’ve wanted this phone forever and I’ve wanted one that just works. I didn’t want to have to worry about upgrading, unlocking, bricking it, and all that. It’s almost like I need one. Waiting these past 2 weeks was hard enough. I know people will say it’s just a phone, but when you really want something, sometimes you just have to get it.
Now came the problem of major stock shortages not only in Canada but across the globe. When I called into Fido, the first thing that came on was a recorded message stating there are no more 16gb’s in stock and they were making a waiting list. I had to get the white iPhone and I would not settle for anything else. If that meant waiting, so be it.
The first thing I did was go to a Fido corporate store at the mall at 10am the minute they opened. I asked if they had any white iPhones, they said, “No, only 8gb’s”. I went to the Fido reseller, they said the same thing. I went to Wireless wave, they said that they had some yesterday but were now sold out and could be getting shipments anytime. I then went to a Rogers corporate store, they said they had a waiting list for 16gb’s which was about a month long. This wasn’t looking good. I wandered around the mall for a little while longer hoping that there would be a magical delivery while I was waiting in front of the store. It didn’t happen. I went home and looked up some phone numbers for different Rogers and Fido stores in the area. I called 4 without success. Then I got lucky. I called one Fido corporate store which is kind of in an odd location where there is barely any parking. They had they had 2 white iPhones. I asked if they could hold it for my for 15 minutes, they wouldn’t. I was there in 10 minutes. While I was waiting for them to activate it, someone else called into the store asking for the white iPhone. They said there was only one left. 30 seconds later someone else came into the store and they got the last one. 20 minutes later the person who had just called came in only to be disappointed in seeing us both getting ours activated. Oh well, better luck next time. I was pretty luck in this situation.
So I did have to cancel my contract and will see the $400 early cancellation fee on my next bill along with the $299 price of the iPhone. The good things? I got to keep my plan. I have the Fido EPP plan.
My total bill will look like this:
-Fido EPP - $17.50 - 200 minutes, unlimited evenings and weekends starting at 5pm
- iPhone Visual voicemail value pack - $15 - Visual voicemail, 2500 texts, caller ID
- $30 - 6gb data plan
That brings my total monthly bill with everying included to about $78.34 a month if my calculations are correct. I can live with that. The only good thing was that I had a whopping 16 Fido dollars to apply to my purchase of the iPhone.
After all that, I am happy. I am glad I got it. Now the fun begins.
Here’s a look at my white 16gb iPhone 3G:
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July 25th, 2008 at 2:22 am
Congrats.. What area do you live in? Toronto?
I found your Youtube video..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5Rqd8WGXrM
July 25th, 2008 at 2:36 am
Thanks, I’m in Vancouver. I think I got the 2nd last white iPhone in Vancouver.
July 25th, 2008 at 3:06 am
A few days ago I called 4 Roger stores and they all had iPhones in stock, 2 had all 3 models, 2 had only the 8 Gb ones. (GTA)
July 25th, 2008 at 4:41 am
Explain me this: if you got a separate account number. How did you manage to use your Fido $?
July 25th, 2008 at 6:03 am
You should have wait. I was going to release my second trick which help people like you. Oh well. Nice phone. :)
July 25th, 2008 at 6:28 am
oh… i am listening trickman… come on :) tell me… i haven’t yet called fido….
July 25th, 2008 at 8:19 am
you should have just bought one on craigslist they are like 500 to 700 bucks and then you wouldnt have a contract. I would cancel what you did now! Just make sure to buy a fido one!
July 25th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Nice work Ruff! That’s a steep hit to pay $400…but it’s worth it right?! YOU HAZ IPHONE! :)
July 25th, 2008 at 10:09 am
@ Bryan
Same account, same number, same plan.
@ miche
I don’t think buying one on craigslist is a good idea because they have to sell it for a minimum of like $800 to recover their own costs. Some of them look like a scam. However, they could have just renewed their contract and got it at $300. Then they would be making some good money. But, I don’t really like buying expensive items from craigslist because then you have to take all that money and meet someone somewhere. I feel more comfortable just buying it in a store, even it may cost me a little more or give me a longer contract.
@ iPhone Fan
Thanks man, feels good to finally have it. I can’t believe how fast 3G is!
July 25th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Congrats Ruffdeezy. Could you do me a favor and compare your old iphone’s sound quality from the speakers compared to the new 3G one? This is one of my factors into buying a new 3G as i already have 1st gen running 2.0 firmware. Also have you checked out the GPS yet? Thx ;)
July 25th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Hey danboey,
I can do that.
I was actually just testing out the gps. It is good. Especially when you are in satellite map mode. Not some thing you want to be staring at for long periods of time while driving but it is good nonetheless.
July 25th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
i am picking up a black iphone 16Gb, add 30 bucks to it, and i have to wait .. but i am settle for that :D let me know all the cool stuff
July 25th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
i mean add the 30bucks 6GB plan when they actually mail me the phone, i just have to wait till 29th…
July 25th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
I suppose, (I know what you mean, I am a girl and am afraid to buy on craigslist) but you can always meet in a public place (and bring a friend). A lot of the people on craiglist were selling them brand new with a receipt when I checked.
Lets just hope a newer iphone doesn’t come out in the next year, because you will be in the same boat all over again!
July 25th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
@ Miche
Hopefully they let us upgrade when the next one comes. The good thing is that there are going to be so many iPhone owners who have the same contract end date so they are going to have to do something or else they will have many more pissed off customers.
July 26th, 2008 at 12:48 am
for u information, a 32GB iphone and smaller size is in progress @ Apple, and expecting sometime next year to hit the market place
July 26th, 2008 at 2:39 am
Thanks Tony, hopefully they let us all upgrade then, LOL.
July 26th, 2008 at 6:29 am
i sure hope so too :)
July 26th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
well i know what you mean i have been waiting and watching the iphone before it was even released. When the wwdc was on i was watching it waiting for announcements etc.
I have been tracking it all this time, finally i can get it but just my luck im with telus and on a contract till september.
I dont plan to pay the ETF so i am forced to wait till september. But its not really that bad its better than giving away money for free in my opinion.
Glad your enjoying the iphone.
Smart choice on white, i think im going to do the same thing.
Anyways enjoy!
July 26th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Hey Dani,
Yeah, paying the cancellation fee sucks, for you it would be $100 from Telus because it’s $20 a month or minimum of $100. When you do finally get it I suggest Fido but do some research as to what works best for you. I think the white one looks great, I didn’t want to settle for the black. Luckily I was able to get it right away.
Let me know when you get yours.
July 26th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
i am getting the black one, coz i don’t have a mac… yet :P i have to wait till August 29th :( but then again…. i guess i just have to wait, coz no where i can find any iphone 16gb left :(
July 26th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Yeah you just gotta get lucky, it is a hassle but just keep calling store, eventually one will have one.
July 26th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
so you guys say fido is better? doesnt rogers have a larger network?
July 26th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
@Dani
Rogers does have larger network/coverage and if you combine other services with Rogers, you also get more discount.
But Fido has per second billing and early evening starting at 7pm without charge.
July 28th, 2008 at 6:13 am
Congratulations. I’m glad your persistence paid off. I would have been the guy that just missed getting it, knowing my luck. I sure hope you enjoy using it and start buying lots of games and other applications to keep increasing Apple’s revenue.