August 21, 2008 by Craig
Summary
The new BlackBerry Bold has come out, but it’s even more expensive than the iPhone in Canada.
In Canada (Rogers Wireless):
iPhone: Base price = $199. Cheapest package: 3 years, 250+E&W minutes, 6GB data = $65/month = $2340. Total price = $2539
BlackBerry Bold: $399. Equivalent package: 3 years, 250 minutes = $40/month, 6GB data = $30/month. Total price = $2919. Options like push email are additional. However: you have far more choice with the BBB. For instance, you can buy it outright (no contracts), skip the data and email plans, etc.
Neither of these plans include taxes, fees, or extras like caller ID and voicemail.
Both phones have similar capabilities (the big difference being less screen vs a physical keyboard). And they’re both really expensive.
In other news:
- Google’s Android has been heating up lately. The first phone just got FCC approval, the SDK is nearly done, and there’s a video of a real Android device.
- I got an iPod Touch recently: an iPhone without the Phone. It’s also without the GPS, camera, microphone, and high pricetag. For me this was the good compromise; I do miss the technical features and the data-anywhere aspect, but there’s no way I’m going to pay $2K for a phone that’s as locked down as the iPhone. The Touch gives me a good music & video player, a wireless web & email browser, and the chance to try out some of the apps for less than $300.