EXCLUSIVE: Rogers/Fido iPhone 3G Hands on Preview!

The iPhone 3G was announced at the 2008 Apple WWDC on June 9th. From that announcement we learned that Rogers and Fido will be selling iPhone 3G units on July 11th, as part of the worldwide release of the iPhone 3G. We know Gizmodo and other tech sites were able to get hands on with the iPhone 3G at the WWDC. But what about an actual test model being used by Rogers?

Well, the following information you’re about to read comes from a trusted source, with close ties to the iPhone 3G launch in Canada. This “entity” as we shall call him/her is currently using an iPhone 3G pre-launch unit. Let’s take a look at how the iPhone 3G compares to first generation iPhones on EDGE. Ready? Here we go with some random anecdotes…

…on the iPhone 3G design:
– So far it’s really nice. Very sleek. I would say lighter than before however, I still prefer my aluminum first gen over the plastic back on the 2nd gen. I don’t want to say it feels cheap–but it does not feel as solid.

..on how GPS fares…
– GPS is REALLY COOL! Just like advertised. Very detailed, very accurate.

…on how 3G compares to EDGE:
– There is also no button to toggle 3G, however because this isn’t a true 2.0 it seems, that could change.
– The 3G is VISIBLY faster however iphoneincanada.ca still seems to load SOOO slow. (there must be something wrong with this site, its always slow on phones!!!)
– Oh and it seems to get really hot, really fast with browsing…similar to 1st gen but even more so.

…on the overall impression of the iPhone 3G:
– Features still the same. The menus are a little more cleaned up. Parental controls are there but useless to me.  It feels a little “cheap” compared to the aluminum backing but you can get used to it.
– Keyboard seems MUCH more responsive than before. And there is a contacts button on the homescreen.
– Other than that, not much change. Exchange still seems buggy so I stopped using it. Calendar has been cleaned up a bit, more usage it terms of setting schedules and editting. So far, that’s about it.

…On iPhone 3G battery life…
– Battery is better today. I used 3G browsing for 2 hours, music for 1 hour, GPS for 5 min and about 5 hours in talk time. Full charge at 7am. Right now at 5:15pm, I’m at about 40% I’d say. Just under half. On my old iPhone, I’d be less than 25%.

…on Rogers branding within the iPhone software:
– Also, there were rumours that local GSM carriers were going to put branding on it. Well, this one has NO branding except for the carrier name. Where it says carrier name that it’s where the signal bars are.

Rumored Rogers/Fido Data Plans Revealed on HowardForums

HowardForums member i.Fido posted a supposedly leaked Rogers internal email, that revealed upcoming pricing on iPhone 3G data plans. The following prices were mentioned:

Consumer Data Plan (must be added to qualified voice plan):
$30 – Unlimited Data (E-mail/Web), includes Visual Voicemail when subscribed to any voicemail service.

Enterprise Data Plan (must be added to qualified voice plan):
$45 – Unlimited Data with personal and corporate e-mail, web, includes Visual Voicemail when subscribed to any voicemail service.

Click here to read the rest of the leaked memo.

Have you picked your jaw up off the ground yet?! $30 for unlimited data from Rogers would be pure EPICNESS, however they have mentioned in the past that they are not fans of unlimited data plans. But, if these plans are indeed true, we can thank Apple for twisting Rogers to conform to reasonable data rates, such as matching AT&T (if this is true I called it!).

Some people are calling this “leaked memo” a fake because it is eerily similar to the “leaked” AT&T memo posted a while back, with Rogers inserted instead of AT&T. People on the other side of the coin mention that i.Fido has a strong reputation of foreshadowing the future in previous announcements. Who to believe? Only you can be the judge. Here’s a tip from us–wait until July 11th, or until Rogers announces these plans officially.

What do you think about this? $30 unlimited data coming our way? Follow all the up to date chatter in this iPhoneinCanada.ca Forum thread!

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