iPhone Takes Off to the Great White North

All the Canadians who've held off driving down to America to buy a bootleg iPhone can rest assured that their wait is nearly over. Rogers Communications, Canada's leading wireless carrier, will bring the popular Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) device to the land up north later this year.

Announced in conjunction with the release of Rogers' first quarter results Tuesday, the details are sparse. The official announcement was limited to a brief statement from President and CEO Ted Rogers, who noted "We're thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year. We can't tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned."

Lips Are Sealed

A follow-up query to Rogers Wireless, the business unit that would presumably deliver the iPhone services, netted similar results: "We have nothing to add to today's statement. More information will be available at a later date," spokesperson Liz Hamilton told MacNewsWorld.

The lack of detail may have something to do with Apple's rollout of the iPhone application store on iTunes, a new firmware version, and presumably, a new 3G-based iPhone model in the June timeframe.

Either way, Apple has confirmed the news.

"Yes, it's true. We're excited to be working with Rogers to bring iPhone to Canada later this year, and we can't wait to get this revolutionary phone in the hands of even more people around the world," Jennifer Bowcock, an Apple spokesperson, told MacNewsWorld.

Rogers has been the most likely carrier to provide service to an iPhone, particularly since Rogers has a large GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) network that would be compatible with the existing iPhone.

Why the Wait?

While the iPhone has been available in the United States since last summer, it seems as though a Canadian iPhone rollout would have been a reasonably simple affair -- at least compared to Europe, which already has several countries selling the Apple iPhone. Why the long wait? Could it be a lack of Canadian interest?

"Typically, the mobile device preferences of Americans and Canadians are pretty similar, so I am not aware of any reasons why demand for the iPhone would not exist in Canada," Sean Ryan, a research analyst of mobile enterprise devices for IDC's Mobile and Wireless Group, told MacNewsWorld.

Indeed, iPhone-related blogs and news stories have been peppered with complaints from commenters bemoaning the lack of official iPhone sales in Canada.

The Other 'iPhone'

While Apple was busy trademarking the iPhone name in various countries, its efforts were apparently stymied by Comwave, a company which was using the iPhone name to sell a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)-based phone since 2004. Apple filed an application for a trademark with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office in October of 2004, but it was opposed by Comwave in August of 2005. According to the Canadian trademark data available online, the case appears to still be active.

Comwave did not respond to a MacNewsWorld inquiry by press time, and Apple declined to comment at all on the subject.

The situation recalls an issue that surfaced soon after Apple first unveiled the iPhone in early 2007. "I know that Apple had a naming dispute with Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) regarding its IP (Internet protocol) phone over the iPhone trademark here in the U.S. that they were able to resolve. ... Litigation slows everything down -- it's entirely possible that the Comwave situation slowed the process in Canada," Ryan said.

"Plus, the terms with Apple are very different from what carriers are used to in dealing with OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), so that makes the process inherently longer." For example, negotiations to bring the iPhone to China Mobile have been slowed over impasses regarding Apple's share of revenue, he added.