Apple

(Credit: The Boy Genius Report)

Ever since Apple launched the new iPhone 3GS, the older iPhone 3G has been going for $99 with a new two-year contract. Well, according to Boy Genius Report, there seem to be some indications that Apple may be about to bring out a new 8GB version of the iPhone 3GS that will take the place of the iPhone 3G and also cost $99.

Interestingly, BGR's source isn't AT&T but Rogers, a Canadian carrier, and a tipster sent the site some screenshots that seem to provide proof of the transition between models. None of this is confirmed, of course, but if AT&T (and other carriers like Rogers) offered an 8GB iPhone 3GS for $99, it would be another aggressive move by Apple in its quest to dominate the smartphone space. I'm not sure it spells doom for the $199 8GB Palm Pre, which is selling well, but it can't help its cause.

Comments? Is the 8GB iPhone 3GS at $99 a big deal?

(Via The Boy Genius Report)

Microsoft and technology analyst Roger Kay have made a couple of changes to their charts outlining the "Apple Tax," but the update does little to address broader critiques of their math.

On Monday, Microsoft noted that it has updated both Kay's white paper and the accompanying blog post and chart to reflect the fact that both failed to take into account Apple's latest hardware specifications. The new paper and chart use slightly different models on the PC side.

However, the main points I (and others) made last week regarding Microsoft's bad math haven't changed. Kay's report (and Microsoft's accompanying tax return) still put charges in the Mac column that they fail to account for on the PC side when it comes to both software and services.

Suggesting that users can just bring their old copy of Office and Quicken--and that they won't need to upgrade over the five-year life of their new PC--assumes a lot. It's particularly laughable as Kay and Microsoft add in a charge for updating iLife on the Mac side.

On the services side, Microsoft had a fair point of AppleCare being more than Dell's basic three-year warranty. But then it threw in all kinds of other services, such as in-store training and the optional MobileMe service to again lose credibility.

I mean, really, one could have added (as several readers suggested) the five-year cost of antivirus software only to the PC side as well as a one-time charge for removing crapware from the PC. Personally, I'd recommend antivirus software for both the Mac and the PC, although clearly Windows users have had greater need of it to date.

Canadian cell phone carrier Rogers Communications is extending its iPhone data plan promotion another month, as it tries to figure out how best to price data plans for smartphone users, CBC reported Thursday.

(Credit: Apple)

Rogers, Canada's exclusive iPhone carrier, will offer the 6-gigabyte data service for $30 a month for all smartphone users, including Apple iPhone users, and laptop air cards.

The promotion, which was launched with the iPhone 3G's July 11 debut, was set to expire at the end of August. The carrier offered the special promotion after customers complained about a similarly priced plan that offered only 400 megabytes of data per month.

A Rogers representative the company told the CBC the offer is being extending through September to allow buyers of the new BlackBerry Bold to take advantage of it. The Bold was introduced only week ago.

Come October 1, Rogers will have new plans in place. A $25 plan will provide 500MB of data downloads for $25. And a $30-a-month plan will allow subscribers to download 1GB of data. These data plans must also accompany voice plans that start around $20 a month.

Because Rogers requires users to sign a 3-year contract, the mobile operator offers one of the most expensive iPhone data plans in the world. But on a monthly basis, it's not so bad, at only about $60 a month. AT&T's iPhone 3G plans start at $70 a month for voice and data.

CBC reports that Rogers believes that its new pricing plans should satisfy most customers, since the carrier said it has found that only 1 percent of iPhone users used more than 1GB of data in their first month, and most used less than 500MB. Rogers is also allowing customers to "tether" their smartphones or use the phone as a modem for laptops. This is not allowed by other carriers, such as AT&T in the United States.

To help make sure that customers don't run up ridiculously high data bills without realizing it, the company is also rolling out a "peace-of-mind protection plan" in October. This plan will send customers free text messages warning them if they are close to crossing a certain threshold of data usage. The company will also cap excess usage charges at $100, the CBC report said.

Rogers Communications, Canada's dominant wireless carrier, has responded to the outcry over its iPhone rate plans with a new option for nearly unlimited data.

The company announced a $30-a-month data plan for the iPhone 3G that subscribers can add to their voice plans. With it, they can consume up to 6 gigabytes of data a month.

Before Wednesday, Rogers drew the ire of many a Canadian with its plan to offer a maximum 2GB voice-data plan at $115 a month. Lots of other carriers are offering unlimited data plans for the iPhone, which generates much more Web traffic on sites like Google than other smartphones.

The new plan doesn't go that far, obviously, but the limit will be extremely difficult for most people to hit. Rogers said 6GBs of data usage a month would enable you to watch 104 hours of YouTube videos every month, or send and receive more than 150,000 e-mails on your iPhone 3G.

Why Rogers still needs to insist on an upper limit for data usage is beyond me, but at least the company is offering an option that will allow most users to avoid overage charges. Still, it's only a limited-time offer: You have to activate an iPhone 3G by the end of August to qualify for the special plan. And you still have to sign a three-year contract.

If you want an iPhone 3G outside of the U.S., you won't find one at the Apple store.

(Credit: Apple)

While Rogers, Canada's largest wireless carrier, has made few friends with its iPhone 3G rate plans, it's not the only foreign carrier that will have to go it alone with iPhone sales on Friday.

The Internet was all atwitter Tuesday with reports that Apple had decided to pull iPhone 3Gs from its six Canadian retail stores for Friday's launch, apparently in protest over Rogers' decision to not offer its iPhone 3G customers an unlimited data plan. Appleinsider said that Apple made the decision in a Monday night conference call after it grew "disgusted" with the rate plans, which require three-year contracts, offer very few minutes at the introductory rates, and lack the option for unlimited data usage.

While I wouldn't be surprised if Apple isn't very happy about how things have unfolded in Canada (see this piece by Macworld's Jim Dalrymple for a look at the Canadian iPhone zeitgeist), Apple isn't selling the iPhone at any of its retail stores outside the U.S. Canada joins the U.K., Italy, Australia and Japan as countries that will have to rely on Apple's carrier partners in those regions to purchase the iPhone 3G on Friday.

Earlier in the week, independent blogger Daniel Smith reported that Apple was diverting iPhone 3G stock from Canada to Europe in response to the controversial rate plans. Smith left himself a little wiggle room with his report, but it seems safe to assume that Apple and Rogers aren't best friends at the moment.

But given the worldwide launch plans for Friday, it seems a bit of a stretch to assume that Apple has decided to blame Canada for its rate plans when Apple isn't selling iPhones in any Apple retail stores outside of the U.S.