I’m a little late to the party, but seeing as we’re in Canada and the iPhone isn’t here yet, I guess I can be forgiven.

The nifty little gadget is certainly making some waves south of the border and having watched most of Apple’s tour of the phone’s features and user interface, I can see why. Not only is it a fantastic communications device, particularly for those whose email, IM, and telephone lives have converged, but its approach to web surfing while on-the-go looks fantastic compared to my experiences with Blackberry and PocketPC devices. However, all the promise won’t be realized unless (a) the carrier’s network can support all of the iPhone’s features; and (b) the user is willing to pay for a voice and data plan — the latter tend to be pricey here in the True White North.

Regarding those data plans, AT&T, which has exclusive rights on the iPhone in the U.S., initially forced iPhone users into voice and data plans, but they now appear to be relenting and allowing voice-only plans as some subscribers have canceled their contracts in protest.

On the matter of cancellations, AT&T has reportedly been charging a steep $175 termination fee, which is apparently very high when compared to other phone plans. In fact, at least one U.S. politician has been vocal about these fees. For their part, AT&T and Apple point out that unlike most cell phones, a disconnected iPhone is not just a small hunk of useless plastic, but a cross between the storage capacity of an iPod Nano (8GB or 4GB) and a full-fledged video iPod by virtue of its screen and video capability.

If you’re curious about Canadian availability, I’ve seen rumours indicating that by virtue of its network technology, Rogers will be the only Canadian carrier and that the iPhone will appear in late 2007 or early 2008. If its the former, I’m sure it will be high on many Christmas lists, including that of a certain pedwar whose Telus contract will be coming to an end in December 2007.

Looking farther down the line, it seems there may be even more iPod-iPhone convergence.

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