CTV News Ottawa

Updated: Fri Jul. 11 2008 4:06:27 PM

ctvottawa.ca

Many fans of Apple technology camped outside a Rogers store in Ottawa overnight to be among the first in Canada to get their hands on the much anticipated Apple iPhone on Friday.

"I think I got here at 3:30 yesterday," said iPhone fan Kyle McInnes, who was third in line at the Rogers store in the Glebe Friday morning. "I'm a zombie right now."

The Rogers store at Bank Street and Glebe Avenue was the only Ottawa location to open its doors early to customers.

An hour before the 8 a.m. opening, about 60 people - mostly males - were already lined up, eating breakfast served by Rogers staff members.

Those waiting in line told CTV Ottawa the iPhone's quality and user-friendly design are the phone's biggest draws.

"That's kind of the Apple mentality - just strip everything down to the absolute Neanderthal," said McInnes.

Sold-out

The launch was not without hiccups as a problem with Apple's iTunes software prevented some phones from being fully activated in store.

The customers were told they'd have to put their phones on hold until the system is back up.

Additionally, many of the stores carrying the new device have already sold-out. Rogers' chief marketing officer John Boynton said Friday that more are coming.

Customers who didn't get an iPhone Friday will be able to pre-order one online, by phone or at a Rogers or Fido store, he said.

"We will inform the public as to when the next batch comes in," he said, declining to give specific numbers.

"We will certainly have enough this summer for everybody."

Although it hasn't released specifics on its inventory, Rogers has said it has enough iPhones to meet the demand in Canada. Apple is hoping to sell 10 million iPhones around the world by the end of 2008.

Responding to public backlash

Responding to consumer complaints, Rogers Wireless slashed the price of the data plan for the touch-screen phone earlier this week. Customers who buy the phone before Aug. 31 will now be eligible for a six-gigabyte data plan for $30.

"We listened to them and we decided that you know we needed to do something," said Susan Gordon of Rogers Communication on Friday.

Rogers representatives say six gigabytes will allow users to visit 36,000 web pages, send or receive more than 157,000 e-mails or watch almost 6,300 minutes of YouTube videos each month.

The rate covers only web browsing, e-mails and video, so phone service costs will be tacked on top of the $30.

The package is notably more economical than those included in the set of iPhone plans Rogers released earlier this month. The cheapest plan under that structure includes 400 megabytes of data, 150 minutes of weekday talk time and unlimited evenings and weekends for $60 per month plus fees and taxes.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Kate Eggins and files from The Canadian Press