Apple pulls iPhone support from Canada Apple Stores

Sunday, we reported that Apple would be diverting shipment of the iPhone 3G from Canada to Europe as a slap on the wrist to Rogers Communications over their ridiculous rate plans. Now, that slap has become a punch in the gut. Apple Insider is reporting that Canadian Apple Stores will not be selling or activating or marketing or supporting or apparently even acknowledging the iPhone’s very existence. Rogers will still be able to sell the iPhone and gouge its customers, but they’ll get no marketing help from Apple, Inc.

Apple is giving Rogers the corporate equivalent of the silent treatment.

Apple Insider suspects the reaction may have stemmed from the Ruined iPhone online petition—which has now been signed by over 50,000 potential customers—created in response to Rogers’ 3-year contracts that require a minimum monthly payment of $60 for just 150 minutes, 75 text messages, and 400MB of data.

Apple’s statement regarding the plan is simply, “We have nothing to do with the service plans. Those are Rogers’ plans.”

From the report:

Apple’s knee-jerk reaction is believed to have been further stimulated by public outrage on the part of Canadian consumers following the release of the local pricing plans. Always concerned with its image, the iPhone maker has watched nearly 50,000 of its loyal customers sign an anti-Rogers petition at ruinediphone.com, which has in turn sparked hundreds of potentially damaging reports on the matter by bloggers and members of the mainstream media.

For its part, Rogers in official statements has attempted to justify the cost of its service and data plans by arguing that the “majority” of international iPhone carriers have capped data. As such, a spokesperson said Rogers believes its plans to be better than those of Orange France, for example, which include a 500MB ‘reasonable use’ limit versus the 2GB maximum on the top-tier Canadian iPhone plan that fetches $115 per month.

I suspect there’s more to it than just an online petition, however. Despite Apple Insiders’ claim, Apple has a history of ignoring such petitions (as they should, really), and they’ve never been overly concerned with public image. Regardless, something weird is going in Canada, and I’m curious to see how this plays out.

Via [Apple Insider]