iPhone, N95 in Canada by summer?

Two top smartphones may finally be available on an official basis in Canada before the summer, according to separate reports. The Toronto Star cites industry contacts who tell the newspaper that the country's lone major GSM cell provider, Rogers, aims to launch the iPhone in time for it to be included in a campaign promoting touchscreen phones at the company, which will include the upcoming LG Vu and likely earlier devices such as the HTC Touch. The marketing effort will begin sometime between May and July and is allegedly supported by evidence that Apple and Rogers were nearing a finalized deal earlier this year for the latter to carry the iPhone. For practical purposes, Rogers' campaign would likely need to start no sooner than June. Apple plans to hold its Worldwide Developer Conference in the middle of that month and is believed by analysts to be readying the introduction of an iPhone at that time that will be capable of supporting 3G cellular Internet access on some networks, including Rogers' service.

Although Rogers has been frequently criticized for having some of the highest-priced mobile data of any cellular provider in Canada, the provider has taken steps that appear to prepare the company's network for devices such as Apple's. Rogers earlier this year launched an unlimited data bundle similar to AT&T's for the iPhone that gives users both unfettered browsing on most of its devices as well as a set amount of MMS/SMS messages and voicemail. The company is also ahead of AT&T in offering more advanced 3G features on its network, which include both two-way video calling on supporting devices as well as 7.2-megabit HSDPA downloads on portions of its network. The 3G iPhone is understood to use a newer Infineon chipset that would support both normal HSDPA service as well as its faster variety on Rogers.