The Pricing/Cost of a Rogers Revolution Android Phone?
With the huge announcement from Rogers that they would be releasing TWO Android units on June 2nd, one begs the question, “how much will owning an Android phone cost me?” This is an excellent question and there are many factors to consider in order to determine pricing.
Rogers did not release any information on pricing and plans. What makes these Android units different from other cellphones is that the Android OS is free and open source. So right there, that should reduce the cost of the handset, compared to phones operating on Windows Mobile, Symbian, or any other major software.
Predictions on What an Android Handset Will Cost From Rogers
Right now, the benchmark price for a premium smartphone on Rogers is the iPhone or Blackberry Bold, which come at the subsidized price of $199 over a 3 year contract. With this in mind, the HTC Magic and HTC Dream should definitely fall under this price over a 3 year term.
I could possibly see the HTC Magic cost over $199 over 3 years, given it’s the latest HTC model. But I don’t know how much people are willing to pay since Android hasn’t created that much “buzz” compared to the iPhone and Blackberry.
As for data plans, expect Rogers to come up with some pre-determined Android “bundles”. They did the same for the iPhone and you can bet your wallet they will repeat this for Android. Last time, Canadians cried when Rogers introduced a 500MB data plan for the iPhone.
In reality though, that 500MB estimation is actually quite accurate. Not a lot of people I know with iPhones go over 500MB/month with casual usage. However, Rogers might come out with a promotional data plan to push these Android units like hot cakes.
So let’s create a price mock up of what an Android unit might cost…
$199 for the HTC Dream (also known as the T-Mobile G1) over a 3 year term
$30 for a voice plan (200 daytime, 9pm evenings, Call Forwarding, 2 months unlimited calling promo)
$10 for an Android data value pack (500MB data, Caller ID, Voicemail, 2500 SMS)
$6.95 System Access Fee
$25 New Account Charge
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Total: $270.95
GST/PST: $29.80 (11% in BC)
Grand total (first month): $300.75
So there you have it folks. The above is something very similar to what I think Rogers might come up with in terms of pricing. As for the Android handsets, I would think that the HTC Dream would be around the price mentioned above since T-Mobile sells it for $179 on a two year term. Expect the HTC Magic to be possibly $249 over 3 years.
What do you think it will cost to own an Android phone with Rogers? Ready to give your wallet to Rogers?