Another newser from the iPhone launch.Jamie Sturgeon, Financial Post
TORONTO - Rogers Wireless Inc. literally rolled out the red carpet for the next-generation iPhone 3G yesterday, as Apple Inc.'s latest wonder device was launched in Canada as well as more than 20 other countries around the world.
In Toronto, a throng of about 200 customers -- dozens of whom had been camped there since Thursday evening -- wrapped itself around the corner at a downtown Rogers outlet as new and old subscribers jostled to be the first in this city to get their hands on the coveted piece of technological and marketing wizardry.
Surrounded by media, Jordon Brown, a 16-year-old high school student, stood first on the red carpet laid before the store's entrance.
"I've been waiting for this phone for a long time now," said Mr. Brown, who had been at the store near Yonge and Dundas Square since 4 p. m. Thursday. "Standing outside for one day is nothing." Such was the case at storefronts of cellphone outlets across the country yesterday, where supplies of the wireless phone and media player were easily outstripped by demand.
By mid-morning heavily-stocked Rogers Plus stores in Halifax and Ottawa had run out. The two Rogers Plus outlets in Montreal soon followed suit.
"It's definitely going to sell out across the country -- and we had a lot of inventory," John Boynton, Rogers chief marketing officer, said shortly after the doors opened in Toronto.
Rogers said it girded more than 1,000 retail outlets and authorized dealers with supplies of the 3G, which boasts between three and five times faster Internet service as well as access to new, third-party software applications.
However, some stores, such as Rogers Video Plus in Aurora, Ont., 45 minutes north of Toronto, had but half a dozen for sale.
"People were arriving and were told there was only six," said Web developer Brandon Hill, 32, who was third in a line of about 15 people. "When I got in there, someone said there was eight, but as far as I know there was just six."
Unsatisfied demand wasn't the only problem to plague the telecom and wireless giant yesterday. The crush of new subscribers temporarily crashed Rogers' system in the morning and resulted in slower activation service in some areas throughout the day.
Rogers, Apple's only authorized provider in Canada, wouldn't say how many 3Gs, which retail for $199 for an 8-gigabyte model or $299 for 16GB, had been delivered to it. Worldwide, though, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company projects sales to exceed 10 million by the end of the year.
An RBC Capital Markets report yesterday said initially short inventory as well as some consumer backlash from higher-than-expected plan prices could be a concern.
"Limited stock may frustrate buyers," RBC analyst Mike Abramsky wrote in a note to clients, but added, "carriers, not Apple, are likely to face ire on service plans or activation."
jasturgeon@nationalpost.com
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