According to wild rumors (and we do mean wild), Canadian "luxury retailer" Holt Renfrew -- the Barney's of the Great White North -- will begin carrying a Canuck version of the beloved
iPhone in about two weeks, for the deliciously low price of $799. The rumor apparently emanates from an "insider source" at the company, though the store's reps won't confirm the news. If you believe the leaker, the retailer will carry an 8GB, GSM version of the phone (obviously, as no other version exists), and it will arrive on store shelves in mid-October. Sure, this sounds enticing, but why would a department store which specializes in high-end goods be the first the carry the iPhone, and where is the announcement (or even rumblings of an announcement) from a carrier in Canada? All intriguing questions which we'll be sussing out answers to... by force. Just kidding.
Update: One of our readers
claims to have been contacted by Holt Renfrew in regards to the iPhone rumors, and here is what they supposedly had to say: "Thank you for your inquiry of the Apple I Phone. I regret that the I Phone, originally planned for our store this fall will no longer be available at Holt Renfrew. In fact, due to other obstacles, the phone will not be here any earlier than January 2008." Of course, we're not buying that Holt Refrew's rep doesn't know how to spell "I Phone," but that's just us.
[Thanks, sculley]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
jroc @ Oct 4th 2007 11:21AM
Aw Yes! Holt Renfrew I Love their products!!! ;)... Who the hell is Holt Renfrew?
Jonhimslf @ Oct 4th 2007 11:23AM
Really upscale store. Sells (mostly clothes) from like LV, Couture, Lacoste, Burberry, Chanel etc etc
mikey @ Oct 4th 2007 11:40AM
i suppose apple hate canadians as much as i do
majdal @ Oct 4th 2007 11:51AM
@mikey
at least the rest of the world likes us, and it hates *you* and your government :)
PA @ Oct 4th 2007 12:02PM
@mikeymouse : I guess he doesn't even know where is Canada! The majority of American are quite nice to Canadian but sometimes there is some sick parano capable of using a computer.
799$!!! and what is the point of selling it in Canada when there is no carrier interested in it.
Kinburn @ Oct 4th 2007 12:06PM
They have only 11 stores in Canada. I have heard their name but thought they were a Hotel.
anonymouspimp @ Oct 4th 2007 4:07PM
Jesus... $800???
Gives whole new definition to "ZOMG iPhone ripoff!"
Why does Canada get screwed so bad with prices... It's not like shipping to Canada is difficult.
Christopher Hutton @ Dec 4th 2007 2:12PM
mikey...
I don't know about where you come from, and I'm not one to go around making assumptions, but you said was hateful, ignorant and wrong. Its people like you that makes people all over the world think that Americans brought terrorism like 9/11 upon themselves. So keep it up. As we all know, you'll get yours and there's nothing your cowardly military or police can do about it. You should also no that not all Canadians are as me. In fact many wouldn't have let you finish that sentence without knocking your under-educated (American standard)head off. Give three good reasons to hate Canada, or get off the internet and never open your stupid mouth again.
To all other readers, dismiss this entire conversation. Its talk like this that promotes the divide conquer acting in global society to keep you scared of 'other' and keep you spending and supporting stupid wars.
Love.
Jonhimslf @ Oct 4th 2007 11:23AM
I understand that the same item is going to cost more in Canada, but like the Loonie is trading $1.00141. So that would mean that this phone would cost me $800.01 US... last time I checked it was $399 US which is about $398.45 Canadian.
Obviously this is a rumor and I doubt the phone is going to be 800 dollars. $500 maybe, but not $800.
Cosmo @ Oct 4th 2007 11:23AM
$799? With the US and Canadian dollars virtually equal, how could they possibly justify that price?
Josh L @ Oct 4th 2007 11:29AM
It's being sold at Holt Renfrew, that's how. Their posh clientèle would be insulted if they only had to spend a measly $399.
Vince @ Oct 4th 2007 1:30PM
I went into Holt 2 weeks ago. I walked into the LV department and was looking at their wallets. One which carried 3 credit cards and a clear part for your drivers license is $300CDN. So really for that store, $800CDN iPhone is chump change...
cc @ Oct 4th 2007 2:44PM
Vince, not to get too far off topic or defend ridiculous brand-names and luxury goods, but those LV (and I've heard Hermes are even better) wallets will last 10 times as long as cheap mass-manufacturered $30 ones... my wife has one that's almost 20 years old and it's still in perfect condition after constant heavy use.
JohnnyC @ Oct 4th 2007 2:56PM
Hey, if they're from Holt's maybe the back of the iPhone is gold-plated with an apple-shaped diamond embedding. Still though, not worth $800 NZD, nevermind CAD or USD.
@cc
Sure, those wallets might last for 30+ years, but would Holt's customers even consider using the wallet after next season's styles have been released? Perhaps, just don't pull it out in front of anyone that will notice your apparent poverty, being too poor to buy the newest design.
kiwibri @ Oct 4th 2007 11:23AM
no way this is happening. I bet its the Prada or other phone. Rogers is the only carrier here that it would work with.. UNLESS Holt Renforth is selling the AT&T version for people to subscribe to a US plan??!
jilie @ Oct 4th 2007 11:24AM
are you asking me engadget?
Paragraph @ Oct 4th 2007 11:26AM
:\
one question: is it unlocked?
all signs point to no, meaning it's implausable that this will happen, due to the fact that no canadian in their right might is "aboot" to walk into a dept. store and pick up an $800 (usd or can, cause it acctually matters now) phone they can't even use without an ungodly high roaming cost...
this will happen the same day the titanic rises from the deep and sails into new york harbor (too soon?)
Antemeridian @ Oct 4th 2007 11:40AM
Didn't one of the Ghostbusters movies have that actually happen?
gotsmart @ Oct 4th 2007 11:28AM
This is about as pie-in-the-sky as rumours get.
I can't see how or why Holt Renfrew would get the iPhone before Apple or Rogers would be carrying the phone in Canada, unless they've got some kind of back-room deal where Apple is letting them sell unlocked phones. Again, highly unlikely.
Holt Renfrew is a high-end fashion store. They have no experience selling consumer electronics at all. My guess is that their buyers are mistaking the LG Prada or Samsung Armani phone with the iPhone, or are just blindly calling all three "iPhones".
Ryan Waddell @ Oct 4th 2007 1:45PM
Actually, Holt Renfrew *does* sell a bunch of random high end electronics. Plasma TVs, Bang & Olufsen home phones, and even a few (ridiculous, high end, platinum & gold plated) cell phones. The iPhone is a bit low end for Holt, really, despite the rumoured $800 price tag.
Melissa @ Oct 4th 2007 11:30AM
If this is the case it would be a defenite first for Holt Renfrew. Holts is not known for carrying electronics devices - not even beauty or fashion electronics.
I'm going out for lunch today so I could consult with a sales manager, but I doubt they'd be loose-lipped about such an item.
If Holts is going to indeed sell the iPhone there would have to be some as of yet unknown designer spin added to it to boost the price to $800. Otherwise, lulz no.
Joshua C. @ Oct 4th 2007 11:39AM
The iPhone will be released when the Montreal Apple Store opens later this year. Likely early December.
Joshua C. @ Oct 4th 2007 11:45AM
adding to my own comment... Now that Bell offers an unlimited email and internet card for laptops perhaps Rogers will finally be forced create a better data plan which could then pave the way for a decent iPhone plan.
Thierry @ Oct 4th 2007 12:46PM
Joshua C.: Ah! Ah! Montreal Apple Store in December!!
The local will be available in November. The new store will not open until next summer. Probably late in the summer.
But yes, it is at that time that we will get the iPhone. And it is a good thing. Will probably be the version 2 iPhone. With, I hope, a gps and many more feature.
robjennings @ Oct 4th 2007 11:48AM
I seriously doubt the credibility of this rumour, particularly because of the price point. It's worth nothing that Holt Renfrew has sold fashion-oriented Nokia phones in the past.
kiwibri @ Oct 4th 2007 11:56AM
If you hang out there at lunch time you can perv at the Wanna-be Paris Hilton chicks in their Empress Dresses and Big Rimmed Sunglasses!! ha ha!
Paul @ Oct 4th 2007 11:56AM
Why would Apple want to make it worse in Canada by releasing their shitty, overrated piece of crap?
Bassnote @ Oct 4th 2007 12:00PM
Could this be a SIM-free (i.e. no operator tie) version? At a suitably-massive premium?
--Ed @ Oct 4th 2007 12:03PM
$799 LOL Don't worry after 2 months the will drop it to $399. I don't think Steve is to fond of Canadians so he is really going to stick it to you for 2 months till the price drop. Then he will offer you a $50 credit to his store. LOL
tehpyro @ Oct 4th 2007 12:04PM
Why the hell would it be 800$ if out dollar is higher than the american dollar?
tehpyro @ Oct 4th 2007 12:10PM
our**
John @ Oct 4th 2007 12:10PM
because exchange rates and pricing policies are completely different. The exchange rate is something that is primarily used by banks and the like to broker transactions with different currencies. Companies however are still selling to canada like it's 1995 and laughing all the way to the bank.
Bruno @ Oct 4th 2007 12:05PM
By the time the iPhone is released in Canada the Canadian dollar will be worth $1.30 or more US. The US dollar is far from its low point yet and is fast becoming the world's most irrelevant currency.
There's an Apple Store just minutes away from the three Holt's locations I know of. An Apple Store in the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto just down Yonge Street from Holt's on Bloor. An Apple Store in Yorkdale Shopping Centre just down a hallway and around the corner from the Holt's, and yet another one in Sherway Gardens Shopping Centre.
It doesn't really make any sense for them to be carrying the iPhone. The Prada or Armani phones perhaps, yes.
Given the absolutely garbage service plans from Rogers, an iPhone at $100 would still kill the pocket book in the long run. There are already a few thousand iPhones being used locally with and without data plans - unlocked of course.
holycow @ Oct 4th 2007 12:06PM
$799!? for heavens sake canadian dollar > us dollar (1 CND = 1.0021 USD)! reduce the prices!
DaCheez @ Oct 4th 2007 4:28PM
I'm from the US, but I agree that the cost of the iPhone should be cheaper in Canada. But based on the exchange rate, only by a drop of $.84 from the current US price. So $399.15. Big whoop.
Ryan @ Oct 4th 2007 12:08PM
For what it's worth, Holt's do carry the Vertu phones, and they had a Band & Olufsen kiosk in the Toronto store. They also carry some designer electronics like brionvega televisions. Perhaps $800 is the price apple calculated the phone is worth without the subsidies they receive.
Apparently Ted Rogers told apple to siooma, he'd rather sell blackberries with a $60/month 25meg data plan than offer something with unlimited data. Ted also killed the sidekick in canada when Rogers bought out Fido (the other GSM provider).
Ryan @ Oct 4th 2007 12:08PM
For what it's worth, Holt's do carry the Vertu phones, and they had a Band & Olufsen kiosk in the Toronto store. They also carry some designer electronics like brionvega televisions. Perhaps $800 is the price apple calculated the phone is worth without the subsidies they receive.
Apparently Ted Rogers told apple to siooma, he'd rather sell blackberries with a $60/month 25meg data plan than offer something with unlimited data. Ted also killed the sidekick in canada when Rogers bought out Fido (the other GSM provider).
Dino @ Oct 4th 2007 12:16PM
No dice.
firstly, why the hell would i pay $800 for a phone i can drive an hour to get for $400.
Second, Holts doesn't even have the Prada phone, they wouldn't carry Apple first.
Third, Rogers is the only carrier that the phone would work with. They would have to supply it in store first.
Fourth, I hope that even Holt's customers aren't stupid enough to spend $800 on a &400 phone.
If this were true at least it would be a step in the right direction - Apple bringing the phone to Canada so that i dont have to hack it and i can have full functionality.
painty @ Oct 4th 2007 12:21PM
Actually Holt's customers are dumb enough to spend $800 on a phone. You don't get to trophy wife status by using your brains.
THEHER0 @ Oct 4th 2007 12:17PM
This is the dumbest rumor ever. As if apple would sell the iPhone at holts instead of at the apple store.....come on.
Get smarter people, read, think.
Jeff Lewis @ Oct 4th 2007 12:29PM
Well, first - there are almost no Apple Stores in Canada. There are four and three of them are in Toronto, one in Laval. That's like having four in the entire US, three of which are in New York and one in New Jersey.
And second, even in the US, Apple sells the iPhone out of AT&T stores, so you'd expect them at the very least to be sold out of Rogers' outlets, not Holt Renfrew.
Ondra Soukup @ Oct 4th 2007 12:18PM
No carrier = no iPhone news.
Sorry. This is pure bullshit, and if you're trying to cover your ass so 4 years from now you can say "we told you, the Holt Renfew guy will be selling them"...sometimes it's better not to publish anything.
trust me :)
Jeff Lewis @ Oct 4th 2007 12:22PM
It's not even just a question of it being unlocked. Canada has only only one GSM carrier: Rogers (Fido is owned by Rogers), and Rogers has no flat rate data plans - and the plans they have are horrifically expensive. That would make using the iPhone in Canada a very expensive thing to do, or would cripple all the Internet related functions - which is at least a third of the iPhone's features.
You can toss out visual voicemail as well.
So you'd be paying twice as much for a phone that does 2/3s as much as the US version does.
You'd be better off getting one in the states and jailbreaking it.
Or getting an unlocked WM phone like the Prada or Touch.
holycow @ Oct 4th 2007 12:53PM
Prada is not WM!
Baz @ Oct 5th 2007 9:13AM
Actually, the iPhone's 'features' that require a data feed probably means that the truer percentage is almost exactly reversed - 2/3rds of iPhone 'features' (and especially since the 1.1.1 update) needs the access.
As noted, data plans via Rogers (the only GSM provider in Canada) are cripplingly expensive for any potential iPhone user, while I can't see them being dead keen on having to give up their own lucrative ringtone and music download service in favour of iTunes - a doubtless requirement from Apple.
Still, maybe the folks that can afford to shop at Holt Renfrew (owned, incidentally, by the same company that brings us Loblaws and Great Canadian Superstore - so there's even more potential. But I digress...) can afford to buy a heavily marked-up unlocked iPhone and pay Rogers standard data fees?
But for the Canadian Unwashed, I guess its the iPod Touch and the hope that someday The Smug Basted from Cupertino will actually let buyers use it to its full capabilities...
Claus Christensen @ Oct 4th 2007 12:26PM
The Iphone IS going to be sold at Holt Renfrew:
They will have a Gary Coleman version an O.J Simpson edition. It is going to be 60GB with a build in Espresso machine...oh and it gives virtual blow Job's
Kidding aside, I have been reading Engadget for years now, perhaps it is time to switch to a source that is not posting SHIT.
Nice going ENGADQUIRER
Andrew @ Oct 4th 2007 12:34PM
when i got my iPhone unlocked at the beginning of September I called Rogers and asked for a new data plan and the data sales rep i talked to told me that they were working on the details for the plans for the iPhone and they would probably be out in December. It makes sense, it'll probably come out at the same time as England and Germany, and they will probably have a fair use clause like 1400 pages a month or whatever on that unlimited data. Unlimited EDGE is like free water at wall drugs. It doesn't cost them anything.
Cody @ Oct 4th 2007 1:08PM
About data prices, this week Rogers changed the pricing structure, I've heard some users getting 1GB data plans for $65 through Rogers, and their pricing structure is a bit odd at the moment.
They're also offering half a gig for $80 with a Win Mobile device
http://www.shoprogers.com/business/wireless/plans_services/business_plans.asp?plan=dataservice&cat=2&typ=2
http://howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1252787
C @ Oct 4th 2007 1:10PM
100% CONFIRMED by 3 employees at their flagship store in Toronto. I asked one, who is very close to me, if they had any plans to sell Apple products again (they sold iPods a few months back)... she laughed and said yes... the iPhone is coming... to be sold with a high end accessory (LV carrying case perhaps).
IT IS NO LONGER A RUMOUR!
Jeff @ Oct 4th 2007 1:17PM
I've lived in Canada all my life (just under 30 years) and I have never, ever heard of this company.