One Dollar iPhones in Canada

Click to zoom. Posted by dennis on December 5th, 2007 at 03:53pm Comments

No, this is not a hoax, in-store promotion, or a figment of this writer’s imagination. In fact, one can already get iPhones in Canada for one (1 Canadian) dollar a piece.

How is that possible? While we don’t want to disappoint our Canadian readers that can already buy the iPhones, this is not exactly the same product you’re thinking about.

The iPhones in question are just cheap $1 headphones manufactured by little known company Electra, which supplies the Dollarama bargain stores chain. Not surprisingly the iPhones were spotted in a Dollarama store in Montreal. Nevertheless, this seems to be a total spin on iPhone’s popularity in Canada, including the letters capitalization.

And as for why something like this is allowed to be sold in Canada, the answer is rather simple. So far Apple didn’t have a chance to trademark the iPhone in Canada, since its trademark registration is being contested by Comwave, another company that used this name (but didn’t actually trademark it) for a long time in Canada in order to promote its VoIP phone services.

And while the legal brouhaha is going on iPhone’s future in Canada is not exactly clear — Apple still did not announce its Canadian release date while its and Rogers‘ (the only carrier technically capable of offering the iPhone in Canada) representatives repeatedly dodge this question. But at least one can already get a pair of cheap iPhones, if only for the moral satisfaction of owning an iPhone. No matter what kind it is.

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comments

james

This is an interesting predicament. On one hand, Comwave - a virtually unknown company in the general Canadian marketplace; and Apple.

While Comwave has used iPhone for a number of years, they've been dismal at promoting the brand. To a lesser extent, the fact they didn't register the mark is also interesting. Here's an analysis of what's next.

I'm not criticizing Comwave for setting in motion what appears to be the only remaining issue preventing Canadian consumers from the iPhone. But it appears the two mis-steps mentioned above will haunt Comwave.

Already, around the world, iPhone is an Apple brand -Comwave is already dead on that issue - and there's nothing they can do to change that. If Apple releases the phone in Canada, they could call it the 'eye phone', or anything else for that matter, with the tag, "you know what it really is..." Comwave is still dead. Everybody will still call it the iPhone.

Comwave has already stated that brand sharing is out of the question because of the strength of Apple marketing. That damage is long done. But the problem is, Comwave is going to lose brand recognition entirely no matter what they choose to do. There's no sense to keeping this brand to themselves.

So, in my opinion, the best scenario for Comwave: negotiate the best price you can now and quickly before you lose iPhone branding one way or another. It's simply going to happen because iPhones are already seen all over the place, north of the 49th parallel, including mine.

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Fred

It's really good to know that other ompany to compete with Apple.

Best wish to Electra!!

dennis

HAVAC,

This is curious.... So Maybe Electra has the right to use the iPhone trademark now?:))))) That'd be a nice twist on the story:)))

Best,

Dennis

Jonny Canuck

Seen these a while ago. Bought a pair. Everything Wade said they are.

BTW, Rogers got GSM from Fido — which is still operating.

Wade Marshall

Bought a pair of these a few months ago. They sound great when listening to TV shows with lots of dialogue on my PSP, but audio sounds like shit. Also the connector is made of really weak metal and is being slowly broken by my PSP headphone slot.

HAVAC

i have worked at a dollarama in montreal for years now and i can say that these have been in my store for just over three years!!! so maybe the name can be contested once more for prior use??

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