The iphone 4G finally arrived in Canada this week and I found myself in line to buy one outright from the Apple store.

Why buy one outright?

That was the question the Rogers sales person asked me as I tried to get my new phone activated today since their entire system was down yesterday. There are two main reasons why consumers should consider this

1) You don’t have to extend your current contract by three years. I don’t want to be trapped in a contract for another three years – especially one that may limit my ability to buy a new phone next year

2) Buying your iphone directly from Apple outright means it’s unlocked – so you can take your iphone to another network if you wish, or you can buy a pay as you go SIM card when you’re travelling in other countries to save big $$$ on roaming fees.  This is exactly my plan as I travel to China and Thailand in a few weeks.

According to an Apple employee at Yorkdale, of the 500 or so people in line yesterday morning by 6:30am, around 50% were buying the iphones outright.

You would think that that on the third try (and three years later) Rogers would figure out how to handle the volume of activation requests, but once again they could not.  Bell and Telus had no such problems yesterday, but unfortunately due to the issues with Rogers the average customer was waiting 45 minutes to an hour to activate which had a brutal impact on the lineup to buy one.

I spent five hours in line waiting before I gave up. Lucky for me, my good friend Dave Shen stayed in line and two hours after I left he picked one up for me.

First impressions

I love the new industrial design and i’ve had no issues with reception or discoloration of the screen. The updated camera is outstanding and the display is crisp. I haven’t tried the video talking feature yet – but I will next week as the balance of my geeky friends finally pick one up.

I love the glass on the front and back – but the downside is that now you’re cleaning both sides of the phone instead of just the screen.

With more Android phones coming to the market as well this Fall + a new lineup of blackberries, it’s going to be a great year for mobile in Canada.

47% of new phone purchases in Canada in Q3 of last year were for smartphones – which was nearly double what it was in Q2. With 55% of Canadians looking to upgrade in the next 6 months, I’m predicting that with all the great choices on the market we’ll see 2/3 of new purchases being smartphones.

Brands who are now in planning for 2011 are missing out on a huge opportunity if mobile is still not part of the mix.

• one more reason to become mayor of your local starbucks – free wifi now rolling out to over 700 locations in Canada ->
• RIM tablet is coming soon… let's hope it's a better ux than their first gen touch smartphone! http://tinyurl.com/38glb34 ->
• 10 brands that have used foursquare for marketing: http://tinyurl.com/28qt5fb ->
• Canadian Wireless industry update from the CWTA: http://tinyurl.com/2dghujy ->
• 68% of Canadian retailers are using social media: http://tinyurl.com/2fdz2uz – how many have a mobile website? ->
• mobile facebook users grow by 50% since April. Represents largest growth opp: http://tinyurl.com/33pk8zl ->

• verizon expected to sell iphone by jan. likely first to sell next gen iphone that will support 4G network: http://tinyurl.com/26uv7lb ->
• @zunaid – good to see your "A" game again today. Next time we play for money? in reply to zunaid ->
• RIM App store 2.0 coming… hopefully it will be more findable & user friendly too! http://tinyurl.com/2a8whpu ->
• AdMob: iPhone Had 40% of Ad Requests In May – http://tinyurl.com/233skg4 – who will bet against 50% by dec? ->
• Japanese mobile operator NTT Docomo will make all of its handsets Sim-lock free from April 2011. Perhaps a new global trend? ->
• Minorities more likely 2 own cellphones & more likely 2 use phones for greater range of activities: http://tinyurl.com/33szdah ->
• New bluetooth standard approved – can now also leverage wifi to extend range: http://tinyurl.com/2fydshg ->
• fonts do matter – http://tinyurl.com/239nruu ->

• @RobertPaege – Apparently both the wifi and service fails completely if you hold it the "wrong" way for long enough. in reply to RobertPaege ->
• nothing great was ever done alone – doug keeley @ DSA conference today in quebec city ->
• jennifer fong showing shift happens video – great video… even after 7 versions! ->
• global study – brands who engaged in social media heavily were up 18% in revenue, those who did not were down 6% – @liajen at DSA conference ->
• Foursquare close to obtaining funding: report http://r.reuters.com/gex44m ->
• @JenFongSpeaks – thanks Jen – really enjoyed your presentation as well! in reply to JenFongSpeaks ->
• RT @GadgetLab Four Reasons Why Microsoft’s Kin Phone Failed http://bit.ly/aPdqAY ->

• More reasons to build for mobile web vs. app: http://tinyurl.com/29s42bs ->
• speaking on a panel this morning on ip3 – iphone, ipad, iphone – the marketing opportunity #ip3 ->
• ajit jaokar from futuretext keynote begins. talking about how apple has wagged the dog – meaning the carriers #ip3 ->
• forget smartphones, we are entering superphone (unlimited functionality) phase.. ajit jaokar @ #ip3 ->
• content is being packaged as apps – i.e. nirvana app. ajit jaokar #Ip3 ->
• Ajit jaokar talking about the long tail opportunity for apps – i don't think the tail is long enough for most canadian marketers #ip3 ->
• augmented reality app coming to 1/3 of all smartphones. will this stimulate the space for more innovation in AR? http://tinyurl.com/2f44mod ->
• Even Wind mobile gets failing grade for customer service. Everybody in Canada earned an "f" : http://tinyurl.com/24hbc42 ->
• iphone 4 declared best device on the market. period. by WSJ, Engadget and consumer reviews. ->
• A summary of media review on the iphone4: http://tinyurl.com/23455mb – i think a trip to buffalo tomorrow may be in order! ->
• Wow that was weird – 5.5 magnitude shook our building at Yonge / Eglinton: http://tinyurl.com/37uz78b ->
• Apple acknowledges antenna problem with iphone 4 – http://tinyurl.com/3yqkv4n – hard to believe that made it out of beta! ->
• One more reason to not send HTML / template driven emails – most ppl now view email on their smartphone: http://tinyurl.com/365x7l2 ->
• Sharing a Social Media and Mobile case study at the Direct Sellers Association Conference http://shar.es/mII3R ->
• QR code fail http://shar.es/mIDF1 ->
• @RobertPaege – sure ALL phones have the same issue, but non as specific as the iphone 4. in reply to RobertPaege ->
• RT @blogtillyoudrop 5 brands already unlocking badges on Foursquare http://bit.ly/dbHOno ->
• @RobertPaege i would call doing anything intuitive that results in a device failing as being a problem. in reply to RobertPaege ->

I’m thrilled to see an accelerated adoption of 2d codes (most usually QR codes) in the Canadian marketplace. They’re popping up everywhere and at this rate they may actually replace SMS shortcodes as the most common way of engaging consumers in the “wild.”

Having said that, I’m also seeing many poor executions of the codes in marketing campaigns.

Today I was at a local burrito spot near my work hood when I spotted this LCD screen near the check out counter (pictured above).

There are a few things they missed that makes this execution a fail in my books:

1. No instructions on how to get a free QR code reader if the user doesn’t have one
2. The call to action is weak – why would i click on the QR code for more info? Who cares? What’s in it for me? Tell me there is a special offer, coupon, access to information etc…
3. I actually scanned the code and it brought me to their website… which is not optimized for mobile. If you’re going to have a QR code, at least ensure the end experience is made for the platform you are driving people to.  Better yet, make sure the experience is built specifically for the mobile context.

Do you have other examples of QR code fails in the marketplace? If so, feel free to comment & share

This Monday I’ll have the pleasure of presenting our case study around Polar Ice Vodka to the Direct Sellers Association of Canada.

The conference is taking place in Quebec City at the Hotel Frontenac.  Although the venue is among the most beautiful in the city, apparently the interweb is unreliable in the basement… which means i’ll be creating a “plan b” for the website demo in case it doesn’t work.

Although I don’t speak until the afternoon, I’m going to hang out the whole day as the list of speakers looks very interesting. You can get more info on the conference & speaker list here.

• 3 reasons why iAd will change mobile advertising as we know it http://shar.es/mk5h8 ->
• Report: RIM to take on Apple with new touchscreen, software and tablet. Game on! ->
• Samsung to launch tablet in Q3 – looks like the category that nobody really needs is going to become something everybody wants ->
• BSTREET launches new digital platform for the Toronto Entertainment District BIA http://shar.es/myIt3 ->
• iphone 4 will be available in Canada unlocked! http://tinyurl.com/2fkjjx9 ->
• brand sites are not dead – consumers trust them as much as consumer opinion sites: http://tinyurl.com/2wtkn6o ->
• Join me at iphone, ipod, and ipad (ip3) forum – and receive a 20% discount on registration http://shar.es/miXnE ->
• ARPU is dead? I wonder if Canadian carriers would agree: http://tinyurl.com/29bdcs9 ->

Next week the G20 will transform Toronto, but if you have a chance come join me at Interactive Ontario’s ip3 forum on June 21st at the Toronto Hilton.

The all day conference will explore the business and technical impact and industry transformation the iphone, ipad, and ipod are having on the mobile and interactive industry.

I’ll be presenting BSTREET’s POV on Wap vs. App as it relates to these platforms and will actively participate in the panel discussion around the topic.

Here are details on the panel i’m participating in:

If you register with promo code “G20″ you’ll get a 20% discount on the registration fee.

For a full list of speakers, click here.

We’re really excited about our latest digital platform we just launched for the Toronto Entertainment District BIA.

We won this business a few months ago through a competitive pitch process and this week the final two pieces went live. This is a true 360 digital campaign that syndicates content and experience across multiple channels while being supported by a robust digital media plan.

In summary we have now launched:

• New Drupal CMS templates & overall better user experience for the primary website at http://www.torontoed.com. We’ve incorporated Google maps (with street view), an enhanced events section and created a full microsite for the Toronto ED BIA Master Plan which was previously only available as an 82 page PDF file.
• A new mobile website that creates a mobile specific experience (for consumers on the go) while leveraging functionality and content from the primary website. The site works great on all mobile devices with a mobile browser and feels like an App – although it is not. To access the mobile site, go to http://www.torontoed.com on your mobile device
• A new facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/TorontoED) that will feature community initiatives and updates. This is where the BIA will engage people for input, feedback and comment on things such as the upcoming John Street Initiative.  We’ve also leveraged the events database from the website to stream events automatically into a dedicated tab
• A digital media campaign that will see advertorials, content, and placements across Toronto.com, BlogTo.com, the Weather Network and others online, on mobile and on facebook