Canada

So after walking out of the Apple Store with my brand new iPad yesterday, the first thing I tried to do after joining the free Wi-Fi network at the Apple Store was to sign into the App Store and start downloading things to my new iPad!

Early adopter problem # 1 - as I have a Canadian iTunes Store Account, and the App Store for the iPad is not yet enabled in Canada, I could not open the app to download anything new on the device such as the iBooks app from the device.

No problem I thought, I will just fire up my laptop, download the iBooks app on it, and sync it over to my iPad.

Early adopter problem # 2 - the iBooks app is not yet available in the Canadian iTunes App Store. No problem, I will just create an iTunes store account with a US address, and download the app that way.

Early adopter problem # 3 - you need a credit card to create an iTunes Store account in the US, and it verifies that it is indeed a US issued credit card...

So I was out of luck, I could not access the app store on the iPad, and I could not download the iBooks app...

• Darren Mak's blog

Yesterday I was contacted by Nestor Arellano from ITBusiness.ca to give my thoughts about what it would take to get Canadian Consumers to really latch on to the iPhone for an upcoming article. The resulting article can be read here (make sure to read all three pages... their links are not so clear).

The chat we had, and the resulting discussion that the article creates got me thinking about mobile data, and how it is used in Canada.

Currently, of my non-technology industry acquaintances, I can honestly say that not a single one uses any sort of data related service on their current cellular phones, except for SMS and MMS services. Of those in the tech industry, most are not using a smartphone, but those who are have for the most part, company funded BlackBerry devices, and they do not access the mobile web.

Why do I think this is? Lack of a really functional web experience or other software that they would find useful, as well as the exorbitant costs of a data plan.

The iPhone, and the media coverage it has and will receive, will help to eliminate the problem of regular every day users not having a need for data access on their phones, as at the very least most people would find the weather application and Google Maps handy!

• Darren Mak's blog