Well the day has finally come.  El-Steve-o has just finished announcing the specs and release details of the iPhone 3G.  I’m going to get one.  On July 11, that is.  The Canadian Apple store lists it here and it’s Where To Buy link shows Rogers and Fido as the two providers.  I think all of the sites are currently being bombarded.

Before you start flaming me with why other phones are better and that iTunes sucks you have to stop for a minute and examine the facts:

• I don’t currently have a cell phone
• I have a ton of iTunes-managed music, podcasts and video
• I need push email for my business
• I need mobile Internet access for my business

This device has all of those features in one package.  The fact that it carries a maximum price of $299 USD (for the 16GB model) makes it even sweeter.

The only question of affordability now will be the service plan.  We all know that Rogers is the only carrier currently capable of 3G, and that the 3G coverage isn’t even that great yet in Canada, but Mr. Jobs has pushed his ideal of availability to other carriers in other countries before.  Here’s hoping that he does so in Canada as well.

While Apple didn’t fully comply with my list of must haves (32GB would have allowed me to fit all of my tunes) they did run down a pretty good list of functions and added value features.  You can read about Steve’s keynote speech at WWDC08 over at Engadget.com.

Hopefully Rogers will extend their Vision network to include the Belleville area - Prince Edward County specifically.  I won’t hold my breath.