Off contract price.. still on contract?! (rant and rave)

[MightyTinman]

Hey everyone!.. new poster... back in septemer 2007 I made my merry way from here in Montreal down to Albany, NY in order to get my hands on the new, oh-so-wonderful, iPhone. May 2009.. I drop my 2G for the last time.. the top part of the screen no longer recognizes touch..

Present day; after fighting with Rogers retention reps for 2 months.. No one is able to give the phone for 199$ on a new 3 year because i refuse to change my voice plan (its an awesome coporate deal)..

Unhappy and wanting to get my hands on 3gs speed (after having 2g) I decide to suck it up and pay 700$ for the phone and another god-knows-how-much for the apple care. I was willing to pay 1000$! Obviously nothing can stop me from getting this phone....

UNTIL, I asked if "when Telus and Bell get their iPhones, and I decided to change companies because they can offer me a better plan, I just come back here and you can change the carrier data??".... to which she answered NO...

Does anyone else think that this is somewhat riddiculous?.. Too bad Canada isn't as picky as the E.U. on anti-trust... In order to avoid any type of commitment with rogers.. i am willing to pay and extra 600$+... BUT APPARENLTY.. even by forking out the full price of the phone.. I am STILL obliged to stay with one carrier..

Now I know What you're thinking.. "BUddy, just jailbreak and be on your merry way"... but thats not the point.. I can do that.. for sure.. anyone with half a brain can jailbreak now (i had to follow riddiculous instructions for 1.0.1 otb.. remember those days??) but the apple care plan i would be null and void..

All that to say.. I'm no longer getting an iPhone.. a simple samsung flip phone and a nano.. I'm going to live the simple life.. once TELECOM got their hands on the tech of iPhone.. it was bound to fail somewhere.. the business model.. someone is getting kickbacks somewhere..

When will Canada.. and every other country.. embrace a carrierless influenced phone market.. you pick what you want with no hassles.. jump networks.. libre-a-toi (free to choose).. or at least some 2 tier system where normal consumers can lock in.. and people who often experiment phones can a pay a higher price with more freedom without the hassle of void warranties..

Thats my rants and rave.. anyone have any ideas?