People line up as iPhone goes on sale in Canada

Crowds gathered outside Rogers Wireless stores in major cities across Canada on Friday to buy the much-hyped Apple iPhone as it went on sale in 22 countries.

Halifax was the first of six Canadian cities where select Rogers Wireless stores opened their doors at 8 a.m. local time to sell the smartphones.

About 30 people waited outside a store in a Halifax mall early Friday morning, while a lineup snaked down Toronto's Yonge Street despite pouring rain in the early morning.

In Calgary, several dozen people bundled in blankets and scarves waited outside a store in temperatures hovering around 5 C. Other stores are in Montreal, Vancouver and Ottawa.

Some in Toronto had been waiting in line since 4 p.m. Thursday, where a New Year's Eve-like countdown marked the final moments before the Dundas Square store opened.

"I've been an Apple fan for years. I've been waiting for the phone since it came out a year ago," said one man, who did not give his name and had waited overnight outside the Toronto store.

Controversy over pricing package

But even some Apple aficionados held back from buying the company's latest device, as controversy swirled about the pricing package from Rogers, the exclusive Canadian provider.

Tom Crilley, a Halifax graphic designer and self-confessed "Mac-head," bought the first iPod, the first iPod Nano and recently purchased the iPod Touch, but won't line up for the smartphone.

"I can't bring myself to pay the astronomical fees Rogers is charging. I would love to have an iPhone but I just can't," he said. "I'd feel like a sucker every time I made a phone call with the thing."

Tens of thousands of irate would-be customers signed an online petition called RuinediPhone.com protesting the Rogers pricing plan.

"This definitely is a message that people are not happy with it, and definitely for a business that's trying to sell a great new product something that could affect their bottomline sales," said Jamie Lynch, who started the website.

Rogers bowed to public pressure days before the phone went on sale, offering a $30-a-month plan in Canada allowing customers to use 6 GB of internet data on the iPhone, on top of voice plans that start at $20 plus a system access fee of $6.95 a month. The new plan will be offered until Aug. 31, after which the company will revert to its previous offerings.

Rogers' previous basic plan cost $66.95 and allowed only 400 MB of internet usage, the main reason behind many potential consumers' outrage.

Analysts have warned that iPhone sales may not live up to the hype, with only a small segment of consumers interested in forking out for the expensive phone and its package.

But for some, the price change was enough to prompt a purchase. Christian Meagher, 29, was among the earliest of arrivals at the Halifax mall and said he decided to buy the phone after hearing Rogers had lowered its price just days before the launch.

"That's 100 per cent of the reason I'm here today," said Meagher. "It was fairly ridiculous before."

Canadians pay 2nd highest price

But Canadians will still be paying the second highest overall price of all countries where the phone is being launched Friday.

Those who buy the device in Canada before the end of August will fork out $2,176 US over the course of the three-year contract they must sign with Rogers Communications Inc., the sole provider in the country. That amount includes the up-front fee for the phone, plus monthly service charge.

Italy comes in first with $2,554 for a two-year service agreement. The amounts are in American dollars for the purpose of comparison in CBCNews.ca's iPhone iNdex.

Rogers Wireless hasn't said how many iPhones it has received to sell in Canada or would like to sell here, but has said it has sufficient inventory.

Apple has said it hopes to sell 10 million iPhones worldwide by the end of this year.

With files from the Canadian Press and the Associated Press