Canada Killed My iPod

Alright, so I've had time to settle in with this whole data usage BS that looks to have besieged the country and have decided to share my player behaviour results. An odd thing has happened, and I've been discovering I'm not the only one; Apple you might want to pay attention to this next proclamation but:

Canada killed my iPod

It is now a useless pile of tech that I persistently forget to charge from lack of use. With data usage bearing down on me, I can't afford to download apps left right and centre like I used to and my iPod has been discarded due to this one little issue:

*It is not powerful enough to pick up the neighbours wifi unlike my tablet which can pick up six wifi signals and connect to two of them.

So what I did to help the non-linear readers visualise this problem, I created nifty pie charts to show my shift in tech usage in relation to game playing since returning to Canada. Enjoy!

 I call this one the hungry hippo chart!

So in the UK where data usage was a buffet fit for a king, I was eager to eat up as many games as possible. Maximise my exposure and dig right in! Like Hungry Hungry Hippos it was a race to play as much as possible on as many things as possible.

*I call this one the Pac-Man chart!

Now in Canada where data usage is limited I only go after little chunks of data when I play games and don't want to risk going over my limit by downloading or updating a dozen or two games all the time. Just like Pac-Man I'm creeping about picking at things and only tactfully going after the power pellet when it's really worth it.

This has also has an extreme impact on the amount of games I play with my primary focus these days being low budget browser based FB games that won't eat down my data usage. I feel so alone... Alone, cold and locked out of a world I love so uber muchly.

I used to play a dozen games at a time. Every night spending a couple of hours checking in with them all, collecting my dailies and progressing a few steps. Since coming back I have bid farewell to: Clash of Clans, Zombie Jombie (not that they were doing anything with that anymore), Haypi Kingdom, Tiny Farm, World of Magic, Steam and Core Online to name a few.

I'm playing Hellfire and Puzzles & Dragon (on my tablet)...

I'm playing Candy Crush Saga, Mousehunt, Here Be Monsters and Plants vs Zombies Adventures on Facebook...

Instead of going outside to play my games, I am now going outside to admire the barren back yard.

As I mentioned before as well, I'm not the only person who has discarded their iPod in light of these restrictions. I know other people who have told me they have no idea why they bought they their iPod as it's pretty much useless.

How many of the tech companies are losing a market because of this? Rogers, Bell, AT&T and whoever else is responsible for networks here must really have it out for the companies producing tech that requires wifi by which to function I tell you.

By the time the data usage is lifted my iPod will probably be so obsolete it won't be worth charging that one final time. :s 

Dear iPod,

You were a great friend. I loved you dearly. You entertained me during the hard times and the leisure times. Your memory has not been soiled and you will always hold a special place in my heart. Here's hoping we can once again enjoy each other's company before you need to be sent to the great tech graveyard in the sky... QQ

Dear Canada

Wow, what a culture shock. Leave the UK to return to my native lands only to discover it has taken a massive leap backwards in the tech war. So unfortunately my first entry since returning to Canada is going to come with a healthy dose of disgruntled and WTF...

Dear Canada,

I can not believe the backwards motion you have adopted in this age of technology. What is this data usage BS you are assaulting me with? Are you not aware there is a tech race going on? Have you not considered the ramifications or the knock on effect this will have on this amazing facet of commerce and entertainment?

The mobile life hasn't been this set back since the days of AOL and ADSL. What good is wifi if you can't actually use it? An average data usage package seems to believe that 500 MB will do. Sure, if you only use Facebook and pay a few bills online.

My phone alone is over $30 a month and all I get for data usage is 400 MB. 400 MB what is that? Two top grade apps... and forget about updating the ones you have. Not only have you charged me data usage to get them, but you also charged me data usage to remove them. What a freakin' joke.

There are no unlimited plans. This boggles the mind. Seriously it does. Someone in my industry can easily consume a Gig in a single day. When I was living in England I probably consumed 3 Gig a day alone. Was I charged for that? No.

If I consider that in the UK I would play on my tablet simultaneously alongside my iPod, stream music on my PC at the same time while playing social games and watch Youtube videos on my tablet when I wasn't playing games on it to expand my knowledge and research things of interest I want to cry. You really have dropped the ball Canada. I'm actually embarrassed about it.

If I have to pay for playing my games through data usage I will never again consider paying for an app. Why would I wish to pay twice for a purchase. At least if I get the free ones, I only pay for my bandwidth. The price for your contracts is preposterous and with a price tag of $0.15 a Meg on pay as you go plans I'd feel as though I was playing the worst freemium game in history if I took that root.

I won't carry on all that much about this or I might lose my rag to an embarrassing degree. Get your act together Canada. There are third world countries that don't charge for data usage. I can't believe I actually miss British Telecom. I never thought the day would come when I would wish to be a BT customer again...

The United Kingdom is on an up and up path when it comes to mobile. It will gain strength and begin to flourish as will any other country that doesn't restrict data usage and peoples accessibility to the mobile life. So to anyone in the UK I used to work with, who wondered why the North American market seemed to be behind the rest of the First World countries here's your answer.

The mobile life is your enemy. It costs you out the ass and sucks up cash left right and centre. So no one here has ever had the chance to explore it, harness it and embrace it. Canadians are not free to do what they want, when they want online so it's a struggling market.

There were no data usage limits on internet usage when I left in 2007...

Get your act together Bell, Virgin, Rogers and any other providers. This is a joke. You are choking your own market to death. It would serve you right if someone came along offering an Unlimited data usage plan and you lost all your customers. Come to think of it, maybe BT is looking to expand.