Canadian iPad Data Plans Compared

I was curious about how the iPad plans that were announced by Bell, Rogers and Telus compared, where the break points were, and so forth. So I threw together a Google Spreadsheet to do some quick math on the plans. Assuming I read the plan rules correctly, I think the lessons are as follows:

• Bell and Rogers have eerily similar plans, like one copied the other, or both took a suggestion from Apple.
• The $15 plan offered by Bell and Rogers saves $5 over the $20 plan from Telus until you use more than 250MB.
• Telus' one-price plus overage model is cheaper than Bell and Rogers' $35 plan from 250MB-800MB.
• From 800MB to 5GB, Bell and Rogers $35 plan seems to be the way to go, because you'll be paying more than $35 by the time you pay Telus for your overage.
• After 5GB, it seems like Telus' plan, which maxes out at $50, would be cheaper than paying Rogers or Bell for another $35/5GB, assuming Telus doesn't cut you off.

None of the plans spell out the edge cases:

• Telus does have fine print saying "Subject to a monthly data limit of 5GB", but they're not very clear what happens if you hit that limit.
• Neither Rogers nor Bell explains what happens when you reach your cutoff. If you run out of data on the $15 plan, can you upgrade to the $35 plan for $20, keeping the original timeframe? Can you buy a new 30-day window of $15?

Based on my iPhone data usage, if I were to acquire and use an iPad regularly, I think I could probably live within 250MB, although if I went over occasionally, it might be simpler to have Telus' plan. I suspect I wouldn't go over 800MB.

Why So Few Toronto Software Product Companies?

This morning, while reading a blog entry about Pulse by zutubi (via JavaBlogs), I was once again struck by the fact that there are so few software product companies in Toronto. Now, I'm not on the hunt for a job in Australia, so perhaps my perceptions are skewed, but I know a few interesting product companies in Australia even at this distance (zutubi, atlassian, etc.)

And yet, I know so very little about software product companies in Toronto; I know there are a few, but compared to the waves and waves of business / integration software jobs in the Toronto market, these opportunities are practically invisible.

Why is that? What is it about Toronto (or Canada) that seems to result in so few of these startups? Is it that a successful software product born in Toronto is likely to be purchased by a major American firm, and then vanish again? Is it that our entrepreneurs migrate elsewhere (e.g. Silicon Valley?) Do we just have so darned many of the business/integration jobs that people don't bother to start their own companies?

Don't get me wrong -- Toronto's a great place to live and work, but considering that it's software product jobs that really interest me, I just wish there were a few more to choose from.