Intel chief a Mac user; Leopard retail teaser; iPhone in Canada

Otellini a Mac user

In a sound-off interview with BusinessWeek, Intel boss Paul Otellini was asked about Apple's knack for selling top-dollar merchandise. His response?

"My wife and I both have iPhones. My wife came in with a jacket for her phone. She was all excited," he said. "It's a flimsy little thing. It cost $39. It probably cost 6¢ to make."

Otellini then added that he uses an IBM ThinkPad for work but a MacBook Pro for his personal life, including his personal photos and music.

All Leopard. All Night.

Meanwhile, Apple on Wednesday sent a new Leopard retail teaser to its mailing list subscribers (below).

From 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26, the company's retail stores will host an "All Leopard. All Night." event that will include live demos, free T-shirts to the first 500 visitors to each store, and the chance to take Mac OS X Leopard for a test drive.

iPhone in Canada in January?

Finally, a giveaway from Canadian brewer Molson may provide a hint as to when the iPhone will be available in the country, according to Electronista.

The Devisse et Compte (translating to "Twist and Score") contest for French-speaking Canadians lists the iPhone as one of the available prizes and claims the device will be available exclusively from Rogers Wireless in January of next year. The price of the phone is listed as $800 Canadian ($828 US) but is known to be an arbitrary value relating to the nature of the contest, which asks entrants to pick one or more potential prizes that reach a set spending limit.

Despite the lack of an official announcement by either Apple or Rogers, the iPhone in question would be a legitimate offering rather than an unlocked model, according to checks with customer service agents by Mobile in Canada.

The Rogers version will require a contract to be used, though Molson did not have details as to the length or features of the term, which may vary significantly from past iPhone deals.

Most Canadian cellular providers, including Rogers, offer the choice of a three-year contract for their devices (versus a maxmimum two years for American firms) and typically encourage these agreements over shorter terms. Rogers in particular has also drawn criticism in recent months for excessive data plan rates which many believe would preclude bringing the iPhone to Canada.

Apple has so far demanded unlimited Internet access plans in each country scheduled to use the iPhone.