A flurry of information about Apple's iPhone 3G launches in key parts of the world has surfaced on Thursday, including when Belgium will announce its iPhone release date, pre-registrations and even pre-orders are taking place in multiple countries, and more than one carrier has accidentally slipped rough details of its iPhone service plans.
German buyers of Apple's next-generation iPhone will have their choice of multiple resellers instead of being locked into visiting T-Mobile's stores, according to a German newspaper.
French iPhone owners are said to be receiving offers from Orange that would discount the new iPhone for owners of today's model.
Users should expect only modest improvements in a 3G iPhone but a quick launch, according to a new Piper Jaffray research note. Nonetheless, a study says a quarter of iPhone buyers may be waiting on that upgrade. Also, Apple will open a new Florida store this week; a new iPod nano fix is ready; and the US Department of Defense is eyeing Apple's takeover of PA Semi.
A report by the Wall Street Journal further kindles rumors of a touchscreen BlackBerry going toe-to-toe with the iPhone this year. Meanwhile, T-Mobile Germany reports selling more than 100,000 iPhones since launch, Singapore Airlines offers passengers iPhone- and iPod-friendly in-seat entertainment, and Intel's first quad-core notebook chip may fit systems like the MacBook Pro.
Often seen as the last reliable sources for iPhones, Apple's online stores in the US and UK have stopped taking orders for any model of the device.
Apple Inc. will apparently abandon its exclusive carrier model for iPhone sales alongside the release of a 3G model, as two Italian carriers have issued statements Tuesday claiming rights to distribute the iPhone later this year.
After meeting with top Apple brass at an event, RBC Capital Markets' Mike Abramsky claims that the electronics maker may shake up its existing business model for the iPhone and should easily pass its sales target for 2008, especially once 3G devices become available.
Apple has started to make available to international developers its iPhone software developers kit (SDK). Meanwhile, official commentary out of T-Mobile Austria indicates the region will serve as some form of test market for the upcoming 3G iPhone.
Speaking at a Beet.tv executive summit, well-known Wall Street Journal writer Walt Mossberg has stirred the pot by stating that an iPhone with 3G access will be available within 60 days.
An RBC analyst says that demand, not future models, are dictating the sudden iPhone shortage. Meanwhile, Apple assures buyers that more are on the way, the company is fighting New York City over an apple logo, and T-Mobile Germany is the first to subsidize the iPhone's price with different plans.
Apple on Friday began selling the iPhone in both Austria and Ireland, marking the fifth and sixth countries to see official support for the touch-screen handset since it first went on sale in the US last June.
T-Mobile Austria has posted listings for the iPhone and its plans ahead of an Apple announcement. Also, a senior Apple engineer has revealed the company's unusual approach to its software design.
Apple's iTunes media store drew in more than half a billion dollars across 2007 and is a small profit machine for Disney, say new estimates. Also, Austria may learn deals of its iPhone launch this week, and Japan is investigating an iPod nano breakdown.
A new report claims that between 800,000 and 1 million iPhones have been unlocked without permission — and that workers involved in producing the Apple handset may be helping along a blossoming gray market for the device.
Germans have purchased only 70,000 iPhones since the handset went on sale in November. Meanwhile, HD DVD is said to be on its last leg, prompting Toshiba to slash the price of its HD DVD players across the board. And Microsoft is promising to fix a flaw discovered in its just-release Office 2008 suite for Mac.
Despite a very familiar set of limitations, the iPhone is showing continued demand in Europe and leading its immediate rivals, says RBC analyst Michael Abramsky.
A German court on Tuesday overturned a temporary injunction against T-Mobile which had order the wireless carrier to offer Apple's iPhone to customers unlocked and without a service contract. Meanwhile, Adobe has released a new version of Flash 9 that includes H.264 high-definition video support.
France Telecom mobile arm Orange said it expects to sell nearly 100,000 of Apple Inc.'s iPhones by the end of year and has also vowed to move the unlocked version of the touch-screen handset at costs well below its German counterpart, T-Mobile.
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Aidan Malley
Katie Marsal
Slash Lane
AppleInsider Staff
