Vodafone gets Aussie iPhone – but who else will?

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 06 May 2008 12:47

Your IT - Mobility

Curiouser and curiouser – the one company nobody really expected to get the iPhone, in Australia at least, has officially announced it will soon offer it for sale. But this doesn’t mean that initial rumours that all Australian carriers would be able to sell the iPhone aren’t true – until we get further confirmation.

So, Vodafone has officially announced it will sell the iPhone in 10 countries, “later this year” of which Australia is one, as iTWire colleague Adam Turner unveiled earlier today on iTWire.

Other countries that will also get the iPhone include the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey.

So, what this means is that the iPhone is finally going far more global, in an officially capacity, far more than it has ever gone before.

Apple is finally getting serious about taking advantage of the worldwide demand for the iPhone, although one suspects this was Apple’s intention all along – artificially restrict availability of the world’s best digital device, and make people REALLY want it.

Hey, it worked on me, I bought my 2G iPhone in August 2007, and use it in Australia, where it still isn’t officially available despite Vodafone’s announcement.

The only question now is whether or not the iPhone will be a 3G device, but surely, this is a foregone conclusion. Anything less would hurt Apple a lot in the eyes of loyal, patient customers, especially when everyone is expecting a 3G iPhone.
 
Russell Hewitt, Chief Executive Officer at Vodafone Australia, said things that could easily have been said by the head of any global telco.
 
Hewitt said: “Vodafone Australia is enormously pleased to be included in the agreement to sell the iPhone to our customers later this year. The iPhone will be the perfect addition to Vodafone Australia’s mobile handset range. The iPhone’s Australian launch is well-timed to coincide with our plans to deliver an enhanced mobile internet and entertainment experience to customers.”
 
“The iPhone has already proved to be extremely popular with customers in other parts of the world and Vodafone is confident that today’s announcement will be well received by all Australians who are keen to get their hands on their own iPhone.”

So, is Vodafone going to be the only iPhone selling telco in Australia? Please read onto page 2.