James Delahunty
13 Apr 2008 3:43
According to Down Under website MacTalk, Australia may be among the first to get its hands on a 3G iPhone that isn't locked to a single provider through an exclusivity deal with Apple. A correspondent of the Aussie site got the information from local resellers who were briefed by Apple earlier this week. The iPhone is expected to become available in Australia in June, according to the report.
While being supported by multiple carriers, Mac resellers will also apparently be allowed to sell the handset too, while in other countries only Apple stores and a carrier with an exclusive deal can sell the item. While the 3G version of the iPhone is not specifically mentioned, speculation points at a June release for a 3G iPhone in general, which means Australia would be unlikely to get an older model just as new one is released.
Also expected from Apple in June is the iPhone 2.0 operating system as well as an over-the-air download service. All of the pointers in the third beta of the iPhone SDK and industry buzz indicates that the next iPhone model will be 3G, and frankly the speculation and anticipation is so widespread now that anything less will be viewed as a disappointing move by the Mac maker.
As for the reason why Apple would decide not to go with an exclusive deal in Australia, the MacTalk correspondent indicated that Apple may have been unable to strike any such deal with a carrier in the country. It is possible however that Apple may be able to persuade one of Australia's multiple 3G providers to stand out from the crowd yet.
If such a deal never arrives the company will have no choice but to offer an unlocked model, or to lock models to each provider in the country, which is probably too much effort for Apple when it doesn't gain from it like it does in other countries.