Australia will have an iPhone by early June 2008 and it will be a 3G, unlocked version and more surprisingly unlocked, or so claims the MacTalk forum, an online discussion site for all things Apple.
A forum administrator on the site alleges that Australian Apple resellers have been contacted by the company in relation to the retail strategy of the handset. This has given strength to the belief that the iPhone will not be sold solely by one mobile operator, which is currently the case in the US, as well as Ireland, UK, France and Germany.
In fact, MacTalk alleges that Apple resellers in Australia have been told by Apple itself that the iPhone will be available from several mobile carriers and this would mean Apple has completely changed its retail strategy for the handset, no longer requiring it to be tied to one particular phone company.
If the iPhone launches in Australia in the first week of June, it will coincide with the opening of the first ever Apple stores in Melbourne and Sydney.
Further speculation on the iPhone suggests that the 3G version, which the Wall Street Journal reporter Walter Mossberg predicted, could be available at launch in Australia because all carriers in the country have 3G networks.
Meanwhile, iPodObserver.com leaked a picture it claims is the new 3G iPhone, which sports a glossy black back that would replace the matt steel finish of current models.
By Marie Boran
