France’s incumbent mobile operator Orange today announced it would be bringing the Apple iPhone exclusively to customers in selected countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Later this year, the Apple handset will be introduced to Austria, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jordan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Switzerland, as well as Orange’s African markets.
By the time these markets see the iPhone, it will most likely be the 3G version, and Irish and UK iPhone users may be seeing this updated handset very soon as Matthew Key, chief executive of O2 UK, made reference to the arrival of the new iPhone in “the coming weeks”.
While official details on the specifications of the 3G iPhone have not been announced, it is thought to be 16GB and 32GB, with the 8GB version no longer to be sold.
O2 UK said it has already sold out of this model shortly after introducing a price reduction, which was followed last week by O2 Ireland in a deal slashing €100 off the €400 price tag.
As well as working on the faster 3G data network instead of EDGE, the new iPhone is rumoured to have a slight chassis redesign with a slick, shiny back panel replacing the part-plastic, part-matt metallic one it has at present.
By Marie Boran
Pictured: Leaked picture of 3G iPhone which has been doing the rounds on the web
