Vodafone Brings iPhone to 10 New Countries

Those of you who aren’t sick of hearing all about the iPhone will be pleased to hear that the fruity phone will soon be available from Vodafone in a further 10 countries bringing the total to 16.

Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey are all set to fall victims to the relentless hype that surrounds the phone, however what’s more interesting is that the deal with Vodafone means the iPhone will now be available on a non-exclusive basis in Italy.

Vodafone and Telecom Italia announced this morning that they would both be selling the iPhone before the year is out, which could mean the beginning of the end for Apple’s single carrier policy regarding the phone.

Another problem for Apple to consider is that the Italian market for mobile phones is dominated by prepay customers. According to MarketWatch, 91 percent of Vodafone’s Italian customers do not have contracts and choose pre-paid plans.

While it’s still not clear whether Vodafone will offer the much-rumoured 3G version of the iPhone, a Viennese newspaper report not only claims that Austrian carrier T-Mobile has confirmed the 3G rumours but say that Austria will be among the first in line to receive the 3G iPhone when it hits shelves.

Yesterday Der Standard posted a story on it’s website quoting T-Mobile as saying a 3G iPhone would be available "soon" and that Austria would be one the first markets to see the newest version of the smart phone.

The site also quoted T-Mobile spokesman Hendrik Kasteel as saying that the arrival of the 3G iPhone would see “more flexible” price plans than when the first version of the phone appeared last March.

Apple refused to comment on the report.