We’ve had rumours. We’ve had speculation. Now, after over a year of waiting, we have our first fact: Vodafone will be launching the iPhone in Australia at some point this year.
Sadly, that’s about all they’ve said. They’ve sent out a press release stating that they’ve signed an agreement with Apple to release the iPhone on Vodafone in 10 countries, including Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey.
There’s no word about exclusivity, pricing, release date or whether it will be the new 3G version, although speculation is already running rampant that the other major Australian carriers will have the device as well, and that we’ll definitely see the 3G version.
Russell Hewett, CEO of Vodafone Australia, offered this comment to whet our appetite for the inevitable stream of iPhone related news we’re about to get:
“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.”
The brief press release is in its entirety below: