It would seem that all signs are pointing to a large international roll-out of the much ballyhooed iPhone 2.0. Why? Let me give you the skinny.

Vodafone confirmed yesterday that it has secured distribution rights for the iPhone in 10 countries… Yes, 10 countries. The countries are: India, Australia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey. I’m particularly happy for the folks in Greece… as one of my digg fans recently pointed me towards this site: www.wewantapplegreece.com. Greece is clearly ‘jonesing’ for the iPhone, as is a large majority of the world.

T-Mobile has recently confirmed that it will introduce the iPhone in Austria, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia and Latin America.

Rogers Communications in Canada also recently confirmed their intent to launch the iPhone in Canada during the 2008 calendar year. Canadians, can I get a w00t!? (pray for reasonably priced data plans)

See how everything appears to be lining up for a huge international launch? I’m glad I’m not in charge of co-ordinating such a thing. However I would think that getting carriers on board in the above countries would not be such a hard task… at least not compared to China.

*smooth segue*

China would be the next monster to tackle. According to our friends at MacRumors and AppleInsider, the latest version of iPhone Software 2.0 has handwriting recognition for Chinese.

Exciting stuff indeed. 2008 is looking more and more to be the year of iPhone Proliferation… er, the year of the International iPhone… um… well you know what I mean.

[via MacWorld UK]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: iPhone, iPhone 2.0, Rogers Communications, T-Mobile, Vodafone

With the rumored release of the new 3G iPhone upon us (all signals are pointing to a June release), it raises the question of how much will it cost? Price rumors have been floating around lately, and in an article last week at Fortune, writer Scott Moritz reported some tasty little tidbits. He noted:

“AT&T is preparing to subsidize $200 of the cost of a new iPhone, bringing the price down to $199 for customers who sign two-year contracts, the source says. Apple is expected to have two versions of the new iPhone, an 8-gigabyte-memory and a 16-gigabyte-memory model with price tags widely expected to be $399 and $499…The $200 rebate or subsidy would be limited to AT&T customers and not available through Apple’s stores. The new iPhone sold by AT&T will likely be locked or programmed so buyers can’t take the cheaper iPhone to another phone service.”

At that price point, the iPhone would be well within reach of a much larger market. The aim here of course is to get the iPhone into as many hands as possible. Without a doubt the $200 price tag is much more attractive, affordable, and reasonable.

Bringing the cost of the device is one of the most important next-steps in the proliferation of the iPhone in my opinion. iPhone is now charging on the enterprise scene, and with a more affordable 3G up for offer, I think we’ll see it in the hands of much more diverse group of social, business and casual users in mid 2008.

The question remains… What would you pay for the 3G iPhone? Is $199 a fair pricetag?

[via Fortune]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: 3G iPhone, AT&T, iPhone

As you might have seen or heard, more so-called images of the 3G iPhone have been leaked all over the Apple blogosphere. While they do look real, there is no confirmation from Apple… and lets face it, Photoshop can do wonders as we are all well aware.

Take a look at the side-by-side image I’ve prepared above. As you’ll notice, the supposed snap of the 3G iPhone bears a striking resemblance to the LG Vu in size and shape. It would be awfully easy to photoshop on the home button and anything else you wanted on there. Also note that the angle of the snaps you’ve seen elsewhere have the phone on an angle as such that you can only see the bezel of one side of the phone. This also happens to be the side on the LG Vu where no buttons are located. Hmmmmm… For real or do we just have another case of handy photoshop work at play here? I’m sure by now you can guess my opinion… what do you think? See the comparison pic above.

[via Engadget]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: 3G iPhone, LG Vu

An anonymous tipster over at TUAW has reported that plans are in the works to enable iPhone to function as a remote for iTunes. The application is dubbed ‘iControl‘, and like the Apple TV remote and other remote controllers, it would allow the iPhone to connect wirelessly to iTunes libraries to browse and play media.

Frankly I can’t believe this hasn’t been setup already…But I’m glad to hear it is apparently coming! What a perfect remote the iPhone would make. No longer would you be stuck with the physical buttons found on the remotes that come with new systems, and the Apple TV.

While this is all wonderful, and I’m sure we’ll see it in action shortly… What I would absolutely love to see is some sort of app that allows me to use my iPhone as a universal remote control for all of my other electronic devices. TV, DVD Player, Home Entertainment System you name it. This has got to be a possibility, but until Apple start making televisions and dvd players, I wouldn’t expect Apple to build in such functionality…I’d sooner look to some enterprising 3rd party developers to come up with this one…

What other applications would you like to see the iPhone used for?

[via TUAW]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: iControl, iPhone, iTunes

More rumors surrounding the iPhone in Canada have surfaced today, and this time it’s the Toronto Star that is fueling the rumor mill. In a report today, the Toronto Star is claiming that the iPhone could be in Canada some time this summer, between May and July.

Rumor has it that Rogers Communications (the only Canadian carrier with a compatible GSM network to accomodate iPhone) wants to include the iPhone as a part of a summer campaign featuring touch-screen phones.

The speculated release would put the iPhone in Canada right around the same time the new 3G iPhone is expected to drop. Could be great timing.

Said Elizabeth Hamilton, a Rogers spokesperson:

“We believe it is a phenomenal device and we look forward to being able to offer it to our customers if and when the device becomes available in Canada…”

Now that still sounds a little iffy and grey to me Elizabeth! C’mon, spill the beans to us would ya? I’m not surprised at the tight-lipped answer at all. I actually stopped a Rogers store out of curiosity few days back with some prodding questions about the iPhone. The 2 gentlemen at the store refused to answer any questions or give any help! I was actually kind of shocked because I’ve heard many stories of Rogers’ employees being very accommodating! ‘We don’t support the iPhone and I can’t help you with that’ was the exact response to one of my questions. I kind of chuckled and left it at that. Clearly I wasn’t going to get anywhere with them

I’ve heard and read so many rumors about the iPhone coming to Canada, I really don’t know what to believe anymore. All I know is that as time goes by, the release is inevitable, and one of these days the rumor is going to be true.

[via The Toronto Star]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: 3G iPhone, GSM, iPhone, Rogers Communications

Well wouldn’t you know it, the rumors weren’t true on this one. I kind of had a feeling it wasn’t the 3G… and I think most of us would agree with that.

If you don’t recall, a while back we reported pictures of a rumored 3G iPhone that had surfaced. The pictures looked sketchy and details were dodgy at best, so we filed it under unsubstantiated rumors at the time.

Now, there is confirmation from the streets of Hong Kong that this is simply a case for the current generation of iPhone.

I’ll believe the 3G iPhone has arrived when I have one right here, in my own hands

[via WinandMac]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: 3G iPhone, iPhone Rumors