Vodafone lands major iPhone deal

Vodafone has sealed a deal with Apple to offer the iPhone in 10 countries around the world.

The operator will roll out the iPhone to customers in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey over the course of the year.

It is unclear whether the agreement is exclusive in the same way as other deals between Apple and mobile service providers in various countries.

AT&T won the exclusive contract in the US, O2 in the UK and Ireland, and T-Mobile in Germany and Austria.

Orange won the same deal in France, but local legal requirements mean that the device can be unlocked and used on any network.

Italia SpA has announced that it will be selling the iPhone under a non-exclusive deal in Italy by the end of the year.

No announcements have yet been made regarding the iPhone in Australia, and some suggest that it will be offered by all operators in the country.

O2 recently cut the price of the iPhone by £100, helping to clear inventory for a 3G version of the phone expected on 9 June.

See also:

Vodafone offers unlimited web access

Mobile operator targets 'everyday users'  02 May 2008

iPhone vulnerable to DoS attack

Apple's mobile browser flawed, claims security firm  16 Apr 2008

Mobile browser market taking off

1.5 billion smartphone browsers to ship by 2013  15 Apr 2008

China consumers switched on to iPhone

But high price helps cheaper copycats  10 Apr 2008

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