Apple has officially started making concrete steps toward the iPhone's much-anticipated European market debut, steps that lend credence to talk that at least some European versions of the iPhone could be primed for 3G support.
Apple has inked a handful contracts for the operation of its iPhone handset in the UK, Germany, and France. The iPhone launched in the US in June with AT&T as the official carrier and saw resounding sales success.
Earlier this month, Apple announced that it would cut the US price of its 8GByte iPhone by $200, to $399. The company also announced a decision to stop selling the 4GByte version of the iPhone which was originally priced in June at $499.
Last week, Apple announced that mobile operator O2 will be the exclusive UK carrier for the iPhone when it makes its debut there on November 9. In the UK, the iPhone will be available in an 8GByte model for about £269.
Apple said that T-Mobile will be the exclusive Germany carrier of Apple's iPhone when it makes its debut there, which is also scheduled for November 9. In Germany, the iPhone will be priced at around €399.
And on Thursday, reports emerged that France Telecom will start marketing the iPhone in France through its wireless arm Orange. Details on the French launch date of the iPhone and the handset's retail price in the country have not yet been released.
The agreements make good on statements made by Apple in July that it would launch iPhones in Europe during its fiscal Q4. This also seems to confirm industry watchers' speculation that Apple would begin launching the iPhone in Europe in time for the all-important holiday season and that at least the UK version of the phones could have capabilities to work on 3G wireless networks.
Earlier this month, market research firm Forward Concepts said there was "no doubt that a 3G (WCDMA) version of the iPhone is in the offing, likely to be introduced in time for this Christmas." In Apple's statements this week, the company disclosed that UK's O2 services include always-on data connections via GPRS, EDGE, 3G and WLAN. However, Apple said that the German T-Mobile network operates on a combination of GSM, EDGE, and WLAN, with no mention of 3G or GPRS capabilities -- a system like the one on which the US iPhones currently operate.