Apple will restrict the European launch of its multi-purpose iPhone to only Britain, France and Germany this year before a roll-out across Europe and Asia in 2008, the Financial Times said on July 5.
British unit of Spanish telecommunications group Telefonica, O2, is set to be the first European mobile phone operator to reach a deal with Apple, which launched its innovative iPhone in the United States last week, the FT added. O2 is close to securing a deal to be the sole network partner for the iPhone in Britain, said the business daily, citing "people familiar with the matter."
The company told the paper that it has "not signed a deal with Apple," while Apple declined to comment, the FT noted. T-Mobile, the mobile arm of German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom, has meanwhile beaten British rival Vodafone in the battle to win the marketing rights for Apple's iPhone in Germany, a report said on June 4.
O2 has the most customers in Britain, T-Mobile has top spot in Germany and Orange leads in France.
The FT said the European iPhone would operate on slower 2.5 generation mobile networks, not the 3G infrastructure of companies such as Vodafone. The iPhone, one of the most eagerly awaited devices in years, went on sale in the United States last Friday.
The slim, pocket-sized machine from the innovative Apple computer company merges mobile telephone, Internet browsing, e-mail, text messaging, music and video replay into one device.
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