Four mobile phone operators have signed deals with Apple that will allow them to distribute the Iphone across the Asia-Pacific region, and will help push Apple further towards its goal of selling 10 million phones by the end of 2008. Unofficial sources estimate the phone will be priced at around Rs 23,000.
According to Apple, SingTel will be selling the device in Singapore, Bharti Airtel will introduce it in India, Globe Telecom will distribute it in the Philippines, and Optus will offer it in Australia.
Bharti Airtel, which is India's top mobile operator, is partially owned by SingTel, which holds 30% of its shares. Globe Telecom is also owned by SingTel and the conglomerate Ayala Corp.
When the Iphone was launched in Europe and the US last year, companies scrambled to sign exclusive deals with Apple which ended up selecting just one network provider for every country. O2 snagged the lucrative deal in the UK, while AT&T won the contract in the US.
Last week Vodafone announced that it had also signed a deal with Apple giving them the right to distribute the Iphone in 10 countries including Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey.
This means that for the first time, Iphone users will have a choice of networks, with India having both Vodafone and Bharti Airtel, and Australians being able to choose between either Vodafone or Optus.
Apple said that the devices will be made available in Singapore, India, the Phillipines and Australia at some point this year, but has so far refused to comment on the possibility of releasing the device in China or Japan any time soon. X
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