Vodafone Germany appears to have jumped the gun by listing various  new iPhone models as compatible with certain accessories, including iPhone 4 8GB models in Black and White as well as iPhone 4S Black and White models in 16GB, 32GB and even 64GB flavors.

Before we get too excited by the possibility of a 64GB iPhone 4S, it may be that Vodafone Germany is just making educated guesses based on the latest rumors. Having said that, listing possible devices on an accessory page does seem a bit pointless... unless you have some inside information. Not much longer to wait now, who wants that 64GB iPhone 4S?

Source: Vodafone Germany via MacRumors

Vodafone now has a teaser page up on their site for what we'd imagine is the iPhone 5. They're advertising it as "this year's biggest smartphone release" so we can only assume it's a placeholder for whatever iPhone Apple is rumored to announce on October 4th.

The page also gives subscribers the option to sign up for e-mail updates on the mystery phone. Hopefully we are only a few days away from hearing about an announcement and a few weeks away from an actual announcement. How many of you still think we'll see a new iPhone available before the end of October?

The screenshot below was also sent to us by a TiPb reader who received a text from Rogers about reserving the upcoming iPhone. The text reads:

As a valued customer, we want to let you know that we have the Rogers Reservation System. This means you could be one of the first in line in Canada for the next iPhone as soon as it's available to reserve! Replay YES to be notified when the next iPhone can be reserved. Visit www.rogers.com/rogersreservations to learn more.

It appears carriers either know something we don't or they're still assuming at this point. What do you think?

Source: BGR via Vodafone. Thanks Tom for the Rogers tip!

The white iPhone 4 has shown up in Best Buy and Vodafone Germany's order processing systems with an availability date of February 27.

Of course these hints are always hit and miss as retailers sometimes create placeholder entries based on the same type of rumors you read right here on TiPb so take this with a white iPhone 4 sized grain of salt.

Apple's only official word on the White iPhone 4 has been "coming this spring" so February might be a touch early. However with the Verizon iPhone set to ship on February 10 and an iPhone 5 almost certainly following in June the window for a white iPhone 4 is already very small. (Even Leanna has gone after market!)

What do you think, will we finally see the white iPhone 4 soon and if so, too late or better late than never?

[MacRumors, Engadget]

T-Mobile has been the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in Germany since the first iPhone in 2007, however there is new evidence to show that T-Mobile may lose its exclusivity to O2 and Vodafone in the coming weeks.

• The O2 Germany website, has launched a ‘keep me informed’ page, that offers “the latest news and everything to know about the iPhone 4 on O2”

• The Vodafone website has launched a similar page that allows you to sign up and select which iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS you want to be notified about.

Both carriers are yet to announce any official pricing or release date, however one source at iPhone-Ticker.de has said that Vodafone will have iPhone 4’s starting Wednesday 27th October, with prices starting at €729 and as high as €849, off contract.

Rumoured contract prices start at €169,90 for the handset and €45 a month for the low-tier contract, to as high as €119,95 a month, with the handset at €1 for the higher-tier contract.

This marks the end of T-Mobile’s exclusivity in Germany, and sees them join the likes of the UK and Canada in the list of multiple-carrier countries. Unless and until Verizon iPhone (or Sprint or T-Mobile) rumors prove true, the US remains exclusive to AT&T.

So, any T-Mobile Germany iPhone users tempted to switch?

[iPhone-Ticker.de, AppleInsider]

by George Lim

Even before Apple announced the iPhone 4 was coming to the US, UK, France, Germany, and Japan on June 24, AT&T announced new, tiered and capped data plans and aggressive upgrade options for the new handset. Internationally...? Cricket chirps.

So here's where the power of the TiPb nation comes in. We've put as much as we could find below, but if you know more about carrier plans and upgrade options in the UK, France, Germany, or Japan, drop it in the comments and we'll update the post.

UK iPhone 4 pricing

O2 UK

Monthly plans begin at 100 minutes and 500 MB of data priced at £25 for a 24-month contract and £30 for an 18-month contract and ramp up to unlimited calling and 1 GB of data priced at £60/£65. A footnote to O2's pricing matrix indicates, however, that the carrier will continue running a "promotion" offering unlimited data for all smartphones until October, at which time the company will offer additional data in 500 MB (£5) and 1 GB (£10) buckets.

For £20 a month you can buy off your existing contract to become eligible for upgrade faster. [MacRumors]

Vodafone UK

Leaked [Engadget]

France iPhone 4 pricing

Pending...

Germany iPhone 4 pricing

Pending...

Japan iPhone 4 pricing

Softbank

Black only (no info on white), pre-orders begin June 15, 5pm online and in store. Proof of identity required.

• 57,600 yen ($624) for the 32GB model
• 46,080 yen ($500) for the 16GB model
• COD or 24 payments of 2,400 yen/1,920 yen.
• Value plan Unlimited Data for 4,410 yen per month
• Basic plan starts at 1,029 yen a month, tops out at 4,410 for unlimited
• Value plan subsidizes 1,920 yen a month for 24 months.
• Basic plan subsidizes 1,440 yen a month for 24 months.

A two year commitment for a 32GB iPhone 4 will cost you 57,600 yen but return 46,080 yen in discounts bringing a total difference of 11,530 yen or around $125 USD. A 16GB iPhone 4 will cost 46,080 yen with 46,080 yen discount or a whopping 0 yen!

[Mobile Japan via 9to5Mac]

Keep it coming!

And the UK adds Vodafone to their official iPhone carriers list, rounding out O2, Orange, and resellers like Tesco, and users are excited enough that sales were expected to hit 50,000 on the first day.

Anyone switch over, or finally getting an iPhone just to run on Voda?

[Vodafone via BGR]

Here, above, are the full plans available for Vodafone's iPhone, release date just announced as January 14, 2010... and still no price war. Of course that stands to reason as the iPhone costs every carrier pretty much the same thing in terms of hardware and network usage, but we still hoped one crazy UK telco or another would decide to go for it.

Handset costs start at £59 for the iPhone 3G, £149 for the 16GB iPhone 3GS, and £239 for the 32GB iPhone 3GS but go down to free with more expensive plans on 24-month contract. Data usage stays pegged at 1GB no matter how much you pay, however. Minutes go from 300 to 3000, texts start at 3000 and stay there.

Interestingly, the last row shows tethering as an option, £5 for 500MB, £10 for 1.5 (it says MB, we're guessing its a typo for GB), and £15 for 3GB.

So that's O2, Orange, O2 reseller Tesco, 3 rumored, and Vodafone now launching, anyone getting (or moving over to) a new iPhone carrier for the new year?

[Thanks tipster!]

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Vodafone has just announced that they will begin selling Apple's iPhone 3G and 3GS in the UK and Ireland in Early 2010.

This comes on the heels of a similar announcement by Orange UK, and means iPhone users across the pond will soon have 3 carriers battling it out for their love and data affection. And hopefully prices will reflect that.

So, UK readers, with O2, Orange, and Vodafone all on the table, who're you going to go with?

[Thanks everyone who sent this in!]

No sooner does T-Mo Austria pre-post an iPhone 32GB SKU then Vodafone Australia sees them and raises the dreaded End-of-Life (EOL) on the iPhone 16GB. MacTalk says:

Why is this interesting to us? Well it just adds further fuel to the fire that there will be a new iPhone very, very soon. What mixes us up is the fact the 8GB isn’t EOL, but the 16GB is. Perhaps a 32GB and 8GB model will be around, the 8GB being the value option for the price conscious set.

Our bet is that the 16GB will be replaced with a 16GB next gen iPhone, joined by a 32GB model. Whether the 8GB iPhone 3G becomes the low-end option or not is anyone's guess...

A couple days ago we mentioned that Orange UK might be in the running to become the second (after O2) carrier to get the iPhone in the United Kingdom. Today comes word that Vodafone (think of it as Verizon with a fancy accent and GSM goodness) may also be splitting the Isles wide open. According to Mobile Tech Addicts:

Now we have discovered a Vodafone portal designed for the iPhone. It is basically a portal that gives you access to news but the question is why would Vodafone go to these lengths if they weren’t about to get the iPhone.

The site points out that, of course, it could just be a smart move from Vodafone to woo unlocked, or soon to be unlocked, iPhone owners off O2 and onto their pipes.

Time will tell, but for our UK readers, is Vodafone a better option for you than O2 or Orange UK?

Back in January, before iPhone 3.0 made MMS an impending feature for all (carrier depending!), Jose sent us word that Vodafone Portugal had launched their own iMMS app. Well, now Jose is back and so is Vodafone Portugal.. with Mobile TV:

an application to watch TV from the iPhone. The download is free but after that you have to pay a subscription. One day is 0,89€, one week is 1,97€ (first week free), one month is 7,44€ (first month free).

So is this another case of a carrier leading where Apple will one day soon follow? They have announced new live streaming capabilities in 3.0...

Screen shots after the break.

Reader Jose wrote in to tell us that MMS has finally come to the iPhone! Er... Sorta:

since yesterday, vodafone Portugal has a MMS app for the iPhone! It looks like the mail app and it works very well! It's awesome, you can send and recieve MMS.. but it only works on iPhones from vodafone Portugal! It's called iMMS!

We've heard about European-localized iPhone MMS apps before, but this appears to be the first on to actually become officially available [iTunes Portugal App Store Link].

Full screenshot gallery after the break, but we gotta ask: anyone here want a version for their country?

We told you when iPhone 2.0.1 dropped, we asked you how 2.0.1 was doing for you? And we warned iPwners to stay away. Turns out people running on Vodafone (in the 10 countries they currently supply) might want to consider staying away for now as well. TUAW reports on the problems:

Specifically, users who paid to have their 3G iPhones unlocked by Vodafone* are unable to re-connect to the service following the update, and instead receive a "0xE8000001" error message. How helpful. It seems to happen on both Windows and Mac OS X.

Another problem, via iPhoneAtlas, occurs when users try to upgrade when in the radio-silent Airplane Mode:

Having Airplane mode turned on can result in a non-functional phone when the update is applied. You may receive the error message: “Information for activation cannot be obtained from the iPhone” Fortunately, you can disable Airplane mode from the emergency screen if your iPhone is put into an inactivated state by a problematic update.

If you do get 2.0.1 installed (and I confess, mine installed quickly and flawlessly), what will you find under the hood?

Apple said "bug fixes", which seems to include fixes to sluggish interface animations/transitions and app launches in general (especially Contacts and SMS). Some are claiming faster backups, more stable App Store app behavior, and better or more accurate cell strength and GPS placement. And others have even joked that, like a placebo, we'll see any update as a general purpose cure-all for what's been aggravating us.

Have you noticed any specific, repeatable improvements? Keep pounding away and let us know what you find!

WOW! iPhone plans and prices are dropping faster than Rogers stock these days. With a 22 country launch on Friday (and a few days later in France -- vive la difference, eh?), some with multiple co-exclusive carriers, each with different tiers of service (from cheap, all-you-can-eat unlimited to tiny $$$ per byte ultra-rip-offs) it's a lot to keep track of -- but we're still going to try!

Read on for the good, the bad, and a lot of ugly!

Rogers/Fido Canada - WAR!

On the Canadian front (and yes, it is a war here people!) rumors of an Apple/Rogers falling out are probably going to fall out. My guess? Nothing much there unless Rogers is fanning the scarcity flame in order to get people who might be sitting on the fence or holding it to suddenly panic and rush the line on Friday. Apple Stores in Canada, unlike the US, have only pointed to Rogers/Fido for availability, and if Apple is sending units away from Canada to Europe, it may have more to do with the power of the Euro. (Nintendo's been accused of doing that with the Wii for months to profit from the stronger currency).

Telcel Mexico

2 year contracts south of south of the border in Mexico as well: MX$459/599/799 for 200/300/400 min., 100/150/200 SMS and MBs of data, with the 8GB handset going for MX$3419/2159/889 and the 16GB for MX$4689/3419/2159.

Ayaiyai! That's US$77 for a tiny 200MB!

Vodafone New Zealand

The good news? Due to the international date line, New Zealand will be getting the iPhone first and Hawaii last. In Aukland, New Zealand, the lineup is already forming to be the first (after a certain Portuguese un-boxer) to get the blessed device.

The bad news? They'll be paying out the pouch for it. 2 year contracts for NZ$80/130/250 for 120/250/600 min., 600 SMS, and 250/500/1000MB of data and 8GB handsets for NZ$549/449/199 and 16GB for NZ$699/599/359.

Ouch! That's US$189 for 1GB of data! Once again, the closer you are to a pole, the higher your prices!

Optimus Portugal

Thanks to Mário for sending this in!

Optimus (Orange) in Portugal has pre-paid, post-paid monthly, and 2-year contract prices. Contract minimum monthly usage plans are €30/45/64 which get you €0.149/0.129/0.099 per minute or SMS, 100/300/500 free in-network SMS, and MB of data, with the 8GB handset running €250/200/150 and 16GB, €350/300/250.

Vodafone Portugal

Meanwhile, Vodaphone is offering the Portuguese 2 year contracts as well: €29.90/44.90/64.90, with 100/230/500 min. and SMS, and a miserly 250MB of data, with an 8GB handset going for €299/219/129 and 16GB for €389/309/219.

Yikes! That's US$102 for 250MB?!

AT&T USA

AT&T Mobility's President of Network Services has his own podcast where he goes over iPhone 3G performance. Check it out.

And while nowhere near as hackneyed as the iReady riff, Apple has posted its own information on how to prepare yourself for launch day.

Apple's VP of Retail, Ron Johnson, tried to set expectations: he claims they'll be taking 30 customers at a time, be able to handle 100 customers an hour, and aim to complete activation in 10-15 min. But they won't rush you if you want to take your time (though the crowd behind you, torches and pitchforks in hand, might help keep you moving at a brisk pace!)

In sharp contrast to how the North Americans have started off, the Europeans (yup, including the UK) seem to be handling the whole iPhone 3G "second coming" with a lot more grace and -- frankly -- customer care. Witness Vodafone on the iPhone in Italy:

The 3G iPhone will be available to both contract customers, based on particularly simple price plans, and to pay-as-you-go users, and will include a wide range of data offerings. By choosing a contract price plan, such as iPhone Vodafone Facile, it will be possible, for example, to have an Apple phone at a particularly attractive price. People preferring a pre-pay plan for private users can buy the 8Gb iPhone for €499 or the 16GB model for €569.

Sure, the unsubsidized option sound expensive (around $750 for people on the left side of the pond) -- but at least they're giving it as an option! (AT&T, Rogers, look and learn!)

Meanwhile, Vodafone's co-exclusive Italian iPhone 3G carrier, Telecom Italia and Apple have thus far announced the following:

Telecom Italia will be selling the 8GB and 16GB models of iPhone 3G to prepaid and contract customers. Telecom Italia will also be selling iPhone 3G with the “Tutto Compreso” [all included] package tailored to meet customers’ needs.

Figures. Right after I go to all the trouble of cut and pasting together an April iPhone Risk Roundup, Vodafone goes ahead and announces 10 more countries, more than doubling the amount of countries having, or set to have, the iPhone! Apple Insider goes on locations:

"Later this year, Vodafone customers in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey will be able to purchase the iPhone for use on the Vodafone network," the carrier said in a statement without providing further detail.

A look at our newly overpopulated score board:

Vodofone, of course, owns Verizon in the US, which is rumored to have taken a pass on Apple's iPhone, leading to the current AT&T exclusivity deal. Back with a vengeance much?

Like the Canadian detail-free announcement from Rogers, it's also likely these deals will involve the as-yet-unannounced-but-widely-expected 3G iPhone, though given the rest of the world's 3G-centricity, it certainly should. Also unknown is whether these will be the exclusive deals involving revenue sharing and pressure towards unlimited data plans Apple pioneered with the initial iPhone launch last year.

What do you think?

(PS - Apple, help a blogger out and release more of your little flag circle icons. Those things don't Photoshop themselves, b'okay?)