Vodafone has announced that it will offer the iPhone in the UK beginning in early 2010, and has launched a “coming soon” page for the device. Vodafone will be the third carrier in the country to offer the phone, behind O2, which has offered the phone since November 9, 2007, and Orange, which announced yesterday that it would begin selling the phone later this year. In addition, Reuters reports that Vodafone will also offer the phone in Ireland, bringing the number of countries in which it offers the iPhone up to 13. Pricing and tariffs have yet to be announced.
Sep 28
App Store Hits Two Billion Downloads
Apple has announced that more than two billion applications have been downloaded from the App Store since its launch on July 11, 2008. The company also revealed that over 85,000 applications are now available from the store, with over 125,000 developers in Apple’s iPhone Developer Program and more than 50 million iPhone and iPod touch users worldwide.
Sep 28
Orange UK To Offer iPhone Later This Year
Orange UK has reached an agreement with Apple to offer the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS later this year. Offering the UK’s “largest 3G network,” Orange will sell the iPhone through all the company’s direct channels, including Orange shops, the Orange website and Orange telesales channels, as well as selected high street partners. In addition, Orange has launched a pre-registration site for interested customers at Orange.co.uk/iPhone. Owned by France Telecom, Orange now offers the iPhone in 28 countries and territories globally; pricing, tariff, and availability information has yet to be announced.
Sep 28
China Unicom Announces iPhone Pricing
China Unicom has announced its pricing and tariffs for the iPhone in China. The company has said the phone will be priced at 5,000 yuan (roughly $732), but it is unclear which model this price refers to, as the official press release (Translated Link) states the phone will be available in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB versions. The company will offer subsidies of 893 yuan to 4,253 yuan (~$130-$622) based on the service plan selected; plans will range from 126 yuan to 886 yuan (~$18-$130) per month. Finally, the exact official launch date of the phone also remains unclear, as the press release references “a limited number of people” that may start using it on October 1, with a public release coming “late next month.”
Sep 28
Apple Updates 2009 iPod Classic 160GB Software
Apple has released Software Version 2.0.3 for the iPod classic 160GB (2009). According to the release notes, the software offers support for Genius Mixes; no other changes or bug fixes are mentioned. Notably, the 2009 iPod classic 160GB shipped with Software 2.0.2; the prior iPod classic 120GB was last updated to version 2.0.1, and it is unclear whether Apple plans to add Genius Mixes support to older iPod classic models. The 2.0.3 software update for the iPod classic 160GB (2009) is available now through the Update feature in iTunes.
Sep 24
South Korea Approves iPhone
The Korea Communications Commission approved the iPhone for sale in South Korea Wednesday, allowing Apple’s handset into a market that is notoriously closed off.
The approval of the iPhone is expected to change the market in South Korea, where users have been saddled with high prices and a lack of smartphone options. No launch date for the device has been made available.
Sep 24
This Friday’s iPhone MMS Rollout Will Require IPCC Update
Once AT&T flips the switch to enable MMS for US iPhone users this Friday, you’ll need to download an updated carrier profile and sync it to your iPhone via iTunes to enable the capability, according to the carrier.
AT&T spokesperson Seth Bloom stated details would be posted to AT&T’s Facebook page and other online outlets when the time comes, but wouldn’t specify an exact time.
Sep 23
China Unicom To Possibly Launch iPhone On October 15
China Unicom is internally targeting October 15 as its launch date for the iPhone in China, according to a China Business Times report (Translated Link). Pricing for the handset will reportedly be 1,999 yuan (roughly $293) for the 8GB model and 2,999 yuan (~$439) for the 16GB model; both prices would require a two-year contract with a minimum monthly fee of 186 yuan (~$27). The 8GB price is slightly lower than the 2,500 yuan speculated in an earlier report, but the two-year contact and 186 yuan are the same as previously reported. When announcing its three-year deal with Apple to sell the iPhone in China, Unicom did not give an exact launch date, saying only that it planned to launch the handset in the fourth quarter.
Sep 23
Apple Releases iTunes 9.0.1
Apple today released iTunes 9.0.1 via Software Update and the iTunes download site, offering a number of bug fixes.
Both Mac (OS X 10.4.11 or later) and Windows (XP or Vista) versions of iTunes 9.0.1 are available.
Sep 23
AT&T Will Roll Out iPhone MMS Friday
AT&T today announced on its Facebook page that a carrier settings update for MMS on the iPhone will be available in the “late morning” Pacific Time on Friday, the previously-announced launch date for the service.
A rumor from earlier today had claimed that AT&T would begin rolling out MMS for the iPhone around 10:00 AM Eastern Time on Friday and that the company was rushing to complete infrastructure improvements to support the expected crush of data upon initial activation from users testing out the service.