Vodafone

UK iPhone owners subscribed to O2 will be allowed to unlock for other carriers, according to the CEO of O2's parent company, Telefonica Europe. "Once the iPhone becomes available on other UK networks," says Matthew Key, "we will allow O2 customers to unlock their iPhones, although of course they will still need to honour any outstanding contract period they have. At the end of their contract period, they are entirely free to move to another operator -- though naturally we hope they won't want to!"

In spite of an upcoming price war and a potential influx of iPhone handsets being returned, O2's UK division has temporarily run out of both the 16 and 32 GB iPhone 3GS models from the company's online store. According to The Telegraph, most physical outlets are said to have been without phones for two weeks. Supplies of the 32GB model were only depleted on or after September 28th.

UK wireless carrier O2 is bracing itself for what may be up to 30,000 returned iPhones as recent customers send back their iPhones to wait for better deals from rivals Orange and Vodafone. Per The Telegraph, the 30,000 customers that bought the iPhone from O2 within the last two weeks are therefore entitled to end their contracts. O2 has stated the company is not planning to offer such users a better deal in order to convince them not to cancel their contract.

Wireless carrier Vodafone announced on Tuesday that it will begin selling Apple's iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in the United Kingdom and Ireland sometime in early 2010. Per The Mac Observer, the announcement makes Vodafone the second company to score a deal that digs into what used to be O2's exclusive iPhone territory.

While we're still waiting for AT&T to announce when tethering will be available here in the U.S. (let alone how much it's going to cost), the lucky bastards fortunate people of Australia will get to sink their teeth into tethering at no extra charge, starting right when the iPhone 3GS launches there on Friday, June 26, courtesy of Vodafone. The offer is their attempt to beat the competition, Optus, which also will be carrying the 3GS.

Vodafone Egypt, the soon-to-be official iPhone 3G carrier in the country, has now begun taking pre-regestrations for purchases of the iPhone 3G. The wireless company has posted a new page on their website offering potential customers the opportunity to register using their name, and are given the ability to chose their own phone number in advance.
[via iClarified]

Gizmodo has stumbled upon a brief radio interview with the man at the front of the line in New Zealand. He says that his line waiting is actually partly the result of a bet with his friends that he couldn't survive for three days living on the streets of Auckland. So far he's been using the yellow pages and surfing the web with his laptop and having things brought to him. You can check it out put to this goofy video here.

Vodafone has announced the prices for customers in New Zealand. Users can buy an iPhone 3G for for $199NZD (US$150)for an 8GB when purchased with a 24-month contract. They have also announced that they expect stocks to be "strictly limited". They have yet to announce their tariffs, but they are expected to anounce a significant restructuring in the next few days.

If you happen to be a resident of New Zealand, you might be in luck. Engadget has word from what they call a "trusted source" saying that the first iPhone 3G in the world will be going on sale at exactly 00:01, Friday July 11th in New Zealand at Vodafone stores in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. That means that it will still be Thursday, July 10th at 5:01AM in Cupertino or 13:01 hours in London.
[via Engadget]

On Tuesday, wireless carrier Telecom Italia announced assorted details as to its two-year subscription prices for the iPhone 3G. Though the carrier has yet to disclose the full cost of its plans, the iPhone 3G handset should retail for about €199 with an entry-level subscription.