Breaking News

The iPhone scope is expanding. Orange, France Telecom's flagship brand, announced that it will sell Apple phone in other countries in Europe and the Middle East and Africa.

Orange said it will sell the iPhone in Austria, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jordan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland and the African countries of Cote d'Ivoire, Jordan, Cameroon, Botswana, Madagascar, Mali, Senegal, Mauritius and Runion.

The agreement expands the list of countries where Apple agreed to operate on a non-exclusive basis. Among the countries announced in this agreement, Orange will be exclusive only in Belgium and Romania.

Many Deals

Earlier this month, Vodafone announced it had signed an agreement to provide iPhone in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey.

Days ago, Swisscom announced that it had obtained the right to sell the iPhone in Switzerland. "The iPhone will be available later this year," a statement on the website simply said. The fact that the company will not sell the phone until later in the year suggests that it will sell even one-to-be-announced version 3G.

The Swiss newspaper Le Matin reported that Swisscom is to treat an iPhone 3G would provide two-way discussions, mobile TV and GPS navigation. The plan also calls for Swisscom to offer "attractive" incentives and a high-end plan to include mobile video and other media services, Le Matin.

Sea Change for Apple

And on Monday, Singapore-based SingTel issued a statement announcing line, he signed an agreement with Apple to sell the phone in Singapore, India, the Philippines and Australia.

All these non-trafficking Wednesday marks a change for Apple, which until recently insisted on exclusive agreements with carriers. The iPhone launched with an exclusive deal with AT & T in the USA, followed by similar deals with O2 in the UK, Orange France and Deutsche Telekom in Germany.

The same is true of this eruption, nonexclusives days are numbered for AT & T and other carriers with exclusive offers from the West? No, "said Tim Bajarin, principal analyst at Creative Strategies. Apple is "locked in a long-term agreement with AT & T in the USA and others in Europe, but in some of these new countries, they clearly scope for doing things differently," said Bajarin.

Redefining the mobile Internet

How the iPhone be received in the developing world? "The iPhone is still a market for smartphone, but it will appeal to some people in any country and those who can afford it," said Bajarin.

But what many consumers in the USA and other countries not yet May, is that the iPhone is more than a phone. "The great thing is its impact on all countries in how it affects how they view mobile computing," said Bajarin. "In the past, mobile computing means laptops. With the iPhone provide PC-like functionality in the power of a handheld, it is set to redefine what the mobile Internet will be in the World."

Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco in June is where it is widely CEO is expected that Steve Jobs will unveil a 3G iPhone. Luigi Licciardi, CEO of Telecom Italia Mobile, apparently confirmed these rumours earlier this week when he told Electronics Weekly, "We will be selling iPhone with a capacity of 3G next month."