No iPhone for NZ yet - officially, at least

Gadget geeks may not get a chance to take a bite out of Apple's new iPhone - New Zealand's sole GSM carrier says Apple hasn't approached it yet to sell the phone.
Cool Kit blog: No iPhone? No worries.

Vodafone spokesman Paul Brislen said yesterday that the telecommunications giant hasn't yet entered negotiations with Apple over the release of the handset, which is sold in the United States and Britain.

"It's a watching brief but it is not on Vodafone New Zealand's road map for the rest of the year, and it could be years before we see it here, if we ever do," he said.

The iPhone, a combination of a cellphone and the popular iPod, sells for US$399 exclusively on the AT&T network and more than one million handsets have been sold in the US so far.

Apple recently introduced the iPhone in the UK via the O2 network, though the Vodafone group and Apple were in contract talks.

The UK contract was reportedly not given to Vodafone because of a clash between Apple's iTunes and Vodafone's competing MusicStation service.

Despite the lack of availability, some of New Zealand's three million cellphone users have managed to get their hands on the phones, with one Tauranga importer receiving shipments from the US, and a Christchurch business providing a Sim card which allows the iPhone to be used on the Vodafone NZ network.

Layton Duncan, who sells the TurboSIM for $299, said there was huge demand for the Sim card, with his last shipment selling out.

Apple is set to release a third system upgrade this week in an attempt to flush out the hackers who have unlocked the phone and are using it on other networks.

"It's a wait-and-see game to see if the update really gets rid of all of the hackers. No matter what they do, someone will always find a way through," Mr Duncan said.

Telecom spokesman Nick Brown said Telecom's planned GSM service would probably be operational by late 2008.

- © Fairfax NZ News