New Apple to fall first in NZ

The hype surrounding the release of the latest Apple iPhone has intensified after Vodafone released the price of the much-anticipated gadget.

Vodafone confirmed yesterday the iPhone 3G would be priced from $199 on a 24-month contract, with full price and plan details to be released today at 10am.

The handset will go on sale one minute after midnight on Thursday, with three stores in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to open specially.

Vodafone spokeswoman Libby Hay said there was no way of knowing how many people would turn up at the stores but they expected people to begin lining up on Thursday morning.

Gadget geeks unwilling to brave the cold can avoid any queues and buy from the Vodafone Online Shop from Friday at 12.01am.

Other stores will open from 9am, with a limited supply of the device which combines a mobile phone, an iPod music and video player and web browser.

Hay said she was unable to comment further on the price of the handset, which is relatively low compared to Australia where Telstra said it would sell the Apple iPhone for about $A351 ($NZ445) on a $A38 monthly plan.

Chatter on messageboards hinted that some die-hard fans would fly to New Zealand from the United States and Britain to be "first in the world" to own the new iPhone due to time differences.

- © Fairfax NZ News