By Sam Oliver
Published: 11:00 AM EST (08:00 AM PST)
Consumers holding out for the next-generation of Apple Inc.'s iPhone won't have to wait till the end of June to call one their own, according to a new report which places widespread availability closer to the middle of the month.
Citing a "reliable source" familiar with the matter, popular gadget size
Gizmodo is now throwing its weight
behind the obvious, saying it's now a certainty that Apple will take the wraps off a so-called 3G iPhone during the start of its annual developers conference on June 9th.
More relevant, however, is the site's claim that Spaniards will be able to purchase the device during the grand opening of Telefonica's megastore in Spain a little over a week later on Wednesday, June 18th. As such, stateside availability is expected to be similar, if not preceding the Spanish launch.
Gizmodo cites the same unidentified source as saying that beginning with the arrival of a 3G model, the Apple handset will longer be available at a fixed price point in some countries
"[Its] launch will also bring new sales policies, although these have not been completely specified yet," the report states. "This most probably means the new 3G iPhone will be integrated in the usual marketing systems of carriers, with point-based trade-ups, discounts for carrier switchers, and other service-based subvention packages."
In a
recent press release, Apple said chief executive Steve Jobs along with other members of the company's management would use Jobs' opening keynote address at the June developers conference to showcase the Mac OS X Leopard and iPhone development platforms, but in traditional fashion abstained from alluding to any planned major product launches.
Nevertheless, confidence in the keynote serving as a launch pad for the next-gen iPhone saw a boost earlier this month when Apple
stopped taking online orders for its existing iPhone models, leading to an
almost immediate sellout of company's developers conference for the first time in history.
