iPhone News Updated

Those who put off buying an iPhone in Germany now have the option of getting one at a lower upfront cost.

The iPhone with 8G of memory normally sells for €399, but is now offered by T-Mobile at €99 - providing you sign up for the top-end Complete XL plan that costs €89 per month.

So to save €300 on the price of the iPhone, you have to commit to spending an extra €960 compared with the basic plan offered at the German launch of Apple's handset. Fine if you're going to use those extra minutes, I suppose.

If that's more minutes and messages than you need, the iPhone is also offered for €249 upfront on a €29 monthly plan. That deal may attract potential customers who like the iPhone but are light users of voice and SMS, and don't want unlimited data traffic.

Discounts are also available in association with other T-Mobile plans, and these prices are a limited-time promotion until June 30.

The timing of the offer - especially the way its closing date aligns with the expected release of the next version of the iPhone firmware - has led some to speculate that it may be an effort to clear the decks prior to the introduction of the 3G version of the iPhone.

But that seems unlikely as at this stage the reduction only applies to T-Mobile and Germany. Other reports suggest the recent shortage of iPhones in the US has ended, with the handset now being widely available once more.

A T-Mobile spokesperson quoted by IDG referred to the offer as a "sales promotion" rather than a subsidy, and declined to comment on any new model that might be in the pipeline.

The iPhone with 16G of memory remains at €499 from T-Mobile.

[Thanks: http://www.itwire.com]

There has been a lot of speculation on when the 3G version of the iPhone would be coming, but today Walt Mossberg appeared to let the cat out of the bag in a video where he states that the 3G iPhone will be released within 60 days. Thanks to The Boy Genius Report for the link.

This news makes sense since the iPhone 2.0 update will be coming in a couple of months as well and the launch of a new device to go along with the new software is a natural assumption. I am pretty happy with my iPhone, but the lack of 3G is a real bummer that results in my using other devices instead of the iPhone to be productive on the road. A 3G iPhone with the new firmware is going to be very tempting and tough for me to resist. However, I will have to see other hardware improvements such as Bluetooth connectivity to a keyboard, A2DP Bluetooth support, and video capture capability before I’ll jump so quickly to buy an iPhone this time.

The video below shows Walt making the statement at 6:53 into the video so you can hear it for yourself. Walt gets Apple products earlier than most everyone else so I believe it when he says 60 days too.

Anyone ready to plunk down their cash for a 3G iPhone?

[Thanks: http://blogs.zdnet.com]