- The march of Apple’s iPhone around the world is picking up steam. Vodafone announced Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with the Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple to sell the device in 10 markets.

The markets are Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa, and Turkey. Customers in those countries will be able to purchase the iPhone by the end of this year.

No Mention of 3G

While there have been rumors that Apple would come out with a 3G model sometime this year, Vodafone’s announcement makes no mention of whether it will be selling the 3G version or the current model.

Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, noted this is the first deal between Vodafone and Apple, and that it “tremendously expands the worldwide distribution of the iPhone.” Up to now, that distribution has been limited to a few countries besides the U.S.

He said the announcement was as notable for what it didn’t say as for what it did. He pointed out there was no mention of availability or pricing, in addition to no mention about whether it would be the 3G version. Greengart said his “personal speculation” is that the 3G model will be announced very soon, because Apple wants it out in time for the holiday season.

The coming of the 3G iPhone has been the subject of various rumors and reports, such as a report in March from a Bank of America analyst that the device would be coming this month. Read the full story

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SAN FRANCISCO - In another step in the worldwide march of Apple Inc.’s iPhone, the top mobile phone operator in Latin America said Wednesday that it has inked a deal to bring the multimedia gadget to more than a dozen countries starting later this year.

America Movil SAB, controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, said it plans to bring the iPhone to all of its Latin American operations but didn’t offer more details about the arrangement, including whether it would be the exclusive iPhone provider in the targeted countries.

Apple has so far struck exclusive deals for the iPhone with AT&T Inc. in the United States, O2 in Britain, T-Mobile in Germany and France Telecom’s Orange wireless arm in France.

The company plans further expansion later this year through the partnership with Mexico City-based America Movil, which boasts 159.2 million subscribers in 16 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

A spokeswoman for America Movil said the company had no further comment beyond the short press release announcing the partnership.

In the past couple of weeks, Apple has also signed deals with Rogers Communications Inc. to sell the device in Canada; Milan-based Telecom Italia SpA to sell the iPhone in Italy; and Vodafone Group PLC, the world’s biggest mobile company by sales, to sell it in a total of 10 countries, including Australia, India, Italy and Turkey.

The announcements are all important steps for Cupertino-based Apple as it looks to expand sales of the iPhone, the combination iPod-cell phone-Internet device that went on sale last June in the U.S.

But many consumers in countries where Apple has not struck iPhone deals with mobile operators are using them already. They’re using “unlocked” iPhones that have been modified to work over any cellular network, a sign of the growing worldwide demand for the phones that has also irked Apple, which has disabled some unlocked phones through software updates.

Apple has so far sold 5.4 million iPhones worldwide, based on data as of the end of Apple’s fiscal second quarter, which ended in March. Apple has a goal of selling 10 million iPhones by the end of this year.

“We’re excited to be working with America Movil to bring the iPhone to Latin America later this year, and we can’t wait to get this revolutionary phone in the hands of even more people around the world,” said Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris.

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