T-Mobile wins iPhone Germany exclusive, paper claims

A German newspaper has claimed that Apple's iPhone will be coming to Europe through a deal with local carrier T-Mobile.

The Rheinische Post yesterday said T-Mobile will offer the handset in Germany on 1 November, pricing it at around €450 ($613/£304), though it's not clear whether that's for the 4GB model or the 8GB version.

Equally, the report doesn't address whether the handset will be a 3G model - allegedly the case, according to sources cited in our own report late last week. But it's interesting to note that T-Mobile recently announced plans to upgrade its 3G HSDPA network to deliver download speeds of up to 7.2Mbps - handy if the Euro iPhone is indeed a 3G model.

Indeed, the biggest complaint reviewers have made about the Apple handset is the lack of high-speed cellular connectivity. The US iPhone is limited to AT&T's Edge network, essentially a GPRS speed bump.

Rheinische Post said T-Mobile Germany representatives refused to comment on the matter. Vodafone wouldn't say anything either - it too is fingered as a key European iPhone partner, almost certainly in different territories than T-Mobile.