The iPhone 3G has finally made the leap from rumour to reality. Despite all the speculation, there's just one model, with a 3.5", 480-by-320 display. Comms are covered by WiFi, Bluetooth and UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz) and there's fallback to EDGE and GPRS. GPS is now part of the package as well. The camera's still a 2MP unit and it comes in either black or white (according to the Australian Apple Store). There's no word yet on whether Jailbreaked apps will run.

Australian iPhone availability starts on 11 July 2008 with only two carriers officially on the list - Vodafone and Optus. No word yet from Three (although they have made announcements regarding other territories so, given the month before official availability we might expect something soon) or Telstra. I suspect that Telstra might not be hgh on Apple's list of potential carriers given their infamous "stick to your knitting" outburst.

Optus is taking a $100 deposit for a place in the queue and there's no guarantee that the iphone will be available in every Optus store.

Personally, I'd rather walk in to a shop, make sure they have stock and just buy one. I'm with another carrier but given that I have some flexibility I might just look to make a change as I just have to have the latest and greatest.

The iPhone is listed on Apple's Australian online store but that just directs you you Optus' and Vodafone's web sites.

Other than Optus' $100 deposit queue holding payment there's no other indication of pricing so it would seem that until some further announcements are made it's worth holding back on any commitment. I suspect that pricing announcements will be made at the last possible moment so that there's little chance of one carrier undercutting the other.