Reports indicate that an Indian iPhone could be just around the corner, allegedly available in September between Rs 27,200 and Rs 28,000. According to the Business Standard, Vodafone is expected to have the 8GB iPhone during the first week of September, with the 16GB version to surface in the middle of 2009. The news reportedly comes from Apple sources in Singapore, who only a few months ago was revealed as "tight lipped" until recently.

"The carrier deal for India is being worked out with Vodafone," said an Apple source. "Vodafone could also become the carrier for the Australian market once iPhone is launched there, though more than one carrier is likely for Australia."

When contacted directly, Vodaphone denied rumors, despite several sources within the company saying that a deal is in the works. "Post launch in India, the iPhone can be ‘unlocked’ (or configured to use SIM cards from all telecom carriers), though the company is not fully open to such a possibility," the source said.

Because of the excessive delay, iPhones are commonly bought on the grey market, unlocked. This has a consequence of lowering overall call quality, and a few other drawbacks.