Italian iPhone shoppers may be allowed to buy the device through Apple resellers, a local news site reports. Macity cites a source "informed on the facts," who claims that stores with the Apple Premium Reseller designation will be able to sell the device alongside Vodafone and Telecom Italia's locations, and Apple's one official store in the country, situated in Rome. The distribution deal is said to have been arranged between the carriers and the resellers, rather than directly through Apple.

The rumor follows accounts suggesting that Dutch resellers will be able to sell the iPhone, under a deal forged with the local division of T-Mobile. If confirmed, both the Dutch and Italian arrangements may be designed to increase the reach of the iPhone 3G, which in countries like the US will only be available through Apple Stores and carrier outlets. Neither the Netherlands nor Italy have a wide network of Apple Stores.