July 16 - 3:40pm EDT   Orange France, the only carrier in the initial iPhone 3G launch to miss July 11th, has officially unveiled its prices for the local release at 8AM on the 17th. In general, an 8GB phone with Origami costs €149, while a 16GB one is €199. These prices escalate to €199 and €249, though, when people pick the Zen/Star 1h & 2h package, and €399 and €499 with a block package. [full story]

July 9 - 7:30pm EDT  In brief: Milliamp offers iPhone 3G battery replacement, FileMaker launches "Tell Us Your Bento Story" sweepstakes, New Aperture 2, Mac OS Security Tutorials, and Freeway 5.1.3 adds Simplified Chinese localization ... Milliamp has announced a battery replacement service for the new iPhone 3G. "Although the new iPhone won't hit the U.S. market until later this week, we wanted the world to know that we have the capability to replace the battery in the new iPhone 3G," said Anthony Magnabosco, the owner of the iPhone battery replacement service provider. Milliamp LTD has been offering battery replacement kits for practically every iPod model, as well as battery replacement services for the more difficult-to-open ... [full story]

July 8 - 9:20am EDT   Policies for iPhone 3G access to carrier Wi-Fi should vary dramatically around the world, reports say. While carriers such as AT&T and Rogers Wireless have committed to free hotspot access with a subscription, other countries may not hold this policy in common. Vodafone Italy now admits that it will not be offering any free access, and Orange Switzerland says this will be limited to 100 hours per month. [full story]

June 30 - 10:00am EDT   TeliaSonera today confirmed late-breaking rumors on Monday with the announcement that France Telecom has withdrawn its takeover bid for the company, putting an end to the potentially significant merger of the two companies. Sweden-based TeliaSonera maintains that France Telecom has not "significantly" improved its bid that was hinted at on Sunday and insists that the French firm would have undervalued TeliaSonera, which claims that it's strong enough without other companies' help. [full story]

June 29 - 11:50pm EDT   France Telecom has increased the value of a takeover bid for TeliaSonera to where the two are now in serious talks, according to word from alleged sources of the Wall Street Journal. The French company, which runs the Orange brand worldwide, is said to have increased its offer per share to a level that Sweden-based TeliaSonera is no longer dismissing a takeover offer out of hand, as it did earlier this month. The talks are reported as fragile and could break off at any moment, with France Telecom having set a Monday deadline for itself if no deal is struck by that point. [full story]

June 27 - 5:15pm EDT   Rogers Wireless is justified in its limited data plans as many other iPhone-carrying nations are doing the same or are more restrictive, a company spokeswoman tells Electronista. The Canadian company argues that a "majority" of international iPhone carriers have capped data and believes its plan to be better than these, citing as example Orange France plans that include a 500MB 'reasonable use' limit versus the 2GB maximum on Rogers' best iPhone plan. The company also tries to justify the caps by claiming that unlimited use would require customers pay for more than they need. [full story]

June 26 - 9:40am EDT   New details for the release of the iPhone 3G have been published in several European countries. French carrier Orange has announced that the 8GB model will cost €149 in tandem with an iPhone-specific contract and high-end options such as Origami, First and Jet. Under the same arrangement, a 16GB phone will cost €199. Owners of present 2.5G iPhones will be able to upgrade for €99 and €149, though only people who bought before June 12th will eligible, and the discount is through a €100 rebate and a renewed, two-year iPhone contract. [full story]

June 12 - 8:35am EDT   France's Orange today said it had launched Musique Max, a new hybrid desktop and mobile music store. The service offers music from all four major labels, plus independents, with an emphasis on French artists. The company claims the store is centered around an unlimited subscription but institutes an eMusic-like maximum song download limit per month; users can download as many as 500 songs as part of a €12 ($19) monthly subscription but are charged 99 Euro cents per track for every download past that point. [full story]

June 11 - 3:20pm EDT   Despite the wording of Monday's keynote speech by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the iPhone 3G will not ship in France on July 11th, new information indicates. While Apple has touted France as one of 22 countries to receive the new iPhone on the 11th, local carrier Orange has issued a press release in which the 3G is identified as launching six days later in France, on July 17th. This date is duplicated by a splash page on Apple's own French website. [full story]

June 10 - 9:05am EDT   Norway's Telenor has expressed interest in buying its Scandinavian competitor TeliaSonera in light of the latter's rejecting an initial France Telecom bid, TeliaSonera board member Elof Isaksson says. He declines to elaborate on the seriousness of the deal but is supported by Norwegian industry committee chair Ola Borten Moe, who says the union of the two telecoms companies would be beneficial. The Norwegian government owns a majority stake in Telenor. [full story]

June 5 - 12:45pm EDT   France Telecom has entered negotiations to buy Sweden's TeliaSonera, writes the Wall Street Journal. Although no formal offer has been made, France Telecom says it has begun discussing the idea with TeliaSonera's board of directors, as well as its two biggest shareholders. A combination cash and share offer has been proposed, valued at 39 percent over TeliaSonera's share price on April 15th; when considered with its present stock value, this makes the deal worth approximately 252 billion kronor, or $42 billion. [full story]

May 26 - 10:40pm EDT   Orange is giving its French iPhone customers incentives to trade up to the new model, according to news from multiple readers of PCInpact. The carrier is described as calling its customers giving them an offer that would encourage them to trade up to the iPhone. One offer would see users trade in their 2G models for the next-generation version as well as paying 50 Euros; a second would let them keep the older model but buy the new one with a "generous" subsidy from the carrier, according to reports. [full story]

May 16 - 2:20pm EDT   Analyst firm Piper Jaffray on Friday offered analysis of the recent additions of many new carriers and countries to the iPhone fold, pointing out that Apple could quadruple its total addressable market share from 153 million potential subscribers to 575 million in 42 countries. In a note to investors, senior analyst Gene Munster says the recent agreements with Orange, Vodafone, SingTel, American Movil, and Swisscom put Apple's international rollout of the iPhone eight months ahead of schedule. [full story]

May 16 - 7:25am EDT   Orange today announced plans to bring the iPhone to many more areas than its original French launch. The telecoms firm says it will launch the iPhone in areas that haven't yet been covered by previous carrier deals, including Belgium, Poland, Romania and Slovakia in Europe. The company will also bring the iPhone to the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean, Jordan in the Middle East, and the company's "Africa markets," according to the announcement. [full story]

May 7 - 9:40am EDT   Several more deals are in the works for expanding iPhone distribution, says Thomson Financial News. The group first writes that Orange, owned by France Telecom, is seeking to sell the iPhone outside of its home territory, where the device has been available since November. Orange CFO Gervais Pellissier says his company is currently in negotiations with Apple on the matter, and is looking to bring the iPhone to countries such as Spain and Poland, "among others." The carrier also has operations in regions such as Romania, Slovakia, Israel and the UK. [full story]