The 3G Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone is widely expected to be unveiled by CEO Steve Jobs at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco Monday, but just how global is the iconic smartphone? (See iPhone II: Touching 3G and The Hunt for the 3G iPhone .)

Unstrung has mapped the launches and expected deployments of the iPhone all over the globe.

The device is currently available in a handful of countries, including the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, and Ireland. (Unlocked iPhones, however, have already turned up around the world.)

But the iPhone is expected to be launched in 60-plus countries during the second half of 2008: Apple has been cutting deals to take the device into Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and South America recently. (See El iPhone in Brief, More Euro iPhone News, Orange Expands Its iPhone Empire, SingTel Units Get iPhone, and Apple Takes Its iPhone Global.)

We used this helpful list of global iPhone carriers from the APPLinvestors Website as the basis for our map.

The blue markers on the map represent markets where the iPhone has already launched. The red tags show countries where the iPhone is expected to launch this year.


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As you can see, the iPhone will be well represented in many parts of the world by the end of 2008. Salt SA and América Móvil S.A. de C.V. get the most hits worldwide with multiple deals in Europe, Africa, and South America. Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD), Telia Company , and SingTel Optus Pty. Ltd. have also struck multi-market deals.

There are some notable gaps on the map, however. Apple still hasn't named an iPhone operator for mainland China, there's no Russian carrier, and the Asia/Pacific region in general is under-represented. It's possible that Apple could fill in some more of the iPhone map at the rumored 3G iPhone launch today.

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Unstrung