Top Singaporean cellular provider SingTel plans to release the iPhone in that country for approximately S$690 ($500) starting in September, claims Channel NewsAsia, though Apple is unlikely to share in SingTel’s subscription revenues. With an estimated 10,000 iPhones already imported by residents, retailers note that the technology-obsessed country’s demand for the iPhone has dampened slightly since its mid-2007 U.S. launch, but interest is still “very strong,” and the retailers speculate that demand will increase sharply should Singapore receive a 3G iPhone.
Neither SingTel nor Apple commented for the report.
U.K. Prime Minster Gordon Brown discussed his iPod and musical tastes on television, noting “I’ve got an iPod, and I know how to use it,” contrasting with his predecessor Tony Blair’s disclosure that he had relied on his daughter to operate an iPod.
Brown’s iPod includes songs from classical musicians such as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, 60’s rockers such as the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, and modern performers such as Leona Lewis, U2, and Coldplay.
Following up on an earlier Financial Times claim that Apple was in negotiations to bundle unlimited iTunes access with premium-priced iPods and iPhones, which appears to have been based on sources from within the music industry, BusinessWeek cites “people in a position to know” as stating that “no such talks are underway,” with one person suggesting that the music rental idea has been informally considered by Apple for a year, but not formally negotiated.
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