Source: iPhone headed for Germany
Exclusive deal with Deutsche Telekom, whose mobile communications unit is T-Mobile, expected to be announced next week.
The deal will be announced next week, the source said.
The touch-screen device, which combines the popular iPod music player, a video player and a Web browser, will be sold through Deutsche Telekom's retail outlets in Germany at an initial price of 399 euros ($554), the source said.
Deutsche Telekom's mobile communications unit T-Mobile has agreed to share voice and data revenues generated by the phones with Apple, the source said.
A T-Mobile spokeswoman declined to comment.
Speculation has swirled for months over
Apple is expected to hand a U.K. sale deal to Spanish Telefonica's O2 U.K. unit, and a French deal to France Telecom's Orange, analysts say, though the companies have maintained strict silence about any deal.
Analysts are expecting initial exclusive transactions in the run-up to the key Christmas sales period to give Apple a share of data revenue and, in an unprecedented move, a share of voice revenues generated by the new phones.
Analysts had expected Vodafone to secure an exclusive, pan-European deal to sell the iPhone but media reports suggest it is now set to miss out.
This week Vodafone unveiled a range of new handsets and services for the key Christmas period including an exclusive music service offering unlimited tracks, to challenge the iPhone in Britain.
It did not disclose a price but a person familiar with the matter told Reuters it will be cheaper than T-Mobile's price for the iPhone.
Apple signed up AT&T in an exclusive deal for at least two years to sell the phone in the United States.
It was not immediately clear if the European iPhone would be a 3G model. Analysts had expected Apple to launch a 3G phone in Europe after cutting the price of the U.S. iPhone, which is slower.
Earlier this month, Apple cut the U.S. price for the iPhone to $399 from $599. The company said on Monday it had sold its one-millionth iPhone, a few weeks ahead of schedule.