Who doesn’t like starting the week with a bang? Apple on Monday said that it would launch the iPhone 4 in 17 countries—including Australia, Canada, and Switzerland—on Friday, July 30.
Currently, the iPhone 4 is on sale in five countries: the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, and Japan. Also included on the list for July 30 are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealanad, Singapore, Spain, and Sweden. However, Apple did not disclose what the pricing for the iPhone 4 will be in any of these countries, irking some international customers. At the time of this writing, Apple online store listings for the iPhone 4 in those countries still say only “Coming Soon.”
Apple first announced its international rollout plan for the iPhone 4 in June at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, where it said that it would roll out 18 additional countries in late July. Earlier this month, Apple CEO Steve Jobs confirmed in a press conference that Apple would bring the iPhone 4 to just 17 of those countries, with South Korea delayed for unspecified reasons.
The rollout is expected to continue in August with 24 additional countries; Apple hopes to hit 88 countries by the end of September, marking the fastest rollout for any iPhone model. Meanwhile, the company has encountered repeated delays in producing the white version of the iPhone 4, which has now slipped until later in the year.