An official announcement is expected within the next few weeks

Aug 20, 2007 07:36 GMT  ·  By

Vodafone's efforts to reach common grounds with Apple on the European launch of the iPhone are heading towards the end, according to rumors going by the past few days. The result of their negotiations will be seen in the next two weeks, when there is a high chance for the two companies to announce their deal.

Vodafone has been the main favorite company for launching the iPhone in Europe right from the beginning, when Apple has announced that the device is to reach this continent too. The negotiations are coming to an end, with just a few minor details left for the two companies to settle.

Analysts consider that Vodafone has been a stronger partner than AT&T, making considerably less compromises and holding on to their share of control over the iPhone's future release. Another possibility for the delayed announcement of the handset's launch on the European market is that Apple is currently working on ways to fix some bugs for Vodafone and other carriers.

There is a high chance that the above mentioned operator will make its announcement for the iPhone's release long before it actually takes place, as to benefit as much as possible from the publicity and also leave time to solve last minute problems. Apple has long announced that the European version of their phone will also be 3G-enabled, which means that there are several modifications to be made in order to comply with this promise.

The number of improvements that Apple intends to introduce in their phone for the European launch includes YouTube applications, email management, security and firewalls, as well as browser improvements.

There is also rumored that Apple will announce the iPhone during the Apple Expo, which will take place in Paris, between the 25th and 29th of September. That's a little over a month left to wait until an official iPhone release will take place, although it still sounds like there's a long time left to wait.