Riding high on great initial sales, the iPhone let Apple control negotiations with their future network partners in Europe. Which is why these service providers will "hand over 10 per cent of iPhone revenues derived from phone calls and data functions to the [American company]." In exchange, these providers will enjoy multi-year exclusivity, much like AT&T in the US.

According to The Financial Times, the iPhone is such in high demand because its European partners see it as a chance to reverse their fortunes, especially T-Mobile and orange france.

Which just goes to show how effective the right marketing can be. The blueprint is straightforward but hard to execute: Apple made people long for the iPhone, sold many units, and used that success as proof that you can't go wrong if you work for them.

UK Customers Can Pre-Order the iPhone: Check Coolsmartphone's Apple iPhone pre-order page.