UK paper The Times is reporting “industry sources” who claim the 3G will be “radically different” in appearance to the current model.  Among the suggestions are a flip version with a larger display, and a model with a sliding QWERTY keyboard.  They additionally quote an unnamed Asia-based analyst who reiterates the view that Apple will release multiple versions of the iPhone, including one which is primarily a media playback device with cellular functionality, and another which is more focused on World Wide Web access.

Image credit Andrew Mager

However potentially more worrying for the price of whatever Apple eventually launches is the news that European carriers are currently nursing far more unsold stock than they planned to have at that stage in the iPhone’s lifespan.  Morgan Stanley analyst Kathryn Huberty blamed over-excitement and a weakness for hype as key factors affecting the carriers’ ordering decisions, and predicted “significant” losses on first-generation hardware.  Unofficial figures propose Apple and the carriers expected nearly

twice as many sales as the 330,000 iPhones shipped by O2, T-Mobile and Orange in the three European regions the handset is available in.

Huberty plus believes the initial exclusivity deal Apple arranged with carriers was for a mere two years rather than the well-publicised five; as a aftereffect, Apple could start selling handsets through other carriers later on in 2008. 

“Steve Jobs’s (Apple’s chief executive) end game is not to limit distribution and maximise carrier payments. It’s to bring the best mobile platform to the market and thereupon sell as many units as possible. There’s lots of ways Apple can drive revenue from the iPhone that aren’t part of the current model” Kathryn Huberty, analyst, Morgan Stanley

We’ll disregard the fact that the paper plus gets the current iPhone’s screen size wrong, claiming it’s 4.5-inches, and presume that was an accidental slip of the finger rather than a sign they have no notion what they’re talking about.

[via Pocket-lint]