Close on the heels of an Apple-Orange iPhone deal, Vodafone announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with Apple to sell its popular iPhone in the UK; thereby becoming the third operator to sell the smartphone in the country.

Both the new agreements mark the end of Apple's 2007-signed exclusive contract with Telefónica SA's O2 mobile network.

However, though Orange recently said that it will make the iPhone available 'later this year,' expectedly before Christmas; Vodafone said that the smartphone will become available to UK customers from early 2010, though users can register their interest in the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS on its Web site.

As per the analysts, the competition in the iPhone-specific markets, by and large, does not affect the price of the handset, though there may be a slight variation in the tariff plans offered by competing companies.

In a brief statement announcing its deal with Apple, Vodafone - which already offers the iPhone through 13 of its operating companies - said that details about pricing, tariffs and availability information will be make known locally in the near future.

Commenting on the strategies generally followed by rival iPhone sellers, Carolina Milanesi of Gartner said: "There's not a lot they can do - You may see a £30 per month tariff versus £35, but I would not expect anything more."