Apple's long-awaited iPhone may not be on the market until June, but rumors of a follow-up model have become that much more interesting.

A report on AppleInsider has brought out details that a Swedish firm has received assurances from a contact at a cell phone provider that the iPhone could arrive on the European marketplace as soon as September and that a 3G version could arrive as soon as January of 2008.

The emergence of a 3G phone, especially when one was mentioned during Steve Jobs' keynote at this year's Macworld Expo San Francisco, hasn't been kept under wraps by Apple, albeit a major revision from June, 2007 to January, 2008 is unexpected for a major hardware and protocol revision.

The current cell phone protocols, including the AT&T EDGE network that the iPhone will make use of, is considered second generation (2G) technology with data speeds peaking at a few hundred kilobits per second with even worse upload rates. A third generation (3G) device would provide somewhat faster download speeds (about 800 kilobits per second) but much faster upload speeds in the realm of 400 kilobits per second. The added bandwidth could help in sending large photos or videoconferencing through the device.

If Apple were to release a 3G phone, it would be confied to the High-Speed Download Packet Access (HSDPA) protocol, which boasts a minimal installed infrastructure base in the United States. HSPDA structures are far more prevalent in European markets, wherein cheaper data rates and better 3G networks encourage a wider variety of cell phone devices, often with more robust multimedia capabilities than those found in American markets.

Stay tuned for more iPhone news to come. In the meantime, enjoy Apple's "Hello" iPhone ad, complete with almost every actor (animated or otherwise) to ever pick up a telephone in a movie or tv show.