Only the other day we wrote about the rumours surrounding Vodafone getting the iPhone contract in Europe; now it seems that the whispering has been cranked up a few notches, with Reg Hardware reporting that a 3G European version of the coveted handset will be announced on Monday by Apple UK.  Learning from the extreme anti-AT&T sentiment in the US, the rumour goes on to state that Apple has partnered this time with three operators - Vodafone, T-Mobile and virtual-network carrier Carphone Warehouse - with shipment "on course" for the end of year launch Jobs suggested last October.

It gets better: following Vodafone's recent data tariff price slashing, the word is that UK buyers will have far better deals than those AT&T are offering.  That'll probably go some way to assuaging the horror at the inevitable inflated prices for the handset itself. 

Rumours from Credit Suisse that the network Orange was being considered for the franchise are, analysts suggest, unfounded due to the network's insistence on heavy handset branding and often-heavy-handed technical censoring of features that don't fit their roadmap.

With data networks getting better all the time here in the UK, and it being rare for phones to release without at least basic 3G capability, I can only hope that an HSDPA iPhone will be appearing on my letter for Father Christmas.

[via Reg Hardware]