Australian iPhone Fans cause MIDNIGHT SHOPPING CHAOS?!?

Ok... this is a little exagerated. But there may be some truth to it. The Super Nerd in all of us would like an iphone the very SECOND it comes available... but would you loose sleep over it?

It seems some people would, and the herald sun would have you believe so. However, this is fairly typical of their SPIN, to make things bigger then they really are.

They are onto something... iPhone fans will turn out to get their hands on the lovely, shiny new gadget come 11pm on July 10th. It won't be a stampeed, but it'll be reason to party.

Perhaps stores should be putting on some pre-iPhone drinks and a little music... for our sakes!

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TENS of thousands of Melburnians could cause midnight shopping chaos when Apple release their much-hyped new iPhone in 10 days.

Telstra, Optus and Vodafone are firming up details of how they will launch the 3G iPhone in Melbourne on Friday July 11.

Midnight store openings in the CBD and glamorous launch parties are among the events expected to herald the arrival of what is lining up to be the technology hit of the year.

Vodafone spokesman Greg Spears said the telco is still working on the finer details of the launch.

"It is possible we will open a flagship store, either Collins St or Chadstone, at midnight,'' Mr Spears said.

Optus is expected release its launch details later this week.

All three telcos have received tens of thousands of expressions of interest from Australians hoping to pre-order the phone.

Optus originally asked its customers to pay a deposit of $100, but have since removed the option from their website.

Customers can now only register for updates.

Features of the iPhone include a large touch screen, built-in GPS, MP3 music player and fast broadband internet and e-mail access wherever you are in the world.

Telstra yesterday unveiled their pricing, with plans starting at $30 per month with an upfront cost of $279 for the 8GB model and $399 for the 16GB version.

Consumers with $80 Telstra phone plans receive the 8GB iPhone 3G model at no cost.

The 8GB and 16GB iPhones will also be provided at no cost to Telstra customers on plans starting at $100 per month.

Telstra has confirmed all plans include free Wi-Fi access at Telstra hotspots but do require a 24-month contract.

Optus and Vodafone are yet to release their iPhone prices. In the meantime, check out these great deals on the iPhone: