THE Apple iPhone 3G will go on sale next Friday, Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) announced on Tuesday.

The 'tens of thousands' of iPhone fans who have already made online reservations at SingTel's website will get first dibs on the highly-anticipated device, said SingTel's chief executive officer for Singapore, Mr Allen Lew.

The telco will continue taking reservations till this Sunday.

Mr Lew declined to say how much the device will cost or associated price plans customers will have to sign up for in order to get the iPhone, but customers can expect the iPhone's price to be 'subsidised'.

Both the 8GB and 16GB versions will be available, said Mr Lew, and the company expects to have 'enough stocks to meet the needs of Singaporeans.'

He would not say how many sets SingTel is bringing in.

SingTel, Singapore's largest publicly-traded company, reported a 5.3 per cent fall in earnings to $878.1 million for the three months to June 30, compared to a year ago.

Revenues were up 5.9 per cent to $3.77 billion, while basic earnings per share was 5.52, down from 5.83 cents.

The region's biggest telecommunications player had taken a significant hit from the Singapore dollar's appreciation against regional currencies, since about half of its revenues come from its regional associates like India's Bharti and Indonesia's Telkomsel.

The Indian rupee had fallen 15 per cent, and the Indonesian rupiah 13 per cent, against the Singapore dollar.