Apple mulling alliance with Orange UK over 3G iPhone

France Telecom Owned Orange could soon control iPhone distribution on both sides of the "Manche" as early as October 2008 if the latest rumours are to be believed.

A blog post on Omio by Ernest Doki saying that "word from a very, very credible source on the inside [ed: of what company?]" said that the Cupertino based firm is evaluating possible alliances elsewhere.

Mind you, Orange has a more potent international base worldwide but still sales in France have been all but spectacular and O2 has been the best iPhone partner for Apple outside UK since the start.

Apple apparently wants to crack the corporate market where the iPhone is still viewed as a gimmick and where the Blackberry rules supreme for now.

And according to T3's own deep throat inside Orange, Apple might have been disappointed with the general performance of O2 which might explained why Orange has now approached Apple with a view to convince the manufacturer that it can do better than its competitor.

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Interestingly, one ITProportal.com staff has noticed that Orange has been giving out iPod Touch media players with some phone contracts in their Oxford Street store and we can't help wonder whether THIS was part of the deal.

As for those hoping that Orange would help make tariffs fairer, well, have a look at our Top 10 UK Business Broadband SME offers to see how O2 compares with Orange when it comes to their broadband to make up your mind.