New Zealand will be one of the first countries after the United States to receive the new iPhone 4 which was launched by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs yesterday, New Zealand time.
The new phone goes on sale in the US this month as Apple tries to stay ahead of a growing list of rivals, including Google, in the competitive smartphone market.
New Zealand will receive the phone in July and Vodafone corporate communications head Paul Brislen told the Otago Daily Times that Vodafone would launch the phone as soon as possible.
Pricing and plans would be released soon.
Reuters reported that Mr Jobs captivated a packed room with the new $US199 ($NZ300) iPhone 4 which was a quarter slimmer than the current handset, with about double the picture quality, sports the in-house A4 processor or computing brain, and allows video chat.
The latest phone goes on sale on June 24 in five countries, expanding to 18 by July and 88 by September in the fastest-ever international launch for an iPhone.
But many of the technological improvements had been expected and analysts say it will take a lot to stand out from the crowd.
Google's Android operating system - used by many brands from Motorola and HTC to Samsung Electronics and Dell - poses the biggest threat.
Adam Leach, the principal analyst at research house Ovum, said the iPhone had become the industry benchmark and the fourth generation device only reinforced that view.
"However, the iPhone 4 faces much stiffer competition than its predecessors.
The rise of Google Android over the last two years has been phenomenal and is allowing manufacturers to create appealing alternatives to the iPhone - critically at cheaper prices."
The risk to Apple was that those devices offered greater freedom with available content.
The devices might prove more appealing if they offered the right user and developer experience compared to a device with Apple-approved content only.
"This may ultimately be what puts the brakes on unlimited iPhone growth," Mr Leach said.
According to research group Gartner, global sales of smartphones rose nearly 50% in the three months ended March.
The iPhone has transformed Apple into one of the world's leading mobile device makers and set the competitive landscape in a smartphone market that will play out for years.
Apple sold a record 8.75 million iPhones in its latest quarter, accounting for 40% of its revenue.
The iPhone 4 will give seven hours of talk time on 3G networks, up to 10 hours of web browsing on wi-fi and up to six hours on 3G, up to 10 hours of video playback and 40 hours of audio playback.
