Sydney Apple store will sell iPhones

Apple will sell 3G iPhones in its flagship Sydney retail store on George Street from 8am Friday morning.

A (very) small queue outside the Apple Store this afternoon.

Multiple sources confirmed the plans this afternoon, however, Apple has not responded to questions whether the iPhone would be available at its own facility.

ZDNet Australia believes the consumer technology giant is planning to offer iPhones on behalf of the local mobile carriers who will sell the iPhone from tomorrow morning, although it will not sell unlocked handsets.

This afternoon the store posted additional promotional material on its front windows promoting the iPhone.

A short queue of those keen to buy the iPhone early has formed outside the store, where Apple staff have erected a small velvet rope in order to segregate customers lining up early from passers-by.

The news comes as Hutchison, the only major carrier not to offer the iPhone in Australia, remains unsure if iPhones bought from other carriers and unlocked will function on its network.

"We don't know," said a Hutchison spokesperson. "We haven't seen one. Until it launches tomorrow, we won't know that. We are not going to know until the phones have launched and people start trying.

"There is no way of knowing that at the moment," the spokesperson said.