Vodafone supplier says 16GB iPhone 3G is End of Life

According to Vodafone's iPhone supplier, Brighthand, the 16GB iPhone 3G has been classified as End Of Life (EOL).  A leaked email from Vodafone to their retail staff suggests that Brighthand has "only a few weeks stock available".  While unconfirmed by Vodafone or Brighthand themselves, the leak lends weight to the rumor that Apple will announce a new, third-generation iPhone at the WWDC09 keynote on June 8th.Earlier today a placeholder for an "iPhone 32GB" was spotted on T-Mobile Austria's "coming soon" page; the listing has since been taken down.  The next-gen iPhone has been said to come with 32GB of storage, as well as using a faster processor and more capable graphics chipset, 3.2-megapixel camera and digital compass.

One point of confusion is that only the 16GB iPhone 3G has been designated EOL.  That could suggest that stocks of the 8GB model are so numerous that, even though it might be imminently discontinued, shortages are very unlikely; alternatively, Apple could be planning to keep it on sale as an entry-level handset, replacing the 16GB model with a new 32GB device.

[via iPhone Buzz]