THE iPhone battle will enter a red-hot tripartite phase tomorrow.

Telcos StarHub and MobileOne (M1) announced yesterday that they would be selling the iPhone here from tomorrow, breaking SingTel's 15-month monopoly on the phone.

StarHub will sell the latest model of the device, the iPhone 3G S, at no cost or up to $668.

M1 will retail the same model for free or up to $658.

The cost of the iPhone drops with more expensive subscription plans. Also, the 32GB version of the iPhone 3G S will cost more than the 16GB version.

Both telcos will also sell an older model of the phone, the iPhone 3G.

SingTel, the first telco here to offer the iPhone, started selling the older iPhone 3G in August last year. It began offering the iPhone 3G S in July, at no cost or up to $678, depending on the subscription plan.

Both newcomers have thrown in features into their plans that could hot up competition for the Apple device.

M1 is offering a 'tariff rebate' of $350 to $1,000, to be paid over 12 months, to existing iPhone users who sign up for an M1 iPhone plan.

StarHub and M1 are capping Internet surfing charges on the iPhone, so users do not have to pay beyond a certain amount even if they exceed the amount of free data provided by the two telcos' iPhone subscription plans.

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