Having launched the iPhone in the U.S., Apple now is planning blastoffs in other countries. The rumor mill about which companies will carry Apple’s handset has been generating decent energy to potential more than a few iPhones.

According to a recent report in the Financial Times, that year’s launch pads will be restricted to France, Germany, and the UK, followed in 2008 by countries in Asia and the rest of Europe. France, Germany, and the UK were the first countries for Apple’s European rollout of the iPod.

O2, Orange, T-Mobile?

In the UK, the Times is reporting that O2, a British carrier owned by Telefonica, is closing in on an exclusive contract, but a spokesperson for O2 declined to confirm the story.

Until recently, Vodafone, the largest wireless carrier on the planet, reportedly had been steaming ahead in negotiations for pan-European iPhone distribution. But apparently those negotiations have fallen through.

Reports indicated that Apple

was demanding a major share of revenue and insisting on restricting carrier composition. On other devices, carriers such as Vodafone often feature their own portals. Additionally, some observers have noted that Vodafone is concentrating on 3G devices, while the iPhone uses the slower 2.5G EDGE technology.

Some news outlets are reporting that, in addition to O2 in the UK, Apple’s partners will be France Telecom’s Orange for France, and Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile for Germany. A launch period of November 2007 is expected for all three.

‘Different Needs’

Getting into the European market “is critical to the iPhone’s success,” said Jupiter Research’s Michael Gartenberg, “but Europe has some different needs than the U.S. market.”

He noted that SMS, as one example, is more fundamental in Europe than it is in the U.S. “Also, carriers in Europe are used to branding or providing carrier services,” he said, which Apple will not allow for the iPhone.

Carolina…