Apple’s iPhone is set to be released in Singapore by September according to Apple insiders but several Singaporeans now use the iPhone. In the Philippines, iPhone release has not been given dates yet but several Filipinos are now flashing their new iPhone from the US.

Go to a mobile phone store in China or Hong Kong or Thailand and you will surely be offered an iPhone handset. Or, if you are not fortunate enough, you will be offered an iPhone clone – which looks exactly like the iPhone but not really.

The popularity of iPhone and how the hype is played in the press left Asians with no other choice but to buy smuggled iPhones from the US. That should explain the discrepancy between Apple’s announcement of the number of iPhone they produced and AT&T’s number of iPhone subscribers.

There are Asians in the USA or Europe who buy iPhones in bulk and bring the units to their home country then sold it at much higher price. The price didn’t matter though because several Asians are willing to cough up several dollars more just to get a hold of the iPhone.

Apple should immediately release the iPhone in Asia and set it free for any mobile carriers, instead of dealing with a telecom firm for an exclusive partnership. Send the iPhone to Asia now while the fever is still at 42 degrees.