Apple is progressively launching its iPhone 3G in 21 countries while the App Store has been put online worldwide.

21 countries for July 11

In a few hours, the iPhone will be available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the US while France's launch with Orange will be delayed to July 17. The first country to enjoy the iPhone 3G being New Zealand.

Several reviews of the iPhone have already been posted on the Internet during the past few days. Among them, USA Today [1], the New York Times [2] and The Wallstreet Journal [3]

The price of the iPhone being significantly lower with this new version that includes 3G, GPS and the new V2 software, it will be interesting to see the first sales figures in the coming days. The availability in several more countries should also have a dramatic impact on sales figures, compared to last years' USA-only launch.

The App Store already online

Meanwhile, The App Store is already available worldwide and the first applications for the iPhone show up.

Among these first applications, many games like Super Monkey Ball, Enigmo, Texas Hold'em, Cro-Mac Rally Bejeweled and Moto Racer are already listed in the top ten and sell for $9.99.

Productivity tools like OmniFocus and MPG which lets you keep track of how much gas you use while driving, are also among the most popular paid applications.

In the free applications category, Remote tops charts, as it allows you to control your Mac and your Apple TV using your iPhone. Other free applications in the top ten mainly include web clients for known services like Facebook, Pandora, AOL Radio, eBay Mobile or MySpace Mobile.