The Apple iPhone is still on schedule for release towards the end of June, the chief operating officer of AT&T - Apple's exclusive operator partner in the US - confirmed yesterday .

Scotching rumours that this year's most highly-anticipated handset could be delayed , AT&T's Randall Stephenson said the company's testing had been good and expectations were good. He reiterated the message: "The iPhone is on target to launch in June."

Mr Stephenson also indicated that more than a million people had already said they were interested in buying an iPhone, although he was unable to confirm whether that many devices would be available for the US launch.