PiperJaffray analyst Gene Munster has thrown his prediction hat into the ring and suggested that Apple will have three distinct iPhone handsets in the market by January 2009, one of which will be the well-discussed 3G version of the smartphone.  The other two devices, he maintains, will be a “budget” iPhone – priced between $200 and $300 – and a high-end device that breaks the $400 price barrier.  It’s speculated that this device will be the much-rumored iPhone-based Apple UMPC/tablet, although Munster did not suggest this in his report.

“The iPhone is the driver with the greatest potential.  We believe the iPhone will replace the iPod as a driver of significant growth for the company” Gene Munster, analyst, PiperJaffray

The expansion would mark a shift from the iPod to the iPhone as the principle driver of growth for Apple, with Munster predicting 2008 will see the iPhone launching in Canada, Mexico, Australia, Italy and Japan.  He hedges his bets regarding a Chinese launch, citing the stumbling negotiations as key problem.  Gene predicts that these new markets could “effectively double” the iPhone’s potential market each year, pegging total sales during 2009 at 45 million.

Munster expects the 3G iPhone to launch at some point between June and September “with new features”.

[via iPhone Buzz]