Apple is planning to launch a media playing mobile phone this spring that can handle 3G and VoIP calls, according to analyst firm Visiongain. 

The firm predicts that Apple will announce the phone to coincide with the US launch of Helio, a new virtual network operator which aims to attract young, high spending customers to its combination 3G/VoIP network.

"The odds are extremely good that Apple will launch an iPhone this spring in tandem with Helio's launch in the US," said Pam Duffey, telecoms analyst at Visiongain.

"The relationship between Apple and Helio management goes back to the Motorola Rokr iTunes phone, and Helio has declared a target audience identical to iPod's existing market.

"Helio's top rank executives have also publicly voiced frustration with mainstream carriers, and appear to be on a crusade to radically shake-up the industry."

Apple teamed up with Motorola last year to offer the Rokr phone, which ran iTunes tracks but had severely limited capacity. Customer response was less than enthusiastic.

The new phone could be designed to mimic existing iPod media players, while using the latest technology to increase download speeds.

Helio is a $440m joint venture between wireless carrier SK Telecom and ISP EarthLink, which services five million web users.

The new venture aims to sign about three million customers and generate more than $2bn in revenue by 2009.