Australian tech retailer Dick Smith is joining the anticipated holiday push of Apple's iPhone 5 via its exclusive unlocked offering for the popular handset, which starts selling Nov 28 at $788.

The Apple smartphone will be fanned out to 50 Dick Smith stores nationwide and while no supply limit was mentioned by the gadget seller, this particular iPhone 5 offering will only come in the 16GB model that would connect users to local networks of their choice in exchange for a one-off payment.

While the Dick Smith price tag seems a bit exorbitant, it could prove more practical for many users in the long-run since they will have complete control of both their voice and data usage.

And since the iPhone 5 is a world-phone, with GSM and CDMA versions available while at the same time able to access LTE-4G networks, Aussies who travel frequently would find owning unlocked very ideal as prepaid SIMs are largely available in destinations normally on their visiting list.

This Apple deal, according to Dick Smith, is exclusively over-the-counter and will be available in the usual black and white colours.

According to IT Wire, the Apple-Dick Smith tie up is so far the best iPhone 5 deal in Australia, where the unlocked variant with the same storage capacity normally starts at $799, which incidentally is the same price level offered by Kogan.

A check on online stores like Amazon would show that the same iPhone model can be had for $US868, which for Australian buyers would further jump due to the unique policy set by tech online retailers for purchases originating in this part of the world.

With greater accessibility for the iPhone 5 not only in Australia but worldwide, the Apple handset is expected to chalk up higher sales figures for the whole duration of the holiday shopping season, Kantar WorldPanel reported on Tuesday.

The same Kantar report showed that iPhone was once again the bestselling smartphone brand by the end of October 2012 but that distinction is true only within the confines of the United States market.

For the rest of the world, Android phones remain on top as leading Google-powered brands like the Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note, Nexus and Optimus plus the flood of entry-level smartphones continue to lure millions of buys in Asia, Europe and the emerging markets of Brazil and China, Kantar said on its report.