According to the Taiwan Economic News, the Hon Hai Precision Industry Co in Taiwan has apparently received an order from Apple to produce 25 million units of the high-end 3G iPhone to be shipped before June.

Last March, Hon Hai signed an exclusive contract with Apple to assemble a “more advanced version of the current iPhone”. At that time, Bank of America analyst Scott Craig said that Apple plans to produce around 11 million iPhone units – 3 million in the quarter starting May 2008 and the remaining 8 million in the third quarter.

The online report from the Taiwan Economic News states that Apple is planning to diversify its iPhone product line

to widen its customer base in the mobile phone market. As a result, the new model is expected to weigh around 45 grams lesser than the 135-gram current iPhone model. The report also states that the 3G iPhone would offer a 2.8-inch screen instead of the 3.5-inch screen currently offered on the iPhone. Lastly, the new 3G iPhone would replace the aluminum magnesium with a smaller plastic casing.

Shipments of 3G iPhone in June are expected to reach 3 million units with a goal of 25 million units throughout the product’s lifecycle.

Apple is widely expected to announce the 3G iPhone version in June, approximately one year after the launch of the first-generation iPhones.