Best Buy Now Carries iPhone 3G

Guess what?

The new iPhone 3G is available at 3 places now: A local AT&T store, an Apple Store, and now, any Best Buy location. Apple seems to have this marketing strategy, where they feature their product under a distributor. AT&T was one and now it’s Best Buy. AT&T, just in the second quarter, reported a profit of $3.77 billion; a huge part due to Apple’s iPhone. If the iPhone is able to increase profits by an enormous percentage, Best Buy must have jumped onto the bandwagon by paying Apple a ton of money to sell Apple’s iPhone at their stores.

Many think Apple has three ways of generating revenue. One is obviously from selling their products. Second, the commission they receive from AT&T upon a sale of an iPhone and the required data plan (an extra 30 bucks per month). Third, the amount of money companies like AT&T and Best Buy pay Apple to be able to sell their products at their stores. I am sure AT&T outbid Verizon Wireless or Sprint in order to sell the iPhone under their service. Certainly, Best Buy did the same to Walmart, and even Circuit City, by bribing Apple in order to sell the iPhone. Still the iPhone is not available online; the next step for Apple is to actually make it easier to obtain an iPhone. But with millions of iPhone’s being sold, nothing seems to stop consumers from getting their hands onto an iPhone.