In a move that I thought I would never see, due to AT&T/Apple wanting to keep tight reigns on activations and the most obvious - “supply issues”, Best Buy has been cleared to sell the iPhone 3G! I must say that I am both baffled and annoyed. Best Buy has been an authorized Apple dealer for quite some time, but I never imagined customers would be able to buy iphones there. Both Apple and AT&T made the entire experience of getting a new 3G iPhone cryptic, annoying, and slow. They both gave me the same song and dance when I questioned them about their supplies back in mid-July. It went something like this: “Sir, we honestly do not know when we can expect more units to come into our stores. The local warehouses are completely liquidated of all stock. It could take up to twenty-one days to secure a handset for you. Would you like to go ahead and purchase your phone today and get on the waiting list?” Bullshit! I hate corporate answers. It was either a ploy to send the public into a crazed-frenzy and guarantee sales by using supply-fear tactics or a way for Apple to fix problems with phones in production, after initial reviews starting coming back.

The clerks were very convincing about the number of handsets available. Now, all of a sudden, there is an abundance of handsets? Enough to supply the consumer electronics super-store, Best Buy? What gives? This leaves me wondering how many units were shipped to each of these stores for its Grand Sunday release - 09/07/08? Are Best Buy customers going to have to deal with the same crap that I had to deal with in trying to secure a handset on the same day?

This leaves me with some more questions. With Apple stores, AT&T, and most recently, Best Buy all selling the 3g handset - which stores will get re-stocks first? How long will Apple/AT&T have to ANNOY customers, by making them purchase the phone upfront and then wait 2 weeks for delivery? (myself, Chris Pirillo, and many others had to endure this horrible waiting period) Was this partnership with Best Buy planned all along? Or, did this partnership come about because of the negative press the iPhone 3G has been receiving lately?

I am needing to pick up a second handset for my wife and I am considering going over to Best Buy to see if there are any handsets left. It would be very convenient if I could accomplish this goal tomorrow morning. However, I can tell you that I will not, under any circumstances, be waiting in any ridiculous lines. I have already done that once and I was turned away after 3 hours of standing in line, because they ran out of stock at the local Apple store. I am hopeful that this new relationship with Best Buy will make it easier for customers to get an iPhone 3G on the same day, because, frankly, having to wait 3 weeks to receive a phone is for the birds.

-@4four1ones-