And the iPhone goes to... Best Buy!

All that hammering at Apple must have paid off: Best Buy will begin selling the iPhone, after a year-long wait and plenty of complaining that Apple wasn't being fair to its loyal resellers. While many Apple products (especially iPods) are widely available at "big box" retailers like Costco and Best Buy, Apple has steadfastly refused to allow third parties (aside from carrier AT&T) to resell the iPhone.

Best Buy becomes the first American company to bust through that gate. It will get the iPhone on September 7. The phone will be available at all Best Buys nationwide.

Not mentioned in the company's press release is the issue of activation, but it appears that Best Buy and Apple will indeed continue to require that iPhones be activated before the customer leaves the store with device. I have messages in to both Apple and Best Buy to confirm this and will update the post when one or both gets back to me.

So why is Apple relaxing its rules? Drive by an AT&T or Apple store and you'll probably figure out why: Over a month after its release, there are still long lines of people impatiently waiting to get their hands on an iPhone 3G, mainly because the activation process takes so long. Who knows how many people simply decide to skip purchasing it altogether (or buy something else) because they don't want to wait in line? Apple has been flushing millions away due to the new activation scheme; adding over 600 additional outlets where customers can purchase phones ought to ease the lines a bit.

Now how about that extended warranty?