You knew, deep in your heart (and the dark recesses of your mind), that sooner or later, Apple [AAPL] would start selling their popular iPhone 3G smartphones online, preferentially their own online Apple Store.
It’s been later rather than sooner, as the iPhone 3G has already made the rounds with the usual suspects of retailers like Best Buy [BBY], but better late than never…
The method of acquiring the iPhone 3G from the Apple Store is similar to the in-person experience: on the site, you’ll have to submit your profile information, which gets filtered through to an AT&T server for “eligibility”, and then you’ll get the subsidized price for the iPhone 3G and a setup for a contract with AT&T (if you are in the US):
- 8 GB version – USD $199
- 16 GB version – USD $299
If not, you can still get the iPhone 3G for the higher pricing, but you are still obligated to sign up for a new AT&T service contract:
- 8 GB version – USD $399
- 16 GB version – USD $499
