iPhone Watch: Best Buy to become newest retailer of iPhones

Retail giant Best Buy has apparently been working overtime to get on Apple's good side, and it seems all that hard work is about to pay off.  Best Buy will become the third retailer of Apple's iPhone 3G, alongside AT&T and Apple itself, with iPhone 3Gs hitting BB shelves as soon as September 7th, according to a press release issued today by the company.

Shawn Score, head of Best Buy Mobile (BB's mobile phone store within a store) was quoted by the AP regarding his team's efforts to woo Apple into letting them carry the newest iPhone.  “We had a lot of work to do, obviously, to get in a position where Apple and AT&T would feel good about Best Buy Mobile carrying it, and that’s what we’ve done in the last 18 months,” said Score.

Best Buy Mobile carries a swath of US carrier phones and accessories and a few unlocked goodies including the new HTC Touch Dual.  They've also carried Apple products, including Mac computers and iPod portable media players, for awhile now.  So the move to iPhones seems to make sense for BB and Apple alike - expanded brand presence for Apple in a major electronics chain and more chances to make money for Best Buy. 

Consumers, on the other hand, don't stand to gain much from the partnership beyond a new place to buy iPhones.  Apple is notoriously strict with their pricing policies, so it's all but certain that BB won't be able to offer iPhones any cheaper than Apple & AT&T's $199/299 price points.  Best Buy President/COO Brian J. Dunn claims that their "employees have the training and expertise to deliver the best experience possible for our customers - from the initial purchase through the life of their iPhones."  We'll see about that ...