Availability

Despite it's shortcomings, the iPhone 3G is selling like hotcakes, and it's quickly overtaking sales of the first generation device in the short amount of time that it's been open. At the first launch, it took a year just to sell 6 million iPhones, but the iPhone 3G will reach its 6 million mark next week at the latest, and may have already done so.

The iPhone 3G has no trouble drawing in long lines of people waiting outside Apple's stores in the US, creating good publicity for the device's popularity, but the devision of Orange that will be the official carrier in Poland has decided not to leave things to chance. Rather than relying on popularity of the device and word of mouth or conventional advertising, they have hired payed actors to form lines outside their stores to create interest.

BGR claims to have "semi-confirmed" information from two sources that AT&T stores in the US will be receiving stock of iPhone 3Gs on August 21st. Supposedly the shipments will be intended to fill outstanding direct-fulfillment orders that are awaiting, well, fulfillment. It probably won't increase the overall number of 3Gs out there, but if you've been waiting for your order from AT&T, you could be in luck.

Confirming at least part of a statement from a May press release, SingTel has announced that they are the official iPhone carrier for Singapore. iPhone 3Gs will begin shipping there on August 22nd. They have yet to announce pricing details for the phones or plans. They have posted some tips for migrating contacts from another device to the iPhone 3G, as well as a way to reserve an iPhone. Apple has also created an official Singapore website with a guided tour.
[via MacNN]

BestBuy has officially announced that they will be selling the iPhone 3G in the United States starting on September 7th. Rumors that Best Buy was interested in operating as an iPhone reseller started a year ago, followed by rumors this June that Apple had sealed deals with Best Buy and Radio Shack.

Foxconn, the company responsible for the manufacturing of the iPhone and now iPhone 3G, came under investigation in 2006 for claims that workers were being forced to work in inhumane conditions. Apple had the investigation done and issued a report touting mostly positive results with the exception of some pretty inhumane conditions. Afterward they said they were handling things, and that it was under control.

Demand for the iPhone is still high where it is available, but that hasn't slowed Apple down from making deals with carriers to expand their consumer base territory. Carriers are coming out of the woodwork in droves, announcing their status as a future official iPhone 3G carrier for their respective territories and the plans they will be offering.

There has been a lot of news about the iPhone being announced in this country or that country, but there's a region in our own backyard that will be getting the iPhone very soon for the first time: the state of Vermont. I know what you're thinking, and yes, Vermont is part of the US, and the iPhone has technically been "launched" there already, but currently there isn't a single AT&T cell tower in the whole state, making it the only state one of the few states without direct access to the iPhone.

We thought Australia was pretty lucky to have the choice between Optus, Telstra, or Vodafone for their iPhone 3G plan, but they're about to get even luckier. While us poor saps in the US get to make due with just AT&T, the people in Australia are going from three official iPhone carriers to four; Virgin Mobile has announced that they too will be carrying the iPhone soon.

There are a lot of people who want iPhones, so the faster Apple's manufacturer can make them, the better. Foxconn, the company that builds the iPhone for Apple, is doing very well keeping up, building a whopping 800,000 iPhone 3G's a week, but according to TechCrunch, quality control might be suffering as a result.