• Reuters , Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:15 AM

Best Buy will announce today that it will sell Apple's newly launched 3G iPhone -- which lets users connect to the Web at high speeds -- at its 970 U.S. stores beginning on Sept. 7. About 600 stores will also showcase the handset, priced at $199 to $299, in their Apple mini-shops. Stand-alone Best Buy Mobile shops, which have opened in about 15 U.S. cities, will also sell the device, which requires a two-year contract with carrier AT&T.

The addition of the iPhone is a coup for Best Buy, which is counting on the introduction of the phone to help drive customer traffic and additional purchases during the crucial holiday shopping season that accounts for roughly one-third of the retailer's full-year sales.

For Apple, the broadened distribution channel could help it achieve its goal of selling 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008. It has sold the device at its smaller network of Apple shops and at AT&T retail stores, with 1 million sold during the 3G's first weekend in July.

Read the whole story at Reuters »