Best Buy is the Apple of iPhone’s eye

Best Buy rolled out the iPhone 3G to more than 900 stores this week, making it the first retailer outside of Apple and AT&T to carry the iPhone.

The iPhone 3G debuted at Best Buy on Sept. 7 and should provide Apple with a huge boost in sales heading into the fourth quarter. Best Buy is selling the phones at nearly all of its 970 stores and its 15 Best Buy Mobile stand-alone stores.

“With the addition of Apple’s iPhone, Best Buy Mobile offers one of the best and most complete arrays of wireless carriers and handsets available from one retailer,” Best Buy said in a statement, adding that its stores carry plans from “nine carriers and up to 95 devices.”

Best Buy is selling the iPhone 3G at a standard price—$199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB phone—and buyers must purchase a two-year contract with AT&T as part of the deal. Customers can also leave the store with their iPhones fully functional as part of Best Buy Mobile’s ‘Walk Out Working’ plan.

Apple’s decision to partner with Best Buy has raised speculation that it may make the iPhone available to other retailers, though it’s not likely to happen on a large scale.

“They [Apple] require a certain level of service, so there aren’t that many candidates,” said Andy Hargreaves of Pacific Crest Securities. “RadioShack has a relationship with AT&T, so they’re a possibility.”

The deal will give the iPhone a wider presence at retail for the holiday season and analysts are expecting sales to far exceed the 4.5 million phones expected to sell during the current quarter. The iPhone 3G was sold at 200 Apple stores and nearly 2,000 AT&T outlets this summer.

The iPhone debut also broadens a relationship Best Buy established with Apple last year with its Apple Stores. The in-store departments that sell Mac computers and accessories are now in nearly 600 stores.