Apple May Get $325+ for Each iPhone 3G

AT&T is going to pay Apple $325 for each iPhone 3G that gets sold, according to an analyst's report. And it may be paying more in some situations.

Yair Reiner from Oppenheimer is the man responsible for this figure. And other reports say AT&T is paying an additional $100 to Apple for each new customer who buys one.

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This is an unusually high subsidy-- a typical one is about $200 -- but the iPhone 3G is an unusual phone.  It has attracted attention in the way no smartphone ever has before, and AT&T is the only U.S. carrier that offers it.

New Deal

Apple and AT&T worked out an even more unusual agreement for the original iPhone, in which Apple got a share of each customer's monthly service fee.

This was something it had never done before, and was apparently too much for AT&T, as it has been dropped in favor of a large one-time subsidy payment for each device.

More About the iPhone 3G

With a name like "iPhone 3G" some have thought this will be the third generation smartphone from Apple. Instead it's the second generation, and the name refers to its most significant new feature, support for 3G cellular-wireless networking.

But that won't be the only change. A GPS receiver has been added, and so has the ability to run native third-party applications that have been approved by Apple. In addition, it will be able to connect to Microsoft Exchange for corporate email service.

Aside from these, though, the iPhone 3G will be quite similar to its predecessor.

This smartphone will be released on July 11. Unlike the original version, this will be a worldwide launch, in 22 countries.

There will be two versions. An 8 GB one will sell for $200, while a 16 GB version will be $300 in the U.S.

Related Articles:

• AT&T Gives the Details on iPhone 3G Accounts
• iPhone 3G Is Official, but Not Yet Here
• Analyst: Apple Will Sell 45 Million iPhones in a Year