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The launch of the new iPhone is upon us. It is rumored that the iPhone 3G will start selling July 11th, 6:00 a.m sharp. We all remember last year’s deal when people had to wait for hours in line to get their hands on the iPhone. Here are a couple of pointers if you are going to go for the 3G this year:

1. There is no I in team: Team work is extremely important if you want to minimize your time staying in line and get your hands on the new iPhone as soon as possible. Last year I only tried the Apple store, and found out that the AT&T stores in my area where bascially deserted. Now depending on where you live, you may have to switch back and forth between these two stores. Why not go after the iPhone in team. Grab a friend, a relative, anyone you can find in the streets, and go as a team. Team work always pays off.
2. Aim for a few hours: there is a good chance that you will have to wait more than a couple of hours to get your hands on the phone. You could also get lucky and get your phone in only 10 minutes, but it doesn’t hurt to set your expectations low. Make sure you have water, beverage, and whatever else you may need after a couple hours of wait.
3. Don’t forget your old iPhone: Not a lot of people forget their cell phones when they go out. But come July 11th, you need to have your phone ready in case your store runs out of iPhones. It shouldn’t happen but it could, so plan for it.

I would get early (like 4:00 a.m) to get in line. Going earlier than that is just not worth it in my opinion. At the same time, don’t expect to get there 5:30 am and be the first in line. Everybody can do 30 minutes early. But 2 hours early? Now that would be a challenge to at least 70% of iPhone shoppers. But don’t be surprised if you see people in line that early. I was surprised the first time but it happens all the time.

Well, if you consider the fact that Apple was planning to sell the iPhone 3G for $529, then we would be looking at $350 pofit (not net profit of course) on each device.

Whether this report is right or not, I tend to agree with the good folks at Wired that Apple has been getting better at making things look worth more than they are. If a no name company came out with a device exactly similar to iPhone and tried to sell it for $500, people would probably not buy it. But all the branding and hype that Apple’s marketing machine has done over the years makes iPhone look like a $1 mil device, and people think they are getting a bargain at $500.

Do we like to see AT&T give iPhone out for free? No question. The margins suggest that AT&T and Apple can come up with such a deal, but why should they if people are willing to buy the iPhone at its current price. I am still shocked that AT&T brought the price down by $200. But considering that you end up paying more for the contract may have been the main reason.

Yet Another story on how the new iPhone could eventually kill of the iPod. I mentioned in an earlier post that I thought iPod touch had no clear future. I am sure the smart people at Apple also realize that the days of people just buying an MP3 Player for the sake of listening to music is going to be over soon. Surely, there will be demand for a product that only does one thing, but the younger generation would be more into multitasking which means multi-tasking devices will be hotter than ever in the upcoming years.

Apple iPhone is now going for $199 which is much affordable than before. It’s true that the phone plans are not that affordable but the younger generation rather save $300 that that they would’ve paid a couple of years ago on an iPod and put that towards getting the iPhone. I still think the best way to go forward for Apple is to combine the two devices. Let’s say you go to the Apple store and buy an iPhone. If you don’t like to activate it, then you pay $299 for it. But if you activate it within 30 days, you get $100 back in rebate. There are a lot of things to consider when going with such a plan, but I am sure Apple can figure it out. But don’t make us buy two very similar devices and pretend that they are very different.

There is no question that Apple has not been the only beneficiary of the AT&T-Apple deal. It’s true that Apple is making a ton with each phone these days, but AT&T has not only managed to sign up a lot of people for their rather expensive data plans, they have also done some branding as well. Think about it. It’s like a jeopardy question: the only provider who services the iPhone.

I often criticize AT&T for not having the service worthy of an innovative device such as the iPhone, but they have done a marvelous job typing up the deal with Apple. If there is one company that you want to have on your side these days, it’s Apple, and AT&T has done more than enough to keep Apple on its side. Was that the right decision in the long run? Only the future will tell, but right now AT&T looks absurdly smart.

While the exact numbers are not known, analysts from around the net are claiming that AT&T could be paying as much as $425 per iPhone 3G to make it affordable to iPhone owners. The numbers do make sense. The old iPhone was going for $499 when it was released, so it’s not surprising that Apple probably had the same price in mind if there was no deal with AT&T and iPhone was sold unlocked. But AT&T’s referral deal with Apple is to keep Apple from considering other carriers really. Paying $100 per contract to Apple by AT&T is truly an offer that no one can refuse, considering how hot the iPhone is and how people don’t sleep for days to get their hands on these phones.

AT&T could do itself one better by investing some of the money they are throwing around at their real problem: Quality of Service. While they have the gadget exclusively now in the U.S., I think it is essential for them to prove that their are deserving of such a revolutionary device.