Apple’s iPhone 3G has again frenzied the world in anticipation for a consumer electronics product launch second to none. With last year’s iPhone launch craze in the US (and, to a lesser extent, in Europe), Apple will be hard pressed to one-up itself with the next-generation iPhone 3G’s launch on July 11. But, it’s not just about showmanship and drama. No, Apple’s got bigger plans for the iPhone and how it will affect the global wireless industry.

In-store activations
Let’s take a look at Apple’s iPhone 3G purchase policies. By now it’s a given that Apple and AT&T will be forcing the AT&T iPhone plans upon anyone looking to walk out of an Apple or AT&T retail store with iPhone 3G in hand. That means there are likely going to be significant lines as retail employees struggle to activate mobs of iPhone 3G handsets. But, why is Apple doing this?

As more information starts to trickle out from international iPhone 3G carriers, we’re starting to see that the iPhone 3G will be offered with price-tags similar to what we see in the US. The catch is that the US dollar is significantly weaker than the Euro. So, Europeans looking to grab their €149 iPhone 3G will actually be paying the equivalent of about $220 USD. Now, that makes for a seriously attractive US iPhone 3G market for anyone in Europe.

And, therein lies the reasoning behind Apple’s insistence that all iPhone 3G handsets be activated in-store. With the original iPhone, a significant percentage of the global iPhone stock was routed in to the grey market. The iPhones were purchased in the US and shipped overseas to be unlocked and used on international GSM networks. While Apple almost welcomed the international grey-market demand with the original iPhone, the next-generation iPhone 3G’s surprisingly low price-point in the US could be problematic for overseas carriers.

So, in an effort to completely kill-off any profit incentive for international importers to buy US iPhone 3G handsets and sell them in Europe, Apple has required that the handsets be activated and tied to 2-year contracts before they leave any store. It’s a hassle for Americans, but for Apple it’s all about the bottom-line.

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