SAN JOSE, Calif. — Apple will start selling its new iPhone at 8 a.m. nationwide Friday and plans to activate U.S. customer accounts with AT&T within 15 minutes.
“Our expectation is that in 10 to 15 minutes, you’ll be set up and ready to go,” Ron Johnson, Apple’s retail chief, said Tuesday. Each of Apple’s more than 185 retail stores in the U.S. aims to handle about 100 customers an hour, he said.
The iPhone 3G, which works on faster third-generation wireless networks, also will go on sale in 21 other countries Friday, including Australia, Italy and Japan. Chief executive Steve Jobs wants the iPhone to become Apple’s third major business, alongside the Macintosh computer and the iPod.
Apple released the original version of the iPhone in June 2007 and sold more than 6 million before running out in May. The company may sell as many as 4.08 million iPhones this quarter, said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray Cos. in Minneapolis.
Consumers in the U.S. can buy an 8-gigabyte model for $199 or a 16-gigabyte version for $299 from Apple or AT&T, the exclusive U.S. wireless partner. The phone comes in black or white.
To make sure customers aren’t buying handsets to resell overseas or modify them for use on unauthorized wireless networks, Apple will require a credit card and Social Security number so the device can be activated immediately.
Apple won’t offer the iPhone 3G through its online store, Johnson said.
