Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone has been selling like gangbusters in the U.S. since its debut in June 2007, but that kind of fever -- and the fever U.S. consumers felt at every iPhone launch in the U.S. -- seemed tepid by comparison when China Unicom unleashed the iPhone for sale last week.

The infighting between AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) just continues to get nastier as the line that constitutes a telecommunications provider continues to break down. Back when Google'e "Google Voice" application was not approved for use on the Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone this summer, the game began.

While Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) finally entered the mobile phone market in China today with what could be considered a very disappointing product offering, competitor Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) may be blazing into China as well with its China Unicom partnership for the iPhone.

Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM), the handheld PDA pioneer that has reportedly been on its deathbed several times in recent years, is about to launch the hotly-anticipated Pre on the Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) sometime this summer. From all accounts, the Pre may take on Apple, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone as its best competition yet.

When Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) unveiled the iPhone in January 2007, it probably knew that its marketing and influence were ripe to make that product the "must have" wireless handset. Indeed, it's turned out that way, with Apple quickly entering into the top-five companies in the wireless phone business.

Since then, the copycats (if we can call them that) have released on touch-screen phone after another. Some are good, some mediocre. Sprint Nextel Corp.'s (NYSE: S) impending release of the Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) Pre may be a very good contender to actually compete head-to-head with the iPhone.

With most Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone App Store applications gathering dust after a very short period of time, one has to wonder if the ultimate application store for the iPhone is all what it's cracked up to be. If most of the applications have very limited usefulness (one the novelty wears off), is the iPhone more than just an expensive applications platform with a mobile phone attached?

When it was rumored that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) would carry the Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 3G last month, many of us wondered what pricing the world's largest retailer would give the benevolent wireless handset. It's here now, as Wal-Mart confirmed at the end of last week that it would indeed be carrying the iPhone 3G as of yesterday in 2,500 stores in the U.S.

The price? Just a drop below normal $199 and $299 pricing. Wal-Mart is now selling the 8GB iPhone for $197 and the 16GB version for $297. For some reason, Wal-Mart whacks a few dollars off the price and thinks it has a pricing advantage. Not. Apple relented and allowed the retailer to take its usual "price ending in XX7" approach but apparently did not allow any discount on the iPhone beyond that. No lower priced handset, not a 4GB model for $99 that had been rumored. Nothing new really.

Except -- the iPhone will now be in front of the largest retailer audience in the U.S. That makes a huge difference for Apple. Pundits, myself included, have always thought brands cheapened themselves by selling in Wal-Mart. Does Apple cheapen itself by going into the largest discount retailer in the world? The iPhone and iPhone 3G have been around now for over 18 months and have sold in huge numbers, so I doubt it. The exclusivity factor of just being carried by AT&T has worn off, as has the novelty of the iPhone itself (it's no longer exclusive -- you see them everywhere). Assuming many Wal-Mart shoppers can pass credit checks, the iPhone 3G may find a whole new audience now.

Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is slicing $10 off the price of the 8GB Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 3G, cutting its price to $189.99 through January 3rd. In addition, the 16GB version of the iPhone will drop to $289.99 as well. Wow! A measly $10 off a new iPhone! Stop the presses!

Best Buy's Scott Moore indicated that "we thought this would be a way to help customers right now." What a generous gift, yes? Truth be told, it's Apple who dictates to its retailer partners the prices they can sell Apple goods. This is why you'll see almost the exact same price for any Apple product no matter where you purchase it.

But, if Best Buy thinks whacking $10 off the price of an already-overpriced piece of hardware is doing customers a favor, something's in the food in Richfield. And, a $30 "setup fee" for the iPhone? What kind of nonsense is that? At least this fee is being waived along with this huge price reduction. Since Best Buy gives a free "walking out working" setup to all the other cellphones it sells, why on earth is there a $30 fee to setup the iPhone -- which is heralded as one of the easiest phones to setup anyway?

It's no secret that Best Buy has been hurt by the holiday season retail sales slowdown -- it has said as much -- but I'm not sure this is any way to help that situation. That is, unless customers are expected to line up to save the cost of a single movie ticket to a device that locks them into more than $1,600 in calling and data plan contract fees over a 24-month period. What a mark that $10 will have, yes? If Apple and Best Buy really want to "help out" more customers, it sure needs to be more than a measly $10 pittance.

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is starting to place its advertising all over its web-based products as it tries desperately to gain ad revenue outside of its web search results.

In what has been a long time coming, the world leader in internet search will now be tailoring ads for its search product specifically for smaller screens like those on the Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone and the Google-powered G1 smartphone, offered by T-Mobile.

This makes sense. A web search performed on a standard web browser brings up text ads that bring in billions of revenue for Google every quarter. On smartphones with full web browsers but with a lack of screen real estate, these ads work but are sub-optimal. If Google can get this right and make text ads next to search results look like they belong on small-screen web browser, it will have significantly upped its ante.

Will customers click (with their fingers, no less) on mobile ads set next to mobile search results on these full-featured phones? The law of averages suggests they will, most likely. As iPhones sell in more volume and smartphones eventually become the mobile device of choice, mobile advertising will become a decent income stream for Google and other mobile ad networks.

At least, that is Google's dream. So far, mobile ads are miniscule in income generation compared to standard web search income generation -- even with many more phones in use than computers with standard web browsers.

It was just a matter of time. It looks like the Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 3G will be coming to Wal-Mart sometime before the end of the year, but probably after Christmas. According to the Boy Genius Report, which claims its sources are reliable and to have come across some internal Wal-Mart correspondence, the iPhone 3G will be sold in 2,500 Wal-Mart locations in about a month from now.

Remember that the iPhone 3G must be activated (unlike the original iPhone), so only Wal-Mart locations that can use a specific ordering and activation system can carry the iPhone 3G. Some Sam's Club locations will also carry the iPhone 3G, but they also must use the Wal-Mart ordering and activation system in-house (several Sam's locations use a different wireless activation system). All in all, this will make the iPhone available to just about every American (well, the ones with good credit at least) as more U.S. shoppers have exposure to Wal-Mart than just about any other store.

The question is whether Apple is forsaking the iPhone cool brand allure by offering it at the largest discounter in the world. At this time, no. The iPhone 3G has been out in the world long enough for the iPhone to make its name. Offering it at Wal-Mart now won't impact its reputation nor affect Apple's cred.

Since Apple pretty much dictates pricing to its retail partners, expect the iPhone 3G to sell for a dollar or two less than the standard $199 and $299 pricing levels seen at all other retailers. Say, something like $197.48 and $297.48, as Wal-Mart is into non-standard retail pricing schemes to try and create the illusion of low prices against the competition. The presumed launch date: December 28th. Get ready.

T-Mobile's G1 mobile phone -- with its Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) powered -- may have a bill of materials that's about 10% cheaper than Apple, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 3G, according to research firm iSuppli. No wonder it retails for only $179 with a two-year contract while the 8GB iPhone 3G sells for $199 with the same two-year contract.

Part of the difference may be in the memory of both units. While the iPhone 3G comes with 8GB of memory already installed, the T-Mobile G1 comes with a paltry 1GB memory card, which of course can be upgraded unlike the iPhone's memory capacity. The cost breakdowns: $144 for the G1 and $160 for the iPhone 3G. Even with the price break of a meaningless $20, can the G1 ever hope to compete with the iPhone's sales numbers?

Doubtful, at least in its current configuration. Apple's iPhone 3G surpassed the Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) RAZR to become the best-selling handset in the U.S. in this year's third quarter. The G1 is just now hitting the market as of late October. With the prices of the two units within $20 of each other, and with the iPhone's huge lead in being on the market, the G1 won't make much headway against iPhone sales. 2009 - and a second-generation G1 - could see renewed interest in T-Mobile's offering. Right now, it's all Apple.

One of the holy grails for consumer electronics manufacturers has always been to produce a single device that is good at so many things that customers don't need a whole collection of gadgets -- just one. The perfect example of this has been Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone. It makes calls, allows web browsing and email, can play music, TV and movies, and do about a jillion other things.

It's not the first device to try and be a jack-of-all-trades, but it's arguable the first to be the simplest and coolest at everything it does. Customers are apparently noticing, as they are dumping other gadgets in favor of carrying and using just one - the iPhone. And we're not talking middle-income families and consumers either, but those with incomes below the median.

This is music to Apple's ears -- its device is being used by all demographics for everything from telecommunications to video and music to web browsing (possibly being the first "portable" computer for many). ComScore stated that iPhone ownership spiked 48% from June 1 to the end of August among households earning between $25,000 and $50,000 a year. Need Apple say more? Not really.

After getting overloaded with economic bailout reading over the weekend, something techie floated to the top of the pile that caught my attention. It seems that Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is rejecting quite a few submissions to its App Store, where aspiring iPhone application developers send their programs so that iPhone customers can buy them.

The only problem is that Apple is not telling rejected (and dejected) application developers why their programs are not being approved. Also, the non-disclosure agreement the company is sending out prevents these developers from talking about their rejected iPhone app situations. Is this Apple being its usual self: controlling, closed and mum? The company really (really) knows how to design something the consumer wants and markets its sleek goods in a way other companies just can't figure out. But in addition to that, it retains a tight control on the entire ecosystem in which its products exist.

Perhaps it's the best form of quality control -- but it's not freedom. And developers want freedom, or, at the least, communication. Apple seems to be extremely tight-lipped, which is odd but not surprising.

On another Apple-control-freak note, Apple is now restricting reviews of iPhone Apps to people who have paid for them. It seems that the Wisdom of Crowds argument, which says that putting people in control leads to wisdom, isn't working here. Of course, there is also the vocal minority which can't be pleased by anything and trashes everything that doesn't fit a preconceived notion. Apple is turning on the quiet switch in this situation as well. So here's my proposal for a new motto: Apple: Think Different (but don't communicate it).

When Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) released the iPhone 3G back in July, little did it know (most likely) that the device would have issues worldwide connecting to 3G networks, causing consumer frustration on a level we've rarely seen with any Apple product. Well, some consumers have apparently given up and they're moving back to the older, slower, original iPhone, which is causing a cottage industry to spring up around the older device.

NextWorth.com is charging $200 to $300 for a used iPhone (the non-3G kind), which is more than the price of the newer, sleeker and faster iPhone 3G. Why? There's demand -- and lots of it. Some customers don't want to be shackled to AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T), the exclusive carrier for the iPhone and iPhone 3G in the U.S., as the original iPhone can be unlocked very easily using software tools found all over the internet. Once unlocked, the original iPhone can be used at any WiFi hotspot. There are no 3G connectivity issues either.

Does Apple have a problem now that the older, discontinued iPhone is still in hot demand? No. People using iPhones, new or old, reinforces the brand among other things, and Apple still made the original sale after all. If there is any loser here, it's AT&T. The largest wireless carrier in the U.S. still has the smallest nationwide 3G wireless network compared to its competitors. Launching a product with the magnitude of the iPhone 3G was just asking for problems given AT&T's network, and some informed customers don't want AT&T at all.