Best Buy is clearing away some space for the white iPhone 4 on its shelves. The device will apparently be landing soon, but we have no exact date at this point.

Apple will launch iOS 4.3 on February 14 according to a rumor. If true, that would put it at the start of MWC 2011.

Best Buy has announced that on February 10 it will sell the Verizon iPhone 4 to all customers. The device will be offered in every Best Buy location around the country, at least if supplies hold up.

PADACS has unveiled a pair of new cases for the iPhone 4 that have batteries inside. One has a 1600mAh battery for $49.95 and the other has a 2200mAh battery for $59.95.

The Facebook app for iPhone was updated recently to version 3.3.3. The update adds fixes for crashes and improves chat reliability among other things.

Best Buy has finally killed off the restocking fee it charged for the iPhone. The restocking fee was 10% to return the iPhone and as of this weekend those fees are no more and Best Buy will refund that restocking fee if you made a return in the last month.

Normal cell phone insurance via Best Buy will cost you anywhere from $7 to $10 a month. Not the case with iPhone 3G S, Best Buy has raised this fee to a cool $15 a month. This premium fee is most likely due to the full retail price of the 3G S being so high at $599 and $699.

Good news is that this insurance will cover all sorts of damage – liquid damage, cracked screens, cracked casing, etc… All you have to do is bring your damaged iPhone into any Best Buy, they will fix it or replace your device on the spot.

[Apple Insider via The iPhone Blog]

Lots of Apple industry news to report. First, a pay-as-you-go plan for the iPhone 3G is set to launch on the carrier O2. The eastern European sales figures for the device have been rather disappointing on the global scale and China Mobile and Apple are still in talks to try and figure out how to bring the iPhone to the country.

Best Buy is officially going to be a retailer for the iPhone 3G, and they will even set up the phone for you and your email for free, that is, if you buy an accessory package. Another angry iPhone user is suing the company but the reasoning this time is rather interesting. They are claiming Apple and AT&T knowingly sold more iPhones than their network could allow, making for shoddy service all around. Apple has also filed a patent for a multi-touch plus function that would combine touch gestures with other actions like speaking.

EA Mobile will be bringing Spore Origins to the iPhone shortly along with a variety of other EA games like The Sims 3. Two new home automation control systems have also come to the iPhone this week, allowing those with home automation devices like Control4 or Crestron Control to manage the systems by means of an app on their phones. Some developers have been getting their apps rejected from the App Store because their creations have “limited utility.” Plus, the Phonofone II is a super expensive iPod dock that nostalgia lovers and gadget enthusiasts alike will adore.

We also found out that an Apple iPod event is set to happen on September 9th. Much speculation has covered iPhone Buzz about what that event will or will not contain, but we do know a completely retooled iPod nano should make its debut and the iPod touch will get a minor facelift. Dimensions of both devices leaked this week, as well. We also learned that iPhone 2.1 firmware may be released as well as iTunes 8.0. And be sure to check in on all the happenings by watching our live coverage of the iPod event on Tuesday at 10 a.m. PST at http://live.slashgear.com/.

In an attempt to sell accessory packages, Best Buy is stating that they will set up your phone for free should you buy such a package. However, this seems awfully misleading. Isn’t it a requirement that they set up your phone for you? Isn’t that what was holding up the line at several AT&T stores?

The accessory packages range in price from $106 to $234. What’s funny is that if you buy your iPhone from Apple, they have to activate your phone right there, and they’ll set up your email for you as a complimentary favor. No need to buy expensive and unnecessary accessories for that.

[via Gizmodo]

The week started with news that the App Store had accumulated 60 million downloads, equally $30 million sales. Plus, the first monthly sales reports were released to app developers, giving them insight into just how their software was doing. Later on, we learned that Best Buy is all set to sell the iPhone 3G beginning September 7 and HSBC is even considering a 200K iPhone 3G order.

Moving onto software issues and complaints, there was an initial problem at the beginning of the week following the 2.0.1 firmware update, which may have caused GPS issues to develop. We also learned that a building at the Apple Inc headquarters caught fire. Damage was mostly caused by water and smoke and no injuries were reported. And as many iPhone users have been unable to maintain a 3G connection, analysts now believe the problem lies with the Infineon chipset. However, a September software update should provide a fix for the reception problems, even though Infineon denies their chipsets are to blame.

But it wasn’t all bad news this week. In fact, several applications hit the App Store, to bring greater functionality to the iPhone. For instance, a web-based app of Google Translate was launched that brings you translating power on the go. Plus, an e-book reader called Stanza has opened the door to Kindle-like abilities, though you can only download public domain titles at the moment. A program call Qik makes video streaming possible from your iPhone and Simplify Media makes live streaming of your music library a breeze. Box Office has also returned to the App Store, though now it’s called Now Playing.

We offered several application reviews this week, as well. Crossword Light provided a detailed crossword puzzling experience, while Tilt Snake was a fun diversion, reminiscent of the old arcade game, though it could be improved.

Finally, a few iPhone gadgets and gizmos found their way onto iPhoneBuzz this week, notably the iPhone Dock Projector. It remains to be seen if this portable projector offers up a decent picture, but the idea is brilliant. Plus, the Steve Jobs bobble head iPhone dock is just a one in a million eBay offering that Apple diehards will have to have.

Despite the lack of revenue from the deal, Best Buy does stand to earn big from accessory sales. And while no one knows exactly how the numbers work out, Colin A. McGranahan with Sanford C. Berstein & Co told BusinessWeek that since the wholesale price of the iPhone 3G is probably around $550, AT&T could make up to a $350 subsidy from the voice and data fees. Likewise, Apple would get a $450 subsidy from AT&T.

But the picture is not so rosy for Best Buy:

If it paid a $550 wholesale price for an iPhone that it then sells for $199, it may only receive $350 to $400 back from AT&T, leaving it with a $0 to $50 profit. On another smartphone with a price to consumers of $199, Mr. McGranahan estimated the profit could easily be $100 to $200.

Yikes! The deals Apple cuts with retailers are not very generous, but they seem to work for now. Because when someone goes into a store looking for an iPod or an iPhone, that’s precisely what they want.

[via Bits at New York Times Blog]

However don’t expect any bargains or discounts.  Best Buy will be selling the iPhone 3G at the same price as Apple and AT&T stores; $199 for the 8GB, $299 for the 16GB.  The array of contracts will also be the same, and customers will still need to sign up to a two-year contract.

It’s hard to imagine that there’s someone not a stone’s throw from an AT&T store, but if you’ve decided to take the iPhone plunge and are closer to Best Buy then that’s even less walking for you to do.  The retailer now has until September 7th to train up all the staff, so as to avoid entirely damning the iPhone 3G’s reputation with unnecessary surliness and confusion.

Macs are currently available in a select few Best Buy stores as part of a trial programme with Apple, and based on the success of this the duo intend to hit 200 stores retailing Apple products by the end of September and 300 by the end of the year.  Sources close to the retailer, however, have suggested that an acceleration of the project may see it hit that 300 target before October.

“Apple is a very strong focus for us [right now], the displays are incredible and very popular — they are very eye-catching to our customers” Source close to Best Buy

At that point, around 40-percent of Best Buy’s stores will offer almost 80-percent of Apple’s product line, aided by specialist “boutique” areas in each store that demo the gadgetry complete with “mini-theatre displays with surround-sound.”