Best Buy has announced that as of September 7, many branches of the franchise will be peddling Apple’s iPhone 3G.

Anyone who bought the iPhone 3G will remember how badly the launch went. While the standard of the iPhone launch was put into perspective seeming nothing but a little bumpy compared to the rocky launch of MobileMe on the same day, no one liked waiting in line for hours for their phone only to not be able to activate in the store. Or worse, find the store was sold out by the time to they managed to work their way up to the front from the back of the queue.

The announcement from Best Buy will see the iPhone hit more over 900 Best Buy outlets not to mention build on the already prominent smartphone presence in 16 Best Buy Mobile stores. It also marks the first time a third-party U.S. retailer will be selling the iPhone. The move increases the number of iPhone points of sales in the U.S. by almost 50 percent, just in time for the upcoming holiday season, supporting the apparently continued strong demand of the device.

The demand for the iPhone 3G has been nothing short of phenomenal and while lots of potential iPhoners might not have thought as far ahead as the holiday season, you can bet getting your hands on one is going to be difficult in the run up to Christmas. The announcement from Best Buy is good news for both companies and good news for the customer (somewhere new to queue up, at least?), but will the addition of the Best Buy stores mean the iPhone is even more thinly spread than before?

When UK carrier O2 kicked off pre-orders for the iPhone 3G, the 8 GB version sold out exceptionally fast. When customers inquired as to whether or not there would be more on sale, O2 claimed the shortage was down to Apple launching the iPhone in 22 countries at once. In other words, a classic case of, ’there just isn’t enough to go around.’

According to Tech Crunch, Foxconn has increased production of the iPhone to 800,000 units per week. Industry sources told the publication that this number was “above current full capacity”, which leads to worries about quality control.

Tech Crunch reports that Foxconn factories will be able to further increase unit production as time goes by but at current sell rates, the company is producing the Apple handset at a run rate of over 40 million units per year even though early estimations pointed toward just 25 million over the 3G product lifecycle.

Come this time next year, the iPhone 3G will be available in over 70 countries (22 launched the phone simultaneously on 11 July, with nearly 50 more expected to launch the phone in the next year). We love the idea of rambling into our local Best Buy and picking up an iPhone but it’s up to Apple to provide enough iPhone for everyone.

Best Buy Mobile already sells BlackBerrys, Palms and the Samsung Instinct.