Apple posted a new Web page on Tuesday that assists the buyer with starting a purchase of an iPhone. The move appears to focus on reducing the time it takes in the Apple retail store to determine the eligibility, make the purchase, select plan options and activate the iPhone.

One of the barriers to fast store throughput, shorter lines and happy iPhone customers has been the tedious process of determining the customer eligibility. For example, customers with a corporate issued phone cannot just walk into an Apple retail store and upgrade from an iPhone 2G to a 3G. Also, occasionally, AT&T has put a (business Foundation Account Number) flag on a personal account that can require the customer to call AT&T while in the Apple store to have it removed.

With this new process, a prospective iPhone customer can get started online ahead of time, make sure their account and eligibility is all set (or terminate service with an existing provider if desired and start the transfer of the mobile number), select a rate plan and, finally, arrange for a time to visit an Apple store to pick up their new iPhone 3G.

Apple is on track to sell more than 12 million iPhones this year, according to analysts. However, if Apple wants to sell the projected 40+ million iPhones worldwide next year, streamlining that purchase process will be vital. The new service, for now, appears to be only available in the U.S.