Apple cleared estimated $330 million in three days

That first weekend of iPhone 3G sales was a very profitable one for Apple (AAPL), based on some quick back-of-the envelope analysis.

We know from Apple that the company sold at least 1 million iPhones in those first three days. We know from a teardown published by iSuppli Monday roughly how much the phones cost to build. We know their retail price and have some pretty good estimates of how much that retail price was subsidized by ATT and the other carriers. Finally, we have a Piper Jaffray survey that suggests how many customers chose the more expensive 16 GB model over the entry level 8GB.

Here are the numbers:

• At least 1 million iPhones sold over the first weekend (Apple)
• Cost to Apple: $174.33 parts plus $50 royalties for 8GB model; $16 more for 16GB model (iSuppli)
• Cost to consumers: $199 (8GB), $299 (16GB) (Apple)
• Cost to carriers: conservatively, $499 (8GB), $599 (16GB) (iSuppli)
• Profit per phone: $274.67 (8GB) and $358.67 (16GB)
• Models sold: 33% (8GB), 66% (16GB) (Piper Jaffray survey)