Many long-suffering iPhone owners let out a groan last week when it was reported that AT&T’s exclusive relationship with Apple may go at least through 2012.

But a friend of mine texted me last night to let me know he had just picked up a 3G Microcell from an AT&T store here in the District for $150. While it was reported that “some cities” would be getting this service in May, this was the first I’d heard of anyone in D.C. being able to get one.

This device is essentially a 3G tower in your house, and has a reported range of about 40 feet, so if you have a lot of dropped calls (and let’s face it, who doesn’t among iPhone users) in your home or apartment, this should help tremendously.

I just went to the site, and my ZIP code is eligible for the coverage, but when you try to find an AT&T store that actually has one, the only one that registers is out in Leesburg. My friend had the same experience and said that calling your local store may be quicker, as he was able to walk into one last night in Northwest without any hassle.

The one thing that you may want to note is that these calls do count against your minutes, so you may need to either ramp up your minutes or sign up for this AT&T HomeManager plan. I’ve heard that you may get a $100 discount on your Microcell if you sign up for HomeManager, and you can cancel at any time, so it might be worth $20 a month at first just to see how it goes.

Particularly for those who work from home and have dropped their landlines, this seems like a small price to pay for better service, but maybe it makes sense to see what happens with the so-called iPhone 4G.

For frustrated iPhone users who don’t want to pay $150 for their phone to work properly, here are some other suggestions.

UPDATE: I called the AT&T store on Conn Ave and they said they had “quite a few” in stock.