Prediction: Apple to screw AT&T, win my undying admiration!
So the weekend of the iPhone has come and gone. The reviews are in and, as expected, mixed — but mostly positive…
Honestly, I was half-expecting a flop — I couldn’t see them doing much volume (500,000 units when all was said and done), and not just because of the extortionist price ($2K minimum over two years) but because of their exclusivity with AT&T — a wireless carrier lacking a good high speed network; lacking a good reputation as well. Is the hype enough to encourage people to take it in the nards in early termination fees from other carriers just to take another pounding from AT&T?
While indeed groundbreaking from an interface standpoint, I still don’t believe the iPhone will be a long run bump for Apple — what hope do they have with that five year marriage to AT&T?
That said, I think there’s a hidden gem buried in all this phone hysteria — the next-gen iPod; or maybe Newton. Whatever it is, it will be an Apple PDA — sans phone — unburdened by the contractual complications with AT&T. All the touchscreen goodness. Maybe even VoIP via EV-DO. Wifi. WiMax. Why not?