Between the well-publicized concerns about the 1.0 product (no 3rd party apps, slow EDGE, must unlock to use off an official carrier, etc.) and the fact Apple wasn't really doing anything active to promote the phone outside a couple of discrete markets with carrier partners in place, I think we should be ready for the possibility that the 2.0 rollout with real advertising and promotion effort begins showing results, they will look very good indeed.
As an owner of what was originally bought as an early G5 iMac (after three or four motherboard replacements, Lord only knows what computer is inside now), I can say avoiding the 1.0 product has a certain sense to it. On the other hand, I've loved by iPhone -- mostly because I so despised my RAZR and its abysmal UI.
So, while you may be projecting, I think it's a good bet you are projecting a clear image of the future :-)
With smart phone sales doubling in N. America while Apple was letting the channels run largely dry and telegraphing to the world that the new product was coming in just a few months, imagine what Apple might pull off with all cylinders firing again? http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080606/tec_smart_phones.html?.v=1
I predict iTunes-style announcements of "100k served" and "1 million served" and so on pretty soon after the App Store goes live. This has got to be a good thing for Apple, too.
Take care, --Tex.
PS I sure would like to discover GPS is for real. That would so rock. Enough stuff like that, and Apple will be in a great position to make deals with car mfgs for integration kits that will allow maps, search, etc. to be accessed from the dash, and music to be controlled from the steering wheel, and the speakers to be muted for hand-free phone calls. A feature set like that would seriously impress, if it could be shipped.
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