14 DAY TRIAL // As the launch of the iPhone draws even closer, the number of erroneous and misleading reports circulating on the Internet continues to rise. Some as simple and quite silly, while others are complex and often get picked up by major publications which only add to the chaos. Most of the reports or rumors end up having little impact, but some manage to make significant dents. As June 29 nears, we can expect the FUD to pile up even more.
With the launch of the iPhone in just under two weeks, we will likely be seeing more details coming out of Apple and AT&T soon. The current situation is unprecedented, with so much information about pivotal features and the associated service contract still being kept under wraps. While the vast majority of projections on the device continue to be incredibly optimistic, there will undoubtedly be a media backlash when more information finally gets released.
This backlash will happen regardless of what information will actually get published, good or bad; there will be a swarm of comments, opinions and analyses, simply because the iPhone is so popular. Any iPhone story will be eagerly devoured, and the more sensational and controversial it is, the better it will do. While most of the FUD is geared towards getting hits, some of it has the explicit purpose of taking down Apple's stock price, such as the bogus story that was picked up by Engadget. Despite only running for a limited time and being quickly clarified by Apple, the bogus report caused the company's stock to tank significantly.
Since Apple recently announced that third party applications will be available on the iPhone via the World Wide Web, the doomsayer's favorite shortcoming of the device, lack of third party application support, has been put to sleep, and they will have to find a new one? So far it seems that the lack of a physical keyboard is now the popular reason the iPhone will fail. Time will tell if something else gets pulled out of the hat.