5 Things That Could Make or Break the iPhone

1. No 3G High-Speed Internet

Apple made what some are calling a bad choice by calling the iPhone a "breakthrough Internet device" without including the fastest Internet access from AT&T which is UMTS high-speed Internet data. The iPhone only supports the lower speed EDGE system, though Apple's marketing campaign focuses on the iPhone's ease of use in downloading images and content, viewing videos and Internet browsing. Why not go with UMTS? Of course, AT&T's UMTS network is not yet widespread, but it will grow. The iPhone, however, supports WiFi Internet, which will compensate the lack of UMTS, but only where WiFi is available.

2. One Word: Large

The iPhone is very thin (less than half an inch thick) but quite voluminous. It is a bit wider and taller than the Treo 755p and slightly heavier than the BlackBerry 8800. And bulky cell phones rarely, if ever, become best seller cell phones. Take the Motorola RAZR and LG Chocolate. What made them popular? Functionality in a small size. So if the iPhone is a big hit, it will be the first "mass market" bulky PDA phone, a difficult endeavor since men don't carry a purse and are better off with smaller cell phones that fit in a pocket. Women do tend to carry a purse, but may prefer a phone with a smaller waist... if only for style.

3. Touch-Screen Buttons Only

The iPhone's large and touch-screen only interface is one of its strengths, but it could also turn out as a weakness if it is not functional enough. How exactly will the iPhone prevent unintentional keypresses? Will those touch-sensitive keys be sensitive enough? Or too much? Touch-sensitive works great for secondary functions such as music controls, but is it reliable enough for critical functions as making calls and hanging up? I tried a few cell phones with touch-sensitive call controls and sometimes, it is annoying to have no real, physical key to press on in order to hang up.

4. How Much Freedom Will The iPhone Offer?

The iPhone does not have a removable memory card. A surprising choice for such an expensive cell phone. How will you upload your own music? Through Apple's iPod software only? How will you transfer pictures to your PC? Through AT&T's paid network only? The level of liberty the iPhone will -- or will not -- give its users will determine if discriminate consumers will buy it or not.

5. How Does It Sound?

Creating a great cell phone requires balance between style and sound quality. Yet, sound quality depends on the casing material, speaker and microphone components, ability to communicate with cellular base stations and, a myriad of details such as the way the earpiece holes are designed! Veteran cell phone manufacturers such as Samsung, Nokia or Motorola have all made good and bad sounding phones, but how will Apple fare on its first ride? If everything about the iPhone is great but voice communication is disappointing, the iPhone could be doomed. Let's hope they took good care of sound quality.