Re: iPhone - so...what's the deal?
This historic thread seemed the one resurrect. If you like such things, DaringFireball.net is calling out all those who predicted the iPhone to be all hype and massive failure.
I was trying to remember what I expected. Before there was any iPhone, before I even knew of the rumors, I was talking with a coworker about whether there could be a good multi-function, touchscreen iPod. I said no; the loss of hardbuttons would be too detrimental and that type of convergence didn't make sense and would be a jack of all, master of none problem.
I was wrong, it seems. Though I'll assert that a dedicated iPod with hard buttons is still superior to any touch-screen iPod. (by the same reasoning, I bought universal remotes with buttons, and not all-touch screen remotes).
As for the iPhone, I took it as 50/50. I figured Apple could work its magic, or it could be a total bust, but it was fundamentally unpredictable.