What if instead of announcing the iPhone in January 2007 when it was still basically a pretty brick that didn't work (a huge risk if they hadn't been able to fix the product), Apple had instead waited until June and announced the product then?
Certainly, the buzz surrounding the phone would have continued and the risk of being sued for not disclosing that the phone wasn't even close to viable at the announcement would have been mitigated. This was a huge risk for Apple, which was already under SEC investigation, and while it played out for the company nicely there are few companies that are willing to take that risk.
HP would likely be at the top of the list when it comes to taking risks like this. While HP clearly had the same opportunity Apple had, and its product (based on Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Free Trial. Security Software As A Service From Webroot. Latest News about Microsoft Mobile platform) is vastly more complete than the iPhone was last January, it has apparently decided to hold off announcing the offering until later in the year, and the phone is still in the "rumor" stage as a result.
Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) Latest News about Vodafone, one of the carriers evidently launching the phone later in the year, evidently isn't that secure, however. Its entire fall line was leaked to the Web. One of those phones was HP's Oak, and it now takes the place of the iPhone for what is the most anticipated new phone coming to market. Granted, there is still the 3G Latest News about 3G iPhone and the expected iPhone nano -- at least one of which will show up this year (probably both) -- but for now the Oak seems to be the product to watch.
The reason for this is it seems to blend the advantages of the RIM Blackberry with the iPhone to create a hybrid product which offers the benefits of both into what could be a bigger product than either. HP's connections into the enterprise are better than RIM's, and the company probably has more senior people with Apple DNA than any other company in Silicon Valley.
Granted, there's no Steve Jobs there to present the product, but remember that it was HP's iPod competitor that scared Steve Jobs so much he actually tricked HP into stopping it. That won't work twice. This time HP appears not only to have a great product but to be immune to Apple's trickery.
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