• The New York Times, Monday, June 4, 2007 10:33 AM

It has been almost six months since Steve Jobs--the world's consummate salesman--introduced the iPhone as the Ronco Veg-O-Matic for the Internet era. He has succeeded in building expectations for what some have called "the God machine."

Apple disclosed in television commercials last night that the phone would be released June 29. But some Apple executives worry privately that expectations for the one-button phones may be too high and that first-generation buyers will end up disappointed.

The high price--as much as $600--may limit the phones' appeal to true believers. The AT&T cellular network that the iPhone operates on is slower than many of its rivals. And several of Apple's handset competitors hope its decision not to include a keyboard--relying instead on a touch-screen virtual keyboard--will limit the attractiveness of the iPhone in business markets.

Most analysts believe that Apple will easily exceed its initial goal of selling 10 million phones by the end of next year, however, which will shift the balance of power away from the cellular networks and into the hands of manufacturers.

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