You usually need to wait until a product actually ships until you hit the "Trough of Disillusionment" (see Wikipedia definition).
But some negative articles are (and have been) already starting to appear about the iPhone.
The EDN / Brian's Brain blog ran this post back in January: "The Apple iPhone: 10 Significant Shortcomings." This SmartOffice article from just this week "Long Term the Apple iPhone May be a Dud, Price a Big Issue" quotes an IDC report that questions whether the masses will adopt the iPhone. In terms of enterprise adoption issues, Network Computing had the following story last week: "Applications May be the iPhone's Shortcoming."
So far, though, I think most people would agree that Apple has played this pretty masterfully. Since Steve Jobs delivered his pitch earlier this year, the iPhone has seemed to be a mythical, elusive creature as Apple has gradually unveiled features and teased us with fleeting glimpses showing flash, brilliance and innovation in its recent commercials.
This can be a dangerous game as expectations have been built sky high and buzz and speculation have reached a fever pitch. It would be all too easy for this all to come crashing down if the promise eclipses reality when the phone finally become available next week.
On the other hand, introducing the iPhone in this way has also gradually let the air out of heightened expectations as people wake up to the reality that the phone might not be the Holy Grail people everyone expected. It has also given Apple time to respond to some of the criticism, e.g. Steve Jobs addressed developers' concerns at WWDC show last week.
Although I had been skeptical (there are price issues, and anyway Verizon is the only carrier that has good reception in my town), I must say they have my attention and I am looking forward to checking it out.
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