Hackers might Ruin iPhone's Market in Asia?

After a slew of European iPhone news, MarketWatch.com releases an article questioning whether hackers might hurt Apple's iPhone deals, especiallyin Asia.

We know that hackers has been able to get some iPhone features to work without AT&T activation. Browser and iTunes work on WiFi, and it is predicted that hackers might even be able to get VoIP calls done with WiFi as well.

They mentioned that it is usual in China and other parts of Asia that they might modify iPhone to get it working there without having to obey to Apple's deal. Could this bring trouble for Apple in the foreseeable future?

Here's the full scoop at MarketWatch.com.

Prediction: Apple's Future in Europe Might not be Bright

International Herald Tribune releases an article about a Berlin-based mobile phone consultant who flew to the US and acquire an iPhone. He returned and showed the phone to his clients, which then revealed this finding: those interested with iPhones are those into graphics or real Apple freaks. Mostly the same group of people, mostly, I should say.

The difficulty to write SMS, no push email, no Outlook sync, and lack of 3G are some of the top reasons why iPhone might not succeed in Europe as much as in the US.

Read the full story at International Herald Tribune

Advertising Age Predicts that iPhone will Fail

The hype has been enormous. Apple says its iPhone is "literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone." A stock-market analyst says, "The iPhone has the potential to be even bigger than the iPod."

I think not. An iPod is a divergence device; an iPhone is a convergence device. There's a big difference between the two.

I would actually cringe on this article, seeing myself rooting for the iPhone to revolutionize the way we use cell phones, but it does provide an interesting insight regarding the divergence/convergence difference. Here's the link to Advertising Age's article for those interested.