The Cult of iPhone

But can it turn water to wine?

AT&T wireless President Stan Sigman doesn't just think the iPhone will be the biggest commercial product launch his company has ever had a hand in. He thinks it'll be the biggest product launch in the history of electronics. Such is the power of Apple to create buzz. The mere mention of a ship date can bump its stock two and a half percent.

Can it make you walk on water?

Can it predict Lotto results?

Can it separate "good" carbs from "bad" and leave your skin radiant?

OK, maybe not all of that.

However, the Apple iPhone can do a lot -- for a phone. Besides making calls, it can surf the Internet while also playing music and videos -- all with a snazzy touch screen and no buttons.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based technology giant hopes the iPhone will turn the cellular phone industry inside out, much like the iPod did for the music industry. If you have US$499 for a basic iPhone and $599 for an upgraded version, you can buy one starting June 29, the company confirmed Sunday night after broadcasting the release date in television commercials.

To commemorate it, we offer this guide to the one electronic device that's setting all-time records for cultlike hype and prerelease buzz. That buzz has helped boost Apple stock by more than a third since it was first unveiled in January -- a sign Wall Street is eager for the iPhone as well.

"I have never seen as much anticipation for a new product," said Michael Cai, an analyst with Dallas-based Parks Associates Latest News about Parks Associates.

If the iPhone sets any records, the first might be for prerelease hype. In May, AT&T wireless President Stan Sigman said the iPhone would be "the largest commercial product launch in the history of electronics."

Three weeks ago, the Federal Communications Commission Latest News about Federal Communications Commission granted the iPhone a wireless certification -- a prosaic, albeit important step. Yet, that one event triggered a cascade of hard-breathing alerts across the blogosphere and financial news wires.

Forget the hype. How many iPhones could Apple sell? The company's official forecast is 10 million through 2008, or about 1 percent of the mobile phone market in just 18 months. Depending on the combination of basic and upgraded versions, achieving such a goal could add several billion dollars of annual revenue to Apple's bottom line.

AT&T officials say a million people have put in requests for an iPhone -- and AT&T doesn't even maintain an official waiting list. Financial powerhouse Morgan Stanley recently raised its iPhone sales Free White Paper - What Retailers Should Know about M-Commerce forecast 33 percent to 8 million units in just the last six months of 2007.

Apple chief Jobs The Chicken Choker relishes a level of secrecy that the CIA would admire. Unlike other electronics companies that spread new gizmo prototypes around like candy, Apple guards its prototype iPhones like weapons-grade plutonium.

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