The Brighter Side of the 2008 iPhone Release in Asia.

Instead of ranting and cursing Steve Jobs for delaying the release of the iPhone in here, I find that releasing the iPhone later is actually a good thing for Asian Apple users. Yes, it is excruciating to wait for the iPhone... yes its torture to see how people from the "west" gets to use the iPhone ahead of us but look at it this way:

• By 2008, all the hardware kinks of the iPhone would have already been discovered and subsequently fixed. Remember the plethora of problems that hounded the first release of the MacBook and MacBook Pro? I'm hoping that the iPhone will not have as much problems as the early Intel Macs but if there are indeed problems, at least those problems will not be ours to experience and solve.By 2008, the cost of the iPhone ($499 for the 4GB model, $599 for the 8 GB model -- both with telco subsidy) would have stabilized. The street price will, hopefully, be lower than if it will be available immediately.
• Although the iPhone has an impressive lineup of features, it does not have 3G and HSDPA. Hopefully, the model that will reach the Asian market will have those high-speed mobile data standards. Add to that other potential, yet essential features that are not offered in the current iPhone. I would like to see it able to run applications such as a book reader, a "lite" version of Quicken, and other "lite" applications.
• And most importantly, it will give mac fanatics (like some people I know) to save up enough funds to buy the iPhone!

Yes, it will take a long time before we get our grubby little hands on the iPhone but I sincerely think that the wait will be well worth it.