About this time last year, most every conversation I had with someone started to sound like this once they found out where I worked for a living and what I did there.

Them: So you write about Apple products?

Me: That's right.

Them: That's cool... so what do you think about this iPhone that's coming out? How's that going to do?

And that would be the point in the conversation where I'd stroke my chin wisely and furrow my brown and say in even, measured tones that the iPhone looked like a fine product, but I wasn't sure how it would measure up to the successes Apple enjoyed with the iMac or the iPod.

So yes--I'm the guy who predicted that the iPhone might not take off. You may now point in my direction and giggle derisively. Or better still, invite me to your next party or social gathering and have me make spectacularly wrong forecasts for the amusement of your guests.

I bring this up not because I feed on humiliation, but rather because one of the reasons I gave for my admittedly off-the-mark prediction struck me as somewhat relevant in light of recent events. When asked why I was dubious about the iPhone's prospects for success, I would explain that Apple had enjoyed its greatest triumphs when it had total control over a product. Unlike the iMac, the iPod, or any one of a number of other Apple offerings that the company designed, built, sold, and supported all by its lonesome, the iPhone required a partner--in the case of the U.S. market, AT&T. And while the two companies probably hammered out the whos, whats, wheres, and hows of iPhone marketing, they still differ in how they deliver on those goals.

Or to put it another way, while Apple has a very specific idea of presenting a unified experience and message to its customers, AT&T may not have that same notion. And that can lead to a confusing experience to the end user.

I think we saw this in recent weeks with a pair of bungled AT&T announcements regarding wireless connectivity and iPhone availability. AT&T's messages to current iPhone users and potential customers were contradictory and confusing. Users were left scratching their heads while executives Apple, presumably, were left shaking theirs.

Let's tackle the wireless connectivity issue first. Coffee retailer Starbucks is in the process of switching the Wi-Fi offered at its stores to an AT&T-provided service. The Starbucks-AT&T deal was thought to offer some benefit to iPhone users--specifically, in the form of free wireless access at Starbucks' stores. Indeed, my colleague Dan Moren was among the many iPhone users to successfully log on to the network at his local Starbucks. Testing out the connectivity at the start of this month, Dan went to a Somerville, Mass., Starbucks, fired up Safari on his iPhone, and was greeted with a login screen that let him online after he entered his 10-digit phone number.

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