While a brilliant product and the associated media frenzy of 2007 propelled the iPhone into the stratosphere, the current economy has analysts worried about the sustainability of the iPhone sales. In fact, the iPhone is just getting started, according to marketing expert Carl Howe in his Notes From Anywhere blog on Thursday.

In his recent responses to reporters, Mr. Howe has noted three key aspects of the iPhone’s near future.

Responding to the question of whether the iPhone has peaked, he wrote: "No. I would argue that the iPhone phenomenon has just gotten started. The Apple iPhone is truly an Anywhere phone, putting communication, media, and Internet content in the palm of nearly anyone’s hand anywhere in the world and on (mostly) any GSM network. Despite the iPhone only being available for sale in four countries, it’s being used today in more than 100. This adoption is amazing because no official native third-party apps have been released and the device is a version 1.0 device, Apple’s first effort in a market most pundits said it could never succeed in. Imagine what sales will look like when there are official distribution channels in more than four countries, when third party developers can create new iPhone applications, and when Apple has version 2.0 and 3.0 devices in the market."

Regarding the harm done with unlocked iPhones, Mr. Howe believed that the concern is overblown. While pundits claim that Apple is "losing" perhaps US$1B on lost carrier payments, that’s a commentary on their model of Apple’s business, not Apple’s.

On the third often asked point, Mr. Howe said that Apple doesn’t really need to cut the price of the iPhone. "Apple has no intent of chasing Motorola to see who can lose more money on phones in a futile attempt to gain market share. Market share isn’t the name of Apple’s game; consistent and growing profits are," he wrote.

Mr. Howe concluded that despite the current U.S. economy, Apple could well exceed Mr. Jobs’ estimate of 10 million iPhones sold by the end of 2008 by 25 percent. The bottom line: "...while they [are] only officially successful in a few countries today, imagine what will happen when they are Anywhere."