Incidentally, LG has already released a handset that features a button-less interface, like the iPhone, and which also carries some element of chic, being co-branded with Italian design house Prada.
By the time that Apple meets the demands of Cingular, and brings the iPhone to the rest of the world (probably not until next year), my prediction is that there will be more than a handful of imitations on the market that are cheaper and with even better technology such as 3G.
Obviously, Apple can release a newer and better version of the iPhone next year, but imagine the reaction of owners of the first-generation of iPhones who are stuck with at least a year to go on their Cingular contracts.