We can only speculate about how long the batteries in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhones will last, but when they need replacing there might be some very unhappy owners walking around. Will we know who has their iPhones "in the shop" by their long faces and glum expressions? Will we be consoling friends -- "Don't worry, they will return it soon" or teasing them -- "Hey dude, what's the matter? You look like your iPhone died!"

Apple has designed a wonderful, bold new product sure to please many for years to come, but like any adventure into a new realm there are always new issues to contend with as well. Since Apple has designed the iPhone with the batteries soldered in place so that they have to be returned to Apple for a new one, at a high cost to their captive audience, I think we can anticipate some painful consumer experiences in a year's time. This seems to be an unfortunate flaw that they felt they just had to accept for now. What will people do during the down time? Will Apple offer loaners? They certainly cannot offer a different type of phone in the interim. Will they charge customers for the loaners?

Time will tell, but if Apple has not planned for the coming mayhem then the new phone will create some very interesting new experiences, and not the pleasant kind. Some old advice for manufacturer and customer alike: 'hope for the best, plan for the worst.'

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Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm.