1. Apple Haters

There is a large portion of the population that just hates Apple. (Easily spotted carrying a first generation Zune MP3 player.) If there is enough pre- and post-release buzz proclaiming the Pre as the new king of mobile, there could be a surge of sales that propel the device to the top.

But, Hold the Phone ... Never underestimate the cult of Steve Jobs. No matter what happens, or what device may or may not be superior, there will be tens of millions of dough-eyed people lined up at local Apple stores, dollars bills in hand, waiting in line for weeks just to get their hands on the next gadget born from the man-genius. In fact, we just wrote this while leaning agains the local Genius Bar -- now, please take our money, Mr. Jobs.