.... is still only 2.5G, what a huge let down. I wouldn't expect anything less than 3G from a phone like this.

Bless poor Apple they have dedicated a lot of time into the interface, but it seems they have sacrificed some of the leatest tech because of it.

I'm quite surprised that Apple didn't give T-Mobile more consideration, as they have some of the best data plans.

So does this mean the same kind of issues which hampered the iPhone in the US via AT&T will now hurt the iPhone in the UK too due to 2.5 network speeds?

How many people in the UK will buy this with no 3G connectivity?

I was excited about the iPhone when I heard about it and actually put off buying a new ipod untill I heard the details.

Thing is, I can get an N95 that does the same thing (apart from the touch screen) and more for almost nothing. As well as a host of other phones that all seem to match the iPhone in looks etc.

Say it ain't so.

No offence to O2 but surely T-Mobile or Voda would have been a far superior choice for a provider to Apple's new baby.

In fact my foot is coming down on this one!

Hey Steve!

You hearing me!

No to O2, and yes to T-Mobile or Voda.

And please can we get movies and tv on itunes over here anytime soon!

T

How can I berate iBoys effectively if you post 2 articles in the space of a week which totally contradict each other?

Last week you claimed that the EU iPhone would be on 3 different providers including Vodafone and that it would be 3G.

This week it is 1 provider and Edge/2.5G

I spent the better part of the time between the two stories, doing my geek duty and rightly mocking the US iBoys for their inferior deal, and whereas I appreciate that I now have the opportunity to mock EU iBoys even more because they spent a week getting their hopes up and soiling their underwear with iMan juice, it does mean I have to, rather regretfully, make a tactical withdrawal from my US front lines.

So please, try and prevent contradicting yourselves too much.

Let me get this right, people in the UK is going to cough up almost £500 (latest US-UK exchange made up by god) to buy a phone that operates on 2.5g, ok, I give credit to the iP its pretty and does a lot, but personally I think its all clever marketing to stir up interest, when really its just a iPod with phone functions added, I am no music fan, but our Sony K800i with a 2GB card can play good music, make calls, take 3.2Mp pictures, smaller and works on....3G for so much less.... ok, the damn camera traps dust inside the lens, but still works well on a good day.

Another victory to Apple's huge bank balance...

the joy of 18 month contracts; means ill be spared this rap until its crap.

..but for how much? It's still early days, but unless O2/Apple choose to heavily subsidise the handset, I can't really imagine that many people shelling out £300 to get one (or more like £500 after you're-in-England taxes). People in the UK aren't used to spending money up-front on a phone, it's not the US here (duh!).

Of course some people will get one, it's an iLife essential after all, and some people will just go for it. The other opportunity would be corporate clients - but there are so many things missing from it that make it inappropriate for corporate use that I just can't imagine a CIO with half a brain opting for them. But hey, we've seen stranger things happen...

Roll on the iChristmas I say!

I would love to have an iPhone, but there are some issues:

(1) I will not change to another network, being with T-Mobile as I am, I won't be getting one for that reason first.

(2) As good as the iPhone might be as a 2.5G phone, I have been used to a 3G phone (Nokia N95), so I'd be reluctant to make a retrograde step.

(3) 2M pixel camera, I'll stick with 5M pixel autofocus thanks.

(4) The iPhone doesn't have an FM or DAB radio.

To be honest I think the iPhone looks marvellous, but I don't think that Apple have really understood the European market. It is after all the birth place of GSM, whereas the USA is a late comer to GSM networks. This is probably why Europe is quite a ways ahead when it comes to 3G adoption, and I feel this will handicap the iPhone when it comes to making a choice of which phone to have.

Who knows, though, maybe a second revision iPhone tailored more for the European market is coming.

I'm guessing that O2 was the only network to give in completely to all of Apples ridiculous demands. All the other networks probably showed some back-bone

"to buy a phone that operates on 2.5g"

It's worse than that, the iPhone can't handle multimedia messages either. Even my £30 backup phone can do that.

It seems Apple have made the iPhone for the rather backward American phone market, and are going to be laughed out of the shops in Europe and Asia, at least they will at the price they're asking. The latest European handsets and networks already support HSDPA (3.5G), Asia is deep into 4G, while Apple isn't even on 3G yet.

This has happened before of course, anyone remember the iTunes-compatible Motorola ROKR? It was technically okay for the US market but seemed downright primitive elsewhere.

Why O2? No doubt because they will be giving the best kickback, nothing new there. If Apple wanted a payback of the profits why would they go to an operator who's data is reasonably priced from the consumer's point of view?

Why no 3G? Because if it was about wanting the best and a sound understanding of technology no one would be buying it anyway. i-Marketing is everything, if you can shift a few million to people who buy into the hype then fine. As the old saying goes, You can not fool all of the people all of the time. But as long as you can fool some of the people for long enough to sell them i-something then you can make a good profit....

Just like everyone spouting how good their N95s are (they are not, they don't even have a SiRFstar III chip-set for the GPS FFS, so much for cutting edge.) And those bleating about their nMegapixel cameras that are taking photos through tiny cheap plastic lenses, it is all nothing but a fashion statement, that is how mobile phones are sold to the mass public, so the i-Phone should fit in well.

And that is the bottom line of it, the i-Phone is just another phone with a 6 month shelf life.

Nothing to see then, so best move on.

So O2 has the iPhone contract? Looks like I'll have to brace myself for another round of O2 cold calls <sarcasm>Which I love oh so much!</sarcasm>

How predictable and tiresome it is for The Register to say the iPhone is "ludicrously hyped". The iPod and iTunes revolutionised digital music. The iPod had the greatest cultural impact of any technological product in the last ten years. The mobile phone market is perhaps the most important tech market there is. If Apple promises to do for mobiles what they did for digital music then this is a MASSIVELY IMPORTANT announcement. But the Register has it's usual sneering tone, down-playing the whole thing.

I wouldn't be seen dead with an N95 - I've read some stinky reviews http://www.yourmobilephonereviews.co.uk/nokia_n95_reviews.htm Apparently it hangs all the time. And it's so ugly. Nokia have really lost their way - they had the mobile market in the palm of their hand. Sony Ericsson now produce far superior, classier phones. Also, who cares if the iPhone only has 2.5G - I don't notice much of a perceptible speed increase on my phone when I move to a 3G area. It's not a big deal. I can't wait for an iPhone! Will it revolutionise the personal tech world like the iPod? Will The Register eat their sneering words? We can only hope so.

Who the hell really uses MMS and 3G anyhow? Well, maybe for surfing, but it does have wifi which is free if you know where to look. I think if people buy this phone it will be for the interface.

And I just think some of the anti-iPhone comments posted here are the typical responses you'd expect from tech people. Consumers really don't care if the phone doesn't have 3G. Like I say, in my experience I don't find 3G a whole lot faster than 2.5G. Tech people just look at the specs, and so they favour the N95. But consumers don't care about specs - they just see the N95 as an ugly clunky brick and see the iPhone as the coolest product on the market.

That's why technical people don't understand consumers ...

For the states, sure I can see the specs, here my 1 1/2 year old M600i does everything (Except the camera, but a 2 megapixel camera isn't even worth bothering with) the iPhone currently does and bundles 3G into the mix, not to mention the fact it's smaller.

Looks like my upgrade will still be a blackberry pearl.. Because as much as I love apple the iPhone as a phone here in the UK is over priced and under specced.

O2's data rates are ridiculously expensive compared with T-Mobile and, latterly, Vodaphone. Hopefully they'll use this as an excuse to roll out a cheap data package.

I'm an Apple fan-girl. I have my apple laptop, apple desktop, ipod and so on. But I'm not buying this if it has no 3G.

Primarily to me, a phone is a phone and text messaging device; Secondly its a device for allowing my iBook access to the internet where no wired or wireless is available; Finally its my address book and back up media device. My SE K800i is just as capable, has 3G, and was free.

so let me get this right:-

I pay £500 for a iphone that:-

has no camera

can't do mms

doesn't work on 3g

or I pay next to nothing for an N95 that:-

has a camera

can do mms

can work with 3g

has built in gps

now let me think about that....

why does the iphone constantly get compared to the n95?!

i got one on a free upgrade and sold it instantly because its just a terrible phone. one thing that really annoys me is that it needs two cables, one to charge one to sync,

and why is there this latest burst of hype about viewing the real internet on your mobile. its something i've been able to do for the last 5 years with the orange SPV range!

the windows mobile devices match the iphone and do so much more because of the ability to run 3rd party apps/exchange sync

i use 3g on my htc hermes orange m3100 and i wouldnt go back to 2.5g

i want the ability to be able to download files websurf at a decent speed when im mobile. gprs is effectivly unusable and EDGE doesnt have good enough coverage.

O2 are a bunch of jokers as they still havent got any decent data plans unlike orange/tmobile.

IMHO smartphones are generally aimed at enterprise users for mail/office conenctivity. blackberry/exchange sync mail etc.

i dont see the iphone participating in the enterprise market. what Finance director is going to sign off a purchase order for an 8gb mp3/movie player for corporate messaging.

the iphone will still sell big because consumers are stupid enough to buy anything thats hyped.

moto RAZR anyone?

It'll sell. It's pretty and has the right brand name behind it. No more is necessary. After all, the iPod wasn't the best MP3 player when it was launched, in terms of price or features.

It's not aimed at the discerning techie crowd - it's aimed at the MUCH larger mass market. After all, I bet nobody whining about lack of features here buys Nike trainers - but they sell in huge amounts simply because of the brand name.

so let me get this right:-

I get an iphone that:-

has the most intuitive, revolutionary interface

has a real internet browser

looks amazing

ann everyone will love me

or I get an N95 that:-

Looks like a clunky brick

Will fit in my golf bag in my Mondeo

now let me think about that....

South West, the land of the green and holiday makers....and little / no 02 signal.

Won't be selling many down here!!!!

Why must you cretins constantly refer to the iPhone as "hyped" or even "ludicrously hyped"? YOU'RE the ones doing the hyping. I've never seen a TV commercial for the iPhone, nor a billborad, nor a web banner, nor a magazine advert. I had a look at Apple's website and the 'phone looks good, I'll have a look at a real one when they're in the shops but, Christ on Raleigh Chopper, how does this phone differ from its peers? Just let people buy it or no, like it or not themselves. If it's as good as Apple claim, then it deserves some success, if it's as lame as the Nokia N95, then it'll probably do even better.

"The iPod and iTunes revolutionised digital music."

I think MP3 did that, its just that Apple decided to make their own format and lock everyone into it. Its funny that when MS made WIndows and everyone uses it they moan at, and sue Microsoft, yet when Apple does it, its ok!!

"O2's data rates are ridiculously expensive compared with T-Mobile and, latterly, Vodaphone. Hopefully they'll use this as an excuse to roll out a cheap data package."

And why do you think they chose O2? Because with the highest data rates that give Apple much larger "share of ongoing customer revenue". I wouldn't spend too long hoping O2 will reduce their rates you might have a long wait.

While in the US it probably makes more sense due to patchy 3G, for heavy data users the lack of 3G is more crucial.

However in the US their 2.5G is rubbish, it should work better over here.

People point out the limitations in the phone, but the iPod is very basic too and does everything it is designed to do very well and easily. The iPhone is similar in this respect.

Once again though, it is worth stating that if a device doesn't do what you want, don't buy it. Let the company shoot themselves in the foot if they want to.

Sounds like everything that I want a phone to have without any of the pointless bits!

No 3G - great; first thing I did with my P990 was to switch 3G off as it sucks the battery life and makes no discernable speed / functionality difference to the average user (like come on, has anyone made a video call more than once?).

No camera - great; never used it on my phone. If I desperately need to take photos then I would prefer to use a proper camera (not that I bother with that anyway - who looks at the photos more than once?)

No MMS - Never used it; can't see the point in paying loads for sending an email with limits when I can pay less and send an email.

The only thing that I don't get is the price; I would probably pay £200 if it looked good and operated well (but don't tell O2 that as I will be pushing for £100).

The fact that this phone doesn't support 3G is of supreme irrelevance to most people, even me (and I LOVE tech over consumer products). I have a phone capable of 3G now, but I don't use it, for one I don't want to pay for it - 3G calls are not included in my inclusive call package and the rates are high.

3G coverage is generally of no use to me in any case, and is not even pervasive over large swathes of the UK.

If anyone thinks this phone won't be a success because of a lack of 3G support, they are being insanely naive to the consumer market's attitude on tech and functionality, and their proclivity to fall for hype, as well as the benefits of 3G.

As an aside, far from being an Apple fan boy, I hate most of what they do, right down to their very ethos. That said, this phone is a brilliant move if the aim is to sell a lot of expensive phones, which of course it is.

If the phone is indeed 2.5G, not 3G, O2 is the obvious choice and Voda is a an absolute no-go. Voda's GPRS network in the UK has no Edge for political reasons and is croaking under the weight of all Blackberries sitting on it.

Last time I tried to use GPRS on commuter trains it was 95%+ packet loss on the downlink due to all the Blackberries around me. Compared to that O2 GPRS network flies most of the time.

It's a phone - get a life!

Andrew, clearly you are a big Apple fan...no surprise really. But I feel I should point out some massive flaws with your argument.

1: The iPod and iTunes revolutionised digital music. Sorry, but that is simply not the case. Apple invented neither, they just made the interface (on the iPod at least) better. This point can, of course, be argued. But they certinatly did not revolutionise digital music.

2: The N95 is ugly. That is an opinion, and is not a fact. Some people think it looks great, some think it looks awful, and some (like me) think it is middle of the road. There are far worse. I have had an N95, it was ok. As for the crashing, perhaps you should do more in-depth research. The crashing was caused (primarly) by network opperators dumping crap onto the phone...not a nokia issue.

3: Who cares if the iPhone only has 2.5G? I do, I was looking forward to the iPhone...was being the opperative word. You say you can't tell the difference betwen 2.5G and 3G speeds? Then your not running it at 3G speeds, period. I don't have a land line, I have a T-Mobile USB modem (3.5G)....3.6 Mb/sec in case your wondering. But even when it scales back to 3G it's faster than 2.5G.

As for others comments about MMS, yes this is a big deal. In the UK at least MMS is used an awful lot.

Alas, the iPhone could have been great...but it's fallen short. That's not to say that Apple won't change the specs and have it 3/3.5G by the time it is released over here, MMS should just be a software update. Get those added and I do belive that it will be one of the best phones out there, but even then I won't be buying one at typical Apple prices - it's just not worth it.

In regards to your message below, which phone would you reconmend? i have had the Nokia N95 and think its rubbish at the moment i have the Nokia N73 which is just about OK.

By Trevor WattPosted Thursday 5th July 2007 10:49 GMT Why O2? No doubt because they will be giving the best kickback, nothing new there. If Apple wanted a payback of the profits why would they go to an operator who's data is reasonably priced from the consumer's point of view?

Why no 3G? Because if it was about wanting the best and a sound understanding of technology no one would be buying it anyway. i-Marketing is everything, if you can shift a few million to people who buy into the hype then fine. As the old saying goes, You can not fool all of the people all of the time. But as long as you can fool some of the people for long enough to sell them i-something then you can make a good profit....

Just like everyone spouting how good their N95s are (they are not, they don't even have a SiRFstar III chip-set for the GPS FFS, so much for cutting edge.) And those bleating about their nMegapixel cameras that are taking photos through tiny cheap plastic lenses, it is all nothing but a fashion statement, that is how mobile phones are sold to the mass public, so the i-Phone should fit in well.

And that is the bottom line of it, the i-Phone is just another phone with a 6 month shelf life.

Nothing to see then, so best move on.

... from personal experience, and that's through working for them, Vodafone can't find their arse with both hands. Where as O2, who I've also experience of, at least seem to know where their arse is ...

Forget 3G. That'll come. This is about the first mass market device with a 160dpi screen. You can actually look at a map without feeling as though you're an ant navigating Ohio. With the right software, you could use it to read a newspaper or a book without straining your eyes. Is any other phone even planning such capabilities? Let's call it "3R" - 3rd-generation reading. "I wouldn't DREAM of using a non-3R phone!!" you'll all be saying..

You guys know about the input part already (the touch screen). There have been a lot of experiments and advances with input tech over the years - the trackball, the Wacom tablet, the mouse, voice control, etc. But a leap in output technology like this is rare.

"1: The iPod and iTunes revolutionised digital music. Sorry, but that is simply not the case. Apple invented neither, they just made the interface (on the iPod at least) better. This point can, of course, be argued. But they certinatly did not revolutionise digital music."

Here's some statistics: As of January 9, 2007, over 2 billion songs have been downloaded from the iTunes Music Store. In the UK it has an 80% share of downloaded music. It's totally dominant. More importantly, it is so easy to use that it introduced music downloading to people who would never usually do it.

How can you say they didn't revolutionise digital music?

"The N95 is ugly. That is an opinion, and is not a fact. "

OK, if you want facts - it's huge, much larger and chunkier than an iPhone. That's a fact.

I'll agree about the MMS, the iPhone could do with that. I'm sure it'll come soon, if it's not in the Christmas release in the UK.

But you're a cost-conscious techy and therefore the absolute wrong type of person for an iPhone. You don't understand "cool" in the corporate america sense of the word "cool". You don't understand iLife. You're not a "consumer". You're just like in that fabulous Apple ad, PC vs MAC, the nerdy dweeb in the suit. Yes, your box may be a bit cheaper and uglier and full of "techy" nonsense features you may use. Yes, you may have to choose which company supplies the software widgets you want. And yes your mp3 player may be so functional and un-lifestyle that it doesn't have a colour named after it. But all thats is irrelevant, you don't buy Apple (tm), therefore you lose at life. I'm disgusted to even be in the same comments thread as you. Go kill yourself geek-boy.

I'm not fussed, I like my N95, it's probably a lot lighter than the iplop too and I can connect it to a WAN which is much more handy.

"The iPod and iTunes revolutionised digital music."

I think MP3 did that, its just that Apple decided to make their own format and lock everyone into it. Its funny that when MS made WIndows and everyone uses it they moan at, and sue Microsoft, yet when Apple does it, its ok!!"

iTunes preferred format is AAC (Advanced Audio Codec) which was not developed by Apple (maybe if they called it mp4 it would make all this easier to understand for you people). Also Apples give you the option to rip in AAC, AIFF, MP3, WAV. I don't see how you could say Apple locks you into their own format.

Sorry - I'm wrong. The Nokia N800 does 220dpi.

"Consumers really don't care if the phone doesn't have 3G"

They care VERY MUCH if they spend £300+ on a phone for its web surfing abilities and then find it's much slower than other phones at surfing the web.

"The fact that this phone doesn't support 3G is of supreme irrelevance to most people"

What, exactly, do you want a huge-screened iPhone for if not to access the internet? Just to admire the animated transitions? Do you really need an enormous two-handed phone for listening to music? Do you really want to text on a phone with no keypad at all?

The main attraction of the iPhone is the internet, and wifi just doesn't cut it any more, 3G is far far more ubiquitous.

"If anyone thinks this phone won't be a success because of a lack of 3G support, they are being insanely naive to the consumer market's attitude on tech and functionality,"

I think you're the one being naive if you think a £300 phone will take a significant chunk of the market. Do you know what the average price paid per phone sale is? £60.

Yes, the Apple name is worth something, but brand alone will not carry a product that costs 400% more than the average. That's the kind of hubris that's put Sony on the rocks with the Playstation 3.

Those who say "think what Apple did to digital music" ought to ponder the following fact: Even if literally everyone who currently owns an ipod bought an iphone, that would STILL give the iPhone a pathetic market share as music players are vastly outnumbered by mobile phone sales. Mobile phones sell over a billion a year, whereas the iPod has only sold 100 million over the past five years.

Music players are a luxury item bought by a relatively small number of people, while mobiles are an essential tool bought by the majority of the earth's population. Apple is not in the business of making essential tools, they're just there to pander to a small number of rich and fashion-conscious people in the developed world.

"Forget 3G. That'll come. This is about the first mass market device with a 160dpi screen."

160 dpi?

My Samsung D900 has a 200 dpi screen (320 x 240 pixels), my Dell X51v has a 215 dpi screen (640 x 480 pixels).

Besides, 'dots per inch' is a pretty irrelevant measure of the quality of a screen.

I think I've figured out why the iPhone has no 3G - there just wasn't enough space left inside thing after Apple had fitted their reality distortion circuitry.

It's certainly the only explanation for some of these rabid iPhone fanboy posts.

Quick before anyone else gets there 1st.

Illegal downloads outweigh legal by 20:1. MP3 revolutionised music, the iPod has and continues to have, nothing to do with it. Most people just rip their CD's to their device, just as they do if they had bought a zen, or any other bit of kit.

Here's some statistics: As of January 9, 2007, over 2 billion songs have been downloaded from the iTunes Music Store. In the UK it has an 80% share of downloaded music. It's totally dominant. More importantly, it is so easy to use that it introduced music downloading to people who would never usually do it.

How can you say they didn't revolutionise digital music?

Over the same period how many MP3s were downloaded from P2P sources?

If anything, the two main drivers in digital music were (ignoring the CD of course ;) ) Winamp and P2P networking, I would imagine most people who now own an iPod were downloading MP3s and playing them in Winamp well before MP3 Players became mainstream, and probably still do.

Its a phone, by the comments its sounds like apple just mugged your dear old grandma.

what the hell is wrong with a phone the phones, god i actually hate smart phones, they do everything so annoyingly poor that you wait till you get home anyway.

yes i am a techy, but untill i have an employer that will let me admin servers over ssh while drinking beer on the beach i really cant see the point in smart phones.

Is it just me - or is it obvious to everyone that Apple and Orange go together best?

.... that was a good call, they be a good partnership like the 2 old gits on the Muppet Show if you catch my drift :)

P.S. Oh and Andrew please shut up, I have to do extra scrolling to skip your posts and read the ones that have a realistic opinion.

I have access to 3G on AT&T. I fail to see why Apple didn't go that route. I currently have a 2 1/2 year old Moto V551 (okay, 2 year old, I went diving with it in my pocket. The phone isn't any good when you take it to 65 feet, but the SIM worked). It does everything I need. AT&T offered me a "first in queue" chance at two iPhones (two lines). I passed. Although, if I want a smartphone, WM doesn't get very high marks, either.

Did many EU networks even take EDGE all that serious? Most pumped their money into 3G and launched most of their video-based services on basic 3G handsets...

What's the status of O2 UK's EDGE rollout? Or, is it mostly standard GPRS ?

It would give a good indication of whether the Euro iPhone will be 3G or not.

What is it with apple fanboys, quite obviously and proveably the iphone is a retarded overpriced plastic bauble for posers, hairdressers, nancy boys and designer-spectacled Nathan Barleys.

- rubbish camera

- rubbish connectivity

- browser is sub mini-opera, sub a lot of other mobile browsers

- overpriced

- poor 3rd party support

- touchscreen is clunky (wait until you actually try it)

The big shiny screen though is ideal for the average end user to adjust their gelled quiff in the reflection before entering their local cafe for a mochachino, and its glint will hopefully easily attract the eyes of lurking criminals to administrate a stiff (and well deserved) beating, and henceforth robbery of said device on the streets near to apple stores.

Well done, chap. I did not know that a mere mortal could get so physically well connected to Steve Jobs' ringpiece to actually download and constantly spout Apple's marketing uber-unspeak.

Cultural this and innovative that?

Bollocks.

But as it is, people are divided in oninion over the phone, and everything else in life. I am indifferent to the phone, but I'm certainly put off by brain-washed comments. Do they have a little factory somewhere churning out walking-talking Apple marketing bots?

have a great day people...

Is it me or does the use of this term tend to be accompanied by overly emotional negativity? When I read fanboy in a comment I switch off and if I don't, I wish I had (similarly when there are x's in the poster's name ;-)

It's a phone that will probably be as dreadful as every other phone out there. I'll stick with my razr which has allowed me to talk to people (voice and text) with remarkable reliabilty (all other features are irrelevent imho) for the last 2+ years while being small enough not to notice that it's in my pocket.

Final point - Why do people judge camera quality by pixel count? The 2 important characteristics of a digital camera are optics and sensor/post-processing, the number of pixels is irrelevant. Judge by actual image rather than tech specs.

People make the same mistake with iPod. It's an understandable one, but a mistake nonetheless.

You say existing products do more for less, they just don't have as much style. Well, yeah. But you don't get it. That doesn't matter.

It's like with iPod, everyone goes on about how X competing player has a radio. It's an irrelevance. iPod and iPhone excel at the things which matter to a lot of people nowadays. Style and ease of use.

You can argue until your faces turn blue that the N96 has more features, or that an internet phone with no 3G support is pointless, but it's an irrelevance. You're applying ideas which worked when Windows One came out to a completely different and far more modern situation.

Windows beat Mac OS because it was good enough - it worked for all the things people wanted. Things have changed and what people want has changed. iPhone and iPod offer what people want and that's good enough for them. It's simple. No need to go and look at all these complex competitors with their multitude of useless features (We're talking about standard users, remember).

So yes - iPhone is too pricey, is missing a few features, ought to have better guts - but the fact of the matter is. None of it matters. If it doesn't do what you need, ignore it. Go. Buy a phone that does and leave those who are satisfied with iPhone as is in peace.

At last ... a bit of common sense!

The rants of people declaiming the iPhone (and who have probably never seen one let alone used one) are revealing of nothing save their own conflicts.

I like the look of the iPhone. If the price is right (unlikely), the carrier right (possible) and the features right (for me)(possible), I'll get one.

I love using Macs because they're right for me. I have no illusions about Apple ... they're a big company who want my money and don't care too much about how they get it. If they do what is usual and swap the £ sign for the $ sign I hope someone has the balls and the money to take them to the EU Court of Whatever for ripping us off.

.... There is absolutely no way I'm spending £300 on a phone only to have the experience ruined by O2's nOtwork! You can't take it away from O2, they've got the marketing dead right. Pity then that they didn't spend their income where they needed to - like their ailing 2G and non-existent 3G networks.

Unless the iPhone arrives on another carrier this will be one Apple "Fanboy" who'll be giving the handset a massive swerve!