O2 must have done their sums right to expect the massive demand for the gadget around Christmas and are therefore banking on huge numbers being sold. A quick look at O2’s website will reveal that the contracts available for the iPhone are dissapointing to say the least, and get extremely expensive if you use more than 200 minutes a month for instance.

Rival products to the iPhone have also to be considered. Sony Ericsson’s replacement for the K810i will soon hit the shelves, with an impressive array of features to boot. Other manufacturers such as Sony Ericsson have also built into their phones cameras upto 5 million pixels. Although this size is in fact pointless as these cameraphones have tiny apertures thus picture quality is poor, gimmicks such as these alonside issues such as device size and speed (although the iPhone uses Safari and OSX for internet browsing, it isn’t fitted with high speed connection as other phones) means the iPhone has some very strong competitors.

Therefore as much a breakthrough as the iPhone is, it will not be top of the shopping list. With subsequent device versions the picture may get better, as well as the arrogance of mobile networks hopefully subsiding under consumer pressure, but for the time being, this Apple enthusiast just isn’t that bothered..

No doubt you can avoid the software update that ‘could’ render the phone useless, untill another way around Apples hacking protection is found.