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Just to let you know, after joining the queue at 07.00 I managed to get an iPhone and be one of the ‘lucky’ few (depending how you look at it) to get the first batch!

I hear they sold out within an hour of me getting mine so good job I didn’t snooze!!

I will update this post with some more info later on after I have a little play with my new gadget!

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Update 13 July 2008

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The wait
After having some time to have a play with my new toy, I can confirm that the iPhone is an amazing phone. Firstly I want to talk about O2 and their ridiculous handling of the iPhone hype! They did an awful job of managing the mass of people trying to get the phone and took so long to process each transaction it was just unreal!

I was inside the shop not long after it opened yet it still took me almost an hour to get my contract processed and I am already with O2 anyway! Ridiculous! Within no time at all people were leaving the shop empty handed, either because of failing the credit checks or the phone being out of stock! That brings me nicely on to my next point, the poor stock levels! Each store had ‘a few dozen’ of the devices which is terrible considering there were at least 30 people behind me whilst I was in the line and I wasn’t even at the front!

They sold out of the 16GB model just as I was next to sign my contract which was not nice. I felt I was glaring into the back of the guy’s head that got the last one. So, I settled and got the 8GB one. No way I was going to come back another day after the ordeal of waiting so long.

The phone
The phone is great compared to my last few phones. I was a devoted Sony Ericsson fan until just a few weeks ago. The menu system is by far the best I have ever seen on a phone. I didn’t get the last one because I was determined to not give in to the hype. D’oh. That didn’t last very long, but I am glad it didn’t!

There are some drawbacks with the phone, nothing is perfect. I’ll start with the camera. What is the point? They might as well have saved the space and put a better speaker or something because that camera even though it says ’2 Megapixel’ is simply redundant. I’d rather carry a canvas and some paint around with me and draw the scene!

Text messages are fun once more using the on screen QWERTY keyboard. I haven’t typed so fast for a while! I find one handed typing faster than 2 though for whatever reason . But, the biggest drawback I find is that you can’t copy and paste! What is with that? I am used to being able to re-arrange messages and include quotes etc from the Internet etc – all of which is not practical without copy and paste! No message folders either, so all messages are stored in conversations like looking at a messenger screen which is aesthetically cool but could be improved.

Things I really do like are:

1 – The AMAZING touch screen. So smooth and responsive! Very worried in case I scratch it though but will a protective cover make it less responsive? Hmm

2 – The apps. Apple lets you download applications for your phone in a very easy fashion! Basically personalise your phone the way you want it with features that work for you!

3 – The iPod. Of course it had to have a built in iPod right? A nice feature as with most other phones now, the ability to play music is essential to eliminate the need to carry lots of gadgets around all of the time. The problem with other phones though, is they do not have a music management system as cool as Apple. The others don’t seem to understand how people want to access their music and how they want it to sound. Apple seems to!

4 – Email, Facebook, Youtube, Maps. Just some of the applications you can get on the phone. All in one place just one click away! No deep layered and buried menu systems involving hunting for things, clicking and scrolling to find what you need. Apple has made it so easy.

5 – GPS. Need I say more? Ok, so maybe I would only use it for fun but still, a good feature. I have recently moved and had to go to the Post Office to collect a package, so I just tapped the address into the phone and it plotted my route. The cool thing was it tracked me down the street and I had my little blue marker to point out where I was so I couldn’t make any wrong turns and get lost.

6 – Sleek smooth design. Phones these days come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. The iPhone has no square edges and feels so smooth I worry it’s going to slip out of my hands at some point during it’s 18 month (contract) life.

7 – Connectivity and 3G. It automatically searches for the nearest Wi-Fi spot if it is within range and will default to the 3G if not. So you are always connected without manually having to select and choose a network each time.

Final verdict
Definitely worth the wait! I can’t imagine having to go back once per week to try and get some of the new delivery stock. Thats what it will be from what the man in my local store said. 1 delivery from Apple every Wednesday, how true that will be is unclear as they surely must be able to get an extra shipment to meet demand? Go on and get one!

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