I've noticed that any argument for not getting an iPhone can be summed up with two acronyms: AT&T and EDGE. Once Apple ditches those two, I'll get one.

Why buy it in the first place if you know you can't keep it?

@Rectilinear Propagation:
Marketing.

@Rectilinear Propagation: If you read the article you'll learn that he bought it because he's a tech journalist who wanted to do a story on it.

I'm pretty sure he can afford it. He couldn't justify the cost after he realized how limited the iPhone is in terms of functionality. It's missing some features that are pretty common in almost all phones these days..

"There's no clipboard, no voice dialing, no way to add wallpaper or ring tones, no search function for contacts or e-mail, no native instant-messaging application, and no way to fully sync the phone's calendar with Google Calendar"

Basically, the iPhone fails as a smart phone. And it barely passes as a regular phone. It's really a fancy iPod that let's you make phone calls and surf the web with wi-fi. I think some people are just better off duct taping their Motorola RAZR to their iPod Nano.

@Scuba Steve, B: Ah, sorry.

@LatherRinseRepeat:

Basically, the iPhone fails as a smart phone.

I love how the iPhone has brought to the mainstream something the rest of us have known for years. Having the internet on your phone is really convenient? NO CRAP! Why didn't you buy a Sidekick 8 years ago then?

All I can say is: Hello and welcome to the 21st century, Appleheads. What took you so long?

In response to the above: Every smartphone I've handled is great for sending emails but absolute crap for everything else. Nobody has ever said this was supposed to be a smartphone, not even Apple. If the length of the feature list and managing your work email is all that matters to you, so be it. Enjoy. As for me, I'd rather have something I can use when I'm OUTSIDE the office.

Now on to my regularly scheduled comment:
The author claims he could have justified it if it just had x or y feature, which is what EVERY reviewer says in response to its price. "If only it had voice dialing, or 3g, or a juicer."

That's what future iterations and firmware updates are for, which he even admits himself. I want an iphone, but I'm waiting until at least the first serious software update to get one.

I concur with some of the threads above. I really scratch my head when I read articles like this.

"OMG! U can surf teh inarwebs on it!!!!! That ROXORS!"

Huh? If you are impressed with a handheld with (somewhat- this is EDGE, not EVDO) high speed internet access, I have to wonder what you've been using up until now. One of those big "car phones" the size of a breadbox? The ones in the big leather man purse?

And actual useful features? "That's what future iterations are for"? No, that's what the year 2002 was for.

Gee, I've been surfing the web portably on my Treo 650 for a couple of years now... :-)

no search function for contacts or e-mail

WOW.

I am just going off a previous comment but if this is true.. I mean wow.

Any business/professional iPhone users will weep when they find this out the hard way. I use this on a semi-daily basis on my blackberry, a search function is just vital.

That last line is touching, but little does he know that iPhones which are returned are ultimately euthanized.

@krylonultraflat: Good points. It's a phone, a media player, and a full-on web browser, with little in common with the clunky smart phones ya'll might be clipping to your belts. The iPhone is not intended to be primarily a business tool or blackberry replacement. It's not marketed that way at all. In fact, it seems that the people who pan the iPhone the most in these posts and comments are not even the people to which the product is targeted.

The web browsing function makes the web on a smart phone look like braille.