But it's still my job as a reviewer to think and write about a new device in terms of its own merits and its relative worth as measured against competing products. And so when I try the Touch or the Voyager or the Helio Ocean I try to judge the experience of using that device both for what it is on its own and how it compares against whatever else is out there. After all, you read reviews as part of deciding what to invest your time and money in, and the marketplace offers you choices. I'd be remiss not to consider those choices when evaluating any one product in a given category, be it a laptop, a peripheral, or a cell phone.

I've been using an unlocked iPhone on T-Mobile as my personal telephone for about two and a half months now. In that time I've probably used a dozen or so other phones in my work reviewing mobile phones for PhoneDog.com, and I probably tried another thirty or forty (probably more, actually) handsets in the nine months prior. Point being, I've messed around with more cell phones over the past year than your average person.

Apple's iPhone is hands down the best all-around mobile device I've ever used. It's not perfect, it doesn't do as much as certain other phones, and it doesn't do certain things as quickly, transparently, or customizably (is that a word?) as certain other phones. But it does many things, does most of them quite well, and does what it does in a manner that's far more appealing, intuitive, and satisfying than any other cell phone currently avaiable.

If you're thinking of buying an iPhone, here are my most relevant bits of thought and advice for you after having spent my own time and money buying, configuring, hacking (well, implementing somebody else's hacks), and using the thing for the past ten weeks:

• The design and implementation of iPhone's hardware and software stands head and shoulders above that of any other cell phone currently on the market. Phones like the Nokia N95, Helio Ocean, LG Voyager, and HTC Touch do things iPhone can't do. But none of them work, feel, and look as good as iPhone does. Not by a longshot. iPhone's touchscreen is clearer, richer, more responsive, and tougher than any other touch screen out there. I don't keep my iPhone in a case and don't keep a plastic screen protector on it. I've never said that about any other fancy cell phone I've spent my own money on.
• If you want a basic phone to "only" make calls with, iPhone is not for you. If you want the best cameraphone out there, iPhone is not for you. If you send dozens of emails a day and need instant access to your Inbox and Web-based information wherever you are, iPhone is not for you. If you want a device that does all of the above at least reasonably well and also features the best audio/video player and photo viewer available on a phone, iPhone is for you.
• Most high end cell phones today feature "3G" high speed data for Email and Web services. iPhone uses the slower EDGE protocol. EDGE sucks. It's entirely serviceable, but if you've ever used a 3G phone you can't tell me that EDGE doesn't suck. iPhone's built-in WiFi antenna makes up for EDGE when there's an open WiFi network available, but the promise of free municipal WiFi has yet to be realized on our fair shores. If you want a fast Internet phone, get a 3G-ready handset like the Sprint Mogul or Tocuh, the Verizon Voyager or Venus, or the AT&T Tilt.
• Apple had really, really better be preparing to unveil the iPhone 3G at MacWorld in January. The power-efficient chips that have been developed since iPhone came out in June mean there's no good excuse for Apple to hold out on us any longer. They can spin it all they want, but 3G means fast access to data wherever you have cellular coverage, and EDGE + WiFi does not.
• Playing with the multitouch screen is amazing. Pinching photos, flipping through Inboxes, zooming in on Web pages - no other touchscreen phone comes close to iPhone's intuitive ease of use. Not even close. And the QWERTY thumboard's not that bad once you get used to it. It's no BlackBerry, that's for sure. But it's entirely usable for everything from texting to entering calendar events to writing emails.
• iPhone's recessed headphone jack is just about the stupidest thing I've ever seen on a gadget. Take a media player that's elegant, usable, and well-thought out in nearly every way and give it a headphone jack that doesn't work with 90 percent of the headphones out there. I don't get it.
• Other phones in this class offer 3G, GPS, Stereo Bluetooth, cameras with flashes and video aapture, cellular access to music purchase/download, user-replacable batteries, and/or operating systems that allow users to install third-party applications to extend their handset's functionality. iPhone offers none of these things, and there's no good reason why.
• iPhone has perhaps the best user interface ever found on such a feature-rich device, and it's the one handset that consistently amazes people from all walks of life. I'm not sure if that last statement is because of the phone, the media hype around the phone, or the "I just saw a celebrity!" feeling that non-techies get when they see the thing. But it's true, even five months after it came out and almost a year after it was unveiled.
• The good folks who've spent their own time and money hacking away at iPhones have done the platform a world of good. From unlocked devices to faux-GPS based on cell tower triangulation to FTP, SSH, Air Hockey and Yahtzee!, the unsupported developer community that's grown around this device is simply amazing.
• Watching videos on the thing is amazing. I never watch videos on the go, but I threw a movie and a few TV shows on my iPhone for a recent airplane trip, and packed my Etymotic ER-6i earphones, too. Amazing.

My history thinking, writing, and feeling about iPhone typifies my recent history thinking, writing, and feeling about Apple, Inc. Basically, I have no foresight when it comes to Apple's non-computer products. When the first iPod came out, I thought it was overpriced and ridiculous. When the 3G iPod and it's giant 10GB hard drive hit the market, I found my sweet spot - the combination of price and capacity, plus the fact that I'd just taken a job that meant I'd be spending two hours a day on a subway train, made that once overpriced and ridiculous gadget my new best friend. I've probably used an iPod of one model or another on 90% of the days since. The thing with Apple gadgets, at least for me, is waiting until the price and specs are appealing enough to get me past the spec sheet and to the store where I can get the thing in my hand. Then, like everyone else, I usually fall for it.

I'd lay money on Apple taking the wraps off another amazing multitouch-based device at MacWorld next January. Whether it's going to be iPhone 2.0, a tablet computer, or something none of us saw coming, I can't say - though I'm hoping for the latter. iPhone is the future of the franchise - for better or for worse, always-connected, portable devices are where it's at when it comes to computing right now, and iPhone is at the head of the pack. Apple's way too smart not to realize all they could do with various sized multitouch displays embedded in all sorts of devices with all sorts of connectivity options, peripherals, and form factors.

In any case, iPhone will be due for an upgrade before too long, and for all that some folks are calling for a slider version with a tactile keypad, I say keep the form factor the same - the virtual keypad is fine. Instead, up the internal storage and add 3G, GPS, and Stereo Bluetooth to the thing. And fix the headphone jack. Please. But don't change the core of Apple's phone - why try to fix something that so clearly ain't broken?

The 8GB iPhone is available direct from Apple or AT&T for $399. When available, the refurbished 4GB model is available from Apple.com for $299. While iPhone may be purchased without a service agreement, the phone is locked to AT&T in the United States and may be used with prepaid or monthly contract service.