I have the Ipod and have always been impressed with its capabilities. So when I thought about getting the Iphone, I had high expectations - especially considering all the hype that it's received - and I wasn't disappointed.

I came off a Sony Ericcson X1, which is a brilliant phone and was seriously concerned the Iphone wouldn't match up. I was wrong. The Iphone is really a hand held computer that just happens to make calls.

The touch screen is very sensitive and takes some getting used to but as with everything, practice makes perfect.

You can download applications straight to the phone via the App Store (available straight from 'desktop') which is a great little extra (be careful of which apps you choose, well worth checking out the user reviews first).

The screen is clear and large, the search engine which comes with the phone (Safari) does the trick. Also the phone has this excellent feature of being able to zoom in and out on the screen when you're online simply by 'pinching' your fingers open and closed on the screen.

The music function is excellent in that you don't need earphones to listen, there's an inbuilt speaker in the phone itself. Another nice feature.

Messaging and email is a doddle - as is setting up the accounts and syncing your contacts and bookmarks in Itunes. Sim contacts are simply imported straight into the phone.

There are little things which all add up to making this phone a real pleasure (i.e., a 'weather' icon on the 'desktop' which gives you the temp and weather for your area (once you program it in) at the touch of a finger. Very handy indeed.

I'm sure there are points I've missed but all in all this phone really is worth the hype. Functionality aside, it 'looks' and 'feels' good, slim line and small enough not to be bulky yet sizeable enough to be a pleasure to work with.

I knew I wanted an iPhone And I have to say it has lived up to my expectations I am sure the iPhone 4 is better bit I prefer the looks of the 3GS and functionality does everything I want although now addicted to angry birds!

I couldnt recommend this phone any higher. You will always hear reviews from people going against the iPhone but I can assure you half these people have never even owned this beauty! This phone has the best touchscreen, over 100,000 apps, the user experience is fantastic, as my title says the iPhone is simply the best!!!!!

14th September 2010. Ok its been 6 months since I wrote my original review and I thought I can add further. Firstly, I think this phone is just as fantastic as when I first purchased it. Ok my experiences with the 3GS are as follows:

Positive:

Apps, Apps, Apps....There are so many to choose from its like being a kid stuck in a sweet shop with so many sweets to choose from, some free some not.

TV - Yes you heard me right, there is plenty of TV you can watch on the iPhone. TvCatchUp, Veetle, BBC iPlayer, plus TV apps. And as the iPhone supports HTML5 and H.264, you will find that some of the streaming is super clear!

The touchscreen - Your going to find many phones out there that claim to have a "wonderful" touchscreen. Yes there is a lot of competetion from HTC and Samsung with their AMOLED and SUPERAMOLED capacitive touchscreens, but if your getting lags every so often surely thats annoying? I have tried out other people's phones and have seen lags. In the 3GS there is never a lag on the Home Screen, very rare lags in anywhere else. Pretty much always its smooth scrolling, which makes the iPhone capacitive touchscreen the best for me.

The UI. Its so simple to use the iPhone its unbelievable. If you want a weather widget and about 7 home screens with 7 buttons etc...go buy an Android phone. If you want simplicity (one home screen, one home button) but with power, I recommened the iphone.

The iPod - Still the best MP3 player! Also plays yous MP4 movies :)

NEGATIVE:

The signal - Ok the 3GS is known to have signal issues now and then. It kind of depends on your network as well. Since the latest ios4 updates my signal has been a lot better. But the signal is not a major problem

Flash - No Flash in the browser still. But with so much HTML5 support, you really dont have to miss Flash that much, occasionally a site will pop up that requires a Flash plugin but overall you will not miss it.

So in summary, the 3GS is still one of the best touchscreen devices. For me the best. I really dont need a Flash in the camera or Video Calling to call my phone the best. I have other things it can do to make me appreciate it very highly.