I'm an Apple fanatic. I own an iBook, three iPods, an iPod tripod, iLuv headphones - well, you get the idea. I'm also a gadget freak. Portable DVD players, digital video cameras, you name it, I've either bought it or spent a long time wishing I could buy it.

For some reason, this has never extended to my cell phone. I'm strictly pay-as-you-go, on a cheap old phone that doesn't even have a colour screen, let alone mp3-quality ringtones and internet access. It was high time I upgraded, and when I heard about the iPhone I thought - great! My favourite company making a gadget I sorely needed.

Then I heard it was coming out in America first. That's okay, though. I can chug-along with my ancient piece of junk for a while longer.

Then I heard it was getting tied to one network. And it ran on EDGE. And the batteries were 'dodgy'. (Apple has a poor history when it comes to batteries). And it was - well - not the quality product I associated with Apple.

In fact, Apple as a company is starting to make uncomfortable. They made the best computers, and then suddenly those computers were running on Intel. And had Windows. But that is an unrelated rant.

The iPhone is pretty. Macs are pretty, iPods are pretty. What is better than pretty though, is good workmanship, an idiot-proof interface, reliability, and a fair price. By fair I don't mean cheap. But I also don't mean profit-maximising crazyness. The iPod is the best mp3-player around, and my laptop hasn't crashed once in two and a half years. The iPhone, on the other hand, reeks faintly of 'cash cow'.

I'm hoping I'm proven wrong. But I bought another phone today. A nokia. It doesn't even have a camera. But I always liked nokias.

Learn more about this author, Suzanne Fleming.
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