I have never been much of a fan of technology, and so had happily been using a rather uninspiring phone for my mobile for as long as I could remember. However, I increasingly found myself asking Mr. Frank if he'd mind checking something on his iPhone; maybe a word meaning, or weather forecast, and so when it came to upgrading my phone, I decided to move with the times and get a Smart Phone, and an iPhone at that!

Nearly a year later, I am still very pleased with the phone. There are so many different deals available (mine was a refurbished phone for free at £30 per month with 300 texts and 300 minutes with a huge data allowance) so I won't be analysing this element, but the phone itself, which I absolutely love for the following reasons:

Firstly, the phone was very easy to set up, and I feel that it works intuitively and so there was not much need for referring to the instructions. However, I am used to Apple (being an ipod and macbook owner) and so I am not sure whether PC owners would find it so easy.

Secondly, I have really enjoyed the range of apps (applications) that are available on the iPhone. I understand that many of the apps have versions suited to non-iPhones (Android) but I have also noted that apps are usually available first on the iPhone before being more widely distributed. Also, some apps are only available for iPhone. I use the apps for information rather than leisure and have been pleased to note that some really good (and free) apps are available, such as Tesco, Amazon and Dictionary.com.

Thirdly, the phone has some really useful inbuilt features such as maps which will show you where you are on a map and give you directions to where you want to go to. It also has the usual features I had come to expect from even a basic phone, such as alarm, timer, stopwatch and calendar. It also has a 3 MP camera which I was a bit worried about when I got the phone, but has been fine for taking the odd snaps and uploading them onto Facebook. The camera does not have a flash which has been annoying on a few occasions.

One of the things to be aware of is that the iPhone can sometimes be quite slow in operating. I have learnt that this may be due to having too many apps running at once (so am careful to close them once I have finished with them). Sometimes the phone may run slowly if there is a limited internet connection. We live in the country and often find that this is the case. At home this is not a problem as the phone is connected to our wireless internet, but if you were relying on the maps feature to navigate across a remote area, you may not actually be able to update the map at all!

As for phoning and texting, I am really pleased with the way that the phone operates. I am particularly pleased with the text message system, which stores entire conversations. I have found this feature indispensible when I can't remember what I have already said to someone or I am checking back for previous messages- such as when I am trying to find someone's address that they have texted me the previous Christmas!

One thing that did take me by surprise when adapting to the iPhone is that it needs to be charged every night, rather than the twice a week my last phone required. It takes around an hour to charge fully, and has a clear symbol of a battery and a percentage of charge to show you how full the battery is. The phone will buzz at 20% charge to warn you.

A final word of warning is that I have found it a bit of a pain to reset the phone on the rare occasions I have had to do so. This is because you need a very small, thin implement e.g. a paperclip, to push the reset button which is on top of the phone. I have found that removing one of my earrings will also o the job, and I am more likely to have access to one of these when I am out and about.

I am delighted with my iPhone and would no be without it.