I bought this Iphone for £299 on an 18 month o2 contract in November when it was first lauched. I was hooked to the long build up and excitement of a fantastic ground breaking phone and couldn't wait to get my hands on this smart piece of kit. Boy was I disappointed!.....

It looks good, feels slinky and has some superb features including the 8GB memory for all your tunes, touch screen, Google Earth, Safari Web Browser and being able to download itunes from it. But I'm sorry, that's as far as it goes.

The phone has major drawbacks if you are used to Nokia, Sony Ericcson, Samsung LG etc.

Firstly - the touchscreen keypad to send text messages is very annoying as I always end up pressing the wrong letters as they are too close together. The SMS service is appalling. If you receive a message, you cannot forward it to anyone else! You can only send messages you have typed to a group of people, only after typing it.

Secondly - the camera is only 2 megapixels and you cannot make video clips with it.

Thirdly - there are no games on this phone. To play games you have to go online using Safari Web browser and even then, the games are very basic.

Fourthly - you cannot use mp3 songs from your iphone as ring tones - which is a major disappointment. You only have an option of 10 basic ringtones to choose from.

Fifth - the phone has bluetooth, but this is only for use with connecting with an audio device like a headset. You cannot send or receive bluetooth files with friends.

The phone is certainly novel and different and has some cool features to show everyone - i.e. the scrolling pictures, ipod tune artworks and Google Earth. If you are a Youtube buff - you can watch videos from their site, but only their site: the Web Browser does not support video content - wether downloading or watching from any other site from YouTube.

One good thing about the iphone is that they regularly do software upgrades - we are currently at software version 1.1.3. (upgraded on the 26th January 2008)You upgrade your phone by connecting it to itunes and it does it automatically - so hopefully in the near future, they will change some of their lack lustre features.

After I had my phone for a month, I dropped it in the toilet; can you believe it! The Iphone warranty does not cover water damage and Apple know straight away if it has been exposed to water because there is a water sensor in the ear jack socket which turns to red if dunked. They caught me out on this when I sent it back claiming the phone just switched off - and ended up paying £166 to get it fixed! Be careful when near water - and for goodness sake, do not bring it in the bathroom with you!

Think carefully before buying an iphone - it really is not worth a £299 one off payment followed by an 18 month contract paying at least £35 per month. You are best to wait until the next version is released and they have ironed out all of their basic problems. The Iphone is basically an Ipod Touch with a few frills and basic call making and text facilities. Believe me, you will miss the other features that they have left out, as discussed above - I know I have.