Why buy an iPhone? The hot new Apple product comes with a fairly hefty price tag, but what justifies it? In this countdown we’ll be taking you through the top reasons for you to splash the cash on one of the hottest gadgets on the planet.


1. 3.5” Widescreen Display

The screen is huge and crystal clear thanks to a 3.5”, 320x480 px display at 160 ppi. That’s a whole lot of pixels and consequently, a whole lot of clarity. The colours are vibrant and sharp and everything looks just lovely. The problem with a lot of portable devices in the past has been the screen size. By making the screen the whole unit and with no keypad in site, Apple have been able to maximise screen size and create a truly multimedia handheld device.

2. Touch Screen

This is the really clever bit. Touch screen has been used in electronic devices and interfaces for years now, but the iPhone takes touch-screen implementation to a whole new level. The whole screen changes depending on your needs, so at one point it might be a kaypad, whilst at others it will be your music library or a short video clip for your viewing pleasure. You can scroll down through lists with a flick of your finger and the whole things just works brilliantly.

3. Mac OSX

Not the full operating system, that would be stupid. The version of OSX that Apple use on the iPhone is fully customised and streamlined for mobile use. Upgrading the OS should be as simple as it is on an iPod or a Mac but it has not yet been made clear how different the iPhone OS will be from its all-singing all-dancing bigger brother. The iPhone's version of OS X includes the software component "Core Animation" which is responsible for the smooth animations used in its user interface, so that’s how it looks so slick.

4. The Look

Which brings us rather nicely onto how the thing actually looks. The screen is excellent, the design is slick and the whole phone is really well put together. It measures in at 115×61×11.6 mm (4.5×2.4×0.46”) and weighs 135 grams (4.8 ounces). When you consider how much is squeezed into the iPhone, that’s small. The aesthetics of the whole thing are lovely, lots of nice lines and the sort of finish that Apple are famous for. Hopefully it’ll stand up to daily wear and tear well too.

5. It's Clever

The iPhone is a clever piece of kit. It has a built-in accelerometer that tells it whether you are holding it vertically or horizontally and adjusts the screen accordingly. It is these little things that make a big difference. How about scrolling through a huge contacts list or iTunes library? You can simply flick your finger up or down the screen and the list will whizz done quickly and then ease to a stop. It looks great and more than that it serves a purpose too. This is just the tip of the iceberg, the iPhone is stuffed full of cool features.

6. Wireless Capabilities

As standard, the iPhone has Wi-Fi which will be able to take the device online so long as it is in range of a wireless network point. The iPhone also has Bluetooth built in and works with wireless earpieces that use Bluetooth 2.0 technology and for file transfer. The tech bit? Well, the iPhone is a quad band GSM phone along with a 802.11g/b Wi-Fi, supports EDGE data transfer (for high speed internet and data transfer), and Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR.

7. It's Stylish

Okay, so it might be a bit of a lame reason, but trust us, the iPhone is going to be very cool...if it isn’t already. Everything Apple touch at the moment seemingly turns to gold (or shiny white). The iPhone has a great look, some great features and is sure to be the next ‘must have’ gadget. So if you can afford the price point, you’ll be the envy of all your friends. Just don’t sit there playing with it all evening in the pub or at work, you’ll look like a twit.

8. Full Web Browsing

It uses Apple’s Safari Browser and displays web pages in their full form. So no pokey little optimised site, but a full on, glorious World Wide Web. You can view them either vertically or horizontally and zooming is done in style by simply ‘pinching’ (double-tapping) a section of the screen to zoom in on. The email client on the phone displays mail in full HTML glory so you can embed images into your emails and also receive pretty looking messages as supposed to plaintext emails. The best bit though is the use of Google Maps on the iPhone. Steve Jobs demonstrated how this optimised version of the web tool can be used on the iPhone by finding a nearby coffee shop and placing a call to it by simply tapping the screen. Clever stuff.

9. Supports iTunes

The iPhone will come in two versions at launch: 4GB and 8GB. Whilst this isn’t a huge amount of memory, it is still enough to store a fair bit of music for your day to day use. You can browse through all your music in style with a lovely little interface. Video can be viewed in widescreen, so you can watch TV shows and films using the whole of the screen. The combination of a phone that has full iTunes compatibility is a major selling point for the iPhone.

10. Widgets

If you know anyone who uses a Mac, or you yourself use one, you have no doubt heard about or love Widgets. These ingenious little things allow you to do important and unimportant things with consummate ease. You can check the weather, check stocks, check flight times and much more. Just how Widgets will be implemented into the iPhone is still unknown, but we’ve got high hopes for them!

Pretty much, Apple got all of the good things right. I think there are some small things they should really patch up. Maybe some video recording capabilities and 3G would make the phone more attractive. Also, they should have included a keyboard of sometype! I hate typing on the screen. It is annoying.

Almost convinces me to buy it.
I would have to test it first at least, not completely sure about how 'user friendly' the touchscreen interface is

That and my current phone has a MUCH better camera on it, and I use it VERY frequently.
I would not want to downgrade that feature.

There are many reasons why a person would want to buy an iPhone, and those listed are several reasons. But make sure that you buy it for you and not just because other people have them. They have to be useful to you and using them will be something you want to do. If you are a casual phone user, and avid music listener then it would be great for you. But if you only use phone rarely and do not care about portable music then spending the money might not be worth it.