"Also it's horrendous price, Dr Jessup"

When I went freelance I paid £100 for my iPhone, with a £30/month inclusive tariff (all the talk minutes and texts I need, plus unlimited data roaming in the UK).

It has proved useful in more ways than I can think of in both my personal and professional life. If I'm out and about in an unfamiliar city, it finds stuff for me - from the nearest coffee shop or petrol station to my actual destination. I can keep on top of my e-mails, have full access to the internet on trains even if they offer no wireless service, it offers wireless document down- and up-loading so that I have to take far less with me to meetings, I can take notes on it, it has a built-in digital recorder so that I can record meetings (or, even more useful, my melodeon lessons) and easily upload them to my computer later. Plus, of course, it's an iPod, has Youtube access, etc. Which can actually be very useful because of the nature of my work. And I have to say, the useability and interface is second to none - it is incredibly intuitive, and it makes those funny little Blackbery qwerty keyboards seem very fiddly in comparison. My only caveat is coverage. O2 is excellent in most places, but it is rubbish in Sidmouth, and that was very frustrating when I was working during the festival. But iPhone is now also available on Orange, which might be better. I'm looking into it.

Re the cost: When my contract is up in a couple of months time, should I wish to leave iPhone I could sell the handset second-hand on one of the many sites set up for this purpose for about £165. That would mean that I'd had the handset and two months of my tariff for free.

I'm likely to upgrade to the new iPhone (and possibly a different network) when my contract is up, but instead of selling my current phone, I'll probably give it to my daughter to use as an iPod Touch - she'll have all the games, the iPod, the camera, plus Wifi connectivity wherever there's a router or a hotspot.

So, as many other people have said: it really depends on what you want and what you need it for.