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Is the iPhone worth the two year contract with the oft-maligned AT&T and its steep price of admission? ... Despite the iPhone's many shortcomings, we suspect the answer for countless consumers will be a resounding yes.

Even in version 1.0, the iPhone is still the most sophisticated, outlook-changing piece of electronics to come along in years. It does so many things so well, and so pleasurably, that you tend to forgive its foibles. In other words, maybe all the iPhone hype isn’t hype at all.

Expectations for the iPhone have been so high that it can't possibly meet them all. It isn't for the average person who just wants a cheap, small phone for calling and texting. But, despite its network limitations, the iPhone is a whole new experience and a pleasure to use.

Look, I'm not saying wait for version 2.0. You don't need new hardware to love the phone; version 1.1 should do it. Wait until Apple updates the software. ... I'm being hard on this phone because I have profound respect for this device, and want it to do better.

Steve Jobs has said, repeatedly, that this is the best iPod that Apple has ever made, and it is. It's also the best phone that anybody has ever made.

The iPhone isn't perfect, but it's the most impressive first version of a new kind of device that we've seen so far... Fantastically easy to use (and easy to see) interface, yet the iPhone still qualifies as a smartphone, with some caveats.

The mania over Apple's iPhone launch has created stratospheric expectations that are near impossible to live up to. Yet with a few exceptions, this expensive, glitzy wunderkind is indeed worth lusting after.

Is the iPhone a great mobile phone? No, not really. It is an average phone, but hardly a great one... It does happen to be a pretty darn impressive mobile computer, though, especially when it comes to the web and consuming multimedia content like music, movies, and photos.