The screen dominates the front of the iPhone, and is the reason for its squat appearance. Whatever your opinion of the phone, there can be no arguments about the quality of the display. Colours appear true to life, and the crisp 480 x 320 pixel resolution is ideal for browsing the web.

Where most mobile devices resort to software such as Opera to resize pages, you’ll be able to view sites in their entirety on the iPhone, albeit without support for Flash. We also liked the Safari web-browser’s ability to open separate tabs, allowing you to open more than one webpage simultaneously. 

The screen also takes full advantage of the built-in Google Maps application. There’s no GPS receiver, but it’s easy to type in your location and there’s enough space to view the surrounding areas. Better yet, Google Earth is also included. It’s not as useful, but the incredibly detailed satellite images are cool none-the-less.

The iPhone’s cutting-edge OS is one of the few truly innovative features on the device – although a lack of 3G restricts download and web-browsing speeds. We found this especially noticeable when using the integrated YouTube application, where videos could take quite a while to buffer. Thankfully, you’ll also find Wi-Fi built-in, and the O2 contract includes free connections to Cloud hotspots throughout the country.

The iPhone’s interface is ideal for use as a music player, the touchscreen making it easy to flick through your collection and view album covers. However, Apple has fitted a recessed headphone jack – so you’ll either have to pay yet more money for an adapter or use the rubbish headphones supplied. If you do buy the iPhone, the former option is a must. The tinny standard headphones are certain to drive anyone within 10 feet of you insane, with very little of the music actually being directed into your ears.

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