First look should you buy an iPhone?(Apple iPhone)(Product/service evaluation)

With the initial clamor about Apple's first cell phone now over, non-Apple aficionados can ponAder whether to pony up $499 or $599 for the device, which combines a phone with an MP3 player, Web browser, camera, and PDA functions.

Our early tests of the iPhone, performed as this issue went to press, revealed a few shortAcomings, including a battery you can't replace yourself. But we also found groundbreaking feaAtures. Most notably, the iPhone offers superb multimedia functionality via its unique touchAscreen, from which you access almost all the device's controls and can move and enlarge photos and Web pages with your fingertips. Here are isAsues to consider if you're still on the iFence.

As a phone: The device is so-so in voice quality and lacks some common phone features, such as voice activation and easy access to a directory of recent calls. AT&T, the iPhone's exclusive carrier, has been low to middling in satisfaction in our reAcent surveys. And the iPhone uses AT&T's Edge network, which is slow for Web surfing. (Surfing is much faster with the phone's Wi-Fi connection.)

If your current phone is under contract, you'll need to pay that out or pay a termination fee up ...