Well, nobody is perfect. In this case, no phone is. When the much-awaited iPhone appeared in United States stores in June 29, 2007, hundreds of thousand flocked to the stores. Within 30 hours of its release, an unbelievable 270,000 iPhones have been sold. After a few months of letting the hype die down, was the iPhone really worth the fuss?

John Naughton, from the British publication, the Observer, has some things to say about the iPhone. First of all, the price is quite outrageous for a mobile phone. You had two choices: expensive or more expensive. The 4GB iPhone costs $499, while the 8GB unit costs $599. Also, you can only get the iPhone if you tie yourself down for an AT&T subscription for 18 months. AT&T has exclusively locked the iPhone for their network.

Regarding connectivity speeds on this model, it really isn’t that amazing after all. The iPhone does not have 3G packet data, although it has Wi-Fi, so you can get connected if you’re in the right zone. You can opt to cancel AT&T’s internet service on the iPhone if you want it to run solely on Wi-Fi, but you can’t use the iPhone on other mobile data networks. AT&T and Apple have struck a deal that leaves their customers at their mercy.

Because of these limitations imposed by the iPhone, many individuals have taken a crack at unlocking the unit. There have been some reports of geniuses tampering with the hardware and software of the iPhone to make it run on other SIM cards and networks. It took them a little over a month to do so.

There have been legal issues that have arisen from the uncontrolled unlocking of the iPhone. But what can AT&T and Apple do? There is no written law at the moment that says unlocking a mobile device is indeed illegal. After all, if the iPhone, or any other mobile device, is the property of the buyer, then he has the freedom to do whatever with it.

The iPhone is set to launch in the United Kingdom before 2007 ends. There is still no news as to which UK cellular service provider will be holding the reins. All the Brits can do for now is wait.