I've seen a lot of Christmas lists this year. I've seen 97 press releases containing them. I've seen Alfie Allen's. I've seen my various siblings'. And what features heavily on these lists? The iPhone.
A triumph of marketing over common sense, the iPhone has become a top request this Yuletide. And that's not me saying that it's not a great product - it is. It's just not a Christmas gift type product. This phone takes commitment. And thought. And money.
Let's start with the initial cost. £269 is a lot of money for a Christmas present in my books, but perhaps inflation has taken it's toll (or my santa is tight, or worse, broke). But whichever, you're initially asking Ol' St Nick to spend not far off £300 on your present. You must have been very good this year.
But there's no point in having an iPhone that doesn't make calls, is there? If that was the point, you'd get out there and get an iPod Touch (a much better option, but I'm getting ahead of myself). So, there's the contract, which is a minimum of £35 a month. Is that for a year? Well now, I'm glad you asked. Because it's not. Oh no. This contract ties you in for 18 months. To clarify, that's £35 a month until June 2009.
How much are we looking at now? £899. This phone is beginning to look less like a Christmas gift and more like the national debt of a minor third world country.
If you're lucky enough to have someone who'll put up the initial cost, congratulations. If they then ask you to pay the monthly bill, fair enough - they're teaching you the value of money, or some such nonsense. But have a think about whether you want to commit to this version now. There's strong rumours of a 3G version next year, and who knows which networks it might be released on.
As I said before, if you're after something that looks just a swish, you can do a lot worse than the iPod Touch. Less commitment, more storage, less money. What's not to love? And don't worry about Apple having a disappointing Christmas. Something tells me they're going to do just fine...
Susi Weaser is the editor of Shiny Shiny and knows what you're not getting this year.
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