Not knowing the FIRM prices as yet, its a little hard to speculate, but I think most of us can take an educated guess at what the prices will be, and basically unless you have 60-80 dollars a month to spend on a 24 month plan its going to be out of many people's reach, especially in this time of ever increasing petrol prices, food, rent / mortgage, child care etc, and low wage increases, many people are reevaluating what they really need and how much all these extras cost them, from mobile phone use, to internet use, gadgets etc. For your single or DINKS (Double Income No Kids) this wont much of an issue, but for the family people, especially those on one wage, this will be seen as a luxury item only and not until such time you can get them for 200 bucks or less on 20 dollar a month plans it will not be picked up by the majority of people.

It will remain a yuppie device for a niche market in this country until such time as data rates/ prices change from what is currently the 'norm' for smart phones.

Thus for me, its most likely going to be a no go, as its too much per month for such little data. The cost can not be justified for me.

because it was tooo costly

I like a gadget as much as the next bod but my reasons are thus:

1. It'll most likely be more than I can afford to do essentially the same thing as I do now - make calls, send texts, take crappy pics on my phones built in 2MP camera.

2. Most days I'm only ever 45mins from an internet connection. When I'm on a weekend away (usually outside of a non-Telstra 3G provider zone) the last thing I want is to be checking emails.

3. If I was checking mail there's no way I could do anything about any of the requests anyway.

4. I'm already paying for two internet connections now. Paying for a third doesn't interest me.

5. I've got the 'dropsies' so it'll only be a matter of days before it's in for a screen replacement.

6. I'm sure it's a great device but I'm not suckered in by the hype. If I was I'd be talking to my gorgeous friend from New York from my Bondi flat with an easy no-doc loan from my friendly Comm Bank, driving my roomy Corolla to my friends house to watch a game of Footy on their big screen SONY, thinking about how I love the taste of these new Doritos, but am sure I won't get fat on them because I run 13 times a week in my Nike shoes, taking me to that well-earned Starbucks double-shot skinny cappuccino at the end.

I have another 12 or so months left on my Voda contract.

Well I won't be buying one cause I'll WIN one in the MacTalk/iWorld Australia competition!

The following reasons from this article from Forbes: The seven biggest iPhone disappointments | NEWS.com.au

The cost - I want outright, and I simply cannot see the value in paying that much for what it contains.
No flash - Flash flash, not camera flash. Don't care for cameras in phones either which makes it another downer..
No replaceable batteries - it's horshit that I cannot replace the battery in time. Plus the battery life is woeful really.. It's a phone that's just not mean to be properly used.
No cut-and-paste (though I'm not sure if this is true on the 3G ed.)
No voice dialling - Seriously, this is an issue on something that costs as much as it does.

I may get one, but these are the reasons I wouldn't.

And I simply cannot take Kuma's issue about emoticons seriously - each to their own as they say..

I really want but, lack of released plan details aside, I'd prefer:

-32 GB
-a better, non-disabled camera
-stuck on 3 unless I pay a little to kill the remaining few months of my plan

I may still relent and get one on launch day though...

I am surprised a few of us are happy with our first gen. But i got rid of mine in preparation for the 3G because there will be support here from the stores. ie battery change, firmware issues and warranty.

I too have to wait, if its too expensive then i might not get it. If HTC touch diamond is $999, i fear iphone may be more.

Buying one outright will only cost $200 won't it?
That's what I heard through a friend who works at the new Apple store. (She was one of those shrieking happy clappies who were at the front door the other night. They are all being given one gratis.)
Back to the question:
My youngest son will NOT be getting one because it only holds 8G and he is so happy with his iPod touch.

- I barely use my current phone, so can't justify getting another.

- Of everything that's present in the iPod touch already, I only use the music function on a regular basis. Again, I can't justify getting something that, while it does so much more stuff, I won't actually use them.

- I still have 10 months to go with my 3 contract, and don't like the idea of paying it out.

- I just plain can't afford another gadget at the moment as I'm going o/s soon and need all the money I can get to support myself for 5 months.

Umm, no. Based on the plan costs proposed to buy it in the UK on O2, it will not be $200 outright - rather $200+ on a plan.

Ok?

Its not with Telstra.

I want a mobile to work in as many places as possible, and no other carrier can match telstra.

When / if telstra get the iphone, i'll get one.

She should be fired.

Im curious as to why this has caused some much derision.

Japanese - in the written form - is a language of pictures.. ideograms.. using emoji (emoticons) has become part of the mobile language. Regardless of whether I use it or not.. friends write to me using said emoji... sometimes an email will be nothing but emoji. If your phone cant not display the image.. the meaning (as the simple example I posted above) is lost... what does it mean?

This is not a case of each to their own... its a case of communication - it is exactly like not speaking the language.. or only a couple of words.

Take the following sentence
一緒にビールを飲みましょう。

then I write
一緒にbeerを飲みましょう。

most of you will have no idea what I wrote... you will probably guess that Im talking about beer, but have no understanding beyond that. (and if you are viewing on a windows box with no japanese support you will have even less idea).

But then if I use the emoticon version
一緒にを (and this is what appears in Apple Mail)

I have zero idea about what this person wants to do.
with the emoticons intact


and everybody has some idea about what this email means.

I guess ultimately if you dont live here and experience it for yourself you will have no idea how integral these things are in day to day communication...

but maybe I got through to somebody.

as for
upfront cost doesn't worry me.. it is the monthly cost

except for cut and paste the other points dont phase me.

Wow, I'm surprised you even own a mobile phone

Any reason you own the Motorola 3888+ over say a Nokia 3210/5110?