Not even the most in-depth online reviews or the megabytes of videos on YouTube could have prepared me for my first encounter with the iPhone.

I was immediately awestruck by its ultra-slim design. The phone is barely half as thick as either the Sony Ericsson P990i or the Nokia N95.

Next, the large 3.5-inch touch-sensitive colour display. Even at the default 50 per cent brightness setting, the display was impressive. Pump it up to 100 per cent and the photos and videos literally seem to jump out of the screen.

The iPhone's trump card is that you don't need a stylus - you navigate using your fingers to peck at, pinch or stretch the screen.

Despite the heavy-duty fingering, the touch-screen remained fairly clean; you really have to press hard on it before any noticeable smudges appear.

For owners of cellphones dissatisfied with the user experience, the iPhone is perfect. I found the menus to be very intuitive and very logically laid out.

The only thing I had to get used to was the need to constantly remind myself to press the one and only button located at the bottom to go back and forth from the current page to the central menu.

The iPhone uses an on-screen keyboard, which looked intimidating at first, but I got used to it in no time.

As the review set was not connected to any network infrastructure, I was unable to test the Safari Web browser, the e-mail readers and the ability to synchronise with Microsoft Outlook.

The iPhone lacks a built-in flash for its 2-megapixel camera. It also cannot digitally zoom in and out when composing a shot.

And while it can play movies, the phone cannot shoot videos. Nor can it record voice, something I find indispensable in my Sony Ericsson P990i for recording meetings.

But these are minor issues.

Perhaps Apple will address some of them in future releases of the firmware. Until the iPhone is sold in Singapore, I will have to make do with my iPhone background theme and wallpaper on my cellphone and drool.

- M.K. Wong is an entrepreneur and freelance writer.