[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Hom3r

I am thinking of going to the darkside. (Only when I gt another job, and I know I said "I wouldn't buy this piece of carp")

Most of the guys I work with have one.
But I have a few questions

1. I'm with orange PAYG, and want to know can I convert my number to pay monthly.
2. What happens to my remaining balance.

Dunno..

3. how does the inlimited WiFi work?

Well, with O2, the contract for WiFi provision is with both The Cloud and BTOpenzone. The first time you go to a web page on either of the networks, you are asked to register your phone number. Then, they act like normal WiFi networks.

4. Do you need to use iTunes to put stuff onto the phone?

Officially yes. Unofficially, the ml_ipod plug in for winamp supports the iPhone. Be warned though, last time I tried this (a few months back, and there has been a new version since), I ended up having to reformat and transfer all my music and videos again. As the saying goes, Your Mileage May Vary..

5. How easy is it to connect to a laptop as a modem and use the internet on the laptop.

As long as your tariff supports it (mine doesn't without an extra monthly payment which I am not paying), it should be easy..

6. how are you charged for apps?

You need to register a bank card with the iTunes store. You also need an iTunes account.

7. can you download apps via the phone

Yes. You can download Apps or Media from the iTunes store via 3G/Edge/GSM (if the download is less than 10 meg) or WiFi. To prevent accidental purchases or downloads, the phone will ask you to enter your iTunes password to download the item(s).

8. Are there anything I need to look out for.

Apps wise? Well, we have a thread for that.. http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/26...hone-apps.html

9. I guess the 3GS is the best one to get.

Yes. It offers a compass and extra speed over the 3G. Apple do seem to be having some success persuading people to use those facilities. For instance, the Yelp app is a good local directory application on the 3G. It uses AGPS to display businesses and facilities in the local area. With the 3GS's compass, it becomes an "Augmented Reality" directory. Basically, you point the iPhone down the street, and it will highlight (on it's display) any facilities in that street. The 3GS also does video recording and trimming (it's not a full video editing package, you can't edit clips together or put special effects on them, but you can chop the start and/or end off).

One thing I like about the iPhone (I have a 3G) is that Apple have been very successful in encouraging programmers to write apps to use the iPhone's features. Featurewise, the iPhone 3G offers slightly less than my old phone, the N95. However, Nokia seem to be spectacularly bad at encouraging developers to use those features (I only found a handful of apps that used GPS and even fewer that used the accelerometer, both of which are used extensively on the iPhone).

Good luck.