KEY POINTS:
How wrong can you be? After writing optimistically that the hype surrounding Apple's iPhone would die away once it went on sale in the United States in June, there's been no let-up in the breathless coverage of the phone-cum-music player.
And despite it not being officially available in New Zealand, a mini-industry already exists here to supply iPhones and accessories.
Some of us may have been determined not to be caught up in iPhone excitement, but it seems that most of the planet has been happy to go along with it. Now, after reading the reviews and coming under the spell of a number of iPhone enthusiasts, I'm finding it increasingly hard to resist giving in to the hype.
As iPhone fans go, Aucklander John Ballinger might be the country's biggest. The software developer is thought to be the first New Zealander to hack an iPhone so it would work with Vodafone's network.
As sold in the US, the phone will operate only on AT&T's GSM network. But that hasn't stopped dozens of people around the world from devising ways to make iPhones connect to other networks. The method Ballinger used involved numerous software steps, as well as opening the iPhone case, locating a couple of tiny electrical contacts with a magnifying glass and short-circuiting them.
The hard part was prising the back off the phone. That came at the cost of a cut hand, broken fingernails and damaged tools. The good news is that within a couple of weeks of Ballinger's hack, a software-only solution was found for making the phone work. And, in fact, while Apple isn't saying when or how the iPhone will be available here, retailer Parallel Imported was this week selling phones ready to use with the Vodafone network for $1200.
That's expensive, though, compared with buying one in the US. Ballinger says the going rate in New York, including the state sales tax, is about $650 if New Zealand GST is added.
He chides anyone who questions why it's worth going to so much bother over a cellphone. "There's not much in the market that compares to what it does."
Ballinger likens it to having a computer in your pocket. "It's always on, it's ready to go, it's got a screen, a keyboard and a mouse and it interacts really well. And because it runs on Apple OS X, you have every single Apple software developer out there able to build applications for it."
Video game developers don't need to write specific versions for the iPhone, since it will run standard Apple software, although tweaking might be required for its small screen.
That gives the iPhone an advantage over devices from Nokia and Sony Ericsson, reckons Ballinger, because they have a smaller population of software developers.
Testers at the US edition of PC World magazine have been putting the iPhone through its paces since late June and have delivered a largely positive verdict. They criticise it for the costly contract US buyers must enter into with AT&T and for the fact that it isn't 3G - meaning it isn't getting the fastest available cellular network access to the internet.
But as a phone it functions well, with 10 hours of talk time (two hours longer than Apple states) and as a music player it's comparable to iPod Nano models.
But would they recommend buying it as a business tool? No, it doesn't make it into the magazine's top three personal digital assistants.
Ballinger has no such reservations. He raves about applications such as the phone's route finder, which uses Google Maps to provide directions if you enter your location and intended destination.
Another application will tell you your approximate location based on the relative signal strengths of nearby cell sites.
For those able to wait until the phone can be bought through Apple-approved channels, it's a guessing game when that will be. Apple Australia is giving nothing away and internet service provider Orcon, a rumoured possible iPhone distributor, won't divulge anything.
Orcon is, however, planning to start reselling Vodafone services, so will have a network at its disposal.
Those lucky enough to be John Ballinger's friends don't need to wait to be a part of the iPhone experience, however. He has hacked four phones already, by the much easier software-only method, which just requires the purchase of a Vodafone SIM card.
As his circle of friends expands, he is thinking what he might do with his collection of the AT&T SIM cards the iPhones come with. "Once I've got 10, I might make a little piece of art." No doubt in tribute to the geniuses at Apple.
Making connections
* As sold in the US, Apple's iPhone works only on AT&T's GSM network.
* But hackers have found ways to connect to other networks.
* Early hacks meant the phones had to be physically modified.
* Now the phones can be reconfigured by software changes alone.
* The iPhone isn't officially available in New Zealand, but it's already on sale here, modified for the Vodafone network.
* Anthony Doesburg is an Auckland-based technology journalist
