And setting up the iPhone to send messages did require a second step - turning on the Rogers SMTP server in the iPhone Account settings - which was not done automatically. We had to contact Rogers to clear up the problem.

It's a small thing, but perhaps Apple (or is it Rogers?) should configure the mail settings so that the SMTP server toggle switch is set to on by default, and then give users a warning during set-up that it's on until they turn it off.

The bundled Google Maps and routing application works nicely with the built-in GPS. This is not a real-time, turn-by-turn navigation system, though, simply a route finder, which is pretty useful on its own. Major navigational software makers such as TomTom and TeleNav have announced full navigational systems for iPhone 3G.

We did experience some problems with the routing function. If the software doesn't recognize the street address or place name you've input - because you used the wrong format or a variant of a name - it will sometimes find the nearest match and give you directions to the entirely wrong place.

We've said little here about the interface or basic functions such as voice and photography, which have apparently changed little or not at all from the first-generation product.

The App Store, widely covered in the mainstream media, we'll also pass over, though it's certainly one of thestrong inducements to consider iPhone. The number of applications available doesn't rival the number available for Symbian, for example, or Windows Mobile, but iPhone is catching up faster than anyone might have expected. And this is a great, easy-to-use store for buying (or downloading free) applications.

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The touchscreen interface, also widely covered elsewhere, is obviously a feature that helps put this product into a category by itself. It's simple, elegant, attractive, easy to learn - and for the most part works well.

The only drawback is the reliance on an onscreen keyboard. Even though the iPhone's virtual keys are larger than the physical keys on a BlackBerry or other keyboard-equipped smartphones, we found it too easy to miss the letter or character we were aiming for. Maybe it just takes more practice.

As a phone, the iPhone is excellent. Voice quality, presumably because of superior audio componentry to support the music functions, is the best of any smartphone we've tested recently. And the ability to set up voice mail to automatically appear in e-mail is a very nice feature - though not unique to iPhone.

Bottom line: if you need a smartphone and want one with good music and video playback abilities, this should come near the top of your list of products to explore further. It's not perfect - no product is - but it comes closer than most.

And it has that Apple design extra, that je ne sais qua that turns the iPhone into something very - pleasing.