Thanks Apple

I am rarely the first to get a piece of technology. Rare as in never. I got out of that race a long time back and I now pick my technology very carefully.

It was about time I got a new phone as my old 950i is really on its last legs after a good 2 years of solid use. It was an AWFUL operating system but it did its job when you got used to it.

I love my MAC book air. I think the UI is fantastic and the hardware is light, relatively strong and fairly reliable. On that basis I opted for the iPhone this time around. The 16Gig S version. I don't own a single MP3 so I am not sure why I would need the 32 Gig (but could not bring myself to buy the 8 Gig, work that one out!).

Setting it up should have been child's play. But here is the issue. You must have internet access to get your phone to work. They don't tell you that on the box. This would not normally be a problem but it was today. I don't yet have broad band in my flat (it gets fitted tomorrow). My laptop uses a USB 3G dongle to get my access. My MAC Book air only has one USB port and that is used for the 3G card.

So imagine my reaction when starting up the iphone it says connect to the laptop to talk to itunes to register phone. BUGGER. I cant have internet on if the iphone is connected and I cannot connect the iphone unless I use the USB port. Check mate.

So off to the local cafe for use of their wireless internet connection. Connected to internet, connected the iphone, itunes connected to the web and hey presto the whole lot springs into life. Very frustrating though because it appears the only reason it forces you to do this is to register and activate the phone. They should just let you use the phone and perhaps, if they have to, force you to do the registration (here's a clever idea) via the iphone's internet connection!

Surely apple should have an app for that!