Apple's iPhone will be available soon in stores and consumers are lining up to purchase the gadget. It looks like it's going to be a Nintendo Vii big fuss kind of story. But there are some factors one should consider while waiting in the line in order to buy this device.

First of all is the price: The iPhone will cost about $499 for the 4-gigabyte model, and $599 for the 8-gigabyte version and that's only the gadget. You'll have to take in consideration a service plan as well. AT&T, the carrier Apple chose to work with, announced that its iPhone service plans will start at $59.99 a month, with a minimum two-year contract. You'll have to pay a $36 activation fee as well and if you have to switch service providers, you may also have to pay an early-termination fee.

Speaking about carrier, well, the iPhone can be used only with a service plan from AT&T. That's not quite a plus, since approximately 66% of U.S. cell phone users don't use AT&T and AT&T's wireless cell phone and Internet services are not very good. It may be easy to get online with the iPhone in wireless hot spots, but once you'll be forced to rely on AT&T's wireless network, things will be different...

It is still unclear how well the iPhone will work with corporate servers to access e-mails and address books, or how it interacts with other computers. The iPod doesn't have a keyboard, so, for a Blackberry user who's always sending e-mails back and forth while away from the desk, getting used to the touch screen typing could take some time.

The good part with the iPhone is that if you're ready to pay the price, you'll get a magical multimedia gadget: it is a mobile phone, an MP3 player, a Web-enabled device, a digital camera and much more. Of course, there are other cell phones with integrated MP3 player, but the iPhone is the only one that synchronize with iTunes automatically. There are other cell phones with integrated digital camera, but it seems that iPhone's video capabilities are quite spectacular. And because the touch screen essentially spans the length of the iPhone, users will get a wider viewing area than what the typical Internet-enabled phone offers with a browser that renders Web pages in full html. That means web sites will look as they do on a regular computer or laptop.

Like many other Apple gadgets, the iPhone's greatest "I want that" element is its sleek design. The most eye-catching feature is, of course, the touch screen interface. The user accesses all of the iPhone's features: the phone, the music player, Web browser, calendar and so on with his fingertips.

So if you're an Apple nut, I'm sure you're in line in front of your favorite store. But if you're not an Apple maniac and you are ready to spend $500+ for a cell phone, there are other options to consider, like a Nokia N95 with a 5 megapixel built-in digital camera (iPhone's camera is only 2 megapixel!), MP3 player and e-mail capabilities. Also, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and LG have cell phones with built-in music players and digital cameras, and some of them have even touch screen interface.