For Apple fans in the U.S., today is like Christmas. If Santa charged you $599 plus $60 per month before he handed over any presents.

After months and MONTHS of the kind of unrelenting hype that usually turns people off a product more than it turns them on, the iPhone is finally on sale today south of the border. American Apple fetishists, gadget whores and technofashionistas with money to burn were camped outside Apple stores this morning in order to be among the first to snap up the new cellphone/video iPod/PDA/Web browser gadget, which retails for $499 US (for the 4 GB model) and $599 US (for the 8 GB version.) With service plans starting at $60 US on a mandatory two-year contract, they'll be paying a minimum of almost $2,000 for the privelege of owning this year's most sought-after gadget. Man, and I thought video game consoles were expensive.

Is it worth it? I haven't held one in my sweaty mitts yet, but like most Apple products, the iPhone looks svelte and sexy yet elegantly simple. I love the idea of a massive touchscreen (made of scratch-resistant glass no less), particularly when paired with 8 GB of memory -- I might even leave my beloved Archos portable media player behind when going on trips, since the iPhone could hold enough movies for a cross-country flight. But I can't imagine it's easy to type out text messages and e-mails on the thing, even though Apple claims to have come up with a way to make touch-screen typing feasible.


So pretty. You want to touch them, don't you? Don't you?

I guess we'll have to wait and see. But we could be waiting for some time yet, as Rogers has been very mum on when the iPhone might make its way to the Great White North. Speculation suggests that Apple's desire to control virtually all aspects of the iPhone experience, from what content will be available for it to not allowing carriers to brand it with their own logos (oh the humanity!), could be stalling the talks. Considering how gung-ho Rogers is about selling their own content through their phones, it doesn't surprise me that this might be a sticking point. It's Teddy R. vs. Stevie J. -- let the battle begin! (Then again, AT&T gave in to Apple's demands, so maybe it's just a matter of time.)

If you're considering picking up an iPhone while in the States -- assuming you'd even be able to find one, which is unlikely -- don't bother. There have been reports of T-Mobile customers trying to get the device working on their network (the iPhone is AT&T exclusive for now) with no luck, so it's sure as heck not going to work if you pop a Rogers SIM card in there. And since the phone has to be linked to an iTunes account (ugh), which are also region-specific, you might not even be able to use it as a media player.

So for now, we wait. Which might have its advantages, if there are kinks to be worked out with the hardware or software. Let our American friends beta test the iPhone, run it through its paces, and tell us if it's worth the steep price. Santa may live here in Canada, but that doesn't mean he's going to give us a discount.