iPhone is beautiful, an object of art. It's sleek, and contrasts abound: black and silver, glossy and matte. The curved edges feel perfect in the hand. There are some subtle touches: the eye-catching chrome edging actually improves your grip, and the silver ring around the camera is grooved to catch the light. It's very thin — thinner than most mobile phones. (Some, like the Palm Treo, are positively portly next to iPhone.) It has a pleasant heft in the hand, and the buttons are easily accessible. It's wide, but not too wide: to our surprise, we could use it one-handed.

The included Dock is custom fitted, barely wider than iPhone itself. The power brick is tiny; even the USB cable's Dock connector is smaller than previous Apple Dock cables. Everything is compact, no larger than required. We found that experience continues into the phone's interfaces — everything does just enough, and nothing more.