Talk about dedication. Within 12 hours of the release of the iPhone, I conducted a road test (literally) of the iPhone. Before dawn the test vehicle was launched up I-95 and the test commenced.

OK, it was the family vacation and pure chance that it coincided with the iPhone launch, but it did provide the opportunity not only to spend some quality time with the iPhone but to gauge the coverage along more than 1,200 miles of the East Coast's major roadway from just north of Miami to just south of New York City.

The phone device met or exceeded expectations in every aspect. If there is something else out there like it, I haven't seen it. To my mind the breakthrough feature is the touch screen -- and the related decision to implement an "on screen" keyboard rather than a physical keyboard. Saving space is the obvious benefit -- but not the biggest benefit. Implementing soft keys allows each of the dozen utility applications -- mail, weather, Google maps, calculator and so on -- to have completely custom and appropriate buttons. This would not be possible using a hard keys approach.

When it is time to type, the soft keyboard appears. It is a standard QWERTY layout so letters are easy to find. As I have never been a BlackBerry user -- or even much a text message sender on a regular phone -- it is hard for me make comparisons. According to Apple, within two weeks most users will be able type away dual-thumbs style at a good clip.

Maybe I'll agree a few weeks hence but day one I had a hard time with even the recommended beginner's approach of using one finger. Even though my fingers are of average size, I found myself frequently missing the desired letter and having to backspace and retry. This became a nuisance typing in passwords where the data entered is hidden. As you touch a key, the letter or symbol is magnified briefly so you can tell what you are typing in, but it is easy to miss. That said, even two days later I find my precision increasing significantly.

The built-in applications were useful for us as travelers. We were able to get live weather updates for the cities along the way. What was more valuable was the Google mapping function. Not only did we get live traffic updates but we were able to search for places of interest along the way and get maps and driving instructions to them.