This article has only began to scratch the surface of both of these phones. There is still a great deal about the iPhone that we do know but did not have time to cover in-depth in this article, such as network options (GSM + EDGE, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0), visual voice mail (allows you to select which voice messages you want to listen to and in what order - great idea), a great conference call interface and the fact that it will be offered exclusively from Cingular. I personally think offering the iPhone through a single carrier is a bad idea in terms of customer availability, but I am sure Cingular will be smiling all the way to the bank. Offering the iPhone through different carriers would certainly boost sales on Apple's end.

We do know that the iPhone will be offered in two different versions: 4 GB model and an 8 GB model, retailing for $499 and $599 respectfully. Paying $600 for a cellular phone is one hefty chunk of change indeed, especially when there are other options available that can do 85-90% of the things the iPhone can do at half the price.

There are still many things that we do not know about the iPhone, such as ringtone information (can you create your own, or will you be forced to purchase ringtones from iTunes?) and the price of data services through Cingular. There is no doubt in my mind that Cingular will charge a premium fee for data services on the iPhone.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

So, should you hold out and wait for the iPhone or go with something that has been on the market for a while now and has a solid 3rd party application offering? That question depends on several variables. How much money are you willing to spend on a wireless phone? Will you make use of the majority of iPhone features? Are you locked into a contract with another wireless provider?

If you decide to pass on the iPhone, you aren't necessarily making a terrible decision. As we showed here today, there are other very capable phones on the market right now at a fraction of the price. While the 700p only comes with 60 MB of usable memory, it does make use of an SD slot that can accept expansion cards to greatly increase memory capacity. Many companies now offer SD cards in 8 GB versions, effectively equaling the memory capacity of the iPhone. The Treo 700p we used for comparison purposes is packed with many more features than we discussed and the doors open even wider when you take into account the thousands of 3rd party applications that are available for download. Some of my favorite 3rd party apps include PDA Net (allows you to use your phone as a wireless, broadband modem for your computer/laptop), PDA Reach (allows you to interact with your phone from your computer screen - you can use the keyboard and mouse instead of the controls on the phone for things like text messaging and e-mailing), LightWav (a ringtone program that allows you to use mp3 files as ringtones and full screen photos for each caller) and Toccer (an instant messaging program).

There is no doubt that 3rd party applications will be released for the iPhone as well, but it will take some time for these apps to surface and mature. The bottom line; if I didn't already have a smartphone and wasn't locked into a contract with Sprint, I would more than likely have the iPhone on my short list of upcoming purchases. But for now, I am perfectly happy with the Treo 700p and don't feel as though I will be missing out on too terribly much when the iPhone is released to the public next month.