I remember January of last year. It was another day like any other in New York. The sun was out and the sky was clear accompanied by mild temperatures. But at my computer there was chaos. I was running around the office, screaming that the new iPhone has been announced. I knew I was going to get that phone but first I had to wait six months for its official release. So I waited and for those that know me that is not an easy thing to do for a product like this. Unfortunately when that monumental day hit I started to rethink my intentions. Many people in New York had one. People on the subway made sure that you knew they had it, flashing it around like a diamond ring on their finger. People would run up to them and ask, "Hey is that the new iPhone?" I didn't want people crowding around me every-time I pulled it out of my pocket so I waited longer. As time progressed my desires turned into skepticism. I made sure that I only read the reviews that would feed that skepticism. My ignorance was saving me. The critics criticized that phone like it was a new presidential candidate. They would say it is expensive. "Yes," I would agree, "it is expensive." It only holds 8GB and can you only get your music on it by syncing it with one computer at a time. "Ya, why would I sync with only 8 gigs of space." There are no third-party applications. "With a phone that is as powerful as a computer why would I only use it for making calls and music?" A lot of phones already do what the iPhone can do, why is it even better? "I agree, I can probably get a cheaper phone with the same features." But what i did not know at the time was that I was starting the beginnings of the five stages of loss: denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Stage 1: Denial and Isolation

As I started to buy into the strict criticism, I started to lose all logic. I did believe it was an expensive phone. $600 is a hefty price tag and increasing my monthly bill was not necessary. I needed my phone more for productivity and not for music and text messages. No third-party software meant that that phone will always be an iPod first and never a pocket PC. I even purchased a phone that I claimed was the iPhone killer. I did anything I could to believe I did not need that phone.

Stage 2: Anger

The anger set in. I started to hate Apple and I preached that their brand was becoming untrustworthy. It was just a big marketing stunt and it was wrong for them not to provide an unlocked phone.

Stage 3: Bargaining

The anger would subside only a little and then I started to bargain with the iPhone. "If I buy you are you going to make me happy and could I really use you as my iPod and phone, eliminating the need to carry two separate devices for both?" I would make these bargains with the iPhone as I stared at it on the online Apple Store, waiting for a response.

Stage 4: Depression

A response from the iPhone never truly came. The worst then started to set in. My body started to feel numb every-time I saw in iPhone on the subway. There was an emptiness I just needed to fill. I started to question my intentions for never getting one. Am I in the right?

Stage 5: Acceptance

After months of torture I finally reached acceptence. The burden caused by the anger, sadness and depression were lifted from my shoulders. I finally accepted my desires for the iPhone were true. Once I accepted that I started to see the truth in the criticism. I started to realize that most of the hardest critics of the iPhone actually did not own one. It may be safe to say they were going through the five stages themselves. The iPhone was so great that the negatives were just splitting hairs. On a Friday, just a few weeks ago, after work I rushed to the Apple Store in Soho. I asked to be rung up for an iPhone. The price drop that was announced made the acceptance more easy. At last I was happy again. I have owned a lot of phones in my life but the iPhone surpasses them all. From anywhere I can check my email and surf the net. Of course someone found a way to crack the iPhone and now I have games, text editors, and can upload my pics immediately to Flickr. Even though most phones had these features before the iPhone, none of those phones work with the style the iPhone does. It is truly an excellent device that was worth the suffering.