No smartphone has generated more attention than Apple's iPhone when it was released last year. Like all Apple products, the iPhone has a sleek design and elegant feel. The interface is responsive and intuitive. The screen is beautiful even in bright sun. All in all, it's a fun device to use.

But when it comes to your boat, there are a number of drawbacks to the iPhone that raise questions as to whether it is truly the best option if you plan to use just one mobile phone onboard.

For example, the iPhone does not use expandable memory cards, meaning the amount of storage you buy is what you get. It cannot tether to a laptop, meaning you will need a separate source of Internet connectivity for your onboard computer. The iPhone's beautiful touch screen interface does not work well with hands that are wet or gloved. And Apple's restrictive policy toward third-party applications for its phone have limited software choices.

The iPhone's screen is beautiful and its browsing capabilities are excellent, but there are some serious drawbacks. Having said that, the iPhone is a solid product with much to recommend it, including unparalleled media and web browsing capabilities and so many slick bells and whistles that it would be a challenge to name them all. There is, after all, a reason that people are literally lining up at Apples stores to get them.

The company has also shown its willingness to improve the product with each successive release. For example, early iPhones lacked an integrated GPS, did not allow for an external GPS and had minimal Bluetooth capabilities that allowed only headset connectivity – limitations that were nearly fatal for the boating world. But the latest version, the iPhone 3G, has a built in GPS that can pinpoint your location on a Google Map, give you directions and even check traffic conditions.

Whether the iPhone is right for you will depend, like so many things in boating, on your needs and your personal situation. The best answer may be that Apple's darling shows a great deal of promise, but just may not be ready yet for heavy use onboard a boat. So let's take a look at it.

MEDIA SAVVY

Following up on Apple success with the iPod, the iPhone truly excels in the areas of entertainment and media. Music, movies, photos, and books are all easily and expertly handled on the iPhone – after all, it has an iPod built right in.

It's also hard to beat the iPhone's web capabilities. The iPhone comes with Mobile Safari for web browsing. Mobile Safari may be the best web browser out there, with lots of features that make viewing web pages on the smaller smartphone screen easier and less frustrating. Web browsing is further enhanced by built in Wi-fi and 3G data transfer rates on the iPhone 3G.

One really nice feature is the ability to check the data usage directly on the device. It will show you how much data you have sent and received, which is nice if you are not using an unlimited data plan. But with an easy and fun-to-use browser, you will be surfing more – and probably using an unlimited plan. In fact, in the U.S., AT&T will not sell an iPhone without an unlimited data plan.

Other nice features are a built in weather application, which allows you to quickly check onshore forecasts, and two different calculators: a simple pocket calculator when the device is in portrait mode that transforms into a scientific calculator when the device is turned on its side to landscape mode. Pretty cool!

There are also a few drawbacks in the media department. The iPhone's 2 mega-pixel camera, for example, is a bit disappointing. With such a beautiful screen and an advanced photo application, it would be great to have a higher-resolution camera.

Another limitation – and this one is very odd – is the complete lack of copy and paste functions. The inability to copy and paste between applications seems like an amazing shortcoming – especially for the company that invented it in the first place.

Karen worked for Apple in the late 1980's and early 1990's selling Macintoshes to the federal government. Back then, there was nothing that wowed an audience more than showing copy and paste (strange to think that there was a time when this was a new and unfamiliar feature). Since then, Apple's feature has become an industry standard, something we all take for granted, and it seems beyond strange that they left it out of their newest device.

SCREEN AND INTERFACE

There is no question that the physical design of Apple's iPhone is sleek and sexy. However, the same characteristics that make the phone so handsome also make it slippery to hold. This can be a major detriment on a boat. If you're thinking of an iPhone, we recommend buying a non-slip skin or case as your first accessory.

The iPhone's screen is bright with big, colorful icons and performs well in sunlight. The phone also does some thinking for you when it comes to operation. The iPhone has an accelerometer that automatically senses when you've turned the phone and rotates the image appropriately. While this is a cute feature, it actually takes some practice and has some problems when the device is lying flat on a table. A proximity sensor shuts off the display when you bring it to your face to use the phone. And a light sensor adjusts the screen brightness based on the ambient light. Even with all its bells and whistles, the iPhone has a pretty good battery life.