While Apple’s new iPhone packs an impressive set of features in a thin case, analysts are saying the iPhone is not without its drawbacks. For example, the iPhone has integrated Wi-Fi but no 3G broadband. Instead, it offers access to Cingular’s EDGE network, with speeds closer to dial-up than DSL.

Toronto. Paris. Bangkok. Chicago. Houston. And Rediff (which, if you’re not familiar with it, is in India). What do they have in common? They’re just some of the cities where awestruck, star-struck, and sometimes skeptical reporters have weighed in on the iPhone.
By now — merely a week after its release — the iPhone has achieved a new level of hype. For Steve Jobs, Apple’s celebrity CEO, it’s a publicity coup par excellence. But is it a technical one, too?

If nothing else, the iPhone is, by most accounts, gorgeous — equipped with a lush, sleek interface and dazzling screen. “The user interface on the iPhone is innovative, visually stunning, and incredibly responsive,” wrote Avi Greengart, research lead for mobile devices at Current Analysis, in a published report.

At first, Greengart doubted the iPhone’s prospects — in part because of its $500 or $600 price — until he held the device in his hand, as he later told us in an interview.