When the great guys at the QQeStore told us at lunch time today that they had an iPhone ready for us to review, we literally jumped out of our seats and didn't waste a single second.. We just had to be one of the first people in Brunei to touch, hold, and play with one of, if not THE most talked about gadget in history!

Yes folks, if you guys read the weekend paper last week, you might have noticed the ad that the QQeStore put out on the front page; they were ready to take pre-orders of Apple's iPhone.

If you read our previous posts on the iPhone, or if you're one of the millions who fell into the iPhone hype machine, you should know by now that Apple restricted the iPhone's use to within the US, and can only be used with an AT&T sim card. The iPhone which will be specifically made for the Asian market will only be released in 2008.

Without an AT&T sim card, the phone was useless, and you were'nt even able to use the iPod and Internet features of the phone. This restriction triggered hackers to start finding out how to unlock the iPhone.

In just a few weeks after the iPhone's release, the hackers managed to partially unlock the phone, making it possible to use all the other features, except making and receiving calls. It's only a matter of time before we get a 'hacked' iPhone with all the phone features accessible to anyone in the world too.

So what's the use of the iPhone without the phone capabilities you might ask? Quite alot actually, even enough to make us guys at Simpur drool with envy and want one for ourselves!

Even without the phone capabilities, the QQeStore already has a long list of enthusiastic buyers on the waiting list for the 'phone-less' iPhone. After playing with one for a considerable amount of time this afternoon, we could definitely see why it's touted as one of the best phones ever made.

What makes this phone different is the intuitive touch screen display. Crystal clear, very easy on the eyes, and believe us when we say that it works like a charm. The first time we did the 'slide to unlock' feature, it literally gave us goosebumps! The whole touch interface has a nice feel to it, and worked as smooth as it did in the Apple ads.

The video and music playback features worked perfectly, especially with the cool CoverFlow feature which lets you 'touch' and flick through your music and video collection. Turn the phone to its side and the display follows suit!

The phone's Internet browsing capabilities were the next thing we tested and we were definitely not disappointed. Connecting to the available Wi-Fi network was easy and simple. Typing the addresses on the virtual keyboard was also breeze and not as hard as expected. Once the page loaded, we were surprised at how good the Simpur site looked on such a small mobile device. Tap the screen twice to zoom in, tap it once to zoom out. Flick the screen up, down, left, and right to move to area you want to see. Turn the phone to its side again to see a widescreen view of the website. Simple.

We played with the other features of the phone and not a single thing disappointed us. Who would've thought that we'd enjoy browsing through photos on a small device? The phone's unique 'pinching' features let you zoom in and out of photos easily too.

It's quite surprising how we even forgot that the phone capabilities didn't work as we were just too amazed, and in awe with the other features.

All in all, this device has exceeded all our expectations of it, even without the ability to make or receive calls. If you have extra money in your pocket to spend on, then we suggest you get one right now because it will be the best gadget you'll own, and without doubt you'll be the envy of your friends and the rest of us gadget lovers in Brunei!

The Apple iPhone comes in 4GB or 8GB models, and is limitedly available online at the QQeStore, with the absolute lowest price in Brunei guaranteed!* For more information on its current price, please click here.

The Asian version has not been announced yet, but Apple promises that it will be available in 2008.