IPhone set to have tills ringing

It is one of the most eagerly-awaited gadgets in history and tomorrow at 6.02pm the iPhone finally goes on sale.

It may cost a small fortune but shoppers will still be queuing around the block to get their hands on the £269 mobile.

When Apple's latest must-have launched in America in June, it took just 74 days to sell the first million and more than 400,000 are expected to be sold over here before Christmas.

So what do you get for your £269 plus the £35-a-month line rental? Obviously there are all the usual mobile phone features.

But the iPhone can also be used as a 2,000-song iPod, sat nav and camera. Owners will also be able to watch videos on YouTube, check the stock markets, get weather reports and surf the internet for up to six hours.

Much of the hype also concerns the iPhone's sleek looks. Gone are the standard mobile buttons and in their place a slick and easy-to-use touch screen.

Carphone Warehouse has vowed to keep all 783 of its stores open into the night to cope with demand and Apple and O2 shops are bracing themselves.

David King, of Wolverhampton's Dudley Street store, said: "Whether they're fashion conscious gadget freaks or just want the latest handset, lots of people are interested in the iPhone."

The gadget, which was named invention of the year in Time magazine, is only available on the O2 network at £35 a month for 18 months – bringing the total cost to a staggering £899.

But for that you do get unlimited internet access plus 200 minutes of calls and 200 text messages.

But the iPhone has been criticised for being unable to send picture messages and texts to more than one person at a time.

Demand is so high that handsets are popping up on internet auction site ebay for as much as £599.99.

And some of the sellers claim to have unlocked the phones for use on other phone networks.