It's exactly one week until the iPhone hits the market and right now the hype is at fever pitch. Not so on this blog. I've purposely avoided the iPhone and only bring it up now to caution entrepreneurs, startups and small to midsize business owners to not get caught up in the iTide of the iPhone.

Here's why:

- Let someone else be the early adopter, aka the human guinea pig. New technologies come with bugs, limited uses and stiff pricing. Stick with tried and true mobile devices that are competitively priced. The iPhone may be a great tool for your business - in a couple of years. But, not now.

- The iPhone comes with a hefty price tag starting at $499 and that doesn't include the price of the subscription plan for using those much ballyhooed web features that will surely bump up the monthly nut. That's a lot of corn you could probably put to better use elsewhere.

- AT&T is the sole carrier offering plans. If you use another carrier for other mobile plans within your organization, then you will be committing to multiple carriers and exponential headaches.

- Looking forward to accessing your corporate email from your iPhone? Think again, it's a secuity nightmare and your IT guy is already losing sleep over the pressure you'll put on him to do something about it.

- No one does bling better than Apple. (Remember those candy colored iMacs in the mid-90's in biondi blue and tangerine). From the limited peeks at the iPhone, thus far, they look every bit as cool and sleek. But check out what's not under the hood, starting with no GPS and no replaceable battery.

- If you don't like it, it'll cost $175 to cancel your plan early. P.S. AT&T is requiring a two-year committment, up front. Ouch!

Other Tidbits to Chew On

Kudos to Dell

Okay, I'm really starting to like IdeaStorm (Dell's online customer forum). It appears the folks in Round Rock, TX really are listening and responding to customer feedback. Case in point, Dell has heard your cries and announced this week it will now give customers the ability to opt out of all that pre-bundled bloatware on certain models. Sounds good to me. May all the other PC makers soon follow suit.

Have a great weekend! We'll get back to business on Monday. - Renee O.