Thanks for your suggestions regarding GPRS settings, though I had known about them already. And as far as I can tell, the APN is set to the right one. I also double-checked user name and password — to no avail. It just won’t connect.

Regarding battery-life, yes, I may indeed be spoiled by my former barebones Nokia brick that survived a week on a single charge. Thanks for your power saving tips, I’ll try them out. I’ve only had the phone in operation for three days, the long run will determine how satisfied I am with it in this respect.

You mention that the email passwords are “optional storage wise” but I’ve found no other way than entering them in the settings. Otherwise the Mail client wouldn’t connect to my servers because it wouldn’t ask me for the password. I have enabled the PIN lock already, by the way, but thanks for the tip. Is 1Password available for the 2.0 software yet?

“Sometimes apps aren’t as snappy as you’d think they would be. For instance, it takes quite a long time for the Addressbook to finish loading.”

The iPhone 2.0 firmware is a bit more sluggish than the 1.1.x series were. I expect this to be fixed in upcoming 2.0.x releases. It was totally smooth and fast earlier. My theory is that they haven’t tested the 2.0 firmware quite as much on the first-gen phone (I have the same setup as you have).

“I also love how navigation works so intuitively, e.g how long alphabetical lists have a teeny A-Z index on the side. Tap your finger on a letter and the list jumps to that letter. You’d think the letters are too small for that to work reliably. But it just works.”

Works even better if you just slide your finger along the edge of the screen. Very fast.

“I haven’t gotten GPRS to work yet. So for now I have to rely on WiFi for Internet connectivity. Phone works well though.”

I had to insert an APN gateway name in the General -> Network -> Cellular Data Network. For T-mobile in the US, this was internet2.voicestream.com, but your German provider probably have their own gateway (and possibly username/password requirement).

“The battery life doesn’t seem to be all that great.”

Depends on what you’re used to. Compared to a barebones Nokia phone that does a week on a single charge, no. Compared to a Windows Mobile phone that requires charging every day, it’s much better. I easily get 2-3 days on a single charge — usage dependent, of course. Two tricks that help: adjust the screen brightness down to less than 50%, and turn off autodiscovery of wi-fi (usually when you need it, you can look it up manually anyway).

“I feel uncomfortable storing various passwords (which for instance the mail client requires) on a mobile device that’s easily lost.”

The mail passwords are optional storage wise, but they are encrypted. Also check out 1Password for the iPhone if you want passwords remembered in the browser. Personally, I can live with changing my mail password(s) if I lose the device. Also, enable the PIN lock and set it to one minute, and only intrepid hackers can get anything out of the phone.