Many people, myself included, have been worrying about the inescapable attachment to a sub-par GSM provider. In the US, of course, this provider has been named as Cingular, but for the rest of the world, it has not been decided yet.

This begs the question: Can I buy an iPhone and NOT have to use it as a cell phone? In other words, do I need a cell phone providers’ SIM card to make it function, or can I just use the iPhone as a standalone iPod, WiFi internet browser, photo viewer, 2 Mega pixel camera, calendar, etc.? The simple answer is: probably not.

In a recent article about frequently asked iPhone questions, David Pogue for the New York Times writes concerning the issue:

“Will the iPhone work without a SIM card installed? i.e., will it be able to surf the web/email?” –Very doubtful.

This also lends itself to another question: If the iPhone needs to be tied to a service provider to be purchased, what happens when the service contract is up? Obviously the contract would be renewable, but what if one chose not to renew for a couple of months? Would it still function as normal just without phone capabilities.

All these questions surely in time will be answered by Apple, who tout their new iPhone as the reinvention of the cell phone. If it truly is as good as they say, they surely have looked into all these issues and are making headway to resolve them before their launch in June.