iPhone network won't work for all

Apple's iPhone announcement at MacWorld last week sparked excitement among those who called it the next big thing in mobile communications.

Their enthusiasm was dampened a bit with the announcement Apple had an exclusive distribution deal with AT&T's Cingular Wireless.

Not a Cingular customer? Forget buying an iPhone, unless you're ready to switch to Cingular.

Of course, many people in rural America — including parts of Colorado — struggle with cellular service anyway.

And Cingular's network, according to the company's Web site, is absent from much of western Colorado off the Interstate 70 corridor.

The iPhone combines an iPod music player with a cell phone and Internet browser. It's scheduled to go on sale in June in areas where Cingular Wireless operates.

Analysts last week said they expect Apple to eventually sign up other carriers to make the iPhone more widely available.