what about guys with fat fingers like me?

Wonder if it possible to text T9 style, making the numbers bigger on the screen??

It has predictive word AND character texting. While probably not as efficient as tactile feedback, it is worth it IMO for what is a glorious form factor.

Im not much of a whizz at mobile phone networks and its technicalities, but as a Mac user, you need to understand that I have to have this phone right on release. Im a bit worried about the EDGE thing though. If for whtever reason, there was no 3G iPhone on release, what would it likely be?

What are the technicalities or pros/cons for Apple to implement 3G instead of GPRS? Basically, why would they NOT do so? For a phone that labels itself as a breakthrough internet communicator, id be hard pressed to take real advantage of it on a slow network for the next 2 years.

Finally, as it is SIM based, what are the chances of me taking it down the local market and getting it unlocked?

This is the first Apple product I could want to buy without having to think too much except over the price. However the LG Chocolate was touch-based and many people became annoyed by the controls. Since no-one has been allowed to touch the iPhone just to look at it, it may well be worthwhile waiting before we all jump the gun.

E.g. look how good the latest iPods are (forgetting their video capabilities for a moment) on just a design front e.g. Nanov2 compared original Nano and iPod 5G compared to original iPod.

On release ...... pretty much nil.