What is an iphone, which has come recently to India?

iPhone is Apple Corporation's premier cellphone. You can imagine it as an iPod with an integrated cellphone. But from reviews I've read (and some first-hand experience), although it's sleek and has an easy-to-use interface, it's apparently a total ***** in the field of text messaging. That's the biggest downside, I think. You can't delete individual messages, no multiple recipients, no forwarding, no copying, no saving, etc... I don't think I can live with a cellphone that doesn't do text messaging properly...