The first Apple iPhones hit US shops tomorrow and their arrival has thrown the spotlight on the fanatical and burgeoning movement known as the iCult. Already iPilgrims are queuing outside the Apple temple in Manhattan's 5th Avenue to be the first to own the holy handset.

The iPhone is the latest "cool tool" from the mind of Steve Jobs. The self-styled techno-prophet appears to believers in a black polo neck at mass religious gatherings known as MacWorld, with revelations of ways they can part with their money.

At first, the iCultists were seen as a harmless tech-heads who droned on about their Macs, but of late they have adopted a sinister, evangelical tone. Many people will have seen the ad campaign that featured a boring, besuited loser who proclaims himself a PC and the handsome chino-wearing hombre who lets you know he is a Mac. The high priests of the iCult are making stark the choice. You can be a dork or a dude; damned or elect.

It's easy to spot iCultists. They can be seen in crowds showing off the features of their iPod or bleating on about the user-friendly, "almost intuitive" features on their laptop. "Once you've tried Mac, there's no going back," they say.

Experts say the movement displays all the features of a cult. First a wedge is driven between members and their families as believers spend all free time playing with their gadgets. Then they are persuaded to hand over cash for "coaching" sessions at Apple stores, where they learn how to spend more time and money on software and gizmos. Finally, they slip into a state of high-tech delirium, stroking their interface and waiting for the next launch.

The cult boasts many celebrity members, who attend its chapel in Holland Park, where bottles of holy water - or iDrink - can be purchased. It is no different from tap water but does come in a stylish bottle and is much more expensive.

With the iPhone, Jobs has taken the iCult to the next level with a sleek, new piece of kit about which to evangelise. Smoking may soon be banned but every boozer will be filled with passive smugness as local iCultists show off the handset's array of dazzling but pointless features.

Of course, enlightenment does not come cheap. The top model costs up to $600 - or at least £360 in the UK. (The iCultists insist that this is the correct rate of exchange as verified by the iConverter.) AT&T has issued the rental charges, which put the yearly cost at up to $1,200. But, as the iCultists point out, it's a lot cheaper if you don't use it as a phone.

So now it is down to you. Are you dork or dude? As they at the temple: iPhone therefore iAm.