1. HTC Hero
There’s a reason why the HTC Hero has received so much praise this year – it’s brilliant. End-of-year award ceremonies aplenty are naming the Hero as best gadget, best mobile phone and so on, and rightly so.
It’s the most complete Android handset to date, and as such it’s the only phone out there that can really claim to compete with the iPhone.
In truth, it’s probably not better than the iPhone. But it’s certainly no worse either, so we thought it only fair to give it the top spot – not least because of the huge potential that Android is bringing to the table.
The iPhone is no longer the out-and-out best touchscreen consumer phone on the market, and for that we can be grateful because competition brings with it innovation, which for us can only be a good thing.
2. Apple iPhone 3GS
What? What’s this? The Apple iPhone in at number 2? That’s right, folks – the iPhone has been beaten into second place.
There’s no denying the quality of the iPhone, and really it could just as easily have come out on top. Still though, we’ll get to that on the next page.
The iPhone 3GS is a stunning handset. It’s faster than the iPhone 3G and also has a better camera, so if you’re thinking of getting an iPhone for the first time, we reckon opting for the 3GS is a no-brainer, even if the 3G is slightly cheaper.
3. BlackBerry Bold 9700
Featuring an improved processor and latest UI, the Bold 9700 certainly has the specs but can it stop the iPhone and Android onslaught?
Well it’s certainly a very good device, building on everything we’ve come to expect from the Canadian firm.
It’s a little bit squished in comparison to the older device, but we don’t think that’s too much of an issue given the well designed chassis.
The sheer speed of the Bold 2 9700 is to be commended, as it’s clearly a big effort from RIM to get that up to speed, and although App World isn’t working for us yet thanks (probably) to the T-Mobile, we’re sure once that’s up and running the Bold 2 9700 will be a very compelling business phone indeed.
Like the HD2, whether it’s something the consumer will want/need, we don’t know – it depends on the importance of easy to sync web mail we guess, as well as a stylish device to boot.
4. HTC HD2
It’s not out in the shops for another couple of weeks, but that’s not going to stop the brand-spanking new HTC HD2 – codenamed Leo – from making our top 10.
It’s enormous 4.3-inch touchscreen is hugely impressive. And the HD2 is the first Windows Phone to come packing the HTC Sense overlay interface, as well as a capacitive multi-touch screen.
It’s lightning fast, and designed by HTC to compete directly with the Apple iPhone 3GS and Palm Pre for those big-spending business power users. It should be available for purchase on or around 11 November.
5. Nokia N900
Not necessarily something we agree with, but Nokia is adamant this isn’t a phone. Instead, it’s saying that it’s a small computer/slimmed-down netbook (depending on who you talk to) thanks to the new , which is based on Linux.
Essentially, it’s a unit with a 3G chip in it for voice and data with a similar form factor to a phone, so it’s really just semantics what you want to call it.
As mentioned above, the N900 comes with the brand new new Maemo 5 operating system which is designed to offer powerful new options that we haven’t seen on Symbian-powered devices before.
While Maemo has been seen on previous from Nokia, this release is important as it makes the OS more finger friendly than ever before. It also allows a high level of customisation, a wider web browser and more location based services too.
The N900 is a brilliant phone. We’re currently in the middle of writing a full, indepth review of the N900 – we’ll have it for you later this week.
6. Palm Pre
The Palm Pre was probably the most hyped phone of 2009. Hailed as the saviour of Palm, it initially promised to at least threaten the iPhone at the top of the touchscreen pile.
One thing’s for sure, it’s more suited for business users because of its slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
In fact, if you peek under the hood, you’ll find a quick Texas Instruments OMAP 3430 processor, 8GB of internal memory, 802.11g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth with A2DP stereo.
This is a capable mobile computer that supports multi-tasking, contact sync across multiple web services, and push email that could lead to swift adoption at companies both large and small, filling the void left by the popular Palm Treo from years ago.
In truth though, it’s no iPhone-beater. But that’s not in any way a criticism, more of a back-handed compliment to Apple in fact, because the Pre is still a seriously nice piece of kit.
7. Samsung i8910 HD
If size matters to you, the i8910 HD is probably the largest handset in this group.
It’s got a 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen, and it’s as buff as they come, too, with the solid metal and plastic chassis contributing to the 148g weight (the iPhone 3GS weighs 135g).
The range of applications and features on the phone is staggering, and the touchscreen interface and response is Samsung’s best yet.
You just have to work out if you want to be carrying such a large phone around with you everywhere you go…
8. LG BL40 Chocolate
Probably the most striking of all the phones on display here, the latest LG Chocolate is the world’s first full-widescreen 21:9 phone.
The chassis is a combination of metal and glass, with vibrant red plastic at either end, with the top housing the 3.5mm headphone port and the power/lock key.
It’s designed from the ground up to be a media phone, and indeed, watching movies is a pleasure, as is navigating large music collections.
9. Motorola DEXT
Once a giant in the world of mobile phones, Motorola went quiet for quite a while. It made almost 10,000 people redundant in 2008 and the end looked in sight. However, the end has not arrived, and Moto has come back with a vengeance in 2009 with the much-mooted Motorola DEXT phone.
Free on contracts from around £30 a month, the DEXT is a Google Android-powered handset with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
What’s more, Motorola has supercharged Android with its own customised overlay, called MotoBlur. It’s similar in function to HTC’s Sense UI although maybe not quite as likeable.
The trump card is that the DEXT is one of the best media phone available at the moment – which says a lot.
10. Nokia 5530 XpressMusic
While the and 5800 XpressMusic phones are clambering over each other to gain attention at the more expensive range of the market, the 5530 offers something refreshingly different.
It offers a 2.9-inch touchscreen with a music-orientated interface and all for just £130. Probably the best budget touchscreen phone available today.
