I really couldn't give a damn about the iPhone, it's a phone, what is there to care about?

Not entirely true. I couldn't care either way. I won't buy one, but that's because I don't need one. If you gave me one, I'd very happily use it.

I love how despite being number 3 here, the iPhone is used as the comparison subject in the article.

Strange how the "number 1" HTC was not referred to in the LG or iPhone sections, but the iPhone is mentioned in all of them.

Seriously, every other phone this year has been compared to the iPhone and not each other and you don't acknowledge it.

Yes, there are other phones with better individual features, but NONE of them are the complete package.

The iPhone delivered so much, and that is why every phone that has followed has aspired (and failed) to be a iPhone killer.

Where were the queues for the HTC or LG ?? Nowhere, thats where.

Your top touchscreen phone article is an epic fail. It mentions one phone so many times, but then fails to acknowledge its relevance.

Your anti-Apple /anti-iPhone bias is pathetic and sad.

The Reg's credibility seems to take a nosedive every time you write an article that in any way references the iPhone. Please, stop calling it the 'Jesus phone' for a start - you're the only people left doing it, and you just make yourself look like idiots when you do.

As for ranking that HTC touch as better than the iPhone - you are kidding ? Have you actually used it ? A thin veneer of UI ontop of Winblows mobile does not a great OS make.

Anyway, I'm off to remove the Reg from my RSS feed reader, as you've not published anything of any quality all year. Bye.

Seems that there are still credible publishers on the net who can see beyond hype created for devices that lack functionality.

While IPhone is one of the good ones, certainly as usual Aplle is telling people what they need andwhat they don't. For some one who is not technichally challanged, cannot see IPhone as an otion and perhaps the queues also show the mindset of such people. Some people don't like to be one of the members of the i-herd.

I'm another person who's rather neutral about the iPhone. As a phone I don;t think it's that good, and some of it's missing parts I do use, however it's got superb multimedia functionality and it's interface is great for non-technical people.

I can't understand why the fanbois object to the iPhone being referred to as the jesus-phone. It's not just register than uses this term. plus saint Jobbs and his legions still act as if it's the second coming. Also there is a very good reason why it's comapred to in each review. The iPhone, on part because of the legion of fanbois who automatically bought and swear by it, has become the benchmark to beat, especially for interfaces.

Me, I use a HTC Touch Pro, but I'm a heavy weight PDA user, require a real keyboard (the iPhone one I can use but do not like), and require safe, auto-syncing with Outlook. However I do not like HTC's attempted rival to the iPhone interface and TouchFlo3D was disabled within seconds of me receiving the phone.

It has to be said that I will never buy another phone with windows muddle on it.

That means I will be able to buy a nokia for a year or two, but after that it will be the iphone or nothing as far as I can seee.

"Anyway, I'm off to remove the Reg from my RSS feed reader, as you've not published anything of any quality all year. Bye."

Brilliant! Someone has finally worked out the modern version of "Tell me how to subscribe so I can cancel in disgust."

Seriously, the article was crap. There was nothing of substance that would help anyone at all make up their mind in choosing a phone. And if you can't aid that decision what exactly are you bothering for?

And yes, "Jesus Phone" is getting a little mouldy. It was funny for a few minutes. Now it sounds more and more like a grubby nerd who, with half a pint inside him, has remembered a screemingly funny (to him) fart joke, and is trying to tell it to every person they can find at the company Christmas party.

Thanks for enlightening me that the phone with fewer features is actually superior. I'd be interested to know more. Why don't you use your iPhone to record a video all about it, then MMS it to me?

Fek that, get a cheap PAYG nokia from Argos and a cheap Eee pc. MUCH more for MUCH less. Of course the jebus freaks will say I'm an infidel for free which makes the deal all the sweeter...

"Oh look at how quick the fanbois defend, but ..."

Where?

Before you say @Gary F, that's not a fanboy, that's an argument against a pretty poor article.

"however it's got superb multimedia functionality and it's interface is great for non-technical people."

And there's the point you seem not to grasp. It's a phone. Designed to be easy to use. There are Millions - yes Millions - probably billions of non-technical people out there who just want to be be able to make calls and listen to music with as little hassle as possible.

Have I got an iPhone? No, but the lovely Ivana is getting one for Christmas because I'm fed up with having to show her how to use her Nokia rubbish.

And as for Jesus-phone, it's just plain insulting. Just think what would have happened if el-reg had called it the Mohammad-phone.

Sorry where is "Jesus Phone" referenced in that article?

"I can't understand why the fanbois object to the iPhone being referred to as the jesus-phone. It's not just register than uses this term. plus saint Jobbs and his legions still act as if it's the second coming."

Because it's stale and highly patronising. And it makes you look like a dick.

Have people ever wondered why fanbois exist? Could it be a reaction to the very vocal minority who slam anything Apple by default rather than just assuming it is the other way around?. The 'Church of Jobs' is no more real than the 'Church of Redmond', an organisation that has far more parishoners - admittedly, the percentage of user base is probably pretty similar.

As the the iPhone, I have no strong views either way.

Queues are not a sign of anything other than consumer gullibility. Seriously, no grown man has any justification for standing outside a shop in the pissing rain in order to be one of the first to own anything other than the secret to everlasting life or to an everlasting erection.

Granted the iPhone started the touch screen revolution and has a superb UI and browser but the absence of stereo Bluetooth and an even half decent camera are major drawbacks as is the tie to o2 - who I will return to as my cellular supplier when Hell freezes over. They are not failings that can be overlooked merely because it is an Apple product, which seems to be the subtext.

Just because something is the first does not mean it is the best no matter what the debt later generations of products may owe to it.

Would I personally have put the iPhone higher up? Yes. At the top? Probably not - I reckon the Google Phone should be No.1 with the iPhone at 2 and the HD at 3, but I can see where the Reg is coming from.

Reserve your ire for things that matter in the grander scale of things dear boy, its only a phone!

Hahhahah the iPhone is shite, and here's why... My HTC Touch Diamond has GPS and oo Bluetooth, I can even use my Bluetooth headphones, something the iPhone has FAILED at... but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Tell me what would you rather have a phone which has a swish inteface but you can't install programs on or a phone with a passable interface and the ability to install ANY (i.e. non certified) program I want to it without breaking the warranty. whats the point of having a crippled BSD clone when I can have a crappy Windows OS phone that I can actually use a platform for OTHER PROGRAMS... shoch horror that i would want to use a an OS as it's intended (as a platform for other apps) . Lets face it the APP store won't let you download memory map or MorphGear emulator, or Pocket Office or anything useful so why bother. The iPhone is for people who don't want to be able to do anything beyond recieve calls and listen to music/watch films, It does however have the best touch screen technology out there on such a devise so yes that is ALL it has going for it otherwise it's a crippled piece of closed sourced Apple tosh .

I was expecting a four page article so I'm quite disappointed with this (very) mini review. However, I don't intrinsically disagree with what it says.

The iPhone *is* the acknowledged benchmark in this arena so naturally everything will be compared against it.

As for Reg's criticism of the iPhone; well I think that's valid too. Like it or not WM6 is the best supported platform out there; it's at least 2 years out of date but anyone can write an app for it and sell it just how they like. You can install anything on a WM6 device you choose without bricking it or the threat of a future update killing YOUR £x00 mobile/PDA. And finally (after a simple unlocking procedure) you can put any operators SIM in YOUR £x00 mobile/PDA.

I have an HTC HD and the interface is one of those where the lag is so great (sometimes) that I'm not sure if I've actually 'pressed' the screen or not. Unfortunately the windows mobile OS 'surfaces' quite a lot and although it's not all bad it really wasn't designed with touch in mind. Stylus anyone?

It has the specs alright (which was what I was seduced by) but the implementation is not all that great. And it's get a chunkster, although as smart phones go quite slim I suppose.

A work colleague has an iphone and the things he always shows off is the apps he downloads (often for free, or so he tells me). To us, at work, it seems the apps are certainly one of the strongest points of the iphone but no mention in the article?

The trouble with the iphone is apple. It's not the device that divides people, its the company and the people who own iphones. I think it annoys the techies in us that a device that isn't as feature rich as others still manages to lay waste to everyone else's sales figures. In the Geek world it is fashionable to dislike apple because they don't let you play mpeg2 encoded files in an AVI container natively. And this is perhaps because Apple like to give users a consistently good experience....or so they say....and these sorts of 'fibs', or lies, do wind people up.

But really, it's not Apples' devices or Apple, it's what happens to people after they buy them....they become terribly self righteous.

Still, El Reg should rise above this.

.

you put the iphone at number 3?

You had the nerve to go against the cult?

Isn't that blasphemy?

That's it, you are all going to hell.

I just knew I was going to enjoy the comments section.

The public strongly disagree with this article, the most popular phone review site at the moment (gsmarena) have the X1 voted as currently the best phone on the planet.

If anyone has a negative thing to say about the fruit then you accuse them of being idiots, pathetic, etc.

Oyyyyy IDIOTS, not everybody likes that freaking brand, get used to it and immediately get over it.

You lot are the pathetic ones, you are the idiots who walk through life with blinkers on which clearly makes you blind.

Criticism? You lot don't know what it means.

That fantastic company is afloat because of a music player and a mediocre one at that.

Just imagine if the other mp3 players had the exposure that the aiiiipod had, where would apple be?

A company which relies heavily on one man is a company with bad management. When Jobs catches a cold apple shares dive.

What does that say about the other employees? What does that say about their products? What does that say about the company's future?

Not everything fruity is good.

Too bad there are no Nokias present on the list.

I like how the iPhone was referenced as a media phone as opposed to a smart phone.

iPhone has the interface, yes, it also has the frothing at the mouth fanatics that come along with the stupid amount of money they threw at advertising and hype, but the hardware IS lacking. The lack of MMS and a decent camera are just two significant features that should be standard. I won't get into the lack of security on the phone for enterprise use.

It will be interesting to see what the next year brings in terms of handsets from Nokia, Samsung, HTC, and LG, as they seem to all be bringing forth feature packed handsets with touch screen interfaces.

Ah, I fondly remember the days on the comments section when it was 'My N95 can do this, My N95 can do that..Nah Nah Nah'. Life was much simpler then.

I just bought a new phone. Not an iPhone, no not even an N95. Instead just a plain phone - Nokia 6500 Classic. I turned off 3G, MMS, everything when I got it. Now it's _just_ a phone. And thats just f*kin great.

bit of a lazy article, classic end of year roundup crap.

BUT!

what I will say is, I have used an iphone, and its a phone it makes calls, but it is shit for SMS and doesn't even have MMS. So its a good job you have to piss away money on it because teenagers would never want one take to long to cul8ter

It seems there are some very passionate people out there.

I'm still very happy with my 6310i and notice a lot of discerning engineers still using them. Would anyone like to describe why this new fangled stuff should interest us?

... the Apple haters have had to shut up about iPhone users having more money than sense. I note it's the cheapest of the three here.

And as for the apps in the App Store not doing anything useful, depends on what you mean by useful.

Mine has on it an outliner, password safe, diabetes log, guitar tuner/metronome/chord library, photo processors, a program for taking sharper pictures in low light (picks a moment when the phone is still using the accelerometer), e-book reader, file viewer, IM, photo blogging program, voice recorder, program which identifies tunes off the radio etc. Plus a bunch of non-useful but rather amusing games and novelty programs such as guitar/koto/ocarina simulators, the fabulous koi pond etc. Life doesn't have to be all drearily utilitarian, you know. Sure, I haven't got a complete portable office suite, but I had that on my last phone (SE p910) and hardly ever used it.

Your needs may differ, but just cos your definition of useful doesn't match mine doesn't make the device useless, apart from for you.

It's really only a phone. And/or a music player.

My mp3 players have always been ipods, and I'm a Windows user. Funnily enough, Apple fans, the best decision Apple ever made was making the ipod Windows-ready. My first ipod came about a month after that decision.

Ipods are great.

My current phone is an HTC thingy, the Tytn2, aka Vario 3. And there's the rub. Apple can market a phone. Microsoft, thru T-Mobile, can't.

Sometimes I hate my HTC, sometimes I love it. What I *do* appreciate however is its ability to run what I want, how I want. It's not for everyone, but if you can cope with it, it's alright.

(Reminds me a bit about building a Media Centre PC for my dad. I love it and have no problems; he has nothing BUT problems. I genuinely never have anything to fix, he always has issues. Who's at fault - him or Microsoft?)

[I would NEVER give my HTC to my dad. He would break it. But then again, he'd probably manage to break an iphone, which is why Nokia will always be safe.]

I'd like - *like* - an iphone and can get one on a 30%pm discount. But I'm probably going to go for an HTC Touch HD (or whatever it's confusingly called) next time. Why?

Like most Reg readers I'm able to manage a complicated device - which an MS phone is. If I wanted simplicity I'd get a simple Nokia. But I don't. So I am prepared to put up with a Windows Mobile device just *because* it can do so much, not in spite of it. The iphone would be great, but it can't do all I want it to, so tough. Thinking about it, it's exactly the same argument that PCs and Macs face all the time.

So on that basis, I'm going to predict that WinMob will win long-term. It's clunky now; it'll get better. (Apple's partners offering 18-month contracts don't help; a lot can happen in 18 months you muppets.) But for bandwagonesque just-about-ability, Windows Mobile phones can cope and will only get better. Look at it this way: prospects for improvement: WinMob 100%, iphone 10%.

I am not fussed one way or the other, but I am fully prepared to stand by and watch the Jobs lot fuck it all up in their arrogance.

And then laugh as the Gates lot clean up once again.

[And don't think Microsoft are able to fuck things up just like that - look at the rather remarkable sales figures for the 360 this past month compared to their other "big" rival, Sony.]

You probably all think I'm nuts, but I'll say again: lots happens in tech in 18 months (ask Gordon Moore) - so tying phone contracts to exactly that duration is eversoslightly crazy.

Can't the article title just be "Top three touchscreen phones"? Why does every December news article need to have some year-in-review theme?

I'm guessing someone needed to up their hit-rate, and putting one of the most successful tech products of the year in 3rd place was an easy target.

It doesn't change the facts though.

Yes, there are other touchscreen phones with better specs.

Yes, Apple fan-boys can be annoying.

At the end of the day though, it is the iPhone that has hosed the competition and completely changed what we ALL thought a handheld device should do. I fully expected HTC, Nokia, RIM, Palm, and eventually Android to respond - but so far, and on the evidence of the current attempts, they've some way to go yet.

And the best part, from Apple's perspective, is that if these better spec phones really do start challenging, it's fairly simple to match their specs and still blow them away with the UI, App Store, and (I'm afraid so) cool factor.

Back to the article though, on this evidence, I'm not going to bother reading your reviews of any consumer tech products. Frankly, I'd trust Paris' opinion of technology before I trust whomever authored this tripe.

I use a virgin mobile you can get for < $30, it costs $5/month to run, it's useful for emergencies, sits in the car and every once in a while i erase unwanted messages that arrive on it. it is a phone.

If want to listen to music i go home and listen in an appropriate environment.

It doesn't cost me anything to turn on the car radio to listen to news and traffic reports.

My total phone cost/yr are about $100.

Sometimes i carry a flip around to record video and audio that was pretty economical also.

Usually when im doing something i have the responsibility to actually be where i am with the people i am with instead of having social attributes that ADD challenged would laugh at.

You nailed things rather well imho.. Everytime this argument comes up, it reminds me of an ancient PA comic (link below).. sums it all up imho:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/7/12/

I mean, c'mon on. Is MMS really that hard to implement? Copy and paste? A camera with a flash?

Seriously, Steve Jobs is utterly brilliant. He has managed to convince an entire generation of iIdiots to buy pretty looking garbage AND defend it to the hilt.

Mine's the one with the decent camera, great video, stereo A2DP, Dolby mobile, DiVX.

@the anonymous twat who thinks Apple's success is all about exposure... yeah, and how do you think it got that exposure? With 5% share of the PC market? Don't make me laugh.

When the iPod was launched it only worked with Macs, and yet other people - LOTS of other people - took notice because it worked well and did the job it was built to do better than anything else on the market, unlike all the shitty asian POS that were designed (and bought) by retards who rated a product by how many frigging buttons you could cram onto the outside.

"That fantastic company is afloat because of a music player and a mediocre one at that.

Just imagine if the other mp3 players had the exposure that the aiiiipod had, where would apple be?"

Mediocre? They're not really though are they. They're damn good, but a lot of people hate to admit it.

Not sure of your point about other players 'having the exposure'. If company B can't market or sell their supposedly superior product, who's problem is that? It's business my friend.

"A company which relies heavily on one man is a company with bad management. When Jobs catches a cold apple shares dive."

Yep, MS are nearly bust now that Gates has gone aren't they.

Poor review, clearly not by someone who has spent any time with any of these phones. I have had HTC for years including the HD (briefly), the horrible WM UI never gets any better and cheap thrills added by a PFY at HTC don't make up for it. My vote goes with the iPhone because of the incredible useability and vast amount of apps. Once pwned, there really is no comparison.

What is with all the nutters that come out to comment for these sort of articles?

Anyway, I've had the iphone, now have the HD, and had a play with the Renoir. Overall the HD is my preferred - but it has a lot of faults, and needs a hell of a lot of tweaking from the default shipped state. Clearly HTC did minimal user testing on the software, and a lot of things are plain shabby - it all feels a bit beta. Still, at the end of the day, once you've fiddled things to your preference, installed new apps, the sheer number of pixels and huge screen win over. It really is terrific for web browsing (once the relevant opera tweaks are applied!), as you can read most websites in landscape mode without any zooming required. Same for video - if you encode to h264 in an mp4 container, it can hardware accelerate and play fullscreen 800*480 smoothly. Terrific detail.

As for camera comments: the Iphone's 2 mpixel produces better quality than the HTC's 5 mpixel. There's an optimal number of megapixels for every size of sensor, beyond which the quality goes downhill as noise takes over. For a camera phone that's maybe 3 or 4mp - for a compact point and shoot 6ish, for a bridge 1/1.6" about 7-8, for an aps-c dslr 10-12 (for example, the Sony A300 10mpixel dslr produces better pictures than the A350 14mpixel, which is identical other than the mpixel count). Unfortunately idiots just read the headline figure and assume more means better. Ultimately, camera phones will always be useless, there simply isn't the space in there for decent optics and the size of sensor needed.

Ideally, I'd like to see a combination: the screen of the HD, but with the kind of usability testing Apple put into it. Would be nice if they bugtested the thing before selling it - you're paying more than the cost of many laptops, so really basic errors are unforgiveable.

@fireman above: there's a patch for the Touch HD's freezing problem. Still, like I said above, really shabby of HTC to ship with such an obvious bug.

Weren't the queues for the iphone mostly paid actors in the end? Perhaps HTC and LG learned from Apple's mistake there.

As an owner of the HTC Touch Diamond, fully synched to my work exchange server I would say that I put my device through it's paces more than most.

At first I thought I had made a mistake in not opting for the iPhone as my business partner did as the original firmware it shipped with was best described as sluggish, and worst described by a four letter expletive.

Having upgraded the firmware however, I have found that the device functions at a speed similar to it's apple half brother, whilst my business partner curses the lack of MMS functionality, I appear to have everything I could wish for on a mobile handset.

That's not to discredit the iPhone, it's pretty good too and the exchange sync capability 'out of the box' was a seamless to setup as my windows device and nothing like the rigmarole thats involved with setting up a blackberry device!!

I've purposefully left out the LG, I've yet to use one or come across anyone using one, maybe it's more popular among 'residential' customers as opposed to business ones, but being qualified to comment on the two devices we're using on a daily basis, the HTC Touch (Insert Derivative Here) and the Apple iPhone (original and now 3G) operate and perform exactly the tasks we need it for.

As for the Windows/Apple Fanbois argument, I think the end is in sight! Our I.T. consultancy deals with both brands and you know what? They're both equally brilliant at performing different tasks each in their different way, and equally crap at doing others in their own individual way too.

We love them both for the tasks they are strong at.

Those who realise Apple stuff is streets ahead of everything else and use it gladly.

And those who realise Apple stuff is streets ahead of everything else but can't swallow their pride enough to admit it forcing them to pretend that their hopelessly crap wannabe copy is better.

Apple - grow up and buy one.

Many times I'd be at a party or some sort of get together and everybody will be taking out their phones and talking about their phone specs and what they can do. Then I whip out my iPhone and everyone shuts up and the room gets very quiet as I show off how easy it is to use all the features of the iPhone. Someone will say something like "my phone can do that but I always have a hard time finding the app." That's what I love so much about the iPhone. It's so damn easy to use. My only complaint is the 2MP camera. Now I have serious envy with the 8MP camera.

Merry X-mas everyone and enjoy your phones.

Iphones rock! ive played with a few and am really impressed and fully intend on getting on. Im a convert on the ipod! and this is coming from some one that was always sooo anti-ipod.

Give it a try and dont be so bloody negative, apple have a good product.

The problem with sites such as gsmarena and to an extent with these comments is they are based largely on fanboys or haters that can be bothered to vote/comment, as opposed to any kind of scientific or informed opinion.

While I may not agree with the reviewer, I personally respect his opinion far more than the comments here or the 'opinions' expressed on sites like gsmarena and/or other user review sites.

Use your brains people: read informed opinions rather than votes, seek a variety of opinions, and make up your own mind.

Do you really believe X-Factor is the best way to generate new musical talent, after all?

Whats the point of a peta/giga pixel camera if the lens is exposed all the time?

These things live in pockets and handbags along with coins and door keys. How long before the lens is so scratched its unusable?

Stop pretending you don't like the iPhone. Hearing you call it "Jesus Phone" and list all its faults tends to ring hollow when you can't go more than 3 days without publishing some non-story about the damn thing.

The following things aren't news when other phones do them, so please stop publishing stories about:

Third Party Software Releases.

Firmware Updates.

Firmware Unlocks.

Application Developers bitching about the platform.

Also: Given that the iPhone basically gets re-reviewed every time it DOES get a firmware update, how about re-reviewing both the Omnia and the Storm, both of which suck significantly less post update.

I've always avoided Apple stuff. My MP3 is not an iPod, and I dislike iTunes (sadly my daughter insisted on having an iPod so I have to have it installed).

I use an LG-Viewty, which is touch-screen. It's pretty cool. Then the other day I had a play with an iPhone. As soon as my contract runs out I will be getting one. In fact, I was begging my wife to just let me get one there and then. The interface is simply awesome and just miles better than anything else I've used.

I find the LG an odd choice. I know two people with an LG and both say it needs rebooting almost daily. On top of that it is a pain to work with. The omnia should have been on here but seeing as there is a windows phone already may have budgeoned it slightly. How about the G1? Sure it is in its infancy but there are some definate plus points on the G1. Blackberry storm? HTC HD pro with its swanky keyboard?

The iphone is a good gadget but not seriously useable as a general smartphone.

Not up to usual el reg standards. Then again Paris is lacking in standards too.

Spot on!

This is what the geeklings and nerdbots don't understand. There are MILLIONS of people who don't care that the iPhone hasn't got a squillion megapixel camera, can't MMS, can't video etc., They want (and get with the iPhone) a gadget/phone which works with such fluidity and ease of use they don't have to turn to page 342 of the manual to find out how to join two calls together.

Call it all the names you want! It's good at what it claims to do.

p.s. and it's shiny!

"Oyyyyy IDIOTS, not everybody likes that freaking brand, get used to it and immediately get over it.

You lot are the pathetic ones, you are the idiots who walk through life with blinkers on which clearly makes you blind"

Oh dear, we've hit the crux of the matter. Apple 'fanbois' may be bad, but they are <= the bizarre reasoning behind someone who doesn't like the iPhone BECAUSE they don't like the brand? That's like not eating cornflakes cos you don't like Kelloggs and eating some weird alternative.

Complain that you don't like a products features, or that you do like the functionality, that's fine. But choosing to hate a product because you have a gripe against the owning company?? That's just cutting your nose off to spite your face.

I own an iPhone and think it great - not flawless - but not a great fan of the way Apple operates (example one, why isn't it determined as a monopoly yet? Billy Gates had to strip IE out of Windows if so desired, Apple don't even allow a 3rd party browser).

See? It's possible to like the thing and find fault with it - much like any other product. Nothing, repeat NOTHING is perfect.

The referenced comment is worth re-reading with the following substitutions:

1. Replace "phone" and "iPhone" with "cock".

2. Replace "MP" with "inches".

3. Replace "camera" with "version".

Sorry if this is a bit "Jay and Silent Bob", but sheesh folks: it's only a phone, not a way of life!

The iPhone is much like Madonna from distance she commands awe and interest from the masses, In magazines and on the box she looks like a sleek 30's something songstress but under the hood she a crippled old hag running on a 30 year old concept to pop music. Of course in the iPhones case it's running on a horribly crippled version of BSD (Unix - 30 year old O/S).

Wow, you go to parties where people sit around and talk about their phones? Oh, how I wish I was you!

Have an iPhone, and I love it, but it's only a frigging phone!

I'm sharing in the collected shame of all the commenters here, this article really doesn't deserve the attention and is unworthy of the Reg of old. Of course the iPhone is still the handset to beat, as your own story can't help but confirm, using it as the benchmark for both the other phones in this list - and no, neither of the also-rans are worth mentioning in the wider scheme of things, let alone placing at the top of the heap. In a year's time the Touch HD and the Renoir will both be long forgotten, replaced by any number of equally mediocre updates, while the iPhone platform looks set to go from strength to strength in 2009. Why? Because it's the best, it really is as simple as that, and no amount of fanboy denial is going to change that.

Some odd choices up there, Thats for sure.

My gripe is that the Omnia is not up there.

5 Megapixel Camera

8 or 16GB build in HDD

Windows Mobile (Dont know whether that is an advantage lol)

Wifi

Expandable Memory

Touch

Smile Detection

MMS SENDING *Cough Iphone*

Motion sensor

Office

Opera browser.

It's not just a frigging phone.

It's also an iPod, a video player, a world clock, a calculator, a calendar, a camera, a compass, a level and measuring device, a units conversion, RSS news feed, a white page and yellow page phone book, contacts phone and address book, password generator, TV guide,weather report, stock report, dictionary, language translator, eBook reader, games/entertainment device, e-mailer, encyclopedia, a mobile shopping device, a locator device that can find places of interest for you like Starbucks, a gas station, restaurants, etc. With its gps you can track your path or find direction as you drive or walk around the city streets. You can easily calculate your dinner tip or how much you will save at Nordstrom at 30% off. It will identify an unknown song for you just by holding it to the speaker. You can keep current with the sports scores. There are much, much more you can do with this mini mobile computer that happens to have a phone to it. All of this made possible by Apple and third party developers.

It's not just a frigging phone.

"Apple - grow up and buy one."

Exactly the arrogant sort of comment you'd expect from a big percentage of apple users and endoresed by the company ... seriously its not the kit.. its the clan!

"There are much, much more you can do with this mini mobile computer that happens to have a phone to it. All of this made possible by Apple and third party developers."

So, it's like a PDA of old, then, updated a bit for the 21st century. I don't dispute the additional functionality - that's what the smartphone market is all about - and Apple aren't the only ones in that department, although I actually welcome their contribution since it has woken the incumbents from their stupor: ten level deep menus, useless options, "GSM nerd" functionality, and Java "Shit Edition" fixation.

But sheesh! Re-read your original remark and then tell us that you didn't sound like Nathan Barley!

i can do 40% of those things in my head, 50% of those with my 4 year old p910 (oh sony, where are you now with a decent grown-up handset?) and the other 10% with a selection of other dedicated devices. yes of course the iphone is a very nice, and it does what it does in a very nice way, but that doesnt mean there arent other things out there that do more, are cheaper, or suit other people better. and please, if you need electronic help to deduct 30%, or find north based on where the sun is (as that ap does, the iphone doesn not have a compass), you really should have paid more attention in school.

A granny smith is a very nice fruit, but some people prefer bananas or oranges. that doesnt mean those people are wrong, or that they dont understand fruit, it just means they want something else. i want a new phone, but i dont want touchscreen-only (preferably qwerty), i want at least 2007-standard features (a2dp/gps/3+mpix), i dont want a blackberry, and unfortunately i want it on orange...fingers crossed for palm NEW-ness i guess.

oh and even actively shy away from calling it a 'mini mobile computer'

All of which I've been able to do (except maybe the spirit level - but I wouldn't want my phone near DIY) on Windows Smartphones before. I love the iPhone as I said before, but try to keep things in perspective eh? The only thing better about it is the user interface. That's great, and is why I love it, but it doesn't make it a topic of conversation.

I have to say that this is such a great comments section. I love the reactions of the vacuous air headed fanboys.

My particular favourite is "People envy me and my i-phone". Now if you had said "When I go to parties everyone wants to use my i-phone because the flat screen is just super for chopping out big rails" then I would have been a little more impressed. Instead I have visions of a monster nerd fest of fanboys.

Well done El Reg for igniting the flames!

but my current phone uses Windwoes Mobile, and a sorrier, less intuitive, less stable, buggier, more half-baked piece of crap I've yet to see. If you rate a Windwoes phone above something else - anything else, including a tin can and a piece of string, I have to seriously doubt the value of your judgement.