There was a time not all that long ago when simply owning a mobile phone was enough to give you street cred.
These days though, it's all about which phone has the best camera, which screen is brighter, which one has more built-in memory, and which one can kill a deer at thirty paces.
But while the Apple iPhone has dominated the headlines for the last two years, 2009 looks to be the year when the best-of-the-rest give Apple a run for its money.
We saw a slew of fantastic new touchscreen phones announced at Mobile World Conference in February, and you can expect to see many of them causing a stir as the year progresses.
Here's our run down of the ones to look out for, with a little expert analysis from our resident mobile guru Gareth Beavis:
HTC MagicOriginally known in the rumour mill as the G2, the HTC Magic is the follow up to the T-Mobile G1. This time it's destined for Vodafone exclusivity in most European countries, and the Magic comes packing a 3.2-inch QVGA touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel camera and WiFi and HDSPA connectivity.
The HTC Magic features an updated Android OS - codenamed 'cupcake', which fixes a whole host of bugs that were found in the original G1, and has the added bonus of faster web browsing.
Our expert says: "We had a really good hands-on with this at MWC, and we were certainly impressed with what we saw. The touchscreen response is easily among the best out there, and when the Android Cupcake release hits, this is going to be a seriously good handset.
"Texting may be a little bit of a problem, as the default portrait keyboard was a little fiddly, and getting the thing into landscape QWERTY was a bit of a palaver. Still one of the handsets to watch in 2009 though."
LG Arena KM900Like the HTC Magic above, the LG Arena was officially unmasked at the Mobile World Congress expo in Barcelona last month.
The 3-inch touchscreen handset comes with LG's new 3D S-Class interface, which basically turns menus into rotating cubes. Going by LG's description, it's a cube-based layout which provides four customisable home screens for direct access to all features.
LG was also very eager to promote the prowess of the Arena's "rich 3D graphics".
The phone features an HSDPA connection, 800 x 480 3-inch touchscreen display, a 5MP camera to boot. Also included are aGPS, WiFi and FM radio, as well as a fairly hefty 1000mAh battery good for 300 hours' standby time.
Our expert says: "The S-Class interface is a revelation for LG, as the inclusion of two chipsets means the whole thing operates very, very smoothly. The touch feedback is nice and responsive, and little quirks like a scrollable radio tuner make this a very decent handset.
"However, the text input keys are a little small for the screen and inspire similar frustration to the Viewty, with too much inaccuracy. That said, the Arena is already breaking LG's pre-order records so it looks like this phone is almost certain to be a smash."
Samsung OmniaHDThe original Omnia was launched less than a year ago, but we're already being treated to a fairly exciting update.
The Omnia HD sports a whopping 3.7-inch touchscreen (bigger than the original) and comes with a TouchWiz interface instead of Windows Mobile like the first Omnia.
The HD name comes from the fact that the handset as an 8 megapixel sensor, which can competently record video in high definition (720p).
Our expert says: "The screen on this phone can't help but make you say 'Wow'! Or 'Wowsers' if that's your word of choice. The OLED screen is nothing short of phenomenal, with super-clear and crisp colours, and the 720p playback is mind-boggling.
Many of the failings of the original Omnia have been eradicated by removing Windows Mobile, and while the OmniaHD may not be as powerful as the original as a PMP it's probably the best phone out there given the 3.7-inch screen and Samsung surround sound."
Sony Ericsson IdouThe Sony Ericsson Idou is currently just in prototype stage so there's no guarantee that it'll be available before the end of the year. However, given how far the development has come already, it seems likely that we'll see it launch at some point in the coming months.
The most impressive feature of the Idou is its 12.1 megapixel camera. The phone also has a snazzy 3.5-inch 640x360 screen and a brand new interface.
The Idou will also make use of the recent additions to the Sony Ericsson feature set, namely the PlayNow Arena and the MediaGo software which will allow users to easily sync between devices on a home server. Sony Ericsson is extolling the virtues of the system with the likes of Bravia TVs and PS3s, but it should also work on any DLNA-enabled server.
Our expert says: "We were one of the few to get a sneak preview of this device, and it made us feel excited about Sony Ericsson again. The new UI is tailor-made for touchscreens, with easy swiping of functions and an infinitely customisable home page.
The 12MP camera sadly wasn't on show at MWC due to it not being ready, but we'd have to assume considering this is the first phone to merge both the Walkman and Cyber-Shot brands it's going to be a powerhouse of convergence."
Nokia N97Hot on the heels of the N96 comes Nokia's even newer flagship model, the N97.
Like the Sony Ericsson Idou, the N97's screen will be a 3.5in, 640x360, 16:9 affair, and the phone will also feature a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, 32GB of onboard memory with microSD expansion and a battery life of 36 hours for audio playback.
Nokia has also put a far-better-than-the-iPhone 5MP camera into the mixer, with Carl Zeiss lens and 'DVD quality' video capture.
Our expert says: "Nokia knows how to make a decent mobile phone, and while the 5800 failed to impress on a number of levels, the N97 has picked up the slack to be the powerful touch-based smartphone we were all waiting for.
"Most manufacturers have cottoned on to the fact that those message hungry consumers aren't happy with just a touchscreen, so the QWERTY addition is great.
"The on-board storage on the N97 is a first for a mobile phone, and one that hints this is not only going to be good for messaging, but great for media too. Our hands on at CES showed that this is certainly a decent phone, but the S60 interface is still a bit dated for our liking."
Palm PrePossibly the most exciting phone in this list, the Pre is being hailed as the saviour of Palm as a company and a brand.
A smartphone with multi-touch screen and a slide-out keyboard, it is seen as one of the first true competitors to the Apple iPhone.
The Palm Pre has a 3 megapixel camera, a 3.1-inch multi-touch screen, 8GB of storage, full connectivity including 3G and Wi-Fi as well as a removable, rechargeable battery.
It's also one of the first smartphones to feature electromagnetic induction charging - a method of charging a battery without the need to plug the device into anything.
Our expert says: "It's hard to find something not to love on the Palm Pre; it's a really, really good effort from a company that needs a big win to reboot its fortunes.
"The multi-touch screen feels better than Apple's (something the rumoured lawsuit between the two shows) and the multi-window interface makes sorting out your business a breeze.
"The integration with Google, Outlook, Yahoo etc is fantastic too, and the QWERTY keyboard is just the right size to bang out a few e-mails and texts.
"If we're being picky, then the lack of on-board expansion is a bit of a shame, but that's nothing compared to how much we want Palm to hurry up and announce this for the UK."
iPhone nanoOkay, so the iPhone nano has not been officially announced yet. But it seems one thing's for sure - Apple will release a new iPhone on the world this year, whether it's called the nano or not (not seems more likely).
So what can we expect to see in the new iPhone? It's pretty hard to second-guess an out-of-the-box company like Apple, but it's safe to say that we'll see a much improved camera and a raft of incidental updates too - it'll be lighter, thinner, better etc.
Our expert says: "Obviously this is just a rumour, and Apple could come out with something completely different or nothing at all come June, but it's safe to say that whatever happens, it will be a decent upgrade.
"The world still expects Apple to come out with a better camera on its phones, as well as changing the form factor: the iPhone nano easily makes the most sense as many have complained the iPhone is too big.
"That said, the constant rumours about the Apple netbook could mean the iPhone gets an increase in size, forming the basis of a tablet PC... either way, we're pretty sure Apple is planning a big surprise for 2009."
