Samsung Wave

When Samsung announced that they were creating a new operating system called bada we were, to say the least, sceptical. Along comes the Wave, a nicely priced mid-range phone containing all the elements of its higher priced brethren including a speedy 1 GHz processor, 720p video recording and one of the best screens ever to grace a cellphone (until the iPhone 4 arrived). While it still has a few growing pains, bada worked surprisingly well.

We said: "Samsung has managed to create one of their most impressive phones yet."

Full review: http://bit.ly/samwave

Sony Ericsson X10

A number of manufacturers got their groove back by installing Android on their devices this year. None more so than Sony Ericsson getting back into the swing of things with the X10. With a very sleek design, better than average battery life and a 4" touch-screen, it propelled Sony Ericsson to the top of the smartphone market.

The X10's by no means flawless, we mentioned lack of multi-touch and call quality as two sticky points, but it hailed a welcome return to a brand that was losing its lustre. And now with the new Android 2.1 update things are even smoother.

We said: "The X10 puts Sony Ericsson squarely back amongst the big guns of the smartphone market."

Full review: http://bit.ly/top10x10i

HTC Legend

The HTC Hero, which scooped last year's best mobile device at the Global Mobile Awards, was followed up by the Android 2.1 powered Legend. While it might not be the fastest phone out there (528 MHz), boy did we like its unibody aluminium design.

Crafted from a single block of aluminium it is solid and sleek and felt good in hand, while HTC's Sense user interface skin for the Android OS continues to impress. Legend by name, legend by nature we suppose.

We said: "HTC is really doing some great things for the Android platform."

Full review: http://bit.ly/legendhtc

RIM BlackBerry Torch 9800

Featuring a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a very decent capacitive touch-screen and the usual dependable BlackBerry messaging goodness, the BlackBerry Torch left us very impressed.

It's also the first BB with out of the box support for the new BlackBerry 6 operating system. While the new OS is more evolution than revolution, the Torch is the best specked BB available. The touch-screen also showed that there is life beyond their optical trackpad.

We said online: "The Torch is a step in the right direction and certainly opens up an exciting new chapter for the BlackBerry brand."

Full review: http://bit.ly/rimtorch

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Apple iPhone 4

With such a lot of hype behind it, could the iPhone 4 live up to it? The short answer is yes, making Steve Jobs' Superphone the obvious choice for our no. 1 position.

Featuring an excellent Retina display (how did they squeeze that many pixels in there?), a lustful design and superb multimedia capabilities, the iPhone 4 is a number of steps ahead of its competition.

And the fact that two network operators are now selling it, makes it just that tad bit more affordable for the rest of us.

All we can say is well done Mr Jobs, well done.

We said: "The iPhone 4 is without question the best smartphone currently on the market."

Full review: http://bit.ly/iphone4is1