2009 was a hot year for Smart Phones. For anyone not in the know, these are a cross between a small portable computer and a phone - in other words, a phone that you can read your email on, surf the internet, check your diary, and wait for it..... make calls on! For several reasons, 2010 is probably going to be an even bigger year for them.

Smart Phones come in three forms:

1. Touch screen (both capactive types like the iPhone - which is very good, and the less good resistive type).
2. Screen and normal 'phone style' keyboard. Sometimes these have phone style keyboards, sometimes they have full 'QWERTY' keyboards. think Nokia E71 or the BlackBerry (any)
3. Big touch screen and pull out full keyboard - these tend to be more bulky.

You then get to choose your phone operating system - this is the software the phone runs.  You have a few choices here:

1. Symbian - as found on Nokia phones and a direct descendant of the Psion organisors of the mid to late 90's. Getting a little dated.
2. Palm OS - only found one one device at the moment.
3. Apple iPhone OS - found on the Apple iPhone. Excellent.
4. Google Driod - similar in use to teh iPhone OS - but you are not 'locked down' in the same way that you are with the iPhone.
5. Linux - as found on some Nokia phones and a few others - shows potential - but with much more limited range of Apps than the main players above.
6. Windows Mobile - very dated OS made by Microsoft which is meant to be similar to Windows. Needs a stylus to work well.
7. Blackberry OS - excellent OS found only on Blackberries - very good at handling emails.

Some companies (Palm/Apple) make software which is exclusively used on their phones. Others (Symbian) use to use to use the OS just on their phones, but have more recently opened it up for all. The other two on the list - Linux and Android, are available to any manufacturer to use. Interestingly, Google have recently launched their own phone using Android (The Nexus One) - but the reception has not been that great.

So how do you choose one?

• Well, that depends on what you are going to use it for.
• Do you need a keyboard?
• Does it have to be a large 'pull out' keyboard?
• Do you need multimedia capabilities on the move.
• Will you do much data entry on the phone?
• How important is 'keeping up' with your mates?

According to PC Pro - the best phones on the market today are:

• Apple iPhone 3GS - touchscreen - runs iPhone OS
• HTC Hero - Touchscreen - runs Google Android 1.6 OS
• HTC Touch HD2 - Touchscreen runs Windows Mobile 6.5 OS
• Nokia N97 - Touchscreen with slide out keyboard - runs Symbian S60 v6 software
• Blackberry Bold 9700 - Standard screen with full QWERTY keyboard below.

All got 4 out of 5 stars, apart from the iPhone which scored 5 out of 5. So, no matter what your needs - you have a phone to suit you.

And which will I be buying? Well, the iPhone is a GREAT phone...but, you pay A LOT to have one. And then you are locked in to using iTines. So I want something a little different. In a few weeks time, the HTC Hero is due to receive an upgrade to Android 2.1 - and when it does, this is going to be some amazing phone. You get all of the features of the iPhone - but on a cheaper monthly plan and less up front.  There are thousand of apps for it, and the phone has a great reputation. And, unlike the iPhone, where you have to spend money to have a working satnav system - it comes with one built in for free - made by Google!  This isn't normal sat nav - this is satnav that could finish TomTom. Google have spent a fortune taking street level pictures of all of the major roads in the western world - take a look at Google Street View to see what I mean. You can stand on any road in London and look round as if you are actually standing there. So imagine combining that with SatNav...! Take a look at the picture below - this is on the new HTC Hero. ANd this could finish TomTom - because even with the might of Google behind it - providing real 'street view' rather than a crude map has taken them years. The other 'normal' companies just can't hope to replicate this. AND - this is on your Google Android powered Smartphone - NOT your iPhone.

Want one now?