10 best mobile phones in the world today

10. LG Optimus 7





We've chosen the LG Optimus 7 asthe pick of the Windows Phone 7 bunch simply because of the extras LG has put on the Optimus7, including an awesome augmented reality browser that shows the weather when you point it at the sky. The PlayTo DLNA service is ace too, making it a breeze to send content to your big screen TV, and the build quality isn't too shabby either. We're quickly loving Windows Phone 7 as a quality smartphone OS, so combine the slick response and deep feature integration of that with LG's hardware and you've got a winner.



9. Orange San Francisco



Android is one of the big winners in our top 20 list, but it's sad that there aren't more budget devices on the market that reallycapture our imagination. Well thankfully the Orange San Francisco has emerged as a real contender, with a great build, slick operation and clear screen - all for under 0„5100 as well. It's 'only' got Android 2.1, but an upgrade is in the works, and despite that you still get a fast response from the capacitive screen and all the widgets and home screens you've come to expect from Android. There are some trade-offs: don't buy this if you want to take quality pics or are an avid radio listener, for instance, but overall it's a super phone for the price.





8. Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini / Mini Pro



The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini should be nothing more than a shrunken version of the Xperia X10 ¨C but in reality it's a whole new phone that gives Android a complete makeover. Oh yes, it's small. Sony Ericsson isn't joking when it says the Xperia X10 Mini is the same size as a credit card. Obviously it's a lot thicker, but the overall size and weight of the super-small Android phone is about equivalentto a packet of Swan matches. It istiny. The exterior is smooth with only three buttons on the face of the phone ¨C Menu, Home and Back ¨C and there's no D-pad or joystick whatsoever here. For a phone so affordable ¨C currently going for around 0„5200 on PAYG deals ¨C the X10 Mini has a remarkably high-class feel about it. We've mixed it together with the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro as it seems consumers are buyingboth in equal measure - and they're so similar that it really depends on whether you're fan ofthe mini-QWERTY keyboard or not. It's sadly only Android 1.6 still, andthe upgrade still hasn't arrived aspromised - but the charm and quirkiness of the X10 Mini / Mini Pro means that's less annoying than it would be on other phones.


7. Nokia N8



If you've been a Nokia fan for years, then you'll have noticed that the Finnish firm hasn't been competing at the sharp end of the game for a while now. The likes of the N97 and X6 have both been trumpeted by Nokia over the last year or so, but neither has particularly won critical acclaim, mostly due to a sub-par OS when compared to the whizz-bang-iness of the iPhone and Android set, as well astaking a veritable age to start using the latest technology, like capacitive screens and slimmer lines. Now, though, the N8 is here, bringing all manner of high end features to a Nokia phone: 12MP camera, HD video recording, reams of internal storage and a high end media player, as well as the new Symbian^3 OS.



6. HTC Desire Z





The Desire Z brings the screen size of the Desire, drops the processor and whacks in a QWERTY keyboard, and roars in atnumber 6 on our list. The solid build quality (hinge aside) and the next generation Sense UI make it a real fan favourite already, and the contract prices aren't too bad either for a top end phone. It's chunky, granted, and some people will still look at it and decide that it's time for a touchscreen-only device - but it'sstill a decent phone even without the hinged keyboard.



5. Google Nexus S



The first Android 2.3 phone is alsoone of the first with NFC capabilities and a curved Super AMOLED screen from Samsung. It's a 'Pure Google' experience, which means no messing about waiting for networks to bring youthe update; if Google likes it, you'llhave it. The price has dropped just beforelaunch, making it a much more palatable 0„5430, and competes very well indeed with the iPhone 4 and others in the top phone game. The build quality might feel a littlesuspect at first, but is robust enough and sits in the hand well, and that screen is just superb forthe internet and media.



4. Samsung Galaxy S





The Samsung Galaxy S is the mosttech-heavy phone Samsung has ever made, and TechRadar got the chance to give it a good going over. The Galaxy S represents a real milestone for both Samsung and Google, as it's the most powerful and feature-rich phone on the market at the moment, edging the HTC Desire plus adding the marketing clout of the Korean electronics giant. But with Apple stepping up its game with the iPhone 4 , Android and Samsung need a big hitter tostep up and show the world that they can produce a phone that can take on the might of Jobs, socheck out the Samsung Galaxy S and make up your own minds.


3. HTC Desire HD





We were all waiting for it - the phone to finally usurp the HTC Desire as our best smartphone (and best mobile phone, best Android phone and, well, best gadget) and we thought the Desire HD was going to be it. But sadly, it's not quite made it to the summit, and hasn't even managed to negotiate past the iPhone 4. Don't get us wrong - this is a fantastic bit of kit, one of the best smartphones around, with a super slick interface, massive screen and overhauled interface that makes us coo with delight every time our finger sashayed across the display. But battery life is vapourised withthe massive LCD display; at 4.3-inches, you can see why it needs so much power. Add to that some video issues, and you can see that it's not quite got the juice to make it to the summit.


2. Apple iPhone 4

The iPhone 4 is certainly the mostimpressive iPhone ever, and a big step up from the iPhone 3GS . The flat body is only 9.3 millimetres thick, 24 per cent thinner than the iPhone 3GS at its thickest. It feels great in the hand, and at the keynote Steve Jobs remarked, "Its closest kin is a beautiful old Leica camera." By far the most in-your-face improvement is iPhone 4's 960x640 screen. It's got 326 pixels per inch, and we're talking tiny pixels , only 78 micrometers wide. The Retina display, especially, is hands-down the clearest, most enjoyable screen we've seen on ahandheld, and the sheer amount of technology packed into the device is surprising. The iPhone 4 would definitely top our list, were it not for the fairly major flaw which sees 3G reception disappear when you hold the phone with your left hand. It's an embarrassing problem which mars an otherwise brilliant handset.


1. HTC Desire



The HTC Desire is essentially the same phone as the Google Nexus One , only with HTC's Sense UI overlay and a reworked chassis. Read: it's like a Nexus Oneonly better. The Desire is a little on the large side thanks to its 3.7-inch OLED screen, but HTC has had a look atthe few foibles the Nexus One hadand sorted them out. Later models have a Super LCD screen which isn't quite as vibrant as theOLED, but is still top notch for media viewing. Messaging on the HTC Desire is a dream ¨C despite not having a physical keyboard, the eerily responsive typing correction on this device is so sharp we could practically shut our eyes and mash our hands into the keyboard and still type a perfect message. And it's testament to the perfectdesign that it's held the Desire HDoff the top spot; the 3.7-inch screen and smooth frame offer a far nicer feel in the hand, and it even offers slightly better battery life too. If the HTC Desire was to get the upgraded Sense UI, complete with extra HTC widgets and downloadable content, it would bevirtually unstoppable, especially asthe price will hopefully begin to drop in the near future.