The Most Anticipated Mobile Phones of 2008 - Sony Ericsson X1 Vs Nokia N96

The world of mobile phones is about to become a battleground, as the two most eagerly anticipated phones of 2008 are set to go head to head against each other. But which will win, the Sony Ericsson X1, or the Nokia N96?

A history of conflict - Nokia vs Sony Ericsson

There's always been something of a history between Nokia and Sony Ericsson, especially in the arena of really top-end, 'smart' mobile phones, with Nokia fielding the awesome Nseries, and Sony Ericsson combating them with mobile phones from the P-Series, W-Series and now the 'Xperia' X-Series. After all, the world of the truly top-end mobile phones is a lucrative market to crack; if your top-end phone does well, then not only do you have higher profit margins, but your lower-spec models benefit from the added exposure your brand gets. Very much a win-win situation, that.

So, with that in mind, what two heavyweight mobile phones are Nokia and Sony Ericsson fielding now... and more importantly, which one will emerge the victor?

Sony Ericsson X1 - peeking through Windows

From the Japanese/Swedish company comes a mobile phone that's a first for many reasons, the Sony Ericsson X1. It's the first ever Sony Ericsson device to use Windows Mobile, it's the first handset ever to have its unique 'arc slider' design, and it's the first phone in the new Xperia range of mobile phones. Of course, the Sony Ericsson X1 is also one heck of a powerful mobile phone, with a stupidly high processor speed, and memory coming in at 400Mb. It's fair to say, as well, that the Sony Ericsson X1 is the first Windows Mobile phone that actually looks both useable and sexy, having, as it does, a unique panels interface glued on top of the operating system. As for hardware specs, you'll be getting a 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA, WiFi and GPS, plus a full, slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

In other words, the Sony Ericsson X1 is probably one of the best mobile phones Sony Ericsson have ever made, and one of the best Windows Mobile phones ever made. But will it be enough to take down the Nokia N96?

Nokia N96 - TV superstar

It seems, to my mind, that the Nokia N96 isn't just a mobile phone, it's a full-on, bona-fide phenomenon. It's fair to say that this is one of, possibly even the most eagerly anticipated mobile phone of 2008. Everyone wants to know about it, it seems, and with very good reason because, frankly, the Nokia N96 is one of the most downright stunning mobile phones ever. It's not the 5 megapixel camera, or the jaw-dropping multimedia player, or the GPS, or the HSDPA internet, or the N-Gage gaming... it's the combination of camera, multimedia, GPS, HSDPA and N-Gage gaming that makes the Nokia N96 so mouth-watering. Oh, and the fact it comes with BBC iPlayer. And 16Gb of memory to store loads of videos. I hate to admit it, but it really seems like the Sony Ericsson X1 has met its match. The Nokia N96 is up there as the nearest thing to a perfect multimedia phone you're ever likely to see. From my point of view, I'd still have the Sony Ericsson X1, because I prefer them to Nokia, but whilst both mobile phones should and will sell loads, I reckon the biggest seller will very easily be the Nokia N96.