The second renaissance for smartphones

Smartphones are going through something of a second renaissance, with three new phones, in particular, bringing some of the best features and usability ever seen a phone. Let's take a look at these groundbreakers.

Motorola DEXT

Android is trying to take over the world, and its new home is the beautiful Motorola DEXT. Part of the huge appeal of the Motorola DEXT is its brilliant new interface, which Motorola are calling MOTOBLUR. It's designed to put all your social networking tools right on the front page of your Motorola DEXT, so staying connected with the world is easier than ever. You also get the Android Marketplace, which lets you download and install third party apps to your Motorola DEXT, and it ends up creating a smartphone that really can morph into whatever you want it to be.

Nokia N900

Nokia's latest smartphone if the first in a new breed; it's the first phone ever to use the new Maemo interface (previously seen in Nokia's internet tablet range). Say hello to the Nokia N900. That Maemo OS gives the Nokia N900 a finger friendly interface, and on top of that, the phone has a built in QWERTY keyboard, so it has more ways to access the phone than ever before. It's not just about the interface, though, as the Nokia N900 is packed with high-end features. A 5 megapixel camera makes for superb photos, the multimedia playback is stunning, and with HSDPA and GPS, the Nokia N900 certainly isn't short of connectivity options.

HTC HD2

The Nokia N900 is the new open source contender on the block, and the Motorola DEXT has the edge in terms of social features, but why is the third phone, the HTC HD2, so much better? The answer lies within the processor hidden inside the HTC HD2, as it's the first phone in the world to come with a 1GHz chip. Or, in other words, it's little short of a laptop in the body of a mobile phone. So, the HTC HD2 promises to be faster and smoother than any other mobile phone on the market. Ally that with the unique 3D interface running on top of Windows Mobile, and you get a phone that truly is a joy to use. There's also one other fact that can't be denied...

Quite apart from it being hyper-fast, with an incredibly fluid interface, the HTC HD2 also has the biggest screen on the market, coming in at an unbelievable 4.3 inches. That's a lot of real estate on screen, and it means that even previously fiddly menu bars are now finger-friendly, given the massive screen size. And as for the virtual keyboard on the HTC HD2, the extra size makes it little different from typing on a physical keyboard. Add in the rage of impressive features, including a 5 megapixel camera, broadband-fast internet access, a superb music player and GPS, and it adds up to a simple fact: The HTC HD2 is quite simply the best Windows Mobile phone, and maybe even the best PHONE, ever made, and it utterly canes the other two on this list.