There are many variables you might consider when comparing smartphones. How it looks, its price, the operator it's available from, whether there's a touchscreen or qwerty keyboard, the quality of the camera, the web browser it uses and how good it is for email are all important factors.

Street cred also plays its part, as responses to PC Advisor's call for nominations for the gadget of the year proved. The iPhone was far and away the most cited response.

You'll be tied into an 18- or 24-month contract with most handsets, however, so it's important that you choose the right phone for your needs rather than the most fashionable one.

For many people, the first question will be: "Is it an iPhone?" Now that Tesco, Orange and Vodafone have joined O2 and The Carphone Warehouse in selling Apple's sought-after handset, the iPhone no longer has the exclusivity it began with. Nevertheless, it's the most recognisable and most desired smartphone there is - for now.

But not everyone wants to follow the herd and, besides, Nokia continues to rule the smartphone roost with high-volume sales of the successor handsets to its ground-breaking . In particular, the has been well received of late. Its Symbian operating system (OS) is the most successful mobile platform of all time (no wonder Nokia bought it outright in 2008) and, while the N900 model it unveiled in October 2009 uses an interface based on , it will continue to offer Symbian handsets well into the next decade.