The best smartphone (March 2009) is...

Looking to buy a new smartphone and confused by all the options? We cast a close eye over the market and rank the best devices available today.

1. BlackBerry Bold 9000
BlackBerrys have always been premium business phones, with fans including recently elected US president Barack Obama. The Bold is BlackBerry's best offering yet, and comes at a reasonable price for a smartphone.

(Credit: BlackBerry)

2. Nokia E71
The Nokia E71 was the winner of our last smartphone round-up, due to its exceptional build quality, zippy operation and vast range of features. Best of all, it's still close to the cheapest smartphone on the market.

(Credit: Nokia)

3. HTC Touch HD
If you're fiend for film on your phone, then the HTC Touch HD is for you. With a massive display resolution of 800x480, this phone sports arguably the sharpest displays in the phone market. Couple this with a swag of feature, and you have one very nice device.

(Credit: HTC)

4. Samsung INNOV8 (i8510)
The Samsung INNOV8 (i8510) remains the most fully featured smartphone on the market. You just won't find a phone with more bells and whistles. Stand out features include an 8-megapixel camera and 16GB of internal storage, all at a reasonable price.

(Credit: Samsung)

5. Apple iPhone 3G
Despite all the hype about Apple's telephonic prodigy, the iPhone 3G actually stacks up poorly against the competition in terms of features and price. However, Apple's winning UI, overflowing apps store and sharp style still make the iPhone 3G a great offering.

(Credit: Apple)

6. Palm Treo Pro
If you like the iPhone look but lament its lack of a QWERTY keyboard, the Palm Treo Pro might be the phone for you. A fully featured business phone with excellent performance; it unfortunately suffers from poor battery life.

(Credit: Palm)

7. Nokia E63
Continuing the tradition of the E71, the Nokia E63 is the cheapest smartphone on the market. This solid Nokia includes most of the features of your average smartphone, at about half the price. But if you're after a fancy phone, look elsewhere.

(Credit: Nokia)

8. i-mate Ultimate 8502
When first released, the i-mate Ultimate 8502 and its larger brother, the 9502, really pushed mobile technology ahead. While still a solid offering, more recent phones leave the i-mate handsets in the dust.

(Credit: i-mate)

9. HTC Touch 3G
As an update to a classic smartphone, we took a shine to the HTC Touch 3G. Battery life and performance are the highlights of this phone, but its lack of storage and features might turn many users off.

(Credit: HTC)

10. Nokia N96
The successor to Nokia's popular N85, the N96 unfortunately delivered more hype the substance. Overpriced and under-featured, wouldn't you be much better off buying a Nokia E series?

(Credit: Nokia)