This year was a busy one for the smartphone industry, with a lot of activity in both the Android and Windows Mobile camps.
What's best for users depends on whether you're a road warrior, busy executive, or occasional out-of-the-office worker. If apps are what matter to you, there's a wealth of options. If you've tired of full QWERTY hard keyboards, you can join the touch screen army. And, if you're after something with both brains and beauty, the mobile makers have clearly been listening in.
But which were our favourites arrivals of the past 12 months? Let the roll call of honours for our top smartphones of 2009 begin.
When the first generation iPhone burst onto the scene back in 2007 it caused quite a splash, even though it was missing a few vital ingredients.
Fast-forward to 2009 and the iPhone 3GS arrived, bringing with it an updated operating system that enabled copy and paste and much enhanced performance among other things.
It's still a beauty of a device and one that many continue to try and fail to emulate.
The HTC Hero was heralded as an iPhone killer and it has certainly swayed some users since it arrived on the scene back in August.
With an intuitive user interface and quirky design - you either love or hate the lip' - with this Android-based handset HTC served up something rather special for users.
A range of business centric and multimedia features are on offer, meaning this is a device that happily blends the worlds of work and play.
-
Blackberry revenue falls by 4% as cyber security division takes hitNews Despite this, the company’s Internet of Things (IoT) division increased its revenue by 28% as it attracted new customers from the automotive sector
-
BlackBerry revival is officially dead as OnwardMobility shuts downNews The Texas-based startup is mysteriously shutting down and taking its ultra-secure 5G BlackBerry with it
-
BlackBerry and AWS are developing a standardized vehicle data platformNews Platform will give automakers a standardized way to process data from vehicle sensors in the cloud
-
BlackBerry thwarts mobile phishing attacks with new AI toolsNews The company's Protect Mobile platform alerts users to potential malware before a link is clicked
-
BlackBerry Persona Desktop delivers zero-trust security at the endpointNews New security solution learns user behavior and can take action if there’s an abnormality
-
A 5G BlackBerry phone with physical keyboard is coming in 2021News The business phone to be resurrected with OnwardMobility and FIH Mobile planning a security-savvy enterprise handset
-
The business smartphone is deadIn-depth BlackBerry’s demise signals the end of the business-first handset
-
BlackBerry Key2 review: The best physical keyboard no one asked forReviews Despite the improvements, the flaws of BlackBerry’s Key range are still front and centre
