Android Classic.

If you're looking for a pure Android experience, then you've probably already decided to opt for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. It's a competitive device from a hardware point of view, with a distinct advantage of being Google's baby when it comes to software updates. Early adopters will have to accept that some apps won't work and there will be a delay whilst developers update their apps.
But as a consumer device there are compromises. The screen dimming seems wrong, although potentially can be corrected by a software update. But we're concerned that as the screen brightness drops, the screen looks poor. It's a shame considering the screen is otherwise so very capable.
We also know that the lack of microSD card will deter some. Being able to expand the memory, at will, is important for a lot of users and this is one point that you can't really step around.
The volume issue does exist, although we didn't experience that problem when actually using the phone in the real world, only when we tried to force the error, but it's something to be mindful of, as there have been reports of extreme volume problems.
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus offers an excellent Android experience that's hugely impressive, but we really believe it will be surpassed by others, like Samsung themselves, within the next few months.

The best BlackBerry Bold ever?

The best BlackBerry Bold ever? Perhaps it is. The core features of BlackBerry are still compelling, the keyboard will let you skip over keys rattling out messages, with a rock of the thumb here and a glancing prod there, in ways that only BlackBerry users understand.
The addition of a touchscreen does make a difference, but the overall experience isn’t a huge evolution from BB6. Whilst BB7 is familiar, there isn’t much here that really drives things forward into the competitive arena. The camera results are behind the rivals, the app offering still has holes in it and sometimes the touch response slopes off. It isn’t a multimedia time waster in the way that the latest phone from Samsung or HTC is, its core offering is communication, in which it mostly excels, but it’s in the extras where it doesn’t make huge progress.
The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is a device that will appeal greatly to die hard BlackBerry fans, returning the Bold to a premium look and a size that makes a little more sense than the 9700 models. Business users will find themselves with a more interactive device and a better browsing experience, but outside of keyboard and email experience, consumers may find they get a lot more smartphone for their money elsewhere
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iPhone back on top?

The iPhone 4S is every bit a smartphone, and an excellent one at that. The range of functionality that it delivers, along with the entire ecosystem that it inhabits, still make it one of the best phones on the market. Apple has done an excellent job pushing things like the App Store and incorporating features that see wider adoption, like AirPlay, its wireless streaming system, for example.
Although we're not huge fans of iTunes as a software package, there is some convenience in having an end-to-end system that will deliver your music and movies in a format you can enjoy simply any easily. The headphones in the box are still poor, but you're spoilt for choice when it comes to buying accessories.
It's easy to criticise the iPhone for the things it doesn't have: the screen could be bigger, the battery life should be longer, iOS still could be improved, there is no NFC, Flash support or options for memory expansion. But you have to decide whether these things are important to you. If they are, you now have many choices elsewhere.
To us, the iPhone 4S feels as though it has responded to the competition, it's adapted a better notifications system, and ushered in new features, but in many ways we can't help feeling it has adopted some of the nice things about Android. For some, the concern might be that it's adapted Android's battery management issue too. The iPhone 4S is likely to be exactly what some people are looking for. For others, the excitement in other smartphone quarters could well draw their eye.

Samsung Galaxy S II

The Samsung Galaxy S II is better than any other Android smartphone to have hit the market so far. It has everything you could want and will need and each of those functions it more or less excels at. It’s fast, it’s bright, it’s clear and, joy of joys, that TouchWiz 4.0 UI does not get in the way of a cracking mobile experience.
Naturally, there are niggles - we’ve wrung this thing dry looking for them - but no one buying this superphone will have anything to complain about. Yes, the 1080p DLNA streaming could be better, yes the camera lens isn’t perfect and sure, if you really want to dig, you could ask for a few more pixels but, let’s get this in perspective for a second. This is a phone, a jack of all trades, and if you want a better home cinema server, camera or TV, then the only way you’ll get one is by buying a specialist device. It’s time to crack open the piggy bank.

Is Nokia back?

The Nokia Lumia 800 is far from perfect, but those niggles are just that, niggles.
In future models we would like to see a front facing camera, NFC and we'd love a dock. We'd also like an improvement to the Micro USB flap to something more becoming of such a lovely device.
However, get past those quibbles and the Nokia Lumia 800 is a lovely phone. It's a phone that will evoke fond memories, a phone that makes using your phone fun, and a phone that you will be keen to show off again and again.
That’s mostly down to the screen, which is stunning. But it is also down to Window Phone 7, which seems to shine more here than it does on other Windows Phone 7-powered handsets.
Get this and you will be deemed an agitator and not someone with just another iDevice or a big screened Android smartphone.
Nokia is back.