Meet the Nokia N97 and its smartphone rivals

The Nokia N97 promises to be a barnstorming mobile phone. But it won't have the market it all to itself. Let's take a look at it, and at the 2 phones that could beat it.
Nokia N97 - the basics
After the triumphant launch of the Nokia 5800, which was only ever meant to be a mid-range phone, Nokia needed a new top-ender to really wow the public. And that top-ender is the hyper-powered Nokia N97. It takes the brand new Symbian Touch interface, and adds in bags more power, as well as a full QWERTY keyboard. Even starting with the looks, it's a truly stunning phone, with sleek surfaces and a minimalist design making the Nokia N97 truly a beautiful sight to behold.

However, the impressive nature of the Nokia N97 doesn't end with the exterior, as it's what's inside that really impresses. Equipped with a 5 megapixel camera, it effortlessly switches from phone to camera, letting you leave your separate camera at home. And, of course, with HSDPA data speeds, and WiFi, the Nokia N97 even morphs into a miniature laptop when you need it to. It's quite simply an astounding phone.

Palm Pre - the user friendly choice
However, there's a new kind on the block, that aims to take the smartphone crown all for itself. The Nokia N97 goes for raw power, but what the new Palm Pre goes for is sheer elegance. Using the brand new, never-before-seen WebOS at its core, the Palm Pre takes touch-friendly interfaces and innovative design to an entirely new level. Take, for example, the new Fandango app that should be available when the Palm Pre is launched. It's an online cinema booking service, that lets you buy tickets and watch trailers on the phone.

But even the Nokia N97 will most likely be able to do that. The Palm Pre, however, will also put an automatic reminder in your calendar, and contact people who are going with you, to organise getting there. It's that kind of integration, and interplay between apps that makes the Palm Pre the real candidate for best in breed.

Sony Ericsson Idou - throwing the best camera into the mix.

The Nokia N97 may have 5 megapixels, while the Palm Pre can only muster 3MP, but the magnificent Sony Ericsson Idou has a massive 12 megapixel camera. Whilst the number of megapixels isn't the ONLY concern in a camera phone, there's no denying that the extra 4 million pixels the Sony Ericsson Idou has IS going to make a difference. However, even here, it's not just about megapixels here, as the Sony Ericsson Idou is also loaded with Cyber-Shot technology such as autofocus, smile detection, and a wealth of other options for improving your photos; so the Sony Ericsson Idou is really the most advanced camera phone here. It's a good job the Nokia N97 is due out first, because the other phones on this list seems to be more than a match for it!