Ten of the best... iPhone beaters

The iconic Apple's hard to swallow? Try these tasty smartphone bites instead

BlackBerry Storm 9500

BlackBerry's tried and trusted hard-button keyboard options meant that it resisted the touch screen call until late last year. The 3.3in screen and stylish icon-led menus added to BlackBerry's excellent push email facilities tempted many non-business customers to invest in their first 'Berry, but it struggles a little in this company. Its innovative 'ClickThrough' screen means you have to actively depress the glass cover to activate buttons, making it easy to distinguish between a press and a swipe but the 3.2Mp camera is okay rather than exciting and while it has a nippy HSDPA 3G data connection, there's absolutely no Wi-Fi on board. At 113 x 62 x 14mm and 155g it's a bit of a brick and while BlackBerry's Apps Centre is growing steadily, it's still way behind Apple's. Ideal for email addicts, BlackBerry's expertise in this area is still the main draw for the company's most stylish device.

Reg Rating 70%
Price £400
More Info BlackBerry

Palm Pré

This could be the make or break product for Palm, once a smart phone leader, but more recently failing to keep up with the rapidly advancing competition. It's a slider with four-line Qwerty keypad, which will always beat the iPhone's rather cramped onscreen keyboard for ease of use. The WebOS operating system has a lovely little ripple effect when you touch it and the functions are displayed as cards that you can brush across the 3.1in multi-touch screen. You can multitask with it but navigation by flicking, brushing and pushing takes a bit of getting used to. The Palm Pré's stock of apps doesn't rival Apple's yet, but Palm was always strong in this area in the past, and if the Pré takes off, it's likely there'll be loads. With a Qwerty keyboard and work-friendly apps this could be the new must-have business phone de nos jours.

Reg Rating 80%
Price £450 – UK release TBA
More Info Palm