2008 has been a good year for touchscreens. Mobile phones that have that touchy-feely interface have done really well this year, and this Christmas, we're going to see a battle between two of the best. But which IS the best - the Blackberry Storm or the HTC Touch HD?

A touching story of mobile phones

Touchscreen mobile phones have been around for years, right from the early days. There's something about that interface that entices people. Maybe it's feeling closer to the action, maybe it's novelty value, but the fact is, touchscreen mobile phones are good sellers. If you needed that message ramming home, consider the success of the iPhone 3G, this year. It's sold loads, its fanbase is very, very vocal in heaping love on it, and it's given other mobile phones the impetus to up their game. Here was a mobile phone that took the idea of a touchscreen, and made it focused on giving a great experience to the user. Many mobile phones since then have gone down that same route, and now, in the run-up to Christmas, there are two brand new competitors - the HTC Touch HD and the glorious Blackberry Storm.

HTC Touch HD - the biggest screen in the known universe

The first thing you'll notice about the HTC Touch HD, the absolute first thing, is the fact that the screen, at 3.8 inches, is bigger than any other mobile phones I've ever seen, ever! I mean, that's just VAST. The only potential downside is that anybody who's jumped early and bought an HTC Diamond is going to be not best pleased, since the HTC Touch HD is essentially the same mobile phone but with a much bigger screen and a better camera, which now comes in at 5 megapixels. The HTC Touch HD is looking as though it's going to be a stonkingly good mobile phone, combining raw power with the patented TouchFLO 3D interface seen on the Diamond... and let's be honest, when you're a mobile phone with a 3.8 inch screen, you could be rubbish and people'd love you. Good job the HTC Touch HD is also a frighteningly good mobile phone in its own right!

It will have some competition, though, because it'll be going up against the first ever touchscreen mobile phone from RIM: the phenomenal Blackberry Storm.

Blackberry Storm - storm in a teacup?

If the HTC Touch HD isn't your cup of tea (say if you don't like Windows Mobile), there's another touchscreen mobile phone that will rock the world this Christmas, and it's a beauty. It's garnered loads of attention, for being the first touchscreen Blackberry in the history of ever. It's the gorgeous Blackberry Storm, and it is as good as we all hoped it would be! It's also super-advanced, because the Blackberry Storm is the first mobile phone to have a moving, clickable screen. So, you scroll through menus by rubbing on the screen, and you select something by pressing the screen into the Blackberry Storm, making it feel just like clicking a button. Stunningly useful, and it'll give you a sensation unlike any other mobile phones. Combine that with Blackberry emails, a brilliant internet browser, 3 megapixel camera and superb media playback, and bring to the boil, to make the Blackberry Storm into a virtually perfect touchscreen mobile phone. The HTC Touch HD may have the big screen, but without a doubt, the Blackberry Storm is the nicer of the two, and in my opinion, the one you should drop your cash on!