Touchscreen mobile phones have seen a huge surge in popularity in 2008, with manufacturers scrambling over themselves to bring ever more powerful ones to the market. As we get nearer to the Christmas season, it's time to take a look at two of the best and most innovative phones out there: the T-Mobile G1 and the HTC Touch HD.

The T-Mobile G1 at a glance

Made by HTC, the T-Mobile G1 is the very first device in the rich pantheon of mobile phones to be powered by the brand new Google Android OS. That. right there, is instantly going to make it popular to people looking for a new mobile phone. I have to be honest, it is an innovative platform, and it certainly brings some distinct benefits to anyone using the T-Mobile G1. Things like instant connections to Googlemail, and Googletalk. Or complete integration of Google maps, with things like the phonebook on the T-Mobile G1. What it's going to be praised most for, I reckon, is the Android Marketplace, where users can download any application they want from the list of available ones, and make their T-Mobile G1 do even more than the makers ever intended. Now that's clever, and it's something you don't see (well, you do, but it's not massively promoted) on other mobile phones. Even on the ones that do feature something similar, none of them can do it as easily as the T-Mobile G1.

A lot of people, though, have commented that the T-Mobile G1 isn't the 'iPhone-Killing Mobile Phone' that other people claim it is... but there is one mobile phone that might actually be the iPhone-Killer...

HTC Touch HD - it IS big, and it IS clever

The iPhone is held up by some (well, by Apple fans) as the saviour of mobile phones, and they believe that nothing in the mobile world can even come close to it. The thing is, though, that's not entirely true. In fact, there's a phone now that not only matches it, but beats it, hands down, in every conceivable way: the stunning, mind-blowing HTC Touch HD.

I can predict your initial reaction, upon seeing the HTC Touch HD pretty accurately; just like everyone who's seen it, you'll be stunned by the screen, because it is both VAST and BEAUTIFUL. Seriously, it comes in at 3.8 inches, making it the biggest screen on any mobile phone ever. And that makes the touchscreen interface on the HTC Touch HD even more of a joy to use. Put it this way, while the HTC Touch HD is a Windows Mobile phone, you'd be hard pressed to tell, from its interface that it runs on that. The TouchFLO 3D interface perfected by HTC was absolutely brilliant on the Diamond, and on the bigger screen of the HTC Touch HD, it just comes to life like never before. Put simply, here is an interface that is easily as nice as the iPhone, and with the extra power coming from Windows Mobile and a built in 5 megapixel camera (not to mention HSDPA internet access), well... that's why this is the first mobile phone to genuinely deserve the description of 'slaughters the iPhone in every way imaginable'.

T-Mobile G1 vs HTC Touch HD - Which one should you buy?

So, on the one hand, there's the T-Mobile G1, with its unique interface, the Android Marketplace, and amazingly simple and intuitive integration of Google apps, mail and so on. On the other, you have the HTC Touch HD, the handset with the biggest touchscreen ever seen on a mobile phone, lightning fast internet, a far superior camera, and, oh yes, its own unique(well, unique-ish) interface. But which of these two powerhouse mobile phones should you drop your cash on? Sure, the T-Mobile G1 has the Marketplace, and it's a first amongst mobile phones. It is very slick, but then... so's the HTC Touch HD. And the Touch HD has a MUCH bigger screen. And you can get third party apps for it, since it's Windows Mobile. And the interface is even slicker. Objectively, in my opinion, the HTC Touch HD is the superior mobile phone, and as such that's the one I reckon you should invest in. But whichever you choose, since both mobile phones are made by HTC, it's fair to say that the Taiwanese manufacturer is going to end the year on a high!