It's taken a while, but manufacturers are finally realising that smartphones don't just appeal to business users. Mobile email is a killer application for consumers too, but complex and costly hardware is a big disincentive for anyone looking to dabble.

HTC was the first to figure out that a sexy, streamlined smartphone might catch on with consumers, but its Touch turned out to be a touch too simplistic for our liking. Now Palm is having a go and given its track record for coming up with user-friendly handhelds, the new Treo 500v should have something of a head start.

It seems like barely a month goes by without HTC launching another new smartphone and as this is October, it must be time for the HTC TyTN II. As you can probably guess, it's an update of the feature-filled and fabulous TyTN, but there's little to tell the two models apart at first glance.

If you think that most laptop bags look too casual, then behold Zegari's Barcelona bag. Although at first glance it resembles a posh school satchel, its luxurious soft shell and brown leather strip give it a seriously classy edge.

With mobile phone operators offering HSDPA data access on their 3G networks, it’s easy to get broadband-like download speeds on your laptop in most UK cities. You’ll need an HSDPA modem and the T-Mobile Web ‘n’ Walk USB is one for laptops that lack a PC Card slot.

It’s essentially the same as the Web ‘n’ Walk PC Card, but lacks Wi-Fi. It’s small, light and feels very durable, so there should be no problem with it bouncing around the bottom of a laptop bag.

Toshiba isn’t an especially big player in the UK phone market but, if the Portégé G900 is anything to go by, it’s looking to make a splash. It’s a smartphone with a sliding keyboard design much like the HTC TyTN II , but it’s a bit bigger and heavier – and for good reason, too.

With its 4.8” widescreen, the NV-U92T is a giant of the sat-nav world. Sony has tried its best to keep it pocketable at a slender 20mm thick, but it’s still a mite too bulky for a shirt pocket.

You've got to be brave to release an Origami Ultra Mobile PC. The early efforts from such luminaries as Sony, Samsung and Asus have received excited, but ultimately disappointed, responses. It's been suspiciously quiet in the sector for a while now, but two very different companies have just released their models to market -- Medion with its RIM1000 model, and Samsung with its much-anticipated Q1 Ultra.

Despite the baffling number of models currently available, no manufacturer has so far succeeded in producing the perfect smartphone. HTC, however, seems hell-bent on trying and its two newest models approach the problem in two very different ways. You can read about the S710 opposite, but it's the Touch that HTC is really pushing as the next big thing -- and you can see why. Or rather, you probably can't -- photos really don't do this smartphone justice.

HTC may be pushing the Touch as next big thing in the world of smartphones, but we think its other new model is the one that deserves all the limelight. It doesn't get a sexy name, but the S710 is the most flexible and user-friendly Windows Mobile device we've seen for a while - and that's something that HTC should be shouting about.

We don’t normally review mere mobile phones at Mobile Computer, but the LG Prada Phone is no mere mobile. Well actually, it is, but until it gets swept aside by the marketing tsunami of the Apple iPhone later this year, it’s currently the only handset operated solely by a touch-screen interface.