These days everyone seems to be waiting to see if an Android phone will bring the iPhone’s reign to an end - and the Motorola Milestone is one smartphone that shapes up better than its Android phone predecessors.

Released in the US as the Motorola Droid, the Milestone lacks the iPhone’s aesthetic graces but makes up for it in the features and performance department.

The Motorola Milestone runs on the latest version of the Google Android platform (2.0), which is far more responsive than previous operating systems. It features a gorgeous 3.7-inch 480×800 pixel WVGA display, which hosts a full on-screen QWERTY keyboard. However if touchscreens aren’t your thing, you can slide out the traditional QWERTY keyboard underneath to operate the phone.

The main advantage of Google Android phones is access to Google Apps, and the Milestone comes with a number of them pre-installed, including the ever-popular Gmail. However if you need more apps you can always visit the Android Market, which is Google’s answer to the Apple App Store. There you can choose from over 20,000 apps to download.

The Motorola Milestone also offers some decent multimedia functionality, including a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, a basic music player, media sync software and a 3.5mm headphone socket for standard headphone connectivity. Memory is expandable to 16GB using a microSD card and it comes with an 8GB card in the box. Obviously these multimedia specifications aren’t as generous as the iPhone’s - and that is really the area where Apple excels.

The Motorola Milestone is availabe in Australia through online vendors with a recommended retail price of $849.

Buy a cheap Motorola phone on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes

If you want a mobile phone that can do it all, then the Nokia N95 is worthy of your consideration.

It combines a 5-megapixel camera, Internet access and even a GPS navigator function so you’ll never get lost again. The N95 supports both the HDSPA and 3G networks and even offers Wi-Fi connectivity so you can use your mobile phone to browse the Internet at a wireless hotspot location when you’re out and about.

There’s also support for popular photo hosting website Flickr so you can take photos, access the Internet then use the N95 to share your photos instantly. You can also use the N95 as a storage device thanks to the mini USB port and 160GB of on-board memory - simply transfer any files you want to carry around with you to the handset.

A music player and stereo speakers round out the impressive package, complete with support for MP3, WMA and a host of other files.

Click here to find offers on the Nokia N95 mobile phone near you.

By Caroline Warnes