Hottest cell phones for the holidays

2008 is stacking up as the biggest year for cell phones yet, what with the new iPhone, the first Google phone, and the first touchscreen BlackBerry—and that's just for starters. Check out the hottest handsets of the holiday season.

BlackBerry Bold (AT&T)
Yeah, it still has a physical, old-school keypad, but with its updated interface, razor-sharp display, speedy performance, and top-notch video and music players, the Bold ($299 after rebates) is one of the hottest BlackBerrys I've ever laid eyes on. Highly recommended.

iPhone 3G (AT&T)
Love it or hate it, there's no denying that the iPhone is the hottest phone of the year—indeed, it's now the top-selling phone in the U.S., besting even the dirt-cheap Motorola RAZR. The 8GB model is now just $199 with a two-year service agreement, and the reception problems that users initially complained about have been essentially resolved thanks to a recent firmware update.

BlackBerry Storm (Verizon Wireless)
As the first touchscreen BlackBerry, the Storm ($199 after rebates) is getting a ton of ink, and its roomy, clickable display is certainly one-of-a-kind, but this red-hot handset has its share of drawbacks: it's sluggish, it lacks Wi-Fi, and its interface could use some work. Still, it's great for watching movies or listening to tunes, and its messaging features (provided you don't mind typing on a virtual QWERTY keypad) are tough to beat.

T-Mobile G1 (T-Mobile)
The first of the Google phones is a bit of an ugly ducking, but the G1 ($179 with a new two-year contract) comes 3G support, GPS, Wi-Fi, and a peppy, easy-to-use interface—courtesy of Google's Android operating system—that stacks up nicely against the iPhone UI.

HTC Touch Pro (Sprint)
A touchscreen Windows Mobile smartphone with a slide-out QWERTY keypad, the Touch Pro makes for an eye-catching (if somewhat hefty) piece of hardware. The slick TouchFlo interface is a pleasure to use, even if Windows Mobile itself remains a confusing thicket of menus.

Motorola Krave ZN4 (Verizon Wireless)
Beam me up, Scotty! With its clear plastic flip, the touchscreen ZN4 bears more than a passing resemblance to a Star Trek communicator. The 3G-enabled crave boasts Verizon's live Mobile TV service, as well as full-track music downloads, turn-by-turn GPS navigation, and a two-megapixel camera.

LG Lotus (Sprint)
Attention, fashionistas: Here's a eye-catching 3G flip phone with your name on it. The LG Lotus ($149 after rebates) packs in a full QWERTY keypad, perfect for rabid texters, as well as streaming video, music downloads, and your choice of e-mail, text, and instant messaging options.

Motorola MOTOZINE ZN5 (T-Mobile)
There are camera phones, and there are camera phones—and the ZN5, my friends, is among the latter. Developed in partnership with Kodak, the ZN5's five-megapixel, auto-focus camera (with a Xenon flash) takes the best pictures I've ever seen from a camera phone, and at just $99 after rebates, it's a bargain to boot.