Top 10 Smartphones for Holiday Gifts

Probably the hottest category in electronics this holiday season is the smartphone -- currently popularized by iPhones, BlackBerries, Palm Centros and others.

I'm constantly asked which one is best. My answer is always the same: That depends. Most smartphones include very similar features like a video/still camera, Internet access, music file/video playback, instant messaging and Bluetooth, with some also including Wi-Fi and GPS. Sometimes the differences depend on which design you prefer to carry in your pocket.

First and foremost, most people want a smartphone to access their email. Which smartphone you choose should depend on what kind of email you need to access: POP (Post Office Protocol), IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol), BlackBerry, Microsoft's (MSFT Quote) Windows Enterprise or any other imaginable. Your email at work usually determines what kind of corporate system you'll need to use, although many smartphones (but not all) can now handle multiple e-mail systems. (Photo gallery: Smartphones)

So which smartphone should you buy? Here is my quick guide to the 10 best smartphones currently available. All prices quoted are with a two-year service contract.

Apple (AAPL Quote) iPhone 2: ($199/8GB, $299/16GB, AT&T(T Quote)). What can one say about the iPhone? Although not the best in every category, the iPhone is still the one to beat. It is a nearly perfect package of hip, cool, and serious handheld computer. I wish it had a more powerful processor with added system memory, much better battery life, cut/paste functionality and a universal corporate email system (one that handled BlackBerry email directly without having to channel it through a Windows Mobile server). Phone's operating system just upgraded to version 2.2, which includes some very nifty features).