MOST READ: Top 5 Cell Phones of 2008

Coming up with this list was not easy, given such a large field of worthy candidates, from the smartest smartphones to the tiniest talkers

But whittle I must. So without further ado and after much testing, using and angst, here are what I believe are the Top 5 cell phones of 2008:

1) Apple (AAPL Quote) iPhone 3G: This is the best smartphone on the market. It is a multiband world phone, a POP/IMAP/ Microsoft (MSFT Quote) Exchange email device, an iPod, a PDA, a master of Web pages, a digital camera and lots more. Basically, it's the best miniature tablet computer/cell phone on the planet.

On the other hand, its battery life is terrible, it lacks cut-and-paste functions, and its cell-phone call quality is sketchy. I used to blame AT&T's(T Quote) 3G network for the iPhone's problems, but after testing other phones on the same network, I think the problem lies within the Apple device. The entry price point is $199 (8GB) or $299 (16GB), but when you add in AT&T's service plan charges, the iPhone can become a very expensive cell phone. AT&T lists refurbished iPhones on its Web site for $50 less than un-refurbished handsets.