Matt Sharp asked:

As we approach the Mobile World Congress 09, two phones are set to cause a big stir in the industry, both of which are aiming to take on the iPhone at its own game. Let’s take a look at the two competitors, and ask whether the Toshiba TG01 or the Palm Pre could be the phone that knocks the Apple contender for six…

Toshiba TG01 – the most powerful phone ever made

There have been a few contenders for the title ‘iPhone Killer’ which have run on Windows Mobile, and with good reason, as it’s quite plainly a very powerful operating system, that has an awful lot going for it. There have only been one or two real stand-out handsets, though, most notably the Samsung Omnia and the HTC Touch HD. However, they’re both about to be put firmly in the shade thanks to the launch of the most powerful mobile phone ever made, the Toshiba TG01. But why is it the most powerful phone ever made?

The answer lies within the processor hidden inside the Toshiba TG01, as it’s the first phone in the world to come with a 1GHz chip. Or, in other words, it’s little short of a laptop in the body of a mobile phone. So, the Toshiba TG01 promises to be faster and smoother than any other mobile phone on the market. Ally that with the unique 3D interface running on top of Windows Mobile, and you get a phone that truly is a joy to use. There’s also one other fact that can’t be denied…

Quite apart from it being hyper-fast, with an incredibly fluid interface, the Toshiba TG01 also has the biggest screen on the market, coming in at an unbelievable 4.1 inches. That’s a lot of real estate on screen, and it means that even previously fiddly menu bars are now finger-friendly, given the massive screen size. And as for the virtual keyboard on the Toshiba TG01, the extra size makes it little different from typing on a physical keyboard. Add in the rage of impressive features, including a 3 megapixel camera, broadband-fast internet access, a superb music player and GPS, and it adds up to a simple fact:

The Toshiba TG01 is quite simply the best Windows Mobile phone ever made, and whilst it doesn’t have the cool factor of the iPhone, the TG01 utterly canes it in every other way.

Palm Pre – a phone like NO other

Where the Toshiba TG01 goes for raw processing power, the Palm Pre takes an entirely different route, going instead for elegance. It may not be as powerful as the TG01, but the Palm Pre contains the most fluid and innovative interface ever seen on any phone (and yes, that includes the iPhone). Everything is done using finger swipes and gestures, with a remarkably fluid homescreen that lets you multitask many different apps at once, from mail, to contacts, to web, to video, to absolutely anything you have running on your Palm Pre. The gesture controls make the entire experience remarkably intuitive, and using the Palm Pre for the first time is a genuinely astonishing experience. Of course, it isn’t just about being swish, as the Pre also gives you such small but very useful touches, such as typing on the keyboard, from the homescreen, to search the device, your apps and the internet for what you need, or having a touch-sensitive area that extends below the screen, to make gestu7re control even more fluid, all of which adds up to make the Palm Pre the most user-friendly, and remarkable phone that’s appeared on the market in a long, long time. Of course, they won’t have it all their own way, because such luminaries of the industry as Nokia and Sony Ericsson will also be bringing their A-game to the Mobile World Congress this year, but one thing’s for sure. Between the double-header of the Toshiba TG01 and the Palm Pre, every phone on the market (yes, including the iPhone) should be afraid. Very afraid…