This post started off as a guide to which phones you should buy for Christmas. Rui said he wasn’t doing his yearly recommendation post this time round (though he has since posted some general thoughts for the year including some on mobile) and Darla has asked everyone for their Christmas wish list so i decided to put something together. However the Christmas period turned out to be quite busy this year so this has now turned into a “Best of 2007″ post instead.

In my experience it’s hard to recommend one or two phones that will be of interest to everyone so I’ve decided to use 5 categories and pick a top 2 for each category. This should make it easier for me to narrow down some great picks from the plethora of devices that hit the market in 2007. (Click on the pictures for a closers look)

Feature-Phones

Nokia 6300:

Probably the best selling phone this year and a great win for Nokia in the feature-phone market. While the 6300 doesn’t have the best specs around with its 2 Megapixel camera and lack of 3G it has managed to make itself one of the most appealing handsets on the market in 2007. It’s well built, looks good and it just works, just like Nokias should.

It was the Finnish Giants biggest earner for Q2 and Q3 and I’m sure we’ll see the same for Q4. It’s no surprise that there is already a follow up to this device, the 6500 Classic, another superb phone which is bound to be just as successful.

Motorola RAZR2 V8:

I know, it’s a Motorola. And yes I know I’ve criticised them endlessly in the past. The truth is that Motorola is in big trouble, no secret there. Their devices over the last couple of years have lacked quality and imagination and their latest crop of phones aren’t anywhere near good enough to get them out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves.

However the RAZR2 V8 shouldn’t be slammed just because it was made by the laziest manufacturer on the market. Like the 6300 its features aren’t the best but it does manage to pack quite a lot into a small and well-built package. The use of Motorolas simple Linux UI makes the device snappy and relatively easy to use (Though when the closest thing you can compare it to is the RAZR V3 then anything would seem quick and user-friendly). The quirky vibrating music buttons are a nice touch though this could have been implemented further into the UI. It’s just a same that this type of output isn’t the norm for Moto and this solitary device will barely have any effect in reversing their fortunes.

Camera-Phones

Sony Ericsson K850i:

SonyEricsson have proved time and again that they can make some great mid-range phones which perform very well in the marketplace. The K700i and the K800i are shining examples of this. More recently they’ve also proved themselves in the camera department with industry-leading camera-phones in recent years. The K850i continues in this vein, a bullet proof device with all the latest features you’d expect and a top-quality camera to boot.

Even the awkward buttons on the K850i can’t ruin the device as it just has too much going for it and the sales figures reflect that. While it won’t ever be in the same league as Smartphones like the N95 and N82 it doesn’t have to be as it’s a winner in its target market. Perhaps Sony Ericsson should just give up on UIQ and the Smartphone market and concentrate on what it does best: making great mid-range devices.

Samsung G800:

The only Samsung on this list, quite a disappointing turn-out given that Samsung released more devics in 2007 than anyone else. Samsung have always gone for the shot-gun approach, shooting out a scatter of devices with various specs and configurations a few of which are hits, most of which are misses. The G800 is one of the real hits.

Another 5 Mega pixel monster, the G800 gives the K850i a real run for its money. It’s more attractive, built out of better materials and has a better screen but unfortunately comes in a bigger package than the Sony Ericsson. While it might be a bit on the thick side it isn’t slow and the standard Samsung UI is as quick and easy to use as ever. The camera takes great photos and comes equipped with a Xenon flash, auto-focus and optical zoom all of which are still pretty rare even in 2007. I can’t help but feel that this is only a top choice as the market has little to compare it against (The N82 is a prime example but unfortunately it fits into another category and will hit shops worldwide in 2008) but it’s good to see Sony Ericsson has some competition in this market.

Music-Phones

Apple iPhone:

This was a category I didn’t really want to do as I never really liked any of the music-phones that are out there. The Sony Ericsson Walkman range is nice but not something I’d ever use and the music software isn’t really good enough yet. The S60 devices are quite good as music players but they can’t really be classed as music-phones. That changed though when Apple released the iPhone and set the bar for music-phones in the mobile industry.

While I don’t think the iPhone is the Jesus-Phone everyone seems to think it is I have always maintained that it is by far the best music-centric phone on the market. The thing that stayed in my mind after seeing Jobs play with the phone in front of the media for the first time wan’t the form factor or the UI or the Multi-Touch screen, it was the Cover-Flow browser built into the iPhones music player. The key here is that Apple brought music to the iPhone using the ton of experience gained from creating the iPod range (Much like Sony bringing in camera expertise to Sony-Ericsson phones). That pedigree translated extremely well on the iPhone and is, in my opinion, one of the main things that makes it special (along with the UI). There is only one device in this category because frankly, nothing else compares.

Symbian S60

Nokia N95-3:

Better known as the North American edition of the N95 or N95 NAM. The N95 was a huge success for Nokia in 2007 selling huge numbers for a top-of-the-line devices and bringing in a huge amount of features that blew away the competition. Unfortunately the device was crippled by bad battery life and tiny amounts of free RAM both of which made it a real disappointment for me.

However when the North American N95 hit the shelves it was obvious that Nokia had taken note of the complaints that had come in. The back of the device was altered so they could shoe-horn in a bigger battery. The amount of free Ram went up about 700% and the GPS system was much quicker. These changes plus the introduction of American 3G frequencies made the N95-3 one of the best devices on the market that could be used worldwide. The improvements made to the N95-3 were also brought into the N95-8GB a reassuring sign that Nokia aren’t going to be repeating their past mistakes. So why isn’t the N95-8GB here instead? Well the lack of a memory card slot is a big disadvantage given the 8GB Micro-SD cards are already on the market at a reasonable price. Also the fact that the N95-3 is a worldwide device is also important as a sign that Nokia might be gearing up on a full assault on the American market.

Nokia E51:

I imagine this will be another surprise addition. A lot of the emphasis on S60 devices has been on the N-Series range. The majority of the S60 blogs and S60 related news revolved around the N-series and the E-series and numbered S60 phones seem to take a back seat. However a lot of the E-Series devices are really top class and the E51 is the best example of this (The E65 was a close runner up here).

The first thing you notice is how well built the device is. Made primarily out of metal, it’s slim yet feels rock-solid and reassuringly heavy in true contrast to the build quality on most N-Series devices. The other thing you notice is how much faster the UI is on the E51. The E-Series devices are aimed at business users so it is obvious that time has been spent making sure that the UI fitted into the E51 is bug free and lightning quick. The keypad is also well designed with the S60 swirl key being replaced by a Home Key, a change I think should become standard. The iconography on the keys is also well though out making it obvious to a user who may have never used S60 before. However what I like most is that this is an E-Series phones that has an N-Series look bridging the gap between business user and casual users. This is definitely something Nokia should do more often.

Windows Mobile

HTC Touch Cruise:

Also known as the HTC Polaris and I’m sure it will have about 5 other names by the end of 2008 once it hits the various networks worldwide. The Touch Cruise is pretty much the ultimate Windows Mobile device. HTC, who make the vast majority of WinMo devices, have shoe-horned everything into this thin case including GPS, HSDPA, WiFi and a 3 Megapixel camera.

The Touch Cruise also includes the latest version HTCs Touch-Flo technology which makes Windows Mobile 6 a bit more user friendly that normal. This isn’t much of a surprise as the device is Touch based and doesn’t have a Hardware keyboard. The software keyboard has had an overhaul and is much more usable in its new form. HTCs excellent Home Screen UI is included which, like Touch-Flo, makes WM6 that much easier to get around. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t buy a WinMo phone that didn’t have it after this. The Touch Cruise also introduces an improved Navi-Wheel another nice little improvement to HTCs hardware. If this device is any indicator we might finally see some really interesting WinMo devices in 2008.

Eten Glofiish X800:

Another choice from left field? Well not if you’re a Windows Mobile user. Eten have been putting out some pretty decent WinMo phones over the last 18 months and the X800 is their best devices so far. In fact it’s probably the best WinMo device outside of HTC and gives most HTC devcies a run for their money.

While most of the specs are pretty common to most top-of-the-line WM6 phones the X800s trump card is its VGA display. The other thing that makes this phone unique is that it’s a WM6 phone that is aimed at regular users rather than business users. The styling isn’t grey and drab like on the HTC range and in fact is pretty cool while still being subtle. As with the E51 it’s adding a new dimension to WinMo making it attractive to more than just business users. It is worth noting that this device also doesn’t have the hardware keyboard that was once essential for all WinMo devices, another sign of changing trends.

Phone Of the Year & Conclusion

So there you are, my top phones of 2007 in no particular order. One of the running themes I noticed across all the categories is how build quality and ease of use is far more important than the features. But which phone is my top pick? I started this post by saying how tough it would be to narrow the huge variety of devices down to one phone that is the best, and it is. “Best” is probably too user specific but the more I thought about it the more I had a clear image in my head as to which was the most important phone of 2007, The Nokia N95-3.

It’s not just that the phone has a fantastic set of features and that it is part of a range of devices that is really leading the industry right now. It is not just that it’s a device which champions all the technology that will start to become common place by the end of 2008. What kept bringing me back to this specific edition of the N95 is that it’s a device that was essentially made for the consumer, and that is a very important fact. Nokia had engaged the consumer, got feedback and then directly implemented that feedback to make the N95 better.

It also introduced North American 3G frequencies to the device, a first for a non-US S60 phone. They did this without waiting for an operator to carry the device and sold it sim-free through their stores instead which meant they didn’t have to cripple the device as they had to do with the E62. They specifically made this phone to cater to their US customers not to cater to a US operator, another important fact. I’ve said this before, I hope the other top manufacturers take note of what Nokia have done here, they really need to follow suit.

So there you go, nine of the best phones from 2007. What do you think? Was there anything missing? Was i way off the mark on some of the picks? Let me know by leaving a comment below.