It was a pretty exciting year for the mobile phone industry in 2008. Beginning in early part of 2008 when Apple’s 2nd Gen iPhone,

the iPhone 3G was released, almost every major manufacturers called up their technicians and asked them to come up with the iPhone killer. Their battle cry was – come up with the equal if not better alternative to the iPhone which is sweeping the mobile phone market.

And so aside from the iPhone we’ve witnessed how the industry went gaga in anticipation of mobile phones such as the Blackberry Bold, Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, Samsung Omnia, and of course the much awaited Google-powered HTC-manufactured mobile phone – the G1. As our special feature to usher in the new year for the mobile phone market, here’s a recap of these top five cell phones that rocked the mobile phone market in 2008.

iPhone – Apple’s second generation iPhone took the mobile market not only in the U.S. about worldwide by storm. Many got envious when it was released in the U.S. of everyone else in the world. Although nothing much in terms of features have changed since the first generation iPhone, still the 3G connectivity and the slimmer design made the iPhone a much sought after device.

G1 Phone – Just when everybody who bought the iPhone 3G was enjoying their newly bought toy, here comes Google making available their Android Mobile Platform, followed by an announcement of the first ever Google Android-powered mobile phone – the G1. The G1 was every Google fans dream mobile device.

Blackberry Bold – Blackberry is Blackberry. No matter what type of mobile device it comes up with, it is already assured of a captured market – the corporate/business smartphone niche. But of course, RIM will not just take the popularity of the iPhone and the G1 sitting down.

Samsung Omnia – Samsung’s entry into the touchscreen mobile phone niche was its Omnia touchscreen phone powered by Windows Mobile Platform. Aside from being a smartphone, the Samsung Omnia features a whooping 5MP camera and a plethora of productivity features. Mobile phone enthusiasts also anticipated the release of the Omnia since it was hot on the heels of the iPhone and the G1.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 – Sony Ericsson’s first Windows Mobile-powered device was also much anticipated for the simple reason that for a time Sony Ericsson has been the leader when it comes to smartphones. Interestingly, the Xperia X1 was not really an SE phone but rather a co-branded device with HTC.

Source [ CellPhoneNews ]