Apple iPhones 3G Smartphones  By AT&T  Retail Price $200 for 8GB model

Two-and-a-half years after launch, iPhone's sheen still shines, thanks to legions of loyalists and consistently superior user experience. It ranked No. 1 in Brand Keys' annual loyalty survey this year, while 74% of iPhone owners said they were very satisfied with the device, compared to 43% of BlackBerry owners.

The "There's an App for That" campaign showed the genius of the iPhone, which has transformed how consumers perceive and use their phone--and how the industry markets itself. The iPhone App Store boasts 100,000 apps, 10 times more than Android, its nearest competitor.

The iPhone will continue to be the category favorite, helped by a $99 price tag on the older 3G model. And according to the Changewave survey, 36% of near-term smartphone buyers say they'll opt for one, compared to 27% who picked the BlackBerry and 8% who chose Palm.

Motorola Droid Smartphones  By Verizon Wireless  Retail Price $200

The Droid packs more than the iPhone, thanks to features like a physical keyboard, free turn-by-turn GPS and a camera with built-in flash. The phone also offers tight integration with Google services, including voice activated search. The thumbs-up reviews have reinforced Verizon's positioning of the Droid as a viable iPhone killer.

Droid will be Verizon's biggest product launch yet, eclipsing last year's BlackBerry Storm rollout, estimated at north of $100 million. Droid should help stem Verizon's customer losses to AT&T's iPhone. It's also the first Android phone to seriously challenge the iPhone and the Android open operating system, which should overtake the proprietary iPhone platform in a few years. The Droid] will do really well, it's one of the most solid smartphones to date.

Blackberry Strom2 Smartphones  By Verizon Wireless  Retail Prices $180

The follow-up to last year's widely hyped but buggy BlackBerry Storm lives in the shadow of the Droid, which is hogging both the spotlight and Verizon's marketing dollars. Still, the Storm2 is drawing mostly positive reviews, getting points for WiFi support, voice-dialing and an improved touchscreen.

Verizon launched the Storm2 late last month with little fanfare. First aired during Game 1 of the World Series on Fox, the standalone, "lightning really does strike twice" TV spot will run for about two weeks, eventually becoming part of the broader device line-up in Verizon's holiday push.

Decent sales, but don't expect a hit, analysts say. The consensus is that BlackBerry maker Research in Motion needs to gear up if it wants to compete in the multimedia smartphone space. They're operating on a technology base that has few advantages now, it was designed in an era when e-mail was the only important mobile application.

Palm PIXI Pre Smartphones  By Sprint Retail Price $99, PRE: $150

Hits shelves in less than a week, and like the Pre, comes with a touchscreen, full keyboard, and Palm's new operating system. It will also be lighter with a smaller screen. The excitement has waned since the Pre's June launch, which coincided with Apple's new iPhone announcement. Palm won't talk sales so far but analysts estimate 500,000.

Palm declined to discuss the handset's marketing, but with a campaign that launched at New York Fashion Week, its small form factor its name and the $99 price tag, it's meant to entice smartphone newbies and females. Sprint will continue to push the Pre through the holidays but the new age, esoteric TV ads, panned as "weird" and "creepy," haven't connected with consumers.

Pixi's forerunner, the Centro, sold reasonably. The $99 price point should also up its appeal. PRE: While it will keep some Sprint customers in the fold, it won't be a share-stealing, magnet.

Motorola Cliq Smartphones  By T-Mobile Retail Price $200

Motorola made this phone for the carrier that claims to have the most texters worldwide. Its main calling card is Motoblur, a social-networking overlay that aggregates content from users' social networks and lets people update their status from a homescreen widget. But it's been pegged as a device for teenagers, making the $200 pricetag perplexing. Another negative? It doesn't run on the latest Android software.

In October, Motorola unveiled a campaign for the "first phone with social skills," comically portraying the chaos of social networking, before the Cliq comes to the rescue and streamlines the process. Should do well within T-Mobile's base. Motoblur is really impressive and caters perfectly to T-Mobile's young demographic."

HTC Hero Smartphones By Sprint Retail Price $180

The Hero wins on hardware, and a customizable, proprietary user interface called HTC Sense. The third Android device to hit the market, reviews called it the most solid Android phone to date. But that billing was short-lived; weeks later, Droid emerged and took its bow as the best Android device.

HTC two weeks ago launched its inaugural branding campaign, showcasing a series of handsets, including the Hero, its flagship device. Expect message bombardment: the handset maker expects the average adult to see its advertising roughly 37 times through year-end, compared to a typical average of three times for a campaign of a similar duration. The "You" campaign promotes the idea of customization and personalization. "A phone that gets you" is the tagline.

Hero was Sprint's top-selling device, according to Avian Securities' October store survey, boding well for continuing momentum into the holidays