Ladies and gentleman the touchscreen revolution is underway and we’ve got three top telephonic contenders battling it out for your buck.

In one corner we’ve got the iPhone 3G with an unbeaten record in finger friendliness, squaring up against the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, the mobile many are tipping to end that record. Lastly, there’s an outside contender: the LG KP500 sneaking itself quietly into battle with a full touchscreen and bargain basement price.

All three are headed to pay as you go tariffs this Christmas. All three boast spectacular touchscreens. Which will emerge victorious? Read on to find out!

Size and weight
It’s not often that the iPhone 3G appears bottom of the phone pool, but it takes a pasting in the size and weight stakes here. Both the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and LG’s KP500 manage an assault on the media market with barely a trouser bulge in sight.

The iPhone’s 115.5mm height is larger than both the Nokia 5800 (111mm) and LG KP500 (106.5mm).

Nokia’s new blower puts up a valiant effort but it might have to think up a new diet to match the KP500’s dimensions. It beats the competition in width (55.4mm) and depth (11.9mm). It’s much lighter too, weighing 22g less than the Nokia 5800 and a full 46g less than the iPhone 3G.
Winner: LG KP500

Entertainment
Each handset is more than capable of serving up music and movies on the go, but in the big league of media phones the LGKP500 has to settle for last place. Sure it can play a wide range of music formats but it’s sound, music and movie talents just can’t match the iPhone or Nokia 5800.

See, the 5800 will work with Nokia’s Comes With Music download service, while the iPhone serves up iTunes downloads through Wi-Fi on the go.

When it comes to playing back music and video, both phones are roughly equal. Although the Nokia 5800 does pack a proper 16:9 widescreen, for films without black borders. That said, it’s display is smaller than the iPhone.
Winner: Tie - Phone 3G and Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

Memory
There’s no point in having a fully-fledged media mobile if it’s lacking in memory! All three phones come with 8GB as standard, while the iPhone is also available as a 16GB version. The Nokia 5800 can also be upgraded to 16GB, as can the LG KP500. It looks like a straight tie, except that the iPhone can’t be upgraded with extra memory cards, while both Nokia’s and LG’s phones can. Sorry Apple, you just missed out.
Winner: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and LG KP500

Screen showdown
If we’re going to download movies to our mobile it’d be nice if we could see them without pulling a funny face. It’s a case of 3-inches or you ain’t coming in this case, with each handset meeting the minimum requirement. But it’s the granddaddy of phones, the iPhone 3G which storms the screen showdown at 3.5-inches leaving the Nokia 5800 (3.2-inches) and the KP500 (3-inches) trailing.
Winner: iPhone 3G

App attack!
With thousands of apps and games (and counting) already available on Apple’s App Store there can only be one winner here. With super support from major devs the iPhone 3G’s got this one all stitched up. Nokia might have a ton of Symbian apps waiting in the wings, but the 5800 XpressMusic lacks N-Gage support, so it’s not great for games. Lastly, the LG KP500, running proprietary software, lacks the same choice as other smartphones. It’s got a lot to learn.
Winner: iPhone 3G

Camera combat
Those hoping the 3G iPhone would introduce a new and improved camera were left sorely disappointed. And it looks like Apple’s snapper shyness has been exposed once again by the two new boys on the block. The iPhone settles for third place on the picture podium with a pitiful 2.0 megapixels behind the KP500 (3.0 megapixels) and first placed Nokia 5800 chucking in 3.2 megapixels, and that’s not including the snap enhancing Carl Zeiss optics.
Winner: Nokia 5800

Battery life
iPhone fans delighted with their dose of 3G have got it at a cost to talktime, with users only being able to chat for a maximum of five hours. It does well on standby time a with 300 hours but it’s still last place, with the Nokia 5800 promising 17 days standby time (408 hours). The 5800 excels in talktime too notching up nine hours of jibber jabber. The KP500’s measly 3.5 hours of talktime has no place here.
Winner: Nokia 5800

Overall winner: Nokia 5800 XpressMusic