A free modem and competitive pricing around the 5GB mark make Vodafone worth a look – but other networks are cheaper per GB

Plenty of modern phones support email, of course, but what always made BlackBerry special was its push technology. With this, you don't need to dial up to collect your email: just sit back and wait for the messages to come to you. Wherever you are, if an urgent email comes through to any of your email addresses -- and the 7100v supports up to 10 -- you can act on it instantly.

Wider than a normal phone and encroaching on PDA girth turf, the BlackBerry 7100v is both a capable phone and a capable PDA.

At this stage you can get modules for games, memory expansion and backup, a digital camera, an MP3 player, a GPS and a mobile phone module

Mobile wireless broadband for your notebook, and a tale of two cities.

Slow speeds and a high price make this an underwhelming offering

Cheap plans, good hardware and excellent results in our speed tests make 3 a deserving winner, in our group test against Telstra Bigpond, Optus, Vodafone, Virgin and Unwired.

Sleeker than the original, this BlackBerry continues the messaging workhorse tradition we've come to expect.

An interesting concept, but there are far more capable devices around.

No excess data charges, a free modem and a good software package make virgin worth a look

The fastest test results, but the most expensive data packages make BigPond a fall-back only for those with no coverage from other providers

Poor value and lacks a few high-end features.

Mobile phones are experiencing their second major evolution. Its not one of form factor, but of functionality.

Surprisingly there's no visual voicemail on our Optus iPhone, but otherwise the phone performs brilliantly with a massive speed boost over the 1st gen model.