Lining up your next mobile phone can be a bit like speed dating. After a few minutes of staring at the shelf, the array of candidates blurs into one ugly mess. WiFi? Megapixels? Storage capabilities? Visual radio? How about a phone that rings?

Yet we still want them - a lot. Our phones feel part of us, like an extra limb. Was there ever a more convincing challenger to the handbag and shoe for the crown of accessory we’re most likely to spend money on? A new generation of phone freaks is getting nerdy about mobiles in the same way that boys do about trainers and girls do about handbags.

If anyone doubts the cultural sway of the mobile, consider Dior’s decision to launch its first phone - a hyper-designed, sapphire-crystal beauty, yours for a cool £2,300 - just as the luxury market is bracing itself for a downturn. The message is: the mobile phone isn’t going anywhere. Here are our favourites.

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