Phones that are all about image

Just when you thought taking pictures with your mobile phone was the height of gadgetry, welcome to the new generation - next week mobile phone network Three will launch the first video-downloading phone which allows you to watch videos and clips of television shows.

Picture phones have become the consumer object of the moment - manufacturers are falling over themselves to come up with the latest and best new design, and traders expect the cameraphone to be this Christmas's bestseller.

It has been a slow and steady rise but the click of mobile phones taking pictures now resonates throughout London. In parks, pubs and offices, instant images have become indispensable. Go to any gig, and glowing mobile phone screens held aloft, taking snapshots of rock idols, have taken the place of lighters.

Soon phones will show live TV, and experts say they will eventually usurp the iPod as the MP3 player of choice - Motorola even revealed this week its future phones are going to include MP3-playing software from Apple.

Together with our phone obsession has come a plethora of handsets. When Carphone Warehouse began trading in 1989, it sold just four types of handsets, each for around £250. This week, it has been revealed that it stocks more than 100, plus a seemingly endless list of tariff options, with most phones being given away free.

Increasingly phones are being sold on the quality of their cameras. Models such as Sony Ericsson's K700i blur the line between camera and phone, with one side looking identical to a digital camera. The quality of camera pictures are also now identical to cheaper digital cameras, and Japanese manufacturers are already hard at work on cameras that can rival any professional camera on the market.

Some of the best cameraphones include Sharp's GX30 and Nokia's 7610, both of which have excellent quality cameras, although Sony Ericsson's K700i beats them both in the looks department. For those on a budget, the Sony Ericsson T610 is also worth investigating, as most networks will give you one for free when you sign up.

However, it's been a tough sell for networks since camera models were launched in 2002. Eager to increase their revenue from people sending large pictures, they hit a classic chicken-and-egg problem - who is going to buy a picture phone if none of their friends have them?

But in the past six months, camera phone sales have rocketed from virtually nothing to 65 per cent of all phones, according to Carphone Warehouse.

There have also been privacy concerns. Several leisure centres and schools have banned camera phones because of fears that illicit pictures would be taken. It is actually because of privacy concerns that most camera phones make a loud noise when taking pictures.

Despite this, the network's gamble seems to be paying off, and camera phones are flying out of stores - while video waits in the wings.Three's new Music and TV service is of good quality, but the price tag is £1.50 per song. Videos can be stored on the phone so you don't need to download them each time to watch them, and the audio quality is very good through headphones. Around 50 songs are available, although only BMG has so far signed up to the service.

However, for the real phone addict, one phone stands out as the most anticipated for years.

Motorola's V3, nicknamed the razor, is the thinnest mobile phone on the market, and its stylish metallic keypad and two colour screens are set to make it a massive success.

It is incredibly small, yet packs in almost every feature imaginable, including a camera hidden in the hinge. But it will cost a hefty £350 when it becomes available next month.