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If someone told you in 1999 that before the next decade was over, you'd be doing most of your written communications with your mobile phone, you probably would have looked at your handset and wondered how.

Now, with 3G wireless broadband, full "qwerty" keypads, multimedia capabilities, high-resolution touch screens plus a host of security and backup features, smartphones have become a mainstay for many businesses. Not all smartphone platforms are created equal, however.

For example, BlackBerry has been well-known for its specific email and security abilities and the iPhone for its applications. Android is well-regarded for its "openness".

We've caught up with the latest developments on the five main platforms to help you decide.

Windows Mobile

Microsoft says one of the best things about Windows Mobile is that it will be familiar to users of the Windows desktop operating system. However, this hasn't stopped handset makers such as HTC from completely redesigning the user interface to something that looks slicker. The latest HTC HD2 is the first Windows-based device that uses a capacitive touchscreen. This allows you to use gestures such as zooming into websites, documents and pictures in a similar manner to the iPhone.

The most useful feature in Windows Mobile is arguably its backup feature. Microsoft My Phone allows users to back up all their data including contacts, calendar, photos and more, to a password-protected website.

Symbian

Nokia acquired Symbian in 2008 and set up the non-profit Symbian Foundation in the hopes of making the platform open source and free to use. Symbian is found in many Nokia smartphones, such as the E72, as well as other major brands and is still the world's most widely used mobile platform.

The operating system provides support for Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, however having the ability to create or edit documents relies on the type of hardware it's running on. Version 3 of the operating system, due out this year, will have HD video support and HDMI output for audio, video and images, according to a blog post by Victor Palau, a member of the Symbian release group.

Android

Google acquired Android , the makers of the platform, about five years ago, so it features many of the well-known Google applications such as Gmail, Maps, Calendar and so forth. One of the first Android-based phones on the Australian market was the HTC Dream, which syncs your Gmail account, including contacts and calendar, with your handset.

The first Google Nexus One phone is due out this year. Besides being able to access Google apps, the standout features of the Nexus will be the use of voice input for every text field, so users can voice entire emails, tweets or requests for navigation routes. Third-party applications are available for users who want to sync the phone with their Microsoft Exchange servers.

BlackBerry

Push email and security are the main strengths of the BlackBerry platform. It can integrate a lot of Outlook features to your handset. For example, if you're at home and can't make it into the office you can set up your out-of-office notification. Late last year, the company launched the BlackBerry App World, giving users access to a range of free and paid applications.

Upgrading to BlackBerry Device Software version 4.5 offers improved email features such as conducting a remote search for emails stored on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Users can also edit Microsoft Word and PowerPoint files on the fly.

iPhone

Multimedia and access to a wide range of applications from the App Store are what makes the iPhone an attractive proposition. No matter if you're a Mac or PC user, the phone can also sync with Microsoft Exchange Server to access corporate emails, calendar and contacts. The iPhone 3GS uses encryption to help protect data on the device when it is being transmitted or backed up.

In December, Telstra finally enabled the tethering capability, so the iPhone can be used as a modem from a laptop. Vodafone and Optus had already made this available, though Optus charged for the feature to be turned on.