I'm currently balancing four jobs, and a full time study programme. In addition to this, I run a blog and I work for a couple of voluntary organisations. Don't ask me how I do it, even I don't know. But with the increasing cost of living, one has to do what one has to do. You know where all this is going right?

I need to be online, be connected, sort my work out, and do a host of other things. What I need, is a secretary that I can carry around, or the closest alternative: a Smartphone.

I'm going to stick to the LG Prada that I currently have for a while, and I need to save up some money, as there are a lot of new upmarket devices coming out this year. The most talked about among them was the X1, until now. There is a new kid on the block who has stolen the hush, and that's the Touch Pro from HTC.

At a glance, both of them are high-end portable communication devices (yes, that's different from a mobile phone) providing all available modes of connectivity and usability to the consumer.

Since both of them are so similar in features down to the Qualcomm Processor, let's look at the common stuff. Both of them run on a Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro platform, have 512MB of ROM, microSD expansion slots, Bluetooth, WiFi, HSPDA, 3.2MP camera, and a touch sensitive screen.

The main difference however, is the screen. Whilst the X1 boasts a bigger 800x480 screen, the Touch Pro has to be satisfied with a 480x640 screen. The Touch Pro makes up for this with a VGA camera in the front for Video Calls, a feature that is lacking in the X1.

And there is another stark difference – The User Interface – So let's take them one by one. The X1 has a very hip looking user interface, that's much more visually appealing than that of the iPhone. It is smooth, and has lots of eye-candy bouncy effects. The UI uses what Sony Ericsson call Panels, which are distinct blocks of functionality that the user can move around the screen at will.

HTC has gone for a shell replacement too, but not much detail is available on the exact functioning of it. But my previous experience with the TouchFLO system of the HTC Touch makes me think that this will be user friendly.

When the time comes for you to decide, it will end up being a tight call between the two. Both are too much alike to choose from. Sony's bigger screen, tilts the argument in favour of the X1, but the Touch Pro's frontal camera attempts to balance it out. But when it's a mobile device you're talking about, the screen plays a major role. So the X1 wins my heart.

Watch this space, I'm on the waiting list to get one as soon as it comes out.