Until a couple of years ago, this blog was dedicated to Apple mobile devices and, it must be said, the iPhone and iPad modified the way the world used mobile and they ruled for a long time.
But that changed when the others started to catch up. Android was still fairly rough around the edges but improving and Microsoft had just dipped its toes into the modern smartphone waters with Windows Phone.
Now Android has sleek and smooth edges and Windows Phone has made huge strides forward with the latest Windows Phone 8.1.
But more to the point, some Android and Windows Phone devices now do as much and run as smoothly as iPhones and iPads....but cost a fraction of the price.
A good case in point is the new Nokia Lumia 630, which has just gone on sale in the UK. Carphone Warehouse is selling it for £120 unlocked but that price will undoubtedly quickly fall to a more natural sub-£100 point.
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It's also not a phone for photographers...the back-facing camera is 5MP with no flash and the front camera, well, there isn't one, so selfies are pretty difficult. And there's no Glance Screen because of a lack of proximity sensor.
But...and this is a big BUT...remember this phone will sell for less than £100 and, despite its shortcomings, it feels like a quality and robust device belying even its current £120 price-tag.
OK, there's no 4G...but there is HSDPA 3.5G.
The 8GB of internal storage is supplemented by a slot for a microSD card. We've got a 64GB card in our device and it's handling it easily and without lag. WP8.1 now let's you load apps onto the microSD card along with music, photos and videos, saving precious internal space.
As for the camera, we must admit there are no positives really. It's a Nokia so photos are OK but by no means exceptional and there's no hardware camera button forcing you to stick a camera tile on your Start Screen. We think dropping the button - presumably to save costs - is a big miss by Nokia and we hope Microsoft makes sure it's on all future Lumias.
But it has several big positives going for it: Windows Phone 8.1 along with Nokia's latest Cyan firmware runs beautifully. It's fast and fluid, belying its 512GB of RAM. WP8.1 has been tweaked for low-end devices and it shows with the Lumia 630. The WP8.1 update really gives Microsoft a fighting chance against Android and Apple. Improvements include a pulldown notification centre with quick toggles for various settings like WiFi and screen brightness. The Live Tiles have had a makeover letting them show user wallpaper underneath, a novel and visually effective way to personalise your phone. And there's now a Swype-style keyboard.
There's no lag even with multiple apps open thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz processor.
The screen on this Lumia is a 4.5 inch IPS LCD capacitive display with Nokia's superb ClearBlack technology which makes it vibrant, if a little colour-saturated, and easily visible even in sunshine.
Its build quality maintains Nokia's (now Microsoft's) high standards.
It has a changeable matt-coloured polycarbonate backplates and the phone's feel easily equals Apple's iPhone 5C, but (sorry to be repetitive) costs a quarter of the price. The colours are spectacular, especially the orange, yellow and green, although it also come in more conservative black and white.
We don't yet know what battery life is like in the real world but - and this is a major plus these days - the 1830mAh cell is removable. Yes, you can swap the battery, something that's becoming a luxury in the smartphone world.
If bog-standard photos and lack of 4G don't worry you, the Lumia 630 is a good investment. It feels like it will survive drops and bashes and the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 front should keep it safe from cracks and scratches.
Oh and just a quick myth-buster about the Windows Phone app store. The days of having to do without compared with Android and Apple are very nearly gone. Most major apps are now there and if they're not, third party developers have filled the gap nicely. There are still some omissions, but on the whole it won't hold you back.
This Lumia puts itself up against Motorola's Android budget offerings, which have shown other manufacturers just how good budget Androids can be. The 630 is directly comparable with the Moto E and the Nokia wins hands down. There's a new 4G version of the Moto G coming out soon and Nokia also plans to release the 4G Lumia 635 at the same price-point - about £150.
The 630, 635 and the upcoming Lumia 930 are Nokia's swansong - the last devices produced by the Finnish manufacturer before its mobile division was gobbled up by Microsoft and, presumably, the last smartphones with the Nokia name. Let's hope the software giant keeps up Nokia's high standards and allows the talented designers in Finland to continue their good work.
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