After experiencing several generations of mobiles, most of us are now in a position to make specific demands and, with built-in cameras and music players becoming standard, the pressure is on phone makers to keep innovating. What was once a workhorse has evolved into a thrilling thoroughbred.

Until recently, you would have found only one or two alpha mobiles dominating the market. Today’s shopper, however, faces a diverse herd of beasts. The executive in the business lounge can tinker with an urgent PowerPoint presentation while waiting to catch a plane, then e-mail the changes straight from the handset. The forgetful husband can order flowers over his mobile’s internet link, browse the football scores or even watch goals. The grandparent who needs a phone simply to keep in touch now has the foolproof menu, legible screen and decent keypad they have always ached for.

Better built-in cameras? Makers have upped the megapixels (Mp). E-mail? You’ve got it. Internet access? As standard, if usually slow. Extra storage for pictures and music? Here is a slot for memory cards. Anything that gives a competitive advantage.

Memory-card slots have opened up a new chapter in the book of mobile life. They have given a point to the ubiquitous built-in cameras, and the latest 2Mp models take pictures worth printing. A phone still falls a long way short of replacing a digital camera, but it can come in handy for capturing roadside details if somebody swerves into your car. It can even turn you into a citizen journalist.

Music-lovers, too, finally have a phone worthy of being called a Walkman — it’s not as easy to navigate as a dedicated MP3 player, but it shames most rivals.

The legacy of the BlackBerry is also evident in this evolutionary tale. This swanky pocket gadget with a built-in keypad has become an umbilical cord for the connected power broker and set the pace for high-flyers wanting e-mail “pushed” to them 24/7. Smart phones now feature computer- style operating systems, improved software, bigger colour screens and, now, slide-out keypads. These take some, if not all, aspects of the office onto the road and reduce the need to carry two devices. Companies such as Vodafone have taken up the challenge of making e-mail easier anywhere.

Let’s not forget Britain’s school yards as a breeding ground for one-upmanship. Among the biggest drivers of evolutionary change are your teenage offspring, for whom Bluetooth came as a pocket miracle. Even the cheapest Bluetooth-enabled phones are good for sharing grainy footage of outlandish skateboarding tricks.

Ever on the lookout for clandestine ways to communicate, the young have declared instant messaging their own medium, and now find it on affordable handsets that can also run Java games. And why be fleeced for downloadable ring tones, when many new phones will accept your own (free) MP3 track instead?

From sales reps to fashionistas, our diverse needs have forced quantum leaps in mobile evolution, while we are all suckers for the sexiest-looking model. The runaway success of the Motorola Razr proved that many people don’t care how much pain poor software can inflict, as long as the handset looks fabulous.

There are, bizarrely, far more handsets than people to hold them within these isles. In a market worth well over £1 billion annually, 18m were sold last year alone in the UK, the market research firm Mintel reports.

Pay-as-you-go (prepay) phones now account for 7 out of every 10 handsets sold. Prepay is oh-so- seductive, because it avoids a fluctuating monthly bill. That said, there are benefits in signing a 12-month contract in return for the subsidy of about £200 that most networks give.

They know it costs several times more to find a new customer than to retain one, so negotiate hard. Don’t be coerced, because this discount is portable, and you can take it to the retailer of your choice.

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