THE GUARDIAN via NewsEdge Corporation: The battle for superiority in the high end of the compact digital camera market continues with the launch next month of the Sony DSC-T1. The Japanese version of the camera - identical to the UK model - has been a huge hit and it’s easy to see why. First, it is truly pocketable. Despite having a 3x optical zoom, the ultra-thin T1 has no protruding lens. This is due to its Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar optical lens that operates within the camera.

The T1’s second trump card is a 2.5in LCD monitor that boasts superb resolution and vivid colours. It needs to be good, though, as there is no space for a traditional viewfinder. The T1 can also take good quality 640x480-pixel moving images.

The clincher, though, is the impressive five megapixel images, which are crisper and of a higher resolution than those snapped by rivals. Its only weaknesses are a flash that’s a little underpowered and the high price of around pounds 500. Trust me: you’ll want one.