iPhone 3G S overtakes Nokia N97 in UK search queries

Hitwise figures show Apple's phone soaring up the search charts

Apple's iPhone 3G S is now the most searched for mobile phone in the UK

The Apple iPhone 3G S and the Nokia N97, both of which go on sale today, are the most searched for mobile brands in the UK, according to the latest figures from online tracking firm Hitwise Intelligence.

Nokia's N97 had been in the lead in terms of search requests, but the iPhone 3G S now has twice as many searches, the report said.

The competing 3G touch-screen phones currently represent nearly 30 per cent of all search queries for mobile phones.

The handsets share similar capabilities. The new iPhone includes a 3G wireless connection that is roughly 2.8 times as fast as on the original iPhone, as well as support for GPS hardware, and improved battery life allowing around 10 hours of 2G talk time.

The Nokia N97, meanwhile, offers 32GB of storage that can be expanded to 48GB with a microSD card slot, a Qwerty keyboard, 3.5in screen and the same 5-megapixel camera that was included in the N96.

Hitwise said that web users' third most popular mobile search query is for the Nokia 5800 Tube, followed by the Samsung F480 Tocco and the LG KP500 Cookie.