The field is getting more and more crowded for high-tech phones that can make your travels easier.

The latest generation of smartphones can fetch your  e-mail, send texts, manage contacts, keep track of appointments and birthdays, get the latest weather reports and stock prices and news, give turn-by-turn driving directions or find nearby restaurants and movies and landmarks with a built-in GPS, surf the Internet and take pictures and videos.

They can also keep notes, play music files, wake you up in the morning, keep you entertained with games, identify songs on the radio, tune in to radio stations or TV channels, connect to your bank account, write letters, record voice memos and compare prices while you’re shopping at the store.

Heck, my laptop can’t even do all that. Oh, and they make calls, too.

I’ve just upgraded to AT&T’s new Tilt2 (aka the HTC Touch Pro2)  and wanted to share some impressions. But the competition is really heating up now for smartphones—and new models being announced will push the envelope even further.

The Tilt2 is a flagship business phone, but not just for business travelers. Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system has been slow to evolve and can be clunky and overly complicated at times. But HTC’s own TouchFlo interface puts lipstick on the pig and hides most of the confusing MS settings with slicker tabs and buttons and finger-friendly menus.

The Tilt2 does all the things I mentioned and more. It has a slide-out keyboard and large, high-resolution screen that tilts up to make it look like a mini-laptop—very handy not just for e-mails and web surfing, but for watching videos. Even though it’s larger and heavier (a little over six ounces) than many phones, the big screen and keyboard are worth the extra heft.

The built-in GPS is one feature that’s much improved in the Tilt2. Even from a cold start, I can get a GPS lock indoors in 12 seconds—quite impressive. Other smartphones I’ve owned in the past had trouble getting their bearings.

The Tilt2’s call quality is better than any smartphone I’ve owned before. Pair it up with a good Bluetooth headset (I really like the Motorola Endeavor HX1) and you’re ready to hit the road.

Apple’s iPhone, of course, has been a big winner in smartphones. But it’s limited by the lack of a hardware keyboard. For me, using a real keyboard rather than the on-screen variety is much faster and accurate.

Then there’s the one limitation on the iPhone I never really understood—a battery that can’t be changed by the user. Not being able to carry a spare battery just doesn’t work in my book.

The new Motorola Droid phone coming to Verizon looks impressive, with lots of features business and casual users could love. The Droid will use the second generation of Google’s Android operating system and it may well provide the comeback that Motorola needs in the phone market.

Blackberry, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Palm are other serious players in the smartphone field. Palm lost its direction after the revolutionary (a few years ago, anyway) Treo 650. But now the company is trying to claw its way back into the competition with the Pre.

So with smartphones getting smarter and growing competition in the field, there will be lots of choices. It appears the iPhone will face some serious challenges in the months to come. Who’s going to win?

The real winner will be the consumer. Now if my phone, after it wakes me in the morning, would just learn how to cook breakfast…