5. BLACKBERRY Z10
Initial impressions of the Z10 aren’t brilliant, as it's a fairly uninspiring black rectangle with rounded corners; the Z10 was all too often described as a "poor man's iPhone 5" during our time with the handset.
SPECS
BEST PRICE : FLIPKART , eBAY , AMAZON
PROS
- FAST. Very fast.
- Strong Specs
- Onscreen keyboard is amazing
- HDMI connection
- Camera
- Look and feel
- Browsing
- Security
CONS
- Apps limited
- Delayed US launch
- Camera average at best in low light
- Mapping solution isn't as comprehensive as Goole Maps
- Battery
VERDICT
The Z10 is a decent smartphone offering up a strong range of features and a fancy new operating system that may catch the eye of the technologically adventurous.
It does pretty much everything expected from a high-end device and there are no major flaws to go running to the presses about.
That said, the Z10 also lacks any killer selling points. It's hard to find reasons why I'd recommend this over say the iPhone 5, Sony Xperia Z or Nokia Lumia 920 - all of which are around the same price as the Z10.
The unproven operating system and severe lack of headlining applications will turn a lot of consumers off at point of sale, and it's the image of the BlackBerry brand as a whole which needs to be worked on fast if it stands a chance of winning back the hearts of the general public.
4. SONY XPERIA Z
The Xperia Z is Sony's flagship phone for this year, and continues the screen size and resolution arms race with its 5in, 1,920x1,080 display. It also has all the specifications you would expect from a high-end smartphone, including a quad-core 1.5GHz processor and a camera with a huge 13-megapixel sensor.
SPECS
- DISPLAY - TFT Capacitive Screen , 16M Colors , 1080 x 1920 pixels , 5.0 inches , Multi-touch upto 10 fingers , Shatter-Proof
- Memory - External Upto 64GB , 16GB Internal
- Data - NFC , Bluetooth , GPRS , EDGE , 3G HSPDA upto 42mbps , WLAN
- Primary Camera - 13.1 MP , 4128x3096 pixels , HDR , Sweep Panaroma , image stabillization , touch focus , Geo-tagging , LED Flash
- Secondary Camera - 2.2 MP , 1080p @30fps
- Video Camera - 1080 @ 30fos , video stabillization , HDR
- OS - Android JellyBean 4.1.2 , Upgradable to 4.2
- CPU - Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait with Qualcomm MDM9215M / APQ8064 chipset
- GPU - Adreno 320
- Sensors - Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
- GPS , RADIO , JAVA
- Battery - Li-Ion 2330 mAh battery , Stand-by upto 550hrs , Talk-Time Upto 11hrs
- Color - Black , White , Purple
- Water and Dust Resistant
PROS
- Appealing design
- Full HD screen
- Waterproof and dust-resistant
- Powerful quad-core processor
- MicroSD card slot
- Excellent camera
- Stamina Mode
- Stunning Music Quality
CONS
- Fingerprint magnet
- No Android 4.2 out of the box
- Wifi Faulty
- Battery Life
- Software Bugs
VERDICT
The Sony Xperia Z has incredible specs - from that beautiful screen, to its breathtaking design and powerful innards. It has been built on the strong heritage of the Walkman and given power users one of the things they often desperately crave - a good battery performance and top speeds.The design is robust and fits very well in the hand - and despite the fact the 5-inch screen is whopping, the way its integrated into the chassis mitigates that issue well. And when you turn on the Full HD screen, well, the clarity is almost mind-melting.
But there's always got to be a minus, and there are a few with the Sony Xperia Z. For example, the dust resistance is pretty much nothing more than words in my experience, and it does feel like a large slab in the hand.The price will still be a little high for some although we think it's probably about par for a phone of this power. Will it affect a large group of users?
There is so much to love about the Sony Xperia Z - and while there are some annoyances, they pale in comparison.
The Sony Xperia Z has a beautiful design and finally represents an Android smartphone that can be used to show iPhone owners that they're not necessarily at the top of the heap anymore.
The price is just a little too high in my opinion - but this is definately a strong contender for smartphone of the year. For now, for those who can afford it, I recommend it heartily.
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Samsung’s biggest release for a year. The Samsung Galaxy S4 will doubtless be popular but is it the best smartphone of the year, and are the new features – and there are oh, so many of them – worth having?
BEST BUY : FLIPKART , eBAY , AMAZON
The latest addition to Google’s own branded range of Nexus devices, the Google Nexus 4 is manufactured by LG but has the search giant at its core, from the full collection of pre-installed Google applications to the newly revised Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS.
BEST BUY : FLIPKART , eBAY , AMAZON
But there's always got to be a minus, and there are a few with the Sony Xperia Z. For example, the dust resistance is pretty much nothing more than words in my experience, and it does feel like a large slab in the hand.The price will still be a little high for some although we think it's probably about par for a phone of this power. Will it affect a large group of users?
There is so much to love about the Sony Xperia Z - and while there are some annoyances, they pale in comparison.
The Sony Xperia Z has a beautiful design and finally represents an Android smartphone that can be used to show iPhone owners that they're not necessarily at the top of the heap anymore.
The price is just a little too high in my opinion - but this is definately a strong contender for smartphone of the year. For now, for those who can afford it, I recommend it heartily.
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3. SAMSUNG GALAXY SIV
Samsung’s biggest release for a year. The Samsung Galaxy S4 will doubtless be popular but is it the best smartphone of the year, and are the new features – and there are oh, so many of them – worth having?
- Display - Super AMOLED capacitive screen , 16 M colors , 1080 x 1920 pixels , 5.0 inches , corning gorilla glass 3
- Memory - External Expandable upto 64 GB , Internal available in 16 , 32 & 64 GB
- Data - NFC , Bluetooth , GPRS , EDGE , 3G HSPDA upto 42mbps , WLAN , infrared port
- Primary Camera - 13MP , 4128 x 3096 , Dual Shot , Simultaneous HD video and image recording , geo-tagging, HDR
- Secondary Camera - 2 MP,1080p@30fps, dual video call
- Video Camera - 1080p@30fps, dual-video rec
- OS - Android OS , 4.2.2 Jellybean
- CPU - 1.6 ghz Quad Core Cortex A-15 with exynos 5 Octa 5410 chipset
- GPU - Power VR SGX 544 MP3
- Sensors - Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, temperature, humidity, gesture
- Battery - Li-Ion 2600 mAh battery , 317 h stand-by , 17 h talk-time with 62 h music play
- Colours - Black Mist , Frost , White
- Wireless charging , Air gestures , Smart stay, Smart pause, Smart scroll
- Micro Sim
BEST BUY : FLIPKART , eBAY , AMAZON
PROS
- Most powerful Android device we've ever tested
- Full HD resolution
- Extremely bold screen
- Good camera
- Some helpful software features
- Super Fast Quad Core
CONS
- Plastic build feels cheap
- Design is almost identical to the older S3
- Interface can be confusing
- Battery life isn't great
- 16GB model has limited space for apps
- A Little Bit Expensive
VERDICT
Make no mistake - the Samsung Galaxy S4 is far, far more than a Galaxy S3 'S' - Samsung may be copying Apple according to some people, but it's not as brazen as the Cupertino brand in flogging the exact same design with a slightly uprated processor and calling it a new phone.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 is a phone that i really, really like. The combination of powerful innards, the market's best screen and a clever design ethos all combine to make a really strong contender for the handset you should be buying when you wander into your local phone emporium.
It's slick, it's fast and it wipes the floor with the competition in so many ways. The 13MP camera is one of the best we've seen on a phone for getting that picture, with rich colours and texture the way forward.
The Galaxy S4 seemed to be a boring iteration of the S3, and i was ready to be fully nonplussed by it. But you then realise that deep in the Samsung labs they took apart the older version and then upgraded it in nearly every way, so this really is very, very good Galaxy S3 here.The screen is out of this world. Even at a lower PPI the 5-inch display dominates the competition. I love how Samsung has evened out the colour by default. It's clear, bright and vivid, and there's very little it isn't great for.
The gestures are cool, the touch-less experience amazing at times - in short, it's a wonderful phone you want to pull out of your pocket again and again and again.
The design issue is overblown, but pertinent. Yes, it's plastic, and yes, compared to the competition you wouldn't choose to spend £500 on it for the chassis.
The Galaxy S4 is a stunning smartphone that won't let you down for a variety of tasks. There's no doubt Samsung will have to make a big step forward to keep users interested with the Galaxy S5, but for now we love the S4 and would be proud to have it in our pocket.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 is a phone that i really, really like. The combination of powerful innards, the market's best screen and a clever design ethos all combine to make a really strong contender for the handset you should be buying when you wander into your local phone emporium.
It's slick, it's fast and it wipes the floor with the competition in so many ways. The 13MP camera is one of the best we've seen on a phone for getting that picture, with rich colours and texture the way forward.
The Galaxy S4 seemed to be a boring iteration of the S3, and i was ready to be fully nonplussed by it. But you then realise that deep in the Samsung labs they took apart the older version and then upgraded it in nearly every way, so this really is very, very good Galaxy S3 here.The screen is out of this world. Even at a lower PPI the 5-inch display dominates the competition. I love how Samsung has evened out the colour by default. It's clear, bright and vivid, and there's very little it isn't great for.
The gestures are cool, the touch-less experience amazing at times - in short, it's a wonderful phone you want to pull out of your pocket again and again and again.
The design issue is overblown, but pertinent. Yes, it's plastic, and yes, compared to the competition you wouldn't choose to spend £500 on it for the chassis.
The Galaxy S4 is a stunning smartphone that won't let you down for a variety of tasks. There's no doubt Samsung will have to make a big step forward to keep users interested with the Galaxy S5, but for now we love the S4 and would be proud to have it in our pocket.
2. GOOGLE NEXUS 4
The latest addition to Google’s own branded range of Nexus devices, the Google Nexus 4 is manufactured by LG but has the search giant at its core, from the full collection of pre-installed Google applications to the newly revised Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS.
- DISPLAY - True HD IPS Plus capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors , 768 x 1280 pixels, 4.7 inches with corning gorrilla glass 2
- Memory - 16 GB Internal
- Data - NFC , Bluetooth , GPRS , EDGE , 3G HSPDA upto 42mbps , WLAN
- Primary Camera - 8 MP , 3264 x 2448 pixels , photo sphere , image stabillization , touch focus , Geo-tagging , LED Flash
- Secondary Camera - 1.3 MP , 1080p @30fps
- Video Camera - 1080 @ 30fos , video stabillization
- OS - Android JellyBean 4.2 ,
- CPU - Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait with Qualcomm APQ8064 chipset
- GPU - Adreno 320
- Sensors - Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass , barometer
- Battery - Li-Po 2100 mAh battery , Stand-by upto 390hrs , Talk-Time Upto 15hrs
- Color - Black , White
BEST BUY : FLIPKART , eBAY , AMAZON
PROS
- Beautiful, elegant design
- Staggeringly low price tag
- Android 4.2
- Great Screen
- Swipe keyboard for texting/searching
- Google now
- Wireless Charging
CONS
- Camera could be improved
- Just five homescreens
- Memory not expandable
- No flash internet
- No 4G
- Slippery glass back
VERDICT
The Nexus 4 is beautifully designed with a stunning display and rocking the latest version of Android. The fact that it comes running with Android as Google intended it will please the purists, but the OS has come on leaps and bounds since its early incarnations, so no longer is it a daunting prospect for first time users.
The screen is great, the power under the hood is more than enough and it feels every inch a top-end handset - that is until you look at the price tag and get one of the most pleasant surprises known to man, value for money.
You're probably thinking now, why on earth would I NOT want this handset? And it's difficult to say as there are very few failings with the Nexus 4, but it's by no means perfect.It's not the lightest of handsets, and it is slightly crippled by the lack of removable storage. Plus, the lack of LTE makes it far from future-proof The camera is good, but it doesn't excel itself and the photo sphere feature needs more work before its true potentially can be fully realised.
The Nexus 4 comes SO close to that, it's unreal. This phone has some of the best specs around but it's not just great value, it's fantastic value. Almost too good to be true. Make no mistake – this is the best Nexus handset so far by a long shot. I love it and can't recommend it highly enough. It could seriously be a contender for our best smartphone of 2012. If you're due a new phone, you should check the Google Nexus 4 out without delay.
The screen is great, the power under the hood is more than enough and it feels every inch a top-end handset - that is until you look at the price tag and get one of the most pleasant surprises known to man, value for money.
You're probably thinking now, why on earth would I NOT want this handset? And it's difficult to say as there are very few failings with the Nexus 4, but it's by no means perfect.It's not the lightest of handsets, and it is slightly crippled by the lack of removable storage. Plus, the lack of LTE makes it far from future-proof The camera is good, but it doesn't excel itself and the photo sphere feature needs more work before its true potentially can be fully realised.
The Nexus 4 comes SO close to that, it's unreal. This phone has some of the best specs around but it's not just great value, it's fantastic value. Almost too good to be true. Make no mistake – this is the best Nexus handset so far by a long shot. I love it and can't recommend it highly enough. It could seriously be a contender for our best smartphone of 2012. If you're due a new phone, you should check the Google Nexus 4 out without delay.
1. HTC ONE
SPECS
- Display - Super LCD3 Capacitive Touch Screen , 16M colors with a 1080 x 1920 , 4.7 inches screen , Corning Gorrilla Glass 2
- Memory - 32/64GB Internal in-built , 2GB RAM
- Data - NFC , Bluetooth , GPRS , EDGE , 3G HSPDA upto 50mbps , WLAN 802.11, Micro USB , Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Primary Camera - 4 Ultra-Pixel , 2688 x 1520 pixels , LED Flash , Geo-tagging , image stabillization ,1/3'' sensor size, 2µm pixel size, simultaneous HD video and image recording , HDR
- Secondary Camera - 2.1MP , 1080p @ 30fps , HDR
- Video Camera - 1080p @ 30fps & 720p @ 60fps video stabillization , HDR , Stereo Sound
- OS - Android Jellybean 4.1.2, Upgradable to 4.2.2
- CPU - Quad core , 1.7 GHz Krait 300 with Qualcomm APQ8064T Snapdragon 600 Chipset
- GPU - Adreno 320
- Sensors - Accelerometer , gyro , proximity & compass
- GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS
- Battery - Non-Removable , Li-Po 2300 mAh battery , stand-by 480 hrs , talk-time 18 hrs
- Colours - Black , Silver , Red
- SNS integration
- HDMI port
- Beats Audio Sound Enhancement
- In-Built Dropbox with 25GB Space
- HTC SENSE 5.0
PROS
- Excellent build and ergonomics
- Fab screen
- Sense 5 is visually slick
- Great performance
- Innovative 4 Ultra pixel Camera
- Beat sound audio
- Fast load, App swapping and Good multitasking
- 802.11ac Wi-Fi support
- Metal Body
CONS
- No memory card slot
- Zoes fill up storage
- Alarm too simple
- Keyboard needs a visual refresh
- Blink Feed
VERDICT
The HTC One is the best phone the firm has made without doubt. It's got the wow-factor that made me fall in love with the HTC Desire, and manages to bring Sense back to a level that shows off the best of Android, rather than obfuscating it. The camera is a great addition for on the spot shooting - if you want to take the photos and blow them up somewhere, it's not the phone for you, but if you want to be able to snap your friends in pubs without it being a blurry, dark mess, the HTC One comes into its own. Boom Sound and HTC Zoe are both really nice additions to the handset - the former makes the sound quality really sparkle and gives the option of recording louder noises without needing to worry about distortion, which is a really key capability.
The battery life issue has been negated, although it's not gone away totally. Our only real gripe is with storage: many will argue that expandable memory slots are unnecessary when you've got Dropbox onboard for extra space, or just being organised and deleting unwanted content will solve the problem. That's true to a degree, but it's not common behaviour for today's smartphone user.There's also the issue that HTC Zoe sucks up a lot of space with the reams of photos it needs to take, not to mention how cluttered that makes the photo folder. Also, the alarm needs to be better. Come on, it's a key part of the phone HTC… put some effort in.
As i said, this is the best HTC phone ever, without a doubt. But i'll go one better than that: it's the best phone on the market full stop. I will give it the five star rating it deserves, which is a testament to the company that needed a win so badly on the smartphone front. The battery issues are severely reduced and while there are some niggles in the gallery and storage areas, the overall impression of the phone is just so good that it's easy to overlook them.
So whether it's the Ultrapixel camera that extends the range of photos you can take, or the moving photos on offer, or simply the improved speakers bolted on the front the HTC One takes the best the smartphone market has to offer and just makes it better.
The Galaxy S4 is sleeker, the Nexus 4 is cheaper , the Blackberry Z10 is a well ...... different and the Xperia Z is Outdoor Proof.. But for the overall package of smartphone design and functionality, the HTC One stands head and shoulders above the rest.
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