Another post, another round up. This time we do a round up of the best smartphones from the year 2012. These beasts have proven themselves to the consumers and have won many hearts. Once again, if you feel that there should be a smartphone in the list which is not mentioned, then please do mention smartphone with the reason why you think it should be considered one of the very best of 2012. Again, in no particular order we have:
Samsung Galaxy S III
It comes as no surprise that the Samsung Galaxy S III makes it to the list of Best Smartphones of 2012. The SGS3 is an amazing smartphone. It comes with Samsung's new pebble design. Samsung has also moved to their Nature UI, which I admit isn't that bad. TouchWIZ has come a long way (and still has a long way to go).
The SGS3 comes with Samsung's own Exynos 4412 Quad Core chipset with four ARM Cortex A9 cores clocked at 1.4 GHz. Add the ARM Mali400 MP4 (quad core) GPU, 1 GB of RAM and a 4.8" Super AMOLED HD (1280*720) display to that super thin and light plastic body and a 2,100 mAh battery to boot. The phone currently runs on Android 4.1.2 with Samsung's newest Premium Suite on board.
HTC One X
The HTC One X is another device which cannot be ignored from such a list. Equipped with the 1.5 GHz quad core nVidia Tegra 3 chipset, the One X is powerful enough to run the demanding HTC Sense UI with relative ease. And with the latest Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean update and the new Sense update, things seem (are) flying on the HTC One X. The phone has become faster (and even benchmarks say the same thing, by an appreciable number that too).
The One X also boasts to have the (now second) best display, it's beautiful 4.7" HD SLCD2 display being praised in almost every review as the best display the reviewer has ever set sights on. The One X has an 8 MP BSI camera sensor which doesn't fail to impress as well. Lack of SD card slot is a bummer, but the One X makes up for it with 32 GB of in built storage and much more online (cloud storage). The battery is slightly on the lower side, at 1,800 mAh only. However, a new HTC One X+ smartphone fixes that with an even faster 1.7 GHz Tegra 3 chipset and 2,100 mAh battery.
LG Optimus G
The LG Optimus G is a part of the 2nd generation quad core smartphones by LG. The first generation was invariably equipped with an nVidia Tegra 3 chipset. The LG Optimus 4X HD failed to impress on many counts, only because everyone was expecting the best out of it for being one of the top tier quad core monsters. It settled for the least best quad core phone in the market, with the best price tag instead. The Optimus G fixed all of that and more. We want to talk about the brilliant HD+ display (1280*728 pixels) with a 15:9 aspect ratio that is particularly beautiful. Well done with the display LG.
The Optimus G uses the 1.5 Ghz Krait equipped Snapdragon S4 Pro quad core. Needless to say, it is the fastest smartphone in the planet (for now). The Optimus G flies everywhere. But the only thing that's bringing the whole smartphone down is the lack of updates. The smartphone, for a flagship launched this late is still stuck on Android 4.0 ICS. Unacceptable. Hopefully that changes soon. The phone does pack 32 GB of non-expandable storage, a 13 MP or 8 MP camera depending on the model, 2 GB of RAM (a first for smartphones, bar phablets) and a 2,100 mAh battery.
LG Google Nexus 4
The LG Nexus 4 is the first LG-made official Google Nexus smartphone, and it does a good job at that. Almost everything is the same, if not identical to the LG Optmius G.The only differentiating areas is the design (Nexus design), the latest vanilla Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS and the amazing $299 price tag (8 GB model). The limited internal storage is again, a killing feature (not the good one).
Google made a killer move pricing a smartphone at such a low price, and that too for the unlocked version. As a result, the phone hasn't stayed in stock for more than a few hours (hours is only for the 16 GB model) whenever it is in stock.
HTC Droid DNA
The HTC Droid DNA is a first of many. And among those many is one that has changed (or shaped) the 2013 landscape for smartphones. The Droid DNA is the first smartphone to pack a 5" Full HD display panel. That's 1920*1080 pixels spread across just 5 inches giving it an eye orgasmic 441 ppi pixel density. The display is an improvement over the SLCD2 in HTC One X. The Droid DNA comes with an SLCD3 panel and Corning Gorilla Glass 2 (many came just there).
The Droid DNA packs the same 1.5 GHz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset. The Adreno 320 GPU (despite people thinking otherwise) is able to power that monstrous resolution display (can't exactly say, with ease). The phone comes equipped with the new high end standard of 2 GB of RAM. The internal (and non-expandable) storage of just 16 GB (11 GB user accessible) is unacceptable to some. The battery is also on the lower side at just 2,020 mAh. Sad that HTC didn't complete this beautiful creation. Hopefully HTC's next Full HD equipped smartphone fixes all these little issues and more. The phone does come with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and is expected to get the 4.2 Jelly Bean update soon.
Samsung Galaxy Note II
This list couldn't possibly be complete without the Samsung Galaxy Note II. Last year, the Samsung Galaxy Note shook the world and the way they view smartphones. A new breed called phablets was born. The Note offered the best of both worlds, tablet-like functionality in a big smartphone-like dimensions. And Samsung managed to top it up with an even better Note 2. Packing a 5.5" (v/s 5.3" in the Note) display while still being almost the same dimensions, the Note II is a beast of a phone.
What happens when you mix a 5.5" Super AMOLED HD (1280*720) display, a 1.6 GHz quad core Exynos chipset, 2 GB of RAM and a capacitive stylus complete with features such as Multi View split screen multi-tasking (Samsung Premium Suite)? You get a phone that your hands (and everything else) is begging to hold, let it slide through your fingers, caress it, play with it, and obviously admire it, not to mention show it off!
The phone comes in 16 / 32 / 64 GB internal storage flavors as well as support for up to 64 GB micro SD cards. The battery is humongous at 3,100 mAh. The Note II launched with Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean and has been recently updated to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.
Samsung Galaxy S III
It comes as no surprise that the Samsung Galaxy S III makes it to the list of Best Smartphones of 2012. The SGS3 is an amazing smartphone. It comes with Samsung's new pebble design. Samsung has also moved to their Nature UI, which I admit isn't that bad. TouchWIZ has come a long way (and still has a long way to go).
The SGS3 comes with Samsung's own Exynos 4412 Quad Core chipset with four ARM Cortex A9 cores clocked at 1.4 GHz. Add the ARM Mali400 MP4 (quad core) GPU, 1 GB of RAM and a 4.8" Super AMOLED HD (1280*720) display to that super thin and light plastic body and a 2,100 mAh battery to boot. The phone currently runs on Android 4.1.2 with Samsung's newest Premium Suite on board.
HTC One X
The HTC One X is another device which cannot be ignored from such a list. Equipped with the 1.5 GHz quad core nVidia Tegra 3 chipset, the One X is powerful enough to run the demanding HTC Sense UI with relative ease. And with the latest Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean update and the new Sense update, things seem (are) flying on the HTC One X. The phone has become faster (and even benchmarks say the same thing, by an appreciable number that too).
The One X also boasts to have the (now second) best display, it's beautiful 4.7" HD SLCD2 display being praised in almost every review as the best display the reviewer has ever set sights on. The One X has an 8 MP BSI camera sensor which doesn't fail to impress as well. Lack of SD card slot is a bummer, but the One X makes up for it with 32 GB of in built storage and much more online (cloud storage). The battery is slightly on the lower side, at 1,800 mAh only. However, a new HTC One X+ smartphone fixes that with an even faster 1.7 GHz Tegra 3 chipset and 2,100 mAh battery.
LG Optimus G
The LG Optimus G is a part of the 2nd generation quad core smartphones by LG. The first generation was invariably equipped with an nVidia Tegra 3 chipset. The LG Optimus 4X HD failed to impress on many counts, only because everyone was expecting the best out of it for being one of the top tier quad core monsters. It settled for the least best quad core phone in the market, with the best price tag instead. The Optimus G fixed all of that and more. We want to talk about the brilliant HD+ display (1280*728 pixels) with a 15:9 aspect ratio that is particularly beautiful. Well done with the display LG. The Optimus G uses the 1.5 Ghz Krait equipped Snapdragon S4 Pro quad core. Needless to say, it is the fastest smartphone in the planet (for now). The Optimus G flies everywhere. But the only thing that's bringing the whole smartphone down is the lack of updates. The smartphone, for a flagship launched this late is still stuck on Android 4.0 ICS. Unacceptable. Hopefully that changes soon. The phone does pack 32 GB of non-expandable storage, a 13 MP or 8 MP camera depending on the model, 2 GB of RAM (a first for smartphones, bar phablets) and a 2,100 mAh battery.
LG Google Nexus 4The LG Nexus 4 is the first LG-made official Google Nexus smartphone, and it does a good job at that. Almost everything is the same, if not identical to the LG Optmius G.The only differentiating areas is the design (Nexus design), the latest vanilla Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS and the amazing $299 price tag (8 GB model). The limited internal storage is again, a killing feature (not the good one).
Google made a killer move pricing a smartphone at such a low price, and that too for the unlocked version. As a result, the phone hasn't stayed in stock for more than a few hours (hours is only for the 16 GB model) whenever it is in stock.
HTC Droid DNA
The HTC Droid DNA is a first of many. And among those many is one that has changed (or shaped) the 2013 landscape for smartphones. The Droid DNA is the first smartphone to pack a 5" Full HD display panel. That's 1920*1080 pixels spread across just 5 inches giving it an eye orgasmic 441 ppi pixel density. The display is an improvement over the SLCD2 in HTC One X. The Droid DNA comes with an SLCD3 panel and Corning Gorilla Glass 2 (many came just there).
The Droid DNA packs the same 1.5 GHz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset. The Adreno 320 GPU (despite people thinking otherwise) is able to power that monstrous resolution display (can't exactly say, with ease). The phone comes equipped with the new high end standard of 2 GB of RAM. The internal (and non-expandable) storage of just 16 GB (11 GB user accessible) is unacceptable to some. The battery is also on the lower side at just 2,020 mAh. Sad that HTC didn't complete this beautiful creation. Hopefully HTC's next Full HD equipped smartphone fixes all these little issues and more. The phone does come with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and is expected to get the 4.2 Jelly Bean update soon.
Samsung Galaxy Note II
This list couldn't possibly be complete without the Samsung Galaxy Note II. Last year, the Samsung Galaxy Note shook the world and the way they view smartphones. A new breed called phablets was born. The Note offered the best of both worlds, tablet-like functionality in a big smartphone-like dimensions. And Samsung managed to top it up with an even better Note 2. Packing a 5.5" (v/s 5.3" in the Note) display while still being almost the same dimensions, the Note II is a beast of a phone.
What happens when you mix a 5.5" Super AMOLED HD (1280*720) display, a 1.6 GHz quad core Exynos chipset, 2 GB of RAM and a capacitive stylus complete with features such as Multi View split screen multi-tasking (Samsung Premium Suite)? You get a phone that your hands (and everything else) is begging to hold, let it slide through your fingers, caress it, play with it, and obviously admire it, not to mention show it off!
The phone comes in 16 / 32 / 64 GB internal storage flavors as well as support for up to 64 GB micro SD cards. The battery is humongous at 3,100 mAh. The Note II launched with Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean and has been recently updated to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.
Buying a new phone? Or a tablet? Need help with something everyday-tech related? Ask me and I'm sure to help!
— Preetam Nath (@hipreetam93) April 18, 2013
— Preetam Nath (@hipreetam93) April 18, 2013