By: Aseem Gaurav on June 28, 2012
Smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S III, Apple iPhone 4S and HTC One X are becoming a growing obsession among people who want the very best in mobile communications for them. Such is the craze that according to a new study nearly half of the Americans now own a smartphone – mobile devices that allow users to browse the web, check email, and use thousands of apps. Nearly everyone — including men and women, younger and middle-aged adults, urban and rural residents, and the wealthy and not wealthy — are showing affection towards smartphone, thus slowly pushing basic feature phones out of the market. Here’s our list of top five smartphones that will help you decide which smartphone may be the best one for you.
1. Samsung Galaxy S III: This is Samsung's latest and greatest smartphone that clearly stands out because of its outstanding features and a promise of quality and experience that is hard to emulate. The phone is selling like a hotcake and if Samsung’s figures are to go by: the company expects to ship 10 million Galaxy S III by the end of July. Galaxy S III, which runs on Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), competes strongly against any other smartphone in the market. The phone has a 4.8-inch screen and comes with a resolution of 1280 pixels by 720 pixels, an 8MP camera with 1080p video-capture capability and starts at $200 with a two-year contract for the 16GB model. The phone also features eye-recognition technology that keeps the screen from dimming and has voice command functions that let users schedule an alarm or adjust volume by speaking to their device. Although, the S III is an Android 4.0 phone, it has a TouchWiz skin stuck on top of it – meaning besides Android-style clutter of widgets and menus, you can have Samsung-only twists. The phone also comes with NFC-friendly feature called S Beam. It is similar to Android Beam but functions over a greater distance, allowing users to share content in seconds without a WiFi or cell signal. The Korean handset maker has also added its own digital assistant called S Voice to SIII, which is essentially a Siri competitor, and allows you to make commands with your voice. One of the best features of Galaxy SIII is Smart Stay: which is designed to sense your gestures. It means when you’re looking at it, the screen refuses to timeout and so you don’t need to hit its 'no activity' button. Another interesting feature is Pop up Play function that lets you watch windowed HD video on top of another application – meaning you can read an e-mail even while watching the video. Last but not the least is the 'Best photo' feature that picks the best photo when you take pictures in rapid succession.
2. Apple iPhone 4S: iPhone 4S is simply a hard to put down smartphone and beware it can be extremely addictive. It features the same dual-core A5 processor as seen in the iPad 2 with a seven time increase in graphical processing power. The camera has also been upgraded to 8MP (with an improved aperture ratio) as compared to its predecessor, iPhone 4. The handset comes with GSM and CDMA compatibility, which means that the same phone will work on both kinds of networks. It has got two antennas which work independently, to improve call quality and reliability. One of the most powerful features of the amazing iPhone is its 8 megapixel camera that shoots pics at 3264 x 2448 resolution and is equipped with a fast f/2.4 lens (meaning it performs better in freezing motion). The iPhone can record video in full 1080p HD quality along with image stabilization and temporal noise reduction. In terms of battery life, the company promises 8 hours of 3G talk time, 6 hours of 3G browsing, and up to 10 hours of video/40 hours of music. Although iPhone 4S has many other unique features, none is compared to voice-activated virtual personal assistant called Siri. This digital assistant can be used to ask time, placing calls, about weather, compose and send messages, and hand out directions and recommendations. One of the reasons for Siri’s popularity is that it has not only got the attitude to entertain you, but also the brains to serve you.
3. HTC One X: It is one of the best smartphones from HTC. The handset is powered by a powerful 1.5GHz quad-core processor that offers amazing experience in gaming, web browsing and streaming video. It’s a handsome handset which comes with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Android. The phone features an 8MP/1080p camera complete with wide-angle lens, which means that you can click amazing photos even in low light. And in continuous shot mode, you can capture multiple shots and with onscreen dual capture buttons you can take a snapshot whilst recording video. One of the strong points of HTC One X is its battery life, which gives a good 12 hours of power usage. To ensure studio quality sound, the handset uses Dr Dre Beats Audio software and hardware. Besides 32GB of built-in storage capacity, you can also get access to 25GB of free Cloud storage from Dropbox. This means you never have to delete anything to make space for other things. Other significant features include: NFC, DLNA, Bluetooth 3, Wi-Fi N, 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB with MHL.
4. Samsung Galaxy Note: The Samsung Galaxy Note is a phone/ tablet hybrid. Its 5.3-inch HD screen, the functionality of which is enhanced by a stylus pen included with the device, makes it ideal for showcasing multimedia. It has 16GB of internal storage (expandable to 32GB with SD memory card), weighs 6.45 ounces, and features Gingerbread version of Android. With 146.85 x 82.95 x 9.65 mm dimensions, it is fairly light weight at 178g. The Samsung Galaxy Note runs on the dual core 1.4 GHz ARM Cortex A9 processor which is the same processing power that has been used in Samsung Galaxy S II. The handset comes with 8 mega pixel rear camera and 2 mega pixel front facing camera. The S2's Super AMOLED Plus screen makes colours look vibrant and sharp, and makes it a good option for watching movies, and reading e-books. The photos shot by the phone’s camera are crisp and video play back is smooth. For navigation, it comes with TouchWiz, Samsung's custom interface that rides over Gingerbread. The handset also comes with 1 GB of RAM and two variants of 16 GB and 32 GB as the internal storage capacity.
5. Nokia Lumia 900: Nokia’s Lumia 900 is a beautiful phone, matched with the Windows 7.5 Mango software and strong build. The Lumia 900, third in Nokia’s Lumia series, is powered by a single-core, 1.4-GHz Qualcomm APQ8055 processor which means that the phone is fast in everything from streaming videos, playing games, composing e-mails to apps. The 900 features a 4.3-inch, 800-by-480 pixel AMOLED ClearBlack display that brings vibrancy in color and sharpness in detail. Lumia 900 comes with a 8-megapixel camera, at 3264 x 2448 pixels of resolution and includes features like autofocus, geo-tagging, dual LED flash and 720p video capture. Lumia’s 7.5 Mango software allows users to make dynamic Live Tile Information, Facebook-events integrated calendar, threaded email conversations support, visual voicemail, Outlook tasks support and Twitter and LinkedIn integration in the People hub. Other important features of the software are: turn-by-turn Bing Maps navigation with voice guidance, Skydrive, Microsoft Lync support, animated picture tiles, Shazam-like audio recognition, and Zune SmartDJ multimedia mix support. Lumia 900 will soon receive an update of Windows Phone 7.8. Further, the phone comes with 16GB of storage space for apps, music, video, and photos and isn’t expandable via microSD. Overall, Windows gives a breath of fresh air in these iOS and Android-dominated times. Features like bold tiles-based home screen and panoramic menus, gives you something new and exciting.
Smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S III, Apple iPhone 4S and HTC One X are becoming a growing obsession among people who want the very best in mobile communications for them. Such is the craze that according to a new study nearly half of the Americans now own a smartphone – mobile devices that allow users to browse the web, check email, and use thousands of apps. Nearly everyone — including men and women, younger and middle-aged adults, urban and rural residents, and the wealthy and not wealthy — are showing affection towards smartphone, thus slowly pushing basic feature phones out of the market. Here’s our list of top five smartphones that will help you decide which smartphone may be the best one for you.
1. Samsung Galaxy S III: This is Samsung's latest and greatest smartphone that clearly stands out because of its outstanding features and a promise of quality and experience that is hard to emulate. The phone is selling like a hotcake and if Samsung’s figures are to go by: the company expects to ship 10 million Galaxy S III by the end of July. Galaxy S III, which runs on Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), competes strongly against any other smartphone in the market. The phone has a 4.8-inch screen and comes with a resolution of 1280 pixels by 720 pixels, an 8MP camera with 1080p video-capture capability and starts at $200 with a two-year contract for the 16GB model. The phone also features eye-recognition technology that keeps the screen from dimming and has voice command functions that let users schedule an alarm or adjust volume by speaking to their device. Although, the S III is an Android 4.0 phone, it has a TouchWiz skin stuck on top of it – meaning besides Android-style clutter of widgets and menus, you can have Samsung-only twists. The phone also comes with NFC-friendly feature called S Beam. It is similar to Android Beam but functions over a greater distance, allowing users to share content in seconds without a WiFi or cell signal. The Korean handset maker has also added its own digital assistant called S Voice to SIII, which is essentially a Siri competitor, and allows you to make commands with your voice. One of the best features of Galaxy SIII is Smart Stay: which is designed to sense your gestures. It means when you’re looking at it, the screen refuses to timeout and so you don’t need to hit its 'no activity' button. Another interesting feature is Pop up Play function that lets you watch windowed HD video on top of another application – meaning you can read an e-mail even while watching the video. Last but not the least is the 'Best photo' feature that picks the best photo when you take pictures in rapid succession.
2. Apple iPhone 4S: iPhone 4S is simply a hard to put down smartphone and beware it can be extremely addictive. It features the same dual-core A5 processor as seen in the iPad 2 with a seven time increase in graphical processing power. The camera has also been upgraded to 8MP (with an improved aperture ratio) as compared to its predecessor, iPhone 4. The handset comes with GSM and CDMA compatibility, which means that the same phone will work on both kinds of networks. It has got two antennas which work independently, to improve call quality and reliability. One of the most powerful features of the amazing iPhone is its 8 megapixel camera that shoots pics at 3264 x 2448 resolution and is equipped with a fast f/2.4 lens (meaning it performs better in freezing motion). The iPhone can record video in full 1080p HD quality along with image stabilization and temporal noise reduction. In terms of battery life, the company promises 8 hours of 3G talk time, 6 hours of 3G browsing, and up to 10 hours of video/40 hours of music. Although iPhone 4S has many other unique features, none is compared to voice-activated virtual personal assistant called Siri. This digital assistant can be used to ask time, placing calls, about weather, compose and send messages, and hand out directions and recommendations. One of the reasons for Siri’s popularity is that it has not only got the attitude to entertain you, but also the brains to serve you.
3. HTC One X: It is one of the best smartphones from HTC. The handset is powered by a powerful 1.5GHz quad-core processor that offers amazing experience in gaming, web browsing and streaming video. It’s a handsome handset which comes with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Android. The phone features an 8MP/1080p camera complete with wide-angle lens, which means that you can click amazing photos even in low light. And in continuous shot mode, you can capture multiple shots and with onscreen dual capture buttons you can take a snapshot whilst recording video. One of the strong points of HTC One X is its battery life, which gives a good 12 hours of power usage. To ensure studio quality sound, the handset uses Dr Dre Beats Audio software and hardware. Besides 32GB of built-in storage capacity, you can also get access to 25GB of free Cloud storage from Dropbox. This means you never have to delete anything to make space for other things. Other significant features include: NFC, DLNA, Bluetooth 3, Wi-Fi N, 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB with MHL.
4. Samsung Galaxy Note: The Samsung Galaxy Note is a phone/ tablet hybrid. Its 5.3-inch HD screen, the functionality of which is enhanced by a stylus pen included with the device, makes it ideal for showcasing multimedia. It has 16GB of internal storage (expandable to 32GB with SD memory card), weighs 6.45 ounces, and features Gingerbread version of Android. With 146.85 x 82.95 x 9.65 mm dimensions, it is fairly light weight at 178g. The Samsung Galaxy Note runs on the dual core 1.4 GHz ARM Cortex A9 processor which is the same processing power that has been used in Samsung Galaxy S II. The handset comes with 8 mega pixel rear camera and 2 mega pixel front facing camera. The S2's Super AMOLED Plus screen makes colours look vibrant and sharp, and makes it a good option for watching movies, and reading e-books. The photos shot by the phone’s camera are crisp and video play back is smooth. For navigation, it comes with TouchWiz, Samsung's custom interface that rides over Gingerbread. The handset also comes with 1 GB of RAM and two variants of 16 GB and 32 GB as the internal storage capacity.
5. Nokia Lumia 900: Nokia’s Lumia 900 is a beautiful phone, matched with the Windows 7.5 Mango software and strong build. The Lumia 900, third in Nokia’s Lumia series, is powered by a single-core, 1.4-GHz Qualcomm APQ8055 processor which means that the phone is fast in everything from streaming videos, playing games, composing e-mails to apps. The 900 features a 4.3-inch, 800-by-480 pixel AMOLED ClearBlack display that brings vibrancy in color and sharpness in detail. Lumia 900 comes with a 8-megapixel camera, at 3264 x 2448 pixels of resolution and includes features like autofocus, geo-tagging, dual LED flash and 720p video capture. Lumia’s 7.5 Mango software allows users to make dynamic Live Tile Information, Facebook-events integrated calendar, threaded email conversations support, visual voicemail, Outlook tasks support and Twitter and LinkedIn integration in the People hub. Other important features of the software are: turn-by-turn Bing Maps navigation with voice guidance, Skydrive, Microsoft Lync support, animated picture tiles, Shazam-like audio recognition, and Zune SmartDJ multimedia mix support. Lumia 900 will soon receive an update of Windows Phone 7.8. Further, the phone comes with 16GB of storage space for apps, music, video, and photos and isn’t expandable via microSD. Overall, Windows gives a breath of fresh air in these iOS and Android-dominated times. Features like bold tiles-based home screen and panoramic menus, gives you something new and exciting.
