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Topic: Android

Best Android-powered smartphones (November 2012 edition)

Summary: A tour of the best Android smartphones currently available on the market.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

By for Hardware 2.0 |

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Google Nexus 4

Google Nexus 4

The Nexus 4 is the smartphone that Google thinks Android should be loaded on.

One of the downsides to the Nexus 4 is that it doesn't come with LTE support despite having a supporting integrated modem. According to LG , the manufacturer of the Nexus 4, the LTE modem requires a signal amplifier and filter to work, and these components have been omitted to keep the cost of the handset down.

Despite this, the Nexus 4 is a solid, well-made Android handset.

  • Jelly Bean (Android 4.2)
  • 1.5 GHz quad-core Krait processor
  • 4.7-inch WXGA IPS display
  • 8MP rear camera
  • 1.3MP front camera
  • 8/16GB internal storage

Image source: Google.

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Topics: Android, Google, Hardware, Mobile OS, Mobility, Security, Smartphones

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18 comments
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  • Not quite finished?

    Is this a work in progress, Adrian?
    M.R. Kennedy
    Reply Vote

    • Of course it is

      Three HTC ones, Three Maxxs, one nexus, one note and two SIII are pictured. LOL
      LarsDennert
      Reply Vote

  • Sure hope the Razr Maxx HD is better...

    ...than the Razr Maxx I have right now. Gone through two of these in the past two months...and number three is about to go back.

    First, it was constant dropping of BOTH the cell & data signals nearly everytime I tired to use the phone. Then with the second one, it was constant crashes throughout the day. Now, number three is not only crashing a couple of times a day, but it also freezes occasionally.

    Not amusing at all.
    It'sNotMe
    Reply Vote

    • Funny. Mine's runs like a dream.

      The only problem I've ever had is the touch sensing going crazy when it's plugged in, but that's probably my fault for using an Amazon Kindle charger on it.
      T1Oracle
      Reply Vote

  • Best Smartphones Full Stop

    That the best smartphones will be "Android" phones nowadays goes without saying. Android has become the standard that the competitors are trying, unsuccessfully, to beat.
    ldo17
    Reply Vote

    • yeah

      Why does all these articles say "best Android smartphone" instead of "best smartphone"? They're always careful to word them to not include iPhone...as if Apple is going to make a call to fire the writers if they don't.
      trob6969
      Reply 1 Vote

  • Need to Update this....

    The Droid DNA is out now. Best of the Best!
    rfarrah@...
    Reply Vote

  • Note 2 is awesome!

    Went from my iPhone 3GS to the Note2, I enjoyed my time spend on the iPhone, but wow, the Note2 is just so much better. It was a choice between iPhone 5 and the Note2, and I made the right decision! In fact, I liked it so much I bought my wife the Note 10.1.
    nicopretorius
    Reply 1 Vote

    • Glad to hear!

      I'm sure if many of the other iphone users took the blinders off they would be pleasantly surprised with some of these newer Android devices. Give it a shot iphoners!
      SteveWojo
      Reply 1 Vote

    • Note II

      I made the switch as well from 3GS to Note II and no regrets at all. All my pics, itunes stuff went over without any problems. The Note and Jelly Bean are leaps ahead of Apple.
      Bradish@...
      Reply 1 Vote

    • Note 2 is awesome!

      nicopretoriys, you said the Note2 is so much better than the iPhone. Why is that, for you?
      lwr32
      Reply Vote

  • Jelly Bean upgrade

    Got my S3 first of July. It upgraded to Jelly Bean about a month ago...I love it!!
    ltlgeneral64
    Reply Vote

  • Apple & Microsoft

    If Adrian was to make a top 5 list of all smartphones, he probably would have included at least the iPhone 5 and maybe even a Windows phone (but, unfortunately for RIMM, probably not a Blackberry). I'm glad he limited it to Android, since there are so many of them it is hard to know what's what any more, with all of the codes and letters they put after their names to differentiate them. With Apple the choices are simple, and with Windows, there aren't enough of them to totally confuse the public yet, but that will probably change soon enough too.
    reasonableman
    Reply Vote

  • It's fine and all but......

    Ultimately we got the neutered version of this phone in NA, I'm fine with my unlocked and rooted HTC Rezound. Minus the screen, it stands toe-to-toe with the SGIII.
    JohnGalt_
    Reply Vote

  • comparison sheet

    That topic is always from interest and could be done quarterly. I'd like to see a final table sheet to compare all at once, plus some price tag.
    stephanv
    Reply Vote

  • Update

    Wasn't the HTC One X+ released at the time of writing this article?
    By all of the accounts I've read this is a real competitor with the SGS3 for the top android smartphone accolade!
    I'd like to see a side by side comparison as I am due to upgrade and would like to make the most informed decision I can.
    G3R5
    Reply Vote

    • i9305

      It looks as though the information in the article hasn't been updated for quite a while. Hasn't the i9305 variant of the SIII been out for a couple of months now, with quad core processor and LTE? Or is it not available in north America?
      DJL64
      Reply Vote

  • It's winner !!!!!

    I am sure that it will winner for smartphone of the year. it's amazing smartphone and ruling till now !!!!!

    Samsung Galaxy S3
    johnbiber
    Reply Vote
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