My top 5 smartphones available today
![matthew-miller](https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/resize/fc17e8c1041353fda869aa6a774cae7eff8e2b3d/2022/08/05/ee87d915-3bf6-40cb-8e7f-6112d3b322bc/matthew-miller.jpg?auto=webp&fit=crop&frame=1&height=192&width=192)
I posted my Top 10 smartphones of 2011… for now article last week and received some great feedback from readers. Looking back on that post, I agree now with many readers that I should have only let phones that were available or known to be coming in a week or two on the list since devices like the Palm Pre 3 may not be available for months. This current top 5 list below only has phones that are available now and ones that I honestly do think are worthy of consideration.
Number 1: HTC ThunderBolt
![thunderbolt.png](https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/2014/10/03/86437312-4b2c-11e4-b6a0-d4ae52e95e57/thunderbolt.png)
Others have confirmed some of my ThunderBolt experiences too and agree that the device is very fast and responsive, even though it just has a second generation single-core Snapdragon processor. The display is also excellent and I watched a couple of movies last week with the rock solid kickstand propping it up. The battery life is not very good on 4G, but easily goes more than a day on 3G.
I am making a major commitment and keeping the HTC ThunderBolt on a Verizon line while I have a T-Mobile family plan for my standard needs. The ThunderBolt is one of the most capable devices today and if you have a need for speed there is currently nothing else like it.
Number 2: Dell Venue Pro
Number 3: Nokia N8
If photos are important to you then you will not find a better camera phone available. The aluminum body comes in five cool colors and unlike many smartphones today, you will actually experience top notch phone calls and RF reception. You also cannot overlook the amazing FREE Ovi Maps support that gives you free offline navigation around the world.
Number 4: Apple iPhone 4
Number 5: Motorola Atrix 4G
There is also unique docking accessories for the Atrix 4G so you could turn it into a netbook device if you wanted to try to work on a bigger display on the go. If AT&T had a network that provided faster speeds then this would be rated higher, but their current network is almost laughable when comparing with Verizon or T-Mobile.
Final thoughts on these top 5
So, there's my current list of favorites that are available now. I would add other Windows Phone 7 devices like the Samsung Focus (AT&T) and HTC Arrive (Sprint) if you are on those carriers and want a Windows Phone 7 device too. The HTC EVO 4G on Sprint is also still a great device that closely matches what we see in the ThunderBolt.[poll id="21"]