The six best smartphones to choose from in 2013

Over the last 12 months the question on most keen phone buyer’s lips has been Samsung Galaxy S III or iPhone (5)?  In 2013 that question has become a whole lot more complex with some of the best looking and performing smartphones about to hit our local stores.

Samsung have announced the follow up to it’s highly successful Galaxy S III – unsurprisingly called the Galaxy S4, while around the same time in your local telco store you’ll also find top notch offerings from Sony, HTC, LG and Blackberry.

All this, and we don’t even know what Apple have coming for us mid-year.

We’ve put the specifications for these six phones side by side so you can see for yourself just how hard the decision might be if you’re in the market for a new smartphone this side of Christmas.

 

	SONY Xperia Z	HTC One	LG Optimus G	Blackberry Z10	IPhone 5	Samsung Galaxy S4
Weight	146g	143g	145g	136g	112g	130g
Screen	5.0 inch	4.7 inch	4.7 inch	4.2 inch	4 inch	5 inch
Resolution	1920×1080	1920×1080	1280×728	1280×728	1136×640	1920×1080
Dimensions (h x w x d mm)	139x71x7.9	137.4×68.2×9.3	131.9×68.9×8.45	130×65.6×9	123.8×58.6×7.6	136.6×69.8×7.9
OS Ver	Android 4.1	Android 4.1	Android 4.1	Blackberry 10	iOS	Android 4.2
Cores	Quad	Quad	Quad	Dual	Dual	Quad
Talk Time	11 hours	n/a	15 hours	10 hours	8 hours	tbc
Standby Time	550 hours	n/a	335 hours	312 hours	225 hours	tbc
Camera Back	13.1	4*	13	8	8	13
Camera Front	2	2	1.3	2	1.2	2
Video Back	1080p	1080p	1080p	1080p	1080p	1080p
Video Front	1080p	1080p	tbc	720p	720p	1080p

 

You can take those “specs” and make an informed decision based just on data.  However, among the confusion of size and weight and specifications there is one thing you can’t “chart” – look and feel.

As far as EFTM is concerned the HTC One is probably the best of the bunch as far as overall look and feel goes.  This is a solidly built phone which has a feel of value and quality to it – justifying the expense or long term contract you’ll have had to sign to get that bad boy in your pocket.

The iPhone 5 still comes in as the lightest and sleekest performer.  Reliable every day and when there is an almost limitless supply of accessories on the market you’re going to be pleased when trying to add some bling to your phone.

The Sony Xperia Z is the darkhorse on the subjective front – with a stunning design and the “under the hood” technology SONY brings to the device it’s got to be on your list.

It’s strange to list the Samsung Galaxy S4 behind these devices in terms of pecking order, however this is a device that hasn’t changed in design or construction and while it’s got some solid features in both hardware and software the overall packaging still reaks of plastic and lacks a total quality feel.

Rounding out the bunch are the LG Optimus G and Blackberry Z10.  These are for those of you who want to be different.  Still outstanding devices in their own right and you’ll be happy with the purchase, the LG doesn’t stack up on the feature front and the Blackberry 10 Operating system while advanced in Blackberry terms has a long way to go on the App availability front before it can truly content with those above.

We reckon you’ll be blown away by each and every one of the above six if you can get your hands on them in your local telco store – have a good look and feel before making that important decision for your next phone or you’ll be looking over your shoulder for a long time!