Top 5 Smartphones For The Holidays

        As promised, what you are about to read is the official smartphone guide for holiday buying. This could mean a variety of things, such as buying for friends, family, or even bringing your most selfish attributes forward and buying for your own conceited self. In this bull-free guide, I will personally guide you through the beautiful process of picking out your very first (or very 367th) smartphone by highlighting the pros and cons of my top five holidays picks. Shall we begin?

 

5) Apple iPhone 5

        No smartphone tech guide would be complete without the mentioning of an Apple product. Apple brought us the iPhone in 2008, making the smartphone "hip", bringing us simple applications, and even providing us with the concept of potentially replacing our desktop PCs with handheld, pocket-protected calling devices, and we haven't looked back since. While Apple may have been the inventor, and possibly the original innovator, they have failed to develop many new ideas since the invention of Siri, and customers are forced to wait an entire year before being given the opportunity to see any new product of Apple's in the form of a smartphone. The iPhone 5 may have brought us new iPhone-related hardware, but the handset's release has only been Apple's next step in the ultimate game of catch-up. 

Price: $199 (Apple.com) 

Pros:

-iOS 6 uses a simple, familiar interface

-The iPhone 5 has a longer, sleeker display

-Specs have improved in the fifth iteration iPhone

Cons:

-Native maps application has become worse

-Processors still haven't caught up with Galaxy S III

-Still not 720p resolution

-iOS 6 doesn't allow for the same complex usage as Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

4) Droid Razr Maxx HD

        I've always felt indifferent about Motorola's Droid lineup of smartphones, mostly due to their original launch in 2009 being promoted as an iPhone-alternative. No, not the superior to the iPhone, but an alternative to the iPhone since at the time, Verizon didn't carry Apple's revolutionary handset. During this time period, many people I knew began to purchase the original Droid and eventually, the Droid 2.
        Upon using these devices for myself, I realized that Motorola's iPhone competitor felt cheap, still held on to a clunky physical keyboard, and left iPhone users feeling even better than before. People who had the Droid loved it, mostly because they didn't have AT&T, and therefore, couldn't buy an iPhone. Over the years, Motorola has improved on the Star Wars derived Droid to the point where I've placed it ahead of Apple's latest iPhone installment. That, my friends, is what you call progress.

Price: $149.99 (AmazonWireless)

Pros:

-Full HD screen

-3,300 mAh Li-Ion battery

-As powerful as Samsung Galaxy S III

-I'm-a-geek-but-I-can-still-be-hip-styled look

-NFC capabilities

-Will be upgradeable to 4.1 Jelly Bean at some point

-Expandable storage support

Cons:

-Still running ye olde Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
-More costly than the more up-to-date Samsung Galaxy S III

3) Samsung Galaxy S III

        The Korean tech-maker is the latest trend in the smartphone industry and it's not hard to see why: Samsung has a vast lineup of 4G smartphones created with the crazy idea that "different people want different things" in mind. The Samsung Galaxy S III, while the trendiest of Samsung's lineup offers logical reason for its trendiness.

Price: $124.99 (AmazonWireless)

Pros:

-Stunning 4.8" 720p display with unique look/feel

-Beautiful 8 MP camera with 1080p video capability

-Able to update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean right out of the box

-Stocked with processors better than that of the newer iPhone 5

-Samsung Galaxy S III 2 GB RAM = (iPhone 5 1 GB RAM) x 2

Cons:

-Still stocked with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

-May be too bulky for some users

2) Samsung Galaxy Note II

 

        This choice may have been a controversial decision due to the common confusion among consumers on what the Galaxy Note II actually is, and what the Galaxy Note was for that matter. To clear this confusion, let me begin by saying the Galaxy Note II is a smartphone-tablet hybrid device that serves the primary purpose of creating a universal go-to device for any smartphone, tablet, or possibly even PC-required occasion. The Galaxy Note II may be pricey, but carries specs better than most other smartphones and even a handful of tablet PCs and comes stocked with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, far surpassing that of the Galaxy S III.

Price: $279.99 (Wirefly.com)

Pros:

-Lavishing 5.55-inch screen with a 720p display

-1.6 GHz quad-core processor with 2 GB RAM

-S-Pen hover is innovative

-Stocked with Android 4.1.1

Cons:

-Some users may find it to be inconvenient

-More expensive than most of its competitors, including the larger Nexus 7

-No Android 4.2 Jelly Bean yet

1) Google/LG Nexus 4

       

        Yet another controversial choice, the Nexus 4 is only available from T-Mobile at the moment or unlocked if bought directly from Google's Play Store. While this may be a problem for most consumers, ecstatic T-Mobile users will find this to be a great catch for the smaller cell phone carrier. The Nexus 4 is the fourth Nexus-branded smartphone available directly from Google and was built in cooperation with LG. At the perfect size and carrying Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the Nexus 4 is, in my opinion, the best smartphone on the market and will hopefully make its way over to other carriers at some point in time. (Hopefully around the same time that I become eligible for a two-year upgrade!)

Price: $299 (Google Play)

Pros:

-Comes stocked with the new Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

-1.5 GHz quad-core processor on a 4.7-inch display

-High-res 768p (320 ppi) Gorilla Glass 2 display

-Stylish and unique

Cons:

-Only available from T-Mobile

-LTE support is only available through modifying device settings