I have a confession to make. While everyone around me has joined the 21st century with a phone capable of connecting to the internet, giving directions, identifying songs, remotely turning on a car, and slinging birds at pigs - I have a phone that makes calls and sends text messages - when it feels like it. I have a very stupid phone. But with Christmas coming and family members harassing me for gift ideas, it might be time for an upgrade. The smartphone market is fairly expansive and can be daunting, but there are a couple smartphones that definitely stand out. These three are at the top of my list:
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
While the release date of the Galaxy Nexus keeps getting pushed back, this phone is still cool enough to make me wait. The Galaxy Nexus runs on the new Android 4.0, a.k.a. Ice Cream Sandwich. Beyond the novelty of the name, Ice Cream Sandwich brings a lot to this phone, like fast browsing capabilities that sync to all of your Google settings (and even reset everything for you if you lose or replace your phone) and tremendous control of the display that you can change with just a swipe of your finger. It has a 4.65” HD Super AMOLED screen and there aren’t any fixed buttons, so videos and pictures turn out great and use the screen to its full potential.
Ice Cream Sandwich also adds some very cool new features including a great camera that has the ability to take panoramic pictures and quality videos. It also lets you dictate emails or texts and share information with other Galaxy Nexus users just by having the phones in the same area. My final plug for this phone? You can set it up to recognize your face and unlock only for you. There’s nothing like pretending you’re a spy before sending a text!
Apple iPhone 4S
While the iPhone has been out for a while, and the 4S has gotten plenty of publicity, I still find Apple’s latest reinvention really cool. It's smaller than the Galaxy Nexus, with a 3.5” screen with retina display; the picture is very clear - as clear as what the human eye can see. It also has a dual core A5 chip that allows for faster loading of pages and, even better, it's battery-efficient so you don’t spend all your time looking for a way to charge the phone.
Probably the coolest part of the iPhone 4S is Siri, Apple’s “intelligent assistant.” You talk to Siri, and Siri does what you want. Need to know the weather or be reminded about a meeting? You don’t need to search for the weather report or fumble around for your calendar; Siri understands what you’re saying and delivers. What I’m most excited about? Asking her “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck?” to see what she says.
Motorola Droid 4
Droid’s Razr just came out last month, but the Droid 4 will be rolling out within the next couple of weeks. While the Razr and the Droid 4 seem very similar, the Droid 4’s features are cool enough to make the overlap okay. It boasts a 1GB RAM and a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor that, combined with Verizon’s 4G LTE connection, means that you get an extremely fast and powerful user experience. The 4” display allows you to take advantage of “Motocast,” Motorola’s way to let you remotely stream or download pictures, music, etc., from your computer.
For me personally, there are two big selling points for the Droid 4. First is the scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass screen and water-repellent nanocoating that protects it from spills. For those of you who don’t constantly drop your phone, my second selling point is the 5-row physical keyboard. While most other smartphones have virtual keyboards which can be temperamental, the Droid provides an alternative to the iPhone and Galaxy Nexus’ touch screen.
Galaxy Nexus picture courtesy of: http://www.google.com/nexus/#/gallery
iPhone 4S picture courtesy of: http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html
Droid 4 picture courtesy of: http://www.droid-life.com/2011/11/26/droid-4-vs-droid-razr-the-evolution-of-droid-specs-and-official-pictures/
