There are so many “smart” phones out there, it’s enough to make you feel lost. Sometimes, it’s good to get a little guidance. As we all know that this same time next year, we’ll have all new choices to be confused by! So, how do you decide?
… when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge. —Proverbs 11:21 KJV
Here are five of the best smart phones you can right now:
Samsung Galaxy S4
Offered by: AT&T, Cricket, T-Mobile, Sprint, U.S. Cellular and Verizon
Price: $99-$699
Samsung feels pretty proud about their Galaxy S4. They actually call it a “life companion.” They assure us that it will make your life “richer, simpler and more fun.” That’s a pretty list of expectations to give a phone. Still, what this phone has to offer is pretty impressive. For one, it doesn’t just take pictures, it has features tools that allow you to record a message with a photo, special editing tools and a story album. Samsung promises that you can work on your relationships with the phone too by allowing you to share just about anything you want with others and offers multiple ways to communicate with others (including talking). It also features a translator. Sadly it won’t help you understand your teenager. Finally, this phone promises to keep you organized by letting you preview your emails before opening them, it offers recommendations on everything from music to TV and allows you to sync all your personal home devices remotely.
HTC One
Offered by: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile
Price: $99-$699
The HTC One features a thin aluminum case that offers to “reshape your smartphone experience.” It features the HTC Blink Feed where all the content that is important to you is streamed live onto one screen. It too features an improved camera with great imaging tools including continuous shooting and a camera that is able to capture 300 percent more light. Finally, this phone has dual frontal speakers with their own amplifiers. Like the Galaxy 4, you’ll be able to share your music, videos, games and more. The HTC website features over 1,000 reviews – 94 percent of them from happy campers.
Apple iPhone 5
Offered by: AT&T, Cricket, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon
Price: $149-$729
Believe it or not, the Apple iPhone is up to its 5th version already. This one features a thinner design but a larger display and a faster chip. This provides you with a faster wireless connection that won’t eat your battery life faster. It features better fitting and more comfortable headphones. The impressive screen features a Retina display at 326 pixels per inch which is about 18 percent more pixels than is offered on the iPhone 4. The crazy iSight camera feature allows you to take panoramic photos like a pro. This phone offers a variety of maps to help you find where you are, and of course the famous Siri, which is like a verbal version of Google. Oh, you can make phone calls with this phone too.
Nokia Lumina 925
Offered by: T-Mobile
Price: $655
The Nokia Lumina 925 is almost more camera than phone. Like the iPhone 5, this phone’s camera offers Pure View technology that allows you to take great pictures in low light, something almost impossible with other cameras. Take as many pictures as you like, you can go back and edit the ones you don’t want later. With this camera, you can take multiple pictures and include them into one shot or, if you want to remove someone from your photo, you can do that with the special Remove Moving Object feature. Take a shot with someone not smiling? No problem, the Change Faces feature can fix that. The Lumina 925 is powered by Windows Phone 8 with all of the smart phone features you want and many more you didn’t know you did.
BlackBerry Q10
Offered by: Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint
Price: $99-$706
The BlackBerry Q10 looks the most different of these featured smart phones. Unlike most phones, this one features the classic QWERTY keyboard for those who would rather have “real” buttons to push instead of a screen. The Q10 has all the features you know and love from BlackBerry and more including its own special camera features, an “intelligent” calendar, documents to go, Adobe Reader, voice control, trusted security, BlackBerry maps and many more. BlackBerry features its own storefront of apps available to use at a moment’s notice including games, music, videos, books, magazines and more.