By NDTV Correspondent | Updated: 29 December 2012 14:43 IST
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2012 was an eventful year for the smartphone world. It's time to pick the phone you think is worthy to be called Last Phone Standing.
Apple iPhone 5 Launched earlier this year, Apple's latest smartphone, the iPhone 5 improves upon its predecessor. The device sports an aluminium body with a bigger 4-inch Retina display screen packing in 1136x640 pixels. It comes with an 8-megapixel iSight camera with LED flash and a 1.2MP front camera as well. The smartphone comes with iOS 6 in Black and White variants and 16/32/64 GB capacities. It is powered by an A6 chip, has 1GB RAM and this year Apple has also introduced a new Lightning connector on the device replacing the earlier universal dock connector. Also, the micro-SIM has been replaced with a nano-SIM slot.
HTC 8X The Windows Phone 8-based HTC 8X sports a 4.3-inch 720p Super LCD 2 display coated with Gorilla Glass. It features an 8-megapixel CMOS sensor with backside-illumination (BSI) for improved low-light performance, along with an f/2.0 aperture, 28mm lens and a dedicated imaging chip. The front camera is a 2.1MP with f/2.0 aperture and 88 degree ultra-wide angle lens, which also allows for high-definition video capture. It is powered by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor with 1GB RAM and has 16GB internal storage with no expansion options. Available in California Blue and Graphite Black, the HTC 8X is also the first Windows Phone with Beats Audio technology and an audio amplifier.
HTC One X+ A successor to the HTC One X, the One X+ boasts slightly higher specs than its predecessor. The smartphone features a 4.7-inch Super LCD2 capacitive touchscreen with 720x1280 pixels. The phone comes with the same 8-megapixel rear camera that shipped with the HTC One X. But now includes a beefed-up 1.6-megapixel front-facing camera. The device is powered by a 1.7 GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 AP37 processor with 1GB RAM. It is available in 32/64GB storage options. It is the first device in the HTC One series to come with the new Sense 4+ UI that boasts many new features like HTC Get Started, HTC Watch 2.0, improvements to camera and gallery apps and more. Other improvements include a bigger, 2100mAh battery that, according to HTC, offers 50% more talk time than the One X.
LG Google Nexus 4 The Google Nexus 4 phone boasts a 4.7-inch HD IPS Plus capacitive touch screen, larger than Apple's iPhone 5 and just slightly smaller than Samsung's flagship phone, the Galaxy S III. It supports a 1280 x 768 pixel resolution (320 ppi). The smartphone has an 8-megapixel autofocus rear shooter with LED flash and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera as well. Running on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, the device comes in 8GB/16GB storage options. On the inside, the Nexus 4 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with 2GB RAM.
LG Optimus 4X HD As the first Tegra 3 powered smartphone, the LG Optimus 4X HD comes with a 4.7-inch IPS True HD display supporting 1280x720 pixel resolution. It has an 8MP BSI (Backside Illuminator) camera and a 1.3-megapixel. The device is powered by a 1.5GHz quad core Tegra 3 chip with 1 GB RAM and features 4-plus-1 technology. It comes with 16GB internal storage.
Nokia 808 PureView The Nokia 808 PureView generated a lot of hype this year being dubbed as the 41-megapixel camera phone. Apart from that, the device has a 4-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen coated with Gorilla glass and supporting 640x360 pixel resolution. The camera on the device operates in two different modes. The first one is the full-resolution mode, where you can click 38-megapixel or 34-megapixel pictures. But you can also click photographs in 2-megapixel, 3-megapixel, 5-megapixel and 8-megapixel effective resolutions. The hardware specs of the smartphone may not appeal to everyone. The Nokia 808 PureView is powered by a 1.3GHz, single-core ARM11 processor. It comes with 512MB RAM and 16GB internal storage.
Nokia Lumia 920 Nokia announced two new Lumia phones this year. The Lumia 920 is the company's latest flagship smartphone with some impressive specs. Powered by Windows Phone 8 OS, the device has a 4.5-inch PureMotion HD+WXGA (1280x768) IPS LCD screen with ClearBlack technology. Underneath, the smartphone features a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor with 1GB RAM and comes with 32GB of on-board storage. The camera seems to be the main highlight of the device incorporating PureView technology. The device comes with an 8.7-megapixel sensor with advanced optical imaging stabilization. Another interesting feature in the Lumia 920 is wireless charging. The smartphone supports the Qi wireless charging standard.
Samsung Galaxy Note II Just like the original Note device, the Samsung Galaxy Note II is also a smartphone-tablet hybrid. Running on Android Jelly Bean, it sports a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD display with 720 x 1280 pixel resolution. The phablet comes with an 8-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash. Under the hood, it is powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core Cortex A9 processor with 2GB RAM. It has 16GB internal storage expandable up to 64 GB via microSD card. Available in Marble White and Titanium Grey colours, the device boasts new features like Air View, Popup Note, Quick Command, Screen Recorder, Easy Clip and Idea Visualizer.
Samsung Galaxy S III Touted as Samsung's current flagship device, the Galaxy S III sports a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED 720p display. Running on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, it has an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera. While both front and rear camera in the smartphone feature a zero-lag shutter speed, the rear camera also comes with the 'Burst shot' function that instantly captures twenty continuous shots. It is powered by the company's proprietary Exynos 4 Quad processor clocking in at 1.4GHz. Available in Marble White and Pebble Blue colours, it has 1GB RAM and comes in 16/32/64 GB storage options. The company has made many additions to the TouchWiz UI and introduced features like S-Beam and Pop Up Play.
Sony Xperia S Sony Xperia S is the first product from newly formed Sony Mobile division after the company bought out Ericsson's stake in Sony Ericsson. The smartphone not only looks beautiful in design but comes with some some big upgrades from last-years' models. It features a 4.3 inch Reality display with 1280x720p resolution. It comes with a huge 12.1-megapixel rear camera f2.4 aperture and 1080p video recording support. There's a front 1.3-megapixel one as well. The smartphone is powered by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm dual-core processor with 1GB RAM and has 32GB of internal storage. The biggest disadvantage about this phone was that it came with Android Gingerbread out of the box which seemed pretty outdated at the time. But now the Jelly Bean update for this device is expected soon.