Price: $560
Score: 4/5
A promising debut for Huawei the smartphone
big league, the P1 is a solid performer in every department. The dual-core
processor keeps Ice Cream Sandwich ticking along nicely and the 8MP camera is
impressive, but it just lacks a sparkling standout feature.
Huawei
Ascend P1
HTC Radar
Price: $319
Score: 4/5
Fancy Windows Phone 7 but can’t stretch to
the Nokia Lumia 800? This Unibody bargain blower could be your match. It has a
rich, 800 x 480 screen, a speedy 1Ghz processor and a generous helping of HTC
apps and widgets to brighten your day.
HTC
Radar
Samsung Galaxy Note
Price: $622
Score: 4/5
The 5.3in Galaxy Note ousts the HTC Titan
from out Top 10 to become our favorite phone-tablet. Its 1280 x 800 screen is a
joy for gaming, while the 8MP camera isn’t far behind the class-leading iPhone
4S. It’s not for the small-handed, though.
Samsung
Galaxy Note
BlackBerry Bold 9900
Price: $552
Score: 4/5
Good news for the BB brigade – BlackBerry
has denied claims that it’s planning to stop making consumer phones such as the
lovely Bold 9900 to concentrate on business blowers. Its flagship phone will be
followed by other BB7 OS handsets later this year.
BlackBerry
Bold 9900
Instant expert
Mark Wilson: Smart tart
With Samsung’s Galaxy S III now top of our
charts, you might have been thinking about trading in your old iPhone and going
over to the green side. Only to then dismiss the idea when you thought about
what a palaver it would be to uproot your comfortable iTunes existence and
shift your data to Android. But the process just got easier. Samsung is now
offering a free app called Easy Phone Sync with its Galaxy phones – this
transfers all your data and allows you to continue using iTunes with your new
handset. You’ll also need to download some free software from easyphonesync.com
Sadly, apps (match) and DRM-protected music won’t be transferred. Still, it’s
nice to start with a clean slate, eh?
What to look for
Operating system
Beyond Apple’s OS, there are three main
ways to go: Windows Phone 7, Google Android and BlackBerry. BlackBerry is still
best for business, Android has great apps and the improving WP7 is ideal for
smartphone newbies.
Screen
Standard resolution is up to 800 x 480
these days, but few phones in this list would be seen dead with much less than
1280 x 720. Bigger might seem better for screen size, but the small-handed
might want to try before they buy.
Apps
The iTunes App Store is still streets
ahead, Google’s Play Store a distant second.
Dialaphone top tip – More power to you…
Nearly all smartphones will need charging
daily, but you can at least delay the inevitable with a simple tweak. Just set
your display to auto-brightness and you should find your battery life gets a
boost.
