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The 5 Best Android Smartphones [December, 2012]

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This year has been filled with numerous big name Android smartphone releases. From the Samsung Galaxy S III to the new Samsung Galaxy Note 2 to the new Nexus, the smartphone marketplace is stocked with many Android-powered devices. While exciting, it also makes shopping for a new Android smartphone a bit of a headache.

The month of November was a fruitful one for Android enthusiasts and average consumers alike as several big name Android devices arrived on the scene just in time for the start of the holiday shopping season in Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Those that haven’t been able to make a buy just yet or are still deciding on what device to pick up should feel fortunate as December won’t be full of rumored release dates.

Read: The 5 Best Android Smartphones [November, 2012].

Instead, the biggest names in Android are already on shelves, ready for the taking. That means no waiting on official pricing and no waiting for release dates, two things that Android shoppers often have to deal with. With so many options on the table though, trying to figure out what to get might be a bit of an issue. And that’s why we want to share our final list of the best Android smartphones available on the market.

These are the devices that we consider the best of the best when it comes to Android powered hardware. There are obviously going to be some familiar names but there will also be some new names, changed from last month’s list. All of them though are worth taking a look at by those who are in the market for a new Android smartphone either now, or at some point during the month of December.

With that, here now are the five Android devices that we consider to be the absolute best on the market now for the month of November, 2012.

Nexus 4

Nexus 4

The Nexus 4 is Google's latest Nexus smartphone, replacing the aging Samsung Galaxy Nexus as Google's own flagship. And while there was some skepticism given its lack of microSD card support, 4G LTE and only two storage options, the Nexus 4 has proven to be a hot commodity as it sold out of its initial stock through Google's Play Store and has been giving Google issues the second time around.

Read: LG Nexus 4 Unboxing and Hardware Overview (Video).

Looking at the hardware, and the price, it's easy to see why. The unlocked version of the Nexus 4 starts at a mere $299. An unlocked iPhone 5 by comparison starts at $649. That price gets you a phone sporting a great design, a large 4.7-inch HD display, quad-core processor, Android 4.2 and all of the perks of a Nexus device including swift updates.

For those that love customization and hate contracts, the Nexus 4 is worth checking out.

8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. finnius

    11/27/2012 at 7:41 pm

    Isn’t saying the “best 5 Android Smartphones” sort of like saying the best cancer or the best plague? Honestly, I dont get the appeal of Android, other than the fact that they are usually basically giving them away. If I am ever in a situation that all mobile providers are only carrying Androids, I will dig my 10 year old flip phone out of a box somewhere and forsake smartphones. Every single person I know who has an Android loves it for about 3 months and then all they do is complain about how bad it is and how they cant stand it and want a new phone. I have tried playing with them in stores, and at friends houses and with my daughters tablet and Android is the least intuitive, least appealing, most illogical user interface. No, I am not an Apple fan – iPhones aren’t much better, but at least they look nice, something that only Samsung has done right for Android with the Galaxy 3.

    • Art

      12/07/2012 at 3:27 pm

      So.. You would recommend what? Blackberry?

      Android is an open source project. End of story, that’s the appeal.

    • Hernan

      01/03/2013 at 11:50 am

      Actually, I have android phone and tablet for 3 years already, and i love it. Is by far the best platform in the market since they got realeased. Of course, If you are someone old school, and dont like to learn new things, Android could be hard for old people with no intention to learn.

      My mom, my father, my brother and most my friends use android, and we all agree in how grate it is. I am a technician and enthusiast and I learnt a lot from this phones on google and youtube, I love the fact that everyone can make changes on it, In Iphone, blackberry, you are limited to their ideas and solutions. With Android there are no limits…

      Just in case, I dont sell androids or anything I am happy android user giving my personal opion.

  2. J

    12/02/2012 at 4:03 am

    The HTC DNA has a new Krait quadcore processor that’s massively more powerful than the scorpion processor thats’ in the One X. So no, they don’t have similar cpus.

  3. finnius

    12/08/2012 at 7:11 am

    Understand about being open source but that is important to maybe 1% of the population. Most consumers don’t even know what open source is. (in fact most consumers are looking for the latest status symbol). No, I would not recommend blackberry, I would recommend Windows Phone (either 7.5 or 8) most people have not tried them because the carriers hid them in the back of the store, know nothing about them and try to force other products down the consumers throat. I have sung the praises of windows phones for 2 years and friends ignored me. Recently several of those people purchased windows phones and said the OS, the functionality, the look, everything blows away the competition. I have known that for 2 years.

    • Kelly

      12/26/2012 at 9:42 pm

      So, finnius, i’m dumb about gadgetry in general and it takes awhile for me to learn my smartphones. I had a windows about 1.5 yrs ago and had a hard time learning it. Now my second smartphone is a motorola droidx2 (which i have had 18 months.) It also took me quite awhile to learn. I just now feel like I know it like the back of my hand and can do anything with it (that its capable of). I really like it now that its already out of date lol. I’m already thinking ahead to my next phone, but am so confused with terms such as “os” and ice ream sandwich and jellybean. What do these things mean? I’m smart so i dont need lengthy explanations. Just the basics. I want a really good phone that operates fairly smoothly without a six month learning curve. Something thatto offer but is fairly intuitive and that i dont have to call tech ssupport every week to figure out something the phone isnt doing or something that i dont know how to do. The online manuals are are useless to me. They are confusing IMO. U say droids suck. Other people say iphones arent so good. What phone do u think has the most to offer, good quality, and learner/user friendly? I’m collecting opinions and yours seems it. collecting opinions and yours seems it would be worthwhile. I am a sucker for whats most popular such as an iphone, but i dont want to get something just cuz its popular. I want a really great phone. What would u suggest?

      • Kelly

        12/26/2012 at 9:49 pm

        I guess reading back thru your post u are a windows fan? Do u think theyre the best? And p.s. i want something with an excellent front and back facing camera with great resolution. My current camera on droidx2 sucks. Thx ahead of time 4 your opinion!

      • Hernan

        01/03/2013 at 11:54 am

        the only way to avoid the larning curve, is buying a new phone with the same kind of OS. If you had a windows phone, another windows phone. But, I am still convinced that Android is not by far the most popular, but the more capable…

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