The 5 Best Android Smartphones [March, 2012]

The month of March has been a quiet one on the Android front, quietest that we’ve seen in quite some time. Of course, companies like HTC and Motorola promised fewer, but better releases in 2012 and it appears that they are sticking to the game plan, at least for now.

That being said, little has changed from February to March in terms of the best Android phones on the market and that means our collection of what we think are the five best Android phones on the market hasn’t changed much.

In fact, the list hasn’t changed at all.

Not when the significant Android smartphone launch in the month of March was the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G for T-Mobile.

We fully expect the list to change in April, a month that should provide AT&T with the HTC One X and the HTC One V, two of the devices that HTC announced back at Mobile World Congress in 2012.

With that, let’s look at the five Android phones that we think are the best of the best for the month of March, 2012.

Motorola Droid 4

The Motorola Droid 4 is Verizon’s fourth installment of the original Droid series, a series that has been marked with superb build quality and fantastic physical QWERTY keyboards. The Droid 4 is no different.

It has a fantastic keyboard, arguably the best ever put on a smartphone, a stellar design and 4G LTE connectivity.

If you’re looking for a fast smartphone with a physical keyboard, the Droid 4 is the first place you’re going to want to look.

We should also point out that Amazon has the device up for a mere $50 on-contract.

Read: iPhone 4S vs. Motorola Droid 4.

Read: Droid 4 Review: Incredible Keyboard, Awesome Speeds.

Specifications: 4.0-inch qHD display with scratch and scrape resistant glass, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of on board storage, 8MP rear facing camera capable of taking 1080p video, 1.3MP front facing camera, 1785mAh battery

Operating System: Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread

Carrier: Verizon

4G: Yes, LTE

Release Date: February 10th, 2012

Price: $50 with New Two-Year Contract  Buy It At Amazon

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX

The Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX packs a lot into a small package. It features a thin 8.9mm design that houses a 3,300 mAh battery that offers 21 or so continuous talk hours.

It also has 4G LTE speeds, a nice display, and snappy performance. Motorola has improved on MotoBlur, the custom UI that’s over Android on the Droid RAZR MAXX, and while it’s still not as good as HTC Sense, it’s not terrible any longer.

This phone will only get better when Android 4.0 arrives and that update should arrive in the next couple of months.

Read: Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX vs. Droid 4.

Read: Droid RAZR MAXX Review: Insane Battery Life.

Specifications: 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display with advanced qHD resolution, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 3300mah battery, mobile hotspot support, 1GB of RAM, an 8MP rear camera capable of shooting 1080p video, 8.9mm thin design

Operating System: Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread

Carrier: Verizon

4G: Yes, LTE

Release Date: January 26th, 2012

Price: $199.99 with New Two-Year Contract  Buy It At Amazon

Samsung Epic 4G Touch

Yes, it has been out since the latter half of 2011, but Sprint’s Samsung Galaxy S II remains the carrier’s go-to device. With all of the features that you could want from a smartphone – great design, high-res screen, good battery life, 4G speeds – it’s no secret why this remains one of our favorite devices to ever hit the Now Network.

That being said, Sprint has a bunch of releases in the pipeline and 4G WiMax is soon going to give way to a high-speed 4G LTE network.

Keep that in mind before you jump on this device which is currently available for next to nothing at Amazon.

Read: Samsung Galaxy S II Sprint Epic 4G Touch Review.

Specifications: 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus Display, 1.2GHz Samsung Exynos dual-core processor, 8MP rear camera capable of shooting 1080p video, 2MP front-facing camera, 16GB of on board storage space, 1800mAh battery

Operating System: Android 2.3.4

Carrier: Sprint

4G: WiMax

Release Date: September 16th

Price: $.01 with New Two-Year Contract  Buy It At Amazon

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Verizon’s 4G LTE-powered Samsung Galaxy Nexus is still one of the, if not the best Android phone on the market. It has a vanilla version of Android, untouched by Samsung, a beautiful HD display, a quick processor, and more.

Oh and it has Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on board as well.

It should be getting an update in a few weeks that stands to make the experience on the Galaxy Nexus even better – bug fixes and battery life improvements are said to be on board, so this is certainly a phone worth looking at if you’re in the market.

Read: Galaxy Nexus Review.

Specifications: 4.65-inch 1280 x 720 HD Super AMOLED display, dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, zero shutter lag 5MP camera with LED flash, 1.3MP front-facing camera, 1750mAh battery, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0, NFC support, gyro, proximity sensor, barometer

Operating System: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Carrier: Verizon

4G: LTE

Release Date: December 15th

Price: $99.99 with New Two-Year Contract  Buy It At Amazon

Samsung Galaxy S II T-Mobile

The Samsung Galaxy S II remains the best option on Sprint and it’s also a device that we feel is the best that T-Mobile has to offer.

With a large, gorgeous display, a quick processor, decent cameras, and an update to Android 4.0 likely coming in the future, the Galaxy S II is one of the phones that you’ll want to look at if you’re thinking about getting a phone on the Magenta carrier.

Read: T-Mobile’s Samsung Galaxy S II on Video.

Specifications: 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of on board storage, 8MP rear facing camera capable of taking 1080p video, 2MP front facing camera

Operating System: Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread

Carrier: T-Mobile

4G: Yes, HSPA+ 42Mpbs

Release Date: October 12th

Price: $200 with New Two-Year Contract  Buy It At Amazon