Happy New Year from Techetron to all! 🙂
The year 2013 has seen many great releases from different smartphone manufacturers. It was hard for many to choose which one to go for and which to stay away from. As 2013 is the year I bought my first smartphone, I too was in a dilemma in choosing the right one. Although I do not regret buying it, I still believe I could have waited a few months more to get a much better one. Wondering which phones I am talking about? You would find them in the list below.
Smartphones are doing the job that would have been hard even for a PC or a notebook PC to accomplish 6 years back. We have seen a tremendous upgrade of processing power, battery life and the screen resolution of the current smartphones and wonder what the upcoming years have in store for us.
The list below isn’t a ranking list, but just a list of the best smartphones released in 2013. So you can say the order of the phones are just a random list.
Samsung Galaxy S4
Samsung’s Galaxy S4 was one of the first flagship devices to be released in early March. Selling over 50 million units, it gained much acclaim from the users. With great features embedded in the smartphone, the Galaxy S4 sure was a perfect smartphone for a gadget freak. The Galaxy S4 released in two versions, one with a Quad-core and the other with the Octa-processor. This is one of the first smartphones to have such high-end processing unit. The camera features that came with the S4 was awesome. With a 13MP camera, it was the perfect phone for those who love to take photographs and the Full HD Super AMOLED Display just makes the whole display much better. The Galaxy S4 came with features such as the Air Gesture, unlocking and picking up the phone by swiping over the device, smart scroll and many more.
This is the first smartphone that I procured and am currently satisfied with it except for some downsides. The polycarbonate rear casing is what destroys the whole outlook of the phone if it’s placed on its screen. Samsung could have replaced the material with a metal casing or something elegant. Some critics even mentioned it being nothing than a mere upgrade from the previous Galaxy SIII.
Overall the S4 was a great phone for some but the rear casing was surely a deciding factor for many.
iPhone 5S
Before the iPhone 5S was officially announced, the cyberspace was filled with leaks and rumors regarding this highly expected device. What made the headlines was mainly the fingerprint scanner called the Touch ID. Although it was seen as a great addition, many feared about their privacy issues based on all the leaks
by Edward Snowden. The iPhone 5S is a great evolution from its predecessors and sticks to great hardware features that it normally provides to the users. Powered by the A7 chip and running on the latest iOS7, this is the only 64-bit smartphone currently available in the market. It is twice as fast and the A7 provides greater CPU and graphics performance and is capable of blowing the competition away. Joining the A7 is an M7 processor which acts as the sidekick and mainly concentrates on measuring the motion data from accelerometer, gyroscope and compass. The main purpose of the M7 is to keep the A7 processor free from such applications which would then be able to save battery life.
Although the camera in this Apple retains the same megapixels, it received great updates. The iPhone 5S went with a new larger sensor that is 15% bigger than the previous version. Bigger the sensor, better the picture quality in low light.
Apple sold 9 million units just in the first weekend itself and is one of the most successful launches ever. So are we expecting a iPhone 6 next year? Based on the trends, this is most likely to happen. Rumors have already started flourishing regarding the fact that Apple would be releasing the next iPhone with a larger display.
Moto X
Motorola has been in the smartphone business for a quite long time but couldn’t earn much fame until after releasing the Moto X. The Moto X isn’t a high end smartphone and cannot be put in the competition table with the other high-end models based on the specs. It focuses mainly on user experiences and delivers the essentials. Some of the great featuers that’s embedded in the Moto X include Active Display, touchless control and quick capture. The best part of the Moto X smartphone is that it has a customizable body and with the help of the Moto Maker, you can easily customise your phone. From colors to textures to boot animations and whatever weird message you want the phone to use to greet you, you can truly make your Moto X your own.
On the hardware side, the device has a 4.7-inch HD screen, powered by a 1.7GHz dual-core processor, 2GB RAM, 10MP Camera, 16/32GB internal storage and has a 2200mAH battery.
If you want the latest superior Android experience or are a hardcore android person, there’s a lot to like in the Moto X. It had received the Android 4.4 Kitkat version way before the Nexus 4. So this is a must buy for those who would love to experience the latest Android in a budget phone.
HTC One
HTC One is indeed one of the best smartphones released by HTC. To be honest, this is the only smartphone till now that can easily compete with the build quality of the iPhone 5S. This attractive smartphone has a premium look and feel and has been crafted from a single piece of anodized aluminium. The awesome looks aren’t only limited to the body either, as the 4.7-inch screen boasts stunning graphics with a Full HD Resolution. Although it does not pack the best of the best hardware specs, it still can get the work done. The smartphone is powered by a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB internal storage and a 2300mAH battery.
The downsides of this device is mainly the camera which is not the best for straight photos otherwise everything else is perfect. Its like a typical smartphone camera and with HTC’s Zoe feature, it would enable you to simultaneously take short videos and a 20-burst photo stills which is indeed a great way to capture the right moment.
Rumors have also started flourishing in the cyberspace regarding the next version of the HTC One (2014). The possible device would be having a fingerprint sensor such as the iPhone 5S and swappable lens.
Nokia Lumia 1020
Nokia, once known to be the king of the mobile market went straight down once the smartphone race started. Nokia just couldn’t keep up and lost its position to other companies, namely Apple and Samsung. It wasn’t too late for Nokia to re-enter the market and revive its company again. By adopting to Windows OS, they made a great entry and was a good start. People had to choose either iOS or an Android but with the entrance of Windows OS specially crafted in a smartphone by Nokia, users were relieved to have more choices.
The Nokia Lumia 1020 is by far the only smartphone in the world to offer a 41-megapixel camera. If your religion is photography and you need a mobile device as an added device to your arsenal, the Lumia 1020 is the smartphone for you. Nokia provides a number of apps and services on their Lumia devices although not as vast as Android and iOS. Apps include HERE Maps, Nokia Music+, advanced camera lens and software, voice navigation and many more.
2014 will surely see a lot more from Nokia.
Nexus 5
The Nexus device from Google is undoubtedly one of the most wanted device by all. The reason? Price. The Nexus 5 comes with the latest Android 4.4 Kitkat version, a brilliant display and a great overall performance. The Nexus 5 has greatest and the latest internal hardware specs: Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB RAM, a normal 8MP camera with OIS, wireless charging and many more. Anyone who is a hardcore Android fan must own this device as whenever there’s an update on Android, the Nexus 5 would be the first in line in the queue to receive the update. For the downsides, the overall design language of the option was a bit disappointing. It isn’t the best designed phone around and is somewhat less interesting than its predecessor, the Nexus 4. The spectacular part of the Nexus 4 was the rear and the overall build quality. The camera isn’t as good as the phones listed above and also there’s a battery problem which is faced by many. But we shouldn’t be complaining much because the Nexus 5 provides us more than what we pay. Apart from the minor downsides, the Nexus 5 is a steal for $349(16GB) and $399(32GB).
If you have read from the top and thought which phone would I have rather bought if I could have waited, it is undoubtedly the Nexus 5. So here we have outlined the best smartphones that were released in 2013.Have we done any injustice by not adding a phone that you thought should have made the list? Drop in your comments below!
