2013 was another phenomenal year for the smartphone segment, as the leading players competed with each other to stay one-up in the minds of consumers. Earlier in the year, we saw BlackBerry introducing a brand new operating system in the form of BlackBerry 10. Nokia on the other hand, later,got a whopping 41-megapixel camera on a Windows Phone 8 smartphone with its Nokia Lumia 1020.
Apple too managed to pleasantly surprise the market by introducing two new smartphones—iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c—at a time instead of just one.
While there was so much happeningat the global level, even in India, we witnessed trends and landmarks taking shape. Most significantly, there were about 12.8 million smartphones shipped in Q3 2013 as opposed to just 3.8 million units last year, as per the research firm IDC.
A good part of this was driven by home-grown smartphone makers like Micromax, Spice,Karbonn, Lava and Xolo,which continued to make inroads into various market segments and take away mind share as well as market share from players like Nokia and BlackBerryor even Samsung.
In addition, we have seen Reliance Communications re-introduce a contractual model to sell Apple iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in India. (Samsung Dominates, Lumia Gains: Study; iPhone 5s Booster Helps Apple Post Record Q4 Sales; and RCom Announces Contract Offers For iPhone 5s And 5c)
So overall it has been a happening year in which a plethora of smartphones were launched. We took a close look at all the smartphones that were introduced in this year and here’s our pick of Top 10 smartphones for the year 2013 (in no particular order)
LG G2
After the success of Nexus 4, all eyes were on LG to deliver an alluring flagship smartphone device and with the LG G2, the Korean smartphone maker managed to deliver on that count.
The LG G2 smartphone comes with a 5.2-inch full HD display that uses the IPS LCD technology. It is powered by a 2.26GHz processor and supported by 2GB of RAM. It comes in two variants—16GBand 32GB. LG G2 has a big 3,000mAh battery and 13-megapixel rear camera. It runs on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) out of the box.
Most notably, the smartphone comes with an unconventional design as its physical buttons are placed on the back. This design has garnered mixed reactions from the users, but all reviews unanimously declare that LG G2 is a power-packed device. Another thing that works in the favor of the LG G2 is that it has an awesome display and superb battery backup.
Google Nexus 5
Google has recently launched a new iteration of its Nexus device in the Indian market and it is a great smartphone for the enterprise users. The Nexus 5 has a 4.95-inch full HD IPS display and a 2,300 mAh battery. The 16GB variant is priced at 28,999, which is a good price point for a flagship smartphone.
Google Nexus 5 packs in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor along with 2GB of RAM that makes it an ideal device for people who love to multitask. Furthermore, the smartphone runs on the latest Android 4.4 (KitKat), which is a great addition for people who are constantly on the go.
Among other things, the Android 4.4 offers an updated version of Quickoffice application that allows users to create and edit Microsoft office documents, spreadsheets and presentations. This app also supports Google Docs documents natively and helps in managing files in an efficient manner (See:Google Nexus 5: Priced To Kill?).
Sony Xperia Z1
The most salient feature of Sony Xperia Z1 is that you won’t have to worry about accidently spilling your coffee on your smartphone as it is a water-proof and dust-proof device. It has a five-inch full HD display and runs on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean).
The Sony Xperia Z1 is powered by 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor along with 2GB of RAM. It has a 16GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 64GB via a microSD card. For camera, there is a 20.7 MP rear camera.
The Sony Xperia Z1 comes with a 3,000mAh battery. What’s more is that it has a ‘stamina mode’, which when activated can help in conserving battery even further. How it works is that when the battery of the smartphone falls below 20 percent, it shuts down non-essential services in order to save battery.
It also has a host of security services, which includes data encryption technology with the help of which users can protect their email, calendar and application data.
Nokia Lumia 1020
There are no second thoughts about Nokia Lumia 1020 being the best camera smartphone available currently. Just to recap the smartphone packs in a 41 MP camera sensor that is capable of taking great images in almost any lighting conditions.
It has a solid build and comes with a 4.5-inch (1280×768) AMOLED display. The Nokia Lumia 1020 has a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor with 2GB of RAM. It runs on Windows Phone 8, and is very smooth.
Though it is a widely known fact that Windows Phone 8 does not offer as many apps as Android or iOS but a lot of good stuff is getting there. For business users, the OS has dedicated apps such as Microsoft Exchange, Office, Lync and SharePoint.
Apple iPhone 5S
Apple has always been an aspirational brand. Many people thought the company would not be able to carry forward this legacy post the demise of Steve Jobs, but the recent numbers are a testimony that the company continues to grow even stronger.
This year Apple has launched two new smartphones. The Apple iPhone 5s is a successor of the iPhone 5 and comes with iOS7. The iOS 7 brings in nifty additions for the enterprise users. First of all, the iPhone 5s comes with an upgraded version of Apple’s iWork mobile office suite. This software includes three apps: Pages (which is a word processor), Numbers (that helps in editing spreadsheets) and Keynote (that helps to make presentations).
The iWork mobile apps are integrated with Apple’s desktop iWork applications, making the process of transferring files quite seamless.
In addition to this,iOS 7 also brings in the AirDrop feature through which iPhone users can share files with a single tap.
On the hardware side, the Apple iPhone 5s packs in a 1.3-GHz dual-core Apple A7 processor and 1GB of RAM and is pretty smooth for everyday use.
Apple iPhone 5C
It was presumed that Apple would be launching a “low-cost” iPhone this year and that will be called iPhone 5c. At Rs41,900 for the 16GB model, iPhone 5cis nothing close to what a low-cost or a mid-range smartphone could be priced.
However, if you do not mind the price tag, it is a pretty decent offering. It also runs on iOS 7 and hence offers the same AirDrop feature and an updated iWork application suite like the iPhone 5S. Moreover, it is available in plenty of color options and offers a better battery performance than the Apple iPhone 5S. On the downside, because of its non-metal body, it does not feel as premium as the Apple iPhone 5S.
BlackBerry Z30
There was a time that BlackBerry was synonymous with mails and corporate users. However, the growing popularity of iOS and Android devices has changed that. Yet, BlackBerry Z30 is the best BlackBerry and one of the best devices that you could have.
The BlackBerry Z30 is the first smartphone to ship with BlackBerry OS 10.2. It comes with a responsive five-inch Super AMOLED display, which has a 1280×720 resolution. It is a zippy smartphone, thanks to the 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm MSM8960T processor, coupled with 2GB of RAM.
What also works in its favor is a top-class battery performance that it offers, apart from a high-quality build.
HTC One
The most striking part about HTC One is its aluminum unibody design. The smartphone also packs in a 4.7-inch Super IPS LCD 3 display. It is powered by a quad-core 1.7GHz processor, Adreno 320 GPU with 2GB of RAM and offers 32GB of internal storage.
Along with this, the HTC One also comes with new features like HTC BlinkFeed, HTC Zoe and HTC BoomSound. The smartphone at the time of launch, offered Android 4.2 along with a layer of HTC Sense. The company has now already rolled out Android 4.3 for this smartphone along with Sense 5.5.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
Samsung Galaxy Note comes with a huge, sharp 5.7-inch display. It comes with an S Pen Stylus and offers a good battery backup owing to its 3200mAh Li-On battery. This smartphone also comes with Samsung’s Multi Window feature with the help of which users can easily run two applications at the same time in a split-screen.
The smartphone is built for serious multitaskers and packs in a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with 3GB of RAM.
Micromax Canvas 4
If you are looking for a good enterprise phone on a budget, then your search ends at Micromax Canvas 4. The smartphone comes with a five-inch HD 720p touchscreen with Gorilla Glass protection. It is powered by 1.2GHz quad-core Mediatek MTK6589 (Cortex A7) processor along with 1GB of RAM. It also comes with a 13MP rear camera and 5MP front facing camera. It runs on Android 4.2.1 (Jelly Bean). Also, this is backed by a 2000mAh battery.
Micromax Canvas 4 also offers special gesture features like “blow to unlock,”“smart stay,”etc.It is a value-for-money smartphone that has a good display, a decent battery backup and a pleasant build.