best smartphone on the market for 2013

A look at some of the best Smartphones on the market for 2013. For Android

When looking at the device’s specs on paper, they definitely stand out in your average crowd of devices. The One features a 4.7″ 1080p display with 468ppi, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 2,300mAh non-removable battery, 4G LTE connectivity (where supported), an IR blaster for use as a remote, and comes packed with the future standard of WiFi, 802.11ac. Each one of these specs is packed inside a single piece of aluminum casing that gives off a smooth and hardened feel when handled. Possibly tied for the top spot with the One X, this is the nicest Android phone I have ever touched. It gives off just the right amount of weight, not so much to where you would call it heavy, but the perfect amount to know the device is solid and well constructed.

The camera on the HTC One has been the source of many questions, given that it runs a single 4MP sensor. How could HTC put a lowly 4MP camera in their 2013 flagship against Samsung’s 13MP monster? In short without getting all scientific (since I know little about real cameras), it actually works well for this device and in the right circumstances, it works extremely well. When on a stroll through the park or inside the house, the One produces very good quality pictures, full of detail and crisp lines. You can tell that the Ultrapixel does let in good amounts of light, but it never makes a photo turn out bad by any means. The one true downside I noticed with the One’s camera is that if you zoom in beyond 45% or more, your picture will come out looking blurred and nasty. To sum up the camera, if you upload photos to Facebook and Instagram on a regular basis, it will treat you just fine.

Navigation on the HTC One is sort of funky and to be honest, I couldn’t even find the recent apps function until just a couple of days ago. You access features with different long presses and double taps which is just crazy in my opinion. You long press the home button to access Google Now and you double tap home to bring up recent apps. And of course, that huge HTC logo doesn’t do anything at all. I am all for OEMs differentiating themselves from the competition, but it would be nice to soon have a standard from Google that says manufacturers must use on-screen buttons. That would be nice.

With your favorite Google Apps, an amazing Photo Sphere camera, cutting edge hardware, and access to your favorite entertainment on Google Play -

Nexus 4 puts the best of Google in the palm of your hand; all with no carrier commitment or contract.

Some handsets we look forward to with much anticipation – only to feel deflated when we actually use them. Others, we wait for with little expectation –

and they absolutely blow our socks off.

A stealth surprise. We'll lay our proverbial cards on the table here from the outset. The Nexus 4 is one of those rare devices.

Size wise, the Nexus 4 comes in at 133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm – which means it is similar to its predecessor. But it is far more stunning to look at and hold.

The front is all glass in piano black. Extra tough too thanks to the Corning Gorilla Glass 2. Think iPhone 4S territory, but just a little nicer looking (we are

aware that is a matter of opinion, iFans!)

Smaller more affordable versions of flagship smartphones are all the rage and now it looks like Telecom have scored mini-me's version of Samsung's flagship phone, the Galaxy S4. As would be expected, smaller also translates into less features. For a start the S4 Mini display in shrunk to 4.3" and S4's quad-core CPU has been replaced by dual core silicon instead.This said, the smaller display is still incredibly vivid and the mini manages to hang onto a lot of the good stuff that made the original S4 such a success, such as NFC, Android 4.2.2 and a removable battery. Another added benefit of its smaller size is its sheer pocket-ability.Look and feelThe Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is almost an exact (but smaller) clone of the original Galaxy S4 that seems to forgone growth hormones back at the factory. From its plastic body, thin bezel and the metal band on its sides, the mini is a smaller and lighter S4. All buttons and ports are located in the same spots on the Minis chassis as with the S4. A pushbutton Home key has capacitive buttons either side.

Volume buttons and the on/off button plus headphone jack are all in the same place as the bigger S4. Its smaller form factor also translates into considerably less heft and bulk. Weighing in at a mere 107g, the Mini is considerably lighter than the already light S4. Its smaller form factor doesn't translate into a slimmer waistline and at 8.94mm thick, the mini is a tad chunkier than the S4.