The 7 Best Smartphones Unveiled at CES 2012

Check out the hottest handsets announced at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Intro

Sony Xperia Ion

Samsung Galaxy Note

Samsung Galaxy Note

Carrier/Release Date: AT&T, TBA

Samsung expands the Galaxy universe with its smartphone-tablet hybrid: the Galaxy Note. You’re looking at the largest Super AMOLED touchscreen to ever grace an Android phone, measuring 5.3-inches. The Note comes bundled with a stylus referred to as the “S Pen,” which woks together with Samsung’s S Memo app to jot notes, snap images, and capture voice recordings. There’s also the option to edit, draw, and annotate photos after shooting them on the 8MP camera. An Ice Cream Sandwich update is also in the cards. The Note is a freakishly huge handset, especially in comparison to the Galaxy S series, but its light weight and full view presentation make it a dope option for anyone debating between a 4-inch mobile and 7-inch tab.

HTC Titan II

HTC Titan II

Carrier/Release Date: AT&T, Q2 2012

Hold up: A smartphone with a 16MP camera? NFW. HTC roids up its most popular WP7 device by squeezing in the most powerful mobile shutterbug ever created with a robust feature set that includes image stabilization, red eye reduction, and other photo editing settings. Another major addition to the Titan series comes in the form of 4G speed, as it now runs on Ma Bell’s LTE service.  With its mini-tablet-like 4.7-inch super LCD touchscreen displaying wide viewing angles and 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor running the show, the Titan II is living large.

Nokia Lumia 900

Nokia Lumia 900

Carrier/Release Date: AT&T, Spring '12

How fitting that during its last hurrah at the tech expo, Microsoft’s first major Windows Phone 7 device with Nokia snagged numerous Best of CES awards. And rightfully so. Nokia stepped things up with the Lumia 900 by integrating LTE connectivity, the latest Mango OS, and yes, premium hardware. Even with a single-core 1.4GHz CPU under the hood, the handset will still deliver dual-core benchmarks thanks to Microsoft’s intuitive software. The 4.3-inch ClearBlack AMOLED display is a vast improvement from the Lumia 800's 3.7-inch screen, plus the successor offers a front-facing camera and a rear 8MP shooter with dual-LED flash and 28mm f/2.2 Carl Zeiss lens. Nokia is swinging for the fences this year.

Droid 4

Motorola Droid 4

Carrier/Release Date: Verizon, Feb/March '12

Leaked images and retail ads led us to believe the Droid 4 was hitting store shelves around Christmas. Obviously, that never came into fruition as Moto chose to keep its next-gen powerhouse in the box, finally making it official at this year’s CES. The hardware department is pretty much a carbon copy of the Droid RAZR (1.2GHz dual-core, 16GB memory, 1GB RAM), with the exception of the Droid 4’s smaller 4-inch qHD screen. The big news lies in the improved slide-out QWERTY, which molds perfectly with the phone’s noticeably slimmer profile and offers better tactility feedback. Let's see if the Droid 4 can make a bigger impression than its ill-faded forerunner.

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G

Carrier/Release Date: T-Mobile, Late 2012

Riding the success of its Galaxy S II offering, T-Mobile welcomes another member to the family in the Blaze 4G. Details were scarce, though America’s largest 4G network gave us an appetizer of what to expect when it launches later this year: a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S3 dual-core CPU, Super AMOLED display, Ice Cream Sandwich update, and HSPA+ 42 high-speed support. Judging by T-Mobile’s track record of premium Android phones, expect the Blaze 4G to be this year’s Sensation 4G.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Carrier/Release Date: Sprint, Q2 2012

We know exactly what you’re saying: the Galaxy Nexus is already out, dumbass. Not Sprint’s version, genius. Samsung is bringing all the Ice Cream Sandwich sweets stored on its Verizon twin: including the new Face Unlock feature, 4G service, NFC capability, and 32GB of internal storage. So what’s the major difference between the two? Google Wallet. The Now Network will support Google’s wireless payment system, an attribute Big Red says it will not run on any future Android 4.0 devices. Rumors also have Sprint launching the Nexus at a cheaper price ($200 w/two-year contract). Now you know which version to pick up.

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