The biggest thing in Android right now is Android 4.1, also known as Jelly Bean.
Ice Cream Sandwich is so 2012.
Right now, it�s all about the bean.
I�m Donald Bell, and in this week�s Top 5, I�m counting down CNET�s top five
Android smartphones, ranked by CNET Senior Editor Jessica Dolcourt, that
either ship with Jelly Bean installed, or offer a 4.1 update.
Starting off the list is the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx HD.
It�s a very popular phone
with the road warriors because of that long-lasting battery.
You also get that
beautiful 4.7-inch AMOLED screen, and a dual-core processor.
A recent update
brings this tough guy up to Android 4.1, making it one mean bean machine.
At #4: the Samsung Galaxy Note II.
If the Razr Maxx HD just isn�t Maxx enough
for you, how about a smartphone with a 5.5 inch screen?
The Note II was one of
the first smartphones to ship with Jelly Bean, and it�s on every major U.S.
carrier.
Personally I feel like a child when I pick this thing up, but if anyone questions
your masculinity on this one, you can always impress them with the size of your
stylus.
But for the Android fans who want nothing less than the pure Jelly Bean
experience, there�s number 3: the LG Nexus 4.
The latest in Google�s Nexus-
branded phones runs Android 4.2.1 making it the most cutting edge phone on
this in terms of software version.
And because it receives it�s updates straight
from the Google Mothership, you�ll be able to ride that cutting edge for quite
awhile.
The #2 phone on this list needs little introduction.
It�s the Samsung Galaxy S3,
CNET�s highest-rated Android phone of 2012 and the product most frequently
mentioned by Tim Cook as he angrily shakes his fist in the air.
It�s an extremely
popular phone, available on every major U.S. carrier.
The recent infusion of
Android 4.1 just keeps that momentum going.
That said, if you want the best, most powerful Jelly Bean experience out there,
our #1 pick goes to: the HTC Droid DNA on Verizon.
The quad-core Snapdragon
processor on this guy is currently the fastest on any smartphone we�ve ever
tested.
Add that up with Verizon�s 4G, a beautiful 8 megapixel camera, good
battery life, and the fact that it runs Android 4.1 out of the box, and you�ve got the
best of the beans right here.
So there you go, five killer smartphones running Android Jelly Bean that you can
go out and buy right now.
For a deeper dive on any one of these, head over to
phones.cnet.com.
You can also see more Top 5 videos like this over on
Top5.cnet.com.
I�m Donald Bell, thanks for watching.
