My top 5 Android phones
Jason picks his favourite five Android blowers, from bargains to beasts, in this video. Is your smart phone in there?
We've had to shuffle a few things around this week to work around the Olympics, so replacing this week's Phone News video is this personal look at my top five Android phones that you can buy today. Here's what I'm saying in the video above, should you wish to read as well as watch it.
At number five, it's last year's monster hit, the Samsung Galaxy S2. What was cutting-edge 12 months ago is now yesterday's forgotten tech, but the good news is that the S2 is still a great phone -- and you can now pick it up for much less than it cost when it first came out. With a good camera, decent screen and a recent software upgrade giving it Ice Cream Sandwich, it still beats many of this year's supposedly better models.
At number four, it's the Huawei Ascend G300. Best known for making dongles, Chinese company Huawei is determined that 2012 will be the year it makes some inroads into the UK. If the G300 is anything to go by, it has a decent chance. There are lots of cheap Android phones about, but this is the best we've seen, thanks to its 1GHz processor and 4-inch screen. Most of the G300s out there run the Gingerbread version of Android, but there is an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade about if you want it. For £100 on pay as you go, it's hard to find fault.
Number three on my list is the Galaxy Nexus. Unlike all the other phones on this list, it runs a version of Android untouched by customised menus or other apps that will slow things down when it comes to software update time. That means it's the only mobile here to run the very latest version of Android, Jelly Bean. If you're the sort of person who needs the latest operating system, this is the phone you should get, because you'll be first in the queue when Google releases them. If not, there are nicer phones out there, which brings me to...
Number two -- the HTC One S. Manufacturers have to make lots of trade-offs between size and power when designing phones, and HTC got it bang-on with this model. HTC Sense takes the harder to use edges off the sometimes confusing Android. There's also a decent camera and a good 4.3-inch screen, making this is a speedy alternative to the iPhone. If you just want a good Android phone that works well, this is one to go for.
Which brings me to number one -- the big daddy of them all, the Samsung Galaxy S3. For power users, there is simply no better phone available today. With a mammoth 4.8-inch screen, a quad-core processor and an incredibly light case, the S3 shows off the Android operating system at its best. Samsung has added a cerchillion extra features to the standard set you get with rival phones, leaving you plenty to fiddle with and customise. If you want to stream loads of video or play games with detailed, 3D graphics, this is the one to look at. Just beware the price, it doesn't come cheap.
That's the list -- let me know in the comments below or on our Facebook wall if you agree or disagree with my top five, or if I've missed out your favourite phone. See you next time.