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America is the home of the Big Gulp, the Big Mac, Monster Trucks and McMansions.
So it makes sense that weÃ?re warming up to
the idea of gigantic phones.
In fact there have been a bunch of phones out recently that stretch past the traditional 4-5 inch screen
size, bordering on tablet territory.
IÃ?m Donald Bell, and in this Top 5 IÃ?m counting down the five most fabulous phablets we could find, ranked by CNET Senior Editor
Jessica Dolcourt.
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Starting off at #5, the Galaxy Mega.
You want a big screen from a big brand?
HereÃ?s a 6.3 inch from Samsung.
If it looks familiar,
thatÃ?s because itÃ?s basically a Samsung Galaxy S4 designed for giants.
You can find it on Sprint and U.S. Cellular.
AT&T even has
one for around $150 on contract.
The only catch here is that while the screen may be large, the resolution is stuck at 720p.
Still, if
youÃ?re going for shock value, this is the largest phone on this list.
Up next at #4: the LG G2.
This one swings to the other side of the spectrum.
That 5.2 inch screen just barely puts this into phablet
territory.
Big enough to dwarf the iPhone, but small enough to use without severe hand cramping.
A 4-star rating from CNET and
availability on all the major carriers make the G2 is a solid choice.
At #3 with a 6-inch screen: the Nokia Lumia 1520.
This is the biggest Windows Phone money can buy.
ItÃ?s more like a Surface
Mini.
You get a 20-megapixel camera, a 1080p HD display, and a quadcore Snapdragon 800 processor that is a first for Windows
Phone.
Around $200 on contract exclusively with AT&T.
If thatÃ?s not a deal-breaker and the Windows integration sounds more
useful than stifling, then this could be the phone for you.
If not, how about #2: the HTC One Max.
Landing firmly back in Android territory, the One Max is clearly the result of HTC catching
Samsung fever, squeezing a flagship phone for as many spin-offs as they can.
ItÃ?s easy to forgive them, though, since the One
and itÃ?s family are all pretty awesome.
A unique take on Android and some great camera features.
HTC also threw in a fingerprint
sensor on the Max, which worked for usÃ? most of the time.
And so that leaves us with CNETÃ?s favorite phablet.
At #1: the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Another big brother to the S4 and the
brand that single-handedly made the stylus cool again -- assuming they were ever cool.
You get a beautiful 5.7-inch screen, quad-
core processor, excellent camera, and impressive battery life -- which is a rare find in phablet land.
So there you have it, five phones so big, people will swear youÃ?ve lost weight.
For more information be sure to check out Jessica
DolcourtÃ?s spec-by-spec comparison of the Note 3, One Max, and Lumia 1520.
And for more Top 5s from me, including the Top 5
smartphone cameras, head over to Top5.cnet.com.
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-6452_7-57608486/nokia-lumia-1520-specs-vs-htc-one-max-note-3-specs/
http://cnettv.cnet.com/8301-13489_53-57597942-10389930/best-smartphone-cameras/
