Top 10 Smartphones in 2011

The HTC Desire Z (known as the T-Mobile G2 in the US) is perhaps the best smartphone right now with a physical keyboard. With its unique ‘z-slider’ hinge aimed at making it easier to type, it is probably the best option for someone looking for an android phone, but uncomfortable with a touchscreen keyboard. In terms of software, it runs android 2.2 (froyo), with the HTC sense skin. As much as HTC’s skin is decent, ‘stock’ android would have been slightly nicer. On the downside, the Qualcomm single core 800 MHz processor is not as impressive as some of the phones higher up this list, which will look even less impressive at the end of a 2 year contract.

For me this is the best phone running Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 operating system. Windows Phone 7 has an extremely unique user interface, featuring a set of live ‘tiles’ being constantly updated. The idea, as stressed in the ads, is that it provides quick, glanceable information without needing to go into the apps themselves. One major problem, however, with Windows Phone 7, is the lack of multitasking. Along with some buggy behaviour launching third party apps, this keeps the Omnia 7 pretty low down on the list.

The The Desire HD (with its US variants the Sprint EVO 4G, the Verizon Thunderbolt 4G and the AT&T Inspire 4G) is all about the screen. At 4.3 inches, it is significantly bigger than your average phone (the iPhone, for example, has a 3.5 inch screen.) Like the Desire Z, it runs android 2.2 (froyo) with HTC Sense, providing a decent, if not perfect, android experience. With its 1 GHz single core snapdragon processor it is faster than the Desire Z, giving it the edge over that HTC phone. The major problem with the Desire HD is battery life, a major problem if you want to use the kind of power hungry features the phone was designed for.

As the sequel to last year’s wildly popular Droid Incredible, this not yet released phone is sure to be impressive. The Incredible S has a smaller screen than the Desire HD at 4 inches, considered by many to be the ideal balance between screen size and pocketability. It contains a single core 1 GHz Qualcomm processor, which should be faster than the Desire HD. This looks like a promising phone.

By far the most hyped phone on this list. To put it simply, this is the ‘Paystation phone’. It will run android 2.3 (Gingerbread) with Sony’s UX skin, but the big news is the Playstation suite app. The suite will initially only feature Playstation1 games but the plan is for developers to produce their own games specifically for the suite soon.

The Nexus S’s real value is that it offers a ‘pure’, skin-free android 2.3 (gingerbread) experience. Based on last years popular Galaxy S, this phone offers one of the best user experiences the smartphone world has to offer. Its unique curved screen has attracted a lot of attention, but to be honest it makes very little difference. With its 1 GHz single core hummingbird processor, it runs at a decent speed, and with a 4 inch super AMOLED display, the screen is very vivid. One area where it trails behind some of the other android phones, however, is the lack of a dual core processor.

What else is there to say, that hasn’t already been said.? To put it bluntly, the iPhone is a phenomenon. The app store is unrivalled in both its range and quality of apps. The user interface is unquestionably stunning, and  the platform has a huge advantage ahead of the competition when it comes to gaming. Having been released way back in June, some of the hardware, such as the single core 1 GHz A4 processor, seem a little dated now, but it is still a very impressive phone.

The sequel to last years hugely successful phone is bound to be great. Featuring a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED Plus display, it has an advantage over every other phone out there today in terms of its screen. And with a dual core 1 GHz Exynos processor, it is bound to be no slouch too. Featuring android 2.3 (Gingerbread) with samsung’s TouchWiz skin, the user interface should be good. Perhaps the only thing that is holding it back, however, is the lack of a ‘stock’ android option.

This phone is so high up the list for one reason: WebOS. WebOS is probably the most impressive operating system that currently exists in the smartphone world, what with its elegent interface, and very impressive solutions to notifications and multitasking. As it also contains a physical keyboard, it is bound to be popular with disgruntled BlackBerry users. The biggest problem with this phone is that WebOS has only 5,000 apps, but hopefully that will change in the near future.

There is no other way of putting it, the Motorla Atrix is an absolute beast of a phone. With its dual core 1 GHz Tegra 2 processor and its 960x540 display, its specs are the best around.  But where the phone really comes to life is the accessories.  One of these is the laptop dock, providing a complete laptop body powered by the phone, allowing you to constantly sync between laptop and phone states. The desktop dock and HD dock are also very impressive, allowing the phone to function as both a desktop and a media player connected to your TV. The only real downside to this phone is that it is running Motorola’s motoblur skin on top of android 2.2 (froyo). This may be annoying, but the benefits significantly outweigh the flaws on this phone.