SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE
Often referred to as a "phablet" because of its included stylus and massive 5.3" Super AMOLED display, the Samsung Galaxy Note (AT&T, $299 w/contract) is huge, but many of you praised it for blending the portability of a phone with some desperately needed tablet-like real estate. The 8MP and 2MP rear and front-side cameras and 1.4GHz dual core processor don't hurt matters either, and while it's definitely not the right size for everyone, those of you who have one love it, and others are looking forward to its release on other carriers. Plus, even though the Galaxy Note ships with Android 2.3 Gingerbread pre-installed, there are plenty of ROMs available to bring it up to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, or just replace Samsung's TouchWiz interface entirely.
HTC One X/S
The HTC One series is HTC's most recent attempt to recreate itself, not that the company really needed to—most people who have used HTC devices love them, and the HTC One X and One S are no exceptions to the rule. The One X (AT&T, $199 w/contract) is HTC's new flagship phone, sporting a 4.7" screen, a quad-core NVidia Tegra 3 (internationally) or a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon (US/Canada) processor, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (with HTC's Sense UI on top), built-in Beats Audio, and an 8MP rear camera with a 1.3MP front-facing camera. The HTC One S (T-Mobile, $189 w/contract) on the other hand is a slightly smaller 4.3" screen, a 1.5Ghz dual core processor, 8MP rear and VGA front cameras, Beats audio, and Ice Cream Sandwich. Both devices are slim, powerhouse devices designed to bring Android lovers' focus back to a select group of high-end HTC devices, instead of the dozen-plus ones HTC has released in the past. So far, it's working. Samsung Galaxy S /S II
The Samsung Galaxy S series of devices are some of the most popular smartphones in the world, and even though Samsung and Apple are embroiled in a patent lawsuit over exactly how similar the Galaxy S is to the iPhone (and vice versa), that hasn't stopped the Galaxy S and the Galaxy S II from selling millions of units worldwide. The Galaxy S was one of the first dual-core Android smartphones, and definitely one of the first to feature Samsung's new (at the time) Super AMOLED display, offering bright and crisp colors even in bright light. It's still available for a song depending on the carrier you pick it up from (in the US, it was sold under the name Vibrant (T-Mobile), Captivate (AT&T), Fascinate (Verizon Wireless), and Epic (Sprint) in both 3G and 4G variants.) History aside, the Samsung Galaxy S II is the company's current model and features a 4.3" Super AMOLED display, a 1.2GHz dual core processor, and while it shipped with Android 2.3, most carriers have been slowly rolling out updates to bring the device up to Android 4.0. Pricing varies depending on the carrier and variant you pick up, but one thing is certain: when it was launched, most people considered the Galaxy S II the best Android smartphone—if not the best smartphone—available on the market, which makes the furor over the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S III that much louder.
