WALKING INTO A shiny phone shop decked out with Christmas decorations, giant posters declaring the best phone deals all while shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of others doing the same can be stressful.
So if you’re planning to buy a new smartphone for someone this year it’s nice to have an idea of what you’re looking for before you start queuing. Below are five of the most popular smartphones this year and what you can expect from each.
The design of Samsung’s latest offering is much the same as its predecessor but is noticeably thinner and lighter than before.
This is despite having a larger 5 inch HD screen with 13-megapixel camera making it one of the best phones out there for taking photos.
Samsung stuck with a plastic casing for the S4 and although it’s not a metal and glass body, it doesn’t look any less for it.
Pros: Quick, sharp camera. Big screen.
Cons: Slightly dimmer screen, plastic body.
(Pic: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire)
Sony’s new top of the range phone is by all accounts a sleek, impressive looking creation with glass-coated casing set atop of an aluminium frame.
The Android run handset is resistant to both dust and water so is a good choice for someone with a chequerd history with their phones.
It also has a 1080p full-HD display so one of the best around for watching videos and a 20-megapixel camera.
Pros: Sleek design, water resistant.
Cons: Average speaker sound.
(Pic: AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
iPhone 5S
Each new iPhone has something unique that is used as a key selling point. This time it is the use of a fingerprint to unlock the phone.
The iPhone cameras have been of consistent quality but other handsets like the Xperia can perhaps lay claim to being the best for photosright now. The new slow motion video capture feature is very impressive however and you’ll get hours of use out of it.
As is by now traditional with iPhone, ease of use is the main selling point.
Pros: Fingerprint ID, App store.
Cons: Smaller screen, price.
(Pic: AP Photo/Steve Helber)
HTC packed as many additional features as possible into their flagship phone and the result should be given serious consideration to anyone making a purchase this Christmas.
It’s metal design is impressive has a screen that’s full HD and it’s size is right in the middle of some of its bigger and smaller rivals.
The HTC One is quick and runs on one the latest Android operating systems.
Pros: Excellent screen, fast.
Cons: No SD memory slot.
(Pic: HTC)
This one is for people who take their photography a little more seriously. It has a 41-megapixel camera so you’re going to have some very sharp images and its editing features are excellent.
The Lumia is a Windows phone so it’s good for Windows capatability and for those looking for an alternative to Android an iOS.
It has less processing power than some of its rivals though so can be slower at times.
Pros: Very sharp camera, Windows enabled
Cons: Less powerful, price.
(Pic: AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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