Must haves: the top (non-Apple) smartphones of 2013

Published by Sierra Monica B. on March 1, 2013 under Tech Gadgets

While many phone fans are cradling their iPhone 5 and waiting eagerly for the next tweaks by way of the 5s (expected this summer), others will have a keen eye on the latest offerings from all the other manufacturers.

There are some very interesting handsets out there, and if you check out the price on sites such as E2Save, you’re sure to find most a lot cheaper than the typical Apple iPhone. Here’s our look at the top phones to look out for:

Sony Xperia Z

You can’t keep a good brand like Sony down, and after a few misses, it looks set to make a big splash again with the Xperia Z. Why so? Because it utilises a five-inch 1080p HD screen using Sony’s Bravia technology, a quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon Krait processor, a 13-megapixel camera and 2GB RAM, as well as storage capacity of 16GB, which can even be expanded. It’s an impressive spec, but it needs to be to put Sony back on the map.

Samsung S4

Expected in March, the only details about the S4 thus far are no more than rumours, but the S3 was such a strong challenger to the iPhone that big things are expected. Suggestions are that it will run a 1.8GHz quad-core processor, 13-megapixel camera, and be the first major handset to have Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. The display could be the real point of interest though; five inches is expected, but Samsung recently unveiled it has developed flexible screens…

Huawei Ascend P2

Chinese manufacturer Huawei claims that its latest device, the Ascend P2, will be the fastest 4G smartphone on the market – quite the way to make a name for itself. Without boring you with too much chipset talk, the Ascend P2 will be the first to use a CAT 4 chip, taking maximum download speeds from 100Mbps to 150Mbps. Throw in a 4.7-inch 720 x 1280 screen, a 13-megapixel camera and a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, and you’ve got yourself a pretty nifty phone.

Author: Gavin Johnson