Best Android phones to buy in 2013

Posted on 10 May 2013 at 12:53, by Seth Barton

 

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Discover what are the best Android phones to buy in 2013 and read our in-depth smartphone reviews, as rated by our team of expert reviewers. Android devices now dominate the market for smartphones, having overtaken the iPhone in sales. Google's Android operating system is remarkably flexible, and there are loads of Android phones available to buy.

Here are our top picks, from budget pay-as-you-go devices to flagship handsets with all the latest features. There's an Android phone here for every need and budget.

Samsung Galaxy S4

Our Expert Opinion After all the hype the Samsung Galaxy S4 is finally here and its lived up to expectations. The new handset is similarly-sized to the old one, but somehow manages to pack in a bigger screen. That gives it a bigger screen in smaller package than any of its competitors. The 5in Super AMOLED display is great, with a Full HD resolution and rich colours.

The UK version of the S4 uses a Qualcomm quad-core chipset with full support for 4G/LTE networks. It's not the eight-core chipset that some models have, but the Qualcomm still proved quick in all our tests and produced a brilliant battery life of over 10 hours. Plus you can open up the back and replace the battery if required.

Samsung has sensibly provided the latest version of Android with its new handset, so there's all the features we'd expect. The 13-megapixel camera takes good-looking photos and has lots of fun extra modes, and there's loads of gesture and eye-tracking based controls too – some of which you'll find a use for if not all.

It all adds up to a brilliant smartphone and undoubtedly the best all-round Android device at present.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S4 review

SPECS
OPERATING SYSTEM Android 4.2.2
PROCESSOR SPEED 1.9GHz
NUMBER OF CORES 4
RAM 2GB
MOBILE DATA GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, LTE
DISPLAY 5.0in 1,920x1,080 LCD
CAMERA 13-megapixel
INTERNAL STORAGE 16GB
MEMORY CARD SLOT microSD
CLAIMED BATTERY LIFE 17 hours talktime, 15 days standby
DIMENSIONS 137x70x7.9mm, 130g

BUY IT FROM £49 upfront on a £35-per-month contract from http://store.three.co.uk

HTC One

Our Expert Opinion The HTC One is among the best-looking phones we've ever seen and our pick of the current crop. Its metal chassis and edge-to-edge screen look fantastic and the curved rear is both practical and stylish.

Turn it on and you'll also be impressed by the Full HD display with a pixel density of 468 pixels per inch. We narrowly prefer it over the screen on the also excellent Sony Xperia Z. Inside, its fast quad-core processor zipped through all our usual tests, plus its big 2,300mAh battery managed over eight and-a-half hours in our continuous video playback battery test.

HTC continues its tradition of tweaking with the Android operating system, this time adding a new home screen called BlinkFeed. This aggregates all your social networking updates, as well as a selection of news sources, into a rolling update of events. It's pretty slick, though you can hide it off to left of the main home screen if you don't take to it.

The camera only has four megapixels, but each one is far larger than normal, and so you get cleaner, crisper photos in low light than with any other smartphone camera we've tested. You do lose some detail in better lit conditions, but if your main use for photos is uploading them online then you won't really notice.

With a great design, a big battery, fast hardware and an innovative camera, the HTC One is not only our top smartphone today, we also reckon it'll be a worthy competitor for the Samsung Galaxy S4 when we get a review sample.

Read our full HTC One review

SPECS
OPERATING SYSTEM Android 4.1 (JellyBean)
PROCESSOR SPEED 1.7GHz
NUMBER OF CORES 4
RAM 2GB
MOBILE DATA GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA, LTE
DISPLAY 4.7in 1,920x1,080 LCD
CAMERA 4.1-megapixel
INTERNAL STORAGE 32768MB
MEMORY CARD SLOT none
DIMENSIONS 137x68x9mm, 143g
PART CODE 99HTT168-00

BUY IT FROM £30 upfront on a £26-per-month contract from www.affordablemobiles.co.uk

Motorola RAZR HD

Our Expert Opinion The Motorola RAZR HD isn't a flagship phone to compete with the likes of the HTC One and Galaxy S4. However, it is a great handset that's available for a very reasonable £22 a month on a decent contract. The design is pure RAZR with a tough-looking chassis including a wrapround kevlar back panel, Gorilla glass front and a splashproof 'nano' coating. It also has a huge 2,530mAh battery inside, which produced a massive 14 hours in our video-playback battery test. The hardware looks and feels great, nicer than the S3 in our opinion.

The 4.7in screen is an AMOLED display with a 1,280x720 resolution, making it almost identical to the one on the Samsung Galaxy, and we couldn't see any difference in image quality. It's as fast as the S3 as well in our usual benchmarks, and we prefer Motorola's take on Android, which is largely stock but with a neatened up home screen layout. The one downside is the camera, which is notably poor compared to Samsung's one. On the plus side the RAZR HD is 4G/LTE compatible for future use with such networks – something you only get on the more expensive 4G version of the S3.

If you were looking to buy an S3 when prices dropped, then the RAZR HD is a strong contender, as it costs exactly the same amount on contract. If a bigger battery is more important to you than the quality of your pictures, then the RAZR HD is a better buy.

Read our full Motorola RAZR HD review

SPECS
OPERATING SYSTEM Android 4.1.2 (JellyBean)
PROCESSOR SPEED 1.5GHz
NUMBER OF CORES 2
RAM 1GB
MOBILE DATA GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA, LTE
DISPLAY 4.7in 720x1,280 LCD
CAMERA 8-megapixel
INTERNAL STORAGE 16384MB
MEMORY CARD SLOT microSD
DIMENSIONS 68x132x8.4mm, 146g
PART CODE XT925

BUY IT FROM Free on a £22-per-month contract from www.buymobilephones.net

Samsung Galaxy S3

Our Expert Opinion The Samsung Galaxy S3 is the best-selling Android handset of all time. It's no longer Samsung's flagship model but huge competition between retailers mean it costs much less than you might expect - free on a £22 per month contract.

Despite its reasonable price the S3 comes with a gorgeous, huge, AMOLED display, which is capable of deep blacks and vibrant colours. It's not the smallest handset admittedly, but Samsung has kept it nice and slender. The camera is good too, taking well composed shots as quickly as you can tap the shutter.

A 4G version is now also available, from EE, so you can get the fastest possible mobile data - up to 25Mbit/s. However, this version costs a chunk more than the more common 3G model.

We're not huge fans of Samsung's take on Android, but it doesn't take long to hide away all the unwanted apps and install your own favourites. It runs Android 4.1 at present, which is super-slick and has everything you need - 4.2 is better but its best features are tablet-centric.

It's been around a while but the quad-core S3 still feels fresh and fast, plus it has a great big 2,100mAh battery. It remains our number one choice for those looking for a powerful Android phone on contract.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S3 review

SPECS
OPERATING SYSTEM Android 4.1
PROCESSOR SPEED 1.4GHz
NUMBER OF CORES 4
RAM 2GB
MOBILE DATA GPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA, 4G
DISPLAY 4.8in 720x1,280 LCD
CAMERA 8-megapixel
INTERNAL STORAGE 16GB
MEMORY CARD SLOT microSD
DIMENSIONS 137x71x9mm, 133g

BUY IT FROM Free on a £22-per-month contract from Buymobilephones.net

Google Nexus 4

Our Expert Opinion Google has somehow managed to bring out a quad-core smartphone with an great screen for just £239.

The Nexus 4 is made by LG, and while its bland exterior doesn't really scream desirability, as soon as you start using the phone you'll be smitten.

The Nexus 4 is screamingly fast - apps open in a snap, and Google Maps glides around under your finger. The screen is gorgeous, too; its 1,280x768 resolution has the highest resolution of any Android smartphone we've seen, and it's right up there with the Nokia Lumia 920. This gives a pixel density of 320ppi, which makes this screen almost as detailed as that of the iPhone 5.

The only drawback is battery life, which can't quite match the Samsung Galaxy S3. The only problem is getting hold of one, as they have proven far more popular than Google or LG had planned for.

Read our full Google Nexus 4 review

SPECS
OPERATING SYSTEM Android 4.2
PROCESSOR SPEED 1.5GHz
NUMBER OF CORES 4
RAM 2GB
MOBILE DATA GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA
DISPLAY 4.7in 768x1,280 LCD
CAMERA 8-megapixel
INTERNAL STORAGE 8GB
DIMENSIONS 134x69x9.1mm, 139g

BUY IT FROM £239 directly from Google Play

Motorola RAZR i

Our Expert Opinion This is the first big-brand phone to use Intel's mobile processor. It's really quick too, rivalling even the iPhone 5 and Windows Phone 8 handsets in browser-based benchmarks and leaving the vast majority of Android handsets trailing. It's also just been updated to Android 4.1.

As with many mid-range handsets, the Razr i uses a 4.3in 960x540-pixel Super AMOLED screen - with plenty of contrast and punch. Given the size of the screen, the handset is incredibly compact, with very slender bezels down each side.

As part of the Razr line, this handset also benefits from some tough design. The rear panel is made of Kevlar, and the whole handset has a water resistant nano-coating - making it splashproof. It's a great little phone if you fancy something a little different, and is good value on contract.

Read our full Motorola RAZR i review

SPECS
OPERATING SYSTEM Android 4.1
PROCESSOR SPEED 2GHz
NUMBER OF CORES 1
RAM 1GB
MOBILE DATA GPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA
DISPLAY 4.3in 960x540 LCD
CAMERA 8-megapixel
INTERNAL STORAGE 8GB
MEMORY CARD SLOT microSD
DIMENSIONS 123x61x8mm, 126g

BUY IT FROM Free on £17-per-month contract from http://phone-shop.tesco.com

HTC Desire X

Our Expert Opinion With so many competitive contracts and subsidised handsets about, if you're serious about your smartphones then you should probably sign up. If you only plan to use it occasionally though, then a pay-as-you-go handset may prove cheaper over two to three years.

The HTC Desire X is among the better examples in this category, in that it's a decent Android handset with no major compromises for around £200, less than half what a top-end device would cost you.

It's slim and light and looks classy in white. The 4in screen has a respectable 800x480 resolution and is both bright and crisp. Android runs smoothly on the 1GHz dual-core processor, though it's only the 4.0 version. The 5-megapixel camera takes decent snaps for a budget handset.

It's a good all-round phone, though don't expect it to wow anyone.

Read our full HTC Desire X review

SPECS
OPERATING SYSTEM Android 4.0
PROCESSOR SPEED 1GHz
NUMBER OF CORES 2
RAM 768MB
MOBILE DATA GPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA
DISPLAY 4.0in 800x480 LCD
CAMERA 5-megapixel
INTERNAL STORAGE 4096MB
MEMORY CARD SLOT microSD
DIMENSIONS 119x62x9mm, 114g

BUY IT FROM Around £200 from www.amazon.co.uk