April 2013 High End Smartphone Buyers Guide

If you are looking to buy a new smartphone this month for cash, with a unlimited budget, it is all about avoiding buyers regret. The Sony Xperia Z and ZL are incoming, and should hit retail shelves this weekend. The new Xperia's represent the new crop pf Full HD Android flagship phones. Even before these new Xperia's hit the market, they are looking a bit long in the tooth with the Samsung Galaxy S 4 coming in by May, and the HTC One hitting local shore at about the same time. The Samsung and HTC offerings combing the Full HD display with next generation Qualcomm and Exynos chipset technology bringing in much more power and longer battery life. 

What phone can you buy now, without regretting it in a week of a month?

1. LG Optimus G (Php24,500) - The Nexus 4's Daddy

The LG Optimus G is the phone on which the Google Nexus 4 was based. Launched in the later part of 2012, it took a long time getting to the Philippines. Still, it is a reasonable proposition these days combining a HD display, quad core processing power with gobs of RAM and LTE connectivity   

Quick specifications:

• Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
• 4.7-inch HD (768 x 1280) display
• 32 GB internal storage, not expandable
• 2 GB RAM
• 1.5 GHz quad core Qualcomm Krait processor
• 13 MP autofocus primary camera with LED Flash
• 1.3 MP front camera
• LTE/HSPA
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 2100 mAh battery

LG Optimus G does not have the faster second generation quad core Qualcomm Krait processor or the Full HD display, but priced at Php24,500 it will be priced 5-8K below the price of the Xperia Z, Galaxy S 4 and HTC One. It should also be a good 2-3K lower than the Xperia ZL.

If you pick up this phone this month, you wont regret it too much when the 2013 Android flagships hit the local retail shelves.

You can read more about the LG Optimus G at this link.

The LG Optimus G is the only smartphone you can buy now, which will look like a decent enough purchase when the new Android hit Philippine shores. The remainder of the recommendations are really only good for those who don't like Android.

2.  Nokia Lumia 920 (Php25,750) - For the Nokia loyalist, the die hard Windows fan and those who must have the best camcorder in the smartphone world

There are two reasons to buy this phone. It is the best Windows Phone 8 in the world. It is also the best phone Nokia ever built. The Nokia Lumia 920 has modest hardware specifications with 4.5-inch HD display and mid-level processing power. But being the top of the line Nokia, you expect something special from the camera.

And the 8MP primary camera does deliver. With Carl Zeiss Optics and optical image stabilization, the first for a smartphone. A gyroscope is used to detect the motion of the phone and the whole optical assembly moves in the opposite direction to cancel out the movement. That happens 500 times a second. This really does wonder for HD video capture, especially for the action junkies. The still image quality is not really up to par with the Apple iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S III and Note 2 camera's though.

Quick specifications:

• Windows Phone 8
• 4.5-inch HD (768 x 1280) display
• 32 GB internal storage, not expandable
• 1 GB RAM
• 1.5 GHz dual core Qualcomm Krait processor
• 13 MP autofocus primary camera with LED Flash
• 1.3 MP front camera
• LTE/HSPA
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 2000 mAh battery

We wrote more about the Nokia Lumia 920 in a previous post at this link.

3. BlackBerry Z10 (Php29,900) - Only for BBM users

The good news for BlackBerry users is you now have something decent to upgrade to. The bad news is the new premium priced BlackBerry Z10 has the specifications of a upper-mid level phone for a near 30K price. Still you get the 4.2-inch HD display with the new touch friendly BlackBerry 10 OS. But battery life is abysmal, and the camera is decent but not spectacular. We expect a lot for Php29,900, and this phone does not deliver.

But if BBM is a must have, well this is your only choice. The BB10 app market is now at 100,000 apps and this phone might bring BlackBerry back in contention.

Quick specifications:

• BlackBerry 10
• 4.5-inch HD (768 x 1280) display
• 16 GB internal storage, expandable via a microSD card slot
• 2 GB RAM
• 1.5 GHz dual core Qualcomm Krait processor
• 8 MP autofocus primary camera with LED Flash
• 2 MP front camera
• LTE/HSPA or HSPA only
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 1800 mAh battery

You can read more about the BlackBerry Z10 at this link.

4. Apple iPhone 5 (Starts at Php33,600) - Only for the iOS die hard

Don't get me wrong, the Apple iPhone 5 is the best iPhone ever built. It is much better than the Apple iPhone 4S. The Apple iPhone 4S looked obsolete on release. The iPhone 5 is a pretty current handset even today. It is 2.5x faster than an iPhone 4S and has HSPA+ and LTE support. It is just the price that makes it a bit hard to swallow.

The iPhone 5 is the only sub-HD high end phone in the world now. Still, the 4-inch (640 x 1136) display is the sharpest display on any compact phone in the market. Battery life is good...

... and if you want an iPhone, well Apple does not really give you many options. It terribly expensive, especially considering the mid-level specifications, but is a much better deal than getting a lower priced iPhone 4S.

Quick specifications:

• iOS
• 4-inch (640 x 1136) display
• 16/32/64 GB internal storage, not expandable
• 1 GB RAM
• 1.2 GHz dual core A6 processor
• 8 MP autofocus primary camera with LED Flash
• 2 MP front camera
• LTE/HSPA
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 1440 mAh battery