Is it time to upgrade your phone? Are you sitting around asking yourself, what the heck is an app and how do I join the cool club and get a few? If this sounds familiar that you may need to head in the direction of the Android phone. There may only be one or two iPhones available at a time — but there are more than a dozen different Google (NASDAQ: GOOG – News) Android designs that are competing for the title “Best Android Smartphone On The Planet” — or “Best Android Smartphone So Far.” Check out this guide for selecting an Android and happy shopping to you all.
©HTC
1. Sprint EVO 4G
At the moment, the HTC-built Sprint (NYSE: S – News) EVO 4G is the Android phone to beat. A gazillion top-line features including a beautiful 4.3-inch screen, an 8-megapixel camera, 720p HD video output and, of course, access to Sprint’s super-fast 4G network (when it comes to your neighborhood). A physically large phone like its Windows Mobile twin (T-Mobile’s HD2), the EVO 4G is an absolutely amazing piece of handheld technology.
©HTC
2. HTC Droid Incredible
This is HTC’s super smartphone made for Verizon’s EV-DO 3G network. The Incredible sports a great 3.7-inch screen and shares a lot with its big brother, the EVO 4G — like a 1GHz Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM – News) Snapdragon processor, an 8-megapixel camera and HTC’s Sense home screen look and feel. A downside is the phone’s limited battery life, but there are higher-capacity battery packs available from third-party companies.
3. Google Nexus One
This is the phone that Google decided to lend its corporate name to. The Nexus One was the first phone to be updated to the latest version of the Android OS 2.2 (of course). It boasts a 3.7-inch AMOLED screen and has a 5-megapixel camera. Also manufactured by HTC, the Google Nexus One is only sold on Google’s Web site for use on T-Mobile’s 3G network. A Sprint version is rumored to be coming soon. Google has suggested that Verizon (NYSE: VZ – News) subscribers should check-out the similar Droid Incredible.
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4. Verizon Droid
Made by Motorola (NYSE: MOT – News) for Verizon this phone is a winner. A slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a terrific 3.7-inch screen, 16GB of built-in memory, turn-by-turn GPS travel instructions, loads of video extras and a fast processor make this a desirable option. (Verizon’s cellular network doesn’t hurt either.) Even though its design is a few months old, the phone comes across as a cutting-edge, thoroughly modern Android device.
©Garmin-Asus
5. Garminfone
Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN – News) has been promising a cutting-edge direction-finder/smartphone for awhile now. This joint effort with the computer gurus at Asus finally hits all the right notes. The Garminfone is a super GPS navigation device built into a state-of-the-art Android smartphone. In our tests we found the Garminfone to be the best smartphone navigation system today — with the added plus of being able to have someone you know lend his/her voice to the travel commands. Very cool.
