Top 5 high-end smartphones

With Diwali just a few weeks away, we’re sure many of you are itching to ditch that old phone for the latest speed demon currently on the shelves. Unfortunately, you can’t just waltz into a store and buy a phone without doing your homework these days since there are countless options to choose from and only a handful of them are truly worth your time. To make your life simpler, we’ve put together the ‘Top 5’ high-end smartphones that we feel deserve your attention.

We’ve chosen the phones that we have already reviewed so there’s no doubt in our minds that these are the best of the best. We’ve also selected phones with a 1GHz CPU and above which we feel is the bare minimum if you’re spending anything above 25K. So, without further ado, let’s meet the worthy contenders starting with the cream of the crop.

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Samsung Galaxy S II - Rs.27,400 ( View Stores)
We’ve thought long and hard about which phone should take our top spot and the decision was unanimous, the Galaxy S II from Samsung is the most feature packed and future proof phone which also happens to offer the best bang-for-buck.

Samsung’s finest creation to date

Apart from the obvious features, the S II packs in some very unique ones like a Super AMOLED Plus screen, 16GB of built-in storage, Wi-Fi Direct, USB on-the-go, 8MP shooter with 1080p video capture, NFC support, TV-out via MHL, out-of-the-box support for Full HD MKV video and FLAC audio playback, all of this packed into a ultra-slim body.

  iPhone 4 - Rs.34,000 (16GB) ( View Stores)
Coming up a close second is Apple’s best selling iPhone yet. This smartphone may not have all the bells and whistles found in the S II but it more than makes up for it with its super slick interface. While other smartphones may be superior to it in terms of hardware, none have managed to capture the simplicity that Apple perfected years ago.

You know you want one

Despite being a year old, it still packs in one of the best 5MP cameras in the market and of course you have the app store where you’ll find every app imaginable.  
BlackBerry Bold 9900 - Rs.30,400 ( View Stores)
The Bold 9900 has set the bar really high for business class smartphones and is RIM’s best offering too date. Beneath the smooth carbon fibre and metal chassis we have a fiery 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor powering BlackBerry OS 7.0. The screen size may be small but it’s densely packed with pixels for a really sharp image.

Means serious business

For a change, the 9900 finds itself on par with other smartphones in the market in a spec-to-spec comparison. We have 8GB of built-in storage, Wi-Fi ‘n’, 720p video recording, speedy processor and NFC support. It does falter a bit in the camera and battery department but overall, is a really good business smartphone.   

HTC Incredible S - Rs. 23,200 ( View Stores)
The Incredible S is a very underrated phone from HTC as it was one of the best Android handsets at launch and is even better now after a big price drop. You can find the phone for as little as little as 23K which makes it an incredible buy (pardon the pun). What sets apart all HTC phones from the competition is their Sense user interface which takes the Android experience to a whole other level.

Truly incredible at this price

Besides the slick UI, HTC bundles along some useful applications like an eBook reader, office and multimedia apps, HTC Hub for customizing your phone further and audio enhancements for the music and video player through SRS. Social Networking is also tied in through Friend Stream which takes care of your Facebook and Twitter needs.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc -  Rs.24,999 ( View Stores)
Last but not the least, we have Sony Ericsson’s big comeback to high end smartphones, the Xperia Arc. The Sony Mobile BRAVIA engine really brings the screen to life with vivid colours and super clear scratch-resistant display.

Stylish yet powerful

The Arc is also incredibly slim and light with a depth of just 8.7mm and weight of 117g. There’s also HDMI-out for quick connection to an HDTV. After Sense, their Timescape UI is certainly amongst the best in market right now which offers a really good experience.

Here’s a quick look at the features these phones have to offer:

Click for a larger image

These are our choices for the top 5 smartphones in the market that we feel are worth considering when deciding on a new handset and shelling out your hard earned cash. True there are many other options that are on their way, but if this is the time fo ryou, then here is the place to help you make the right choice.