Upcoming Smartphones to look for

There’s plenty to look forward to in the coming months speaking from a cell phone lover’s perspective. Big announcements from the big players like Apple, Sony Ericsson and HTC have been making the rounds and the smartphone stakes have been raised. Here are some of the recently announced smartphones that we’re looking forward to the most.

Apple iPhone 4S
First on our list is, of course, the next-gen iPhone, which is the 4S. Although retaining the design form of its predecessor, the 4S is nevertheless loaded with upgrades from a better processor i.e. a 1 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor on Apple’s A5 chipset, to a 64GB edition and an 8MP camera with 1080p recording capabilities. iOS 5 being on board out-of-the-box also adds more to the appeal and let’s not forget the “in-house” AI unit, Siri, who’s at your beck and call quite literally. Active noise cancellation technology helps keep your calls clear and with iCloud services on board you have enough space for extra content accessible from anywhere.

We were looking forward to a new design

• 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen with a 640 x 960 pixel resolution
• Scratch-resistant oleophobic surface
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi with Hot Spot creation,
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, USB 2.0 (proprietary)
• 8 Megapixel AF camera with LED flash and video stabilization and 1080p HD recording
• 16GB, 32GB and 64GB storage capacities
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket
• TV-Out

Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Enter the only recently announced Galaxy Nexus the next gen Google Nexus branded device once again designed and brought forth by Samsung. The handset is, at the moment, one to be reckoned with especially in the display specs showing off a 720p HD display resolution. The display also has an Oleophobic surface to keep those nasty smudges at bay. The Dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A9 CPU under its hood should ensure speedy performance and high-end mobile gameplay functionality. Active noise cancellation is also on board for better call support.

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The next-gen Nexus…

• 4.65-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution
• LTE, 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi with Hot Spot creation and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS support
• NFC
• Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• 5 Megapixel AF camera with LED flash with 1080p video recording
• 1.3MP front facing camera
• Stereo FM radio
• 16GB and 32GB capacities
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket

DROID RAZR
Motorola is resurrecting their one-time popular RAZR series and combining it with their Android DROID range. This super slick smartphone is merely 7.1mm in depth putting it a little ahead of Samsung’s Galaxy S II. The DROID RAZR is an LTE supported handset with plenty of goodies from 1080P video recording capabilities to HDMI out. The Gingerbread device will also be getting an Ice Cream Sandwich update by the time it hits the Indian shelves (hopefully). With a 1.2Ghz Dual-Core processor backing it up we could hope to see worthy competition for the S II.

Could give the S II a run for its money

• 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen with a 540 x 960 pixel resolution
• Scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass
• LTE support, 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi with Hot Spot creation, DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP + EDR and USB 2.0
• 8 Megapixel AF camera with LED flash and 1080p video recording
• Front facing 2MP camera
• FM radio
• 16GB with 32GB microSD card support
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket
• HDMI-Out

Xperia Arc S
Retaining the sleek looks of the original Arc, the Arc S has a few tweaks on the inside. This new addition to the Xperia range will also feature Sony’s Mobile Bravia Engine and active noise cancellation. The processor has been upped from 1Ghz to 1.4Ghz which should give users that extra burst of speedy usage when required. Another addition to this updated model of the Arc is USB on-the-go that enables playback via USB thumb drives when required. 

Still the same design but more power under the hood

• 4.2-inch LED-Backlit  touchscreen with a 480 x 854 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi with Hot Spot creation and DLNA,
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP + EDR and USB 2.0 with USB on-the-go
• 8 Megapixel AF camera with LED flash and 720p video recording
• FM radio
• 1GB with 32GB microSD card support
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket
• HDMI Out

HTC Sensation XE
HTC is still faring extremely well in the Android segment and their upcoming upgrade to the Sensation i.e. the XE looks like one that could fare much better than its predecessor. Loaded up with a 1.5Ghz dual-core processor, the Sensation XE could easily give the iPhone 4S a serious run for its money in terms of speed. The handset’s 8 megapixel camera will also be capable of recording 1080p videos which, coupled with the hardcore processing power translates to the handset supporting full HD media playback as well. The Sensation XE will also feature Beats Audio for enhancing your music experience and HTC also throws in a Beats headset to sweeten the deal.

A little more Sensational than its predecessor

• 4.3-inch S-LCD touchscreen with a 540 x 960 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi with Hot Spot creation and DLNA,
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP and USB 2.0 with MHL support
• 8 Megapixel AF camera with Dual LED flash and 1080p video recording
• Front facing VGA camera
• FM radio
• 4GB with 32GB microSD card support
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket
• TV Out

Out of this list do let us know what you’re most looking forward to. Of course if you have other options in mind, please feel free to list those as well.