10 Hot Smart Phones for Christmas

As anyone who has tried to keep up with technology even just a little bit knows, you don't just get what you pay for.... To get the brand new, cream of the crop, cutting edge devices, you will pay a lot more than the difference in quality should dictate, when looking back at the very last model. Taking one small step backwards can save you a lot of money, and sometimes a few headaches, since consumer feedback often will have given manufacturers a chance to debug and fix potential design flaws and operational problems.

Buying from this "second shelf" is a wise practice, and can save a ton of money, which can make a big difference around Christmas time, when there are so many different purchases to consider. With regard to high tech gadgets, computer gear, and cell phones, this second shelf is never more than a few months back, and makes very little difference with regard to the machine's capability, but the savings can be huge, as everyone rushes to keep up with the prestigious, cutting edge, new releases.

Another commonly overlooked benefit is the flood of apps available, vs. the few that each of the newest models have available upon release. The following is a list of the ten best rated "smart phones" on the market just a few months back, most of which are still considered extremely hot buys, and are, in most cases, priced to sell fast, as the attention turns toward their manufacturer's newest model. These phones can be conveniently purchased directly from Amazon.com without a service contract by clicking the links below, or can be purchased at a drastic discount with the addition of a two year contract with the service provider... most of them for around $200.

Unlike its predecessors, the Samsung Epic 4G differs from its Galaxy S siblings in that it boasts a physical keyboard and a front-facing camera. It's the second phone to run on Sprint's 4G network.

This sleek and stylish phone is available in white, black, plum, or red, and comes with a front-facing, 5 mega-pixel camera and stunning HD 720p video with an excellent microphone, but can be a bit sensitive to wind....

An outstanding phone, the HTC EVO 4G boasts a superb 8 mega-pixel camera and HD videos, solid apps list for Android operating system, and Sprint's 4G network.

With the highest performance in almost every comparison, from speed to smooth scrolling, this phone is already outselling most... A serious upgrade from the iPhone 3GS in every possible way, it doubles screen resolution while keeping the same compact size. Its IPS display boasts 326 pixels per inch, the highest resolution available on a phone to date.

The Apple iPhone 4 uses the same processor and operating system as the iPad, making them fully integratable. As part of the iOS 4 operating system, smooth multitasking and cut and paste are finally possible on a phone. The camera and video features are equally high tech, and are just as smooth running in low or bright light....

The Motorola Droid X shines at multimedia playback, network performance, and features, but scrolling and screen display speed may occasionally be sluggish; a very solid device with equally solid Verizon wireless coverage.

Living well up to its name, the HTC Droid Incredible is one of the best Android phones on the market. It has a great display, slick user interface, and an incredibly fast processor. Its user friendly optic mouse replaces the older trackball control, and it also has four physical keys along the bottom.

Along with a bevy of other apps available through the Android Market's Verizon channel, its social network interface, "Friend Stream" integrates Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and others into one seamless view for the avid social networker in order to simplify status updates, shared links, pictures, etc., while still using all the standard Android applications, such as Gmail, Google Talk, and YouTube.

The Nexus One's 3.7-inch AMOLED display is something to behold! Indeed, photos and videos of the phone don't do it justice. You truly have to see it yourself to fully appreciate what this sharp display does to the newer features of Android 2.1... The 5 mega-pixel camera provides you with four resolutions, plus a flash, auto focus, infinity focus, and a 2X digital zoom... Also, white-balance and color-effect controls, and three quality settings. You can record 30 minute video clips at a resolution of 720 by 480 pixels (20 frames per second), but clips for multimedia messages are capped at 30 seconds.

Soon to be the new leader of the Galaxy S series of Android phones, this attractive phone sports a 5 mega-pixel camera, clear videos, and many stock apps, such as YouTube video capability.

A great first time smartphone buyer's tool, the Verizon Samsung Fascinate is sleek, and with the TouchWiz interface, it is very user-friendly. It is a little more lightweight than the Motorola Droid or HTC Droid Incredible.

The Samsung Focus is AT&T's Windows Phone 7 unit, competing with the Captivate, Samsung's Android compatible phone for AT&T, and is available for exactly the same price. The Focus is lightning fast and has a great camera, but the new Windows OS still remains unproven.

By now, you've probably heard about Microsoft's new operating system; designed fresh, from the ground up. First, forget about any biases you may have about Microsoft's mobile products... Windows Phone 7 is intuitive, fast and very user-friendly. That being said, it does have a couple of shortcomings... Features like copy and paste capability, and multi-tasking are still missing, but Microsoft says that they're in the works... (Copy and paste will come in the form of an update... sometime in January). For all of the devout Android users, this might take some getting used to, but for the rest of us, this may be a large step... finally in the right direction.

©2010 Steven G. Curry, All Rights Reserved