Is your smartphone getting a little long in the tooth? If so, before you rush out and buy something blind, have a look at our top five picks for 2014. Here's hoping you find exactly what you were looking for on this list.
Apple iPhone 5s
This is the phone that every other manufacturer wants to beat, and it's still the gold standard. The iPhone 5 was hands down the best phone ever made to this point, and the 5S builds on that platform. However this is an evolutionary change, not a revolutionary one. If you didn't upgrade to the 5, skip it and proceed straight to the 5S. If you've got a 5, wait for the 6.
The key enhancements here are a faster processor that doesn't degrade battery life, a better camera, and a fingerprint sensor for biometric security. One caveat though; the fingerprint sensor only works for Apple apps. Apps developed by third parties are not as yet supporteds; tay tuned for that though.
The only downside is that Apple has yet to upgrade the screen size, and it's beginning to look a bit dwarfish next to some bigger phones by other manufacturers.
HTC One M8
The biggest and best thing going for the M8 is its large, high resolution screen. This is the screen that the Apple folks wanted on the 5S and didn't get. The camera on the M8 could have been its best feature, and it is quite good, but a few irritating problems like random noise exposure in the digital pictures it takes keep it from being awesome, and downgrades the camera to merely “good.”
Still, in some respects, this phone outshines the Galaxy S5, which is often considered the number two phone on the market today. That's quite an accomplishment for HTC. A durable, sturdy phone that both looks and feels high quality, and you will love the new BoomSound speaker!
Sony Xperia Z2
Hands down the best, and most expensive Sony phone ever made. The display screen is huge, and of exquisite quality. It's built to withstand punishment and is exceptionally rugged. It's got a blazing fast processor, and its camera shoots high quality digital photos that would stack up nicely against dedicated cameras on the market today. The only real downside is that for a phone, it might be a half step too far. It's so big it's almost a small tablet, but if you wanted a tablet, this probably wouldn't be your first choice because it comes in on the small side in that sphere of the market. Still, for those who want a big, beefy phone that can do just about everything, there's really no other phone to look at. You'll feel the pinch in your wallet though.
Samsung Galaxy S5 Active
This is the world's second most popular smartphone, and it's not hard to see why. With a stunning display screen and an excellent camera, coupled with a solid processor, it's hard to top the basic feature set of the device. Even better, this model was specifically made for those with an active lifestyle. The phone has been ruggedized to withstand shocks, jolts, drops, and even immersion in water.
If the phone has one annoying downside, it is that some of the apps that come preloaded on it cannot be uninstalled. That's fine if you use those apps, but if you don't, you can't get rid of them, and there they sit, useless bloatware on your phone. It's a minor strike against what is otherwise an outstanding phone, and the best of the best for those who need a truly tough device.
Motorola Moto X
This is an unusual entry because its display screen isn't top of the line like all of the other phones on this list, and it doesn't have expandable memory. You might be wondering then, how and why the Moto even made the cut. There are two good reasons. First, it's got a great camera and ultra long battery life. Those two things taken together make it worthy of your consideration, even with the very ordinary display screen. And second, it's got bleeding edge voice command features that no other phone on the list can touch. If you're not a display screen snob, this phone very definitely has features that make it worth checking out!
