By Shahrum Gilani
December 15, 2013
2013 has been an excellent year for handsets; and with smartphone sales continuing to grow, the competition is getting stronger all the time. In this post, we present the phones critics and reviewers have rated most highly this year. Ratings and scores shown are accurate as measured at the end of December 2013.
Priced at about a quarter of most high end flagship handsets, praise for the Motorola Moto G has been universal. Whilst from a pure hardware and specification point of view it understandably doesn't compete with other top of the range handsets, it certainly holds its own. Reviewers enjoyed the interchangeable cases, and liked the overall style and design of the handset. The biggest complaints were directed at the lack of storage space on the phone with no memory card slot, though you do get 2 years free storage space with Google Drive to compensate. If you have been on the fence about buying a smartphone and don't want to spend an arm and a leg to join the next generation, or if you're just looking for an inexpensive new handset, nothing in this price range comes close.
Pros: Extremely affordable price, interchangable back panels, great design, good performance. |
 |
 |
Cons: Limited onboard storage, no memory expansion, no 4G. |
LG may not have the same brand recognition as some of its rivals in the handset market, but they have built several well-received phones recently (in addition to this phone, they are also behind the very popular Google Nexus 5). The G2 impressed most critics with its top of the range processor and stunning screen, and innovations such as tapping the screen to wake it . Rather unusually, the G2 has buttons on the rear of the phone, and whilst most reviewers found that they got used to the different layout, they were uncertain as to whether this would be something that would catch on.
Pros: Excellent display, powerful. |
|
Cons: No memory card slot, button placement could be an issue to some. |
In terms of features, Samsung really went all in with the Galaxy S4. The latest flagship incarnation of the Galaxy S series may look very similar to the S III, however it improves on its predecessor with a bigger, Full HD screen, improved camera and better battery. In terms of software, Samsung have added substantially too - with mixed results - with features like being able to use phone by hovering fingers over the screen, and being able to control scrolling just by looking at the handset. Whilst not all reviewers loved these additions, virtually everyone was impressed by the Galaxy S4's power and applauded the removable battery and expandable memory - something that is lacking in several key rival handsets. At the time of release, virtually every reviewer considered the Galaxy S4 to be one of the two best Android handsets you could buy (alongside the HTC One), and whilst it has a little more competition now than a few months ago, it is still a stand-out device.
Pros: Powerful, great screen, very good camera. |
|
Cons: Unimagnitative design, complex interface. |
2013 has been a difficult year for HTC with record financial losses, an exodus of key staff, and most recently a temporary ban from the courts on the sale of some of their handsets in the UK. The bright spot in HTC's year however has undoubtedly been the release and critical success of the One. In terms of design, many reviewers have claimed it to be the most attractive handset ever, surpassing even Apple's efforts. Virtually everyone praised the unibody aluminum casing, the stunning 4.7-inch 1080p screen and the front facing BoomSound speakers. The 'UltraPixel' camera (sacrificing a high pixel count for the ability to take better pictures under low light conditions) was generally well received, though most believe there are better cameras on phones available. But what the HTC has achieved with the One - integration of beautiful hardware and excellent software - is truly special, and should definitely be at the top of anyone's list of handsets worth purchasing.
Pros: Beautiful design, great screen and sound. |
 |
Cons: Mixed camera results, no storage expansion. |
With the Galaxy Note series, Samsung have realised what many other phablet designers have failed to grasp - if you are going to buy an extra-large handset, you will want to use it differently to smaller devices. This has led to Samsung being a true innovator in the field, using the S-Pen stylus that comes with the Note 3 to great effect for tasks like handwriting recognition and a scrapbooking function. Critics also loved the big high resolution screen, powerful processor, large battery and S4-inspired design (thought the faux-leather rear was more divisive). The size of the Note 3 may mean it's not for everyone, but if you are looking for a large phone, then this is unquestionably the one to get.
Pros: Excellent battery, display and performance. |
 |
|
Cons: Can be complicated to use, large size and stylus not for everyone. |
Google's Nexus range of phones have always gone down well with critics, and the Nexus 5 is no exception. There has been near-unanimous approval for the Nexus 5 with its top of the range hardware, simple design and relatively low cost when compared to other flagship phones. This is the first handset to be released with the latest version of the Android operating system, KitKat. Whilst not considered a huge leap from recent iterations, reviewers have liked what has been changed, such as further integration of search functionality. The biggest criticism levelled at the Nexus 5 at the time of launch was that the camera did not live up to expectations, but Google have already released a software update fixing many of the issues mentioned by reviewers. If you are looking to buy a handset without any long term commitment to a contract or want a high-end handset on a budget, this (alongside the even more affordable Moto G) is the phone to choose.
Pros: Excellent value for money, powerful specs, comes with latest version of Android, great screen. |
 |
 |
Cons: No expandable storage, some camera issues. |
Whilst looking a lot like its predecessor, reviewers loved the iPhone 5s and the new features introduced such as the improved camera and the well-designed fingerprint recognition. There have been quite a few internal improvements too such as a much faster CPU with 64-bit architecture and introduction of a motion co-processor, and whilst not immediately visible to users, critics agree that as app developers learn how to make the most of these improvements, the 5s will only get better. Alongside the iPhone 5c, this was the debut of the iOS 7 operating system on Apple devices, which was also generally well-received. The main criticisms of the 5s were levelled at its price and the fact that the 4 inch screen seems small compared to most modern high-end handsets, but even though the competition is getting better and better, this is still the benchmark all other phones aspire to beat and is HandsetExpert's highest scoring phone of 2013.
Pros: Powerful, excellent use of fingerprint sensor, very good camera. |
 |
 |
Cons: Expensive, small screen size compared to other modern phones, similar design to iPhone 5. |
