Top 5 Coolest Smart Phones At CES 2013

Apple dominates the U.S. smart-phone market, with 53.3% market share. But International CES 2013 is upon us, bringing tough new competition for Apple. Here are the top five new phones that will give Apple some intense competition.

Sony Xperia Z

Sony will display its much anticipated Xperia Z at this year’s International CES. Boasting top-notch hardware, it features Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, a 1.5-GHz Qualcomm quad-core processor, Bluetooth 4.0, near-field communications (NFC), 2 Gbytes of RAM, and a 13-Mpixel camera with HDR video (Fig. 1). It’s also water-resistant and can stay submerged for up to 30 minutes. And, its 5-inch screen offers 1920- by 1080-pixel resolution, leading to plenty of detail in images.

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1. Sony’s water-resistant Xperia Z can stay submerged for up to 30 minutes.

Huawei Ascend Mate

Huawei took a shot at Samsung with its new Ascend Mate, a smart phone with a massive 6.1-inch display with 1280 by 720 pixels (Fig. 2). It’s an HD screen, but the large size cuts down on the pixel density. The Ascend Mate also includes an 8-Mpixel camera, a huge 4000-mAh battery that will typically last for up to four days, and a quad-core processor. Also, Huawei’s “magic touch” technology allows users to effectively use the touchscreen while wearing gloves. This phone is available to order online, and Huawei is currently in talks with U.S. network providers.

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2. Huawei took a shot at Samsung with its new Ascend Mate, a smart phone with a massive 6.1-inch display with 1280 by 720 pixels.

Pantech Discover

Pantech’s Discover is its highest-quality Android device to date (Fig. 3). Its 4.8-inch display provides 1280-by-720p HD resolution. Also, its 12.6-Mpixel camera shoots 1080p HD video. Its dual speakers create 3D surroundsound as well. The Discover supports tons of connections, such as LTE 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and NFC. Its DriveMode app prevents users from answering text messages when driving over 25 mph. And its best feature? Its price. The Discover costs just $50 on contract with AT&T and will be on sale January 11.

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3. The Discover’s best feature is its $50 price tag.

Intel “Lexington” Platform

Designed for low-cost smart phones, Intel’s low-power Atom Z2420 x/XMIM Android chip supports hyperthreading up to 1.2 GHz, dual sim cards, HD video encoding and decoding (1080p 30fps), 1.3-Mpixel front-facing cameras, and 5-Mpixel rear-facing cameras. It also features camera support with seven-frame burst mode and SGX540 graphics, as well as FM radio to get media contents without using your data plan. And, its microSD card slot easily expands your storage. Intel has teamed up with Lenovo and Motorola for the launch of the K800, a smart phone that will utilize the chip.

Alcatel One Touch Idol Ultra

Alcatel’s One Touch Idol Ultra is the world’s thinnest smart phone (Fig. 4). It is 0.05 inches slimmer than Apple’s iPhone 5, which was the thinnest. The Ultra weighs 4.1 ounces and measures 5.29 by 2.7 by 0.25 inches. It boats a 4.7-inch active-matrix organic LED (AMOLED) display, a 1.2-GHz dual-core processor, and 1 Gbyte of RAM. It runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and features a 1.3-Mpixel front-facing camera and an 8-Mpixel rear camera.