[etad putta]

Lumia 520 ��. Incredible price for a decent smartphone experience.

Or a 521. Either of these put a solid smartphone in the hand of a person with a small amount of money. Going from a feature phone to one of these opens up a whole new world.

[sonus]

I was an early adopter to the Galaxy Note series. As the sizes got bigger, they just lost their appeal to me. Also had a 1020 for a week or so but that thing was like a brick in my pocket; too heavy.

Having said that if I had to choose just one device, it would be the Moto X. It can simply do things no others phones on the market can do.

touchless control
active notifications
trusted bluetooth device
Google Wallet tap and pay
can use with my Pebble smart watch

I like my Lumia 925, but would like it more with 32GB...hopefully 2014 will bring some more storage to the more compact Lumias.

International Lumia 925s can be bought with 32GBs. I too have had many Android devices, but it seems you change phones in much faster spurts than me. My issue with Android phones is the huge slow down they see after you've had them over 6 months to a year. They become incredibly frustrating devices to use - at least that's my experience.

[planoman]

International Lumia 925s can be bought with 32GBs. I too have had many Android devices, but it seems you change phones in much faster spurts than me. My issue with Android phones is the huge slow down they see after you've had them over 6 months to a year. They become incredibly frustrating devices to use - at least that's my experience.

I saw that 925 32GB model but was pretty sure it did not work with ATT LTE which I like since I live in a very strong LTE area. I noticed in the 1520 they have a micro SD card slot which would be ok also. I have not really noticed the android slow down but maybe because I have not had a phone long enough, lol! This is the first time in a long time I have not had a Sammy in my stable. My Nexus 5 also is not getting much SIM time because it really like my moto x! Been running with a Lumia 925 since Tuesday, but I have been off from work. Not sure what I am going to do tomorrow...

Interested to see what CES brings and WP 8.1

[boovish]

Guys what is the best smart phone that you consider for 2013? For me its Lumia 1020 ( great 40 mp camera with awesome hardware and software) please post your favorite smart phone down and the reason of choosing it.

The iPhone 5S and the 1020 tie for first

[Dave Blake]

Lumia 1520

[jmshub]

I think the 1020 is the most impressive phone of the year. A solid all purpose phone that meaningfully moved technology forward with the pureview camera.

[Sanjay Chandra]

I would pick Lumia 520 , iPhone 5S and Note III (Yes 520 but not 1520 because what's the use of that big screen without multi-windows or stylus support ?)

[jomarr]

Lumia 929. Lol j/k

Lumia 1520, definitely.

[Muessig]

Hmm hard one. For me the 1020 is the most impressive all-around package. Technologically speaking, though it's the 1520 hands-down.

[hidayat225]

I would pick Lumia 520 , iPhone 5S and Note III (Yes 520 but not 1520 because what's the use of that big screen without multi-windows or stylus support ?)

I agree. The 520, Note III is the most satisfying device you ever get for the amount of money you pay for it. Note III bringing out the best of Android with its Touchwiz and S Pen. The 520's price is a bargain compared to other Android Phones and the similar experience you get with upper WPhones.

[psudotechzealot]

The Lumia 1520...... Then........

2.Lumia 925
3.Lumia 1020
4. HTC one
5. Note 3

[undulose]

I disagree with this. The 1020 does everything the 1520 can do. Even with the higher specs there is not a great difference in performance yet in 2013. The 1520 is more future proofed with the higher specs but WP OS doesn't need those great specs to begin with to run smoothly. I have found the 1020 to be an excellent daily driver.

Hey dude, I didn't say that the 1020 is not an excellent device. I only said that the 1520 outperforms 1020 in almost every aspect aside from the camera. The difference couldn't be that great BUT there is still a difference, how small it is. Plus the battery life between the two has a huge difference.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[arifdanials]

Obviously the Nokia Lumia 1520!

[buxz777]

for me personally it has to be the nokia 1020 , they done a great job of getting the optics into the slim profile and even came up with a new ois design to cater the massive lens and sensor , the work that must have gone into getting that camera into a phone smaller and lighter then the 920 in such a small amount of time is quite something and shows great innovation

I also think its the most versatile device out at the minute (the 808 is too but the o/s is creaking now) due to its xenon flash and camera I mean most phones do the same things don't they but a stand out feature like the 1020s camera just adds so much more versatility to the phone then a quad core cpu or massive screen , I mean I can still do the same on a 4.5" screen as I can do on the 6" screen and I can still play all the games that people with 1520s can but they will never be able to freeze motion shots like the 1020 can with xenon flash and if your a person who goes out with your mates down the pub or likes to socialise at night then the xenon flash of the 1020 can be invaluable

ideally id like a hybrid of the 1020 and 1520 to make the camera speed a little quicker and stuff but id never swap my 1020 for a 1520 just because of the xenon flash and better camera (although the 1520 camera is no slouch)

so yeah for me it has to be the 1020 as it does everything that the others do but also has more like the xenon flash and 41mp sensor etc

I also own the 64gb version so memory isn't much of an issue , I think nokia should have made them all 64gb and I think we would see a lot less 808 users moaning about the 1020 32gb isn't enough but 64gb built in helps soothe the pain of the missing micro sd slot ;-)

lets not forget the great extras for the 1020 like the camera grip with extra battery juice etc they all add up to an amazing package

ps
I agree with the user above me the 1020 camera for me personally trumps a quad core cpu and better gpu like I say the 1020 can do everything the 1520 can really just maybe the 1520 does it a millisecond quicker surely that cant beat having the versatility of a proper xenon flash to freeze motion instead of getting a led flash blurry shot??

pps
the 925 was a great device but with only 12.5gb avalible to the end user it can surely only be counted as a great device let down by poor memory allowance? I think most people would choose the 920 over the 925 for the bigger memory , wireless charging etc etc ;-)

[planoman]

for me personally it has to be the nokia 1020 , they done a great job of getting the optics into the slim profile and even came up with a new ois design to cater the massive lens and sensor , the work that must have gone into getting that camera into a phone smaller and lighter then the 920 in such a small amount of time is quite something and shows great innovation

I also think its the most versatile device out at the minute (the 808 is too but the o/s is creaking now) due to its xenon flash and camera I mean most phones do the same things don't they but a stand out feature like the 1020s camera just adds so much more versatility to the phone then a quad core cpu or massive screen , I mean I can still do the same on a 4.5" screen as I can do on the 6" screen and I can still play all the games that people with 1520s can but they will never be able to freeze motion shots like the 1020 can with xenon flash and if your a person who goes out with your mates down the pub or likes to socialise at night then the xenon flash of the 1020 can be invaluable

ideally id like a hybrid of the 1020 and 1520 to make the camera speed a little quicker and stuff but id never swap my 1020 for a 1520 just because of the xenon flash and better camera (although the 1520 camera is no slouch)

so yeah for me it has to be the 1020 as it does everything that the others do but also has more like the xenon flash and 41mp sensor etc

I also own the 64gb version so memory isn't much of an issue , I think nokia should have made them all 64gb and I think we would see a lot less 808 users moaning about the 1020 32gb isn't enough but 64gb built in helps soothe the pain of the missing micro sd slot ;-)

lets not forget the great extras for the 1020 like the camera grip with extra battery juice etc they all add up to an amazing package

ps
I agree with the user above me the 1020 camera for me personally trumps a quad core cpu and better gpu like I say the 1020 can do everything the 1520 can really just maybe the 1520 does it a millisecond quicker surely that cant beat having the versatility of a proper xenon flash to freeze motion instead of getting a led flash blurry shot??

pps
the 925 was a great device but with only 12.5gb avalible to the end user it can surely only be counted as a great device let down by poor memory allowance? I think most people would choose the 920 over the 925 for the bigger memory , wireless charging etc etc ;-)

Agree with you on the Lumia 925 and being let down by the storage. I feel like I am back with my Nexus 4...except the camera is so much better on my 925. No way could I use a 920, it would pull my pants down it is so heavy...

[dnomadic]

Lumia 929. Lol j/k

Lumia 1520, definitely.

Stole my thunder, I was going to say the 929. Really wanted that phone, instead I had to go back to my 928 when I switched back to verizon from Tmobile.

[dnomadic]

And the phone of 2013 with less than 32gb is the Nokia 925 (still need to fix the scratch prone screens)

32gb and above I would go with the moto x, not because I want one but it opened the doors for customizations and had great features plus reasonable size for almost all.

[dnomadic]

I would pick Lumia 520 , iPhone 5S and Note III (Yes 520 but not 1520 because what's the use of that big screen without multi-windows or stylus support ?)

The note 3 was great, but I had to return mine do to a lot of freezing and crashes....would be in my top 3

[ianberg]

Here's another vote Lumia 520, it's certainly the best low-cost phone out there right now.

I only bought one phone in 2013: the Lumia 520. It was for my wife and she loves it. I'm sticking with my Lumia 710 for now as it still continues to do all that I need a phone to do. Nokia phones are SOLID.

[neo158]

I find threads like this to be very subjective . Of course we are all going to say that our phones are the best, because they are ... the best for what we want our phones for. I always feel that there is no "best smartphone", just the one that's best for you.

But to keep this thread on topic I'll throw my vote in here for the Samsung ATIV S why, because I own one . That and it's a flagship device with a removable battery which is one of the things that only the low end of Lumia range have and AFAIK none of the HTC devices have and the ATIV S has what seems to be highly desirable, from the amount of HTC and Nokia owners using the "hack" to download the apps, and practical exclusive software

[downhillrider]

I would have to say the HTC One. I should have never sold it to buy a Nexus 5. So now I have a 1020 which Ive enjoyed the couple of weeks Ive had it.

[Paul May]

Hey dude, I didn't say that the 1020 is not an excellent device. I only said that the 1520 outperforms 1020 in almost every aspect aside from the camera. The difference couldn't be that great BUT there is still a difference, how small it is. Plus the battery life between the two has a huge difference.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

And my point being that even though you have a quad core it doesn't mean anything because there were no games or apps to take advantage of it in 2013. This may change in 2014 sure but the performance increase is negligible because WP does not need those specs to run smoothly. The 1020 really innovated and pushed the envelope in regards to camera technology, the 1520 didn't do anything new that hasn't already been done by another phone manufacturer, there was no innovation. It is a great device and I find myself wanting one for that big high def screen but for me it was not the best phone of 2013.

[undulose]

And my point being that even though you have a quad core it doesn't mean anything because there were no games or apps to take advantage of it in 2013. This may change in 2014 sure...

Okay dude, point taken and I'm convinced somehow. One of the things that I think Nokia or MS could have included on the 1520 is a more efficient use of the big screen estates estate, not only by adding another column of Live Tiles and making texts appear larger.



Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Paul May]

Okay dude, point taken and I'm convinced somehow. One of the things that I think Nokia or MS could have included on the 1520 is a more efficient use of the big screen estates estate, not only by adding another column of Live Tiles and making texts appear larger.



Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Agreed, they should have also included a stylus. The 1520 is an awesome device, so beautiful to hold and look at, maybe the 32gb model AT&T is rumored to be coming out with will include a few upgrades? Who knows.

[Will6371]

for me personally it has to be the nokia 1020 , they done a great job of getting the optics into the slim profile and even came up with a new ois design to cater the massive lens and sensor , the work that must have gone into getting that camera into a phone smaller and lighter then the 920 in such a small amount of time is quite something and shows great innovation

I also think its the most versatile device out at the minute (the 808 is too but the o/s is creaking now) due to its xenon flash and camera I mean most phones do the same things don't they but a stand out feature like the 1020s camera just adds so much more versatility to the phone then a quad core cpu or massive screen , I mean I can still do the same on a 4.5" screen as I can do on the 6" screen and I can still play all the games that people with 1520s can but they will never be able to freeze motion shots like the 1020 can with xenon flash and if your a person who goes out with your mates down the pub or likes to socialise at night then the xenon flash of the 1020 can be invaluable

ideally id like a hybrid of the 1020 and 1520 to make the camera speed a little quicker and stuff but id never swap my 1020 for a 1520 just because of the xenon flash and better camera (although the 1520 camera is no slouch)

so yeah for me it has to be the 1020 as it does everything that the others do but also has more like the xenon flash and 41mp sensor etc

I also own the 64gb version so memory isn't much of an issue , I think nokia should have made them all 64gb and I think we would see a lot less 808 users moaning about the 1020 32gb isn't enough but 64gb built in helps soothe the pain of the missing micro sd slot ;-)

lets not forget the great extras for the 1020 like the camera grip with extra battery juice etc they all add up to an amazing package

ps
I agree with the user above me the 1020 camera for me personally trumps a quad core cpu and better gpu like I say the 1020 can do everything the 1520 can really just maybe the 1520 does it a millisecond quicker surely that cant beat having the versatility of a proper xenon flash to freeze motion instead of getting a led flash blurry shot??

pps
the 925 was a great device but with only 12.5gb avalible to the end user it can surely only be counted as a great device let down by poor memory allowance? I think most people would choose the 920 over the 925 for the bigger memory , wireless charging etc etc ;-)

You think the 1020 is slim, I had one for a week and gave it to my wife because of how ungainly it was. I also didn't think the camera was all that considering the 41mp, I found the Z1 that I have as well to be almost as good in some respects and better in the rest. How often does it actually use the 41mp anyway.