You all have joined me on a wonderful journey over the last eight weeks as I dug up some of the hottest Android-exclusive apps around. It has brought me great joy to bring all of you apps that may never see the light of day on the iOS platform.
But I was thinking the other day, what good is a hot ticket, exclusive Android app if you have poor quality hardware to run it? Sure, Android does top the charts in my book with regard to development, but some of their devices don’t cut it.
I’m talking from firsthand experience here, having gone through 4 Motorola Droid 4s in 2 months due to hardware failures. So here I am, near the end of my Android-fueled journey, bringing you some of the highest rated Android devices to make good use of all the apps I’ve shown you these past few weeks.
This week’s top 10 Android devices are:
Phones
- Google Nexus 4: A Google powered phone in all ways, this device was built for optimization with the Google Play Market, Google Now, and Google Maps. The 4.7 inch display features 768 x 1280 pixels supplemented by the 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro and 2GB RAM. Users typically get 15.3 hours of usage before needing to charge it.
- HTC One: This all metal designed smartphone has a 4.7 inch, 1080 p HD display and sports some serious power in the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600, which is, on average, 40 percent more powerful than the Snapdragon S4 Pro. It far exceeds its commercial hype and gives you 32GB to download apps, games, and movies without a hitch.
- LG G2: It seems like LG hasn’t released a top device in a while now, but their G2 is actually projected to rank among the best handsets to date. The 5.2 inch, full 1080p display takes advantage of the Snapdragon 800, which is even better than the HTC One’s processor. The only downside is that it lacks micro SD expansion slots.
- Samsung Galaxy Note II: This is my current phone and it is one of the most loved handsets in the Android community. The display is about as big as you can get before stepping up to the tablet realm, coming in at 5.5 inches. Because of its age it is powered by the Samsung Exynos 4 instead of a Snapdragon, but it doesn’t lose a single step in terms of power.
- Sony Xperia Z: One of the only water resistant smartphones out there, the Xperia Z’s best trait is that you buy it initially unlocked. It can be signed up on any network out there and you get the added benefit of Sony’s hardware reputation. The only possible downside is that it has to wait a bit longer for Android updates.
Tablets
- Ainol Novo 9 Spark: One of the cheaper tablet options starting at only $229. The 9.7 inch, 2048 x 1536 retina IPS display can handle anything you want to throw its way. Powered by the Allwinner A31 quad core processor, it also features 16GB of on board storage. It might not be name brand, but it works just as well as a name brand product.
- Amazon Kindle Fire HD: The Kindle Fire HD starts at $199, blowing the Ainol Novo price out of the water. It comes in either 16GB or 32GB sizes, but both are powered by a 1.2GHz dual core processor. It is definitely one of the easiest tablets to get accustomed to, with plenty of curated content, and it serves as an optimized e-reader as well.
- Asus Transformer Pad Infinity: The only negative about the Asus tablet is the price tag that is pinned on it. The 16GB model is $499 and the 32GB model is $599, but it is worth the price to most. It comes with a well designed mobile dock that will make utilizing any business app more efficient, and the full 1920 x 1200 display will knock your socks off.
- Google Nexus 7: If you want the Asus hardware without the Asus price, this is the tablet for you. Built by Asus, the Nexus 7 has a Tegra 3 quad-core processor, a 12 core GPU, up to 16GB of internal storage, and a 1280 x 800 pixel screen. This tablet was built to run any app you bring its way.
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1: The popular counterpart to the Galaxy Note II smartphone. This 10.1 inch tablet was designed to be big and provide ample space for the user. The 1280 x 800 pixel display looks sharp, and the 1.4GHz quad core processor works nicely with the 2GB of RAM for a smooth run. It also has an S Pen to help make your experience even more efficient.