Late last year, we told you just about everything you need to know to buy a smartphone: how to choose a carrier, form factor, operating system, data plan, and more. We gave you the tools to make an educated choice, but we still left the final decision — actually choosing a phone — up to you. What if you’re just looking for a specific recommendation, though? What’s the best phone for your hard-earned dollar?
We’re going to tell you exactly which phone you should buy if you walk into your carrier’s store today. We’ll also tell you what phone you might want to wait for and we’ll tell you what phone you definitely shouldn’t buy. We’re confident about these choices — we use many, many phones over the course of the year. We can’t exactly offer you a money-back guarantee, but fortunately, your carrier can.
Additionally, we’ll share our picks for the best “budget” phone available on each carrier, devices that currently retail for $100 or less. Bear in mind that over the course of a two-year contract, the upfront cost of the phone is often less than 10 percent of your total outlay, but if you’re looking to spend as little money upfront as possible, you’ll be glad to know that there are still some fantastic picks available. You can frequently save even more money on the price of the phone by purchasing it through a third-party retailer like Amazon Wireless or Wirefly, but remember that you’ll usually be subject to two separate early termination fees — one from the carrier, one from the retailer — if you end your contract before your two years are up.
Verizon
Top Pick: Samsung Galaxy S III The iPhone 4S remains one of the best, most well-balanced smartphones money can buy, but on Verizon, the Samsung Galaxy S III gets the nod for a larger, higher-resolution screen, LTE compatibility, and an assortment of features that make it one of the best Android phones on the market today. |
Close Second: Galaxy Nexus |
Budget Pick: iPhone 4 8GB |
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For a few dollars less than the S III on contract, the Galaxy Nexus still makes an excellent alternative with stock Android. Neither the battery life nor signal strength are best-in-class, but they’re passable — and if you need more juice, Verizon offers a tasteful extended battery that doesn’t thicken the phone too much. |
Nearly two years on, the iPhone 4’s design — shared with the newer 4S — remains one of the most striking on the market. 8GB of non-expandable internal storage is pretty light by 2012 standards, but the iPhone 4 runs iOS 5, which means you’ve got access to iTunes in the Cloud; play your cards right and you may not use much of that 8GB for music anyway. As long as you can live without Siri, a dual-core processor, and an 8-megapixel camera, it’s difficult to do better than a $99 iPhone 4. |
You might want to wait for:
HTC Droid Incredible 4G
The Droid Incredible and Droid Incredible 2 remain two of the most beloved smartphones HTC has ever released in the US, so it stands to reason that Verizon is looking to match that success with the next model in the series, the not-quite-a-One-series HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE.
Don't Buy:
Sony Xperia Play
The Sony Xperia Play has a storied history and seemed to have so much potential. The idea that you could play full PlayStation games on your phone is certainly compelling, but both the execution and the game library have turned out to be seriously disappointing. Even though it's free on-contract, we can't recommend this phone.
AT&T;
Top Pick: iPhone 4S |
Close Second: HTC One X (LTE) |
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The iPhone 4S remains an easy choice some seven months after its release: it’s fast, looks great, has a stellar camera, and still has one of the best displays in the business. It lacks 4G LTE (and don’t believe the 4G icon you see on the phone now), but until AT&T; builds out its LTE network, you will only miss it in major metro areas. Most importantly, iOS still offers more and better-supported apps than the competition. |
Apart from some niggles with Sense 4, the hardware on the One X is fantastic, the processor blazes, and the 4.7-inch display approaches perfection. AT&T;’s version of the One X uses a dual-core Snapdragon S4 in place of the quad-core Tegra 3, but we’ve found that it’s plenty-fast and sips power instead of chugging it down. Add in LTE (in some areas, anyway) and you’ve got a big winner. |
Budget Pick:
Nokia Lumia 900
As we found in our review, Windows Phone 7.5 is still a flawed platform with a few significant gaps in app support against iOS and Android, but the Lumia 900 remains a compelling device in the sub-$100 category. We know that it won't be upgraded to Windows Phone 8, but in truth it's still a compelling phone if you're not worried about that future upgrade. LTE support, a big 4.3-inch display, and some of the best hardware we’ve ever seen on a phone make a strong case — and who can argue with a cyan option?
Don't Buy:
Samsung Focus S
At $199.99, the Samsung Focus S is hard to justify: it might be a serviceable Windows Phone, but it lacks the LTE support found on the Focus 2, Nokia Lumia 900, and HTC Titan II. None of those phones are more expensive — and with the exception of the Titan II, they’re actually cheaper.
Sprint
Top Pick: HTC Evo 4G LTE The Evo 4G LTE is, in many ways, as good of a phone as the One X on which it’s based — and that’s a high benchmark. The black / red color scheme makes for a striking combination (just as it did on the Evo 3D and Evo 4G before it), and the inclusion of both LTE and HD voice support should make this one of the more future-proof phones in Sprint’s lineup. |
Budget Pick:
iPhone 4 8GB
Same story, different carrier: the iPhone 4 is a really easy recommendation at under $100 — particularly since Sprint is now the lone holdout for unlimited, unthrottled data among national networks.
Don't Buy:
BlackBerry Tour 9630
The only conceivable reason that Sprint might still sell this relic of a phone for $99.99 on contract is because it’s available without a camera, a requirement in some high-security workplaces. Unless your hand is being forced, though, look elsewhere.
T-Mobile
Top Pick: Samsung Galaxy S III |
Close Second: HTC One S |
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Samsung is launching essentially the same Galaxy S III on every carrier, and that means it’s just as good of a phone on T-Mobile as it is elsewhere. You won’t get the LTE service that you enjoy on AT&T; or Verizon, but otherwise, it’s a perfect reproduction — and T-Mobile’s HSPA+ service is the fastest you can get in many markets. |
The One S’s thin profile has been met with rave reviews, including our own. Performance is nearly as good as the One X and it’s got the same camera hardware; in fact, the only real disadvantage to the S is that it has a lackluster 4.3-inch PenTile AMOLED display. If you can look past that — and the fact that T-Mobile’s version of the phone won’t have the high-tech “micro-arc oxidized“ coating featured on the global model — this 7.8mm-thick wonder should be near the top of your list. |
Budget Pick:
Varies
T-Mobile tends to cycle its free on-contract phones fairly regularly, so check with your store to see what’s available. At the time of this writing, the HTC Amaze 4G — the flagship model in T-Mobile’s lineup just a few short months ago — was selling for $0 on a two-year agreement; considering that it’s a dual-core device with a decent camera and the promise of an official ICS upgrade in the near future, it’s hard to argue with that. Nokia’s Lumia 710 can also be found for free at times, a good choice at an unbeatable price if you’re looking to give Windows Phone a shot.
Don't Buy:
LG Doubleplay
Yes it has a physical keyboard and what looks like a clever second screen that could theoretically do clever things. Trust us, though, you don't want the LG Doubleplay. It's currently free, but you couldn't pay us to use it.
US Cellular, Cricket, and MetroPCS
US Cellular |
Cricket |
MetroPCS |
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Samsung Galaxy S III |
iPhone 4 8GB |
LG Esteem |
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Regional carrier US Cellular isn’t known for having the best, most bleeding-edge hardware selection in the industry, so when we found out that it was getting the Galaxy S III at just about the same time as its larger competitors, it was a big deal — particularly considering that the forgettable Galaxy S Aviator is the only other LTE phone in the company’s current lineup. |
Prepaid iPhones are finally starting to launch in the US for the first time this month, and Cricket is one of the first beneficiaries. Alongside a 16GB 4S for $499.99, you can get the iPhone 4 8GB for $399.99 completely contract-free and pay $55 a month for unlimited everything. As long as you don’t need the fastest data, it’s one of the best deals in the business. |
While we can't disagree with those who say that $379 seems excessive, but keep in mind that this is a contract-free price for the LG Esteem — and in exchange you get LTE support on a 4.3-inch display. |
Dieter Bohn contributed to this report
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