Apple iPhone, Google Android Devices: 11 Notable Smartphones of 2010

by Michelle Maisto

The iPhone is the smartphone against which all others are judged, and the June arrival of iPhone 4 (despite Antennagate) was described by Apple CEO Steve Jobs as the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. This translated to sales of 1.7 million units in the phones first three days. Its widely speculated that Verizon will begin offering an iPhone in early 2011, which will further expand the phones reach—or, perhaps, domination.

The Motorola Droid X was a summer hit-for those who could get their hands on one. Motorola, Verizon and Best Buy all had problems, immediately following the devices July launch, keeping it in stock. A multimedia-geared phone, it features 720p video capture, HDMI output and a 4.3-inch display—one of the largest around. If you watch a lot of video on your phone (or even if you dont) its a tough one to ignore.

When the Droid Incredible arrived in April, several reviewers declared it the best Android phone on the market at the time. It features a 3.7-inch capacitive-touch display, a 1GHz processor, an 8-megapixel camera, 8GB of internal memory (plus a microSD slot) and HTCs Sense user interface. Moreover, it feels great in the hand, the screen pops, Web browsing is excellent, and the virtual keyboard, thanks to Sense, is easier to use than on other Android phones.

The Palm Pre 2 is notable for a number of reasons. Its the first Palm smartphone released since the Palm brand was purchased by Hewlett-Packard, and its the first device to run WebOS 2.0-an update of the OS so noteworthy that HP has acknowledged it was a major factor in the decision to buy Palm. The Pre 2 also features a 1GHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera and 16GB of memory.

Reviewers loved this phone and consumers flocked to it. The HTC Evo 4G was the first 3G/4G smartphone to be offered by Sprint-the first of the major carriers with a 4G network-and it helped the carrier big time. During its third quarter, Sprint was net positive for the first time on record and was finally able to gain more customers than it lost.

Also helping to boost Sprint toward a record-setting quarter was the Samsung Epic 4G. Along with (WiMax-based) 4G connectivity, it features a 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen, a five-row QWERTY keyboard with dedicated number keys, front and rear-facing cameras, a 1GHz Hummingbird processor with support for 3D graphics, and the ability to act as a hotspot for five other devices.

T-Mobile surprised by announcing—just weeks ahead of Verizons LTE rollout73151that it had a 4G network. Rebranding its HSPA+ network, which it had earlier been calling 3.5G, as 4G, T-Mobile began calling itself Americas Largest 4G Network, and launched the myTouch 4G with a series of iPhone-like TV ads. Unlike the iPhone, the ads point out, the myTouch 4G can video chat without the need for WiFi.

With the launch of Samsungs Galaxy S line of smartphones-not to mention its Galaxy Tab tablet-there can be no doubting its investment in the fast-growing Android OS. The Vibrant, Sprints Galaxy S handset, features a 4-inch touch screen, a 5-megapixel camera, a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 16GB of internal storage, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity and Samsungs TouchWiz user interface.

After admittedly sitting out a few rounds, Microsoft seriously rejoined the smartphone market with the launch of the Windows Phone 7 OS. The WP7-running Samsung Focus has been applauded for the excellence of its call quality, Zune media player, 5-megapixel camera (with flash and HD video capture) and Web browsing.

Reviews were mixed on the BlackBerry Torch-but if you were a RIM convert already, chances are high that you loved it. Its the first RIM phone to run the redesigned BlackBerry 6 OS, as well as the first to offer both a touch screen and a QWERTY keypad.

Called a gorgeous piece of hardware in eWEEKs review, the Google Nexus S-Googles second branded device, this time made by Samsung-arrived just under the wire for Christmas shoppers. Its the first smartphone to run Googles Gingerbread, or version 2.3, and it features a curved glass display and near-field communications technology, which essentially enables a smartphone to act as a wallet.