AT&T was the first carrier to sell the Apple iPhone in the United States and some of the best Android phones were a hard find at the carrier. However, things at AT&T have changed. They're no longer the only carrier that sells the iPhone, and they also carry some of the best Android phones on the market. The phones are so good, it's tough to say which one is the best smartphone on the AT&T network.
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| HTC One X+ (International Version Pictured) |
With a slim margin, we'd have to say that the best smartphone on the AT&T network is the HTC One X+. It features a powerful 1.7 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor and a beautiful 4.7 inch Super LCD 2 display. Like most HTC Android smartphones, the One X+ comes with HTC Sense. HTC's UI is elegant and runs fairly quickly. We prefer HTC's Sense over Samsung TouchWiz, but like all manufacturer UI, it's an add-on on top of Android. The One X+ As beautiful as the UI, the HTC One X+ has an 8 megapixel camera with a dedicated HTC ImageChip processor that takes lovely pictures. The front facing camera is a 1.6 megapixel unit. Powering the HTC One X+ is a non-user replaceable 2100 mAh battery. We left the best for last. There is still no microSD slot, but storage on the One X+ is now a huge 64 GB. Unfortunately, some of its occupied, the user isn't able to use all of the 64 GB, but its still a lot of storage space. With a two year contract, the One X+ is only $199.99 on AT&T. A 64GB Apple iPhone 5 will set you back $399.99, and that's the two year contract price. So, we feel that the HTC One X+ is the best overall smartphone on AT&T.
It's not the best overall smartphone, but the absolute best smartphone on AT&T has to be the Samsung Galaxy Note II. It's got a powerful 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, and it's not burdened by Steve Jobs' dislike of the stylus. So, why didn't we pick the Samsung Galaxy Note II over the HTC One X+? The Galaxy Note II is an innovative crossbreed between a large smartphone and a small tablet. Unfortunately, this is also a detriment. It features a large 5.5" display, which some people feel is too large. It's better suited to be a work device then it is as a primary smartphone. We hope Android's trend towards larger smartphones stops at some point. In our opinion, 4.3" is the best size for a smartphone. The Google Nexus 4 by LG in comparison is a big 4.7 inches. It's a bit large, but still manageable. We hope they'll shrink back to 4.3 inches, but that doesn't seem likely. We'll cross our fingers that 4.7 inches is where Android manufacturers stop growing. Another issue is the Galaxy Note II's price. It's $299 after a two year contract. It's 100 dollars more than the HTC One X+. Lastly, while the Galaxy Note II offers features you won't find on any other smartphone, including the Apple iPhone 5, we feel most consumers won't need the additional features that the device provides and so it won't give them the biggest bang for their buck. People who need the most powerful and fully featured smartphone, this device is made for you.
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