The 8 best smartphones: What's the best phone you can buy in 2013?

The best 8 smartphones reviewed

By PC Advisor staff | PC Advisor | 05 June 13

There are plenty of phones to choose from right now, so here is where PC Advisor lists 2013's 8 best smartphones that are avilable to buy in the UK right now. When you've found the phone you like, compare mobile phone deals to get the best tariff.

8 Best Smartphones of 2013

8. Samsung Galaxy S3

• Reviewed on: 17 June 13
• RRP: From £29 per month; Around £500 SIM-free
• Rating:

The Galaxy S3 has turned out to be an excellent smartphone. It offers a good design and build quality, despite our small niggles. Samsung has put together an impressive set of hardware resulting in silky smooth performance and extensive software features. We can't give the number one spot to two smartphones, so the iPhone nudges it on a show of hands, but it really is a matter of personal taste. The S3 really is as good a smartphone as you can buy right now. Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Apple iPhone 4S comparison review.

7. HTC One X+

• Reviewed on: 23 January 13
• RRP: Around £450 inc VAT
• Rating:

With a newer version of Android, fixed build quality issues and significantly increased battery life, the One X+ is a polished and honed version of its predecessor. It's now an even better all-round quality smartphone with a reasonable price tag.

6. Motorola Razr i

• Reviewed on: 25 September 12
• RRP: £345 inv VAT
• Rating:

The Motorola Razr i is a great all-rounder smartphone. It offers a great combination of design and performance for a reasonable price. It's worth a look for its price and worthy of our recommended award.

5. Google Nexus 4

• Reviewed on: 14 November 12
• RRP: £239 for 8GB; £279 for 16GB
• Rating:

As long as the storage capacities suffice, the Nexus 4 is the definition of a bargain. You quite simply get the performance and features of a high-end smartphone for half the price you would expect to pay. Unless you're set on an iPhone, the Nexus 4 is an unbeatable deal.

4. Samsung Galaxy S4

• Reviewed on: 16 May 13
• RRP: Around £500 inc VAT
• Rating:

The Galaxy S4 is a great phone with outstanding hardware and performance, but it's not flawless. We're disappointed with the build quality considering the handset costs a fair bit more than its rivals and while the S4 is packed with features we find a lot of them to be gimmicky.

3. New HTC One

• Reviewed on: 28 March 13
• RRP: £529 inc. VAT
• Rating:

The HTC One is up there with the very best smartphones on the market today. It has superb performance, and excellent build quality spoiled only slightly by running hot in use. You can't fault the feature set, and it matches the other high-end products in terms of price. In terms of audio and visual output it is unsurpassed. The interface might be an acquired taste for some, and we weren't overly impressed with the camera. It's not perfect, but alongside the Xperia Z and iPhone 5 this is about as good a phone as you can buy.

2. Apple iPhone 5

• Reviewed on: 17 June 13
• RRP: £529 (16GB)
• Rating:

The iPhone 5 really is much more than a tall iPhone 4S with a new plug. The people may demand a revolution every upgrade season. But Apple may just have supplied what the people need, not what they say they want. And that's a powerful evolution on the theme of iPhone which is currently putting the competiton back on the starting blocks.

1. Sony Xperia Z

• Reviewed on: 17 June 13
• RRP: £520 inc VAT
• Rating:

The Xperia Z is the first smartphone which Sony has really nailed. We love the stylish, desirable and rugged design. The combination of excellent performance, a stunning screen and great cameras make the Xperia Z a force to be reckoned with. There is very little to say about this phone that is negative.

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Moto X advertisement hints at a customisable smartphone..a must buy for young people!

Anupam Saxena.

Looks like Motorola's new Moto X smartphone is just around the corner, with the Google owned mobile device company all set to release its first ad campaign for the much talked about phone.

According to a report by AdAge, Motorola will run a full page ad  in US newspapers The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, on July 3 coinciding with the American independence day on July 4.

The ad focuses on how the Moto X phone will be designed, engineered and assembled in the USA, playing on the patriotic spirit, at a time when most mobile and computing devices are assembled in overseas production facilities in China, Vietnam and other countries.

Interestingly, as indicated by previous rumours, the ad also mentions that the Moto X would be the first phone that consumers will be able to design themselves. It ends with the tagline 'Designed by You. Assembled in the USA'. The ad also features the new Motorola logo which was revealed a few days back.

However, the ad does not mention what all elements of the phone would be customisable. It doesn't carry an image or even a small glimpse of the phone.

The smartphone being assembled in the US doesn't come as a surprise, as the company had earlier said that its new manufacturing facility in Texas will produce the Moto X,first smartphone ever assembled in the country. In fact Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside had also made an official announcement about the development at AllThingsD's D11 Conference.

There have been a lot of rumours surrounding the X Phone, including that the X Phone might be a sub-brand and approach that includes user-defined configurations for colour, storage capacity, ringtones, apps and more. This intensified after Guy Kawasaki, who recently joined Motorola, had posted a video on his Google+ page about customisable cars and posted, "Wouldn't it be great if you could personalise your phone like this?"

Just a week back a new picture of what is claimed to be the Moto X phone had surfaced online.

Serial phone leaker @evleaks had also revealed the specifications of the much awaited smartphone through a tweet. As per the tweet, the phone is expected to come with a 1.7GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro MSM8960 processor alongside 2GB of RAM. It is expected to come with a 720p resolution display and 16GB of internal storage. The leak also specified a 10-megapixel rear shooter and a 2-megapixel front facing camera. Just like the new report, even the tweet suggested that the phone will run Android 4.2.2.