If you’re looking for a new smartphone, it’s going to be a wonderful time over the next few months as we should see a variety of high-quality handsets. Let’s take a look at some of the contenders and let us know what phone you’re most looking forward to.
The one big question is if the next iPhone will land this summer or not. Many analysts are speculating it will land in the September time frame but you never know what Apple will show off at its WWDC conference.
AT&T
AT&T has quietly become a strong player in the Android space. You can check out our review of the Infuse 4G and its massive 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen. It’s a nice device that should please many users out there.
What I’m looking forward to a lot is the Thrill 4G and its glasses-free 3D display. We’ve been playing with the Optimus 3D (the international version) and it’s an excellent phone even if you turn off the glasses-free 3D display. It rocks a dual-core 1 GHz processor, 4.3-inch screen, WiFi, GPS, 3G, and 8 GB of internal storage.
If you’re sick of Android, you can check out the HTC HD7S with Windows Phone 7. It sports a massive 4.3-inch screen, 1 GHz processor and the latest version of the platform.
If you want some of that BlackBerry flavor, you can soon pick up the BlackBerry Bold 9900. This features the standard BlackBerry form factor but it also has a touch screen, 1.2 GHz processor, 5-megapixel camera and NFC.
Overall, AT&T looks like it will have a solid portfolio this summer even if the next iPhone doesn’t land until the Fall.
Sprint
It might be slim pickings for Sprint this summer in terms of selection but the HTC EVO 3D may be good enough to overcome that. Like the Thrill 4G, it rocks a glasses-free 3D display but it also looks like an incredible device if you take away the 3D display.
The HTC EVO 3D rocks a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 4.3-inch qHD display, multiple 5-megapixel cameras in order to record 3D videos and photos and it even has 4G WiMax capabilities. I’ve played with this thing before and I can tell you that you’re not going to be disappointed.
Other than that, it’s tough to think about another high-profile device that will officially be landing. The Samsung Galaxy S 2 could be landing on Sprint this summer and there’s also a rumor floating that the next iPhone will support Sprint’s network.
Verizon
Verizon will be unveiling a ton of high-quality smartphones next week, as May 26 will bring us the HTC Trophy (with Windows Phone), Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, Motorola Droid X2 and the LG Revolution with 4G LTE. Each of these devices should be pretty good and each should appeal to niches.
For a long time, I really thought the Motorola Droid Bionic would be my next phone but it appears to be delayed for a long time. I’m also curious to see what other 4G LTE handsets we can see from Big Red.
T-Mobile
The best upcoming smartphone on T-Mobile appears to be the HTC Sensation 4G, as this gorgeous handset sports a 4.3-inch 960 x 540 display with a 16:9 layout and a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor. In my oh-so-brief time with it, I could tell that it was going to be an excellent performer that feels really good in the hand. The latest version of Sense is beautiful to look at and the only thing I can complain about is that it only has a 14.4 Mbps modem inside.
Check out our post on the leaked T-Mobile roadmap to see which devices appeal to you. We should see the MyTouch Slide 4G, BlackBerry Curve Touch and a variety of other devices land before the summer is over.
The wild cards – Galaxy S II, Pre 3
The Samsung Galaxy S II is probably the best phone on the market today, so we’re anxiously awaiting to see which carriers will pick it up and when we can expect it. The last version hit all the major mobile operators, so let’s hope that’s repeated soon.
The Palm Pre 3 should be landing on a carrier this summer (Verizon?) and it will pack some strong internals to match the latest version of webOS. It’s still too early to tell how good this will be or if the app ecosystem will be built up by then. I really can’t wait to play around with this one.
Even if the next iPhone doesn’t land soon, we’re still excited about the crop of devices that will be coming out soon. What handset are you most looking forward to, friends?
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