G&G choice 2013: Phones and phablets

Some of the best smartphones in a long time arrived this year. Gadgets and Gizmos lists out some of the standout smartphones that hit stores in 2013.

BEST SMARTPHONE
HTC One
The HTC One has a beautiful design plus great performance and impressive camera. It took on the Samsung Galaxy S4 and is the winner on every parameter.

BEST CAMERA PHONE
Nokia Lumia 1020
With its 41MP camera, Nokia Lumia 1020 is the best camera phone launched this year. Images captured by it are far better than on any other device. It also offers manual settings one can play around with.

BEST PHABLET
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
2013 was full of smartphones boasting 5 inch + display. While there were a few impressive phablets such as the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, LG G2 and a few others, Samsung is the best in the segment with its Note 3. It has increased the display to 5.7 inches but maintained the same width and weight.

BEST INNOVATIONS
LG G2
Genuine innovations have been few this year. LG wins the race with its phablet G2. With G2, LG has shifted the power and volume controls, usually on the side panel, to the back, because in its view this is the place where a user's index finger usually rests. This model also has a powerful 13MP rear camera with an optical image stabiliser that captures superb images.

BEST VALUE FOR MONEY
LG Nexus 4
Google's phone brought into the country by LG is priced at Rs 25,999, making it the best smartphone in this price category. Featuring a 4.7 inch display with a quadcore processor, it comes with an assurance of getting the latest Android updates as soon as they are released. The 8 MP camera and vanilla Android OS too work in favour of this smartphone.