We recently asked our loyal podcast listeners and Facebook fans to vote for their favourite phone of the year. We were looking for a smart phone that had snarled, snapped, hunted and mated its way to pack domination -- a true alpha leader among gadgets.
But which devices dominated, and which didn't quite tickle your fancy enough to win the top spot? Read on to find out.
The nominees
In chosing a shortlist we first selected smart phones that had impressed during our exhaustive review process, either by winning a healthy number of stars or nabbing a coveted Editors' Choice award. Thus the following seven smart phones were plucked from the heaving mass to be voted on by you, the public.
Google Nexus 4
A late entry, but this powerful smart phone blew us away with its sky-high performance and low, low price tag. Supply issues have marred its launch, but this is still one of the year's most exciting mobiles, and my personal choice for the year's best tech product of 2012.
Apple iPhone 5
It may look like an iPhone 4S that's had a run-in with a rolling pin, but Apple's sixth smart phone impresses with a gorgeous display, eerily thin frame and a lethal app selection. Shame about the maps app though, eh?
Nokia Lumia 920
Carrying the torch for Windows Phone 8, there's no doubt Nokia's crafted a gorgeous slice of hardware in the Lumia 920. A screen we called "stunning" and treats like wireless charging make this our favourite Windows Phone device.
Samsung Galaxy S3
The much-anticipated follow-up to the Galaxy S2, the S3 proved to be everything we'd hoped for and more. A quad-core chip, a brilliant camera and more app treats than you could waggle a stick at are just some of the reasons to prefer this majestic effort. (Its 4G version was pretty tasty too.)
Huawei Ascend G300
Pricey, high-end mobiles steal the headlines, but Huawei's preppy little G300 was the best cheap phone we'd seen in absolutely ages. A 4-inch screen and decent battery life on an Android smart phone that cost just £100 on pay as you go (plus £10 top-up, natch) made the G300 our go-to recommendation for those shopping on a budget.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2
When Samsung revealed the first 5.3-inch Galaxy Note it seemed like a bizarre practical joke, but both the Note and its sequel have proved massively popular. The 5.5-inch Note 2 isn't easy to wrap your mitts around, but if your fingers can manage this is a fully featured smart phone with screen to spare.
HTC One S
HTC hasn't had a brilliant year, producing only a few mobiles worthy of consideration. The One S is the best of the bunch, however, and won itself four and a half stars in our review. Understatement is the name of the game here -- neither too big nor too small with a fast processor and just the right amount of HTC's own software, we preferred this modest little number to the battery-sucking One X.
Results
You voted in your hundreds, but in the end there was only one smart phone that truly captured the hearts and minds of the gadget-guzzling masses.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S3
Stealing a phenomenal 45 per cent of the popular vote, our results show that the Samsung Galaxy S3 has garnered not just critical acclaim, but the adoration of the people. The wait was long, but it was oh so worth it, and we're proud to crown the Galaxy S3 phone of the year, as voted by our fans.
Runner up: Google Nexus 4
Hardly anyone has been able to buy this phone and it still outpaced the iPhone 5 and Galaxy Note 2 with 20 per cent of the vote. That's proof it's captured the hearts of the public, offering a glimpse into a shining new world where smart phones don't cost £500, but can be had for less than half that amount. Sort out your shopping system Google, and next year you could be pinching Samsung's crown.
Here are the rest of the nominees in the order in which they placed, though no single mobile here managed to get above 15 per cent of the vote. Bad luck Apple and HTC, better luck next year.
- Apple iPhone 5
- Samsung Galaxy Note 2
- Nokia Lumia 920
- HTC One S
- Huawei Ascend G300
Is there a quality mobile we missed off the list? Or does the Galaxy S3 deserve the top spot? Have another say in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.
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Comments 34
Add your comment
anonymous 20 December, 2012 16:30
I totally agree, when you take everything into consideration it's just a great phone
anonymous 20 December, 2012 16:48
I personally think that had the Nexus 4 been made available to more people, it would have won. i myself have owned 3 of these phones so far this year - the GS3 was one, and i was lucky enough to get my hands on a nexus 4 earlier this week! although the GS3 was absolutely fantastic, the nexus just beats it in almost every way.. what let it down entirely was the fact that Google couldnt get their act together on the business side... well done samsung on a well deserved victory!
anonymous 20 December, 2012 17:04
I totally agree with you I wanted an nexus 4 myself and was going to sell my s3 to get one but as we all know there was and still is a huge fiasco but tbh even if the availability was up to the demand I don't think it could be classed as number 1 because the immense popularity of the s3 and yes well done Samsung, a certain company not saying no names has been shown how it's done!
anonymous 20 December, 2012 17:17
3 major issues with the Nexus 4 probably stopped it getting top spot :
1. Lack of availability at the originally advertised price
2. No removable battery (major f-up on a power-phone)
3. No upgradable storage (£40 to go from 8 to 16GB is a complete insult - that would pay for a 64GB Micro-SD!!)
davefromwales 20 December, 2012 17:47
hmmmm, your podcast say the iphone5 was 4th, not 3rd, as the iphone5 had one vote less.
anonymous 20 December, 2012 18:00
I was sorly tempted to get an HTC ONE X+ when I upgraded last week but I opted for the S3 because it's got better software. I was put off by The Nexus 4s poor storage.
anonymous 20 December, 2012 18:06
Deserves to be #1!!!Well done Samsung!
ArclightJones 20 December, 2012 18:52
I know I got a winner here, nice to see Samsung getting the top prize
CaptainPicard 20 December, 2012 18:54
Well done Samsung the best phone clearly won!!
anonymous 20 December, 2012 19:39
Well for me the Note 2 is the clear winner. I have owned the Note 2 LTE for a few months and let me tell you it’s one amazing phone. I upgraded from a iPhone and really that extra screen size makes the difference. On top of that it0s faster processor and extra ram makes it a better option than even the S3. I used the S3 for a few days but when I got hold of the Note, I just could not bring myself to by a S3. Role on Note 3..
anonymous 20 December, 2012 21:08
@anonymous 19:39 I know you say for me the clear winner but for many reasons I think it cant be number 1 that being said I would swop my beloved s3 for a note 2 in a heartbeat
anonymous 20 December, 2012 21:55
for me the HTC One X+ easily surpasses the S3
anonymous 20 December, 2012 21:56
all those samsung sheep!
Meleagru 20 December, 2012 22:07
Considering that the iPhone 5 came out about 5 months after the S3 and it still didn't have everything the S3 had, I think you can call it a disappointment. Especially price wise.
On an unrelated note, I keep fiding out just how walled in is the Apple garden and I just don't understand why people still think iOS trumps Android. That might have been the case a year ago, but not anymore. The only real edge Apple has over Android are games but maybe the Ouya will set that right. I just found out from my brother that iOS only supports one video format. That seems almost barbaric.
anonymous 20 December, 2012 22:26
I have the HTC One X and agree that it's not the best phone out but it at least should have been amongst the nominees, if not that then the One X+!
The S3 is a great phone and maybe deserved top spot (although ill be getting Nexus 4 next year) but the One X+ is a great phone! The first quad core means its an icon and also very powerful and the screen is fantastic, better than S3. Sense is simple and on JB, it's simply amazing! Battery life isn't too bad, and I find it hard to believe the S3 is sooooo much better ;(
Admittedly you can expand the memory on S3, but come on, are you telling me 32Gb isn't enough as STANDARD! You can also replace battery on S3 too, but the fact that nobody else has done it means there can't be much call for it.
Unfortunately, I do think people are choosing the brand over the phone, just like iPhone and Apple. People see the 'galaxy' range and automatically think its great even if it had naff specs.
I'm certainly not saying ,y phone is the best, but I would find it hard to choose an S3 over One X+ because the screen is better, I prefer Sense and the design is soo much nicer!
Next year, I will get Nexus 4 though because I find its the best phone out.
anonymous 20 December, 2012 22:29
@anonymong 21:56 hmm your not an idiot......actually I'm wrong
CaptainPicard 21 December, 2012 00:21
I got a One X and I think the S3 is better. The One X gets hot after 4 mins of Temple Run, battery is crap (atleast people with the S3 have a removable battery) and the early adopters had tumultuous experience with it because of WiFi problems.
I received Jelly Bean yesterday, and honestly JB is over rated, Google Now is useless and there is really nothing new. Although, Flash still works! If your waiting for Android 4.1, you aint missing much, the wait is not worth it.
And the Galaxy S2 deserves a special mention. It may be 22 months old, but it's still one of the UK's best selling phones, it's been in the UK top 4 throughout all of 2012!
damien2501 21 December, 2012 08:15
I bet people still accuse Cnet of being apple bias
anonymous 21 December, 2012 11:01
@damien2501 what is the point of your comment?
anonymous 21 December, 2012 11:34
There isn't one - just like all his other dumbarse posts
anonymous 21 December, 2012 13:12
Oh how stupid of me it's of course there isn't it Damien2501
redmozzy 21 December, 2012 20:03
Cool, I have the best phone!
This year, I've had the iPhone 4s, the HTC One X and now the S3 and it is definitely the best phone I've owned. Now rooted and the Omga Jelly Bean installed, it's even better.
I almost wish I had got the Note 2 but a bit pointless when I own an iPad so happy with what I have.
anonymous 21 December, 2012 22:49
I would go with Nokia 920... best in every tech category the design is nice and agressive and the OS is great
anonymous 21 December, 2012 22:57
My s3 just died:(((((((((
I did a search and it looks like it's a problem after a few months with some batches. But it says that Samsung are replacing them without question- even if it's been rooted!
anonymous 22 December, 2012 03:24
@meleagru; only support 1 video format it's not barbaric, it's marketing. i suddenly feel that my so called dirt-cheap galaxy mini is much smarter than iPhone5.
anonymous 22 December, 2012 16:58
Smart phones are the best phones of 2012. Because these have a special features than others.
anonymous 23 December, 2012 12:23
I'm sorry, but the people who voted for the Galaxy S3 are idiots. The display has that awful pentile sub-pixel arrangement, and the design is plasticky, assymetrical and UGLY. I don't how succesful the damn thing is - the iPhone 5 is succesful, but that doesn't change the fact that it has a boring, closed OS, a case that scratches easily, camera lens issues and more.
CaptainPicard 23 December, 2012 23:31
^So what phone do you think is the best phone of 2012?? And the S3 is pretty ugly I agree, but I wouldn't judge a phone on the way it looks or feels.
anonymous 24 December, 2012 08:06
A cliche result, but its more a majority win, I think the Samsung Note and Samsung Note 2 are really in a different classification so to include the sammy note 2 is a tad unfair considering its not been out as long as the sammung s3 by quite a few months. I haven't really noticed that much difference between my sammy Note and my bro's S3. Speed wise they are very similar in real world tests, with the S3 maybe nudging ahead by a faction on such as rendering video but again we are talking less than a second here. I much prefer the Note as I think the S3 is kind of a kids phones, even down to the comic style fonts it comes with. The I will get the next Gen note after the Note 2 if there is one as the new phones really need quad core and much more memory than the makers dribble out. I use a Samsung 64GB card for storage etc in my Note even though they say you can only use 32GB, but trust me you can use a 64GB.
Loadit 28 December, 2012 19:10
Is not a patch on the Razr Maxx . Mine will be still working when the S£ is on charge. And is very responsive and good screen . Camera is not the best but good for a phone if want better photos would use a dedicated camera built for photos only.
Loadit 28 December, 2012 19:10
Sorry S3
anonymous 1 January, 2013 07:39
I love galaxy note2
anonymous 19 March, 2013 08:07
Well, i do totally agree with it,in my ....
anonymous 28 March, 2013 11:30
galaxy s3 is the best phone compare to all phones. as we have all the above phones at home but in my opinion s3 is the best