Android
On to the Google side of things... In the next few months, about 6-10 phones are expected that are running Android. First and foremost, Samsung just released the Galaxy S III in May and has already sold over 20 million units. Motorola just held their conference yesterday releasing the RAZR HD, RAZR MAXX HD and RAZR M. The Galaxy Note II is slated to be released in the late fall, probably October. And finally, Google's pride and joy, the Nexus. The Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S have gone over huge in the past while being advertised as a pure Google phone. Google always keeps the buyers of the "pure Google" phone up on software better than everyone else, giving them the latest and greatest. Android operating software 4.1, aka Jelly Bean, is nothing short of amazing with Google Voice, Google Now and much more packed in. Unless you are looking into the RAZR M, which is a smaller, more mobile device (which has a 4.3" screen), you are going to be getting a 4.6-5.55" screen. It will mos likely be AMOLED, Super AMOLED or some kind of Retina display, assuring we will not be able to see 1 pixel with all that density going on. Also, none will be without a 1.2 GHz dual core processor and will only go up from there. (The Samsung Galaxy S III in Europe has a quad-core!) I could launch into a lengthier discussion on androids, but it would contain the content of 3 articles, so I'll spare you that.
Where Does This Leave Us?
It goes without saying that phones are getting thinner, faster, more efficient and larger. What I have deduced, being in love with phones so much, is that you just need to look at the details, make a decision and stick with it. That is what our future is making us do. Phones are coming out much quicker than they used to and are not changing in price. I don't know about you, but I can't afford a new $199-$299 phone every 6 months. I think in the next year we will be seeing phones splitting into 2 categories, monsters and regular sized phones. The monsters will keep focusing on reaching up to the 6 and 7" mark and beefing up their processors while the regular sized phones for non-giants will keep getting thinner, more clear and also...faster.
My advice to you: Look into what you want out of a phone. If you are a regular consumer who likes to text, social media around, download music from your iTunes and take pictures without putting anymore thought into it; you should probably keep looking to Apple. I mean that in the nicest way possible; I am not putting anyone down in that category. My wife does it, who I literally can't say anything bad about, and about 80% of everyone else too. So there is no harm intended from that sentence. However, if you are someone who enjoys specifying every move of your phone, rooting, making your LED flash different colors, trying new and possibly terrible formats for your texting, social media-ing and more; Android is looking up. The best part about Android is also that you can do none of those things either. I am very excited to see the smartphone world 3 years down the road, 5 years down the road... Holographics? Paper thin phones? Computer processor like speeds and interfaces? I don't doubt it. Only time can tell.
On to the Google side of things... In the next few months, about 6-10 phones are expected that are running Android. First and foremost, Samsung just released the Galaxy S III in May and has already sold over 20 million units. Motorola just held their conference yesterday releasing the RAZR HD, RAZR MAXX HD and RAZR M. The Galaxy Note II is slated to be released in the late fall, probably October. And finally, Google's pride and joy, the Nexus. The Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S have gone over huge in the past while being advertised as a pure Google phone. Google always keeps the buyers of the "pure Google" phone up on software better than everyone else, giving them the latest and greatest. Android operating software 4.1, aka Jelly Bean, is nothing short of amazing with Google Voice, Google Now and much more packed in. Unless you are looking into the RAZR M, which is a smaller, more mobile device (which has a 4.3" screen), you are going to be getting a 4.6-5.55" screen. It will mos likely be AMOLED, Super AMOLED or some kind of Retina display, assuring we will not be able to see 1 pixel with all that density going on. Also, none will be without a 1.2 GHz dual core processor and will only go up from there. (The Samsung Galaxy S III in Europe has a quad-core!) I could launch into a lengthier discussion on androids, but it would contain the content of 3 articles, so I'll spare you that. Where Does This Leave Us?