9 Great Phones At CES 2012 - Part 2

9 Great Phones At CES 2012 - Part 1

Sony Xperia Ion (AT&T)

The first Sony-branded smartphone, the Xperia Ion offers a stunning 4.6-inch, 720-by-1280-pixel (720p) glass screen and a 12-megapixel camera. Under the hood is a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor that can handle PlayStation-caliber games in addition to music and video. Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) is the unfortunate default OS, but Sony is promising an ICS upgrade later this year. Sony is still sorting out just which PlayStation games will work on this thing (PS1? PS2? Xperia Play? Tablet?), but it's clear the Xperia Ion will be a serious competitor on its arrival in the second quarter.

HTC Titan II (AT&T) 

America's first 16-megapixel camera phone is here, and it's a doozy. The massive HTC Titan II sports Windows Phone 7.5, LTE data speeds, and a 4.7-inch screen, and can snap photos with a resolution of 4,640-by-3,840 pixels. The rest of its specs aren't as impressive, thanks to some leftover Microsoft-specified restrictions, but you still get a fast (single-core) 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 processor, 480-by-800-pixel screen resolution, 720p camcorder, and 16GB of internal storage (albeit with no memory card slot).

Nokia Lumia 900 (AT&T)

Now this is what we were waiting for. Nokia finally shows off its first high-end Windows Phone 7 device, as the preceding Nokia Lumia 710 was too budget-oriented to inspire much buzz. The LTE-equipped Lumia 900 packs an 8-megapixel-camera, Carl Zeiss optics, and a 4.3-inch AMOLED Clear Black display. As part of Microsoft's last CES keynote, the powerful Nokia Lumia 900 may be a fitting sendoff.

Huawei Ascend P1 S (Carrier TBA)

Who would have expected the world's thinnest smartphone to come from Huawei? The Ascend P1 S is just 0.26 inches thick, which is two hundredths of an inch thinner than the Motorola Droid RAZR. The Ascend P1 S impresses in other ways too, with a 4.3-inch, 540-by-960-pixel Super AMOLED display, a 1.5GHz TI OMAP 4460 dual-core processor, a pair of cameras, and Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) preloaded. No word on a carrier yet for this one, though.

Lenovo K800 (China's Unicom)

Intel's Atom chip was fine for low-power netbooks, but it has traditionally been too power-hungry for smartphones. The Lenovo K800 could change that, at least in China—and, if successful, finally brand Intel as a player in the smartphone market, after years of empty promises and false starts. The K800 is no slouch otherwise, either, with a 4.5-inch, 720p multi-touch screen, Wi-Di, and a massive battery. We're keeping a close eye on this one, as well as Intel's other deal with Motorola, which could bring us a U.S. device sooner rather than later.

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9 Great Phones at CES 2012 - Part 1

This has been a heck of a year for phones. We're fast approaching the point where smartphone users outnumber regular cell phone users here in the U.S. Consequently, we expected big things out of CES 2012—and it looks like we got them for the most part.
In fact, many of the best announcements at CES 2012 happened either just before or at the start of the show. This year's lineup of goodies includes a heavy focus on next-generation 4G LTE data networks—including from Sprint, in a marked shift away from 4G WiMAX—plus plenty of Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)-powered phones, NFC chips, dual-core processors, and even 12 and 16-megapixel camera sensors all vying for the spotlight.

Apple wasn't at the show as usual. But the story still centers around iOS and Android, as those are the top two smartphone platforms now. HP killed off webOS this year. Research in Motion was a non-factor and only showed off more of the same, albeit with a few significant OS revisions. The real comeback story could lay with Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.5, a slick OS that's getting a big push thanks to more advanced hardware, Nokia's return to the U.S. market, and a vast increase in the number of third-party apps available. Still, it's a steep hill for Nokia and Microsoft to climb.
With all that in mind, here are the coolest, most significant phones announced at CES this year. Many of these should hit stores by the second quarter, so get ready to count off the remaining months on your current two-year contract.

LG Spectrum (Verizon Wireless)

High-definition phones are beginning to appear in earnest. The LG Spectrum sports an ultra-sharp 720p screen in a slimmer, lighter form factor than the existing (and also 720p) HTC Rezound. In addition to 720-by-1280-pixel resolution, the screen is "advanced high-def IPS," which to our eye looks brighter than other phones we've seen at least on the show floor. Text appears stunningly crisp even at tiny font sizes. It also packs a video editing program and an HD-specific app store, which the Spectrum should handle easily thanks to its 1.5GHz dual-core processor and 4G LTE network support . No Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) out of the box, but LG is promising an update by June 2012.

Motorola Droid 4 (Verizon Wireless)

The Motorola Droid 4 may be the nicest QWERTY Android phone yet, with a sleek slider design, a laser-cut five-row QWERTY keyboard with sharp edge lighting, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, and (finally) 4G LTE data speeds. It also works with Motorola's array of Webtop mode accessories, including 10- and 14-inch Lapdocks, an HD Docking Station for the living room, and a Vehicle Navigation Dock. This one could push the remaining BlackBerry users—the ones dedicated to their hardware keyboards—over the line to Android if RIM doesn't right its ship soon.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Sprint)

The first flagship Ice Cream Sandwich phone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, jumps over to Sprint, adding back the Google Wallet capability that Verizon Wireless had disabled along the way. The oversized 4.65-inch Super AMOLED screen and dual-core processor are impressive, but in this case take a back seat to LTE—Sprint's brand new, next-generation 4G network that it's powering up in 10 cities by the middle of this year.

LG Viper (Sprint)

The Galaxy Nexus may have the spotlight, but the LG Viper could be Sprint's Q-ship for 2012. It may snag even more buyers, thanks to its more manageable 4-inch screen size, brushed metal back panel, and lower price than the Galaxy Nexus. It only runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) out of the box, but its LTE radio, dual-core processor, and NFC compatibility mean it still has the future in mind.

9 Great Phones At CES 2012 - Part 2

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Rumor: LG to Show Atom-Based Android Smartphone

Citing a top-ranking executive, The Korea Times reports that LG Electronics will be the first to manufacture smartphones using Intel's Medfield platform for Atom SoCs, and will even showcase one Android-based model curing CES 2012 in the next few weeks. While LG declined to officially confirm the report, Intel Korea chief Lee Hee-sung verified that Intel chief executive Paul Otellini will release Intel’s first Android smartphone using the Medfield platform during the show.

But the Korean Times also points out Intel's lack of experience in the mobile sector, and that unnamed sources have raised doubts about the viability of the partnership. After all, prior to the release of the Medfield platform, Atom chips have reportedly drawn too much power to be used in portable gadgets smaller than a netbook.

"But one clear point is that Intel is spending heavily for more efficient mobile chips for phones and tablets," the unnamed LG executive reassured.

Even if the Intel/LG relationship report is true, this will be the couple's second attempt to present an Atom-based smartphone during CES. Back in 2010, LG revealed the 4.8-inch GW990 prototype smartphone that would have used Intel's MeeGo. The duo planned to release the device by the end of the year, but later decided it would be too impractical and reportedly scrapped the project instead.

But one LG executive disputes the current report, saying that the company will likely push reference models instead of a full-blown Android device. "Personally, I doubt that LG Electronics will release phones running on Android software based on any Intel platform," the unnamed executive stated. "It’s quite possible for LG to push Intel’s reference mobiles but with huge subsidies from Intel for promotion."

Another LG executive even added that Intel is getting nervous over the growing emergence of AMD in Korea, and that a partnership with LG would be a good thing. Last year AMD's Korean branch doubled its revenue compared to the previous year due to LG rival Samsung expanding its notebook lineup using AMD's CPU. AMD claimed 7-percent of the Korean market as of the end of November 2011, up from 4-percent in 2010.

If Intel and LG plan to introduce the first Medfield-based Android smartphone during CES 2012, then we'll get to see the unveiling sometime between January 10 and January 13, so stay tuned.

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