The year 2010 is coming to an end and it has been a great year as far as mobile phones are concerned. We saw the introduction of three new mobile operating systems, namely, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7, Samsung's bada and Nokia's Symbian ^3. Apple launched the fourth generation model of the iconic iPhone (after its controversial leak earlier this year) and Google launched three versions of Android, and offered a sneak peak of the next version.
There have also been countless handsets released, running different operating systems from all manufacturers. But not all these phones were good and some were easily forgettable. But there were some that stuck in our minds long after they left our hands and we couldn't help but remember them while we put together this list.
This article is dedicated to all those awesome phones that were launched this year and set a benchmark for the phones that will come out next year.
Apple iPhone 4
This is the only phone in this list that we never got to fully review, but we did get to use it just enough to know that the boys over in the States weren't going crazy over it for no reason. For most of us at Techtree, there is little doubt in our minds that the iPhone is the best smartphone in the world and the iPhone 4 is the best iPhone that has ever come out.
It is hard to come across a device that unites so many qualities so beautifully as the iPhone 4 does. The phones has a drop-dead gorgeous design, visually stunning display with the highest resolution of any smartphone, a world-class operating system that remains unbeaten when it comes to design, ease of use and the quantity and quality of applications that are available for it.
The iPhone 4 was also blessed with a superb hardware that perfectly compliments the software. Although the phone has been burdened with controversies such as the early leak of the antennagate issue and the non-availability of the white-colored version, the iPhone 4 managed to survive all that and create some record-breaking sales that are still going strong. Call us Apple fanboys if you will, but we are yet to see a more complete smartphone than Apple's iPhone 4.
Samsung Galaxy S Series
Had Apple not gone ahead and launched the iPhone 4, stealing Samsung's thunder, we would have been waxing poetic about the Galaxy S series. But we will still go ahead and do it anyway because it deserves it. Samsung's Galaxy S series have not only been the best phones that are made by Samsung but also the best Android phones available on the market right now.
They offer by far the widest range of features and match them with performance. It has a slim design, eye-popping display quality and excellent communication and multimedia performance. Marred slightly by a plasticky design and lack of features on certain models such as an LED flash, the Galaxy S series still manages to impress greatly and reserve a spot for itself in our best of 2010 list.
(The Galaxy S series includes all the Galaxy S handsets, including the US carrier specific ones, as well as Google's Nexus S)