Top 10 smartphones in 2012

Today's top handsets are as much mobile computers as phones. As well as making calls, they allow us to access thousands of handy apps, play games, watch movies and listen to hours of music. But with so many models available, you might find it tricky to track down the one that's best for you. The high cost of pay-as-you-go smartphone handsets and the long contracts associated with the most desirable devices can make matters even more complicated.

We've rounded up our top 10 handsets to help you decide on the best phone for you. In our humble opinion these are the latest and greatest smartphones currently available. 

10. Orange San Francisco II

The Orange San Francisco II is a budget smartphone. But in terms of bang for buck it's hard to beat. Its predecessor set a new benchmark for entry-level Android devices, and Orange has crafted a worthy follow-up, building on the features that made the original San Francisco such a hit. The screen is nice and bright and the chassis slimmer and sleeker than you might expect; a 5MP camera has also been squeezed into the handset. However, social networking features are few and far between. The touchscreen is a little unresponsive. Plastic also rules the day when it comes to the casing.

9 HTC Sensation XL

Beats by Dre-branded headphones have become the must-have cans for fashion-conscious music fans. HTC are obviously hoping to repeat the trick for phones by slapping the Beats logo on their new super-sized handset, the Sensation XL. However, the tie-up with the Beats line is more than just a cosmetic one - the phone features some unique audio tuning features and a bundled set of specially designed urBeats earphones. Throw a 4.7-inch display, single-piece aluminium chassis and 8MP camera into the mix as well, and you've got a phone that's guaranteed to be a hit.

8. Sony Xperia S

The Sony Xperia S features a distinctive design: a see-through plastic bar that slices across the bottom of the phone, giving it a futuristic look and feel. The spec sheet for Sony's new flagship device is also impressive, particularly the 12MP snapper and gorgeous high-res screen. However, there are a few niggles that stop this phone from achieving true greatness. It's rather thick and bulky, for one, and there's no microSD slot for upgrading the memory.

7. Motorola Razr

The new Razr is absurdly thin at just 7.7mm, and a beautiful Kevlar fibre shell alongside a Corning Gorilla Glass screen help make it every inch the equal of its popular ancestor. The phone's dual-core 1.2Ghz processor blows away the original Razr's tech, however, and back in 2004 8MP cameras were dedicated snappers, rather than smartphone components. A hefty amount of memory and some excellent multimedia features are also on board, all of which should help to make the rebooted Razr a success.

6. BlackBerry Bold 9900

BlackBerry sold more smartphones in the UK last year than any other manufacturer, and the Bold 9900 will only cement their position. It's their thinnest phone yet at only 10.5mm and the superb BlackBerry keyboard has also been married with a responsive touchscreen, making the phone perfect for both business and pleasure. The design is pure class as well, featuring a brushed stainless steel frame. Built-in Near Field Communications (NFC) technology will also keep this handset cutting-edge for some time to come.

5. Nokia Lumia 800

Ever since Nokia and Microsoft joined forces we've been waiting for a phone that would show off the best of each company's expertise. Well, that phone is finally here - the Nokia Lumia 800. The design of the handset is the culmination of decades of Nokia development - unfussy and attractive, functional yet also fun (the 800 Lumia comes in several colours). As you'd expect, the Carl Zeiss camera is a great feature, and the 3.7-inch ClearBlack curved display has fantastic depth and contrast. All this hardware is coupled with the wonderfully intuitive Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) - the best version of Microsoft's smartphone OS yet. A recent firmware update also improved the Lumia 800's battery life dramatically.

4. Samsung Galaxy Nexus

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is one hot handset. Although the screen is 4.65 inches, the resolution is 1280 x 720, meaning it's both massive and pin-sharp. But although the Nexus' hardware is certainly noteworthy, it's more remarkable for its software at the moment. The Galaxy Nexus is the first phone to feature Ice Cream Sandwich, otherwise known as Android 4.0. This, when coupled with an NFC chip, facial recognition unlock feature, and amazing synchronisation with Google services, makes the Nexus a very impressive package.

3. HTC Sensation XE

HTC has quickly established itself as one of the top players in the smartphone market, releasing a string of fantastic phones in quick succession. The HTC Sensation is currently their flagship 1.2Ghz dual-core device - the XE edition ups the processor speed, extends the battery life and adds Beats Audio software and stylings. Looks-wise it's certainly a head-turner: solid yet classy, slim but packing a massive 4.3-inch screen. The HTC Sense 3.0 interface is highly customisable too, and an 8MP camera on the rear can capture 1080p video too.

2. Apple iPhone 4S

Some say the iPhone 4S is merely a bridge phone, designed to prop up sales of Apple's handsets before the iPhone 5 is released next year. Even if that turns out to be true, the 4S is still a great handset in its own right. Although it's identical to a regular iPhone 4 on the outside, a number of tweaks and improvements have been made under the hood. The camera, for instance, has been bumped up from five to eight megapixels, the processor is faster and Siri, a virtual personal assistant, is now built-in. The easy-to-use iOS and the pin-sharp Retina Display still seem a cut above the competition.

1. Samsung Galaxy S II

The Samsung Galaxy was a stellar handset and its sequel, the Galaxy S II, is even more impressive. A dual-core 1.2GHz processor means apps and web browsers run at warp speed on the Android 2.3 OS. The bright and colourful 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen makes movies and games gorgeous to behold. Throw in an 8MP camera, 1080p video recording and a super sleek (8.49mm) and light (116g) design, and you've got one hell of a handset.