Upcoming smartphones to look forward to – October 2012

We take a look at some of the hotly anticipated handsets to arrive in our markets...

Another month, another list of hotly anticipated smartphones. And this time, we have some real heavy weights to look forward to. High-end handsets are starting to get a bit predictable now since every possible feature that we can currently think of, is already present in existing handsets. Still, who doesn’t love a freshly released device?  Here’s a list we’ve put together to give you a glimpse of five of the most hotly-anticipated handsets to officially hit our shores.

Apple iPhone 5
We held it, swiped it and absolutely loved its freakishly light weight. The iPhone 5 may not be the big overhaul Apple fans were hoping for, but it’s more of an evolution of the iPhone 4. Now taller, slimmer and lighter, the iPhone 5 may not be able to compete with the current crop of Android handsets in terms of hardware, but it’s the overall experience that draws people, and let’s face it, fanbois, to the device. Even after all these years, you’ll still find people queuing up outside an Apple store just to be able to own a phone that hasn’t really changed much in the past two years. In any case, the grey market is going crazy with the pricing of the iPhone 5, with the high-end model breaching a lakh. Even when it does officially come to India, we have a feeling that it will be priced a lot higher than what the 4S debuted for.

Taller, slimmer and lighter

• 4.0-inch LED-backlit IPS touchscreen with a 640 x 1136 pixel resolution
• LTE, 3G, EDGE, dual-band Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, Lightning connector
• GPS with A-GPS Support and GLONASS
• 8MP AF camera with 1080p video recording and an LED flash
• Secondary 1.2MP Camera
• 16/32/64GB internal memory
• TV-out

HTC Windows Phone 8X
The new HTC 8X is definitely the more eye catching handset compared to the 8S, which seems to be of a more budget-friendly variety. The 8X doesn’t look all that inspiring from the front, but the rear portion of the polycarbonate shell is really eye catching thanks to the bright colour options available. Put a bunch of them together and it feels like something you buy from a candy store. It’s got a pretty mean spec sheet too with a dual-core Qualcomm S4 SoC, HD screen with 342ppi and NFC. One thing that will stick out like a sore thumb for many is the lack of an SD card slot. This is all the more frustrating when its younger sibling has one and the 8X doesn’t. 16GB is still plenty, but with 1080p recording present, we may see that space filling up faster than you may think.

Makes you wanna bite into them

• 4.3-inch S-LCD2  touchscreen with a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE, dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• GPS with A-GPS Support and GLONASS
• 8MP AF camera with 1080p video recording and an LED flash
• Secondary 2.1MP Camera
• 16GB internal memory 

Sony Xperia T
Finally! A true successor to the Xperia S, Sony’s upcoming flagship finally does away with capacitive buttons, just like the Galaxy Nexus. The Xperia T packs in a more potent 13MP shooter, which makes it the highest amongst Android phones. It’s also packed to the gills with features like any high-end phone worth its salt should—right from HD screen, powerful Snapdragon S4 SoC and NFC. The phone also features a distinctively curved back, similar to the old Xperia Arc.

13MP sensor onboard!

• 4.5-inch touchscreen with a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE, dual-band Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 3.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• GPS with A-GPS Support and GLONASS
• 13MP AF camera with 1080p video recording and an LED flash
• Secondary 1.3MP Camera
• 16 internal memory, expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
• TV-out via MHL

Nokia Lumia 920
The Finnish giant may be down, but is certainly not out. Nokia is banking heavily on the new Lumia handsets running Windows Phone 8. The 920 is its flagship and packs in a PureView camera along with an HD screen and 32GB of internal storage. This is not the same PureView sensor we saw on the 808, but is an 8MP sensor instead, where PureView simply refers to the type of imaging technology used. In the case of the 920, it’s optical image stabilization. Now, Nokia has already been called out for staging some of its demo videos during the launch of the phone and has admitted to them as well, so this just makes us more curious to see how good the image stabilization really is.

Nokia's knight in shining armour

• 4.5-inch IPS touchscreen with a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution
• LTE, 3G, EDGE, dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC
• Bluetooth 3.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• GPS with A-GPS Support and GLONASS
• 8MP AF camera with 1080p video recording and an LED flash
• Secondary 1.3MP Camera
• 32GB internal memory

Samsung Ativ S
If the Galaxy S ever ran Windows Phone, this is probably what it would look like. The Ativ S is Samsung’s first Windows Phone 8 handset and the first thing you’ll notice is that it lacks the ‘in-your-face’ styling of HTC and Nokia’s offerings. It’s a serious looking phone and gathering by the specs, it certainly means business. Adorning the front is a massive 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display that should get you excited right away. It’s a powerful phone thanks to Qualcomm’s S4 SoC and comes with all features like NFC, dual-band Wi-Fi and expandable memory.

Sleek and sophisticated

• 4.8-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE, dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC
• Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• GPS with A-GPS Support and GLONASS
• 8MP AF camera with 1080p video recording and an LED flash
• Secondary 1.9MP Camera
• 16/32GB internal memory