Regardless of popularity or industry impact, these five devices claim
the best design, the most-compelling features, and the overall most
impressive value among all the hundreds of mainstream tech products
released in 2012. Our hats off to all five.
(Credit:
Josh Miller/CNET)
1. Samsung Galaxy S3, the Android hero
It took years of iPhone dominance and
many months of Android market leadership
for a phone with Google's mobile operating system to knock the iPhone
off its pedestal. The Samsung Galaxy S3 won that honor. The GS3 is a
truly global phone, available on nearly every carrier, nearly
everywhere. Its large, vibrant HD display represents a growing class of
phones with broader form factors, and its delicate balance of Android
4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, a sharp 8-megapixel camera, 4G LTE
or HSPA+ support, and an accessible price make the Galaxy S3 a worldwide hero. (
Read the full Galaxy S3 review.)
(Credit:
Sarah Tew/CNET)
2. iPhone 5, the most anticipated
The
drumbeat of aggressive rumors
in the lead-up to the iPhone 5 launch gave the handset a lot to live up
to. Finally released in September, nearly six years after the original
iPhone, this is the iPhone we've been waiting for. The iPhone 5's
anticipated 4G LTE, built-in turn-by-turn directions, and a tall,
featherweight design make it a beauty marred only by subpar maps, which
have improved steadily since the phone's launch. (
Read the full iPhone 5 review.)
(Credit:
Josh Miller/CNET)
3. Google Nexus 7, the superior small
tablet
Certainly not the first 7-inch tablet on the market, Google entered the
fray with the Nexus 7 in 2012 and left the competition behind,
struggling to differentiate themselves. The tablet's native, streamlined
Android 4.2 OS -- flexible and open but friendly -- paired with a vivid
1,280x800-pixel-resolution screen and $199 price make it the best small
tablet, period. (
Read the full Nexus 7 review.)
4. iPad Mini, the luxury latecomer
The iPad Mini arrived so late to the small-tablet race that the
competition had already left the starting blocks and rounded the bend.
Playing catch-up to the
Nexus 7,
Kindle Fire HD, and
Nook HD
proved difficult for the Mini, especially with a lower-resolution
screen and significantly higher price than the rest. In spite of those
handicaps, Apple's latecomer earns an impressive silver in the tablet
race, thanks to its slighly-wider-than-average screen, fantastically
light weight, and impeccable fit and finish. (
Read the full iPad Mini review.)
(Credit:
Sarah Tew/CNET)
5. Motorola Droid Razr Maxx, the new battery benchmark
Of all the high-achieving smartphones, why would CNET choose a phone
from last January for one of our top-5 products of the year? We picked
the Droid Razr Maxx because it reset the bar for battery-life
expectations. In our tests, the Razr Maxx's battery life bested the
closest competitor by nearly 30 percent, and our real-life experiences
with this 4G LTE Android device and its vivid screen keep us brimming
with enthusiasm for the slim phone. Because the Droid Razr Maxx got the
Ice Cream Sandwich OS update in the fall and an HD sibling (the
Droid Razr Maxx HD) our recommendations sticks: this is one of the best phones on the market. (
Read the full Motorola Droid Razr Maxx review.)
