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Representing HTC's first 4G LTE phone, the Thunderbolt sports a large 4.3-inch touchscreen, an 8MP camera with HD video capture, video calling via front-facing camera, Android 2.2 with HTC's Sense software, and a 1GHz processor. Other features include mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, DLNA wireless media streaming, a kickstand for media viewing, FM radio, and 8GB of internal memory alongside the included 32GB microSD card.
Samsung Galaxy S 4G Available since: February 2011
The Galaxy S 4G is an update to Samsung's Vibrant, with the most notable addition being the front-facing camera and a slight battery capacity bump to cope with the beefier radio. Specs include a 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor, 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen, 5-megapixel rear camera, a 16GB microSD card, and Android 2.2 "Froyo". A number of applications are bundled with the smartphone, including Amazon Kindle for Android and Qik for video chats.
The Atrix 4G is an Android 2.2 smartphone with a dual-core 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a 4-inch "qHD" (960 x 540) display, a fingerprint recognizer, a big 1930 mAh battery and 0.4-inch thick body. It has dual cameras, expandable storage through miniSD cards, HDMI-out, and HSPA+ "4G" connectivity. But perhaps the Atrix's coolest feature is its ability to gain PC-like functionality with either a laptop-sized expansion dock or HD multimedia dock.
Storage: 16GB built-in, 32GB supported via microSD
HTC Inspire 4G Available since: February 13, 2011
The HTC Inspire 4G is a stunning, 4.3-inch superphone running Android 2.2 and was the first in the U.S. to feature the next-generation HTC Sense platform with cloud services. The new Sense platform can pinpoint a lost phone on a map, send a command to sound an alert on the handset, and remotely wipe the phone's data through HTCSense.com. The Inspire 4G also delivers an 8MP camera, a 1GHz processor, and boasts a premium aluminum unibody design.
The HTC EVO Shift 4G is a smaller, less costly alternative to the EVO 4G on Sprint and gives hardware keyboard fans another choice besides the Samsung Epic 4G. That said, it also lacks a front-facing camera and doesn't include HDMI output. Among its features are a 5-megapixel camera with HD video capture, WiMAX connectivity, an 800MHz processor, mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, GPS navigation, microSD slot for expansion, FM radio, 3.6-inch display, and Android 2.2.
The Samsung Focus is basically a Windows Phone 7 version of the popular Galaxy S Android phone line and has a lot in common with its European brother, the Omnia 7, boasting the same 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 8GB of internal storage, 1GHz Hummingbird processor, and 5 megapixel camera. It's a great addition to AT&T's smartphone lineup, offering seamless social network integration, solid multimedia features and allows you to play games with Xbox LIVE.
BlackBerry phones are starting to look a bit behind the times, and while the Bold 9780 makes no great leaps forward for the brand, it's still a solid smartphone when it comes to messaging and call quality – the things that really matter for some. The Bold 9780 is a near replica of the Bold 9700 (available on AT&T), offering just good enough specs, but great battery life and a slightly improved user experience courtesy of the updated operating system.
Storage: 512MB internal, 2GB microSD card included
Apple iPhone 4 Available since: June 2010 in the U.S.
The latest iteration of the popular iPhone includes a high-resolution so-called 'Retina Display' that squeezes 326 pixels per inch into its surface – that's twice as many pixels as its 3GS predecessor. The result is a crisp 640 x 960 screen that puts (almost) everything else available to shame. Other notable new features include a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and HD video capture, front-facing camera for video conferencing (Wi-Fi only), three-axis gyroscope for gaming, a larger battery and faster A4 chip, plus the iOS 4 software.
