Best Android phones

We review the best Android smartphones from HTC, Samsung, Google, Motorola and Sony Ericsson.
Samsung's Galaxy S Android smartphone.

Samsung's Galaxy S Android smartphone.

2010 will be a landmark year for Google's Android operating system in Australia. Offering a number of benefits over Apple's iPhone including an open applications market, a customisable user interface and full multitasking, the Android platform continues to go from strength to strength.

There are now more than 10 Android smartphones on the market in Australia from a wide range of manufacturers including HTC, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Motorola and LG. For those who want an alternative to the iPhone, we've rounded up the best Android smartphones currently available in Australia.

For this roundup, we've looked at the premium Android handsets. For a comparison of cheaper Android smartphones, including Motorola's DEXT, Backflip and Quench models, LG's Optimus and GW620, Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro and the Garmin-Asus A10, see our Australian budget Android smartphone super guide.

Motorola's Milestone smartphone.

Feature HTC Desire Samsung Galaxy S Google Nexus One Motorola Milestone Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 HTC Legend
Current Android version 2.1 (Éclair) 2.1 (Éclair) 2.1 (Éclair) 2.1 (Éclair) 1.6 (Donut) 2.1 (Éclair)
UI overlay HTC Sense Samsung TouchWIZ 3.0 None None User Experience Platform (UXP) HTC Sense
Screen size 3.7in 4.0in 3.7in 3.7in 4.0in 3.2in
Display technology Capacitive AMOLED Capacitive Super AMOLED Capacitive AMOLED Capacitive TFT Capacitive TFT Capacitive AMOLED
Display resolution 480x800 480x800 480x800 480x854 480x854 320x480
Multitouch Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Keyboard Touch screen Touch screen Touch screen Touch screen + physical QWERTY Touch screen Touch screen
Camera 5 megapixel, autofocus, face detection, geotagging 5 megapixel, autofocus, face and smile detection, geotagging 5 megapixel, autofocus, geotagging 5 megapixel, autofocus, geotagging 8 megapixel, autofocus, face and smile detection, geotagging 5 megapixel, autofocus, geotagging
Camera flash Single LED No Single LED Dual LED Single LED Single LED
FM radio Yes Yes No No No Yes
GPS Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Internal memory 576MB 16GB 512MB 133MB 1GB 512MB
External memory microSD card (up to 32GB) microSD card (up to 32GB) microSD card (up to 32GB) microSD card (up to 32GB) microSD card (up to 32GB) microSD card (up to 32GB)
Dimensions 119 x 60 x 11.9mm 122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9mm 119 x 59.8 x 11.5mm 115.8 x 60 x 13.7mm 119 x 63 x 13mm 112 x 56.3 x 11.5mm
Weight 135g 119g 130g 165g 135g 126g
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon (1GHz) ARM Cortex A8 (1GHz) Qualcomm Snapdragon (1GHz) ARM Cortex A8 (600 MHz) Qualcomm Snapdragon (1GHz) Qualcomm MSM 7227 (600 MHz)
3G network bands 850/2100MHz 900/2100MHz (Optus/VHA variant), 850/2100MHz (Telstra variant) 900/2100MHz 900/2100MHz 900/2100MHz (Optus/VHA variant), 850/2100MHz (Telstra variant) 900/2100MHz
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g 802.11b/g/n 802.11a/b/g 802.11b/g 802.11b/g 802.11b/g
Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP 3.0 with A2DP 2.1 with A2DP 2.1 with A2DP 2.1 with A2DP 2.1 with A2DP
Quoted talk time 390 minutes 390 minutes 420 minutes 390 minutes 480 minutes 390 minutes
Quoted standby time 360 hours 576 hours 250 hours 350 hours 425 hours 360 hours
Adobe flash support Yes No (Yes after 2.2 update) Yes Yes No (Yes after 2.1 update) Yes
Australian carriers Telstra Optus, VHA, Telstra Vodafone Optus Optus, VHA, Telstra VHA
Other features Accelerometer, Digital compass, ambient light sensor Accelerometer, Digital compass, ambient light sensor Accelerometer, Digital compass, ambient light sensor Accelerometer, Digital compass, ambient light sensor Accelerometer, Digital compass Accelerometer, Digital compass, ambient light sensor

What's your favourite Android smartphone? How does your Android phone stack up against the competition? Let us know in the comments below!

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Ross Catanzariti

Ross Catanzariti

Good Gear Guide
Topics: Motorola, samsung galaxy s, Android, HTC Desire, Motorola Droid, Sony Ericsson, nexus one, htc, mobile phones, HTC Legend, Google Android phones, smartphones, Google Android
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